Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1900-06-30
A DEEP SEA
FISHERMAN'S YARN
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES,

This ere happened right after the
war. Considerable many of the men
that went to the war tackled on to mack
erel fishing in hearty style. Hand lin
ing i'll those days; no trawling, no sein
ing; the same as the swccpers of the
kea carry on the business nowadays.
The man that shipped with for the
first trip after the wartimes was the
worst man to swear that l think l ever
heard.
Il don't know as that has anything to
do with the story, but that man did
swear so that | can't help thinking of it
every time | talk about him. | don't re-
member how he looked or whether he
ever wore whiSkcrs, but | do remem
Der how he used to talk.
well. | hired as cook for the trip.
Had ten other men. You just ask
Chamberlain or Hanna about them and
see if they were not good men, and, by
the way, the whole ten of them stand
right behind this story. | want you to
remember that.
1--WE did our first fishing off ;cguin.
Mackerel bit first rate for about nalf an
| hour, and we was Keeling them in hand
over ist-fat and white and big's your
arm.
"All to once mackcrel stopped biting.
"'Shark,' said the old man. and, oh,
massey, you ought to have heard him
swear. 1t was awful.
"'Shark,' said he. When n shark
comes up, you understand, the mackercl
| always stop biting and go off and hide.
| But a mackerel crew in those days was
always ready for anything Of that kind
| always knew how to come round MIR.
Shark. So we threw over our shark line
with the piece of pork on the end. The
hook had chain gangein, so that Mr..
Shark couldn't bit it off.
"Wen. in less than 30 seconds Mr..
Shark bit. and we hauled him over the
side He was n nice, hefty shark. Should
say that he would suttin weigh GOO
pounds. Had quite tussle getting him
over the side of the schooner.
Hold him, there" roared the skipper
when Mr.. Shark was flapued on the
| deck
"'Now, Jcp'tha,' said the old man,
'straddlc him, the woy-diddy, ow-dddy,
slamdiddddy, and cut him OPEN
"Now. that sharks liver filled half
hogsct Most remarkable big liver.
"'Now. doodle-ty, dumpity. sew him
up" howlcd the skipper.
"And, sir, he took big sail needle
and they sewed him up with a nice, neat
| herringbone stitch across his white belly.
! 1t was a real good looking job in needle
| work.
II stood in the cook galley door looking
on, and | could see by the sharks eye
that he was greatly veXed at losing his
liver. But he didn't say anything, and
so, when he was all nicely sewed up,
over they threw him, splash. and down
he went below.
"Ths shark had come along about s
in the morning, you see. While they had
been working on him the wind brcezed up,
and we kept eating into the windward, and
we got off the fishing grounds.
$50 the old man allowed that we might
as we'll trim sail and make away for Cape
Ann. And we did. Got to the grounds
off Cape Ann long about 5 o'clock in the
afternoon. Hove to, and down with our
lines and commenced to fish. Had good
luck for about half an hour-fish bit well
and We're of good size. Then all at once
they stopped biting-just as they had
done before.
THE old man Strengthened up his
back, put up his hand to shade his eyes
and took a squint to windward.
"'Ubble- e-dc-dubblej tinted sea
grasshoppcrS" howlcd he. Here he
comes"
And away, way off, we could see a
shark come filming along moderatelke,
yet in a tollahle huIry-fnning like this
and the narrator stuck his hand up in the
air, fingers erect. and gently vibratcd the
member.
$50 along the shark came, and the old
man told them to hcave over that BOOM
ity boomity shark line ag'in.
"And they did. And the shark bit.
He bit hard. He evidently wanted to be
caught. He had business with us. And
when we pulled him over the side it was
just as the old man said it would bet
was that same shark.
Looking for his Overlooking for his
liver. How Snd that sounds when you
come to think of it.
"Now. the old man admired grit;
didn't make any difference who had the
grit--thc old man admired the crittier
that had it.
lie stood there and looked at that
shark.
"Gol darn We" said he. 'Ye're nothing
but blame no count shark, but we've
got backbone enough to stock up whole
village. Shake And he grabbed the
shark by the fin there right before us
and tipped his hat to him-the grip of the
seaman's union.
but still the shark looked vexed.
"Oh.' said the old man in an admirins
tone, 4 wish We knew how to talk the
English language. BY the whiskers on Il
haddock, how We could swear!
"Now, there was nothing mean about
the old man. He said as how that shark
was going to have his liver.
"'rakc out them stitches ag'in. said
he. And they did.
"And then the old man, with his own
hands. put back that liver into that
shark, and they sewed him up carefuller
than ever. Then the old man, to do what
he could to square things. poured Il horn
of rum down the shark gullet, and they
threw him over. He still looked veXcd,
rs | could see from the galley. And
dunno as it is TO be in any ways wonder
cd at When his fin went out of sight,
it was twigging kind OF mad. But he got
his liver, and we didn't see any more OF
him" -LcwiSton Journal
Expensive Burial Fees.
Burial in Westminster abbey is not, of
course. a question of money. but there