The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1918-05-19

crows ana other sinister DlfuS OF prey,
drawn there by the all-penetrating
odor of the animal. swirled around
overhead in clouds that almost darken-
ed the sky.
AT first we paid little attention to
their presence, as they did not bother
us, but as their numbers increased by
new and more voracious arrivals from
every point of the compass, the eager
birds became holder. swooping down
by hundreds and, alighting on the car
cass, proceeded to dispute with US for
its possession.
Men Work Like TrOjans.
"The avidity to get at the feast was
so great we actually had to beat them
off with sticks in order to go on with
our work unlmpeded by their activities.
They did not in the least mind the
strong dsinfectants we used but tried
to tear pieces of flesh from the mass
by beak and claw.
Nobody could keep at such an I'M
pleasant job for long at time, and we
We're obliged to work in relays. One
would endure it as long as possible,
then you would see him drop his tools
and run off as far to windward as Ii
was possible to go and there drown
down on the sand to rest and breathe a
little fresh, invigorating air.
I'VE had to construct a big wooden
tank, capable of holding hundreds of
gallons of chemicals, in which the car
eass was placed and where it remained
for several days. Accurate. measure
ments OF the carcass were made and a
framework OF wood and steel construct
ed which was covered with a coating of
plaster, so as to make an exact replica
nf tha inside of
1t lay on the beach Twelve hun
dred feet OF lumber. LOO pounds of
stell bars, rods and bolts. and barrel
after barrel of plaster We're used to
fill the enormous cavity after the inter-
nal organs were removed.
The huge mass OF flesh was now dis
sected so that the material organs and
the anatomy of the creature might be
studied, on cutting open the stomach
we were astOnished to find it contain
ing the perfect body OF a huge octo-
pus that weighed 1900 pounds. From
its condition Ii was evident that the
octopus had been taken alive at one
gulp and had remained alive for sew
eral days after it had been swallowed
Figures Are Astounding.
After the carcass had been thor
oughly impregnated with the chemical
personalities il was taken out OF the
immense vat and preparations were
made to mount 1t in its natural life
like form and color. The carcass was
so heavy ard cumbersome that we
found 1t extremely difficult to manipu-
late and large force of men were re-
CURED to handle it,
When spread out on the ground the
carcass measured forty-ffve feet long
by nearly twenty-five feet in circum-
ference and the hide was found to be
three inches thick. If its enormous
hide could have been tanned into. pill
able leather and split up into quarter
inch thicknesses 1t would have furnish
ed enough material to make t,2O0I
leather suitcases, or 200 pairs oil
shoes. Cut into inch strips and laid
end TO end 1t would have extended |
twenty-four miles, and these strips /
could have been made up into 43,200i
mems leather belts, each thirty-six
inches long.
IF all the material in this immense
hide had been cut up into shoestrings
of one-eighth inch diameter they would
have reached. end to end, distance OF
392 miles-from one end of Florida to /
the other These are tail figures. but
just take your pencil and work 1t out
yourself and see.
Well, TO resume, after a good deal
OF pulling and hauling we finally got
the monster in shape to put on the
touches The holes made by
the harpoons and bullets were skill
fully patched. artificial eyes fixed in
place and other details carefully
dressed up. Then the skin which had
been somewhat bleached by the chemi-
Gals in which 1t had lain, was re-
stored 10 its original color by a secret
process known only TO the taxider-
mist After six months of uninter-
rupted, paintaking work, the Job was
finally completed and at a total cost