River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1891-10-01

rail awaSh. / recled in as fast e. /
could turn nv hand The shark came
on like a race horse, dragging the
slack line after him. He made straight
for the boat
"Luff lively" shouted: fluff, or we
lose him" The sloop came into the
wind shaking and flutteri~g. 1t may
have been the change of course or it may
have been tie pull of the line, but
whatever II was. the shark just missed
the rudder II he had foeled it. we
should have lost him sawxhim plain
ly as he darted past, and in my per-
spring and painting condition he looked
10 be the living incarnation of devilish
ferocity. The sloop bore away, and in
a moment more had the shark towing
by jerks at the end of the line, and the
line well in the reel at that
The shark was by no means subdued,
howeve,', for he led us a lively chase
for fully half an hour after that. The
nimble little s,oop ran, and reached,
and lufed. and came about, and jibed.
and spun around like a crazy thing, and
ri the while old Capt joel said never
a word He was kept nearly as busy
as was. FOR it is no small task To sseep
a sloop dancing about on the water like
a monkey on a hot brick. The old man
was perspiring freely, but he worked
to perfection He knew as well as l
did what to do, and when / gave an or
der he was already to obey it instantly.
He could have done it all without an
order. but on board ship nothing is
done without instructions from the
man in charge.
What do You lake this ere sloop
for, anyway, a top?" he grumbled, as
he filled away for the twentieth time.
Been a dancin' about like looney for
the past half hour" I knew by this
that he was warming mp to the excite
ment 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
hour / was about TO give mp the fight
as hopeless, but I resolved to keep it
up until fairly dropped down from
sheer WEAKNESS i never had been so
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 work. After
time, however. noticed that the big
fellow on the end Of the line was be-
coming less ugly and energetic. He
made a dash now and then, but he did
not keep it up. BY degrees reeled
him in toward the boat. / did it all
very slowly and cautiously, for did
not wish him to make particularly
desperate break for liberty and get
away from me. felt that had not
enough strength left to resist him.
After some trouble l got him within
a short distance of the boat
stand by with the lance, Cap
Joel" said l. The old man dropped
the tiller and took up a lance made of
bayonet fastened 20 the end of
bamboo fishing-rod He knelt on the
deck beside me, with the lance poised
over the water and with his toes braced
against the standing rigging. i 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 bsyonet had flashed in
to the sharks head and out again
twice. The third stab went into the
unresisting water, for the shark
thrashed the water into foam with his
great tail and tore of across the bay.
The reel screamed again and again as
the wounded thing, crazed with pain
and rage, darted here and there
w herever he rushed he left a thin trail
of blood. Although / was no longer
so heavily oppressed with WEAKNESS I
took my time about checking him, for
knew that had him then.
When the wild creatures fury wa.
spent reeled him in again to the Goat.
He was weak, but still game to the
last Capt. Joel stabbed him four times.
but even with that the fish made des-
perate struggle for life. Capt Joel
put a moose around under his forward
fins. and we hauled him aboard by
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
Cap'n 'oel grinned like a fiend and
chr ed TO himself all the way home.
IL must have been the sharks last
death spasm, for when took the lance
and prOdded him with it he made no
further demonstration He was dead
beyond all recall
On the way h ONE put the tape line
on him. found that he was a little
more than five feet long. This is not
large for a man-eater; in fact it was
merely an ordinary sort of Great South
bay shark. While / was cutting off
fin he slipped out of the moose and fell
overheard, and that was the last we
saw of him. lie might have been
man-eater for all that could tell TO the
contrary. If he were not, it was solely
through lack OF proper opportunity. -
y. \. Times.