HERE ARE THRILLS

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 138, 13 June 1931, Page 22

HERE ARE THRILLS

HUNTING THE OCTOPUS

As a sport pure and simple, hunting the devil fish, or octopus', is perhaps as exciting and as full of incident as may be found. Not long ago a visitor to Sydney saw -an octopus hanging in the iish market (writes Bob^ crt Bruee in the Melbourne "Argus"). Seized with the desire to see the capture of such a creature he engaged the fisherman who caught the octopus to take him to the fishing grounds, which are not far 'from Sydney, farther up the coast. The amateur fisherman was provided with an ordinary boat-hook. When the tide was well out'he was taken to a group of rocks covered with kelp and was told to "go right ahead." The ijlace abounded in rock pools in which the water was about a foot deep. These pools were partially covered with floating weed. Passing from, rock to rock, the, hunter after an octopus thrust his hook to the bottom, turning up the sand at the bottom of the pools. He had almost given up searching, when his boat-hook was given a violent wrench. Up through the weed camo an uncanny arm of livid and chocolate hues, trembling with rage. It was lined with enormous suckers, and it hurled itself at the hunter's leg so quickly that before, he could make a move he was in the grip of his enemy. As he fell partly on his back he was horrified to find that his prey held on, and that he had pulled it partly out of the water. Struggling to his feet he was met by what appeared to him to be a 1 ball of snakes, with two green eyes in the centre. About the gleaming eyes writhed eight sucker-like arms. The octopus merely clung to his leg, making no advance. Having gained a footing the hunter took the boat-hook by,the end and.buried it in the creature. An inky fluid poured from its body and dyed the water black. Waves of colour spurted, over its arms, and the monster, raising itself out of tho pool, tried to haul itself to the ocean.' It threw its long arms into every crevice, winding them about the rock. Gradually it moved out of tho pool towards the sea. ■. The body

in whic-L the hook was caught but a small part of the fish. It was about as large as the head of a child. The octopus slowly gained, but presently the hunter obtained a stronger grip and he.stood his ground, Bhouting for help. With assistance the octopus was disabled and was taken ashqre, where it was found to have a radial spread of 12 feet. '■• : • Octopuses of this type and size aTe found all along the western and northern coasts of "Australia. Some attain larger proportions. Curious stories are told by the aborigines and others of the north. There is no question but that they are powerful enough to drown a man. One of the size caught with the boat-hook could drown two or three men at a time, assuming that they were swimming when attacked.- I saw an octopus with a spread of 4ft throw a man. A large greenish-brown octopus came out of ,a'pool'and started for the water. The man, who was barefooted, gave it a kick. Like a flash the animal threw its eight arms about its assailant and clasped him in an embrace that held his legs together so tightly that he fell headlong on. the beach. Tearing away the suckers by hand was of no avail. The man was released only when one of the men inserted a knife beneath the coils, and severed the arms fro v m the head. A test was made of the strength of an octopus that was landed at King Island. It was landed in a net. Having wrapped pieces of sacking around their 'hands to protect them from the suckers, six men each took an arm and walked away. But the octopus writhed like a snake, and it pulled and hauled them.about at will. They had to exert all their power to prevent the creature from fastening about them. I have taken scores of octopuses with spears, and I have known them to bring up 20 and 30 pounds of coral clinging to their tentacles. These were comparatively small specimens, their bodies being about the size of a man's fist. It is easy to imagine what a large octopus could do.