Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1884-02-11
A DIVERS ADVENTURE WITH
A SHARK.

Atlanta, near MOrehead, thus speaks
of an adventure had by him a few
days ago. At the time | was at the
bottom of the sea, / was just about
to signal to be drawn up for a mo-
ment's rest, when [ noticed shad-
owy body moving at some distance
above me and toward me. In mo-
ment every fish had disappeared, the
very crustaceans lay still upon the
sand and the cutie fish scurried
away as fast as they could. | was
not thinking of danger, and my first
thought was that it was the shadow
of passing boat. But suddenly a
feeling of terror seized me. | felt
impelled to flee from something I
knew not what. A vague horror
seemed grasping after me, such as a
child fancies when leaving a darken-
ed room. By this time the shadow
had come nearer and taken shape.
1t scarcely needed glance to show
me that it was man-eater, and of
the largest size. Had I signaled to
be drawn up then it would have been
certain death. All | could do was to
remain still until it left. 1t lay off
20 OF 26 feet, just outside the rigging
of the ship, its body motionless, its
fins barely stirring the water about
its gills.
It was o monster as it was, but to
add to the horror the pressure of wa
ter upon my head made it appear as
if pouring flames from its eyes and
mouth, and every movement Of its
fins and tail seemed accompanied by
q display Of fireworks. / was sure
the fish was 80 feet long, and so
near that / could see its double row
of white teeth. Involuntarily /
shrunk closer to the side Of the ves-
sci. But my first movement betray-
ed my presence. l saw the shining
eyes fixed upon me its tail quivered
as it darted at me like q streak of
light. | shrank closer to the side of
the ship. I saw it turn on one side,
its mouth open, and heard the teeth
snap as it darted by me. It had
missed me, but only for q moment.
The sweep Of It's mighty tail had
thrown me forward. I saw 1t turn,
balance itself, and its tail quivered
as it darted at me again. There was
no escape. 1t turned on its back as
it swooped down on me like a hawk
on a sparrow. The jaws opened and
the long, shining teeth grated as they
closed on my metal harness.
1t had me. | could feel its teetl
grinding on my copper breastplate as
it tried to bite me in two, for, fortu.
nately, it had caught me just across
| the middle, where l wss best protect
ed. Having seized me it went tear
ing through the water. I could fee
it bound forward at each stroke Of
its tail. Had it not been for my
copper helmet my head would have
been torn off by the rush through th'
water. l was perfectly conscious
but somehow / felt no terror at all
There was only feeling of numb
ness. l wondered how long it wouIC
be before those teeth would cruncl
through and whether they woulC
strike first into my back or 10,
breast. Then | thought of Maggi
and the baby and wondered VIII,
would take care of them and if sh
would ever know what had becom
of me. All these thoughts passet
through my brain in an instant, bu
in that time the connecting air tub
had been snapped and my head seem
ed ready to burst with pressure, Will
the monsters teeth kept crunchin
and grinding away upon my harness
Then I felt the cold water begin t
pour in and heard the bubble, bubble
bubble, as the air escaped into th
creatures mouth. | began to hea
great guns and to see fireworks an
rainbows and sunshine and all sort
of pretty things, then l thought
was floating away on a rosy summe
cloud, dreaming to the sounds c
sweet music. Then all becam
blank. The shark might have cate
me at his leisure, and / never woul
have been the wiser. Imagine N
astonishment then when | opened N
eyes on board this boat and saw 20
fellows around me. Yes, sir,
thought l was dead and ate up, sure
Alfetto was found by his comrade
a few minutes after the swapping c
the line. He was picked up insens
BILE with several holes punched in th
metallic part of his diving suit.