The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-12-09
SHARK WAS IN a HURRY.
Ate skipper Whose watch Kept
Tab on the Monsters Speed.

ATE a skipper w nose Watcn hepl
Tab on the Monsters Speed.
"The speed attained by South Atlantic
sharks in their efforts to arrive at desired
points within the least possible space Of
time" said No. IS, who used to be in the
navy and is now a clerk in the navy de-
partment, addressing the last meeting of
the Washington Liars Club, has long
been a subject for scientific investigation.
1 don't know the exact number of knots
they have been found to make within the
space of an ordinary four-hour watch, but
if a South Atlantic shark can't beat an al
batross when ii comes to speed III eat
my bag and hammock and ditty box. Now,
there are some sharks down in the South
Atlantic that don't like to find themselves
too near the equatorial waters, and yet
they want to have plenty of room to proWl.
They've got the temperature of water that
suits them best figured out 10 a nicely,
and they know that on the other side of
the equatorial line there's Just as good
water, and water of the same degrees OF
temperature as that in which they're fool
ing around when they get to thinking on
this subject. Well what do they do when
they get to worrying over the cramped
space in which they find themselves on one
side of the line or the other? Why, they
all. They know that the equa torial line
is a trocha of water that's a heap too
hot for their constitutions, and that they
can't stand monkeyng around in the wa
ter on that line too long, and so they just
hop over It, hkety-cut so fast that you
can't see their fins for dust.
Il remember once, when l was on the
old TiconderOga, a thing happened that
gave us a line on the speed of sharks
when they take IL into their heads TO get
speedy. We got unto the port of Monte
video one morning at 10 O'Clock. Ii was
on q Monday. April u. Montevideo har-
Dor If full of sharks, and the men for
ward got to fishing over the side for them
in order 10 get their spines to make walk
ing sticks of them. One huge man-eater
was, landed after great difficulty, with the
combined strength of the whole watch on
deck, and he had to be dubbed with be-
laying pins and capstan bars for an hour
before he gave up and cashed in. Well
we cut him open and, gentlemen, what do
you suppose we found inside of him? WHY
as fine a gold watch and chain as ever
you saw in your lives! Not an ordinary
minute and second hand watch, but one
of those watches that give the date. the
day of the week, the phases of the moon
and the whole thing. Well sirs. YOU can
imagine our establishment when we snap-
ped the case of this watch open and found
that it had stopped exactly at D. m.
April 1.-the day before we got into Mon
tev!deo.
"The skipper Of our ship reported this
fact TO the townspeople of Montevideo
when he went ashore, feeling confident
that some prominent citizen of that town
had thy permitted himself to he
made meal Of by an epicurean shark. He
naturally concluded that the victim must
have been a prominent citizen TO mack
such a swell timepiece around with him.
Nobody was missing out of the roDu,a-
ton of M0nteVideo, and The thing loollei
almighty mysterious.
"Me1 we remained in the harbor Of
Montevideo fer six weeks, making repairs.
nd in that lime the shark and wat h Incl
dent was practically forgotten. We were
just upon the 20 MT Of pulling cut for
northern waters when the British shin
Cardiff, from Pernambuco, Brazil put into
Montevideo. The Cardiffs mate was IN
command and h. had a queer s lory 10 iell
of how he command had fallen to him. IA
seems that on April II, the skipper re-
turning 10 the shin from Pernambuco in
his ongboat. had 81 pped In stepping on to
The noat leading TO he ships gangway and
iahon into the wafer. Before the boats
crew had chance 10 pun m back into
The ste sheets there was q swish. and the
skipper was being pack, q OF in The jaws
oi gigantic shark. Youll remember that
this happened ON she afternoon 81 April
A.. Well. here wouldn't have been any
Thing remarkable about this n the mate
la command Of The Cradln hadn't happen