The Opelousas courier., 1900-01-27
HELD BY AN
The Story of a Terrible Situation.
BY

Finding I was likely to be kept il
Fydney for q considerable time,
bought third share in a large opel
sailing boat. The other shareholder
were her skipper and a gentleman
who only showed up for a sail ocoa
sionally on holidays. As for the skip
per and I, we fairly lived in her ant
spent nearly all our time knocking
about tho harbo", camping in on:
boat, and between fishing, shooting
etc. There was some shooting to b.
got in those days)s we had a good laz.
old time of it.
On entering Sydney Heads you SCI
. fine bluff headland facing you. Thi'
is Middle Head, and the water of thu
harbor proper. leading up to the city.
flows round its left-hand side; willis
round the other a fine wide branel
called Middle Harbor runs inland fol
many miles. Middle Harbor was then
an ideal oamping-grourd for boating
and fishing parties, and greatly at
fected by us. At the time OF the oc.
~currences I am going to relate We hal
been down there some days. a1i with
us was q lad some years Won AZ IL than
myself. We called him Chasiey; he
was a frst-rate boatmaa, a g cd fisher
man and a frequent member of or
crew.
The skipper had gone overland to
North Sydney on some business, and
Charley and I were by ourselves. Al
this time we had fad for catching the
common green rock cells; or rather for
coaxing them out of their holes with a
baited hook on the end of q stick. On
the morning in question, leaving the
yacht moored out in the stream, we
pulled ashore in the dinghy bent on
this rather silly sport. To make what
follows clear, I must explain that the
hills shutting in Middle Harbor are
mostly rather steep, aud come down
boldly into the water. Along the foot
Of them, however, there is, in many
places, a level fiat shelf of what I will
call sea rocks, only covered at high
water. The width of this shelf varies
greatly, and is in pla.es Uttered over
with boulders and stones, fallen from
the hill-sides. Just beyond where we
landed on this shelf is a high steep
point, round which the harbor turns;
and o little way on our side Of it there
had been, at some time or other, a
regular avalanche from above of great
rookie and large fat slabs OF sandstone,
which had piled themselves against
another in an almost systematic
manner.
AS Charley and T were passing
round the edge of this avalanche, T
noticed for the first time Though I
had often been that way before) an
opening between two of the rock slabs
facing the water. and Immediately
over q wide assure in the shelf. There
was plenty Of room to get through at
that stage Of the tide, which had just
turned for the flood, and so I decided
to have o look inside, while my mate
went on round the point I presently
found that the fssure ran into a cir
cular roek-hols some Is feet in diam
eter, rooted in by the overlapping
rock slabs. Round ii on one side was
6 narrow ledge, barely q foot wide, on
which these rocks rested, but from tie
way they slaRted over The water I
could only got along the ledge III q
very awkward fashion-at one time
going sideways with my back TO the
rocks and leaning forward 6yer tn
TOOL. After 81 ding along as far MS D
could get, ] saw there was no chancss
OF eel-fishing there, and was going
back wlea, unfortunately for me, I
stopped to admire the beauty OF the
I3ol. The wates was about four fealr
deer, ncagIy awash with the ledge, aid
pcrfeetly clear. Iii the middle q lalke
boulder, like a miniature island. rose
above the water, and all around it and
tho sites OF the pool thee wayedea
most lovely wealth Of seaweeds Of
laany cosors and shapes-corallines,
sea-anolnonos and other marine
gfbwihs. St was a regular little sea
garden. | Lay as well mention also
that 7 was barefoot and bare-leggei
up To the knees ut the time. AS T was
standing, admiring these marine beau
ties, with my right foot slightly over
the ledge, Isuddenly felt something
ltAe d strip Of wet fabby green hide
ZAP round my tight ankle, and looking
down, you may imagine my thrill Of
horror when I saw that il was the
teutasle ofsan octopus, the creature 10
which it belonged being underneath
the ledge, here undermined by the
water, anl theref ,re just out Of sight.
- the fright itsaye ne I dropped nv
eel-sicn LTD TO Matc aud was ia
tho act of stopping to try ana recover
i, when Suddenly thought of what
ono ofthc lalLlain watermen had told
only a few Gays before. He had
been ont Mt low water one morning
bait, aid shaD lying down fiat
ssme 10 ks With Lis Lsal over The
water, pss:ls ABOUT With a sort Of
haTI oes esslcd Il mutton stick. and
seayOhlEg for as.ar-Eslr lao knew to be
taors, The ergttliro had whipped
t~satao.e asLaa his lie 4, AMI the only
saF ee casssl SUI Iosso was fo roll
Ger into Ia Nase, viii b was only M
a fk'necs ae tlsets getting i Arm