Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-10-27
JUST A SHARK STORY.
How War Correspondents stand b,
Each Other In Time of Peril.

CNew York SUM
The centre Of an admiring group In the
| cosy corner of Park-row pharmacy the
other night was the Sure Enough Re-
turned War Correspondent" Less fortu-
nate newspaper men, who have
Never seen the road TO Santiago,
Never told Sampson how to blockade
well. they looked, and probably felt, as
the members of a home-guard regiment
would II the Rough Riders should march
up Broadway. That is, like 30 cents. But
they cheerfully bought drinks for the
S. E. r. W. c. and listened with be-
coming awe 20 his tales Of adventures
on the fever-blasted soil of Cuba and on
the hurrlcane-swept Caribbean sea.
There were signs OF departure when the
I early editions of the morning papers came
in, but the War Correspondent sprung
his piece de resistance, and a round OF
drinks was speedily produced.
Never heard of the shark we-that is
I-caught Off Matanzas during the block
ade die?" inquired the returned hero
"Oh, tell US all about it," was naturally
the response of the stay-at-home crowd.
well, he was six feet from tail 10 muz-
zle. Thought I'd never get him aboard.
Skipper OF my yacht said he'd as soon
tackle a right whale. My! but that shark
was vicious. The minute we got him
aboard I Topped him over on his back"
Weren't you afraid he'd bite your"
innocently asked the youngest reporter
in the bunch
SAY, my boy with fatherly glance.
don't ever go to war In the tropics If you
are afraid OF bullets, fever, or sharks,
but, as l was saying l twisted Mr. Shark
over on his back and told my second en-
l. &.
slipped and he cut the shark wide opeu.
You can guess. even II you never saw a
shark. what he had in his midst Well,
we threw his works overheard. and stIll
the vicious man-eater showed fight. |
didn't have time 10 waste. so we chuckcd
Mr.. Shark overheard after his fixtures
There was a pause. The hero gathered
himself, as If for final burst Of speed
and continued:
May l never live to see another war if
that 6-foOt shark didn't swallow his in
sides at one gulp, then duck his head,
make straight for my yacht and butt her
like a mad bull at least half a dozen
times. Then he swan away. That's ALL"
Men looked at each other with that
twitchng OF the eye that means "Well,
Ananias never started with this chap
There was a low whistle a sigh from the
youngest reporter, who felt IN duty bound
10 buy the drinks, and one man Drawer
than the rest ventured 10 hlurt out:
That's the biggest fish story and the
damnedest lie that was ever sprung in
Perry's back room"
Hold on. Deacon" interrupted the
man, who, having come in for a dose OF
malaria medicine and had fingered on the
fringe OF the group during the recital of
the shark story Having himself only re-
Gently returned from Cuba, where he, as
a war correspondent, fought and-was-
bled, he received respectful attention
MY friend has told a remarkable
story" he said quietly, but firmly but |
know he tells the truth
The 5. f.. r. W. c. gasped what
You can prove that my story is true?
Come off. You weren't within 500 miles |
OF the spot when We carved that shark" |
Right you are responded War Cor |
respondent Number Two. but | saw that !
same shark while cruising from Haiti |
to Santiago. He was "a cOrker for size |
When ne approached my dispatch-bOat |
he turned turtle We lowered the wherry |
and lassOed the shark. Gentlemen, a |
seam running down that sharks belly |
showed plainly that he had been cut
open and sewed up, / take il, by some
friendly shark"
The clerk began mixing a double dose
OF malaria Spec.uc, but the man VINO nad |
stood for his friends tish yarn moved
toward the door. saying he left Yes.
that shark was sewed up, probably by !
)ne of his fellow sharks, one of the chaps !
az Cape Haitien that charged war CORE
spondents S25 ton for coal. Good night"