The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1895-06-27
CAUGHT BY A CLAM.
BY CHARLES STUART PRATT.

zone does not usually regard the
clam as dangerous ANIMAL" re-
marked my friend, Jack Ba1lantine, as
he shook silver pepper-box over a
plate of the dclectable Little Neck
bivalves, .'yet the narrowest escape of
my life was from clam"
Jack Ballantine was an old school
mate. remembered him as the adj
venturous spirit among the boys, but
had not seen him since we graduated
from the Latin high school, a 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.
''Not being a dyspeptic, or otherwise
impaired in your body" said 1, smiling
across to his sturdy bronzed face, s'your
terrible clam could hardly have been of
the Little Neck sort"
"Hardly," replied Ballantine, with a
laugh. ''The clam that captured me
would have made a meal for a regular
fairy-tale giant. It weighed probably
twenty pounds, and it's tremendous
shells four or five hundred pounds
more"
"You must mean the giant clam of
East Indian waters?" observed I, in
quiringly. II believe the single shells
of that great bivalve are sometimes
used for holy-water fonts in Catholic
churches" 49, ,,r,~. ~,
t eyes, and in the islands of Oceana 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 the story of his ex-
traordinary adventure.
II believe you went to your uncle in
London, after our Latin, school ~ac-
quaintance," remarked 1. ''You wrote
me ON arriving there, but not after
ward
Eyes. Uncle Ballantine had mining
and pearling interests in Queensland,
and went out almost immediately att
er reaching London. was located at
Cooktown, on the northeast coast.
1.-The region and the life were full of
interest to me, and soon became fam
iliar with mining on land and pearling
at sea. We had quite 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.
zone of our captains was an old Nan
tlicket whaler, and 1 now and then
went out to the fishing grounds with
him.
"On one of these pearling trips we
went up the coast, around Cape York,
my narrow escape.fro clam
"Almost at the start we struck rich
bottom, and our diver was bringing up
three or four hundred pairs of shells a
day-worth about that number OF dol
lars. BY the end of the month we had
a 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 jeweler are the
cake Tor perhaps should say the pie,
being in New England.) ::
= I" I always did have an, irresistible
desire to get at the inside of things, and
see the wheels go round,,' and had
long wanted, for once at least, to touch
deep-sea bottom, and behold the mar
wells of which had heard.
1.-THE .captin tried to dissuade me.
He had been diver himself, and knew
from personal encounter the dangers of
the descent. But as usual, 1 had my
own way, though it was nigh to being
for the last time.
SAT last the face glass was set in
place, and I stepped over the side OF
the lugger. Islipped off the wet lower
round and sank, sank. down, down,
down, into the depths of waters. =.
'That sudden delirious descent was
measured by seconds yet l lived an
age of vision and sensation, as a drown
ing man does the nightmare i'm
aginings the captains black tales and
warnings had projected into my
dreams of the night before, seemed
about to be realized in double terror
then, in a FASH, all mental distress
was OlOICeu OuG ny oVeAPo"oAAnS
physical sensations, sufocating press
ure, to which Poe's inquisition chamber
were paradise. : i
II struggled systematically, be-
lieve shrieked. Then with a clash
the agony ceased, and my lead
weighted feet pressed the air within
my armor, and went bounding over
the sea bottom like an India rubber
tennis ball 5se5 s