The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1891-11-20

sloop turned like a top and went racing
away toward babylon, with her lee
rail awash. | reeled in as fast as /
could turn my 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 fluttering 1t NAV
have been the change of course or it NAV
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. / saw him plain
~ as he darted past, aud in my per-
spring and painting condition he looked
to be the living incarnation of devil.sh
ferocity. The sloop bore away, and in
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
however, for he led us a lively chase
for fully half an hour after that. The
nimble little sloop ran, and reached
and luffed, and came about, and iibed
and spun around like crazy thing, and
all the while old Capt. Joel said never
a word lie was kept nearly as busy
as / was. for il is no small task TO keep
a sloop dancing about on the water like
monkey on hot brick. The old man
was perspiring freely, but he worked
to perfection lie knew as wei as |
did what to do, and when / gave an or
der he was already to obey it instantly.
lie could have done ii all without an
order, but on board ship nothing Is
done without instructions from the
man in charge
What do you take this ere sloop
for, anyway; a top?" he CRU nblcd, as
he filed away for the twentieth time.
Been Il dancin' about like looney for
the past half hour" Il knew by this
that he was warming up to the excite
ment of the occasion His suilen and
resentful feelings had oozed out OF him
as he began to pcrspire over his work.
At the end of three-quarters of an
hour l was about To give up the fight
as hopeless, but l resolved to keep il
up until l fairly dropped down from
sheer weariness- / 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 4
time, however. i 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 l reeled
him in toward tn, boat. / did II 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
u short distance of the boat.
Stand by with the lance, Cap'n
Joel. ." said l. The old man dropped
the tillcr and took up n lance made of
Il bayonct fastened 10 the end of
bamboo fishing-rod. He lnelt on the
deck beside me, with the lance poised
over the water and with his toes brsiced
against the standing rigging. gently
coaXed the shark alongside directly
under us.
stab him" said l, 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
unrcsisting water, for the shark
thrashed the water into foam with his
great tail and tore off across the bay.
The reel screamed again and again as
and rage, darted here and there.
Wherever he rushed he left a thin trail
of blood. Although l was no longer
so heavily oppressed with weariness l
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.
lie 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 tape line As
fused about him he made n lurch and
gave n 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 Joel grinned like a fiend and
chuckled to himself all the way home.
1t 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 home l put the tape line
on him. j 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 i was.cutting off a
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 1 could tell to the
contrary. If he were not, it was solely
through lack OF proper opportunity.
y. Y. Times.