Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1894-08-15

Leopard Cowric-It Held Her Fast, and
the Incoming Tide Would Have Drowned
Her Had Not Assistance Come,
There is living in San Francisco
woman who some 10 years ago was
living with her husband on a little
coral island just below the equator. The
island was small-not two miles in the
longest linc-and was nothing but a
barren spot Of sand on the broad bosom
Of the Pacific Nothing grew on the is
land but stiff species Of beach grass,
and this was dingy brown instead of
green, like other grass. But if bare of
vegetation the island was still richly
surfaced, for the whole extent of the
dot was covered with guano of tho rich
est sort, and the only inhabitants We're
the two white people mentioned and so
or 60 Hawaiians to work the guano
fields.
The superintendent had his wife and
little child with him, and as news from
the outer world could reach them but
| once In three months it was rather dull
for the woman. AS there was so little
amusement to be found, she made the
most of the few sources she had Chief
among these was the gathering of shells,
OF which many and fine varieties We're
TO be found on the reef at low tide.
One day mother and son had been
out almost the whole tide. and fairly
We'll laden with spoils were working
back home, when, as she stepped across
one of the smaller pools, the woman
saw at the bottom what appeared to be
a magnificent leopard cowrie, the lar
gest she had yet seen. The water was
pretty deep i'll the pool, being almost
up to her waist as she stepped down in
TO 1t, but she was so near home she did
not care, though she got wet through.
STOPPING to pick up the shell, she
found that the water was even deeper
than she had supposed, for as her fingers
reached to the bottom of the pool her
lace was almost wet by the waves which
came ripping in with the rising tide.
But the moment required to pick up
shell would not injure her, even though
she had to put her face into the water,
SO she stopped lower, with closed eyes,
and grasped at the shell below.
Her fingers closed ON the richly spot
ted object, but instead of the hard,
smooth surface she expected to seize her
fingers sunk deep into some soft, Shiny
substance, and before she could drop it
and rise from her STOPPING position a
sudden splash and furry dashed the wa
ter into foam, and two snakelife OBJ
Jects arose from the depths and twined
themselves around her arm, bare to the
shoulder, with numbing force
The water, but moment before clear
as crystal, was in an instant clouded
with ink, and another snakelike form
rose and twined around her arm, in
crossing the force and pressure until she
suffered agony from the hold upon her
arm as well as from the fright caused
by the sudden attack of the unseen foe.
Her face was scarcely three inches
| above the surface of the pool, and, to
her horror, she found that the strength
| OF the creature was sufficient to keep
her from rising any higher, and she
knew that few moments more of the
pain would weaken her so that she must
be drawn down into the pool instead Of
being able to escape from the horrible
creature which held her in its grasp.
In the first shock shrek of fear had
startled the boy, who was some distance
from her, and he came running back to
see what had caused the cry. He was
| only years old, so could be of no as
sistanco. Indeed the mother feared that
the child also might be grasped and
dragged into the pool She called to
n fn no
lance away, around point of land
which hid it from sight, and call for
help.
The tide was rising rapidly. Wave
after wave came ripping and swishing
against her form, each one breaking a
little higher, dashing little more of
its spray in her Bonded face Death
seemed very near, but her only fear was
of the horrible beak which she knew
would be buried in her quivering flesh
as soon us she should lose her strength
and fall into the pool to where the devil
fish could grasp her with all its arms
She could not raise her head to see if
help was coming but she strained her
ears, hoping to hear footsteps or voices.
Not sound met her strained hearing.
A wave bigger and higher than usual
came rolling in and broke above her
head, leaving her strangled and breath
less. Hope was gone. She must die.
But as she gave a last strangled cry
sudden rush of feet, q dash through
the water, and her arm was grasped by
strong hands, and she was raised above
the surface little. Other hands reached
down beside her and grasped the unseen
form of the monster, and with mighty
pull from the two strong pair of arms
it was torn from its anchoring hold up
on the rocks and thrown up into the
open air.
The choking, strangling woman was
carried above the tide mark, tine octopus
still attached to her by its Shiny
arms. AS the attempt to pull it away,
caused her excruciating pain, the arms
were one by one cut off, and even the
horny disks still chung with consider
able force to the bruised and crushed