Daily Los Angeles herald., 1883-10-25
rhe make-up Of a Shark.

A few weeks ago a fine specimen Of a
shark was cast ashore at Wllmore City,
in an unyitalized condition, having been
pierced through the body by sword
fish, so that his entrails We're let out.
The creature was yaung, with sharp
barbed teeth, and was seven aud a
half feet long. weighed 400 pounds, and
looked like formidable fish, with ribs
of steel and jaw bones of terrible power.
An account OF the discovery of the fish
appeared in the HERALD at the date Of
finding. Messrs. w. W. and s. A.
Widney took possession of the carcass.
and buried it in the sind to await its
decay and deodorization. On Monday
OF this week they exhumed the body
which was still Extensively odorous, and
boiled it long and vigorously, to secure
the skeleton in all its completeness. But
when the flesh fell off the bones a
strange sight presented itself. The sup
| posed jaw bones and ribs Of steel and
various bones that constitute the trunk
of a ravenous monster of the deep, dis
solved like the baseless fabric of a
vision, and left no trace behind, except
two pounds of little spinal column
bones. All the rest of the carcasss con-
sisted Of carthage, blubber and muscle,
and had been changed into coarse kind
of fish glue.
This strange revelation of the compo-
sition of shark was surprise to all
who saw the result. All that was left
in solid condition were the teeth in
the shape of isosceles triapgles with
keeuly pointed barbs on the edges, and
the little joints of the backbone, which
varied in size from half inch in diame-
ter at the head, to an inch in the mid
die of the body, and then decreasing to
agarter of an inch at the tail, These
little bones are very curious. They are
about three-eighths Of an inch in thick
ness with small hole in the center
through which the spinal chord passed.
The outer edge of these bones are beau.
tifully mortised. like the hub Of car
riage wheel, and from these little morti-
ces cartilages sprang out in all direc-
tions, like the spokes from the hub of a
wheel. Not bone was to be found in
| tba 1aoJ MT avap tho oion of n .ax,v
bone; only this little curious yertebra
| This structure accounts for the extreme
mobility and power of the shark. 1t has
no jaws to break and no ribs TO be
crushed, but in place of the usual bony
framework it has the strongest and most
flexible of cartilages, which give the
creature such tremendous strength and
such charmed life. The sword-fsh is
its deadly enemy and knows the soft
place in the body of the shark, and so
pierces it in the belly with its terrible
sword.
The shark which Widney Broth
ers have cooked and served
up, when found, had large
baracouta fish about three feet
long, half swallowed and the balance in
its mouth Owing to the cartilaginous
structure of the mouth of the shark it
is enabled to distend that and the throat,
and swallow large animals without trou-
Bile. 1t appears that the swordiish saw
the shark catch the baracouta, aud in
revenge thrust him through with his
sword before he, had finised his dinner
of FISH. The bones are little odorous,
but they will be deodorized and placed
on exhibition in day or two. 1t is
likely that the cartilage of sharks may
be used for making glue, while all the
bones Of these great creatures can be
carried in small pocket. OF such
stuff are sharks.