Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1884-08-21
.sysxTUREs wITH sHAkks.
New York Sun. /

ayes. il was a close shave, and / got
"A sasy with this" The speaker, who
sss q gulf coast pilot, held up an arm
soand 10 splints. II came up from
psnsaeola 70 take schooner round To
Tampa, bat / shall have 10 lie of for a
soaple Of weeks or 80. 1t happened in
tbis vay: | started for Fort Pickens in
Iipht boat under sail about two weeks
soo. and when we were half way down
Ia man with me speaks up and says,
.captain, sharks is sorter thick and
pm dooQed IL they weren't. Their fms
.as a-outting water all around the boat,
sor-ard. astern and on both sides, some
ooing one way and some another, and l
shouId reckon there was twenty a foller-
;no IA. | didn't like the looks of 'em
mvsef, but says, They can't damage
a in the dingy.' / hadn't no more'n
cot the vords out of my lips when biiml
sanse thirteen foot shark clean out of
shs water. We both gave jump to
vipd'ard, and the fish struck about a
third In, with crash that almost filled
as: thrashed for minute, sending one
Of tbs oars into the air, and then swuRg
its head round, and, as | was reaching
for the tiller TO give it knock, the tail
vsme against my arm and broke IL clean
in two, In minute more the shark was
oyerboar6, and We sot there bailing and
half scart to death.
accident? couldn't say; most
HkeIy il was. Sharks often leave the
water when they're chased, and it may
NOT have seen the boat; but We didn't
waste any time after that, can tell you.
The splash of the fish had collected
them until the water was full of 'em,
and didn't feel safe until was ON the
beach,"
"will they bitter WAS asked by the
listenef.
awill duck swimf'' asked the priot.
"Why. my friend, in July or now I'd
just as soon try lake of red-hot pitch
40 TO swim over from Pensacola to Fort
Pickens. There are not 80 many acci-
dents on record there, because people
know the dangers and look out for
them, but | know of at least half a
dozen cases. The last one happened
last sumner. A vessel came in port for
q load of lumber, and the captains boy,
quite q good-sized lad, in fooling about
the rigging fell overheard. The men
heard a scream and rushed 10 the rail.
but the only sign they saw was red
cloud In the water. They got out the
boat and finally recovered the body. but
The head and limbs were gone. Another
time soldier tried to desert fren the
fort and was eaten by sharks. You see
the brutes follow vessels in from of
shore, and get in the habit of swallow
ing everything that comes along, and
when man goes over they rush for the
splash. I've seen 'em moving around
on the bottom like drove of hevs.
They generally swim slowly when not
chased. but they can work mp tremen-
dons race when they are chased. aud
I've seen one jump twenty feet into the
air."
80 show you how they can bite"
nid the pilot, Is have seen one take a
piece out of an oar. Another, that was
hauled alongside of small boat, took
the eutwater in his mouth and nearly
crushed it 10 jelly, leaving twenty OF
thirty teeth in the wood.
"Some time ago Spanish gunboat
dropped in there, and the officers amused
themselves shark fishing. They had
quite circus. They would take small
dynamite cartridge, bind pieoe of salt
pork to 1t, aud send IL two hundred feet
astern. Pretty soon shark would take
II and they would fire by the wire, and
the fish would fly into thousand pieces
u one was wounded, the others went fol
him and ate him up."