Wichita eagle., 1888-07-15
yhe aithita naiu gayle sundap anornng auy s. 1888

was going on. as the waves now lifted mo
up and then seemed to drop me down out
OF sight. One moment lcould see nothing
but the sky above me. and the next moth
ing but the waters below me Every
second was an age. and every effort to
Keep floating seemed as if 1t must be the
last. for was rapidly getting
exhausted The cracker box was
snatched out Of my grasp several
times and recovered with the greatest
difficulty Suddenly was filed with new
hope, for. as rose on big swell. saw
that boat was being lowered from the
steamer and that she had turned entirely
round and was heading toward ne This
made NE feel strong again But the prog
ress OF the rowboat toward NE was slow
Shouts OF encouragement | heard at fire.
quent Intervals, and tried to shout back.
but my voice was entirely gone | was
getting SO weak that it was nip and tuck
whether could hold up or not till they
reached me tried in vain 30 get my
heavy boots off. and for this purpose
turned over on my back several times
At last, seeing the boat within twenty or
thirty yards away. gave up the attempt
and tried to shout, for the sea was SO
rough that | feared the rescuers might
not perceive me in time But in turning
over again what was my horror to hear q
splashing near me and looking round to
see the back and tail OF an enormous shark
within few feet Then | remembered
that the Gull of Mexico was infested
with these monsters. and again | almost
gave up hope The boa; seemed to be stand
ing still and could feel the chill of fear
creeping all over me | knew that the
shark would have to turn over before he
could bite me in two OF swallow me
Round and round swan the monster. com
ing nearer to me every time As it seemed
to be about to turn over | kept on splash
ing the water with my feet and hands,
for had heard that shark will not bite
anything that is moving or spiashing
rapidly Then | changed nay maneuver
and struggled to turn round as quickly as
the shark. keeping the cracker box be-
tween US and beating the water with my
hands. After this seemed to have been
going on for an hour, though really only
few moments, | saw that it turned
fairly over as it went down. probably to
rise under me and end the suspense. At
this moment heard shout:
Come, keep up: VS. re co1ningP
And at the same moment a wave
swept me almost into the yawl clutched
the side and was pulled in just as the
cracker box rose cut of the water several
feet and fell again. The shark had prob
ably made rush for and struck the box.
When | at last reached the steamer, more
dead than alive, numbed with cold AMI
utterly exhausted, the soldiers gave US a
cheer and went below, where | remained
several days in slight fever. And that
cold water today just revived the memory
of that terrible hour experienced"
When the inspector rose from his chair
there was an ominous silence The Varu-
mas looked at each other, each apparently
in doubt about what to think Of the
matter.
That's first class, interesting story,
inspector" said Detective George Zundt,
''but when was in the war p
"Oh. come off, shouted several. Let
well enough alone.
Gentlemen. every word Of the story is
strictly true. " said the inspector. and
refer you to Hoibrook and Folk, if you
don't believe me"
But who'll vouch for Holbrook and
Folk?" was queried from the corner
Balbriggan in Brooklyn Eagle.