The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1888-12-01
HUNTING FOR SHARKS.
THRILLING ADVENTURE ON A DES-
ERT ISLAND.

Three Europeans, in Quest of Sharks Brains,
Att.cKed by Gang of Native Pirates
Four buccaneers Shot ana Twelve Dis
posed of by the Man Eaters
"The Singapore Trading Company,
Limited" is an organization owning
half dozen brigs and schooners which
voyage among the islands of the Indian
Ocean, and traffic for pepper, spices,
cinnamon, beeswax, 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
quantity of sharks brains. 1t seemed
that some eminent quack doctor in the
colony had made the discovery that
sharks brains were the great panacea
the medical world had been looking tor
to cure all diseases. They were dried,
then pulverized and mixed with GER
tain root, and, as silly as it may look to
you, the people went wild over the new
cure. presume the quack had a COR
her on the root part of the cure, but he
could not corner the other portion.
Sharks are plentiful all about Australia,
out they could not be caught fast enough
to supply the demand. The price dur
ing the excitement was four dollars an
ounce for the dried brains, and seven
dollars an ounce for the mixture. The
craze lasted about seven months, by
which time the swindler had made his
pile, and was ready to skip. Then
everybody ridiculed everybody else,
and the price of sharks brains dropped
to fifty cents per pound, at which figure
the Chinese use them for banquet
dish.
When the order was received at Sing
apore, | was mate of small schooner
called the Little Duke, and it was plan
ned that | should be set ashore on
some of the islands to the
north of Australia to fill it. I had
voyaged from Sinapore to Torres Strait
several times, and after little talk | |
selected South Aroo Island as the most |
convenient place for carrying out the pur-
pose. There are seven of these Islands
in a group off 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 the 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 wide.
Our outfit was very simple. l was
to have couple of men with me, and
we took a tent, lot of shark lines,
couple of lances, and bedding and pro-
visions. For firearms we had revolvers
and double barreled shotguns, 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 a sand beach.
The schooner was in haste to get away,
and two hours after landing US she was
out of sight. We were to De left on the
island from fourteen to twenty days.
Near where we landed was what sailors
call rip, that is, a narrow channel be-
tween the mainland and a sand bar.
This channel was about sixty feet wide,
fifteen or twenty deep, and open at
both ends. The sand bar was not over
four feet above high tide, half mile
long, and not SO much as a spear of
grass grew upon it. We didn't have to
lock twice to see that this rip was our
sharking ground. A dozen dorsal fins
could be seen cutting the water, and a
piece of salt pork thrown out resulted
in fight in which score or more of
the monsters participated. We erected
our tent in the edge of the forest, set |
up our windlass above the high water,
and next morning, after landing, were
all ready to begin work. Our method
Of proceeding was very simple. Our
was roller, provided with a
handle on either end, and resting in
crotchets. One end of the shark line
was made fast to this, and the hook at
the other was baited and flung out.
When the shark was fast we brought
him in by turning the windlass. While
the two men turned l stood at the edge
of the water with lance and jabbed
him as he got near enough.
AMONG THE MAN-EATERS.