The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1918-05-16

could recognize the familiar outlines
of the Samoa and we gave a hearty
cheer, for we felt that our troubles
were nearing an end.
The crew of the Samoa soon diS'
covered US and gave us a reassuriDs1
answer. In few minutes the yacht
was alongside and offered to take US
on board. But the presence Of my
men on the yacht, with food and water
in plenty, seemed to invigorate us and
boost our waning courage. One and
all we declined to abandon our life
boat, for we We're now determined to
see the matter through to the end
Il tell you what, nothing ever
tasted so good before nor since as that
breakfast the men aboard the yacht
had ready for US. For we were we'll
| nigh famished, and you can imagine
how we felt, not having had wink
Of sleep all night and our nerves not
let-up from excitement for twenty-forw
hours.
| I'VE took aboard the lifeboat an am
| pie supply of provisions and fresh
water and then started in on the next
phase of our great adventure. BY tnis
| time we had been able to see enough
| OF the strange creature to make out
| that it was not a shark of any known
| species, nor could it be classed as a
whale, for all whales have horizontal
1 fluke tail, while the tail of this mon
! ster was vertical like all fishes. Its
head was like neither whales nor a
sharks. What it was we could not
| guess-that is, we made all sorts of
wild guesses, but nobody had ever seen
anything at all like this creature. We
were thprpfnpn
kill 1t and bring it to land
Il took advantage OF his resting
spell to drive another harpoon into the
creatures hide. He answered by d
mighty convulsive leap that took his
body half out of the water and.
thrashing the water to foam, he
dashed off at full speed towards the
north, the Samoa following at her best
clip.
Il feared we were in for another
day of this nerve-racking chase, if you
can call it chase to be lowed by such
a monster over miles and miles of
ocean with hardly any let-up. And
after several hours of this exciting
though somewhat monotonous exercise,
during which the creature exhibited a
remarkable fund of vitality. land
doomed up in the northwest winch
later turned out to be the outlying
Florida Keys.
The big fish lowed us straight by
Knights lighthouse and into Knights
Key channel, where the last phase of
this most extraordinary struggle took
place.
in some unexplainable manner
news of what was going en- had got
abroad and the shore was lined with
scores of persons who had assembled
to see the sport.
with laudable desire to help, three
men put off from shore in a thirty
foot launch and came alongside to
render what assistance they could
The creature was lying like a llreless
hulk in the water. and they: succeeded
in throwing a lille iron into its TAIL
knocks Small Boat Into a Thousand
Pieces.
Instantly the monster came to life
with renewed energy and soon Their
was the very devil to pay. With
desperate lunge and vicious slap OF
its mighty tail the creature knocked
the boat completely out of the water
and smashed t into a thousand pieces.
The men went into the water in. every
direction, but fortunately were fished
out unhurt.
we thought this was his expiring
effort, for he ceased to struggle or
show any further signs of life. The
Samoa was then warped alongside and
the huge carcass was lashed to the
side of the yacht. The creature again
showed signs of reviving, and to make
an end of its sufferings, the crew
aboard the Samoa poured a volley of
bullets into its head.
This attack only served to madden
the creature more than ever, for with
mighty wrench it tore itself loose
from the lashiDgs that held it to the
yacht and away it went, making for
the open sea and towing our boat with
me and my companions of the chase
in it.
1T surely began to look as IL we
We're in for another night of terror at
sea. But the five harpoons that had
been driven into the creatures vitals
and the more than one hundred bull
lets that had been fired into its head
began to tell on it,
This huge. ungainly animal, with
its mastodonic strength was slowly
but surely succumbing to the superio
prowess of man. At last the creature
seemed to give up. He ceased to strug-
gle and lay an inert mass floating in
the water.
THE Samoa was again brought
alongside the apparently lifeless hulk
and for the second time the creature
was dashed to the side of the yacht
But in maneuvering the vessel it
struck the fish a sudden and violent
blow.