846

Date 1912-05-20

From 846

Ta.) ee te ee aro UEST of a Sunken Treasure Trove Led the Unsas- y pecting Man to the Monster's Lair in the Hold of a Wreck Sixteen Fathoms Deep ' HIS story, concerning one of the strangest) ES oa most desperate single combats of which there 1s knowledge, is one of the best yarns of Captain Albert Herrimann, Whi has now retired, after more than forty years of active seafaring, to Sailors Snug Harbor, Staten Island. For some time after he gave up stnning vessels in the merchant marine he was : agent for the San Francisco Board of Marine Underwriters. In this position he had charge of the Northern district, out of Ban Francisco, the examination and salvage of wrecks along the Pacific coast to Behring Sea falling to his care. He worked among his own divers, one of whom was the Lon of this tale, and Captain Herrimann vouches for the details of the en- counter which Tou had with the giant octo- pus, as herein described. (Covreistt, 1011, by the New York Herald O6. All rights reserved.) REASURE it. was the ture of sunken do - larson the reef; that hus rawn and will draw men to the uttermost parts of the earth, through sun and sand and ice and storm, through crime and death Treasure the will o' the wisp of the seas, that has danced and will dance tn the eyes of all who have the Inst of romance, ad- eo , Somewhere off the bleak bluffs of Cape Blanco, where the misnamed-Pacifie ranges in white shore- wand ranks above one of its deadly graveyards;- specie ship bad gone down among the forgotten wrecks. She bad cleared from San Francisco almost a halt century before, in the days When California was send- ing the first great consignments of her ruddy wealth by way of the Horn. Fast locked in her chests were bars upon bars of the pure; soft metal. Buffeting into a tempest far beyond her power to me at, she was driven for days northward, to crumble on the rocks at Blanco and add another to the tragedies of the early (West. But in her chests, fast locked, was still the pure, soft gold, bars on bars, and when the story of her loss had passed into alition in the swift grow:h of the new country; andthe sorrow of it had faded to.n.curl- ous tile, the memory of her wealth remained. The Uist of her-dead- was-forgotten, but the weight of h shipment was known to-an ounce. And so from a word of sadness h r name passed into the years as an- other lure to-those-ho dream Off the cape she lay, though the exact spot had never been learned, and the guardians of the depths watched over her while restless seekers plied and urged one another with the oft repeated richness of her manti- fest, and the Pacific ranked its White gravestones above, A company. was formed in San Francisco to push Profits. A slender capital was scraped together. A wrecking firm was induced to take a hand on the pay- ment of experises and the promise of a fat share if the b chests should be found. And a schooner, manned for the work, took station off Cape Blanco. On board were two expert divers, One of these was Fred Louge'ee so he spelled his name. They shayed down that impossible contrirance to Lou among the wreckers. A proper man was Lou, big chested and long bodied, with arms lke a gorilla and no legs to speak of Sfolk had ben French, but there was little of the e Latin fire;in him. He was slow of speech and move. ment, lazy even, with a dend blue eye in his head. and he feared neither man nor devil, nor the strang things of the ocean bottoms where he plied his trade His daring was cold, not heat, welded, and the wreck- ing firms sought him because-he whuld go under water when it was humanly possible, and he got what be was sent after. . After much sounding and trawling about the sunken 4 barriers they came one day to a point where they were sure of a wreck beneath them. From observations taken above it gave promise of belng the one they sought. Lou was directed to make descent and an examination., The day was fair, the water ran sweet- ly with the ground swefl and there was no wind to trouble, The soundings Indicated some sixteen fath- ous to the deck of the wrecked vessel. Knife His Only Weapon. They helped Low into his diving-suit. the skin of Waterproof wherein 2 diver Is clothed like a muinmy. On each foct was sole of lead to hold him upright. Over bis head they placed and locked the helinet. This was before the days of the automatic headpiece that governs the alr pressure by an scape valve, and when they bad strapped the belt about him they fastened to it the string by which he was to signal to the pump work- ers one pull, more air; two pull tesgs atr. This string was scarcely less vital to the diver ifety than the gutta percha airtube itself, for the state of the alr pressure, too high or too low, might mean death on the depths, Then they slung abort his body, by loose loops of rope that could be cast off readily, the fron welghts tr the:deadent, und last of ail fastened-at his 9 valde the slashing knife, wh a blade twelve inches long, Mightly curved, the divers usual weapon against the strange: ambuscudes aid Derllous encounters ta the Jungle of. the ovean floor. alde-early tn the