The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1893-03-29
SHARKS AND THEIR WAYS.
Curious About Divers and They Like to
Be Scratched.

Sharks are very common all al ng
the coast of Australia. They become
more numerous, larger and more .vora-
cious the nearer we 60 to the equator
Passengers who make ocean voyages
may often see them from the deck Of
the ship, but see them in their native
element, says diver. A day seldom
passes when am at work that h not
see some Of these creatures. They do
not seem to recognize diver when
clad in his diving dress as slmething
which is good to eat Probably ne IS
mistaken for some other great sea
monster with which the shark would
Just as soon not meas re his strength.
AT all events sharks rarely give us
any active annoyance. At first when
we go into a new country they exhibit
some curiosity. They sometimes come
and inspect us and our work, moving
slowly around us with perceptible
motion and smelling us like great dogs.
1t gives one a very horrible feeling Of
insecurity, | assure you, when one OF
those monsters Twelve or fourteen feet
long runs his nose around your body,
and without even a solitary "wag" Of
his tail to indicate good fellowship.
The shark will swim away right enough
when he has finished his inspection
at least he has always done so with me
and, although annoying, l can stand
it now.
Sometimes when you 60 down Of
morning you will find half dozen big
and little sharks who have evidently
selected the site of your operations
as a camping ground. This is awk-
ward. Perhaps they have observed
the disturbance at the bottom Of the
sea and, like marine constab'es, they
care waiting for the fellow who made it
to run him in" This is an awkward
experience, for these shar.s do not
clear off and admit your claim. They
say all animals have fear Of man, but
sharks cannot recognize man in a
divers costume. They neither oppose
nor assist us in our operations-they
simply ignore us. We have to be very
careful then, walking around about
these pigs without disturbing them,
l have occasionally used a small
crowbar as a weapon, and struck a
small shark on the nose when he was
annoying me with his persistcncy The
shark will then turn and go off with
rush. | would not, however, like to
try my crowbar on a shark ten feet
long. After his rush away, he might
return for further investigation.
have had many nasty adventures
with sharks when pursuing my occupa-
ton recolIect one that give me a
considerable shock. l had been en-
gagged blowing up a reef of rocks 50 as
to enlarge little harbor on the coast.
1t was my duty to make the hole and
put in the charge Of dynamite. The
charge was exploded in the evening
after we left off work On going down
every morning was accustomed to go
over to certain ledge which was al
ways good resting place for lobsters.
Morning after morning | mad invarla-
bly, found pair or more Of these
Crustaceans, which sent to the surface
in basket.
On the morning to which l now re-
fer, | walked straight to the ledge and
ran my hand carefully along its lower
side l was surprised to find my hand
sCraping what l took to be the rock,
but l was surprised still more when
observed my hand cropping within a
foot of the mouth of great shark
which had retired to rest in the cavity.
The shark must have been as much
alarmed as / was, for it made one
sprinting from its resting place and
disappeared in the dark wall of ocean.
The shock to me was greater than
could have believed, and even yet dc
not care to think about it much. 1t is
hardly necessary to say that | did not
return to that ledge for Holsters for
some time,