The age-herald., 1897-10-03
IN GENERAL.

There is a monster in the North At- lantic waters which would well nigh depopulate of summer residents any seaside resort If 1t should turn up oil short. It is not seml-mythical, like the sea serpent, but a marine creature well known to science. At the same time, 1t has been known at all only recently, which seems strange in view of the fact that it is the largest animal In existence, having a length, when full grown, of not less than 150 feet Such is the calamary, or giant squld "a monster so enormous and so n- credibly ferocious that the scientihc' 1 date respecting it might well furnish ing material for child-haunting nur- sery tale. without any addition from the imagination. It has remained, un- til recently, almost unknown, by rea- son of its habit of dwelling in the deep CT seas. Thus the stories told about it have been received with incredul-i ity. But now and then a specimen of this strange>and fearful genus does ap-' proach the land. An instance occur red on October 26, 1873, when two fish, ermen were out in small boat near the east of Belle Isle, in Conception Bay, Newfoundland.
 They saw a strange object floating, on the water, and struck it with a, gaff. Instantly the animal-for such it was-shot out two immense arms over the boat, trying to seize it's as- sailants. One of the men, Theophilus Picot, cut off both arms with an axe, whereupon the creature moved off rap idly, darkening the water as 1t went,
 with an inky fluid. A piece of tentacle' | severed by the axe was obtained from
 the fishermen and presented to Yale l College, where it is now preserved. It
 is seventeen feet long and one foot in l diameter. From careful estimates it Is l judged that the calamary to which it
 belonged must have a body ten feet long, with tentacles thirty-t two feet in l length.
 | A giant squid of almost equal size was stranded on the north shore of 1 Trinity Bay, Newfoundland. The
 United States National Museum se-
 cured cast of 1t in papier mache,
 which now hangs from the roof of that
 institution, in Washington. Carefully painted it looks just as the animal
 did in life. Of course it was but
 baby, It's total length being only sixty
 feet, including the tentacles. The
 huge greenish eyes, each a foot in
 diameter had to be made expressly for
 the paper pulp monster. The giant
 calamary has eyes larger by far than
 any other existing animal They are bigger, than the largest dinner plates,
 and are doubtless intended for seeing
 in the depths where light is scanty.
 Figure to yourself pulpy animal
 weighing about tons, with body
 length of 50 feet. Provide it with
 eight tentacles, 30 feet long, which are
 used for carrying prey to the mouth.
 Furnish it with two additional tenta-
 cles 100 feet in length for purposes of
 attack. Don't forget the greenish eyes
 bigger than dinner plates. Give the, creature gigantic siphon, with which
 1t propels itself backward by expelling
 water from its body. Furnish it with,
 a bag full of inky fluid, by means of which it is enabled to darken the wa
 ter when frightened. Add a diabolicall l disposition and an inclination to att
 tack human beings on sight, and you have fair description of the dreaded
 giant squid.-R. Bache in Boston Tran
 script.