Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1906-02-07
HAS A BABY OCTOPUS.
Antonio Martinez Presents SDeci
men to National Museum.

| Antonio Martinez Presents Speci-,
men to National Museum
Antonio Martinez, a citizen If the
wide world" who divides his time De-
tween fighting bulls, riding wild horses
and happening whales, came to Wash
ingtOn a few days ago from Savan-
nah, Ga, to present to the National
Museum, through the fish commission,
what he denOminates a baby octopus.
which he took from the stomach of a
fish near Fort de France, Martinique.
says the Washington STAR Martinez
is soldier of fortune Of the true West
Indian type. He was born in Cuba
and took up the work of fighting bulls
for the satisfaction it gave him to over
come the brutes. For the same reason
he became an expert horseman and
combined his exhibitions of bull fight
ing with rough-riding work.
During the last Cuban war Of indie
pendence he was a soldier in the army
Of Maxine Gomez and was one Of the
Few Cubans that were of assistance to
the Americans on their landing in
Cuba. His real work in life, he saws.
has given exhibitions of his skill
civilized country, and in half of them
has given exhibitions OF his skill
against bulls and in breaking horses.
He is said to be an expert harpoonist,
and 1t was while serving in this ca
paclty, and as second mate on French
Whaler, that he captured the octopus
he is to present to the United States
government.
The deep sea monster is in the earli-
est stages of its development and
weighs but a pound and a half, posi-
bly, a fraction more. It is equipped,
however, with all the vicious tentacles
1t would have when fully grown. Ac-
cOrding to Martinez, who claims to
nave seen several, the octopus is
equipped with but two large arms or
tentacles and eight smaller ones.
The largest arms on the baby octo-
pus Martinez brought here are about
eight inches long and the shorter ones
but few inches less. The short arms
grow out from around it's mouth, the
mouth being the center of a circle,
the radius Of which would touch the
point Of each tentacle These tentacles
are equipped with teeth, such as the
crab has, and with suction cups. The
long tentacles are equipped with sue
ton cups only. With the long tenta-
cles the monster seizes its prey and
draws it into the radius of the shorter
arms, which crush it.
Martinez states that while cruising
about Martinique about the time Of the
eruption of Mont Pelee the whaleboat
IN which he was searching for whales
was seized by an octopus that weigh
ed three tons. The long arms of the
monster were fifty-two feet in length.
The whalebOat was crushed and it
was with difficulty that the men in
1t escaped. They were picked up by
passing steamer and returned to
their vessel, which was lying some
distance from the scene. Last summer
was the first time Martinez had a
chance to revisit the Martinique coast,
and he and his companions searched
for the big octopus that had caused
them trouble, but did not find it.
The octopus he brought here with
him he found in the stomach of a fish
that was caught during the cruise. He
brought it with him to Washington
and it was alive until two days ago,
when it died from lack of nourish,
ment.