GIGANTIC DEVIL-FISH.

Patea Mail, 30 September 1880, Page 3

GIGANTIC DEVIL-FISH.

The banks of the Newfoundland coast seem to be the headquarters for giant cuttle fish; One was seen on the beach at Lance Cove, Trinity Bay, still alive and struggling desperately to escape. It was being borne in by a “ spring tide” and a high inshore wind. In its struggles to get off it ploughed up a trench or furrow about 30ft long, and of considerable depth, by the stream of water which it ejected with great force from its syphon. When the tide receded it died. Its body was nearly lift long, its short arms were 13ft in length and much thicker than a man’s thigh, and its tentacular arms were each 38ft long. But this was scarcely more than half the size of a specimen taked at a place called Thimble Tickle, A fisherman was out in a boat with two other men. Not far from the shore they observed some bulky object, and supposing it might be part of a wreck they rowed towards it, and to their horror found themselves close to a huge fish having 1 arge glassy eyes, which was making desperate efforts to escape, and churning the water into foam by the motion of its immense arms and tail. It was aground, and the tide was ebbing. From the funnel at the the back of the bead it was rejecting large volumes of water. At times the water thrown out was as black as ink. Finding the monster parti}'’ disabled the fisherman plucked up courage and ventured near enough to throw the grapnel of their boat, the sharp flukes of which, having barbed points, sank into the soft body. To the grapnel they had attached a stout rope, whsch they carried ashore and tied to a tree. As the cuttle fish found itself hooked its struggles were terrific, and in a dying agony it flung its ten arms widly about, and as the tide receded it became exhausted and died. It was a splendid specimen, the largest yet actually measured, being 20 feet in length from its beak to its tail and with arms upwards of 35 feet long.