The weekly messenger. [volume] (St. Martinsville [i.e. St. Martinville] La.) 1886-1948, 1892-12-31
HUNTING THE SHARK
A SPORT THAT CAN SCARcrr
BE TERMED FISHING
Adventure with School of Shark.
Hooking a Monster and Haulins
Him Ashore-Fate of a Man in =
Boat.

Shark hshlng IS not an aesthetic nas-
time, being directly in the line of athlete
sport, and possibly more exercise can hs
obtained from one moderate-sized ssS
than from many times like investmen,
in gymnasium appliances. have alwav,
had a fondness for shark fishing and
have tested conclusions with many kind.
and sizes in The Atlantic, North and
South, the warm waters of the Gulf ~
Mexico and on the Pacific.
One can hardly look at these mons.s,.
without feeling at least of distrust "a.
pecially if in small boat, as big sbart
is something like a horse; it has the
power to do much harm if it only realized
it, and if several were to combine force,
they could easily tip over a boat and
carry off the occupant. | never realized
this so forcibly as one hot summer dav
| was trying to master shark, certainiv
the largest had ever hooked and ons
that never saw; but, Judging from il,
actions, i should estimate its length 4,
fourteen feet or more. was in a fairly
heavy boat and had one companion
The shark had been hooked well. nearly
jerking me overheard as l put the steel
into his jaws, and was towing us through
the water faster than tug could steam.
burying the bow deep in a curling wall
OF foam. There was a notch in the cut.
water of the boat, in which l was hold.
ing the line. while my companion en-.
deavored to steer with an oar, keeping
the boat in the wake of the fleeing mon.
ster. 1t was warm and exciting work.
and during the first rush, while standing
upright on the little deck, clinging to
the rope, CHANGED to glance over the
side. At first thought it a reflection.
but another look showed me that had
an escort of half dozen large sharks,
which, about fifteen feet below the sur.
face, were dashing along interested spec.
tators and evidently determined to find
out what it was all about. 1t was not
pleasant sight. and | remember it sent
me from the little deck to a more secure
position in the bottom of the boat. We
were towed long distance and only
gained slack on this shark after series
of desperate hauls in which the Lima
slipped out of the notch and the boat
barely escaped capsize.
| saw early in the game that the shark
was too big for us, and so it proved, a.
in one of its bursts of speed it broke the
heavy hemp rope. and we drifted on the
smooth waters of the gulf with tired
heaving chests and cut fingers
only to alone tell the story. As never
had any difficulty in taking sharks from
ten to twelve feet III length in this bost
and with the same line, Judged that
the unseen game was of unusual size.
I csc sharks are of remarkable bulk.
Thus one twelve feet long would be over
twice as bulky as many that have seen .
in Northern waters of the same length
The strength Of these monsters and their
was enormous. though with an
length of rope found that l.
could manage the largest from the shore
Or beach single-handed. At the first
rush no attempt would be made to stop
t, and the coil would fairly jump into
the air as it unwound. Finally the
slack would be exhausted, and the strain
come upon heavy log which would
sometimes be rolled over; then taking
he line could, by patient exertion, lure
out the game. This would be accom-.
olished by running up the beach hauling
n quickly whenever it swerved in shore
hen Stacking out. and 80 on until the
hark was exhausted. 1t could then b
hauled in. and after a turn had been
AIKEN about its tail to prevent accidents.
dozen or fifteen men would lay on and
laul the struggling monster sprawling
lpon the sands with remoras or sucking
ishes clinging to it, faithful to the last
n one of these large sharks l found .
'eef can which had been partly opened,
containing spoiled meat, the hoof OF
teer, with about eight inches OF the
zone. and the base and part of the
'ointless horn of the same animal. with
ther refuse obtained at the dump OF
laughter house.
Some of the big sharks OF Australian
Taters, that range up to thirty feet, have
he power to do a vast amount of execu-
ion. One examined by an English nat
ralist contained almost the entire bod!
( horse. While the savage nature OF
harks is often exaggerated, the animal
annot be depended upon, individuals :
ften developing a reckless, rot to say
erocious, character that places the sea-
arer at their mercy One illustration
ill be sufficient, and as the family OF
ne unfortunate are we'll known to the
ritter, and the incident familiar to oil
, the locality where it occurred. it may
C accepted as true shark story. a
arty had gone out fishing in large
shing sloop, and were anchored oil
lore, when one of the men got into
God sized rowboat that was floating
stern, saying that he would row OIL 70
distance and see if the fish would NOT
tie better. This he did. and no az
ntion was paid to him until the party
d deck were aroused by hearing shrieks
I'd halls. Looking in the direction Oh
lie boat they saw their friend and COM