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About Oregon City courier. (Oregon City, Or.) 1902-1919 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 13, 1903)
10 OREGON vCITY COURIER, -FBJDAY, .NOVEMBER , 13 1503. ooKed an Octopus Terrifying Experience of a Tarty of TouruU at Uenerife. An Ejc citing "Battle In the Moonlight When Hideout Monster XV aj Hauled Vp From the "Depth. Jared Thompson, master of the Eng lish tramp steamer Red Lion, which recently docked at Philadelphia, relat ed a rather amusing if exciting experi ence which he had while fishing with a couple of English passengers on his steamer off the coast of Tenerife: The steumcr lay at anchor, and to ward evening, the wind having dropped, the two English passengers desired me to keep my promise of tak ing them fishing. This accounted for our presence on board her gig, which lay heaving inside a reef on the coast of Tenerife, In the Canaries. There are 10,000 feet of. water around that Island, and occasionally portions of curious and gigantic creatures which have probably perished in mortal combat far down in the icy depths are washed np on its coal black beaches. The great white peak towered above fleecy mist 12,000 feet overhead, tre mendous crags rose over our starboard hand, and close ahead the blue Atlantic rollers crumbled upon the hammered - reef. Inside It lay clear," smooth water, and we could see the hideous shape of an octopus gorging itself upon fish offal perhaps two fathoms beneath our ' keel. There are pubis of all sizes in these waters, and Spanish fishers say a large one will on opportunity drag down any incautious wnder venturing near its lair. From the uncovered por tion of the reef rose a low whistling, which showed that another of the long armed brutes lay half dry, basking. . "The very sight of that creature sets my ear drums quivering," said ono tourist. "Hello! It seems scared now, and here's a thing like a serpent coin ing." , After seeing many I could never loolc upon an octopus without a sense of nausea myself, and the small, bagllko body and mass of wriggling tentacles was not pretty as it sidled toward the fairy weed which draped the steep rock wall. Then a streak of black and yellow clove the sea, and I said: "That is a morena eel, as fierce as a tiger. You will see a fight worth watching." The pulp was not fast enough, for Its beautiful, slender enemy, some four feet long, we guessed, hurled itself upon It like a lance, though eight long, snaky arms wound around and envel oped it I knew that if their rows of thorn armed suckers once. closed on human flesh nothing short of tearing tbom opart piecemeal would extricate their victim, but presumably the eel's skin afforded a poorer hold, for during a few seconds one could see the more na tearing at the flaccid sack of body. Then as it backed clear with some thing in Its jaws the water grew foul with stirred up sand or tho tint Bonie THS SNAKY THCTAOLKS THBASHBD AIM- pulps eject, I do not think altogether voluntarily, In tho grip of an enemy, Tk tide cleared it a little, and one watcher said: "TTiat thing Is enough to Jive one a nightmare. But the eel Is going In again." We had another brief and nauseating vision of swaying, twining tentacles and darting cel. Then the brine grew cloudy, and the end of tho struggle was hidden. I consulted with the barefooted quar termaster, Miguel, and we moved the boat to where a great black gully had been rent out of the sea bottom by a volcanic fire. Though tho brine was as clear ns crystal, the eye could not fauge Its depths, nml our anchor wont down and down, taking with It almost the last fathom of lino. Vitrified rocks, iblood rod and black as etwny, hemmed jtbe pit in, and because the cuttlefish ESte St night we waited with some an hctpettoa (or moonlight to see what a East tnto it depth might bring. Mliroel said there were things more striking than pleasant In ' such depths, but that he did not wish to see any of them, and when the calamar ceased biting we lay smoking for a time until our tourist shouted: "Get hold and help! Something la tearing my line from me!" The tourist was a strong man, but when I laid hold behind him the hemp sawed through my fingers so that It seemed to burn them. A faint wrin kling of the moonlit swell also sug gested that the boat was moving. Then as the others took hold the motion ceased, and the line led down rigid as an Iron bar. It remained so for sev eral minutes, and the puzzled angler said, "It certainly moved, or I could have fancied I had fouled a rock." "Submarine cliffs don't move," said the 'doctor dryly, 'and I held up my abraded hands. "There is something living down there, and we are going to bring it up." A combined heave was followed by a yell from Miguel, and the line nipped the doctor's leg as it ripped across the boat; while when the quartermaster had jammed a turn of it, the eraft moved backward unmistakably. Three of us by this time were curious and eager, ; and, though Miguel looked doubtful, be aided us gallantly. ' Four THE OCTOPUS WAVED ITS ARMS backs were bent together, and still It seemed we, were hauling at a cliff. Then one tourist sat down with a bang, and the doctor shouted, "What ever the thing is it's coming to the top' ':' . ' The line was" a very long one, and several times