Wichita eagle., 1889-09-05
FIGHTS WITH SHARKS.
HOW THEY WHOOP THINGS UP
FOR THE SAILORS.

a Couple of Tarns-Bone Sharks Seventy
Feet in Lensth-Tcwing a Boat Several
Miles.
Capt Sam said a little boy who was
watching very red faced old fisherman
way up the Maine coast, as he baited his
trawl hooks, what is the largest fish
you ever saw or heard Of"
oval, replied the old fisherman, with
out looking up, lit stands to reason that
I've heard on some bigger ones than
ever clapped my eyes onto. Sailor folks
is great on EARNING, there amt any use
in denying that. One of 'em starts a
yarn, and it keeps a CROWN SO fast that
by the time it gets ashore the man what
started it wouldn't know it.
But there are some true fish stories,
persisted the little boy.
''Sartin, sartin," replied Capt. Sam,
land | guess I've seen about as big fish
az the next one. When | was boy MOI
a mite older nor you my gran Their was
owner and skipper of as fine sixty ton
schooner as cut the water in these parts,
and as soon as l got big enough not to
fall overheard and to pull on herrin' or
mack'rel line he took me along, and it
was ON this very cruise that l saw big
FISH.
RED HOT GOALS ON HIS BACK.
owe were fishin' on what is called the
Georges bank, away up to the north ard
a spell. The men were out III dOries a
fishin' an only me an gran'ther aboard.
| was a fooiin' around two lines, when L
see somethin' black lyin' alongside.
First | thought it was a shadder of the
keel, but it kept a comm nearer and
more distinct, until all at once | see 1t
was a critter. First l thought it whale,
and sings out to nay gran Their that there
was big whale alongside. He came a
running out of the cabin and took one
look at it and said: It's bone shark,
and the biggest one | ever see
LAS far as we could make out it was
sixty feet Tonga lynn perfectly still, It's
back out of the water so that a man
could have walked ten or twenty feet on
his back. We had harpoon, but he
didn't dare throw it for fear of losin' it,
shark stayed until finally the old man
tuck a ton of red hot Goals from the gal
lev fire and tossed them on his back.
Some of them stuck, and it wasn't long
before he lett.
when l got grown up" continued
Capt. Sam, Il saw another shark almost
as big, and helped catch it. l shipped il
a sword fisherman as first man. We
sailed from BoOthbay, but, finding fish
scarce, we put down toward Cape Cod
and when we got to the southland We
found about all we could attend to, anC
in less time than a week bore away fol
/ New Bedford with "a good Boston load.
We put 10 sea again on Friday, baC
day, so sailormen say, but this turned
out good luck for US We were about OF
what they call The Sisters when the
lookout sighted what he thought was 1
swordfsh, and we cleared decks &C
cordin'; but when we got alongside VIZ
see it was big bone shark. The skipper
said it ought to pay 500 in lie, so W,
kept away while the man spliced a big
/ ger line on to the harpeon and then wore
around and came up on him again.
He was a-lyin' right in the slush o
/ the sea. There was fair so'west wine
/ a-blowin', just enough to make the Sc;
make clean break over his back tina
/ looked like big log. and | reckon that
! what you'd a-taken 1t for If you'd a-seeI
it. Howsomever, we came a-bowlin
along in great shape, the skipper putin
the schooner within ten feet OF him
and, as we shot by, me and the seconC
mate let drive our irons into him, anC
/ the same minute the men hove over tn,
key an line.
What did he dor said Capt. Sam
who, in the excitement of the old mem
ory, had dropped his line and was look
+ ing the little boy in the face, with ;
hand on each oil skin knee
why, he whoOped things, and &C
cordin' 10 my mind we got out of th'
way Just in time. You'd although :
volcano had bust right thar. Up come
big tail fifteen foot in the air, with waite
and sprays a-fyin': then down it wen
with q noise like the topsail of a fit
gun frirate in stays. There was Ions
cable or line on the harpoons, but i
( wasn't two minutes before we saw th'
+ kegs 80 under and UP they came hun
bred fathoms away. and went along
sending the water as high as our top
1 mast.
1T so happened. our luck beiu' still
on. that the fish bore away on the wind
if II had a struck TO the windward i
would have been eood-by sure, but OF
the wind was our best pull, and after 4:
two hour chase we came up with the
kegs, havin' kept EN- in sight the
time from the tops. You see the x
was painted white. so We could
which way the fish was a-goip'.
The big fish was about played out
ten miles or more ct such a rate hac
about knocked him, and we rounded Il
and put out two dories and took the key
in Stand by says the skipper. for th'
minute he feels as a-takin' II slack het
a-goin' TO take OF agin. and sure enough
he did We got the kegs aboard. and tht
first pull We made / was nigh IerkeI
overheard; but we hung TO him. takin' II
foot when we could and losin' Que An
gainin' two dunn which he towed Us
matter OF three miles CT more; then w'
recsoued be was about through, and W;
took II pretty fast. we got within Io(
feet. when the other day ahead