Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1832-06-12
ALEXANDRIA GAZETTE.

given in Capt. HALL's Auto Biography:
The lunarian, busy taking distances, Grams
his sextant hastily into his case; the computor,
working out the longitude. shoves his books on
one side; the marine officer abandOns his eternal
flute; the Doctor starts from his nap; the Purser
resigns his complete book; and every man and
| boy, however engaged, rushes on deck to see the
villain die. Even the monkey, if there be one
| on board, takes vehement interest in the whole
progress of this wild scene. l remember once
observing JACKIE running backward and forwards
along the afterpart Of the poop Misunderstanding,
grinning, screaming and chatterlng at such rate.
that, as it was nearly calm, he was heard nearly
all over the decks. "What's the matter with
YOU Master Mona?" said the Quarter naster;-
| for the animal came from renerife, and preserv-
| ed his Spanish cognomen. Jacko replied not,
but merely stretching his head over the railing,
stared with his eyes almost bursting from his head,
and by the intensity of his grin barred his teeth
and gums nearly from ear to ear. g. Messenger!
run to the cook for piece OF pork" cries the
Captain, taking the command with as much slee
as il it had been an enemys cruiser, he was about
to engage. Where's your hook. quarter-mas
teri" Here, sir, here!" cries the fellow, feel
ing the point, and decla:ing it as sharp as any
lady's needle, and in the next instant piercing
with it huge junk of rusty pork, weighing four
or five pounds for nothing, scarcely, is too large
or too high in flavor for the stomach of shark.
The hook, which is as thick as ones little finger,
has curvature about as large as that OF a mans
hand when half closed, aud is from six to eight
inches in length, with formidable barb. This
fierce looking grappling-iron is furnished with
three or four feet OF chain, precaution which is
absolutely necessary; for voracious shark will
sometimes gohbe the bait so deep in his stomach,
but that for the chain, he would snap through the
rope by which the hook is held, easily as if he
were nppng the head of an asparagus,
"A shark, like a midshipman, is generally We
nv hungry; but in the cases when he is not in
good appetite. he sails slowly up to it, and gives
it poke with his shovel-nose, turningi, and
over lie then edges off TO The right Or left. as if
he app.ehended mischief, bu, soon returns again,
| to enjoy the delicious hoM yout, as the sailors
term the favor of the damaged pork, of which
| piece is always selected, if it can be found
| While this coquetry. or shyness is exhibited by
John Shark, the whole after part of the ship is so
| clustered with heads that not an inch of spare
| room is to be bad for love or money. The rig
ging, the miZcn.top, and even the gaf out to the
very peak; the hammock MEETINGS and the quar-
| tiers, almost down to the counter, are stuck over
with GREATNESS spectators, speaking in whispers,
if they venture to speak at all, can lind leisure
for any thing but fixing their gaze upon the mon
ster, who, as yet is free to roam the ocean, but
| who, they trust. will soon be in their power. /
have seen this 60 on for an hour together; after
which the shark has made up his mind to have no
| thing to say to US, and either swerved away to
wlndward, if there be any breeze at all, or dived
so deep that his place could be detected only by
a Iaint touch or flash of white many fathons
down. The loss of Spanish galleon, in chase,
am persuaded, could hardly cause more bitter
regret. or call forth more incorporate expressions
of anger and impatience. On the other hand, |
suppose the first symptoms Of an enemy's flag
coming down in the fight was never ha,led with
greater JOY than is felt by ships crew on the
shark turning round to seize the bait A greedy
whisper Of delight passes from mouth to mouth;
every eye is lighted up, and such as have not
bronzed their cheeks by too long exposure to sun
| and wind, may be seen to alter their hue from
pale to red, and back to pale again, like the tints
of the dying dolphin.
sWken bait is lowed astern Of a ship that has
any motion through the water at all, it is neccs-
sarily brought to the surface, or nearly This,
of course obges the shark to bite at it from be-
| low; and as his mouth is placed under his chin,
not over it, like that Of Christian he must turn
nearly on his back before ne can seize the float
ing piece of meat in which the hook is concealed
Even III ne uOes Hot tuth CVWpItteif TouHu, Tic 10
forced to siue himself, as il is called, SO lar as to
show some parts Of his white belly. The instant
the white skin flashes on the sight Of the expect
ant crew, subdued cry, or murmur Of satisfac.
! ton, is heard amongst the crowd; but no one
speaks, for fear Of alarming the shark.
! Sometimes, at the very instant the bait Is cast
over the stern, the shark flies at it with such ca
gerness, that he actually springs partially out Of
the water. This, however, is rare. On these
occasions he gorges the bait, the hook, and foot
or two of the chain. without any mastication or
delay, and darts off with his treacherous prize
with such prodigIous velocity and force, that it
makes the rope crack again as soon as the whole
coil is drawn out. In general, however, lie goes
more leisurely to work, and seems rather to suck
in the bait than to bite at it. Much dexterty is
required in the hand which holds the line at this
moment; for bunsler IS apt to be too precipi.
tate, and to jerk away the hook before it has got
far enough down the sharks nav. Our greedy
friend, indeed, is never disposed to relinquisf
what may once have passed his formidable bat
teries Of teeth; but tbs hook, by premature tue