Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1890-07-23
FIGHT WITH A SHARK.
Gigantic Monsters of the Deep
- Seen by a Yankee Sailor.
How Ono Of Them whooped Things Up for
Yenturesome Some True
Fish Stories Told by n Strictly
Truthful Old Tar. -

watching very red-faced old fisherman
way up the Maine coast, as he baited his
trawl hooks, "what Is the largest fish you
ever saw or heard ofl"
"Wal," replied the old fisherman, with
out looking up, sit stands to reason that
I've heard on some bigger ones than I ever
clapped my eyes onto. Sailor folks Is great
on yarning; there amt any use In denying
that. One Of 'em starts yarn, and 1t keeps
a CROWN SO fast that by the time It gets
ashore the man what started it wouldn't
know it."
"But there are some true fish stories,n
persisted the little boy.
''Sartin, sartin," replied Captain Sam,
land guess I've seen about as big fish
as the next one. When l was a boy not a
mite older nor you my gran'ther was owner
and skipper Of as fine sixty ton schooner
as cut the water in these parts, and as soon
as got big enough not to fall overheard
and to pull on herrin' or maclz'rel line he
took me along, and it was on this very
cruise that saw big fish. We were fish
in on what is called the Georges Bank,
away up to the north'ard a spell The men
were out in dories a fshin' an only me an
gran 'ther aboard. / was foolin' around
two lines, when | see somethin' black o
lynn alongside. First I thought 1t was
shadder of the keel, but 1t kept comm
nearer and more distinct, until all at once
see it was critter. First thought it was
q whale and sings out to my gran'ther that
there was big whale alongside. He came
a running out Of the cabin and took one look
at it and says: It's bone shark and the
biggest one ever see'
'As far rs we could make out 1t was
sixty feet long-a lynn perfectly still, its
back out Of the water 80 that a man could
have walked ten or twenty feet on his
back. We had harpoon, but he didn't
dare throw 1t for fear Of losin' 1t, havin' no
boat to follow, 80 there the big shark stayed
until finally the old man tuck ton Of red
hot Goals from the galley fire and tossed
them on his back. Some of them stuck, and
1t wasn't long before he left.
"When got grown up" continued Cap
tain Sam, ~ saw another shark almost as
big, and helped catch it. l shipped In a
sword fisherman as first man. We sailed
from Boothbay, but finding fish scarce, we
put down toward Cape Cod, and when we
got to the southland we found about all we
could attend to, and in less than a week
bore away for New Bedford with "a good
Boston load We put to sea again on q
Friday, bad day, so sailor men say, but
this turned out good luck for US. We were
about on what they call The Sisters when
the lookout sighted what he thought was
swordhsh, and we cleared decks accordin';
but when we got alongside we see it was
big bone shark. The skipper said It ought
to pay one hundred dollars In lie, so we kept
away while the man spliced a bigger line on
to the harpoon and then wore around and
came up on him again.
HE was s-lyin' right in the slush Of the
sea- There was fair so'west wind
a-blowin', just enough to make the sea
make clean break over his back that
looked like big log, and l reckon that's
what you'd a-taken 1t for If you'd a-seen it.
Howsomever, we came a-bowlin' along in
great shape. the skipper putin the
schooner within ten feet of him, and, as we
shot by, me and the second mate let drive
our irons into him, and the same minute the
men hove over the ksg an line.
"What did he dol' said Captain Sam,
who, In the excitement Of the old memory,
had dropped his line and was locking the
little boy in the face, with hand on each
oilskin knee.
"Why, he whooped things, and accordin
to my mind we got out Of the way just in
time. You'd a-thought volcano had bust
right thar. Up come a big tail fifteen foot
In the air, with water and sprays a-fyin';
then down it went with a noise like the top
sail OF fifty gun frigate in stays. There
was long cable or line on the harpoons,
but 1t wasn't two minutes before we saw
the kegs go under and up they came q
hundred fathoms away, and went along
sending the water as high as our topmast.
SIT so happened, our luck bein' still on,
that the fish bore away on the wind; II it
had a. struck to the windward it would