St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1889-05-18
STORIES OF THE SHARK
Which Flavor Decidedly Of Mum.
chausenism
But Are In the Main Undoubtedly True
Some Dreadful Encounters-What HAo
Been Found In the EiAh's
Stomach.

Shark stories have SO long formed the
staple Of sailors '.yarns" that. like the
pr"verbial legends regarding snakes.
they have in most cases come to be
regarded by untraveled people -
somewhat mythical. Indeed. in the
recently issued hi-tory Of American
fishes. prepared by a Government COM
mission. the writers give it as their
deliberate opinion that the cases in
which mep have been attacked by
these sea wolves are extremely rare.
This. we fear. will not be the verdict
of those who have familiar acquaint-
ance with the tropics, and it Is assured
~ not ihe view entertained by a cOrrs-
spondent whose letter was recently
published in the London Telegraph.
says that journal. A few weeks ago
a sailor engaged in scraping the sides
of a troop ship in the harbor of Sierra
Leone was dragged into the water and
promptly devoured by one of the
swarm of sharks which insest that
localit, !. hoatlaaa has been bitten
in the short lame Il took to dip cp
pitcher of water while his craft was
under full sail. anu "a are assured
that it is nothing uncommon for tkc-c
ravenous fish to spring q foot out OF
the sea to secure their prey. For
miles they ~. .o..v~ a vessel. on the
outlook for any stray unfortunate who
may tumble or be thrown overheard.
and yet SO deeply do they swim under
the surface that it requires the prac-
ticed eyes OF the natives to detect their
presence. Many Of the West India
harbors are SO haunted by the white
and hammerheaded sharks-the least
amiable of one hundred and fifty differ
ent kinds known to zoologists-that
it is dangerous to bathe even . few
yards from the shore without an out
look being posted. Hence. the we'll
known tradition Of Port Royal Tom"
being on the payroll Of the flagship in
that harbOr may be founded on fact;
for as no seaman would dare to swim
ashore with q Watchdog Of this kind
In the vicinity, few pieces Of junk
might have been judiciously expended
to keep such a deterrent against de-
sertiOn around the vessels Escape 10
almost impossible. clumsy As the fish
is. and once ip the grasp of its rows of
lancet-like teeth, the victim who pur-
chases life with the loss of an arm or
q leg may regard himself as unusually
lucky.
Yet the West African negro has been
known to face the brute. not only with
impunity. but even to come OF a. a
victor in the end. All but amphibi-
Gus. the swimmer cautiously ap-
proaches his enemy. and then. just at
the moment when the great 6sh turns
over to seize him-his mouth being so
placed that this is necessary-the dar-
ing black plunges his knife into its
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 mon
sters do not come in numbers, and un-
der the most favorable circumstances.
requires a GOODNESS, q dexterity and .
courage which are not to be acquired
except by long experience in such
perilous encounters. As a rule, how
ever, it is seldom that q man who
is SO luckless as to drop among
sharks ever appears again. There
is a shrek, white outline
IN seen under tho surface, and
a 5n above it. a reddcned crest tons
the next swell which breaks against
the ships side. and the ehorror-strickeu
seamen know that their messmate will
be seen no more. But the shark does
not vanish. On the contrary the appe-
tite thus sharpened encourages il to
follow in the wake of the vessel. 80
that the tales Of man-eating monsters
having been hooked weeks after such
. tragedy as that noted. with the re-
mains OF the missing men still in their
stomachs. are not to be dismissed "A
6ctions II Is we'll ascertaiued fact
that the skeletons Of sheep. pigs. dogs
and cattle. whllh have fallen or been
thrown overheard. have been recov-
cred In the manner indicated. many
days Subsequent to their being swai-
lowed and if is on record that In the