it taxed all our strength to' resist the retrograde progress of our mysterious quarry, for the crea ture's movements in no way suggested those of a fighting fish until, when arms were aching, we halted, breath less, as Miguel said that another few fathoms would bring it to the surface. There was clear moonlight, and green phosphorescence flamed about the straining hemp and sides of the sway ed down boat. Miguel, I noticed, ap peared uneasy, the others flushed and excited. "I can see tho first of It. Heave!" shouted the doctor, and when we hauled together with a will something rose hi the scope of our vision. We could see the brine shimmer about it, but that was all at present, though there was no mora resistance. The thing was coming to the surface of own w,yi, andjvyMdly. fTn another few moments Tt had' roaclira it, and Miguel grabbed the boat hook, while the doc tor gasped, and I turned both cold and sick. A horrible head with great lam bent eyes looked up at me not u f nth om away, and all round It rippling contracting tentacles struck a weird green, sparkling out of the phosphores cent sea. There was no doubt it was a pulp or octopus of formidable size. I also remembered that the curved brass spikes were probably fust in It, and it could not let go. For the space of several seconds wo stood gasping, staring spellbound at the horrible apparition, which looked ns large as the boat. The sinuous move ments of those awful arms and the pale brlllhincy of the saucer eyes set my fleHh creeping. Then one suckered tentacle rose Into the air, and when an other following curled forward in our direction one of the tourists yelled: "Cut the brute loose! It's coming on board the boatl" The man's voice was hoarse with fear, but It recalled our scattered senses, and old Miguel drove his long shafted boat book Into the center of the quivering mass, while the doctor drew his seaman's knife across the tight strained hemp. The great arms rolled together about the boat hook staff and spread out again. Soveral of them struck the boat, but I had an oar out now and drove the craft ahead. As I did so there was a sudden rippling, and the loathsome creature sank, tak ing our extemporlied harpoon with it to tlte depths from whence it came. Then the others Bltpped the cable, and we did not cease rowing until the lights of our steamer shone out round i a head. We rested upon our oars then. looking at one another, four startled and slightly shamefaced men, until the nonmedical tourist said, "I don't know If the thing meant to crawl lu or not, but I've had enough fishing for one night at least and never want to see a Urge sized octopus so close again." Ch Jangle Hidden Treaaure of n . -Ji-Ka Indian Prlne.' " f' ' Not long ago ' an 'old' peasant was wandering in the Jungle about half a Eile froto the city of Abmadnage'r, In India, when he found a ronrnltmll of petal.-.-; It was black; and looked like an old iron round shot, but when the old man lifted it he was struck with Its immense weight.' He carried It home and found on scratching it that It was a luinr) of solid gold.' It weighed eight pounds and its sale made the finder rich for life. 1 There are many more of these can non balls, each worth a small fortune, lying hid r buried In the recesses of this Jungle, and their story is a curious one. At the end of the sixteenth cen tury Akbar, the greatest emperor Hin dustan'1 ever saw, was at the' height Of his glory. !At the head of his con quering army he summoned Ahmad nager to surrender. The city and its rich treasure were then under the rule of the Princess Cande. Knowing that resistance could be but short, and in bitter rage against the oppressor, she caused all the treasure of gold and silver to be melted down. She cast the metal . into cannon balls and en graved upon each maledictions 'against the conqueror. These were fired into the Jungle and when Akbar entered the city, instead of the rich hoard he had hoped to win, he found a treasury absolutely empty. ' That this Is not the only occasion upon which cannon balls of gold have been cast Is proved by the fact that in the treasury of the shah of Persia there may be seen in the same room where stands 'the famous peacock throne two small globular projectiles of gold. They were estimated by a re cent visitor to weigh about thirty-one pounds each and are roughly made. Their origin or purpose is, however, totally forgotten. It Is only known that they are very old. Chicago Chronicle. Ancient Iieda. In ancient times the beds we read about were simply rugs, skins or thin mattresses which could be rolled up and carried away In the morning. At night they were spread on the floor, which In the better class of houses was of tile or plaster, and as the shoe were not worn In the house and the feet were wushed before entering a room the floors were cleaner than ours. After a time a sort of bench, three feet wide, was built around two or three sides of the room about a foot above the floor and, covered with a soft cushion, was used during the day to sit or lounge on and as a sleep ing place at. night. The bench was sometimes made like a settee, movable and of carved wood or ivory. London Standard. World's Best Medicine. PAINE'S CELER' COMPOUND Has Made' People Well When Every Other Remedy Has Failed. Paine's Celery