San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-09-29

tinct Fish of the Past.
If we may judge prehistoric man by his
modern representatives we may assume that
shark fishing was carried on at a very early
day: so very early, in fact, that not the
slightest proof remains or even a remnant of
the early Walton. In geological maps Of
America, during what is known as the tdr
tiary age, we find it occupying much more
restricted area than at present. The south
ern states were largely under water, and
Florida was but shoal beneath the waves.
In the immediate vicinity of Charleston, s.
c., from the bottom of the river bed have
been taken the remains of some sharks so sug-
gestive of gigantic size that the modern man
eater is dwarfed in comparison The remains
consist of teeth, huge deviated specimens, in
some instances almost as large as woman's
hand, many times larger than those found in
large sharks OF today. The writer once had
the curiosity to arrange a number OF these
teeth after the model of modern shark, and
.ho result gave fish large enough to swallow
a horse entire; and as for length, l25 feet must
have been the dimensions Of these monsters
If a shark fourteen feet long is sufficient at
the present day to terrify any one, what must
have been the effect of the appearance of this
tertiary giantl Like the great whales, it re-
CURED deep water to float it, and doubtless
was only attacked when by accident it be-
came stranded on the shoals
HOW THEY WERE CAPTURED.
At such time the fishermen may have put
IF in their rude crafts and aided in Its cap
Curc-perhapS fastening it with cableS-iL
IRVING logs of wood into its vulnerable parts.
I" capture such monsters by any other means
tn,t have been impossible The largest boats
nuuld hardly have withstOod the struggles
that must have ensued after an attempt at
capture 10y spear or harpoon. assuming even
hat such weapons were known. Once en-.
trapped i'll shallow water we can imagine that
ne sight must have been a striking one: the
'normous fish, far more active in this condi-
ION than a whale, beating the water with
3i0ws of its powerful tail, making frantic and
mighty rusheS this way and that, swapping
,he great cables like threads, capSiziug the
rUue boats and spreading terror and deStruc
r!om everywhere
\ man TO one of these mighty sharks would
- almost unnOticeable, and we can imagine
nat such a huge creature must have been
mon a continual forage To appeaSe its appe-
tie. A moderate sized whale would have
zen legitimate prey, as our ordinary man
'a'ers of today have been known to swallow
i"arly an entire horse. At this time many
range creatures thronged tina ocean, aud
.uubtlesS animal life was made much more
Drofuse than at present.
ANY one who has seen shark of large size
moving along beneath the surface can realize
he terror they produce in all observers.
A MODERN EXPERIENCE.
The writer once hooked shark about four
cen feet il length. The brute was towing
he heavy boat at steamboat speed through
ne water, my man Crouching in the stern,
which was high in air, while | was engaged
II the bow, in keeping the line in the notch,
, slip from which would have tipped US over.
We had rushed up the channel for about half
l iaile at this pace, when CHANGED to glance
~ arboard, and there, about ten feet from
he surface were half dozen man eaters of
re largest size swimming along, keeping up
It'll us, apparently determined to see what
"c"ame of their friend The appearance Of
these huge fishes moving along so swiftly and
With such little exertion had an extremely
iiSagreeable impression upon me-one that
never fully recovered from, as | have never
,ujovsd sea bathing since, even in northern
waters. The attendant sharks Judged were
from ten to thirteen feet in length, and the
exact size Of the monster that towed us we
never determined, as he finally escaped by
breaking the rope.
SIZE OF CAPTURED SHARKS.
At South Carolina, at the junction Of the
Ashley and Cooper rivers, thousands OF these
teeths have been dredged in deepening the
river. not of one species alone, but of many,
showing that here must have been a common
feeding ground for schools Of these giants,
that perhaps engaged in warfare among
themselves, and so formed this strange grave
yard of teeth that thousands Of years Inter
became through rising Of the coast dry land.
OF the man eaters Of today the CarcharOdon
: the largest, a specimen having been cap
tUred in Australian waters thirty-sjX feet in
ength; TIE jaw of this monster is now in the
British museum. The largest shark, how
aver, is the phinoden, which has wide geo.
graphical range and attaIns a length OF from
fifty to seventy feet, approximating that of
ne great whales but this huge creature is
lot menace to the other jewellers of the sea,
having small, harmless teeth, and preying
pom small pelagie or floating animals. An
)ther shark, called the bone shark, is oc-
asiCnally found off our eastern coast, rang
Nc from twenty to fifty feet. A reliable
sherman informed me that his father cap
urcd one Off the southern coast Of Massa-
:usetts which Was longer than this. The
chOOner was sixty tous harden, and when the
Lsh was brought alongside and dashed 1t was
Onger than the vessel or between sixty and
evenly feet. This shark is also a defenseleSs
reature. relying upon small animals for food.
C. f. Holden in San Francisco Chron;"is.
Courting ia Africa.