Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-12-31

nearly Crippled by Oyster Shelss
Seven Feet High.

Nearly Crippled by Oyster she,,s
Seven Feet High.
From the Lewiston (ie) Journal
Thomas Goodenow. an EnglIshman nearly
seventy years old. but with the strength
anu CONSTITUTION OF a man of nfty-five
years. was in Lewiston Sunday and Nom
oay on his way from New York 10 Nova
Scotia He claims to be an old marine
diver. who has worked for years on the
bottom OF the ocean for an English con-
Germ called the Colonial Wr.cking Corn
parry. From England he went to India and
Helped ork up sunken steamer, In which
was half million In gold for the govern
ment Then the company sent him to Mex
ico' ana Tor ten years he worked In and
aicund Mexican waters
Inc narrowest escape l ever had" said
ne. was In the Indian ocean. We mad gone
DOWN 10 rip OF the copper work of a barge
ana as the ground around the sunken ship
was particularly smooth and whiie-sanSfy
we took n walk One hundred feet from
the side OF the vessel We foUrd an INNER Sc
oyster, the shells of which were over seven
feet high. Ii was open. and in the nabby
Iolds OF the flesh L saw a great pearl, or
rather what looked Like a pearl. 1t was
tss than two feet from the edge of the
smell. and L determined to seize IL NM
companion saw what was thinking of and
look mold OF my shoulder. But l had al
itdiy reached OUT my arm. he pulled me
beck 50 that my lead-covered arm struck
the edge of the grea: shell. Like a flash.
quicker than L ever saw a shark jump, the
shell closed. The arm escaped. but the end
of a heavy iron bar which L could not lift
cut OF water was caught in the shell and
nattened. We jumped back quick that
L fell over and lay at full length on the
ground. Ii 1 had reached my hand into
that horrid trap 1 doubt not that it would
have been taken off.
"A lot of Indian pearl divers were at
work about me one day when 1 suddenly
saw four of them fall fiat and lie upon
their backs on the sard. They wore moth
ing IN the way Of clothes and each had
only a bel with a great knife In IL. They
held their bresths over two minutes some
times. 1 thought it strange that they fell
down and remained quiet. and on looking
up L saw SHADOW between me and the
sun. Ii grew more distinct and / saw. to
my horror, a great shark lying ten feet
above my head. slowly tanning the water
with its great fins. Its belly was streak
of white of a creamy hue. and its mouth
was marked by the under roll of the lip.
Like the Others. l fell down fiat, though
more from fear than policy. Ii was the
first one 1 had seen. and it made me sick
of my task.
The creature left me ard swan with
great ease and grace to where the two In
dams lay upon their backs. 1t fell down in
a swoop and tried to scoop ole up from the
bottom and failed, and as ii came back L
saw one CT them, a stout, swarthy fellow,
whom l had greatly admired on shore. curl
over and draw his knife As the fish pass
ed over him the Indian rose with the knife
on his shoulder and lunged IL into the
breast of the fish. and then fell fat again.
The monster acted like hen with its head
cut of. 1t jumped and plunged about ana
in a very little while went or The In
dams had all risen 20 the top OF the wa
ter when they saw the stab, and in nervous
excitement / rose. too. As they took OF
my helmet l saw. few yards from the
bc at. the great shark lying on its side ana
squirting blood"
did you ever lid any rich treasure,
We asked
yes. much of it: but it belonged to the
company Once / did make a find that L
believed would prove to be something oil
interest could il be located AGAIN In
1859 a small coasting vessel went ashore
on a small rock nineteen miles west oil
Key West, and l went down to locate H.
The craft lay on its side in a round hol.
in sixty-eight feet of water, and had
fallen back from oyerhanging rock on
which it had struck. We could only work
three hours in the middle OF the day be-
cause IT was SO dark in the hole that we
had to have the sun right overhead. D
hadn't been down there half an hour be-
fore my companion came climbing over the
wreck and tugged me over the rail lie
pulled me of into the shadow and pointe's
at what looked like a great box thirty
feet square, but which proved to be the
stern of an old vessel The snakes were
CnmDlnS over IL ana u great piece OF coral
was attached to il. / think il was very old.
because the ancient canvas which hung
dismantled on its side was of make Older
than any 1 ever saw. We climbed upon its
deck and found many things that looked al
if the the vessel had sunk by accident for
some old boxes and stuff lay about.
knife was sticking into the stump of the
mast and hanging to II was a small sheet
iron box, very rusty and old. We pulled
ii of and carried IL out of the water. In
ii We found $50 worth of old gold coin OF
English and Dutch mints. We agreed to-
gether that We would keep quiet and re-
turn some time and make a haul of the
ancient wreck: but afterward, though
returned in small schooner, We could
never locate the spot OF course there
might not have been anything in the
wreck, but somehow 1 always felt thai
there was. 1t was the only old wreck that
L came upon accidentally in twenty years,
so you see treasure ships do not lie about
like rocks on the bottom of the sea for
divers to pick up