Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1888-12-07
LOOKING FOR SHARKS.

''The Singapore Trading company, linn
ited," was and is an organization owning
half dozen briggs 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 great guam
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 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
I was mate of a 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. l had voyaged
from Singapore to Torres strait several
times, and after little talk selected South
Aroo Island as the most convenient place for
carrying out the purpose. There are seven
VI cAAO
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.
O11r outfit was varv SiYnDe I was TO have
a couple of men with me, and we took tent,
a lot of shark lines, couple of lances, and
bedding and provisions For firearearms.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 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
mel between the main land and sand bar.
This channel was about sixty feet wide, fif-
teen OF twenty feet 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 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 fight,
in which score of the monsters participated.
We erected our tent in the edge of the forest,
set up our windlass above high water, and
next morning after landing were all ready to
begin work. Our method of proceeding was
very simple. Our windlass 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
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.
There may be spots where the shark ismore
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 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 these 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
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 sad calamity occurred. The spring at
which we got our water was about 400 feet
inland, and we had cut 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
a 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 in agony, and in fifteen his
body began to swell. While he had not seen
the serpent, we had no doubt of it's species.
1t is known in the east as the collar snake,
and is found on all the islands in the Indian
ocean. 1t attains length of two feet, and
has white ring or collar about its neck.
There is no more poisonous snake. In forty
minutes from the time the man received the
bite be was dead, and his body was a 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.
1t was well 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 it's boss wrecker, who was no bet
ter than a pirate While not daring to
attack a ship, if she was caught
in distress it went hard with her. It
was quiet, starlight night, and was sitting
outside the tent while my comrade was lying
down inside, when l caught a sound from
the water which alarmed me. As | rose up
and advanced caught sight of a native craft
stealing into the rip from the lower side. She
was from the Pindo islands, to the north of us,
and was a spice boat. She had single mast
and a lateen sail, and during a calm was
pulled by oars. ran back to my companion
and we crept forward on hands and knees to
discover the object of the visit. Had the
men been honest they would have been talk
ing and singing. They would not have come
into the rip had they not known of our pres
ence. and the fact of their coming so quietly
BODIED i'll for u.s. The craft was grounded
about 100 feet above us, and twelve or fifteen
natives leaped out on the beach.
When we had seen this much we returned
to our tent, secured the three guns and coarse
ammunition and took up our stations between
the tent and the water. In five minutes we
had burrowed out rifle pits and charged tn.
guns with buckshot. 1t was not for us to
open the fight. We could just make out the
group OF figures around the boat, and they
would soon let us know whether they were
friends or enemies. We had just got fairly