The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-12-26
COwARDICE OF THE SHARK.
BIG MANEATERs As AN OFFICER
OF THE NAVT HAS SEEN THEN.
They Went attack Two Men ToEether, ne
says, and n spinshiuE scares
nhip OF sharks ana Pilot Fish-unsiinct or
the shark In Cnsea OF Death on shtpbonrd.

They Wont Attack Two Men ToEether, ne
says, and n spinshiuE scares T~hen-Friend-
nhip OF sharks ana Pilot Fish-unsiinct or
the shark In Cases OF Death on shipsosrd.
WARRINGTON, Dec. 25.-"I have had some
experience with maneatera,'' said a naval OFF,
Ger. land 1 believe with tho Kanakns Of Hawaii
that sharks are towards. In the space of twen-
ty-ive years Of s~eagoinR. q good deal OF 1t In
shark-infcsted waters. I have never seen or
heard Of q case where n maneater. or o whole
school OF them. for that matter, brushed up
enough nerve to tackle two SWIMMING, diving
or castaway men or boys when both stuck to-
gother. The most ferocious OF sharks will at
tack n man only when he Is alone In the water,
and, even then, II the man has sufficient pres.
ence of mind to keep up a powerful s~plashing
on the surface Of the water, ho has a good
chance to scare the shark off.
"Sharks don't like to tackle Rnything that
churns up tho water. They've got to turn up
side down to get at their prey, and this position
docs not enable them TO see very we'll even when
their prey is pursuing an even and clear course
through the water, or Is quite stationary. in
fact: but when the object they decide to tackle
begins to lash the water into foam and snds.
nine times out Of ten they will turn lin and drill
out of the way. Natives Of all the Pacific
islands are aware Of this characteristic, which
accounts for tho fact that you never see q
Pacific island native swimming in the sea by
himself. He always goes in with one or more
companions for the sake Of the flashing they can
all give the water together in case sharks begin
to nose around. and also because they under.
stand the fear the shark has of attacking two or
more human beings who remain close together
In the sea. Once In II while one of the swim
ming islanders carelessly permits himself to be-
come separated from bis companions, and this
is the opportunity Of the shark. Under such
circumstances the man.eater is foxy enough to
get between the detached man and his com
panions and to keep below the surface of the
sea so that his t~eil.tale fin shall not show above
the water and reveal his presence to the doomed
native. Then he slips under his human prey,
performs his little turning. over trick, makes
an upward swoop every bit as swift US the
ightning.like descent Of an eagle and grabs the
native by the legs, and when the grabbed mans
companions notice that he is missing and swim
out in the direction where they last saw him
keeping close together and pounding the water
pretty hard they find nothing but little cddies
of blood on the surface OF the water. The ma
tive is torn TO pieces ina twinklinE by many
sharks who. | verify believe, wait below for the
pulling Dd IaF,o of Of Srh these So6 6SsGEsiatEss' bi ! haye nae, net many many.
which of them shall do the work in these Jobs:
> Southern seas have caught the trick Of the isl.
. anders in avoiding swimming singly in shark
. in the water in case they become accidentally
3 separated from their shipmatcs when in swim.
r States men,of-war about, an hour before sun
down on ships cruising in tropical attitudes
9 and the men who want to cool of jump OF
Y the decks By sSd the he score an% ;,. ! have we seen Sc, 4 o MatI %aS
( looking maneatsrs. they'd all jump into
g time tim G than it t takes for u me to Ut" tell It t. the sea a
. hundred yards away would be dotted with
. sharks fins. They'd screw their way out or the
"a neiQhbOrhOOQ of tho swimming men lust as
. quick. as they knew how, and they wouldn't
f6me 9arh,e eath nycr H l ihe sg gai' tSu soo sfir .utteTS
u II stepped on a twenty foot maneater once.
II ] have never been quite so much surprised, be.
r fore or since. 1t was when was a cadet, and
$ it happened at Acapulc97, Mexico The men
swimming call without paying much attention
. to the sharks that are as thick in Acapulco hnr.
a seaman serving on a British merchandising in
q the harbor had got eaten up by a school OF
. near his ship at the time he was grabbed the
q skipper Of our ship decided, thai swimming
. safe for the crew. and he ordered that there.
: after they'd have to take Their plunyes from The
e ticman exhibited any G great amount of sea
e sense in making this order; for It j. a fact pref;
It country as we'll as to old time seagoers that man:
eating sharks make it their business TO. patrol
e By them. Old sailors maintain that when
n \ in the course Of a patrol Of the shoal waters Of
q an inhabited harbor. they pitch their camp
right in that harbOr and close to the beach there
Of for the remainder of their days. awaiting
= further opportunities in the way of human
u Anyhow, n while before shutdown OH the
day this beach-swimming order was issued,
t Mh@S m oe%e forw@ ar ," Who S Were going Gi = in MI fha p sailing q
launch to have a swim from the shore. Wher
the the sf }Sn eTsr that to the srs eS"c AMIDST 1ns "a doH T1riP To- TIL /,
waters edge, and were padding in the sea
r, Of OFT February Ct qlerH md blazing All hot, and the e fun NTH Ii,
At men were having in the water made me en-
" vious. 1t was. OF course, not the proper mill
m tary thing for me to 60 in the water alongside
is the men forward. but ! wanted to go in mighty
~ Of hundred feet down the beach from wher,
IN the men were splashing around. stripped. am
-. wasn't thinking much about sharks. ! got gu
p to where the water about reached my middle
N order to get a better view Of the paiips splen
RS ward to gaze through the trunks Of couple o
Id view-obstructing palms, and made an extr'
on something that was not sand. 1t was lik
m a very anG grade Of emery papcr-3 compaEi
he time i didn't have much chance 70 think-an!
,g 1t was alive. 1t gave Q twist that threw me OF
as water. and then / knew, that 1 had commit
as ted the imppoiit e. act Of stepping r,So on a a s ,Se bn!
w, " tom Of the sea when in business in harbor.
m There was a swish and a rush in the water
and a mighty churning, and said I to myself
Mt 'MyIboy, youn never.have a chance to write tina
ne fowery letter that you intended to send HON
or by the next steamer. j kept my head abou
nd me. however, and remembered what the oil
he fatfeet up forward snid about splashing in tn
N. water when sharks hover, near You. and so
he set up n kicking and a splashinG worse than
small boy makes in n bathtub. and kept o
i'd making for the beach as fast as / could &c
he through the water all the time. ! cxpecte
ey the shark TO grab my legs every minute. and
re. was only when I stepped into water UP to m
en- ankles that I turned around to look: The waite
is ms clear as glass in Acapulco Harbol
and when I turned around l raw the big 4
OF n bulky twenty, footer cieaving the waite
about nifty. yards away, and going in exactl
Ie- knot a minute. When ! stepped on him ths
shark was Just about as much surprised an
scared rs ] was, and he was too much OF
coward TO 3 c that | was his mcat for the tnkinl
he Some sailors say that 1t takes q shark a Ion
ed uihe 10 REGAIN ,s Wis nr,m m''er De nn rpbuGGhi9 H. .