The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1904-05-27


seek homes in other places writes the
Gaspe Basin Canada correspondent
Of the New York sun. Unless the Gov.
ernment lends its aid 10 the fishing
business the Dominion is In danger Of
losing one Of its important industries.
All classes OF the community are call.
ing for a system OF bounties upon both
seal and dogfsh, such as is paid for
the scalps Of wolves. II that were de
termined upon, fishermen would regu-
/ larly undertake the destruction Of these
/ pests Experiments made not long ago
! show that work would thus be afforded
/ TO the men in the depth Of winter at
/ time when there Is little else TO do.
Not far from the Anticosti coast long
/ lines Of stout rope were let down more
than 100 fathOms. These were fitted
/ with shark hooks and baited. Eyi-
IDENTIFY shark prOvcnder was scarce. for
/ the fish bit greediy and were easily
captured made helpless, perhaps by
the sudden change 10 the lower press
ure Of water near the surface.
Observers say that the dog fish or
mackcrel shark seeks the deepest water
available for his winter quarters per
haps for the sake Of warmth. It was
in these waters that Old Jacob LOngtin
received shock and an injury which
sent him away from the seaboard to
work in an inland town.
The old man had been one Of the
most adventurous souls along the coast.
He it was who. when acting as har-
pooncr in HudsOn's Bay was knocked
overheard by blow from whales
tail and dragged through the water be
cause q blight Of the fast line had
twisted around his ankle.
He Contriycd to get at his clasp
knife, open it and sever the line
Though much exhausted he managed
TO cling to the bucket TO which the line
had been attached until picked up by
the boats Of another ship. He insisted
upon setting his own broken leg and
made a good job Of 1t, too
According TO his own statement he
never lost his grip altogether until one
day when, as he was drifting i'm his
fishing boat past Anticosti he idly
threw an old bolt into what looked like
n mass Of well washed wreckagc. I'm
mcdiatcly there arose great hooked
bcak, "as big as water banker"
Longtin declared In an instant the
head was alongside the slowly moving
boat, and from the depths came two
long, pink arms twenty feet of them
with pad-like suckers on one side
These two fcelcrs COilcd themselves
about the boat and one OF them fast
encd on the mans bare arm. LOngtin
declares he thought his very life and
soul were being dragged out of him.
He was being pulled from his seat
when. his hand met the handle of his
axe. In n moment he struck at the
head. but the blow glanced from the
curved bill as from solid horn.
His next blow was at the great limb
which grasped him. and this he manned
seriously. The pain in the injured arm
increased tenfold. but another hack at
the snakelikc teutaClc severed it alto
gcthcr. and the monster sank beneath
the surface.
Asked If he noticed any discoloration
of the water, rs is usual when the cut
tlctish retreats, LOngtin invariably an
swcrs, Il tell you. everything was
black Just then. and all am sure of is
that my arm hurt as though the devil
had hold of it, and was as SeasiCk as
a baby"
The wound on his arm never healed
The doctors said it was rs though he
had been cuppcd, the marks of the
teeth with which each sucker is armed
being distinctly visible.