HABITS OF THE OCTOPUS. 



159 



in Italy, states that there are living in the harbour of Leghorn several Octopods having arms at least 

 four feet long, and as thick at their base as a man's wrist. They lie with their bodies squeezed into, 

 ami hidden in, crevices in the stonework of the mole and sea-wall, two or three of their arms extended 

 and waving about in the water in readiness to seize passing prey, and the others holding fast to the 

 blocks of stone. Mr. Hanley says that his son, who is a practised shore-hunter, and no coward, having 

 frequent occasion, whilst in search of shells, to climb along a ledge of the rough masonry near the 

 surface of the water, just beneath which was the lurking-place of one of these great creatures, was for 

 some time afraid to pass the spot, in consequence of the animal's formidable appearance ; for, as he 

 approached, it would thrust one or two of its disc studded arms out of water, and stretch them towards 

 him in a threatening manner, in its endeavours to reach him. The Italian divers and bathers have a 

 wholesome dread of these creatures. 



The Octopus was the " polypus " of Homer and Aristotle. There can be little doubt that the 

 " Hydra," with its hundred snake-like arms, was an Octopus. On a Greek tomb, at the British 

 Museum, is a bas-relief representation of Hercules attacking the Hydra. 



Mr. Darwin, in his narrative of the "Voyage of the Beagle" says, that whilst looking for 

 marine animals, with his head about two feet above the rocky shore, he was move than once saluted 

 by a jet of water, accompanied by a slight grating noise. At first he conld not think what it was ; 

 but he afterwards found that it was an Octopus, which, though concealed in a hole, thus led him to its 

 discovery ; and it appeared to him that it could certainly 

 take good aim by directing its tube or syphon on the under 

 side of the body at the intruder. 



Although, says Darwin, the Octopus is common at St. 

 Jago in the pools of water left by the retiring tide, they are 

 not easily caught. By means of their long arms and suckers, 

 they can drag their bodies into veiy narrow crevices, and when 

 thus fixed it requires great force to remove them. At others, 

 they dart tail-first, with the rapidity of an arrow from one 

 side of the pool to the other, at the same instant discolouring 

 the water with a dark chestnut-brown ink. They also escape 

 detection by varying their tints according to the nature of 

 the ground over which they pass. 



The following account of a marine diver, attacked by an 

 Octopus, exhibits the behaviour of these animals towards any 

 being that intrudes upon them in their native element : 



On 4th November, 1879, Mr. J. Smale, Government diver, was at work at the bottom of 

 the tideway of the River Moyne, Melbourne. Having placed a charge of dynamite between 

 two large stones, he came up and exploded it, and on descending again found one of the 

 stones thrown out, which he sent up, and then hooked on to another, but could not start it, 

 and having descended again, the current being pretty strong at the time, he stretched himself 

 out on the stone, and reached his right arm down to feel if he could get another small charge 

 under it, not being able to do this in any other position. " My arm," he says, " was scarcely 

 down, however, before I found it was held by something, and the- action of the water was 

 stirring up the loose clay, and therefore I could not see distinctly for a few minutes, but when 

 it did clear away I saw, to my horror, the arm of a large Octopus entwined round mine like 

 a boa constrictor, and just then he fixed some of his suckers on the back of my hand, and the pain 

 was intense. I felt as if my hand was being pulled to pieces, and the more I tried to take it away 

 the greater the pain became, and, from past experience, I knew this method would be useless. But 

 what was I to do, lying in this position ? I had the greatest difficulty in keeping my feet down, as 

 the air rushed along the interior of my dress and inflated it, and if my feet had got uppermost I 

 should soon have become insensible, held in such a position, and if I had given the signal to be pulled 

 up, the brute would have held on, and the chances would have been that I should have had a broken 

 arm. I had a hammer down by me, but could not reach it to use it on the brute. There was a small 

 iron bar not far from me, and with my feet I dragged this along until I could reach it with 



COMMON OCTOPUS. 