afternoon, and andlor the sill of the welgbts Aiter bins and stiirted the the search a group of men to whom the chances-ot this tempting game were dearer than counting house ia cs : Lou* it the inge it. The part of those aboard the schooner was to mind the signals, keep up the alr and watch, Going down Lou took careful note of bis surround- ings and the povitlon of the wreck. She bad settled and shifted with the currents Into al rocky gully or cleft of the upended seabed and rested with a slight Abont and over her hung the swaying fronds and eteepers of the ovean growths, draping her stattered hull in soft, linging garments. swathing her rovtinj Uumbers In folds and streamers and masses. Overluld with the slimy vegetation ber lines had been dimmed and bidden, she had long Since lost more than x sem- biance.of handicraft and to any but, the experienced eye must have passed us part and incident of the uneven of the bottom. Louw had planned bis drop well-and with Mtie ma- came down upon the slanted deck abour- Here, examining the hulk more closely ip. the dim suffused light, he-began to donbt she Phen, like n flrted raz, a dim object whipped across was the treasure ship. The wreck was that of ait sion and his waist was'seleed in'a firm, girdling must have been In much ionger than balf a century. The been broken off close. the features of her design were bidden find disguised. but from what he could make our she did not answer the description of noeuvring anildsbips. ancient bri ber plac snaste . he thought, and si the vessel that had carried out the bars of gold- However, being down, the matter was to be in- Yestigated, and he began a cautious prow about the deck, feeling marine tht lis way through the maze of the sub- 1. He discovered nothing that could aid him and came at length to the main hateb It was open. Standing there on the edge he peered lato the black watery mystery of the hold. Even to the unemotional Lou there was moment of pleasurable expectation Ain off iuto the lower depths, fo tion of his trade. the ribs of the foundered ship. all to be the treasure carrier, 6 he prepared to She might prov since the distant day whe: The alr inside bis hel: for more before going further over the edge ind/sank through the inte, He found an nunteads footir htly the top of the Could not decermine, choked It was. ie vessel went down. DEATH GRAPPLE of A DIVER and A DEVIL FISH jeft arm helplessly. His indtinct was to break away ina mrug: dre: ivity, and he Anything ight He hentia EADU, foes le rime eee bending his She might be some even richer find. galleon freighted with doubloons Or some vanished prize of the far past when rovers athered tol of all seas and coasts. He waa on the Brink of discovery rich with possfbilities, for he was about to enter where no living human being bad been was low and He signalied Then he let: Bimeelt . on what was appar: the nature of which: he ved und cf usted aid -plant He found that be hnd room im whieh (Ad the gold. was thete Lou would pd. tp pres under the deck without stooping. Above him rowed to a matter of moments. A coll of the stringer pressed in under the, band of the helmet and began slowly to choke the man. With downward thrust of all his welght and efforts he had but given this assailant every advan- tage. Fighting uselessly, he felt himself drawn irre: sistibly forward. And now, through the vague, misty twilight of that Dlace'he caught a dim glimpse of the fearful enemy that had so cunningly waylaid him. In the wall across the hold, cargo or sediment or bulkhead, as it might be, in the slimy mass that had barred hiipath, he saw form, o pulp, a head, with two round flat eyes, hideous, malignant, terrible. It was an octopus of enormons size, and wedge -there in-its crevice tt watched him with unwmking hate and hunger, sure Oftspr y.- The eyes had the quality of elemental evil, and they feasted upon him in anticipation. With a quiver of repulsion and terror Lou forced himself to some degree of control. Mere resistance could win him nothing. He was fighting against a force far beyond his own, and, more than that, he was fighting against a brain. Skin Like Wet Leather. Bracing himself as firmly as he might and keeping was the rectangle of the hatchway, bright against the deeper gloom within, the greenish haze of the water and the quick fishes steering to and fro. Feeling his way with care he started aft. 3 Electric Nght tn diving operations was unknown. at that time, Lou depended upon his sense of touch and the faint glow through the hatch. He bad groped and waded some five feet or 0 when be found his progress impeded by a mound of material of some coll about his waist, still able to do. him , tightened until he could scarce breathe even air allowed him, and he could have eried aloud in his glass and metal casque for suffering and hopelessness. Alwaya the slow pressure about his eck and shoulders fucreased. He knew that elther the stringer would strangle him or it would tear the waterproof fabric from the helmet and so drag him to/a more mereifal end by drowning. Up and down, back and forth, he forced his knife, He was almost at the limit