Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1916-11-22

OAc QUeSLlOu EeludlUeu TO ask
Of Captain Memo.
And our arms" asked -FOUR
guns?"
Guns! What for? Do not noun
taineers attack the bear with dagger
In their hand. and is not steel surer
than lead? Here is a strong blade
Put it in your belt and We start"
| looked at my companions. They
were armed like US. and. more than
that, Ned Land was brandishing an
enormous harpoon, which he had plac-
ed in the boat before leaving the Nau-
titus.
Then, following the captains exam
pie, l allowed myself to be dressed in
the heavy copper helmet, and our res
ervolrs OF air were ut once in activity.
An instant after we We're landed, one
after the other. in about two feet Of
water upon an even sand. Captain
Memo made sign with his hand, and
we followed him by a gentle declivity
till we disappeared under the waves.
Over our feet, like coveys Of snipe In
Il bog. rose shoals Of fish of the genus
uAOIOplCAd, uNu udSc w Olucr uIlS
but their tail. recognized the Jaw
anese. real serpent two and half
feet long. Of livid color underneath
and which might easily lie mistaken for
Il conger eel if 1t was not for the golden
.tripes on its sides. In the genus
'tromateus. whose bodies are very fiat
and oval, saw some Of the most bril-
liant colors. carrying their dorsal fin
like scythe; an excellent eating fish.
which, dried and picked, is known by
the name Of karawade: then some
tranquebars, belonging to the genus
apsiphoroides. whose body is covered
with shell cuirass Of eight longitude
nal plates.
The heightening sun lit the mass of
waters more and more. The soil chang
ed by degrees. To the fine sand suc-
ceeded perfect causeway of powders
covered with a carpet Of mollusks and
zoophytes. Among the specimens Of
these branches ! noticed some place
nae. with thin. unequal shells, q kind
Of distraction peculiar to the Rel sea
and the Indian ocean; some orange lu-
cinae with rounded shells, rock fish
three feet and half long. which rails
ed themselves under the waves like
hands ready to seize one. There were
also some panopyres. slightly luminous,
and, lastly, some oculines, like mag
nifcent fans, forming one Of the rich.
est negotiations Of these seas.
In the midst of these living plants
and under the arbors Of the hydro
phytes were layers Of clumsy articu-
lates, particularly some raninae. whose
carapace formed a slightly rounded
triangle. and some horrible looking
parthenopes.
selves at last surveying the oyster
banks, on which the pearl oysters are
reproduced by millions.
Captain Memo pointed with his hand
to the enormous heap of oysters. and
l could Well understand that this mine
was 1nexhaustible. for natures crea.
tive power Is far beyond mans In.
stinct of destruction. Ned Land. faith.
full to his instinct, fastened to fill a
net which be carried by his side with
some of the finest specimens. But we
could not stop. We must follow the
captain. who seemed to guide himself
by paths known only to himself The
ground was sensibly rising, and some.
times. on holding up my arm. 1t was
above the surface of the sea. Then
the level of the bank would sink ca
priciously, Often we rounded high
rocks scarped into pyramids. In their
dark fractures huge crustacea. perch
ed upon their high claws like some
war machine, watched us with fixed
eyes, and under our feet crawled va.
rious kinds Of annelides.
At this moment there opened before
us large grotto, dug in picturesque
heap of rocks and carpeted with all the
thick warp of the submarine fora. At