Show IMAGINE a great fat slimy something poked out of the water into our face quickly fol lowed by another slim something ai d then another and another each endeavoring to secure an option on a different i of your anatomy abdou andou have one of tl e ar ous joys of fishing for the devil ansh but along the amer lean coast of the gulf of mexico there are lots and lots of who eke out their livings doing just this thing por tl e man who doean doesn t have to fish for the devilfish it s fun but to the man or cre s of men who do it for their daily bread well they content themselves with a single catch a day aristotle of old is recorded in 1 is tory as the first writer on the sub eject of devil fishing but as 1 e was exceedingly fond of mr aristotle a health he left lots unsaid because he dian didn t investigate every gulf of mexico sailor who fishes for this creathie crea tuie caines a hatchet close by tor that is the only means of getting away from the fish s tentacles simply cutting them off as they are about to grasp ohp intended in the gulf the devil fish Is har mooned and seldom after one of these great prongs has been imbedded in ano body of the victim are the fisher men able to land their quarry within two hours usually it takes from three to tour hours of good hard mus cle grinding work and then lots of times the crew of the hunting craft must cut the cable and lose the har poon simply because the brute fights too hard to allow the occupation to be carried on safely it is little wonder that one fish a day of this variety Is considered sufficient many wild weird tales are told of the devil fish one class of stories deals with the creature s addiction to towing ocean going steamers out of their courses so strong is the deep sea monster that calta ns of assels have been known to wonder what was carrying them to windward and yv A fes As upon investigation find that a devil fish or cuttle fish BBS trying to bite off a corner of the rudder numerous cases of the fish attempting and sue beeding in towing ten ton sloops for miles have been recorded in the annals of the industry the devil fishers always are compelled to put up a hot fight against this animal of the the intend ed quarry will pull them far out of their course after the first harpoon has stung his hide and it takes two and sometimes three of them be fore the catch can be brought close enough to the sloop to allow the gi to place a shot in a vi til spot the fish must be continually domed or it will descend to the bottom to test in which case it usually takes the boat crew and apparatus with it A story is told of a boat crew which add not bad a devil fish strike for two days until finally the harpoon expert on the bowsprit imbedded his instrument ot torture within the vitals ot one of the monsters the creature of course went through the formality of turning the water there into a delicate black this being one of the traits of the species when attacked th u done the devil fish started for home which was the hot torn of the gulf the harpoon expert hated to let go on account ot strikes being few and the boat crew and harpoon also began the descent in inky darkness the craft being provided with air tanks at ea chend the harpooned had some job on his hands and when down in the sea about 20 feet as near as the mariners could figure the eight armed namesake of the american trust gingerly climbed into the boat ath the men who were seeking hi life blood it being dark tl e fishermen did not perceive his presence once more at the surface however and there was a miniature fire panic regaining his ence of mind however the harpoon put an out drop on his second throw and put an end to the pranks of the fish that tale has been called just a fish story but there are three deep sea fishermen today who vouch for the truth of a portion of it and they still pi that trade on the coast of the gulf but now when the devil fish starts for home they let him go the manta as the creature is called by ence Is to be found as tar north on the atlantic coast s the carolinas Caroll nas and in tl ose waters some of the largest of this class of sea creatures have been seen one caught on the atlanta coast several years ago required three yoke of oxen to drag it from the sea and its weight was estimated at four tons usually the devil fish measures from 20 to 20 feet across its back when full grown and one mariner on the pacific coast reported that he had estimated one to be 40 feet which eye measure of course is within the i ealin of possie lit the creature has two well defined plans of de gg 8 a W tr w ti J U 4 w tf y ii A rf fc w 2 aa aa fw YA a a A 1 v u s w fujs halit Ht lit ja 4 f tense and thus the al mighty has endowed the species with more than the ord nary powers for usually fish beast or bird of the air has only one natural mode of pro lection the cuttlefish however can cast from its tissues an inky sub stance known as se pla which t arns the water in its vicinity an impenetrable black and allows escape combined with this there is the set vt eight tentacles which possess grips of iron and are lined under neath with suckers which when in working order form a factum over ohp object grasped and thus insure a firm hold SL arm is this grasp that tory tellers of sever il decades igo were fond ot dropping the treas i re hui ting hero into the hold of the sunken galleon and there bump him up against the ter devil fish which had thwarted all human and for hundred years been the guardian of the dons loot the heio always won and captured the coin be ng dragged to the surface unconscious there hae been 01 e or two cases where tie has made its home within tl e cab ns cf sunken ships II 11 one case in particular off the northern coat of south america it is told that a devil fish killed three divers who descend ed to lay plans for raising the ship As each man was brought to the surface dead from a u which none of his mates could guess an other was sent to take his place finalli the trouble was suspected and the last man sent down gai e explicit anstr ct about being brouil t to the surface upon the faintest tug at the guide line after numerous trips up and back he succeeded in dislodging the creature by cutting off its am s one by one deprived of its arms it fled and no further trouble was ex pe lei ced perhaps the most uncanny sight which ever befalls the devil elsh hunters is when on a clear day the denizens of the deep may be seen on the bottom walking along with the aid of their tentacles which are ased as feet on land it is recorded this Is a physical impossibility tor the elsh but buoyed up by the water of many on s it s easy though absolutely the most dangerous of crea t ires of the sea it is said tl e devil fish displays greater fear of human astaci than any of the other species the first move when assailed is to try to grab he hunters with two or more of the long arms that stretch out as occasion de mands failing in this the fish will attempt to get away under cover of the binl sepia but when caught with the harpoon and it finds there is no apparent escape the real tug of war corn and the struggles are never ended until the quarry ceases quivering in death then the cables which hold the harpoons are lashed to the stern of the craft and the sailors turn the ves sel u nose towards home the most welcome part of the voyage studa the hab ts and origin of the cuttlefish is one of the n ost interesting which any aist ever artemi te 1 the ash are propagated by means of aggi eggi the tiny creature at first has only one tentacle which when it grows older gradually gia dually divides into two and then into four aid after i bear or so into cigut small arms these grow larger and ger as the age of the fish in creases some adult specimens have been caught the tentacles of which were over 20 feet in length jets of water squirted by beai s of fins con statute the method of locomotion 0 the cuttlefish del il fish s choicest occupation is that of feeding upon shoals of smaller members of the finny tribe and when interrupted in this pursuit he effect is terrifying the great creature rea ture will toss several of its ten tables to the surface still continuing to feed with the rest of them and tl Is bluff fails to scare the intruder way tie devil fasl will come to he surface personally to see about it while next to human beings shares are the greatest enemies the cuttlefish the scavengers of the ea are just abo t as frightened by the monsters as the latter are by t e sharks mariners have often told of the battles which they have seen in clear yater between these of the briny deep but accounts telling of the victors are scarce alonce the coast of the gulf of mexico the sharks show the r del at the i light of the devil fish when ca ight by following in its bloody wake and wide open a bite here or there irom the carcass U night along the coabe they figl t in the water for the opportunity to consume the dead devil fish after tl e f shermen have fin dished with him all in ill devil fishing i the mos thrilling most hazardous most method of angling which has e er been discovered disco ered for the creature is doubtless the cratt iest of the inhabitants ol 01 the tropical waters and the man who goes after the scalp of the while he is not armed with modern accoutrements is taking his own life in his hand the plain hardware store hatchet with the short handle Is declared to be the best weapon f defense in close quarters and dozens of lives have been saved simply beca ise the parties at tacked were equipped with haicl ets and knew how when and where to use them upon the an of the dangerous fish |