Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1889-07-10
ALL ABOUT SHARKS.
Ravonous Character of tho White and
IT, Hammer Headed Varieties.

>5 ALL ABOUT SHARKS. -.
Ravenous Character of tho White and
~ ," hammer-Headed Varieties.
1t was reported the other week that
T. sailor engaged in scrapiug the sides
o. 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
tn" Standard reminds us that boat
man has been bitten in the short time
1t took him to dip up a pitcher of
wafer while his craft was under full
sail. we are assured that it is moth
ing uncommon for the ravenous fish to
sprlng foot out of the sea- in order to
secure their prey. For miles they will
follow vessel, on the lookout for any
stray unfortunate who may tumble or
be thrown overheard. and so deep do
they swim under the surface that it re-
qulres the practiced eyes of the natives
to detect their presence M any of the
West lndia harbors are so haunted by
the white and hammer headed sharks
the least amiable of the one hundred
and fifty different kinds known to 70
ologists-that it's dangerous to battle
even few yards from the shore with
out an outlook being posted.
Yet the West African negro has been
known to face the brute, not onlv with
impunity, but even to come off as VIC
tor in the end. All but amphibious,
the swimmer cautiously approaches
his enemy, and then, just at the mo-
ment 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 its white belly.
The pearl-divcrs are also sometimes
successful in their attacks on sharks
which try to seize them, though, it is
needless to add, such mode of combat
is possible only when the monsters do
not come in numbers, and under the
most favorable circumstances requires
GOODNESS, a dexterity 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, white out
look is seen under the surface and a fin
above it, a redeemed crest tops the next
swell which breaks against the ships
side, and the horror-stricken seamen
know that their messm ate will be seen
40 more.
1t is we'll ascertained fact that the
skeletons of sheep, pigs, dogs and cat
tie which had 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 a shark killed in the Indian
ocean Il ladys work:box was found,
while in another the discriminatory
papers which had been thrown away
by a hotly-chased SLAYER were recov-
cred from the NAV Of an involuntary
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 a man in mail-homo loricatus,
he calls him-was found in the stom-
ach of a white shark: and it is record
ed by Blumenbach that in one case q
whole horse was found. 1t is undenia-
bic that many have been killed with
| ample capacity for such undesirable
contents; and Basil Hall tells of one
out of which was taken the whole skin
Of buffalo, besides a host Of other
trifles which had been dropped asterr
in tho course of the previous week.
Sailors are full of superstitions
which touch the superhuman sagacity
and incarnate fiendishness OF this fish
how, its senses being acute far be-
yond what we can have any idea of, i
will follow ships for days when a death
is likely to occur, and desert the wake
Of othe vessel when no such goot
fortune for it is in the wind. Vatea
the shark god, is the lord of the ocear
in the Hervey island mythology, and i
is whispered that even the Chris
tianiaed Hawaiians will still, when i,
the direst extremity, invoke Mooaru
the shark demon, to whom their pagan
forefathers erected temples and Of
fered sacrifice. The pearl diver
of Ceylon employ shark charmer
to protect them while engaged
in their dangerous work. Marco
Polo speaks of these officials under tn,
name of the abrHma who received
as wages a twentieth of the divers
gains. At the present day they are
called haibandi or shark binders, anl
as the divers would not enter the
waters without being certain of theil
services the chief operator receives {
goverament subsidy of ten oysters pei
diem. The Tahitians deiied the blue
shark under the name of 'Auku,
maoo," dedicating it to shrines anl
priests, and in West Africa rabbits are
sacrificed to u ohm, while. if not sharp
ly watched, it has been affirmed tina
some of the tribes about the Niger del
ia will, at fixed times. bind child dec
Grated with flowers to post on the
beach at low tide and leave it to be
devoured by the sharks which come ir
| with the flow drowning it's cries with