Iuka reporter. (Iuka, Miss.) 1888-1894, 1889-08-22
a SHARK TRAP.
How Six Immense Marine Monsters
We're Caught at Once.

Col. Bennett II. Young, who recently
spent some time fishing at Naples, Fla,
had very unusual and interesting time
with the sharks in Naples Bay. He has
furnished an account of how he caught
half dozen Of them by one grand coup.
Col. Young says:
"The hatred Of the shark is as in
stinctiye and general as that of the
snake. Neither mercy nor consideration
is ever extended the brute. Voracious,
bold, and destructive, feeding upon its
fellows in the most wholesale manner, 1t
neither gives nor obtains mercy, and
any punishment inflicted upon this man,
animal and fish-eater is considered
neither wrong nor undeserved. 1t matters
not where shark may be, how tender
its years, norshow innocent its looks, It
is an enemy Of all living kind, and its
destruction by all methods is not only
allowable, but commendable.
"Some weeks since, in Florida, bo-
came enraged at sharks They had car
ried off bait, broken lines, and bit of
hooks until the strongest hatred. of the
brutes was aroused, and it was deter
mined to infict punishment upon the
breed, which, if not diminishing their
number greatly, would at least crafty
the personal grudge Of the wronged and
suffering fisherman. To catch them
with line and hook is slow and uncer
tain method. They do take the hook.
but usually fisherman's days are valu-
able and his piscatorial life too short to
| be spent in taking sharks, who, at best,
are not brave fighters, but cowardly
ours after few moments of hard pull
ing and strong effort to bite off the line
by running up toward the rod. Revenge
is sweet, even to the gentle-souled fish
erman, and as shark had taken q jack
fish from my line, deemed it not un-
just to resent the insult and wrong by
demanding not only the pound OF flesh,
but hundred pounds in return.
"Gordon River enters into Naples
Bay, on the east coast of the Gulf OF
Mexico, about eighty miles north of Key
West, and the bay finds an outlet to the
Gulf through Gordon Pass In the bay
there is narrow point where the dis
tance between shores is not more than
hundred feet. Across this I stretched q
cable, fastened to tree on either shore,
and from this let down into the water
! nine small lines with wire snOods and
good strong hooks. These lines were
baited with half mullet, delicacy
4 which all healthy sharks find very at
tractive and toothsome. The line was
set Just ct dark, and rowed away with
the certain assurance in my own mind
that before daylight there would be
sport at this locality, and that when we
went down in the morning we would
find something to repay the cost and
worry of setting the trap. Native fisher
men affirmed that no game could be
taken in this way; that no line would
hold more than two sharks, and that in
the swift running water the bait would
not be attractive enough to have
strike.
eve started early in the morning to
learn the result Of the experiment. The
cable, by bend in the bay, was hidden
from view until within 300 yards Of tho
spot, but two miles away we heard Q
splasling and yowling that betokened
some unusual stir and disturbance.
There was noise enough to make it en-.
tirely certain that not only game, but
big game, was on hand to reward the
hunter for his outlay. On turning the
bend delightful vision greeted our
eyes. Six sharks were securely hooked.
Running in oil directions with the
strong cable, able to spring around .
circle, the victims were dashing, splash
ing, pulling, and bowling in the most
energetic methods. One, MORE vigorous
than his companions, would take
running start and make strong pull on
the line. The rebound Of the springy
cable would whirl him in the air and
cause him to make complete somer-
sault over the rope. This would be
repeated again and again, and such 40
robntic feats by sharks were never before
witnessed. 1t beat Japanese tumbling,
and was equal to circus. It may APP
pear savage and cruel, but to see six
sharks safely and strongly -cabled, turn
ing somersaults in the air, showing their
white, forked tails and capacious fms,
was amusing, gratifying, and pleasing,
even II it might come within the in
hibited sports of the Society for tho
Prevention Of Cruelty to Animals.
"A land line was tied to the pendant
line inst below its connection with tho
cable. The pendant line WIS cut at tho
cable, and there was nothing left to do
but pull his sharkship ashore aud
despatch him with Winchester rife or
an axe. The nights sport had secured
i 1900 pounds of shark. One weighed
over 400 pounds and was ten feet long;
another over 300 pounds and was nine
feet long, and so on down the list. II
was resolved to make preparations to
start fertilizer factory, and use MS the
chief product sharks. A boatman, who
had an especial fear Of sharks, and who
had been scared.out Of two years growth
when taking small one in his gill net
the night before, and who had in his
fear jumped into his boat and deserted
net, fish and companions, and made for
the shore, danced around the fallen vic-
Tins, and thanked God that vengeance
had come SO quickly upon his tormen-
tors. "tf dis gentleman stays here. long
he'll bust up the shark family in this re-
gion, he joyfully exclaimed. And SO the
whole community thought, and the
shark trap received on every hand the
highest commentator and praise; and
its use was demanded until the vnrmints
should be cleaned out Of the bay. There
were some slight apprehensions for .
Il