The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1874-04-23
SHARKS AND OTHER TORRENTS.

Conceive the idea of wide and tran
quill, as well as hot, sea, some five miles
off the mouth of moderate sized river
in Central America: sharks in size and
quantity, as if bespoke, cruising lazily
around the ship as she arose and fell
upon the long groundwork to some
ninety fathoms of chain-eable; the crew
black and white, work over, fishing for
what they could chiefly dog-fsh,
bonito, and cavalli-and vociferating ey-
cry moment "Ob, there he is, again"
4" Almost as big as the cutter, Look
at this I'M down by the wheel.
Furnished with such special opportu-
nifty, he sought the butcher, who, pro-
vided with sufficient offal to make about
half-a dozen respectable mouthfuls for
a shark, set to, to observe the demeanor
of the animal. The bait had not long
been on the surface of the water, when
a black triangular fin appeared to lee
ward, coming straight mp when within
about ten yards, it disappeared beneath
the water, but almost instantaneously
after a white fash was visible at inter
walls down several feet beneath the bait.
This was the white belly of the shark
not turned up to take the bait, but ex-
hibited at intervals as he dashed in wild
OiIEAC5 LOuuu VIC ODlCCb VI Ills puIbul1s
I pause here to observe, that the first OBJ
server who narrated that popularity of
the shark must have evidently paused
here too, and taken the rest of the pro
pramme for granted, else he might have
noticed that the shark, having performed
several pyrations, as if he were mad,
suddenly ceased, swan slowly to the
morsel, and, as the offal foated very
high, pushed his great snout complete
ly out of the water, and took down his
food without altering his normal equili-
brium. And what a mouth A morsel
as large as a mans head disappeared
like a spoonful of raspberry jam This
experiment, repeated several times,
was always attended with the same re-
suits.
Sharks appear to h We keen noses ; a
piece of meat overheard in a sharky
place is never left long unnoticed. They
smell or detect in some way-and as
should imagine they are not very nice
in their palate, the probability is in
favor of the nose being the organ of
discovery-anything Objectionable, no
matter how deftly concealed. It is often
admirably stated as fact that sharks
are preceded by little fish to act as
pilot to the animals prey. No doubt
| -
city displayed by these pilot-fish they
are not, however, the disinterested crea-
! lures our authors would have us believe.
The fact is, the pilot-fish is nothing
more than parasite of the shark. He
is a scaleless fish, from one to three feet
in length, and Is provided with pow
! full sucker on the top of his head, while
his under jaw projects considerably be-
yOnd the upper. He gives one the idea
of an eel with his head put on upside
| down, but the use of such formation
| is evident he attaches himself to the
shark at the angle or opening of the Jaw
| by his sucker, and with his projecting
shovel under-lip, catches the morsels
which drop from his masters mouth as
he chews. Thus it happens that there
being only two convenient points of at
tachment on the sharks head, he is sell
dom accompanied by more than two
fish. AS to those fish themselves, their
power of suction is so great that q
moderate-sized one will draw blood
through a mans skin if allowed to at
tach itself. Eel-like, they remain &C.
tive for long time out of their native
element, and can be made to adhere to
any object for many minutes. The
writer, on one occasion, trie I the
strength of one of them, about eighteen
inches long, by allowing it 70 attach it.
self to a gun case, with a double-bar
relied gun and paraphernalia within
Lifting the fish by the tail, it raised the
gun case easily, and afterward bore the
addition of several heavy books withou
giving way. The appearance of the
sucker is somewhat like gridiron.
Sharks, ihough not to compared to
leg of mutton, furnish by no means
bad dinner to a hungry man. The ne
groes in Central America consider young
sharks tail delicacy, compliment
said not to be returned by the shark
The writer has tried to satisfy himsel
as to the accuracy of this legend il
shark-lore-namely, that it is only un
der pressure of hunger that sharl
will banquet off negro, but has neve,
been able to come to a conclusion from
the evidence, as there are numerous in
stances of a dinner off negro being pre-
ferred when the shark had his choice
Thus it happened once at Grsytown Oh
the Mosquito Coast, in Central America
A large life-boat crossing the bar of tn,
San Juan river, upset, precipitating tn
crew, consisting of the white officer
and ten colored men, into the water, tn
boat being turned upside down. g
felt, says the narrator, "that my lif
was not worth half an hours purchase
The cockswain of the boat, q weak,
black man, rose alongside of me afte
the plunge he was in great terror an,
felt that even if the sharks did no
harm him, he could scarcely reach tn
shore without help; so I encourage,
him by telling him would swim by hi
side, and give him a hand if he fel
> tired. No ii ell, mas sa neber lib T.
be tired; look at dem round us
L felt that ne was about as near tn
J truth as possible, for we were literall
: in the center of a shoal of sharks
: whose black triangular fins we could sc
; on all sides sailing around us. AS tn
beach was quite close, we first endeaV
ored to make that, but soon discovere,
that the current was so strong that W
} made no Roadway and we were force,
, to turn toward the boat, which was
hundred and fifty yards away, driftin
out to sea, turned upside down, wit
! therest of her crew astride of her keel
! There was nothing, however, but t
: swim to her; and aided by the stron
current we soon shortened the distance
, All this time the sharks were around us
making, / fancied, smaller circles, an
once or twice thought felt somethin
touch my feet with rush, as these hon
: rid brutes do before they bite; if
| was my imagination, it was not grea
) stretch, however, for we had not 20
, twenty yards ahead of the spot whe
, my companion shrieked, threw up hi
: arms, and disappeared beneath tn
waves. A rush of black fms, and thei
sudden disappearance under water
was the last thing 1 remember, until
found myself alongside our ship, in tn
, cutter, which had been sent to the res
: cue"
Considering the fool-hardy rashnes
/ of the negroes in bathing, it is SUI
prising how comparatively few acci
, dents happen. "Dive for sixpence
massa, into water where sharks hav
been seen the same morning however
he will never venture in after dark
Sharks, like many other fish, bite NOR
freely in the night in fact, shsrky wa
tiers, where the fish are shy, and bath
ing is comparatively free from DANCE
during the day, cannot be entered ate
nightfall without very great risk, tn
more especially that at night shark
will, like trout, prowl about shal1oy
water barely sufficient to cover them
] Tho rurffar farfp a. E,1,., 49,, Oh