The Press., 1898-06-09

it did not concern the ship, but was published at length in the Bombay pa pers later on.
 For the next three months there is no record of the sharks doings, though he might have secured many victims from native craft and the incidents escape public notice. Early in the year 1864 the bark Speedwell, bound from China to her home port of Philadelphia, had just cleared Acheen head, at the en- trance to the strait of Malacca, when a sudden squall carried away her main and fore topmasts and several of her sails This was early in the morning and while the crew were repS ring damages and the ship proceeding n her voyage the big shark came up astern and took up position on the port side and only about 20 feet away. His l.ngth was carefully measured by the officers and recorded at 38 feet inches He had been heard of through the papers, and the crew were warned to be careful in their work aloft. In hopes to drive the monster away Captain Taylor brought out heavy shotgun and fired charges of buckshot into him at short G&ASGs 4AO 46dOSA ul1SSl16E DluSG DdY6 penetrated to some extent, as the delnoD gave sudden dart and disappeared for time, but five minutes later he was back in his old position He was thus fired upon and driven away three suc- cessive times, but when he came back the fourth time he took up his position astern of the ship and swam so low in the water that the shot failed to reach him.
 He hung by the ship from o'clock in the morning to in the afternoon. At that hour the repairs were about complete, and the men were laughing and joking over the persistcncy of the demon, when one of them fell from the yard as they were making sail. He turn ed over and over in his descent, but struck the water feet first and was out of sight long minute. When he came to the surface, he shot his full length out of water, and the men uttered a cheer to encourage him, and the life preserver was cut away. The man had just grasped it when the shark seized him by the legs, and those who were looking saw both man and the life pre- server disappear in the maw of the mon- ster. Later on fragments of the float came to the surface but nothing fur ther was seen of the shark. The incident was logged and duly reported ill New York.
 News of strange things at sea passes about in maritime circles with wonder full celerity. The various adventures with the demon were soon known far and wide, and every craft sailing for India or China kept sharp lookout for him. If he was seen between January and April, 1864, there is no record of it, but on the 10th day of the latter month, when left the port of St. Luis, in the island of Mauritius, bound for Bombay, in the brig Charleston, the monster appeared alongside before we were 50 miles out of port. This was the first time he had been seen so far to the south and was distance of 8, 900 miles from the spot where he had snapped up his last man. The demon appeared to us suddenly, as in all other cases. When sharks are around their dorsal fins can be seen cutting the water here and there, and they seldom come near a moving craft. The first thing we knew the mon-
 
 close that one could have touched him with ten foot pole. We measured his length by the rail, and then tapeline gave us exactly 38 feet inches. The only weapons aboard were two navy re- volvers, and the captain took one and the other, and we fired 12 bullets fair | into the body of the fish. am telling l you the plain truth when say that he | did not sWerve an inch or seem to feel | the slightest pain. The bullets certainly went into him, but when an ordinary shark can have two or three feet cut off his tail and still continue to swim about l unconcernedly there isn't t much hope of pistol bullets ending his life
 Knowing that the presence of the de- mon meant a horrible death to any man who fell overheard, the word was passed for every one to be very careful of him. self while aloft. The shark picked us up of Tuesday morning at 10 o'clock | We had fair wind for the north, and up to Friday afternoon at 3 o'clock he had not secured victim. No matter whether the breeze was strong or weak, whether it was daylight or darkness, the demon kept his place alongside. We tried him with baited hooks, we stuffed an old suit of clothes and threw the fguee overheard, we put more bull let's into him and worked all sorts of schemes to drive him off, but it was not to be done. If he sheered off at some demonstration, it was to return aft after a moment and take up his old position. His presence was such menace and peril that all felt uncomfortable and nervous, and by order of the captain the men were kept out of the rigging except when it became positively neces- sary to go aloft. When Friday came and no accident had happened, we be- gan to take heart and hoped to see the demon leave us. In all those days and nights he had eaten nothing, and so easy was it for him to keep pace with us that one might watch for an hour and not notice movement of his tail. While we were hoping that hunger and the ! long swim had about exhausted him the cook got upon the rail on the opposite side from the shark to draw a pail of water. A sudden lurch of the ship sent him overheard. happened to be watch | ing the shark at the same moment. With the quickness of thought he was gone from under my eyes, and, passing under the brig, he seized the cook be- fore the latter had time to cry out and before man had advanced to the rail Four or five sailors got there just in time to see the victim disappear, and as there was no tinge of blood on the wa ter they could we'll declare that the shark had swallowed him whole
 A month later, 300 miles to the east ward of Mauritius, the demon arose alongside the Scotch whaler Albatross and followed her two days and got man who fell from the bowsprit. Three months later, to the south of Madagas- car, he got man from Boston ship called the White Wave. During the same year, when the English shin Cape