New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-06-05
4 PLEA FOR THE SHARK
ANCIENT PUBLICATIONS REFLECTING
SERIOUSLY UPON HIM DENIED.
From The Spectator.

near that there Is anything to be said IN favor
OF the shark. The Squalid9 have so long been
subject TO cruelty only possible to ignorant
prejudice, that the very name or shark is
synonyme for anything rapaciOus, INSCRIPTIONS
AZ d wholly detes!abe. few half hearted al
icmpts have been made at intervals for centuries
TO stem the food Of hatred, but they have been
overwhelmed by the torrent of falsehood in the
shape of anecdotes which has been steadily
flowing for so many generations. II Is hardly
too much TO say that no creature known to man
has continued so long under the stigma of an
cicnt fabricatiOns as the shark. Anecdotes which
if told of any other animal would have been
laughed into oblivion centuries ago are still
current about him. One is amazed to find in
ancient records tales which. originally invented
about natural things under the influence of
superstitious terror, are manifestly the source
Of modern shark yarns.
The perpetuation Of these fables in the case
e The shark is perhaps in some slight degree
cXcusahle. Men wh) have had the most ample
opportunities for observation have culpably neg
/ lectCd them. and it is absurd To expect pro'cs-
sors of natural history to be scamcn and fisher
men. Their duties are engrossing enough as IL
IS. without expecting them to become personally
I acquainted with the creatures they classify each
in his own proper habitat. But scamen gener-
ally might render splendid aid 10 science by not
ing with careful watchfulncss the characteristic
habits Of marine creatures with which they
cone in contact. They might also refuse To tell
I stories which they could easily prove to be un-
true, merely because they have heard them from
their boyhood.
one of the most firmly held beliefs concerning
sharks is that they prefer the flesh OF man TO
any other food. Now. the fact is that the shark
family. with few exceptions. are natural caters
Of offal-ScaVcngers Of the sea. They IRE the
only large fish that perform this most useful
function. As rule the duty Of d"Nourihg
the innunlerAblc dcai things which vs. I'D other
wise IOiutc the sea dcVOlVcs upon the crust c"a-
But the omnlvorous Squalidr. with thor euor-
nous stomachs abnormal powers ~ DIGESTION
and apparently Unsuitable app"ttes. patrol the
waters for carrion that floats thereby ighicning
! the labo.s Of ia" toiling workers al the bot
tom. In conscqu nCc of this ptoWlinE habit they
are often near the surface. where cn may De
unfortunate enough TO fan in their way. Then.
! If the human animal bc unskilful and timid hc
/ will most probably be deVOUrcl 10y sharks. not
because he IS Il man. but because he represents
easily oblirahlc food. For the shark though
a swift enough swimmer ~ handicai ped by tie
peculiar position Of his mouth Under ordinary
conditions there are no fish 50 slow Of movement
that they cannot escape while the uuwi"'ly
Squalls is bringing his body into position 10
bite. Even man. when Wei accDriulnrd =" 'hc
water and the limitations Il sharks can always
successfully clude them As to their preference
for blacks. II is pure myth without tn .Aintest
! foundation in fact. In many places visited hy
! the writer where sharks were the comuoncst n
fish black men were constantly s"imm.ns ana
diving without paying apparently any heed -
! the hungry monsters in their immediate Vi
| cinity; yet never one ~ them was injured
/ swARMs or SHARKS AND not \ BITE
During the cutting IN" 81 a whale a. Hapai
the water near the carcass was literally boiling
with the largest sharks existing any" ~
seemed probable that before the hubher Was all
| stripped the raVcnng monsters. many "i iN"in
/ fully as long as one OF our whhich"a .-. " una
have eaten a costly proportion u 1t, so rn'ff"Nf
were they. ~ the same time ihe nat 'pt-
ering around I'm their canoes We're con InfiN In
and out Of the water &C ually among th sharks.
needing them no more than IL they hii been
so many sprats on several occ isions II has also
been TIE writer's doubtful privilege 10 p.nd
| hours in the water clinging 10 fragments -
broken boats in the immediate vicinity of dead
whale And although ores legs Away 'rlt M
secure every touch seeming TO promise in"Ir IN
! slant loss casualties OF that Kind never hap
pencd Nor among the countless stories 4 the
! whale fishery current among South Sea mem las
! the writer ever heard OF "A mar being seized 10y
| sharks when In the water near a dead whale
As TO the prOWcss Of these monsters. and the
numbers Of ihcrn that cOngrcgate wherever food
Is to be had II may be interesting TO record the
following fact We had killed large bull hump
back (megaptera) in shcal water near Tonga
tabu. which sanl. AZ death. Unable TO raise 1t
for want of gear that night one boat remained
| on the spot while the others returned TO tn" snip
! In less than one hour from the sinking 81 the
! carcass there were. at the lowest computation.
five hundred large sharks around the place
Many Of them were so large that we coud
hardly persuade ourselves that they were SHARKS
| at all but that we knew no other fish ~ such
| size existed one especially. that gave the boat
a resounding blow with its tai as he turned
beneath us WaG larger In girth than she was
and as nearly as possible OF the same length
Now our boat was 3 feet g inches beam amid
shirs and % feet long Nevertheless. am Per
fectly sure that this shark vast as II was. could
! not possibly have swallowed a man. the shape
and size II his mouth absolutely forbddlng such
! n thing He could have eaten several men no
doubt but swallow them whole, never! lut 10
| return When at break OF day we succeeded IN
raising The carcass again to the surface, anna
! ~. mil