Evening journal., 1899-11-24
AFTER SEA SPIDERS
FISHING FOR UNcANNY cREATuREs
IN ALASKA WATERS.
Good Sport for Those Who Desire .
Dash Of Excitement-Great Sea
Animals That Spread Nearly Twen.
ty-five Feet From Tip to Tip.


ty-five Feet From Tip TO Tip.
IF anyone desires a dash Of excite
ment l can recommend the fishing oi
Alaska" said q returned klondiker "a
a Chicago Inter Ocean reporter. j
had been fishing above Sitka when one
day / found myself near a camp OF In.
dians. As had some game, l divided
with them, and forthwith was invited
to a feast of their own providing. We
sat around big wooden dish, in which
was something that looked like frogs
legs, but frogs so gigantic that / knew
it was something else. IL required
some courage to eat this dish, but hun
ger gives a man stamina of a certain
kind, so l shut my eyes and began the
feast The article was not so bad as II
appeared. It tasted like crab, and
some of it had the consistence Of the
rubber rings which babies chew on.
Altogether it was not to be despised,
combining food with exercise.
1T was sea spider, 80 the natives told
me, a member OF the cuttlefish family.
AS they we're going out on the follow
ing morning to fish for more / persuad-
ed them to take me with them. We
dropped anchor in the lee OF a little
point of rocks. where we began fish
ing. 1t is a famous country for fish.
and it was nothing but pull in for the
natives, while did not have a bite.
MY time was coming, however, l
had on a heavy sinker, so that every
time the boat lifted felt a sharp jerk
which deceived me. But once, when
the boat rose on a big wave, my line
did not give, and / shouted to the In
dian next to me that was foul. He took
/ the line, gave a tremendous jerk, and
received one in return; then, bracing
/ himself back, he began to pull and
scream; then all hands screamed. and
l understood that a sea spider had the
line and also the bottom. | expected
every minute to see the canoe go over,
as the men went from side to side, now
forcing the rail down so that the water
poured in, now lifting with a mighty
yell, then Stacking off so suddenly that
they fell in a heap.
"One man armed himself with a
knife, while a companion held a short
! handled caseknife between his teeth
movements suggestive Of the coming
i OF an enemy. Suddenly one of the
crew seized a sharp boathOok, which,
after another look, he jabbed into the
q long, slender tentacle shot into the
air and formed a weird interrogation
point. then it grasped the pike; then
three more appeared, creeping insid-
iously over the edge of the canoe, at
which the natives struck wildly, some
shouting to slack the line. others q
haul in.
In the midst OF the confusion the
sea spider concluded to come aboard
Torn from the bottom. it had come uI
easily; then. seeing the canoe. and pos
sibly thinking it a vantage ground, II
grasped II and slid over the side, {
mass of living, Shiny reddish brown
snakes. When they were raised
could see rows of suckers, each o
( which was a veritable airpump, and a
there were seemingly thousands o
. them. the sucking power Of this spide
, of the sea was apparent. Blows wer
aimed at it whenever opportunity OF
fered but the weird animal fairly slil
over the rail, winding one Of its arm
/, around an oar. It's head or body hum
. on the rail-a brown mass the size OF (
mans head-from which cleaned twl
greenish-yellow eyes. The strang
= animal changed color like chame
leon; fiushes Of red, brown and gra.
followed one another over it, whil
= from its lower portion oozed a strean
Of ink which splashed our faces as tn
tentacles flew about 1t was 10 min
9 utes before they had the life ham
p mered out of the frightful creature, an
then it was a question who had won.
:. 1.-THE canoe was now half full o
water, as a hole had been knocked j
{ the side, which was finally stoppe
!, with a piece Of skin. 1t was five mile
> to camp, but preferred walking, an
>, had the men put me ashore. l got I
e the camp in time to meet them and sc
Il the sea spider taken out. It had
e spread of nearly 25 feet, measurin
y from the tip Of the outspread tenta
u cles."