of his endurance. The romming in his head, the thudding in bis ears had grown to surging waves of pain, His limbs and body were crushed and exhausted. And there, oppo- site him, unwinking, 4d, horrible, were the wide staring eyes of the octopus. With its parrotlike beak advanced, seeming to count and gloat upon each BEE xpusty, the monster watched the- throes of its victim. Held by Flabby Tentacles. Summoning every nerve and fibre to play, Lou plunged atthe elastic stinger. He had already made several incisions, and as the point caught in the consciousness slipping from lim: the contraction ht ec nd ch relaxed, and the flabby arm, severed In his wild attack, dropped away. The diver found new strength in this timely relief. The contest was now Joined on even terms and he went upon the offensive in his turn. He managed to press the stringer that clasped his waist against firm place on the mound, and from this position ob- tained a drive with his weapon that-cut it in two. The little sucking mouths instantly lost their grip and that band algo fell from him. The octopus, now badly wounded and robbed of three of its members, whipped another arm out of its crevice, sacrificing so much of its support to renew ts hold upon the man. But Low dodged the lash, and, ducking in, reached for his assailant s head. The band about his leg and foot strove against him, holding him'away. In the latter part of this weird combat, es Lou after- ward described it, the diver ceased to think of his apponent. as: n denizen of the set, n low order of mollusk, The steady, hateful stare of the big eyes and the deliberate cunning ana calculation displayed in each of the creature's actions Invested 4 with a per sonality demontac, but approaching the human. Lou felt as if he were matched against a belng familiar with his thethods and fntentions, a reasoning thing, compounded wholly of evil, but with processes akin to his own: What bore out this Impresdion was the skill of the octopus in acting upon the defensive. It tried to keep- him back while its sixth arm whipped and hovered about bim, seeking the grip that would restore tte ts nd dltable the man. Meanwhile ft sunk its body into its den, withdrawing the unprotected funes of flesh as much as possible from danger. 9 ut Low was minded to have done. Ho stabbed at the coll about his thigh and fought In to close quarters. He found bimself within striting distance just as the pplifter stringer slipped down about his helmet. The readfal eyes were xgiaring directly into his own an fhe lunged at them, burying the blade tothe handle In the yielding, fiabby bead. Again and again he thrust. The cotls about him shuddered. As he repeated tho plows the hold of the sucking mouths) slackened Finally, with few spasmodic clutches, they lost their grasp and the whole creature collapsed like s bundle: skin. Se os the end of the battle was not more a matter of thankfulness at bis escape than the source of 0 last additional horror at the manner of it So intent had Attack. he been pop the ighting, so vivid had been bis impres- ee i Complete dissolution seemed absolutely uncanny. A moment before be had been striving for bare lite against a vigorous, powerful enemy that sought rayep- ously and/in wily ways fo slay hint: Now he bad forced a knife into the seat of that intelligence and suddenly thore was nothing left but a mass of jelly the size of a large pumpkin and a bunch of pulpy, substance: It was as if he had been fighting with some spirit of the deep which, being vanquished, had fied the spot, leaving the scanty meaningless cloak of its presence behind. But while Lou, unnerved by bis recent danger, was pen to:such subil after sensations of unpleasantness he was losing no time in getting away from a very un- desirable neighborhood. He returned toward the - Baten, watebifa of new surprises, nnd-a-very-gratefal man Indeed was be when he stood unger the opening and looked up through the green sixteen fathoms of water toxthe good light of day. Forgot the Treasure. Casting off the loops of rope that held the trom welghts under his armpits be began to ascend like huge bubble, buoyed by his helmet and inflated sult, up among the swaying fronds, the drapiug seaweed, the darting fishes, and sc to the blessed outer world. On the schooner they had noticed nothing net about his prolonged absece beyond the infrequency ot his signals No sooner: was his armor off thax they: jumped for him with eager questions. The treasure? Is it the treasure ship? Did you find the treasure? Lou blinked bis slow biue eyes upon them in mild astonisiiment for a space and then sought seat and a pipe. Good Lord 1 clean forgot the treasure, he said. 1 had such an tnteresting reception down below it 4 right-out of my mind. I'll have te go hack after a little. He did go back, and although be Drought up no treasure be rescued the fabby remnants of his late linented dntagonist to prove bis tale. When spread out on th deck the octopus, what was left of it. i jound His Chest. and Left Arm. ieind, piled breast high, He dug into the ooze with his fingers, trying to discover what be had to surmount, whether