The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1889-02-06
A SHARKS INSTINCT.
An Immense Mania ter That DetieS En-
mics and Acts as a Pilot.

An immense Man-Eater That DetfeS Enes
mics and Acts as a Pilot.
Several well-spun sea yarns have
been told by old shell-bacls regarding
what they have seen at sea-" said
Chief Officer James Brown of the Pa
cific Mail Company's steamer Acapulco,
"but there is one thing certain" con-
tinued he, land that is. | have reason
to believe, that fish not only have in
stinct, but also reasoning power"
GLOW do you come to these conclu-
sionsp" was asked.
"Well, let me tell you. Now, every
seafaring man who has frequented the
port of San Jose, at Guatemala, knows
that old San Jose Joe has been in and
about thatpo for the last thirty years.
Joe is without exception one of tn Q
largest sharks ever seen in the waters
of the ocean. He is over thirty feet in
length. This was ascertained beyond
a doubt by the officers of the Acapulco
on the trip before the last, when a
spar measuring thirty feet had
fallen over the ships sides, and old
Joe came along and after smell
ing of it 1oated alongside. measuring
exactly its length. AS to his age that
is not positively known, but the barna-
cles on his back indicate that he has
been a resident of San Jose waters for
number of years. The barnacles are
so old and crusty as to repel a rifle
ball with the same resiStive force as a
sheet of steel on the side of man-of-
war. Captain Pitts of the Acapulco
has time and again shot at this mon
ster and without effect, so far as his
back is concerned. The balls glance
off the old fellows back without doing
any damage. Yet Old Joe carries
sufficient lead in his carcass to sink an
ordinary whale, as almost every Off
Ger whose vessel anchors in those
waters takes whacl1 at him when he
turns his sides and belly upwards, but
the bullets don't seem to do him any
harm"
well, about his reasoning capaci-
typ"
20, yes. Some years ago an En-
glish man-of-war, while lying at an
Choir, undertook to destroy the old
brute by firing charge of dynamite
into him. Joe was hit on the side and
about fifty pounds Of shark flesh torn
away, but the shot failed to kill him.
But now, mark you, since that time he
will not make his appearance in the
anchorage near where a man. ofwar is
anchored. But just as soon as these
vessels leave Joe comes to the surface
again. He regularly meets the Aca-
pulco about fifteen miles outside and
pilots her in. Once anchored he is
satisfied, and seems to delight in feed
ing from the offal. But no matter how
we'll you bait hook Joe's reasoning
qualities tell him to leave it alone, and
he invariably follows that line of rea-
soning. AS to his capacity to stow
away grub, that was proven on one oc-
casion when the vessel was taking
aboard some hogs. One of ten hogs,
weighing probably about eighty
pounds, fell overheard, and old Joe,
who is ever on the watch, saw the
prize, and with one plunge and pair
of extended jaws the porker disap-
peared as though it had gone into a
hole. On another occasion we had a
lot of mules on board for the govern
ment and one of the number died and
was thrown overheard. Joe made the
acquaintance of the defunct mule, and
after the lapse of six hours the male
was safely slowed thwart ships in Joe's
locker. Yes, Joe is the largest shark
known to us seafaring men. We have
all tried to kill the monster, but so far
have failed. San Francisco Chroni.
Gle.
Fresh apple sauce, warm if posi-.
BILE, is good dish in winter. A dash