Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-09-05
DOWN BY THE SEA.
LYING IN AMBUSH TO CATCH A MAN.
EA~ING SHARK.

Batting the Hook and Waiting for the
specti"n-Caught At Last-A Ferociou.
Fish.
We dropped down from Beach haven tC
the inlet, distance Of nine miles one
morning in cat boat to ambush a man.
eater. At the inlet il n factory where
mcnhadeu are received from the fisher
ermen to he made into oil and fertilizer,
and the man-eatrr comes in from the sea
10 pick up such stray fish rs may fall over
board during the process Of unloading.
The boat was anchored in about fourteen
feet OF water, with hard sandy bottom
snd pat Out shark hook at the end Of a
hunured feet OF inch rope. The hook was
about the same size aS those you see in
butcher stalls to hang quarters" on, but
WAS bdrbed like "A regular fish hook. The
bait used was three sea trout, weighing
about twelve ounce each. \ float capable
OF sustaining a man in the water was
made laet SO that the hook remained
about SIX feet below the surface, and
when all was ready the gray haired and
and bronzad faced old fisherman sat
down and said:
Now, then, everybody keep quiet.
When a shark is out at sea he will
scarcely move for boat headed full at
him. He feels at home, and is defiant.
but when shark comes prOwling into a
bay like this he is Il cat in a strange gar
ret. He is looking for traps and pitfalls,
and is suspicious and alarmed A knock
of your foot against the boat can be heard
for long way under water, and will
frlghten our game away"
The three Of us sat in the stern sheets of
the boat, which was anchored with an
anchor weighing twenty four pounds, and
the peak of the sail was lowered There
was IA light breeze rustling the waters
and masses of kelp were driven by on the
young flood tide Each Of US scanned the
water in different direction, and half an
hour had passed when the fisherman
raised his arm and whispered:
a SUSPICIOUS MAN EATER
Hist, There's our game.'
A hundred feet away the dOrsal fin of a
shark was cutting the water and showing
well above the surface Its movements
We're cratic, showing that the man-eater
was looking for his breakfast. He ran
down To within fifty feet of our bait and
lhtu St''ffT'l ltttl SUN. ne sd" IL. Dul
something raised his suspicion For three
long minutes the black fin, sticking up in
the morning sun like foot. did not move
one inch. Then it moved backwards, and
the shark made half circle TO take n look
at the boat. He came within six feet Of
the stern and we had plain view at him
for moment, but the movement of a
foot on the bottom of the boat sent him
away like flash. He ran for deep water.
but after taking fifteen or twenty
minutes to reflect, he again showed up in
the neighbOrnOOd of the baited hook.
For about ten minutes longer that black
fin moved here and there on scent. Then
of a sudden it sank from our sight. There
was gieam of white in the water and the
buoy was pulled under with jerk which
made the spray fly. We had himl The
rope was hauled taut with zip! and at
the other end the man eater sprang half
his length out of the water and fell with a
great splash. Then he made one com
plete circle, dragging the boat stern first
with him. There was no question as to
his size or ferocity, As we 5000 discovered
when he pulled the yacht stern first dis
tance of forty feet, her anchor all the
time being in the sand. Finding this too
hard work he went to the bottom to lest,
and then we began to haul in on him. He
came willingly enough for about twenty
feet, and then he made a rush which
threw the three of Us in a heap, and car
Tied out all the rope we had gained He
was caught fast enough, but he wasn't
our meat vet. We spit on our hands and
took hold again, carefully securing what
ever We gained, and though he fought
hard he had to come to the stern of the
boat He had swallowed the hook, and
we could see him seize the three feet of
chain and worry at 1t like a dog shaking
rat.