Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1889-01-06
INSTINCT OF A sEA-nossTER
An TmmsBse shark that penes HIS
EnemIe. and Acts as n Pilot.
fsan Frsncisco Chronicle.


"Seversl well-spun sea yarns have
been told by old shellbacks regarding
what they had seen at sea, said Chief
| Officer James Brown, of the Pacific
Mail Company's steamer Acapulco to a
Car0nicle reporter recently, "but there
is one thing certain" continued he,
"and that is, l have reason to believe
that fish not only have instinct, but also
reasoning power"
" How do you come to these conclu-
sions?" was asked.
"Well. letme tell you. Now, every sea
| faring man who has frequentsd the port
Of San Jose, ut Guatemala, knows that
old San Jose Joe has been in and about
that port for the last thirty years. Joe ia,
without exception, one OF the 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 spar measuring
/ thirty feet bad fallen over the ships side,
and old Joe came along and. after smell
/ ing Of it. hoated alongside. measuring
exactly ia length. As to his ago, that -
/ not positively known. but the barnacles on
his back indicate that he has been a resi-
/ dent OF San Jose waters for a number OF
wears. The barnacles are so old and
cmsty as to repel q rife ball with the
same resistive force as q sheet OF steel
/ on the side of q man-Of-war. Captain
/ Pitts, Of the Acapulco, has time and
| again shot at this monster and without
effect, 50 far as his back is concerned.
| The balls glance of tho old fellows back
without doing him any damage. Yet,
| Old Joe carries sufficient lead in his car
cass to sink an ordinary whale, ~ almost
/ every officer whose vessel anchors in
| those waters takes whack 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 capac-
ity?"
sob, yes Some years ago an Eng
lish man-of-war, while lying at anchor,
undertook to destroy the old brute by
| firing a charge Of dynamite into him.
Joe was hit on the side, and about fifty
pounds of sharks flesh torn away, but
/ the shot failed to kin him. But now,
mark Won, since that time he will not
make his appearance In the anchorage
near where man of-war is anchored.
But Just as soon as these vessels
leave Joe comes to the surface again.
He regularly meets the Acapulco about
/ fifteen miles outside and pilots her in.
Once anchored, he is satisfied, and
seems to delight in feeding from the
ollal. But no matter how well
you bait hook Joe's reasoning quail
| ties tell him to leave it alone, and
he invariably follows that line of reason
ing. As to his capacity to stow away
/ grub. that was proven on one occasion
when the vessel was taking aboard some
hogs. One of ten hogs, weighing proba-
bly, about eighty pounds, fell overheard,
aud old Joe, who is ever on the watch,
saw the prize, and with one plunge and n
pair Of extended jaws tho porker dlsap-
peared as though it had gone into hole.
On another occasion wo had lot 81
mules on board for the Government and
one of the number died and was tbrown
overheard. Joe made the acquaintance
of the defunct mule. and alter the lapse
Of six hours tho mule was safely slowed
'thwart ships in Joe's locker. Yes Joe is
the largest shark known to us seaiarlng
men. We have all tried to kill the mon
ster, but so far have failed.