The Republican journal., 1871-10-05
An Encounter With a Shark.

1hieou olittS service, under command Ol
Assistant W.-E.-that prince of good
fellows, was detailed for service durin o
the winter of 1867, on the southwest coast
or Florida. | was u subordinate officer
on the staff of Assistant Il, and one
morning shortly after our arrival in Char
lotte Ha1bor, was sent ashore in charge
OF boats crew for the purpose of loca-
ing and erecting signal station After
locating the station, | left the men in
charge OF quarter master who was one
| o. the party, and taking a boat hook start
| eu OIL in search of stingarees, a species of
the my tribe OF the flat order, being about
one-third greater in width than in length,
and IN thickness resembling the flounder.
VI course we We're obliged to enter the
water in the pursuit OF the fish, but this
was no hardship as we were waist deep
in water about half our time.
One day in question, had started up a
! good sized stingaree, probably about three
ieet IN width to two in length with y
'beauty of a tail, /" and soon the hunt be-
came interesting. Twice | had pierced
IFS body with boat hook, and the water
IN the immediate neighborhood became
| dyed with blood. The shoals extend out
nearly mile in many places in Charlotte
harbor, and in my excitement had wad-
ed out full half that distance from the
shore, and at least n mile away from my
men. The thought of the danger never
entered my head. My feet and legs were
bare, my trowsers being rolled up as high
as possible. But | had gone out some
distance from that depth, the water being
up to my waist and not dreaming of peril
was bent upon the capture of the fish |
was pursuing. Suddenly, but why, |
could never comprehend. l turned my
eyes from the stingaree and looked out
INTO the harbor. | never saw that -stinga-
rec again for my heart almost ceased to
beat as beheld a monstrous shark, that
no doubt had scented the blood of the
wounded fish coming in a direct line for
the place where | was standing. A feel
ing OF horror prevaded me at once.
Poweress, death stricken it seemed, |
gave one powerful yell-shark-an Civ
ing one despairing, agonizing look toward
my men mile away, | turned my eyes
almost starting from their sockets upon
the monster from which | expected the
most horrible death. The agony and
mental torture of that fearful moment can
never be described or forgotten; it makes
IL.
shark approached me he lessened his
speed, evidently reconnoitering the posi-
ton His graceful evoutons, the per
iect ease with which he glidel through
the water, the under jaw dropped lust
enough to disclose the glittcring rows of
teeth sharp as razora, the careless, lazy
movement of that powerful tail, and above
all, the cold, horrible glare Of those small,
yellow eyes, fascinated me with a deadly
terror. In these short seconds lived an
age Of horror. 10 see that ravenous
demon SO lesurely confident of his power
and | almost powerless. waist deep in
water and no weapons of defence but
common boat hook seemed to shrink
into nothingness-when compared to my
enemy. He gave me but a few minutes
70 think or prepare for death, tor quick
as a cat he faced direct for me and seem
Ell almost TO spring from the water as he
dived for my legs. could scarcely hold
the boat hook in my trembling grasp, but
as the body came within reach I struck at
it with the energy and despair with which
a drowning man would clutch at Il straw.
In 4 breath | committed my soul to God,
and fer the next few seconds became
nearly unconscious. Whether the mon
ster felt the point of my spear or not, of
course | cannot tell; presume, however,
that he did, for he missed me. his ponder
ous Jaws coming together with rush and
snap.
Passing full around me, he dashed out
into the harbor again, but not far. when
he turned and began the same maneuyerS
As before, My feelings As he sprang for
me and the revnlsion consequent upon
my unlocked ior respite, seemed t. in
splre me with new courage, and | felt
that the coWardly monster might vet be
balked Of his prey. gained an astonish-
ing feeling of coolness and nerve and
determined to present a firm front when
he attacked me again, which knew he
would
began TO retreat, stepping cautiously
backward with my eyes fixed on the shark.
Stealing look toward the boat I saw
with JOY that the men had got it off the
beach and Were manning the oars. That
look nearly proved my last for | had
hardly turned towards the shark again be-
fore he was upon me. | cannot decribe
mnutely what occurred. for I was taken
completely by surprise and lost my wit as
well rs nerve. | saw the dull glare and
almost white shining surface of the belly
as it was partially turned upwards, and
the water dashed in my face A deadly
cold feeling went over me like an electric
shock as felt the Shiny body brush my
bare legs; something struck me on the
chest, and. for an instant, | believe | be-
came unconscious. The shark seemed to
twist his body completely around me, the
boat hook dropped from my hands and I
| fell over the monsters back, my feet and
legs being thrown entirely out of the
| water as my head and body were wholly
submerged. Nothing but an interposition
of Divine Providence saved my life, for
the shark failed for the second time in
| catching me between his massive Jaws.
! The water seemed to restore me little,
| scrambled to my feet and almost wild
| with terror, looked for the shark, and
none can imagine the JOY felt as | saw
him swimming full speed toward the en-
trance of the harbor.
| turned my face to the shore and stag
gered along until within a few yards of
the beach, when | was fully overcome
| and swooned from the effects of the dread
ful ordeal | had undergone. Falling in
water nearly two feet deep, and after such
| a remarkable escape from ahorrible death,
| came within hairs breadth of drown
| ing The boats crew arrived not n second
too soon rs it was over an hour before |
was resuscitated, and then, only after the
most unwcaried exertions. was as
weak as a child, and for hours shook like
u person with the palsy. On shipboard
received every possible attention, but ii
| l. T 20