The Durham daily globe. (Durham, N.C.) 1889-1894, 1892-01-09
ASTRIDE A LIVE SHARK.
DARING FEAT OF A CALIFORNIA SWIM
MING TEACHER.

A Mans Sport with a Marine Monster.
The Entire Harmlessness OF a Huge
Basking Shark Amply Demonstrated.
The Visitors No Longer Afraid.
That a man should take a ride on a
live sharks back, apparently with all
the delight of a wild cowboy breaking in
an unruly mustang, would be difficult
to believe unless circumstances were
presented to verify it. Such an occur
renee has really taken place, however,
and at SO short a distance from San
Francisco that any doubling Thomas
can easily satisfy himself by making a
personal investigation.
For the past few years the fishermen
in the northern part Of Monterey bay,
zeal Santa Cruz, have been greatly
annoyed by basking sharks. These
sharks, while in search Of food, often
run into the nets Of fishermen, and
in thrashing about and trying to
escape from the meshes which enfold
them, tear the nets and injure them so
that the fishermen at times suffer the
loss of hundreds Of dollars. Sometimes
a shark struggles about 80 much in the
water as to wrap the nets around it in
such a name that escape is impossible,
and the huge fish dies from the exhaus-
ton produced by its wild efforts to get
Tree. To extricate the dead fish from
the nets it is sometimes necessary to tow
it ashore, and to recover part of the loss
sustained in the destruction of the nets
the fishermen try out the liver Of the
shark and obtain a quantity Of cheap
but profitable oil
AN OCULAR DEMONSTRATION.
A huge basking shark about thirty or
forty feet long became ~entangled in the
nets of some fishermen off Sequel point,
about four miles from Santa Cruz. The
shark. still alive and EMBODIED in the
nets, was towed by the fishermen in
boat to the wharf at CapitOla. Its ar
rival created great excitement among
the visitors at that resort. The act that
sharks, any sharks, were near the beach
drove hundreds of batherS from the wa
ter, and people tegan to make up their
minds to leave the place. No noun Of
assurance on the part OF the proprietors
of the hotel or the fishermen that bask.
ing sharks were not man eaters, and that
many had been caught with no accident
happening, could entirely quiet the fears
of tho visitors. and bathing was almost
given up
Some ocular demonstration Of the faCt
that a basking shark was harmless there.
fore became necessary. Swimming
Teacher Swanson, Of the CapitOla baths
then determined to give an exhibition
with the shark which should convince
the most tislid. A performance fol
lowed the like Of which NJ mar ever
participated in before. Swanson put on
a bathing suit and SWAN to the wharf
where the partially exhausted monster
lay, still partly wrapped in the torn and
tangled fishing nets. Slowly approach
ing the gasping yet enraged monster. "A
whale IN slZe if not IN species, Swanson
swan close to its side, and then clalnb.
cred slowly on top, a moderately easy
task to accomplish, as the shark lay
almost entirely under water. Sitting
astride the huge fish like u baby on an
elephant. the bold swimmer shouted III
triumphant derision at the several hun
dred people on the wharf. VIII" bad
gathered to witness the strange yer
Torrance