Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-11-12
LOOKING FOR SHARKS.

ited" was and is an organization owning | half dozen brigs and schooners which voy- |, age among the islands of the Indian ocean and traffic for pepper spices, cinnamon, bees wax, figs, rare woods, medicinal roots and herbs, etc. On one occasion-this was twenty years ago-this company received an order from Sydney, Australia, for a great quan- tity of sharks brains. It seemed that some eminent quack doctor in the colony had made the discovery that sharks brains was the great panacea the medical world had been looking for to cure all diseases. They were dried and then pulverized and mixed with a certain root, and, as silly as it may look to you, the people went wild over the new cure.
 When the order was received at Singapore was mate of q small schooner called the Little Duke, and it was planned that should be set ashore on some of the islands to the north of Australia to fill it. had voyaged from Singapore to Torres strait several times, and after a little talk I selected South ,Aroo Island as the most convenient place for carrying out the purpose There are seven of these islands in group otf the New Guinea coast. While the waters from the Straits of Malacca to those of Torres are really the Indian ocean, they are laid down on maps and charts as different seas-Java, Flores, Banda and Arafura. We had once been cast away on the coast of South Aroo, and had found the waters almost alive With sharks. We knew it to be uninhabited, and about twenty miles long by ten broad.
 Our outfit was very simple. I was to have a couple of men with me, and we took a tent, O lot of shark lines, couple of lances, and bedding and provisions. For firearearmsswe had revolvers and double barreled shotSuns, and after long and tedious voyage, during which we called at several islands, we finally cast anchor off South Aroo, and were safely landed on sandy beach. The schooner was in haste to get away, and two hours after landing us she was out of sight. We were to be left on the island from fourteen to twenty days. Near where we landed was what sailors call rip, that is, a narrow chan nel between the main land and a sand bar This channel was about sixty feet wide, if teen or twenty feet deep, and open at both ends. The sand bar was not over four feet above high tide, half Q mile long, and not so much as spear of grass grew upon it. We didn't have to look twice to see that this rip was our sharking ground A dozen dorsal fins could be seen cutting the water, and & piece of salt pork flung out resulted in a fight, in which score of the monsters participated. We erected our tent in tho edge of the forest, set up our windlass above high water, and 
 begin work Our method of proceeding was very simple. Our windlass was a roller, provided with a handle on either end and resting ill crotchets. One end of the shark line was made fast to this, and the hook at the other was baited and flung out. When a shark was fast we brought him in by turn ing the windlass While the two men turned I stood at the edge of the water with lance and jabbed him as he got near enough
 
 numerous than off the New Guinea coast, but doubt it. There was no waiting about the business of catching them. No sooner was the baited hook thrown in than 6 shark seized it and was fast They were not ground sharks, nor shovel noses, but the genuine man eater, ranging from nine to fifteen feet in length, and terribly strong and fierce. An | ordinary man would be snapped in two by one of theso fishes as easily as boy bites into a cracker We had to secure the brains and | spread them in the sun to dry, and this made l it slow work. Our catch the first day was seventeen. We increased this to twenty on the second day, and for four days maintained that figure. On the afternoon of the fourth day a sad calamity occurred The spring at which we got our water was about 400 feet inland, and we had cut 6 path to it. We had seen few snakes, but they seemed de | sirous of avoiding us as much as possible, | and none of us were alarmed about them. On this afternoon, as one of my helpers went after water, he was struck by snake lying in the tangle, and al- though he was back within five minutes, could tell by his looks that he had received a deadly bite In ten minutes he was rolling on the ground ip agony, and in fifteen his body began to swell. While he had not seen the serpent, we had no doubt of its species. l T& sc fHo +l,oa o1lo ,1o1-o and is found on all the islands in the Indian ocean. It attains length of two feet, and has white ring collar about it's neck. | There is no more poisonous snake. In forty minutes from the time the man received the bite he was dead, and his body was @ terrible sight to look at.
 When we had buried our companion in the sands we loaded our guns with fine shot and went snake hunting. We killed round dozen of the collar snakes between the tent and the spring, and felt assured that the fir. ing would rid the neighborhood of any which had escaped us. They had probably been drawn that way by the scent of the blood and meat. The tragedy had upset us both
 and neither was inclined to sleep that night
 It was we'll that we were in wakeful mood
 Ever since the Indian sea was navigated by
 European vessels there has been more or less
 piracy. At this time almost every island
 had its boss wrecker, who was no bet
 ter than 0 pirate While not daring tc
 attack Q ship, if she was caught in distress it went hard with her. Ii
 was quiet, starlight night, and was sitting outside the tent while my comrade was lying down inside, when I caught a sound iron
 the water which alarmed me. As rose uI
 and advanced caught sight of native craf
 stealing into the rip from the lower side. Sht
 was from the Pindo islands, to the north of us and was spice boat She had single mas and a lateen sail and during a calm wa!
 pulled by oars ran back to my companion
 and we crept forward on hands and knees tt
 discover the object of the visit. Had th men been honest they would have been talk
 ing and singing. They would not have come 7 into the rip had they not known of our pres r, ence, and the fact of their coming so quietl, D boded ill for us The craft was grounded 6 about 100 feet above us, and twelve or fifteel '. natives leaped out on the beach.
 ' When we had seen this much we returned o to our tent, secured the three guns and coars
 -c%1