The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-06-30

er deVilfish, and a much larger one than
the first. He further found that the
creature had taken the boat for its enc
my, and was attacking 1t with all its
force, it's tentacles embracing the stern
ON the one hand, and running forward
to near the middle section on the other.
On thinking over his recent troubles
with its neighbor, and the waste of
time likely to ensue in a still longer en-
counter with a stronger brute. he deci-
ded not to risk another fight, but to use
the advantage of its violent onslaught
on the boat. Taking his knife and
watching his opportunity, he finally cut
the hook out of the intruder, which, on
being liberated, soon dropped out or
sight.
The next day L verified most of Mr..
Kelly's statements. The arms of the
dead octopus in the boat stretched over
seven feet and on the back of Mr.. KEEL
ly's hand was a very black round
bruise about half an inch in diameter
corresponding with the inner circle OF
one of the largest suckers of the dead
octopus. Since then he has caught sew
eral of these cuttles, and one whose
arms stretched over six feet and hall.
In our waters none of these head-footed
mollusks have been known to take hui
man life, but it is scarcely questionable,
if favorable opportunities presented
themselves, that they would do so. In
1897 one of the attendants of the Scar
borough Aquarium was attacked by
only small octopus when cleaning out
tank. The experience might have
ended fatally had he been in the sea
with flood tide. AS it was he had to
make his exit, leaving his boot (by
which the creature held him fast) be-
hind him. But there have been occa-
sions in other seas when the worst has
happened, and men have been caught In
the Shiny folds of gigantic cuttles.
which have held them on or dragged
them to destruction. Sir Grenville Tenn
pie tells us how a Sandman captain,
while bathing at Jerbeh, was seized and
drowned by an octopus, his limbs being
found bound by the arms of the animal,
although only in four feet of water
while Captain J. M Dens, a French
navigator of repute, states that when
off the coasts of Africa three of his men
were scraping the sides of his ship on a
fine day when they were attacked by
one of these violent creatures, which
drew two of them away under water in
spite of every effort made to save them,
while the third, who was rescued died
during the night. In the fight one of
the creatures arms was cut off, twenty
five feet in length, and with suckers on
it as large as pot lids.
Should there still remain a particle
of doubt in any mind respecting the eX-
istence of gigantic cuttles, this will be
dispelled by the following fact recorded
by the Rev. NJ Harvey of st. Johns,
n F.: On October 26, 1873, two fisher
men We're out in a boat near the eastern
end of Conception Bay. Observing a
floating object on the water they rowed
toward it and struck it, on which it i'm
mediately shot out two vast tentacles
around the boat, as if wrestling with an
antagonist. Fortunately, they had a
Ratchet on board with which they cut
them from the creature, which. after
blaekening the sea with its ink, soon
made off. One of these magnificent
fragments was measured by Alexander
Murray, geologist, and Professor Yer
rill, of Yale college, Connecticut, who
found it to be seventeen feet long and
three and half feet in circumference.
This fragment is now preserved in st.
Johns college,, Newfoundland Since
then scientists have further considered
the subject, and concluded that this
beast with it's tentacles could not have
been less than forty-four feet long.
Reverting to the British octopus, I
may further state that it's mimicry is
very great The coors it uses run
through deep chocolate dull red, brown
and gray, and it has the power of so
arranging these hues that in the shade
and cover of the dark rocks it is almost
unseen by any eye, which facilitates its
easily worrying a stranger, bouncing
upon it's food or hiding from it's enc
mics Its change from one color to an
other is almost instantaneous, and the
body can be notified with the whole of
these tints just as quickly.
| once saw tank cut In the rocks on
the open coast near low water and COW
cred with many folds Of iron netting, in
which were kept twenty of these cut
ties Around the sides and bottom grew
the dark olive laminarian seaWeeds and
on the rocks under them chung a stunt
ed reddish brown flexible coral; this
they always rested on and imita ted, and
were always of a reddish brown hue
They lived in seeming harmony, and
when violent storm broke in the cover
they did not care to leave it. but re-
NAMED there for some weeks after
Their walking power Is also considera-
BILE. and on the sea bottom no doubt
they often approach the object of their
attack in this manner accommodating
themselves to the various colors sur
rounding them as they near the quarry.
Review.