The true Democrat. [volume] (Bayou Sara [La.]) 1892-1928, 1898-09-03
THE QUEER WAYS OF SHARKS.
Impudent in General, but Can't Stand a
Commotion in the Water.

Ampuuent In General, DuG can't Stanu
Commotion in the Water.
"One horror of sea fighting believe
our sailors will be spared in this
war;" said veteran of the merchant
marine, land that is the large chances
of being killed by sharks. The whole
of the Caribbean sea about Cuba
swarms with those treacherous things,
and, as a rule, when man drops
overheard, the chances are that in an
other minute nothing will be left of
him on the surface but somered stains
in the water, unless he keeps his
presence of mind and knows just
what to do.
''There is q way of helping yourself
when you get into this fix. That's
just why I say that in these modern
battles the danger from sharks is not
likely to be anything like what it was
in old times. Perhaps you are not
aware that shark is the most timid
and nervous fish of prey that lives,
but it is so. When you find yourself
floating about in those waters and
think shark is anywhere near you
just you kick and splash for all you
are worth. If you don't think there
are any sharks about kick and splash
on general principles-that is, if you
want to see your home and your family
again. A shark that is making straight
for his prey will turn tail and sheer
Oft as soon as the splashing begins.
Now I believe that in general ell
gagement between these modern
ships, what with the tremendous con-
cussion of the heavy guns and the
churning of the water with propellers
on all sides and an occasional torpedo
raising disturbance every now and
then in the water, the whole neigh
borhood will be cleared of sharks.
'In the old days, although the
broadsides made good deal of noise,
no doubt, ship went down much
more quietly than now. Just think
of the commotion in the water when
the big fires and the boilers go under.
No shark will stay within q mile Of
such an upheaval.
81 am not talking mere theory when
say that shark can be frightened
off by splashing. have seen it done,
or, to be quite exact, I saw the man
who did just after he had scrambled
out OF the water. He had been in
bathing in one of those sea baths they
have in Kingston harbor, where they
fence in good piece of water with
piles driven into the bottom close to-
gether. One of the piles had got
broken somehow, and big basking
shark had squeezed through and gone
to sleep in the bath. When the man
plunged in the shark woke and COM
menced to charge around. By that
time the man was some yards away
from the steps. He Immediately
turned on his back and kicked as hard
as he could, and the shark, instead of
charging at him, went into down
right panic and bumped his nose
against all the piles, looking for the
hole he had got in by.
81 know it sounds like a fable to
say shark is timid, because they will
do things that you would hardly ex-
pect a timid fish to do. myself have
seen shark leap out of the water
close enough to a row boat to tumble
on the oar blades, but that was my
own dinghy and my boys knew how to
row, and didn't make splash with
the blades or try any of this landlub-
berly 'feathering' business. Then
there is place at Port Royal where a
little flight of wooden steps goes down
INTO the water, and they say that
British artillery officer who was sit
ting on those steps Or some other
steps that were in the same place
one morning, smoking cigar, had
both his legs torn off by shark that
swan close in shore and rose at him
as trout rises at a fly. But''all that
only shows that shark is queer,
inconsistent kind of a fish, and in spite
OF all his impudence, you may depend
upon it, he can't stand anything that
makes disturbance in the water.
"Oh, yes, when the battle is over
he will follow the ship that has any
wounded men on board-follow it for
miles. I don't know how he knows
there is wounded man or a sick man
on board ship, any more than can
tell how Mother Carey's chickens can
read the barometer, but he does know.
You see, seafaring man has to be
satisfied to know good many things
that he can't explain"