The Louisiana Democrat., 1891-10-07

line, now holding fast and then slack
ing away, as the necessity of the situa-
ton seemed to require. The shark was
getting vicious Suddenly he made a
lunge and changed his course. .,.
sJibe over! quickr l called out.
Hes after us again." The nimble
sloop turned like top and went racing
away toward Babylon. with her lee
| rail awdsh. I ree1ed iii as fast as I
could turn my hand. The shark, came
on like race horse, dragging the
slack line after him. He made straight
for the boat Fl ~
"Luff ively,"I shouted; fluff, or we
lose him." The sloop came into the
wind shaking and fluttering. IT may
have been the change of course or itrnay
have been the pull OF the line, but
whatever it was, the shark just missed
the rudder. If he had fouled it, we
should have lost him sawshim plain
ly as he dartcd past, aud In my per
spring and painting condition he looked
to be the living incarnation of devilish
ferocity. The sloop bore away, and in
a momentmore had the shark towing
by jerks at the end of. the line, and the
line well in the reel at that. yzsa4s
The shark was by no means subdued,
/ however, for he led us "a lively chase
i for fully half an hour after that The
Enimble' little sloop ran, and reached,
and luffed, and came about, and iibed,
and spun around Ikea crazy thing. and
all the while old Capt. Joel said never
aword. He was kept nearly as busy
as was, for it is no small task to keep
a sloop dancing about onthe waterlike
a monkey on hot brick. The old man
was perspiring freely, but he worked
to perfection He know as wellga
didawhat to do, and when gave an or
derthe was already to.obey itsinstantly.
He could have done it all without an
order, but on board ship nothing is
done without instructions from the
man in charge. p *e 5 ss32
what do you take this ere sloop
| for, anyway; top?"' he grumbled, as
he filled away for the twentieth time
| "Been a dancin' about like looney for
the past half hour" | .knew by this
that he was warming up to. the excite.
sment of the occasion. His sullen and
resentful feelings had oozed out of him
as he began to perspire over his work.
| At the end of three-quarters of an
hourI was about to give up the fight
as, hopeless, but ! resolved to keepsit
up until ! fairly dropped down from
sheer -weariness. never had beensso
completely tired out in all my life. The
shark was altogether too heavy for
this sort Of fishing. A smaller shark
would have been sport, but this was
| something like hard ork.-ssA ftersa
time, however, noticed thai ,thcSbig
fellow on tho end of the line was be.
coming, less ugly and epergetics he
made dash now and then, but he did
not keep it up. By degrees l reeled
him in toward the boat did it all
very slowly and cautiously, for did
not wish him. to make particularly
desperate 5breals for liberty and get
away from me. felt that had not
enough strength left to resist him.
After some trouble got him within
short distance of the boat.
s'stand by with the lance, Cap'n
J6el," said T. The old man dropped
the tiller and took up lance made of
a bayonet fastened TO the end of
bamboo fshing-rod, He knelt on the
deck beside me, with the lance poised
over the water and with his toes braced
against the standing rigging. gently
coaxed the shark alongside directly
under us.
"Stab him." said ], and almost, be-
fore the sound of the words had died
away the keen bayonet had flashed in
to the sharks head and out again
twice. The third stab went into the
unresisting water, for the shark
tl1rashed the water into foam with his
great tail and tore off across the bay.
The reel screamed again and again as
the wounded thing, crazed with pain
and rage, darted here and there.
Wherever he rushed he left thin trail
of blood. Although was no longer
SO heavily oppressed with weariness I
took my time about checking him, for
knew that had him then.
When the wild creatures fury was
spent reeled him in again to the boat.
He was weak, but still game to the
last Capt Joel stabbed him four times,
but even with that the fish made a des-
perate struggle for life. Capt. Joel
put moose around under his forward
fins, and we hauled, him aboard sbys
means OF tackle already prepared for
that purpose. We let him hang in the
rigging while we bore away for. home
When was rested bit started to
measure him with a tape line. AS
fused about him he made lurch and
gave vicious snap with his ugly jaws
that caused me to fall headlong on the
cabin roof. His razor-like teeth missed
my left arm by barely six inches. Old
Capn Joel grinned like a fend and
chuckled to himself all the way home.
1t must have been the sharks last
death spasru, for when ! took the lance
and prodded him with it he made no
further demonstration. He was dead
beyond all recall .. vse. ~ t.,s
On the way home put the tape line
on him. found that he was a little
more than five feet long. This is not
large for man-eater; in fact it was
merely an ordinary sort of Great South
bay shark. While / was cutting of
fin he slipped out of the moose and fell
overheard, and that was the last. we
saw of him.. He might have been a,
man-eater for all that could tell to the
contrary. II he were not, it was solely