The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-10-09
CATCHING A SHARK.
Hooked and Shot and Then Torn In Pieces
by It's FelIows.

| ship had laZlly rolled IN the long swell:
/ of the Pacific, about three miles of
shore, near a little town in Central
America, said traveller from that part
of the world the other day. The
| sharks had become very friendly and
would swim sluggishly about the YES.
sci. sometimes even rubbing familiarly
against its sides The passengers
however, had grown tired of watching
! them, as we'll as weary of looking al
the coffee, coffee, coffee, which the ma
tives were loading into the ship from
barges alongside.
But on the afternoon of the second
day the general languor was some
what dispelled by the appearance on
deck of the purser with shark line.
The passengers gathered around the
stern of the vessel while the purser ar
ranged his tackle. The line was about
fve-eighths of an inch in thickness and
five hundred feet long. The hook on
the end seemed large enough to hold a
whale, but it was none too stout, as
was subsequently, shown.
Next to the hook was piece of chain
about eighteen inches in length. Six
feet from the hook was a piece OF
wood large enough to float the hook
and chain, and at intervals of forty OF
fifty feet were three other pieces OF
wood, to keep the rope near the top OF
the water. After fastening enough
fish on the hook to make a meal for
several moderate sized families, the
purser threw it overheard.
The hook floated slowly away from
the vessel, it being kept about six feet
from the surface of the water by the
first piece of wood. The water was so
clear, however, that the fish on the
hook could be seen plainly from our
position on deck.
The hook had been in the water only
ten or fifteen minutes when two or
three small sharks gathered around
and seemed to be cycling the tempting
bait sharply. None of them deigned
to touch it. however. Finally one big
tiger, or man-eating shark, the largest
one we had seen that day, appeared
and began nosing about the bait. He
swan by it once, rubbing his side
against the fish. He came back mo-
ment later, and rubbed against the
bait again. Then he turned quicker
than usual, made straight for the bait,
turned on his side, and took fish, hook,
and part of the chain into his mouth
and started toward the bottom with
them.
The purser gave the line hard jerk
to fasten the hook in the sharks jaw.
Zip, buzz! how that line did cut
through the water when the hook
pricked the shark.
The purser took turn around the
rail with the lSne and paid it out
slowly, until the shark had three hun
dred and fifty or four hundred feet at
its disposal Then he made it fast
The shark. finding it could not break
the line, tried new tactics. 1t swan
toward the ship and tried to spit out
the hook. But it was too firmly
fastened in its mouth for that, and, as
the shark approached, the purser took
up the line and made it fast, when the
shark started to swim away again.
This maneuver was tried several
times, and finally the shark was within
ten or twenty feet of the vessel.
Slowly the distance was shortened
until it was almost directly under the
stern of the ship. Then. as the vessel
went down in the trough of big dead
swell, the slack line was quickly taken
up and made fast again. When the
vessel rose on the top of the swell the
head of the shark was two or three
feet out of the water. We had good
view of it by this time. So far as size
was concerned he was splendid speci-
men, weighing, the purser estimated,
from one thousand four hundred to
one thousand six hundred pounds. 1t
was of the striped or man-eating
species, known som etimes as the tiger
shark.
The purser now brought a Win
chester rifle of large bore. and when
the ship raised the shark out of water
he fred two shots into his head and
down his throat. Some OF the passen-
gers expressed sympathy for the big
brute, but when they witnessed what
followed shortly afterward all such
feelings had departed.
The purser fred at least a dozen
shots into different parts of the shark.
but it was still alive. The blood
flowed freely from the wounds, how
ever, and colored the water IN a streak
for several hundred feet away from
the shin.
The shot from the rife did not seem
10 deter him in the least After brush
ing against his helpless companion
twice. he turned nearly over on his
back, and. on. what a sight. he took a
big mouthful out of the tail Of the
member of his own species that was
still alive. but unable TO help himself.
One of the natives in barge along
side produced an ugly-looking knife
and cut ont the hook in the caPtive's
mouth at this point, and he was al
lowed 10 drop down into the water.
His doom was sealed. however. All
toe other sharks thereabout pitched IN
and literally tore hirn IN pieces Some
Of the ladies could not watch the sight
What's the use of symPathizing
with him" remarked the purser He
has done the same thing himself many
times, probably. They are no use any
way. and live by killiaC fsh which are
OF some use 70 mankind ~. Y Trib-
une.
Some who-rsc..se Perfuz~s
E-h N-x n-S.~~rs~-e1