Year: 1875

A Victim the Schiller Disaster Found In


the Clutches ofa Sub Marine Monster.


A Plymouth EnglandD correspondent
writes: Mr.. Franz Hauser, whose body
was buried few days ago at Penzance,
near Lands End, was a native of Lux
embourg. His mother and two sisters
were on the Schiller, intending visit
to their old home, while he remained in
Iowa. Upon the news of the wreck of
the vessel he became SO deeply affected
that he fell into a raging fever. When
he became convalescent he made in
quiries whether the bodies of his rela-
hons had been found. He obteined no
satisfactory information in the States,
and at last resolved to make a personal
effort on the spot. He came across the
ocean, and at once went to Penzance,
that neither of the three corpses
had been recovered. Thereupon he
employed two experienced divers, pur-
chased complete diving armor, and
submitted to course of training under
the instructions of the two men he had
employed. AS soon as able to move
about under the water and accustomed
to the heavy suit he determined to de-
scend into the sea where the Schiller had
gone down and search for his mother
and sisters. Several descents were with
out success though the remains of the
vessel were seen, yet no body could be
observed. But one day as the three
men were silently moving about among
sharp-pointed crags and reefs and being
considerable distance away from the
wreck itself, Franz Hauser was startled
by the sight of what appeared as the
head of female form. 1t seemed to
hang from the top of reef some ten
feet high. He directed the attention of
the others by pointing toward it. Slowly
the three stepped forward in the direc-
ton of the reef. Nearing the spot a
pitiftl and heartrending scene presented
itself. What was supposed to be fe-
male head was such in reality, yet little
of the body to which it belonged could
be seen. The corpse was firmly held in
the clutches of a gigantic cuttle-fsh,
which, with its enormous arms
and extended suckers, chung to it and
to the sides of the rock like wild beast
feasting on its prey. The sight, say the
two surviving divers, was shocking, yet
awe inspiring. They describe the cuttle-
fish as having a circular central body
that could not be less than four feet in
diameter, of a greenish black hue, with
alternating bright and dark spots and
Shiny surface. 1t was rounded like a
dome, and it seemed as though portion
| of 4bo b,,p,o,, ho1x- bal haa1, ahaorhpl
into it by the tremendous power OF sue
ton this monster is believed to possess.
Its arms-the divers counted eight-were
apparently of immense strength, being
over twelve feet long, and judged to be
not less than a foot in diameter where
they Joined the body. Some of these
arms clung to the unfortunate victim,
others held fast to the protuberances OF
the rock, and several were swinging
through the water like the trunk of an
elephant, but twice its size.


Such was the view the three divers had
as they approached this reef, and Franz
Hauser made sudden spring toward 1t,
but he was held back. His associates
knew that by going any nearer they
would expose themselves to attack from
the monster, for which they were unpre-
pared. They gave thesignal to the boat
and all three were Immediately hoisted
up. Having the covering removed from
his head, Franz Hauser declared that he
had recognized in the female face one OF
his sisters, and he was determined to de-
scend again to rescue her body from be-
ing devoured by the submarine monster.


His wish was not gratiied, however,
he being too nervous and his strength too
much exhausted, and it was agreed to
make an attempt next day or the day
after. But, ON the morning, young
Hauser was delirious, and he fingered
on in a paroxysmal condition for some
days, till death closed his eyes. The two
survivors of this expedition under the
sea have made sworn statements of The
truth of these facts, and ii
is believed that some presentation
has been sent to the British authorities
of the Admiralty for a complete ant
thorough scientific search Of the entire
vicinity of the Reterrier Ledges to ascer
tain whether these tremendous creatures
do feed on human victims of shipwreck