Washington sentinel., 1898-08-06
Perils Encountered by Divers,
Da0id Pafoa, in "CoOd Words +"

PeriIs Encountered bY Divers,
Dayid Patton, ia "G0Od Woyds
Divers who have been down in
foreign seas tell of exciting en-
counters with sharks. But it ap
pears that "Che demon Of the
sea-" with all its voracity, is little
timid in presence Of the strange
creature that wears a shining he'll
met, with the eye of a Gorgon and
a long plume OF kissing air bub-
bles. A diver who spent some
years at the Australian pearl fish
cries describes in this way his first
encounter with a shark:-'I felt
instinctively," he says, "a strange
presence before | saw anything
The small fish usually found in
great numbers among The corals
had entirely disappeared, and the
absence OF these fitting little COM
panions, when one has been accus-
toned to them, produces the effect
Of intense stiffness. A creepy, in
de6nable sensation Of dread took
hold of me, and it became one Of
downright terror when / turned
and saw. within ten feet OF me, the
bulk of an immense shark. The
creature lay almost motiouless,
half hidden among a mass of cob
web corallines. My first thought
was to be pulled up; but as fish
have human nature enough to want
a thing as soon as they see it is
being taken away from them, |
rejected the idea. A sweep of its
tail, and the great fish and / were
face to face. Holding my breath,
| stood perfectly still, my heart
beating wildly and my eyes riVeted
on the wicked eyes and cavernous
mouth OF the shark. l felt that the
monster was inspecting me with
some curiosity, and after a few
moments became aware that by
an almost inperceptlble motion of
its flexible tall it was gradually
approaching me. Nearer and
nearer came the shark, the shovel.
shaped nose pointed directly to
my face glass. Flesh and blood
could stand it 40 longer, and with
a yell | threw up my arms. In
stantly there was a swirl OF water,
a cloud Of mud, and my enemy.
vanished"
Another shark story, this time
from the West Indies. "A large
steamer" the diver relates, "had
struck on a reef and then slipped
off into deep water, taking down
with her the mails and a valuable
cargo. There were some papers
that were particularly wanted, and
| was in the chart room under the
bridge working Tor them when
suddenly, as I turned, l saw the
snout Of a wicked shark close to
me. 1t was a nice fix to be pinned
up in the corner Ot little square
room with big brute between me
and the door. went creepy all
over, / can tell you. But | kept
still, and so did he, except that he
worked fin lazily, like a screw
steamer holding on agains' the
tide. | got the knife in my belt
loose, and waited. The shark evil
IDENTIFY did not know what to make
Of me, and gradually drifted over
to the other side Of the room.
began then to move toward the
door, and had almost reached it
when the shark made a sudden
rush in the some dire-tlon and
disappeared. Which OF us got the
bigger fright don't know.
But encounters with sharks don't
always end so. Some years ago
au English diver, who was at work
on a sunken wreck off the island
Of Diego Garcia, had a visit from
the same shark every day for a
week. AT first he had no trouble
in soaring it away; it was enough
il he gave a turn to the escape
valve in his helmet and let out a
little air. But at the end Of the
week it had become very trouble
some. The diver signalled for a
knife and a looped rope, and then
boldly held out his bare hand as a
bait to the shark. The monster
came on with rush and was turn
ing on its back when it was stabbed
by the diver, who then passed the
loop round its body and sent il up
to the surface. a cool head should
certainly be included in the equip
ment Of man why seeks to earn
his bread n fna paa