The Opelousas courier., 1897-07-24
FIELDS OF ADVENTURE
'HH'llINc INCIDENTS AND paR,Nc
DEEDS ON LAND AND SEA,

@naseou Capture ofa Big Shark bv q
"'.ee OF india-A Rattlesnake Takes
Cp aus Quarters On a Miners. Body in
.oioFado-An Extraerdlnary Ordeal,
Talk about your shark hunters in
.he eouth Pacific Islands," remarked
5he cid traveller, 'but remember see
,ns an encounter with one of those
,ohS-toothed gentry that for cool nerve
yea anything I ever read about,
was loafng around Calcutta one
gay late in the autumn. waiting for
sne evening train UP to the city of HUI
go when 1 heard q tremendous shout
ing coming from the direction Of the
river Hugll, which is practically one Of
'he mouths CT the Ganges. Trottinr
over 70 the shore as fast as a white
man ever travels in India, I saw n bnee
connection. Natives were hurrvina
away from the bank as if in terror and
then running back as if their curiosity
haa overcome their greatest fears. TIE
river was full of boats. The occupants
or the larger ones were screaming with
excitement, while those in the small
ones were shrieking and jabbering with
u considerable amount of fear.
Il o discovered that the fuss had
been created By a large shark which
a ome up with the tide and had
Ventured q little further than it was
customary for sharks 10 do. His dor
sal IN was cutting the water here and
there and when occasionally he turned
on his back and sent his nose and
grlnnins teeth above the water groans
n screams of horror went up in all
directions. His sharkship was evil
IDENTITY u for supper and was casting
longing glances at the ~succulent Hin
doc babies, of whom a considerable
number were in sight.
I'm the midst of all the nubbub o
tall, lank Hindoo stepped out upon the
root of a kind of houseboat and in q
short speech acnounced that be would
catch the SHARK.
INSTANTLY a dead hush fell upon the
multitude. The Hindoo stood erect.
He was armed only with q long rope
like a %lariat, which he held behind his
back with his left hand.
Presently Mr.. Shark came to the
surface about eight yards from the boat
and Immediately the Hindoo plunged
overheard.
"a chorus of groans and exclama-
tons went up, in the midst of which
the Hindoo reappeared, swimming with
his right hand. Man and shark faced
each other, and I fancied that I saw a
pleased expression in the monsters
eye as much as to say: Well, this is
civil, to say the least
"'The shark evidently thought he had
a cinch on the situation, for he swan
~leisurely towards the Hindoo, turned
slowly upon his back, and opened his
mouth. The mouth closed with a snap,
and the people screamed, but the Hin
doc had diyed, and presently he ap-
peared again on the offside of the
shark, smiling and still carrying his
rope.
''The big fish looked surprised, and
then made another .gentle dab at the
Hindoo. The result was the same, and
Mr.. Hindoo came up fresh for the third
round.
"Then the shark began to grow
angry, and made a vicious run at the
Hindoo, and again he missed. The
people ON shore and in the boats began
to feel confidence in the human cham
pion and their groans were changed to
applause. Every time the man made
a point against the fish those heathens
would send up a rousing cheer.
"Well, by this time the thing was
getting exciting. I never saw such
swimming before, and I never will
again. The man was a regular water
snake. He lodged, twisted, Owed and
jumped like an eel. The fish made
charge after charge. Once his fin
grazed the Hindoo's arm, and the water
was colored with blood. The mans
stock went down a point, but it soon
rose again, when the crowd began to
see that the fish simply wasn't in it.
The man was beating him at his own
game. You see the fish could only go
in one direction-straight ahead like
an arrow-while the man turned and
doubled like a fox.
*"Well, by and bye the exertion and
excitement told on the monster. He
got ratified, churned the river into
foam, and then became quiet again.
At this moment, the Hindoo faced him
again. It was the last round.
''The shark charged l%anguidly.. The
man waited, lying in the water until
the great mouth was open to seize him.
Then, with a convulsive backward leap,
he Strengthened his body and sank feet
downward, like a plummet of lead.
ssThe shark settled down over him,
lashing the water into a 1ather of foam.
They seemed to be. graphing with each
The crowd groaned and
screamed, and then became silent.
t.For the space Of what seemed an
hour, the people watched the surface
the water, until even the bubbles
had disappeared, and all was quiet.
"tLost, lost!' screamed a priest, and
the mob re-echoed the cry and began
to beat their breasts like a lot of mad
men. Then suddenly, in the middle
Of it all, the Hindoo r%eappeared, thirty
Yards up the stream. Both hands were
above his head, and he wss screaming,
Tan, tan, TAM He had slipped the
moose of his lariat around the sharks
al drown n tant. and he held the