Rensselaer Union, Volume 8, Number 43, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 July 1876 — Cuttle-Fishes. [ARTICLE]

Cuttle-Fishes.

To a small volume recently published by Mr. Henry Lee, naturalist of the Brighton Aquarium, Englund, we are indebted for a great deal of curious information in regard to that branch of the mollusk family known as the Cephalopoda, or “ head-footed.” Stories of the giant calamarles tlpit exist among the wonders of uie deep have comp down to us through ancient Scandinavian tradition, and the classic authors of Gpeece and Rome relate wondrous narratives of sea-monsters—-tales which had apparently gathered and accumulated marvel* by transmission from generation to generation by word or mouth before they were crystal ized into enduring shape on parchment. Eric Pontoppidan, Bishop of "Bergen, was the collector of many remarkable legends relating to the “ great beasts” that live in “ the great and wide sea;” Paullinu*, naturalist of Eisenach, describes S monstrous animal which occasionally rose from the sea between Lapland and Firrmark, and was of such extraordinary dimensions that a regiment of soldiers might maneuver on its back; and Denys de Monfort depicts a tremendous outtle-fish which once threw its enormous arms over a three masted teasel, tearing down the yards, snapping off the masts, and proceeding to drag the ship down to the bottom, ■which catastrophe was only averted by the prompt action of the crew in cutting off the limbs of the monster with cutlasses and hatchets. These stories of colossal cuttle-fishes, according to Mr. Lee, though undoubtedly gross exaggerations, are, nevertheless, founded on fact. They are based on the rare occurrence of specimens—smaller, certainly, but still enormous, of some known species. Through study and observation of the rate of Increase in size among young cuttle-fishes, naturalists have arrived at the conclusion that not only do they live many years, but they continue to grow until the end of their lives. That some of them, therefore, should attain to considerable size is hardly surprising. In confirmation of this opinion there is on exhibition at the British Museum, preserved In spirits, the single arm of a huge cephalopod, which, judged by the proportions of known examples, must have been severed from the body of a monster at least forty-eight feet long. Here, then, we have a cuttle-fish which must have once possessed sufficient power to upset a boat, or to drag an unsuspecting sailor from a ship’s side crushing and tearing him in pieces with its snaky arms and horrible beak. In 1874 a calamary was captured in Conception Bay measuring thirty feet in length, and in April of 1875 another specimen, not quite as large, was discovered off Baffin Island, Connemara. These facts, together with other well-attested statements on the part of sailors, seem to establish the existence of cuttle-fishes of great size and strength, and give a show of probability to the least exaggerated of the ancient stories.

The common cuttle-fish, or pigmy relative of the great sea-monsters, though less marvelous, is a curious little creature, and interesting to The student of natural history. Flabby and clammy enough in death, it is nevertheless a lovely object when alive. Poised near the surface of the water, like a hawk in the air, it moves gently about by graceful undulations of its lateral fins, an exquisite play of color occasionally taking place over its beautifully barred and mottled back. When tranquil, its eight pedal arms are usually brought close together, and droop in front of its head, like the trunk of an elephant shortened. Only when some small fish comes in its way is its facility of rapid motion displayed. Then, quickly as a kingfisher darts upon a minnow, it pounces upon its prey. The name of the cuttle-fish, said to be derived from the Saxon cudele , signifying to withdraw or hide, from whence we also get our pet word cuddle, signifies the nature of its fatal embrace. The unfortunate victim is crushed and smothered in the soft hold, and the cuttle-fish retires to a recess in the rocks, tearing its prey to pieces with its horny beak, and rending it into the minutest shreds with its jagged tongue. After a hearty meal it will sometimes rest for hours on the bottom, looking

very much like a sleepy tortoise. So voracious are these little creatures that in some regions fishermen regard them as rivals. They devour the fishes, or mangle them so that they are unsalable. On the other hand, the cuttle-fish does good service among the cod-fisheries of Newfoundland. The cod-fish looks upon him as a peculiar delicacy, and according to the calculation of Mr. W. E. Cormack, a merchant of Newfoundland, more than a hundred millions of cod are caught annually with cuttle-fish as bait. Thus the cuttle plays a not unimportant part in one of the great industries of Northern Europe. Although the cuttle-fish has the power to swim in a forward direction by the use of its side fins, its usual mode of progression is to dart backward by forcibly ejecting a stream of water from the funnellike tube with which it is provided. The force with which the water is expelled is very great, and the cattle, when startled, generally makes use of his squirting ability for the annoyance of the enemy. The story is told of Tofii Hood, who, on a fishing excursion, captured one of these little creatures. Unaware of its peculiar characteristics, he hastened to lay hold of it. Reedring a small torrent of water full in his face, he remarked that he “didn’t exactly know what he had got on his line, but thought he had hooked a young garden agios.” A remarkable organ with which the cuttie is provided is a sac, popularly called the “ink-bag,” in which is stored a black secretion, which it is aide to employ at will i 3 a protection against its enemies. Then is a communication between this ink-lag and foe funnel, or locomotor tube, so that the black fluid can be ejected in the same rapid, rocket-like manner. There is, also, little doubt that the creatures intentionally take aim, and that they do it with the same accuracy and precision as the archef-fish, which, by the ejection of a drop of water from its mouth, brings down a fly from a branch or leaf three or four feet above the water. The Rev. J, G. Wood mentions an incident of a naval officer'swhite duck trousers being assaulted by the liquid missile of a cuttle, the aggrieved individual asserting that it took deliberate aim for that purpose. Ike following story, told by an old fisherman in foe presence of his mates, also illnstratre the malignity with which the entile will sometimes avenge his wrongs: “We was out fishin’ one quiet night, and had just got our trawl awash, and was a-goia’ to hand it in-board, when Bill, hen, all of a sudden lets go his hold, mas out like a stuck pig—‘Oh-h-h! What the dickens is that ?’ and tumbles into an empty fish-basket. We bafo’t no time to tend to him till we’d gbtour haul on deck, but I guessed what win up, and when we looked round we pretty near split our sides with laughin’Thee was Bill &-leanin’ back agin the Bkjf, wipin’ his eyes to get some muck outof ’em, as he said made ’em smart, and his face for all the world as if Davy

Jones had emptied a tar barrel head, and be lookin’ as doleful as a school-lioy a* has upsetthe inkstand ovar his hand* and smeared hi* face w ith it m rubbin’ the tears away while he wa*a-cgy-* in’ for fear the master’d lick him. Weil, it were one o' them scuttles as wc*fe talkin’ about as we’d brought qu. afd, they can shoot straight and no mistake. It** my opinion us Mr. Scuttle sighted Bill’s nose as soon as lie came atop of the water, and aimed right at It -sos yob can see as Bill’s nose looms as red as Beacliy Head Light in a fog, and any scitttle c ite misses it must be a fool. Bill won’t fouget that dose of ink fpr a good while yet—will ’ee, old man ?” Bill wap very good-natured, and joined heartily in the laugh elicited by the anecdote.—Harper’* Weekly.