The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1920-08-30

be the largest fish known n history
he world viii be on exhibition IN,
ifARi, anchored ct city wharf. levee
i > 4. N. 70 10 n n. 1t II % big, h
lty Jonahs without suffering the
before Il suocumbed to the effects
4 sized bullets In . battle which,
lcts wero % fierce that . black fish
d Of coral only served It - an ap.
rue enc, and Is vouched for In every
rites.
sharks. the slit-like mouth under
meath the head, making the animal
turn on its side in order to seize
its prey. are missing.
Huge Fish Ony Baby.
On the contrary, the mouth Of the
Deep Sea Mystery is an enormous
cavity. 30 inches wide and 81 inches
deep, situated right at the end-of
the snout, and resembles that Of .
monstrous catfish more than any
thing else. Inside the mouth is a
tongue 40 inches long, and a. gullet
large enough to swallow q giant
octopus weighing 400 pounds.
The Deep Sea Mystery captured
by Captain Thompson exhibit 9TH
er characteristics Of true fish that
are as A. B C to the scientific in
vestigator. There are no ribs and
in place Of a backbone its spinal
column consisted of cartilagenous
vertebrae, some of which were 1871
inches wide, and showing signs Of
cssification. This was proof be-
yond dohbt that the creature was
still undeveloped--it was a baby in
fact.
Naturalists say that a full grown
specimen Of the kind would not be
less than two and half times as
large as the baby captured by Cap
tain Thompson. Had this creature
lived out its allotted span, then it
must have attained the stupendous
proportions Of lis feet in length
and 20 to Is feet broad.
Baby though it was, 1t had assur-
eddy cut its teeth, for its Jaws we're
lined with innumerable tiny teeth
that nobody has taken the trouble
to count They are set with an
inward slant, so as to prevent the
escape of any prey seized by the
creature in looking for food, and
Jonah would have had small
chance to escape had he fallen in
its way.
The huge mouth Of such a mon
ster as the Deep Sea Mystery
would not appear to invite repose.
but as a matter OF fact two men
actually did sit side by side in the
creatures mouth without crowding
each other.
The tail Of the Deep Sea Mystery
measures 10 feet from tip to tip,
the pectoral fin is five feet long and
three feet wide, while the dorsal fin
is three feet long and two feet nine
inches wide. With this huge, mus
cular tail as motive power the
creature was able to hurl itself
through the water for hours with
almost the speed Of an express
train, and dragging Captain
Thompson's boat behind it and not
even the swiftest motor boat could
have kept pace with it,
Came from Great Depth.
Capt. Thompson drove as many
as five harpoons in the creature
and how he and his companions
were towed in a small lifeboat for
two days and a night over the
trackless main is another story and
will be related in a subsequent ar
ticle in the captains own words.
It was undoubtedly the most
thrilling adventure that ever be-
fell mariner or sportsman outside
the pages Of fiction, and one must
read Victor Hugo's The Toilers Of
the Sea-" which is a great story,
purely imaginary romance, to find
anything approximating the cap
tain's nerve-racking experience.
The eyes of the Deep Sea Mystery
are unusually small for so huge an
animal as this, and with other char
acteristics displayed by the crea-
lures viscera indicate that it in
habited the absmal depth of the
ocean, where little If any sunlight
penetrates and eyes are of little use
This may be true, for were it q
surface dweller undoubtedly some
mature specimens must long. since
have been discovered disportins
themselves In these waters by some
OF the thousands of mariners who
have constantly traversed These
seas during the past 400 years.
Since no one has ever made any
such momentous discovery, the
question naturally arises: How
came this creature to be swimming
in the shallow waters where Cap
tain Thompson. by the meres
chance. discovered it?
Science answers that it mus
have been thrown to the surfact
| by some unusual submarine dis
turbance such as a volcano erup
ton might bring about. Relieved
OF the enormous pressure, exertet
by the water at the greath dept
which it inhabited, its body be
came distended with air ahd gases
Its diving apparatus was ruptured
and the animal was unable to dive
During the many hours Of its fran
tic struggle to escape is pursuer i
never once attempted to dive, bu
kept to the surface until 1t becam,
exhausted and was finally slain.
Thousands View Monster.
The skin is three 1ncheS thick
scaleslesa and 50 tough that tn,
many bullets fired at 1t hardly pen
etrated It at all. The liver alon,
t 81