Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1878-07-17
A Thrilling Adventure with q shark.


In 1886 Capt. Blank-the captain
does not wish his name mentioned
was first mate of whaleship cruising
out of New Bedford. The William
King was one of those old-fashioned
tubs peculiar to the last century, sail
ing equally well either way, bow or
stern. OFF Telegraph Hill, near San
Francisco, a school of whales was
raised, led by an immense bull, and
steering in northerly direction. Two
boats were at once lowered, but they
had scarcely touched the water when
the school parted, one running north,
the other south. Captain Blanks boat
followed one band, while Jim Watson,
the mate followed the other. The cap
tain's boat had a crew of magnificent
oarsmen; they laid to their work with
a will, and after an hours pull came
within range of the ball. Capt. Blank
got an iron INTO him in short order, the
fish sounded ana went down at speed
which almost equaled that of the late
81 ghtning express"train. The line ran
out with deafening hum; the logger
head smoked, and the boat laid her bows
deep into the water.
Suddenly the strain ceased The
whale was coming up, and every eye
conned the seas for glimpse OF the
monster. He came up like a rocket,
struck the boat on the keel amidship
with his nose, and hurled it thirty feet
in the air. As it descended,i it capsized,
and fell bottom uppermost. The men
Immediately swan for it, and, with the
exception of the captain, reached it,
where they squatted, holding on the
keel and presenting the appearance of
a lot of fpenguins nesting on chunk
of kelp. The captain swan also up but
finding the keel crowded, resolved not
10 risk an upsetting by venturing upon
it. So he put an oar under each arm,
and, treading water, kept near the boat,
cheering the crew, who, as was natural
TO men in their situation, were nervous
and down-hearted. They flOated this
way some minutes, and were gradually
getting over the first shock, when the
stroke oarsman, gigantic negro, called
out, s'LoOk dar, a shark" Nothing so
horrifies a sailor as a ravenous fish in
hours of peril. The crew looked and
saw a huge bottle-nosed shark floating
not more than a fathom below the sur
face. The captain saw the monster al
so. and felt his chances for escape
dwindle TO cipher; nevertheless he
did not lose courage, and instead of
fastening the event which seemed be-
yond prevention, resolved to escape lit
if possible. He knew that shark
would never bite at an unsteady bait.
The nose of the creature is in its way !:
it must turn on its side and snap, and
then only when the object is statiOna-
nv. 1t may be so for second only,
but that is enough; the shark darts
like lightning. and in moment seizes
his prey. The captain knew this, and
his only salvation depended on his
Leeping constantly in motion. The
least pause would be fatal, so with two
oars under his arms he kept afioat.
moving about necessarily, his eyes fixed
on the dark monster beneath him,
Such a situation would be apt to affect
the senses terribly, yet the captain says
he was never calmer, never less trou-
bied, and never less afraid of death
His mind, however, was unusually ac-
tive; every circumstance of his life
came before him with the clearness of
MONDAY. The scenes of his youth in
particular passed before him in vivid
coloring. He saw the old farm house
in which he was born-the hills, woods
and meadows surrounding it; the dis
tant village, the church spire, the flocks
on the plains, the winding river, the
cows browsing in the fields; he heard
the clatter of the mill, the songs of the
mowers, the birds singing in the groves
and the gun echOing among the hills.
He heard, too, the voice of one dearer
to him than all on earth, the voice of
one-but this all took place while ra
pacious monster was floating within a
few feet of him, waiting only for mo-
ment's pause in his movements to rend
him to pieces,
rIn hax rn1
the wrecked men, approached the cap
tain, who ordered its crew to shoot by
him at full speed, and as it passed him
he would grasp it and spring in, the
critical moment being when he would
lose motion, and the shark would be
likely to seize him. However, that
risk must be taken. The mate faithfully
carried out his directions. The men
strained every sinew. They were
whaleman, and as such topgallant oars
men, and the speed at which they sent
that boat diving through the water,
would have shamed the flight of the
swiftest sea bird. The boat itself was
5 scarcely seen, buried in double wall
of foaming spray, the oars bending like
r eeds and the gunwales quivering at
each stroke. 1t took a steady nerve,
and eagle glance and a lightning grasp
to secure the flying craft; but the cap
tain had these, as it passed, seized the
starboa.d gunwale, and was thrown
like a shot into the boat. At the same
instant the sharks head rose shove the
water, and its jaws snapped with a
sound audible for considerable dis
tance. The captain as he himself re-
escaped''only by scratch,
the moment he was stationary the
shark snapped at him, the velocity of
his subseqent motion only saving him
from a hideOus death.
Secret Chinese Tribunals.