tinsbers or s, OF, perchance, baled stutf: And as he stood there in the baffling obscurity of this cayern he felt somet iing, something light and gentle as a caressiny hand, sii; along bls foot and close about Lou, possibly. was vot a8 aiert as more nervous would have been in- Uke situation, He had formed no fears: t the deep and the creeping dange s that Inrked there. Ie had laughed at stoztes of sinls- ter adventure In the ocean world as slight tales to frighten children. He has carried that tone bladed Knlfe-a 9 wsunl part of Tis equipmerit and as a tool among tangled or the deep water thickets. So it was that for perhaps a minute he tried to fre his-Zeet with no other thought than thet he had be inehed wu lt;1 Gur Wivd tte stalk. his weight backward, he set about severing the stringer from which be suffered. most, that which crushed his chest and left arm. He knew now why his slashing bad wrought no damage. The skin of the devil fish was like wet leather in texture and tough as wire under the blade. The knife, none too sharp. pressed nto It; it gaye, but did not part. With des- perate'strokes Lou sawed and hacked, and after re- peated attempts, staggering und panting and ever hold- ing back against the steady pull, he bad the fleeting satisfaction of noting that he had inflicted a wound. He turned now to cut at the stringer about his waist. found the sawing motion easter,-both- be cause blows were checked in the water and because that way In als struggles he could attack one spot. But now another daiiger began to torment him. Ela left arm being powerless, he could not reach the sig- nal string at his Lelt. The air was getting low. His laboring lungs, called to supply vitality to his straining body, were drawing upon spent and insutticlent oxy- gen. He was dizzy, the blood pounded in his ears and back of his starting eyeballs. Still he fought on In that grim, silent; fearsome fight. Twice he tried to fling himself upon the bead ot body of the octopus, thinking to strike it in ts vul- nerable, Jellylike parts. But the monster held him away, keeping him at safe distance, content to let him thrash himself into a stupor of weariness and watting for the moment when he could resist-no longer. * All abont his body hundreds of tiny, sucking mouths clung to him. The cups could not bite through his garmonts, but they held the steel cable stringers in plnce and wherev r a stringer held him there ne could exert no muscle, 5 He was ripping into, the band about bis wal t and making an impression upon Sts rubbery. elusive slieath when the octopus tmade its next offensive move. Four arms were already upon the diver. Now, while ov uceked ind labpred, fifth bovered up through .the shadows, and before be was aware, had settled about mi nstited fifteen fect from tip to tip of ity string- bis neck and-shoulders. ers, being one of the largeatythongh not quite the With the drawing ti of that noose.the combat oar. largest, of the spectes ever seen-on thi Racific const. embrace. He started pack at that touch and tnstant- ly the boud tightened and ontracted, while swift as light another tag lashed toward tlm and elosed about his right thigh: There was novbreath for delay. In the gasp of hor. ror with which te understood be sniitehed his knife from his belt and in the action bis hand cunie against the slippery, tiscous lixacare that bound bis body. It was living, chill and repellant, sriakellke and muscu- lar. It nwoke him to frenzy of loathing, despair and. action. Whirling up bis wenpon, be slashed at the: ings thut had gripped him. But with the motion a fourth thong writhed out of the shadows and wound across his chest, binding his energy agalnst the elastic, tightening bands. -S0 he wasted precious strength and precious seconds. At every twist and heave of ils mpaci s the snaky ponds found a firmer hold upon im and multiplfed their folds. It was as if he was wrapped in cables of rub- Ler holting colts-of steel springs, the whole driven and mantpulaged by a ferocious and deadly intellt- gence: By the time he tind expended his first violent revokt he wax hopelessly a prisoner. A strong man, accustomed to ovyermateh such op: ponents as came to bim, Low could not comprehend the appalling power of the horrible monster he had fallen-in with until he saw how niterly useless had been bis struggle. Not for a fraction of an lich hat be displaced single ligature. Through bis frantw travels fast, planos has of Assiniboi Plano or a your chance ceptional: ea and talk it i Me Ee peepee FRIENDLY RY both giving 1 manity. The part of the never ceases cality with LIGHT, HEAT If you contem; stallment in y epnsult us be eansave you v-than one, Medicine co MAIN STREET For Ata Barg The goodwil an 8-roomed rooming h Baney H.B.E Auct 519 Toronto SKIN 0 Just the mild, : known D.D.D, Pr and the itch is We have sola skin trouble but personally sa D.D.D. rem - sist, oa

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Attribution Image 846 (1912-05-20), from microfilm reel 846, (CU1743434). Courtesy of Early Alberta Newspapers Collection, Libraries and Cultural Resources Digital Collections, University of Calgary.