Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1898-03-07
COWARDICE OF SHARKS.
BIG MANEATERS AS SEEN BY AN
OFFICER OF THE NAVY.

of Sharks and Pilot Fish-Instinct OF
Sharks in Cases OF Death on Ships.
ct have had some experience with
maneaters," said naval officer to a
New York Sun representative, "and /
believe with the Kanakas of Hawaii
that sharks are towards. In the
space Of twenty-five years of seaGoing,
good deal of it in shark infested
waters, have never seen or heard of
a case where a maneater, or q 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-
gether The most ferocious of sharks
will attack man only when he is
alone in the water, and, even then, if
the man has sufficient presence of
mind to keep up powerful splashing
on the surface of the water, he has q
good chance to scare the shark OFF.
"Sharks don't like to tackle any
thing that churns up the water.
They've got to turn upside down to
get at their prey, and this position
does not enable them to see very we'll
even when their prey is pursuing an
even or 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 suds, nine times out of ten
they will turn fin and drill out of the
way. Natives of the Pacific islands
are aware of this characteristic, which
accounts for the fact that you nevei
see Pacific island native swimming
in the sea by himself. He always goes
in with one or more companions for the
sake of the lashing 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 attack
ing two or more human beings who re-
main close together in the sea. Once
in while one of the swimming island
ders carelessly permits himself to be-
come separated from his companions,
aud this is the opportunity Of the shark.
Under such circumstances the man
eater is foxy enough to get between
the detached man and his companions
and to keep below the surface of the
sea so that his te,l-tale fin shall not
show above the water and reveal his
presence to the doomed native. Then
he slips under his human prey, per
forms his little turning-over trick,
makes an upward swoop every bit as
swift as the lightning-like descent of
an eagle and grabs the native by the
leg, and when the grabbed mans COM
panions 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 eddies OF
blood on the surface of the water. The
native is torn to pieces in n twinkling
by many sharks who, verify believe,
wait below for the pulling off of these
baggings.
"Man- -of-war's men who have cruised
Il the Southern seas have caught the
trick of the islanders in avoiding swim
ming sipgly in shark-infested waters,
and in kicking up a great to-do in the
water in case they become accidentally
separated from their shipmates when
in swimming. Swimming call is
sounded on United States men-of- wal
about an hour before sundown on
ships cruising in tropical attitudes
when the ships are at anchor in port,
of course-and the men who want to
cool offjump offthe decks by the score.
/ have seen old timers who knew sharks
and their cowardly ways hop by the
dozen right into big schools of fierce
looking maneaters. They'd all jump
into the water at the same time, and
in less time than it takes for me to tell
it the sea q hundred yards away would
be dotted with sharks fins. They'd
screw their way out of the neighbor-
hood of the swimming men just Us
quick as they knew how, and they
wouldn't come back, either, until the
galley cooks threw their garbage over
board and thus attracted them back
again.
''Sharks become nightly attached
to the little pilot fish that guide ther,
around the waters of the sea in search
of eatables. In spite of apparent
energy and activity, sailors who have
made study of the characteristics Of
sharks declare that these cowardly
sea-devils are too lazy to hunt for food
themselves and that they would starve
to death if they were not led around
by their attending pilot fish. Every
full-grown shark has pilot fish for &
guide, and these little chaps are Ger
tainly faithful attendants and foragers
The pilot fish sails along about tel
feet in advance of the shark and il
about the noisest little deep. water fsf
conceivable. Sailors call the pilot
fish rubber -neckers, on account of thu
general air of curiosity that marks
their every movement through thu
water in advance of their big pro
tectors. In return for the servic,
performed for him by the pilot fish
the shark protects his little guide ant
forager from the onslaughts of othe
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