Compound cures disease! It has saved the lives of thousands of sufferers. It has made the weak strong, vigorous, and happy. Paine's Celery Compound purifies the blood and builds up the nervous system as nothing else can do; it is pre-eminently the great life giver and health maker. Overworked and tired women stand in ur gent need of this health giving prescription to make and keep them well. All women should take advantage of the remarkable power of this best of medicine for restoring vigor to the blood ana strength to the nervous system. The all-important thing for nervous, run down, and sleepless women is that Taine's Celery 'Compound fortifies the whole physical system, ana by correcting digestion and regulating the nerves, it insures sound, refreshing sleep. In every case of sickness Taine's Celery Com pound completely and permanently brings back health. Mrs. Mary M. Myers, Haiti more, Ohio, saved by I'aine 's Celery Compound after the failures of able physicians, gratefully writes as follows : "I suffered for eight years with nervous prostration and the general debility common to women, and had such pains in my back that I could not get around the house. I used several remedies and consulted several of the best physicians without obtaining any relief. Paine's Celery Compound restored me to health. 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Then the head of the house put on his glasses and very carefully scrutinized the shank of the shoe. - . - - When all had been put through this examination he called the entire force of clerks into his' office and explained to them why this' unusual examination had been made. "You flre well aware," said he "that I will not have a drinking man in my employ if I know ; it. -1 For some time I have had good reasons for believing that several of the young men before me have been , Indulging quite too much. ' Now' I know it.' Here are the marks of the bur rail on the bottoms of your shoes." Several of the young men braced themselves against the wall and lifted tlielr feet as a "blacksmith lifts the foot of a horse. Sure enough, there wers the glazed, metallic marks on the dry leather. They were, the evidences of guilt, and the' young men's .' faces showed it. " ' "It's unmistakable proof." said the head of the house. "You may fix up your breath at the drug store and the barber can clean up your eyes and face, but you neglect the shanks of your shoes." - A DIRECT LINE To Chicago and all points east; Louisville, Memphis, New Or leans, and all points south. See that your ticket reads via the ILLINOIS CENTRAL R. R. Thoroughly modern trains con nect with all transcontinental lines at St Paul and Omaha. If your friends are coming west let us know and we will quote them direct the specially low rates now in effect from all eastern points. Any information as to rates, routes, etc., cheerfully given on application. B. H. TRUMBULL, Commercial Agent 142 Third St, Portland, Or. J. C. LlNDSEY, T. F. & P. A. 142 Third St., Portland, Or. P. B. THOMPSON, F. & P. A., ; Room i.CoIman Bldg., Seattle, Wh. The Train tor Comfort is the famous Nortb We&tern ' Limited Every night in the year between Minneapolis, St. Paul and Chicago, via The short line between these three great cities. Before starting on a trip no matter ttfnere , write for Interesting Information about com fortable traveling T. W.TEASDALE, General Passenger Agent, St. Paul, Minn. jjf' VJ1 has stood the test 25 vcars. Averse Annual Sales Settles. Ioes this record 'iiii"i'ii''!j'ii'ii'inii'"Ujwffliiig I-1 iliiiiimlMMiniii I I 11 JJvegetablePreparalionfor As similating iheToodandHegula ting the Stomachs andBowels of Promotes Digeslion,Cheerful ness and Rest.Contairis neither Optum,Morphine not Mineral Not Nahc otic. MxJtnnm Sttd Jtrpennint -HiCorbonakSoi' WrmSitd- ff trititd Suqar . vIDmn Anerfect Remedy for Constipa tion, Sour Stomach,Diarrhoea, Worms .Convulsions .Feverish oess and Loss OF SLEEB Tat Simile Signature of NEW YORK. EXACT COPY1 OF WRAPPEB, SE5S is First Comblaint "The writer regrets the necessity of lodging complaint con erning your usual excellent service, but in a friendly spirit begs to submit the follow ing : Yesterday you sola trie lower nine, car thr'e, on the Pioneer Limited. But you ne glected to advise me that it would be necessary to have the porter waken me In the morning, and as there was so little motion to the car I overslept. I have covered a large era on some of the other famous trains of the United States and this Is the first complaint of this character I have made. 1 trust you wiil see to It in the future that passengers are .advised-" The pioneer Limited runs daily from St. Paul to Chicago via the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway H. S. R0WE, General Manager. 134 ftSSglO GRANDE I THE SCENIC LINE Through Salt Lake City, Leadville, Pueblo, Colorado Springs Denver, and the Famous Rocky Mountain Scenery and by Daylight to all points east. 3 last Mas M kteaOgd &QiSteara Modern equipment, through Pullman and Tourist Sleeping Cars and Superb Dining Car SerYice Stopovers Jlllowtd For ntts, folders and other W. C. MCBRIDE, Information address 421 Third Street, Portland.Ore yourStrength JAYNE'S a pleasant, potent, and permanent CHILDREN and MEN. 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