Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-04-26
WONDERS OF THE DEEP
Among the Most Grotesque
Of Living Creatures.
SOME CURIOUS FISHES
REASONS FOR THINKING THERE
REALLY ARE SEA SERPENTS.
Animals That Never Come to the Sur
face-Battles With the
Giant Squid.

Written for The Evening Star by Prof. Charles
The animals Of the deep sea which live
habitually in water Just above the freezing
point, in darkness that is profound are
among the most grotesQue and singular OF
| living beings. The fishes, so far as known,
| are of small size; but this does not prove
| that there are no large animals In the deep
| sea. The method Of taking deep-sea forms
precludes the capture of any except the
| small and very sluggish Ones which lie In
| the deep ooze, but the time will come when
| large dredge will be invented in which the
monsters Of the deep will be taken, as there
are few naturalists who have given the
subject any attention but believe that there
are in the greater depths some gigantic
animal which is occasionally seen by those
who go down to the sea in ships. The
many and oft-recurring stories Of the sea
serpent cannot all be visions, lines of birds
| or patches OF seaweed, but it is the con-
sensus of opinion among conservative nat
| uralists that there is some gigantic animal
in the deep sea yet unknown to science
which occasionally comes to the surface,
showing portions of its form to the amaze
ment of the mariner who may chance to be
in the vicinity.
AS to the nature Of these unknown ami
mails We have several suggestions Some
years ago fisherman the Georges
banks off the Maine coast or In that
vicinity, brought up a remarkable fish
twenty feet in length which was entire
ly new to him. Considering 1t mere in
cumbrance it was thrown overheard, but
the catch was reported and aroused great
interest among naturalists: much that
large sum was offered to the fishermen
to fish 1t up again. which they tried to do
without success. The fish was veritable
young sea serpent, and II such a fish at
tained the length Of fifty feet 1t would
we'll compare with the accounts Of sea
serpents which are reported so often. Since
this occurrence several eel-like sharks have
been taken; long serpentine-like creatures
that when large must be the sea serpents
Of the deep sea and have convinced OBJ
servers that the tales which have aroused
the credulity Of people are not without
foundation. and that this mysterious realm
conceals strange and gigantic forms which
only rarely rise to the surface.
The eel-lke sharks found are in some
instances luminous, emitting strange light
over the entire surfaces-the light-givers of
the deep sea.
The Ribbon Fish.
Another strange deniZen Of the deep is
the so-called ribbon fish. several specimens
of which the writer has seen on the shores
of Santa Catalina Island. This creature
is one of the most beautiful of all fishes. 1t
resembles a white or silver ribbon slashed
with black. A long fin extends its entire
length, and over the head forms a number
of plumes or pompons of vivid red. that in
large specimens might be easily taken for a
name waving to and fro. That this deli
cate ribbon fish attains large size is gen.
orally believed, as large specimens have
been captured. Some years ago a fisherman
was hauling a net on the coast of Scotland,
when 1t was found that some heavy weight
was holding the net back. Additional help
was obtained. and a dozen men finally |
hauled In monster fish. which was esti- |
mated to weigh 800 pounds. 1t was a gi- |
gantic ribbon fish. thirty feet or more in |
length, SO long and heavy that 1t required /
the efforts Of half dozen men to carry 1t |
along the deck. 1t was a veritable ser |
pent, and extending from its head were tall |
deep red or scarlet plume-like fins, which !
formed a sort of "mane" frequently de- |
scribed as being seen on the typical
serpent. If these fishes attain a length OF |
thirty feet there is no reason why they |
may not exceed this, and it is very possible |
that some Of the "sea serpents" which |
have been observed at various times were |
gigantic ribbon fishes. which came up from |
the deep sea and moved along with undu- |
lating motion at the surface. |
During the past year large specimen of |
this deep sea wonder washed ashore at |
Newport beach, California, where 1t was |
destroyed by a Mexican, ignorant of its |
value. The fish, which was twenty-five or |
thirty feet in length and estimated to weigh |
800 pounds was seen at first in the surf, |
presenting a remarkable appearance as its !,
silvery folds rolled over and over and |
flashed in the sunlight. The finder waded |
into the surf and with much difficulty |
hauled the struggling ribbon fish out upon |
the sands.
How deep the ribbon fish lives in the sea |
is unknown, but 1t is supposed to come up /
from the very great depths. where almost |
profound darkness reigns
A Hideous Creature.
One Of the most remarkable as well as
gigantic animals of the deep sea is the |
giant squid. favorite tidbit Of the sperm |
whale. The size to which these animals |
grow, their strength, their hideous appear
ance, places them par with many of |
the weird and grotesque creatures Of past |
age. The squid undoubtedly attains a |
length of nearly, II not over 100 feet, and |
pieces have been taken from the stomach |
of whales which suggested animals far be- 1
yond this in size.
No more hideous creature can be imag-
ined. The body is barrel shaped the tail /
saucers, black and white, hypnotic and 1
staring. The arms are attached to the /
head and are ten in number, from ten to /
twenty feet long in extremely large ami
mails, while two are from thirty to fifty
feet in length, depending upon the size Of |
vided with extraordinary suckers their en-
tire length. The two long arms have them /
only at the extremities, and they form vir-
tually pair of pincers, which are shot out /
thirty or more feet, like a flash OF light, to |
seize unsuspecting prey, which is then /
powerless to escape. The mouth is small,
but 1t is provided with two large parrot
like beaks. This weird creature weighing
tons, with a power Of changing it's color
like chameleon, and in some species lumi-