The giant squids are greatly prized as 

 bait, and frequently a royal battle will 

 take place between one of these gigantic 

 creatures and a boat's crew. Sad, indeed, 

 is the fate of the crew if the squid once 

 obtains a firm hold of the boat. Great 

 care is taken, however, to guard against 

 such a result, and the animal is gradually 

 deprived of its strength by making a 

 sudden dash, cutting off an arm, and as 

 quickly retreating. These large squids 

 are not as common as are the smaller ones, 

 and they are rarely captured. 



The following accounts, taken from 

 Try on's Structural and Systematic Con- 

 chology, give an excellent idea of the size 

 and appearance of these huge mollusks, 

 and also the difficulties in capturing them : 



"On the 30th of November, 1860, 

 the French steamer Alecton, commanded 

 by Lieutenant Bouyer, encountered, be- 

 tween Madeira and Teneriffe, an enor- 

 mous Poulpe, which was swimming on the 

 surface of the water. The animal meas- 

 ured fifteen to eighteen feet in length, 

 without counting the formidable arms, 

 covered with cups, which crowned its 

 head. Its color was brick-red ; its eyes 

 had a prodigious development and fright- 

 ful fixity. Its mouth, like the beak of a 

 parrot, could be opened to the extent of 

 eighteen inches. Its body, fusiform, but 

 much swelled toward the center, pre- 

 sented an enormous mass, the weight of 

 which has been estimated at more than 

 four thousand four hundred pounds. Its 

 fins, situated at the posterior extremity, 

 were rounded in two fleshy lobes, and were 

 of very large size. The commander of the 

 vessel, on perceiving it, halted upon his 

 course, and made preparations for captur- 



139 



Architeuthis princeps, a giant squid. 

 One thirty-fifth natural size. (Sketch 

 of model prepared at Yale College and 

 published in Ward's Catalogue of 

 Mollusca.) Models of this rnollusk 

 may be seen at Yale University, 

 Hartford, Conn. ; Harvard College, 

 Cambridge, Mass. ; and the Field 

 Columbian Museum, Chicago, 111. 



