HABTTS OP THE CEPHALOPODA. 69 



centre of the disk, where the beaked mouth seizes, and soon 

 sucks it in. 



I am perfectly sure, from frequent observations, the octopus 

 has the power of numbing its prey ; and the sucking-disks along- 

 each ray are more for the purposes of climbing and holding on 

 whilst fishing, than for capturing and detaining slippery pris- 

 oners. 



The Indian looks upon the octopus as an alderman does on 

 turtle, and devours it with equal gusto and relish, only the 

 savage roasts the glutinous carcase instead of boiling it. His 

 mode of catching octopi is crafty in the extreme, for redskin well 

 knows, from past experience, thai were the octopus once to get 

 some of its huge arms over the side of the canoe, and at the same 

 time a holdfast on the wrack, it could as easily haul it over as a 

 child could upset a basket. Paddling the canoe close to the 

 rocks, and quietly pushing aside the wrack, the savage peers 

 through the crystal water, until his practised eye detects mi 

 octopus, with its great rope-like arms stiffened out. waiting 

 patiently for food. His spear is twelve feet long, armed at the 

 end wit!) (our pieces of hard wood, made harder by being baked 

 and charred in the lire: these project about fourteen inches 

 beyond the spear-haft, each piece having a barb on one side, and 

 are arranged in a circle round the spear-end, and lashed firmly 

 on with cedar-bark. Having spied out the octopus, the hunter 

 passes the spear carefully through the water until within an inch 

 or so of the centre disk, and then sends it in as deep as lie can 

 plunge it. Writhing with pain and passion, the Octopus coils 

 its terrible arms round the haft ; redskin, making the side of his 

 canoe a fulcrum for his spear, keeps the struggling monster well 

 off, and raises it to the surface of the water. He is dangerous 

 now ; if he could get a holdfast on either savage or canoe, nothing 

 short of chopping oif the arms piecemeal would be of any avail. 



Hut the wily redskin knowsall lliis.and has iaken care to have 

 another spear unbarbed. long, straight, smooth, and very sharp, 

 and with this he stubs the octopus where t he arms join the central 

 disk. I suppose the spear must break down the nervous gan- 

 glions supplying motive power, as the stabbed arms lose at once 

 strength and tenacity; the stickers, that a moment before held 

 on with a force ten men could not have overcome, relax, and the 



