The Cooperstown courier. (Cooperstown, Griggs Co., N.D.) 1902-1913, 1905-06-08

Squat and muddy, with obliQue eye
and thick. fieshy fms looking hideols
" like human hands, the thing thai
! seemed to be looking up at me was a.
ugly thing as swims in the sea.
recognized 1t ct once, for it is a common
creature all along our Atlantic coasts
though the people of one section would
not recognize it from the name given
to 1t by the people of any other sec.
ton, because it has more different
names than perhaps any other fish
along shore. Sea toad is one of its
common names, and to my mind the
most descriptive, for the nightmare
creature looks more like huge toad
squatting swollen and disgusting in its
cave, than like anything else.
Fishing frog and angler fish are two
other common names. These come
from its habit of sitting with Its
mighty jaws wide agape and letting
all its weed-like fringes wave around
it till small fish is deceived into
swimming quite within the open
mouth, when it shuts down with q
snap.
Those mighty jaws had me good and
fast; and the fish, as is it's habit, had
wriggled itself into crevice in the
rocks, where it was now wedged tight
ly by means of it's thick fins and flip
per-like tail.
Knowing its habits as did, l knew
at once what had happened to me. The
sea toad had been hiding in the crew.
ice with those cavernous jaws open,
fishing for deluded sea things. When
my arm came cropping, it went straight
into the big mouth, which was large
enough to take in my whole head. had
I thrust that down. Voracious beyond
description, the sea toad, without wait
ing to investigate, closed it's mouth
on my arm. The sharp teeth, set like
needles and pointing upward, had
caught the coarse wooden fabric of my
shirt, and I knew the character of
those teeth too we'll to hope that l
could tear myself loose.
Had it not been for my position,
would not have been much worried, for
the glimpse that had obtained told
me that the creature could not weigh
more than 40 pounds or so, and by s,x-
erting my strength could no doubt
have hauled it out of its hole. But
as you know, lay in position that
made me helpless. Indeed, it was get
ting more and more difficult for me
every moment to hold my face away
from the water. My first emotion had
been to seize what I could of the in
side of the things throat, and try to
tear it out, but my judgment told me
that all would achieve by this would
be to make the fish wedge itself still
more tightly. and even if could have
killed it, l could not get free.
knew perfectly we'll that by this time
the sea toad was as anxious to let me
go as was that it should. But we
were both fast together.
At last my face dipped into the wa
ter. lifted it again, but my strength
was going. Again it dipped beneath
the surface. and again lifted it, but
only after an exhausting strain.
Suddenly all my muscles gave way.
My face went down. There was a
rushing in my ears, a laundering
as of waterfalls, and them fell into
sweet sleep.
Almost instantly I seemed to wake
and opened my eyes. only to see the
heavens reel crafty back and forth.
There were red flashes all around me. My
head ached as if it were splitting.
heard a far-off voice saying: THAT
was close call for him."
My senses began to clear. and 1
opened my eyes again to see an old
friend, one of the government life
savers, leaning over me. ~
"Well, you were pretty near =
goner," said he. ''And it was .
tug, too, to git ye out. And l nearly
dropped We back into the sea when I
saw what was on the end Of your
arm"
He pointed to his feet, and there lay
the sea toad. still kicking feebly, and
part of my shirt sleeve still tangled
in it's mighty mouth.
That wide-open mouth still gapes
from my library wall, as write this
to remind me of my highest squeak"
-Percival Hardy, in Washington Star.