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Dunstan Times, Issue 3138, 9 October 1922, Page 7

Devil fish, appearing in immense schools nt the French seaside resorts in normandy and 1 Brittany, have caused pleasure seekerd there to stick close to the shore and sent cold shivers up and down the backs of such fair frequenters of the fashionable watering-places as dared to go into the water. The octopus fleet isi said to have been driven landward hy the unusually low temperature o'f the witter. Heretofore they have been rarely seen near' the sand beaches, assembling mostly at the fishing banks, where they devour the fish and destroy the l nets. The knowledge of their presence in bathing localities has given little rest to the bathers' imagination. Swimmers of both sexes have been frequently seen making a frantic exit from tho water, -seized by the ideal that a slimy tentacle tried to grip a leg or an arm. Hotel proprietors, have been alarmed to the extent of seeking scientific advice. They have been informed by the director'of the Bureau of Scientific Research that the devil fish i« not dangerous! to life and limb and that the famous fight with the octopus in Victor Hugo'* "The Toilers of the Sea" existed in tW author's imagination. T)r Joseph S. Halstend, of Breckenridge, Missouri (U.S.A.), is the oldest members of the craft, according to the '''Freemason." Ho was initiated in 1842, and is 104 years old. He has 80 living descendants.