The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1894-12-29

marine caves or gliding among the
silky tassels of the weeds far down in
the deep
AT one time, while out in the canoe
with Jack, Dave, thinking he might
conclude to- take q bath, wore only 4
light swimming suit, except that he
had on his jacket over the thin upper
garment.
The weather was very warm, for it
was the season of the Australian sum-
mer.
Swarms of buzzing flies darkened
the air about the numerous large ant
hills between the coast and the noun
tains. and the shellfish on the rocks
looked as If they had been baked by
the heat.
Presently. when close to a long.
wide reef, Jack sprang out upon it to
procure for his companion some of the
beautiful shells called by the Aus
tralian natives Irego, which he knew
were to be found about fifty yards
ahead, where the reef was inaccessible
for the canoe on account of its being
skirted by low, pointed rocks.
After the Kanaka was gone, as Dave
was taking off his jacket, too warm for
that sultry day, his midshipman's dag
ger, in its sheath, slipping from the
breast pocket of the garment. fell into
the sea. The lad, who was an excel
lent swimmer. resolved to try to re-
cover the knife himself. instead of
troubling Jack to come away back and
get it for him. Having hastily stuffed
his jacket in the bow, he looked about
into the clear water, which at this
place was about eighteen feet deep,
and he could see the red sheath. as it
slowly sank. In the canoe there was
a coil of rope about twenty feet long,
with which, by fastening it to stone,
he would sometimes anchor his canoe.
AS precaution, he secured one end of
this line about his breast and tied the
other to the middle thwart of the
canoe. Should he be taken with cramp
or otherwise be hindered from coming
up, after going down, Jack, to whom
he now called ont, making known his
intention, could haul him to the sur
face by means of the rope. without
waiting for the Kanaka's answer. he
dived, but, keeping his eyes open as he
went under. he was not more than two
fathoms down when he was startled at
seeing a strange monster emerge from
the shadow of projecting shelf of the
reef. Swiftly it swan diagonally up
ward, working large pair of hand
shaped fiippers or fore-fins as if they
were paddles. The big head, the eyes,
the fat nose, the distended nostrils,
and even the mouth bore some resem-
blance to those of savage human be-
ing. The animal, fully nine feet long,
was OF dark color, except about its un-
der part, which was streaked with
white, and its body, thick in the mid
die, tapered to slender proportions to-
ward the crescent-shaped tail.
The boy hurriedly rose to the sur
face. When he reached it, he watched
the singular creature that had alarmed
him, and which was now nearly twelve
feet away, making for clump of
water-soaked grass that had evidently
drifted from some point far up the
coast This grass was close TO that
part of the line which hung from the
canoe with one end of Titled, as al
ready stated, about Dawes breast
The slack coils between the canoe
and the boy lay twisted into numer-
Gus turns and bights, little below
the surface Of the water The monster
was very near these. when it darted
forward with open mouth. showing
two rows of canine teeth, and caught
the clump of grass between its jaws.
''Kanaka jack" who while nearly
hundred and sixty feet away had, as
he gathered che shells, been watching
for Dawes temperance, was now fast
approaching that part of the reef OPP
posite to which he had come up.
Hurry Unfasten line!'' he said to
Darrell. Him dugcng-too close to
line--'fraid get csughtl"
Dave vainly tried to unite the line
about his breast. The knot having
hardened from being wet, was diff
cult one, and as he awkwardly rugged
at 1t there in the water, he anxiously
watched the creature that Jack had
called dugong.
lie had often heard of but had never
before seen this strange mammal,
which is of the family of the manatus,
or sea-cow, which can 60 on shore as
well as in the water, and will eat hay,
grass and herbs.
He now swan for the reef, from
which, while keeping himself afloat,
he had drifted about fifteen feet. The
dugong, in a nearly perpendicular po-
sition, with its head and its white
streaked breast above the water. but