The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-01-27

ing sharks for years he sd led and never
but once had been kno KID down. On
that occas on he succe. ded in thrusting
upward and piercing his assailant.
Meantime the shark had died in a final
furry. Al a signal from hato the car
cass was pulled alongside, and made fast
20 the thWarts of the canoe with a small
line. This accomplished we prepared to
disentangle 1t from the rope, the whole
length of which, about fifty feet, was
wound In an apparently inextricable snarl
from the wild rushing and thrashing OF
the monster in his death throes. l was
busily intent on the subsequent securing
of the shark 10 tho side of the canoe,
when / heard a sharp, cutting sound in
the water, and. TO my dismay saw that
1t came from the gaff topsaii-like fin of a
huge shark, which was coming up with
the speed of a torpedo boat. The pres
ence of this new monster was likewise
at once deserted by Kato and the others.
In place of the almost death-iike silence
which had prevailed hitherto, an unearth-
~ hubbub arose; for a score more of sim
liar cutting fms, coming from as many
different direction, showed the smell
of hood fiom the dead shark had attract
ed a whole school of the sleeping mon-
sters. Our diver hastily bundled the rope
over the side, and selling his kris, cut
the line attaching the canoe to the shark
Al that moment one of the pursuing mon
sters made a rush, and chewing the wa
ter ike lightning, ran his nose up over
the back of The carcass fioa ting alongside
AT the first intimation Of this new dam
ger the canoes had begun a hasty scrarn-
bic for the shore, but being farthest re-
moved from the channel, we had not pro-
ceeded ten yards when we were surround
ed On all sides by the man-eaters, who
circled around, and gradually closed in
on US. Thoroughly aroused, the crewmrn
worked like demons. Suddenly there was
n grating sound under the keel, and the
frail craft was lifted half out of the wa
ser. If the crewmen had not promptly
fallen into the bottom of the canoe we
should in all probability have been cap
sized A paddle, which In the excitement
of the moment, had seized and put over
the side and to which I was holding on
mechanically, was torn from my grasp
and snapped in two by one of the mon
sters.
The shore line was not over two hun
dred yards away, but the channel had
become so narrow and treacherous that
we were obliged to paddle slowly in or
der to avoid an upset. The sharks bent
every endeavor to hamper us, nosing the
sides of our boat and dashing beneath
the canoe and lifting IL into the air. Our
position was now perilous in the extreme.
Swift as had been our fight when the
school had been first discovered, their
pursuit had been far swifter, and as tho
other canoes were some distance away
we had drawn upon ourselves the entire
attention of the man-eaters. Our crew.
men were becoming demoralized and 1t
seemed only a matter of few moments
when we must be capsized and torn to
bits.
In this crisis I almost involuntarily
seized my revolver and fired at the ugly
snout of one of the monsters, scarcely
half a dozen feet away, and then in the
very terror of desperation, emptied each
chamber wherever a shadowy form dis
closed itself Mechanical as had been the
thought and subsequent action it served
the purpose, and gave US the brief re-
spite necessary to make good our es-
cape Forgetting the human prey, the I'M
wounded sharks fell upon the one l had
shot, and soon the living and dead were
all mixed up together in whirling, tu-
multuous mass. The water above them,
as the horrible feast progressed, dubbed
and boiled like huge cauldron, while
the noise of the rending and tearing OF
flesh was sickening
A moment more and the exultant cries
of Kato and the canoemen announced
that we were in shallow water near the
man-eaters. When the captain and
condo ed with Kato on the loss OF the
Iassoed shark he said 1t made no dit
ference the fish was no use to him.
Don't you eat them?" asked the cap
tain.
No good to eat" said the chief. and
explained that he could catch them cas-
lily with hook and line if he wished, put
that would not be sport. The hunt was
me- e.y for pleasure. Hunt again to-
morrow" he added. Hospitality.
But we firmly declined. Once was
enough. Frequently these hunts end fat
ally to the diver sometimes to the crew.
Last year one of Kato's canoes was over
turned and the entire crew of seven
devoured by the man-eaters. Kato him
self has had more than one narrow es-
cape, but his sporting spirit has not been
in the least dampened, and he is famous
all through the island as a shark hunter.
L w. c. J. Reid