The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-06-24
AN OLD SALT ON SHARKS.
He Says Phey VIII Turn and Run
From "a Connection in the Water.
From the Portland (Me.) Press

From the Portland (he) fress-
zone danger of sea lighting 1 believe our
sailors will be spared in this war" said a
veteran of the merchant marine, and that
is the large chances of being killed by
sharks. The whole of the Caribbean sea
about Cuba swarms with those internal
things. and, as a rule. when a man drops
overheard. the chances are that in another
minute nothing will be left of him on the
surface but some red stains in the water,
unless he keeps his presence of mind and
knows just what TO do.
There is a way of helping yourself
when you, get into that fix. That's just
why ! say that in these modern battles the
danger from sharks is not likely to be
anything like what il was in old times.
Perhaps YOU are not aware that SHARK
is the most timid and nervous FISH OF prey
that lives, but 1t Is SO. When you hnd your
self doating about in those waters anu
think shark is anywhere near YOU just
you kick 'and splash for all you are worth.
If you don't think there are any sharks
about, kick and splash on general princl-
ples-that is, if you want to see your home
and your family again. shark that is
making straight for his prey will turn
tail and sheer of as soon as the splashing
begins. Now l believe that in a general en-
gagement between these modern ships,
what with The tremendous conclusion OF
the heavy guns and the churning of the
water with propellers on all sides, and an
occasional torpedo raising a disturbance
every now and then in the water the
whole neigbborhood win be cleared of
sharks.
In the old days, although the broadsides
made a good deal of noise, no doubt, ship
went down much more quietly than now.
Just think of the connection in the water
when the big fires and the boilers go IN
der No shark will stay within mile OF
such an upheavai.
81 am not talking mere theory when
say that a shark can be frightened off by
sDlashilM. / have seen 1t done, or, TO be
quite exact, l saw the man who did it just
after he had scrambled out of the water.
He had been bathing in one of those sea
baths they have in Kingston harbor, where
they fence In a good piece of water with
piles driven into the bottom close together.
one of the piles had got broken somehow
and a big basking shark woke up and
commenced TO charge around By that
lime the man was some yards away from
the steps. He immedia tely turned on his
back and kicked as hard as he could, and
the shark, instead of charging at him, went
into downright panic ana bumped his nose
against all the piles, looking for the hole
he had got In by.
Il know it sounds like a fable to say "A
shark is tinld because they will do things
that you would hardly except a timid fish
to do. / myself have seen a shark leap out
of the water close enough to a rowboat to
tumble on the oar blades, but that was my
own dinghy, and my boys knew how to
row and didn't make a splash with the
blades or try any of this land-ubbery
'feathering' business. Then there Is a place
al Port Royal where a little flight of wood
en- steps goes down into the water, and
they say that British artillery officer who
was sitting on these steps-or some other
steps that were in the same place-one
morning, smoking a cigar, had both his
legs torn off by a shark that swan close
inshore and rose at him as a trout rises at
a fly But all that only shows that shark
is a queer, inconsist tent kind of FISH and in
spite of all his impudence You may depend
upon it. he can't stand anything that makes
a disturbance in the water.
ooh, yes, when the battle is over he will
follow the ship that has any wounded men
on board-folow il for miles. don't know
how he knows there is a wounded man or
a sick man on board a snip, any more than
can tel how Mother Carey's chickens
can read the barome ter, but he does know.
You see, a seafaring man has to be satis>
fed to know a good many things that he
can't explain"