The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1914-05-28
A $4,000 POUND FISH.
Could Swallow Twenty J0nahs Figur-
Ing the Ancient Prophet at About
$50 Pounds.

This is the biggest fish story ever
told. And its redeeming feature is that
1t is absolutely true. Don't smile
Don't scoff. Don't be Doubling
Thomas, for in this instance the evil
dence is prima facie.
This big fish didn't get away. II
was. caught, or rather captured, for
it was too big and too boisterOus to
be hooked by the biggest hook ever
cast; so big, in fact, that not even
one of the enormous steam shovels
used in dredging for the Panama Ca
nal could have scooped it up. This
fish, dead and done for after a mighty
struggle of man against monster, is
visible to the naked eye. In a little
while you can see its mounted skin
and skeleton by visiting the Smith
sonian Institute at Washington, if ii
accepts the offer made to it.
Well, few dimensional figures will
serve to clinch the visual evidence.
This big fish that didn't get away
weighs Is tons, or 10000 pounds. Its
length is As feet, eight times the
length of an average man. It's cir
conference at the thickest part is %
feet inches. The diameter is 8 feet
inches, SO that a full-grown man
might stand upright inside its belly.
Jonah-we'll get to Jonah a little
later, when telling what the preach
ers say about this fish.
The mouth of this monster is rs
inches, or more than three feet wide
and AZ inches deep. When open, the
ponderous jaws stand 81 inches apart.
The tongue is 40 inches long. The
fish has several thousand teeth-too
many to count.
It is a rather large bull that weighs
LOO pounds, yet the liver of this
fish weighs that much-nearly ton.
The spread of its tail, which looks
like the caudel appendage of a mono
i DIdllt, ID ~ lGCL HUH UP W up ilN
pectoral fin is feet long and feet
wide The dorsal fin is 8 feet long
and 2 feet 9 inches wide. The gills
are feet long. The hide of the fish
is inches thick and there are no
scales.
Whew! Almost makes one tired to
try to conceive of fish of such di-
mansions, but those are exact meas
urements of the fish that is in evil
dence. The Smithsonian Institution,
which is scientifically eXacting, has
accepted this fish as the ambitious
youth from the country accepts" a
job in the city-by going after it with
enthusiasm. AS soon as the Smith
sonan authorities heard of the exis-
tence of this piscatorial phenomenon
they went after it, because it is a spe-
cies heretofore unknown. 1t is q
mystery monster of the deep sea
The ashland let it be borne in
mind that it is a true fish, and not
mammal of the whale or pOrpose
variety-was captured off the coast of
Florida. Scientists believe that it is
an inhabtant of the far-down depths
of the sea, more than 1900 feet be-
low the surface, and that it was
thrown up by some subterranean vol
canic disturbance which injured its
diving apparatus so that it was I'M
able to return to its native levels of
brine The smallness of its eyes,
which are mere pin-points in relation
to its size, are evidence of its deep
sea habitat In those depths the
darkness is such that eyesight is not
useful The thick hide of the fish, its
toughness and stiffness, also tend
toward establishing its deep-sea origin
for such an exterior is required at
those depths to withstand the tremen-
dous water pressure.
Captain Charles II. Thompson, a
veteran sportsman of Miami, Fla, is
entitled to the credit of capturing this
great fish. Ut was great fish" moi
a whale, that swallowed Jonah, by the
way) Captain Thompson owns
Yacht in which he was cruising for
tarpon. He was off Knights Key
when he sighted a huge bulk that
| looked something like a whale. How
ever. whales never are found so far
south. Captain Thompson surveyed
the bulk which proved to be alive and
in notion through his glasses. Hardy
sailors in his employ studied the mon
ster.
whatever it is" said Thompson,
well go after it,"
A lifeboat was manned. Captain
Thompson accompanied the crew and
the mysterious discovery was pur-
sued 1t disappeared, but arose to the
surface A harpoon was shot deep
into its side.
Then began the fun, as game fish
ers might describe it, but this was
more Of fight than frolic to en-
ploy the deep-sea diving powers which
apparently it had lost, proved to be
a speed artist on the surface. At