Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1889-07-18
RE RAveNous shank.
How It eesses Its Prey and How 1t, In
Turn. II Annihllated-

How It eessos Its Prey and How 1t, In
Turn, II Annihilated.
It was reported the other week that
. sailor engaged In scraping the sides
Of a troop-ship In the harbor of Sierra
Leone was drawn into the water and
promptly devoured by shark This
is not an uncommon experience and q
boatman has been bitten in the short
time it took him to dip up pitcher
of water while his craft was under
full sail. We are told that 1t is nothing
uncommon for the ravenous fish to
spring foot out of the sea in order
to secure their prey. For miles they
will follow a vessel. on the lookout
for any stray unfortunate who may
tumble or be thrown overheard, and
so deep do they swim under the sur
face that it requires the practiced eyes
of the natives to detect their presence.
Many of the West India harbors are
so haunted by the white and hammer
headed sharks-the least amiable of
the $50 different kinds known to zool-
ogists-that it is dangerous to battle
even a few yards from the shore with
out an outlook being posted.
Yet the West African negro has
been known to face the brute. not
off as victor in the end. All but am
phibious the swimmer cautiously APP
proaches his enemy, and then, just at
the moment when the great fish turns
over to seize him-his mouth being so
placed that it is necessary-the daring
black plunges his knife into it's white
belly. The pearl-divers are also some
times successful in their attacks on
sharks which try to seize them.
though, it is needless to add. such a
mode of combat is possible only when
the monsters do not come in numbers.
and under the most favorable circum-
stances requires GOODNESS, a dexter
ity and a courage which are not to be
acquired except by long experience in
such perilous encounters. As a rule.
however, it is seldom that man who
is SO luckless as to drop among sharks
ever appears again. There is shrek.
a white outline is seen under the sur
face and a fin above it, Redeemed
crest tops the next swell which breaks
against the ships side, and the horror
mate will be seen no more.
It is a well ascertained fact that the
skeletons of sheep, pigs. dogs and cattle
which have fallen or been thrown
overheard have been recovered many
days subsequent to their being swal-
lowed; and it is on record that in the
stomach of shark killed in the Indian
Ocean lady's work-box was found.
while in another the discriminatory
papers which had been thrown away
by a hotly-chased SLAYER were re-
covered from the NAV of an involun-
tary witness thus curiously brought
into court on the barb of a pork-baited
hook. Ruysch, one of the most trust
worthy of the old naturalists. affirms
that man in mail-homo loricatus, he
calls him-was found in the stomach
of white shark; and it is recorded by
Blumenbach that in one case q whole
horse was found. It is undeniable that
many have been found with ample
capacity for such desirable contents;
and Basil Hall tells of one out of which
was taken the whole skin of buffalo.
besides a host of other small tribes
which had been dropped astern in the
course of the previous week.-New-
castle (Eng.) Chronicle.