Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1888-05-11
CAPTURING A MAN EATER.
Hunting the Shark in Notwithstanding
the Monster while Asleep.

Though it did not take us long to reach
the spot where the man eater was known
to be, yet night had fallen on them, and
it was by the light of torches made of the
baked kernels of the candle nut strung
upon cocoa leaf fiber that we drew near
the fleet AS we did so the dip of paddles
was noiseless, and it was by signs alone
that the ''luna, or head fisherman, gave
directions to the rest. By the smoky,
red light of the torches we could see men
busily scattering about the baked meat
they had brought, and also half chewed
morsels of the ava root. AS they did so
there was the CLEAN of the fins and tails
of hundreds of fish darling to and fro
for the food.
The old fisherman stationed near us
suddenly crouched down, and. touching
the doctor with one lean, brown hand,
pointed to the water near the stern of the
canoe next to us. We there saw, gleam-
ing in the opalescent depths. two bright
spots that shone with malignant. green
ish light. They were set in monstrous,
shadowy head, beyond which we could
dimly see huge brown body. Below
the cool. cruel eyes were traced the out
lines of a formidable mouth, that, even
as we looked, opened slowly, disclosing
row upon row of strongly hooked, pearly
white teeth with deeply serrated edges.
AS this frightful mouth opened the mon
ster rolled half over and viciously snapped
at bundle of food sinking near him. 1t
was the niuhi, the fiercest and most vo-
racious of his tribe, and as he moved
along the crowd of fish darted away in
terror. Even the great white shark sui
lenly gave place to this tiger of the sea,
who swan slowly about, swallowing the
food the fishermen kept throwing
to him. AS he thus moved from place to
place his whole body seemed to exhale a
peculiar light, that streamed from the
tips of his fins and long, unevenly lobed
tail BY the CLEAN of this peculiar
phosphorescence his motion could be
closely watched, and finally the expert
enced fisherman saw that he was becom-
ing gorged. So intent had we been
watching his movements that we had not
noticed that while he was being fed the
fleet of canoes had been silently moved in
nearer the shore. Now, looking down,
we could dimly see the white, sandy bot
tom, and in few minutes were in quite
shallow water, opposite an opening in the
reef where the surf did not break. Our
progress had been very slow, and now
for a while the canoes halted, while hov.
ering beneath them was the man eater,
evidently somewhat stupefed by the
ava he had swallowed with the food SC
freely given him.
The old Kahuna had, during the whole
performance, kept up his pantomimic
display. though in guarded, quiet man
ner, while the fishermen kept close watch
upon the shark. He gorged to repletion
evidently intended to take a nap, and Sc
settled slowly down on the white sandy
bottom. He was the perfect (sub-ma
rine) picture of overfed helplessness, ant
it seemed as though we could almost heal
him snore.
And then commenced curious exhibi
ton of skill and daring. A moose hac
been made in the end of long, stron,
rope, and this was taken by an expert
enced old fisherman, who quietly slit
overheard from his canoe and allowed
himself to sink to where the man cate
strange weird light That was the mo-
ment when, if the shark had beef
shamming sleep, he would with on
vigorous sweep Of his tail and snap o
his jaws have earned his name of ''mal
eater But no; he was for the tim
being powerless, and with infinite dex
terity and skill the native sue
ceeded in passing the moose over tn
brute's head and about his middle. H
then quickly rose to the surface an,
clambered into his canoe, and the flee
; was again set in motion. The canoe t
which the line about the sharks bod
was attached moved very slowly an,
carefully, just enough strain being KEEP
on the line to raise the captive's bod
clear of the bottom. Sometimes tn
shark would be little FESTIVE, and thel
, we all waited until as the doctor said
''he rolled over and went to slice
! again"
! AT length we were close in to tn
3 beach, and all but two canoes wer
s drawn up on the sands to wait for day
light. The two remaining ones lay owe
the sleeping niuhi the end of the line t
which he was secured being taken o
in watching and sleeping. The 10
might have been completed that night
but this the Kahuna forbade.
1--WE nave the right TO snare the ma
eater in the night, while he is drunk,
he said, "but we must wait for daylight
when he is sober, before we kill him. "
By daylight crowd of people had a:
sembled on the beach, and the sigma
: was given from the canoes that the niul
Z was awake and getting FESTIVE. So tn
long line was seized by hundred hands
it Strengthened out, and then, amidst tn
triumphant song of the Kahuna (wh
took immense credit to himself for til
capture) and the yells and laughter {
the crowd tramping away with the rope
the enraged man eater, thrashing an
plunging about, was drawn out of til
Z water and over the yellow sands.
8 his huge body plunged hither and thithe
+ he snapped savagely at everything, br