Evening star., 1898-08-25
THE SHARK AS a SENTINEL.
An Incident of the Civil War ut Dry
TOrtuSas.

TOrtuGas.
From the Chicago Inter-Oceap.
The recent ordering of troops to the Dry
Tortugas, Fla, recalls a curious incident
in which boy prevented the escape of
prisoners and performed humanitarian act
which greatly misunderstood at the
| time and aroused no little comment in the
press of the day.
At the time mentioned the Island of Dry
Tortugas used a great prison, and
! bounty jumpers, deserters and prisoners of
all classes were confined there to the num-
ber of several thousands
The island is but thirteen acres in extent,
surrounded by wide and deep moat which
made it almost impossible for prisoners to
escape, yet every time vessel came into
| the harbor one or more men would make
the attempt. Obtaining ropes, they would
lower themselves into the moat from a
port hole, swim across the ditch and try
to pass out the tide gate, despite the fact
that sentries paced up and down on every
face and kept Watchful vigilance, with or
ders to fire and call the guard. Several
prisoners did escape the sharp eyes Of the
guards by swimming and lodging under
water when passing the sentinel. Reach
ing the tide gate they would dive again,
swim to the channel and in the darkness
climb aboard the steamer lying there and
conceal themselves.
But all were not successful. Several I'M
fortunate men dropped into the ditch from
| the ropes and were found drowned the fol-
lowing morning. The guards We're doubled
and everything done to prevent the at
tempted escapes; not because there was any
danger Of the men getting away, as the
transports were always searched, but TO
prevent casualties.
Just then it happened that the surgeon
of the post was making a study OF the
large sharks therea bouts, and one day his
son suggested that they put big maneater
in the moat, where it could be watched
q a tl aip -If
ed at Fort Jefferson at that time 1T will
prevent the men from swimming the moat
and SO be the means of saving their lives
The proposition was put into immediate
effect. The surgeons son, with the boys of
another officer, went out fishing and soon
captured a shark, which the surgeons
tWelve-oared barge towed in shore the
huge fish beating the water with its tail
and at one time taking the cutwater in its
Jaws and shaking it as a cat would a
mouse.
Finally, after several hours of hard work
and with the assistance of many men, the
shark which was at least thirteen feet in
length was hauled over the tide bridge the
surgeons son cut out the hook and with
swift of Its big tail the monster went dash
ing away.
The shark was dubbed the provost mar
sinai by the prisoners, and that it inspired
a wholesome dread in their minds was soon
evident But 1t was perfectly harmless
creature. 1t swan round and round very
near the brick wall, with one eye cast up
pathetically. 1t presented a formidable
spectacle, moving slowly along, and no one
dared enter the water. consequently no
casualties were reported. But it was not
long before an article appeared in a north
ern paper calling attention to the terrors of
Dry Tortugas, where among other tortures
the Union officers used man-eating sharks
to capture prisoners, and no little excite
ment was occasioned among thoughtless
readers In the north and south at what was
conceived to be the brutality of the officers
VINO mad charge of the Dry Tortugas prison,
Meanwhile the great shark, in reality a
timld and utterly demoralzed creature, was
swimming about, refusing the daintiest
morsels of fish which were offered it, final
~ becoming SO tame that it could be touch
ed by Its boy captors, who followed it
about on RATS, while the naturalist watch
ed It's method of swimming and made many
sketches of it and the singular fishes which
chung to its sides. The shark lived six
months, finally dying of starvation Its
Jaws may now be seen in the American Mu-
scum of Natural History Central Park
New York city.