Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1893-08-05
A STRANGE ADVENTURE.

phine, for voyage from SyQney IC
Auckland and return. She was an
English craft and was loaded with
general cargo, and had made many
voyages across the New Zealand Sea.
The crew consisted of captain, mate,
cook, and four men before the mast,
and everyone but the cook was white
and spoke English. l was then Is
years old and just out Of my appren.
ticeship. l should have had a second
mates berth, but the Josephine car
ried no such officer. The captain
stood his own watch, and there were
occasions when the mate had to &c
aloft with the men. Capt. DelanC
was a good sailor and gOOd-hearted
man, and there was nothing in the
grub or the discipline to find fault
with. We left Sydney one morning
with fair wind for the 1900 mile
voyage. and had anyone predicted the
queer adventures and the tragedies
which were to befall us he would have
been looked upon as lunatic.
For the first three days out we had
fair winds and a smooth sea, and the
brig made fine progress. At mid
night on their third night the wind
shifted, blew up a sQuall which lasted
half an hour, and then died away as
fat as you please. We were left roll
ing on the waves for an Eour or two,
but when daylight came the surface
of the sea was without ripple, while
there was not the slightest breath Of
air moving above. The sun came up
like ball of fire, and the greenest
hand aboard knew we were in for a
calm. 1t was terribly hot by mid
forenoon, and our humane captain
ordered all hands to knock off and
make themselves as comfortab BILE as
possible. By noon the brig was like
an oven. The decks we're so hot that
even the cook with his tough feet
dared not walk them unshod. Down
in the forcaStle it was sitting, but as
IL was worse on the deck we had to
stand it.
1t was about noon when the cook,
who had gone to the side to throw
over some slops called out to come
and see the largest shark which hu-
man eyes ever beheld. 1 crawled up
from the focastle, always curious to
see one Of the monsters close at hand,
but expecting the cook had greatly
exaggerated, and when | looked over
the rail was astonished. There lay
shovel nOSed shark Of such dimen-
sions l dared not credit my own eye
sight. He lay parallel and not ten
feet away, and when, after few
minutes. captain and all hands had
reused up to look at the fellow we got
his exact length by a tape line along
the deck. He was thirty-two and
one-half feet long, with jaws capable
of cutting a bullock in two at one
snap The only sign Of life he gave
was slight movement Of the eye now
and then. He lay with his great dor
sal Tin baking in the hot sun, and so
near that we could see every little
detail. All agreed that he was the
largest shark any one had ever seen,
although all of US had sailed in the
warm seas, and some of the men had
turned away when the cook climbed
UP the rail and said he would stop a
little for a game with the big fellow.
He meant by that that he would have
a talk with him. have met num-
bers of ships cooks who claimed to
have made up" with sharks, and
were not afraid of being hurt by
them. The cook sat just opposite
the sharks middle, and he had just
begun a sort Of chant, when / passed
forward, intending to find missile
and heave it over and scare the mon
steI away. 1 had just found an old
bit Of iron and got back to the rail
when there was splash and yell.
The COOK was in the water through
some careless move Of his. had my
eve on the shark, and his movements
were like lightning. With one fiirt
of his tail he Slowed himself
around, his great Jaws opened, and
was looking right down upon him as
he took the cook in clear TO the mid
die and bit him in two so slick and
clean that the upper pa t Of the body
rolled away from the sharks nose
and remained on the surface directly
before me- After half a minute il
began slowly to sink, but was not yet
out of sight when l saw the shark
seize it AS he grabbed it he rushed
away and we saw him no more.
The tragedy upset US in more way
than one. Here we were, left with
out cook at the beginning of thu
voyage, and there was something ii
his taking off which aroused th'
superstition of the hands forward.
think the captain felt it as much g
we did, but of course he concealed i
as much as possible Ali that da.
we lay roasting and motionlesS, ant
as the sun went down and a ligh
breeze sprang up, every man uttere'
a heartfelt 'sT'hank Heaven w
crowed too soon, however. The breez
did not push US five miles before
tired out and we were left as before
the sky full of stars and the sea Xix
q mirror. / was in the mates watc
and came on duty at midnight In
deed we were all on duty for tina
matter as there. YVES nothing what