In the West Indies, the negroes have frequently the hardihood to engage the shark in single combat, by diving beneath him, and, in ascending, stab him before he sees where they are. In these combats they frequently conquer this formidable creature; and thus, through courage and tactics, overcome his great strength and ferocity.
INVERTEBRATA.
We come now to the second grand division of the animal kingdom—the Invertebrata Animals—those which, instead of an internal skeleton, have, for the most part, an external shell, or framework, by means of which the fleshy parts are sustained.
CLASS I. MOLLUSCA ... SOFT ANIMALS.
THE SQUID.
There is a singular genus of animals, called Sepia, of which the cuttle-fish is a familiar example. Some of them are of great size, having arms nearly thirty feet in length. We are told of a Sardinian captain, who, while bathing, felt one of his feet in the grasp of a squid; he instantly tried to disengage himself with his other foot, but this limb was immediately seized by another of the monster's arms. He then with his hands endeavored to free himself, but these also, in succession, were firmly grasped by the creature, and the poor man was shortly after found drowned, with all his limbs strongly bound together by the arms and legs of the fish; and it is extraordinary that, where this happened, the water was scarcely four feet deep.
Mr. Beale gives us the following narrative: "While upon the Bonni Islands, searching for shells, I one day saw, towards the surf, a most extraordinary-looking animal, crawling upon the beach. It was creeping on eight soft and flexible legs, and, on seeing me, made every effort to escape. To prevent this, I pressed one of its legs with my foot; but it quickly liberated the member. I then laid hold of it with my hand, and gave it a powerful jerk, which it resisted by clinging with its suckers to the rock; but the moment after, the apparently enraged animal let go its hold, and sprang upon my arm, which I had previously bared to the shoulder, and clinging to it with great force, endeavored to get its beak between its arms in a position to bite.