Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1898-03-10
FIELDS OF ADVENTURE.
THRILLING INCIDENTS AND DARING
DEEDS ON LAND AND SEA.


Death-Daring Work of Savers.
81 stepped on q twenty-foot man
eater once" said naval officer in the
New York Sun, "and L have never
been quite so much surprised, before
or since. 1t was when L was IL cadet,
and it happened at Acapulco, Mexico.
The men had been jumping over the
side of the ship at swimming call with
put paying much attention to the sharks
that are as thick in Acapulco harbor
as gators in an Orinoco swamp, but
when seaman serving on a British
merchantship in the harbor had got
eaten up by school of sharks one af-
ternoon-he was swimming alone near
his ship at the time he was grabbed
the skipper of our ship decided that
swimming right in the middle of the
harbor was no longer safe for the crew,
and he ordered that thereafter they'd
have to take stheir plunges from the
beach. Now, can't say that the old
gentleman exhibited any great amount
Of sea sense in making this order, for
it is fact pretty well known to tide
water folks in the south country as
well as to old-time seagoers that man
eating sharks make it their business to
patrol the waters close to the beaches
occasionally just in order not to let
anything good get by then,
ga while. before sundown on the
day this beach-spinning order was is
sued, was ordered to take charge of
big party of the men forward, who
were going in the sailing launch to
have swim from the shore. When
we got over to the beach the men
stripped in the Jungle that grew al
most down to the waters edge, and
were padding in the sea, that shelved
down gradually, with fine bottom of
clean white-sand. 1t was in the month
of February, and blazing hot, and the
fun tho men were having in the water
made me envious. 1t was, of course,
not the proper military thing for me
to go in the water alongside the men
forward, but I wanted to go in mighty
bad, oil the same, and did. I walked
a couple of hundred feet down the
beach from where the men were splash
ing around, stripped, and padded in.
The water was just right, and wasn't
thinking much about sharks. 1 got
out to where the water about reached
my middle, and then my attention was
attracted by the magnificent sunset
through the palms. In order to get q
better view of the paling splendor of
the western sky, 1 craned my head
forward to gazed through the trunks
OF 9, couple of view -obstructing palms.
and made an extra step out with nv
right foot. The foot landed on some
thing that was not sand. It was like
o very fine grade of emery paper-a
comparison that afterward thought
out, for at the time I didn't have much
chance to think-and it was alive. 1t
gave twist that threw me off nv
pins and head foremost into the clear
water, and then 1 knew that 1 had
committed the impolite act of stepping
on a sleeping maneater-for sharks
always sleep on the bottom of the sea
when In business in harbor.
There was swish and rush in
the water, and mighty churning, and
said to myself, My boy, you'll. never
have chance to write that fowery
letter that you intended to send home
by the next steamer I kept my head
about me, however, and remembered
what the old fiatfeet up forward said
about splashing in the water when
sharks hover near you. and SO I set
up kicking and splashing worse
than small boy makes in bathtub.
and kept on making for the beach as
fast as could get through the water
all the time. / expected the shark to
grab my legs every minute, and it was
only when stepped into water up to
my ankles that turned around to
look. The water is as clear as glass
in Acapulco Harbor, and when I turned
around saw the big fin Of a bulky
twenty footer cleaving the water about
fifty yards away, and going in exactly
the opposite direction at the rate Of
about knot minute. When I step
ped on him that shark was Just about
as much surprised and scared as I
was, and he was too much of coward
to see that was his meat for the talk
ing. Some sailors say that it takes q
shark long time to regain its wits
after being roughly or suddenly awak-
ened from snooze, but I believe that
this shark of mine exhibited nothing
but pure cowardice."