The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1895-05-04
CAUGHT BY A CLAM.
by CHARLES STUART PRATT.

"One does not usually regard the
clam rs dangerous animal" re-
marked my friend, Jack Ballantine, as
nc shook silver pepper-box over
plate of the delectable Little Neck
bivalves, yet the narrowest escape of
my life was from n clam"
Jack Ballantine was an old school
mate. remembered him rs the adj
venturors spirit among the boys, but
had not seen him since we graduated
from the Latin high school, dozen
years before, till that very day.
Coming down town to business in the
morning, had met him face to face by
the frog pond, and we had engaged to
dine together and bring our life-stories
up TO date.
mot being dyspcptic, or otherwise
impaired in your body" said l, smiling
across TO his sturdy bronzed face, your
terrible clam could hardly have been Of
the Little Neck sort
Hardly" replied Ballantine, with
laugh. "Thc clam that captured me
would have made meal for regular
fairy.tale giant. 1t weighed probably
twenty pounds, and its tremendous
shells four or five hundred pounds
more
.'You must mean the giant clam Of
East Indian waters?" observed 1, In
quiringly. II believe the single shells
of that great bivalve are sometimes
used for holy-water fonts in Catholic
churches"
.'Yes, and in the islands Of Occana for
babies bathtubs," said Ballantine.
1.-The particular tridacna gigas in ques-
ton. however, with which had brief
but fearful acquaintance, was alive,
and dozen fathoms deep in tropic
waters.-in the Torres strait, between
Queensland and New Guinea"
So, while we waited the next course,
Ballantine began tho story of his cx-
traordinary adventure.
81 believe you went to your uncle in
LONDON, after our Latin school ac-
unaintance," remarked l. "You wrote
,ne on arriving there, but not after
ward"
Eyes Uncle Ballantine had mining
and pearling interests in Queensland,
and went out almost Immediately aft
err reaching London. was located at
Coolitown, on the northeast coast"
hC iCB hoh aht VIC iiiC "IiC iuil VI
interest to me, and soon became fam
ilinr with mining on land and pcarling
Mt sea. We had quite n fleet of luggers
vessels of five to twenty tons, two
short masts, and manned with crews of
half dozen natives, Kanakas, Japs,
Chinese, or Malays, maybe.
''One Of our captains was an old Nam
tuclset whalcr, and ! now and then
went out to the fishing grounds with
him.
ION one of these pearling trips we
went mp the coast, around Cape York,
into Torres strait. II was there had
my narrow escape from clam.
almost at the start we struck rich
bottom, and our diver was bringing up
three or four hundred pairs of shells
day-worth about that number of dol
lars. BY the end of the month we had
n cargo Of eight or ten tons. OF course
the mother-of-pearl lining of the shells
is the bread and butter Of the business.
The round pearls of the jewclcr are the
cake Tor perhaps should say the pie,
being in New England.)
-' 1 always did have an irresistible
desire to get at the inside of things, and
sec the wheels go round,' and l had
long wanted, for once at least, to touch
decp-sea bottom, and behold the mar
yels OF which / had heard.
1.-The captin tried to dissuadc me.
He had been diver himself, and knew
from personal encounter the dangers Of
the descent. But as usual, had my
own way, though it was nigh to being
for the last time.
AT last the face glass was set in
place, and stepped over the side of
the luggcr. I slipped off the wet lower
round and sank, sank, down, down,
down, into tho depths OF waters.
THAT sudden delirious descent was
measured by seconds, yet lived an
age of vision and sensation, as drown
ing man does--all the nightmare inn
nginings the captains black tales and
warnings had projected into my
dreams of the night before seemed
about to be realized In double terror
thcn,, in flash, all mental distress
was blotted ont by ovcrpowering
physical sensations, suffocating press
ure. to which Poe's inquisition chamber
Svcrc paradise.
II struggled spasmodicnlly, I be-
1icvc shrielxcd. Then with a clash
ltbc agony ceased, andss my lead
weighted feet pressed tho mir within
my armor, and went bounding over
The sea bottom like an India rubber
lennis ball.