The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1894-12-03
HUNTING DEVILFlSH.
EXCITING SPORT WITH A PoRTU-
GUESE FISHERMAN.

To Land one of the UnCanny Monsters RE-
quires Courage and Cool Nerve-Enor-
nous strength of Their Many Sucker
Lined Arms.
Asa sport pure and simple hunting the
dcvillsh is perhaps as exciting and full of
incident rs can be found. Not long ago n
visitor to san Francisco saw an octopus
banging in one of the markets, and seized
with the desire to SEE the capture of such
a creature followed 1t up and engaged the
Portuguese fishermen to take him to the
locality, not far from the Golden Gate.
The amateur fisherman was provided with
an ordinary boat hook, which he was told
was used in the capture Of the fish, and
when the tide was well out he was taken
to group Of kclp covered rocks and in
formed that the game was waiting to be
flushed, as it were. The place abounded
in pools in which the water was about u
foot deep. these being partially covered
with doating weed. Passing from rock to
rock, the hunter thrust his hook, or spear,
turning up the sand at the bottom of these
pools
He had nearly given up the chase when
his boat hook gave violent wrench under
his hands. and up from the weed came an
uncanny arm of livid and chocolate hues,
a finger trembling with rage and appar-
entity endowed with intelligCnce-n finger,
lined with enormous suckers, that curled
itself about the squid hunters leg so quick
ly that before he could make an aggressive
move he was in the arms of the enemy.
AS he fell, slipping partly on his back, he
was Mortified to find that his prey held on,
and that he had pulled it partly out of the
water
Struggling to his feet, he was met by
what appeared to be a ball of snakes, with
two green eyes cleaning with rage and
fury and about which writhed eight suck
er lined arms 1t was enough to democrat
ize the most intrepid lover of sport, but
the octopus merely hung on, making no
advance. Having gained his footing, the
hunter took the boat hook by the end and
buried it in the writing mass, from which
Immediately an inky fluid poured and
seemed to dye the water black Waves OF
color shot over the arms, and the monster,
raising itself out of the pool, underworld
to haul its way to the ocean. 1t threw its
long arms into every crevice, winding them
about the rock and holding on with the
tenucity of iron, gradually moving toward
the water.
The body was but a small part of the
affair, perhaps as large as child's head,
and in this the hook was caught The oc-
topus slowly gained ground, but finally
the fisherman obtained bracing vantage
and held back shouting for help. With
assistance the animal was disabled and
borne ashore. where twas found to have
q radial S.Irs.ud of nearly Is feet
Octupi of this kind and size are found
all along the upper California coast t.
Alaska, some attaining extraordinary pro
portions Curious tales are told concern
ing them, several instances being recorded
where they were supposed to have caused
the death of swimmers. That they art
powerful enough to drown a man there i:
not the slightest doubt, One Of the size
mentioned could drown three or four mel
at time assuming that they were swim
ming and that it could attack them in tina
position.
The writer once saw an octopus with
spread of but four feet throw down mal
who with others had been lifting rocks in
to n boat from reef, carrying them ashor
to save the specimens found upon them
AS piece was thrown upon the beach
big greenish brown octopus came out an
started for the water, mt which the man /
question, who was barcfOoted, gave it
kick Like Il flash, the animal resente
the insult by throwing its eight sucke
lined arms about its opponent, claspin
him in an embrace that held his legs t.
gethcr SO tightly that he fell headlong o
the sand, shouting for help and fearing
touch the animal with his hands to tear
off. He was released only when one of tn
men inserted Il knife beneath the coils an
severed the snakelike arms.
To show the strength of large ON
taken at King island it was landed in
net and after great difficulty secured by
party Of six men, who, by wrapping piece
of sacling around their hands to protec
them from the suckers, each took an arm
and walked away, but the octopus writhe'
lilo a snake and upt1lullV mil led and hAnleI