Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-01-26
TIGER OF THE SEA
Filipinos Fight the Man-Eating Shark
in His Own Element.
4 DESPERATE FORM OF SPORT
Lively Battle Between a Native and
Monster Fish.
WITH MOOSE AND KNIFE


| Special Correspondence of The Evening Star
| MANILA, December 1, 1900.
| In consideration Of several squares of red
| flannel and some particularly gaudy trim
| kets. Kato invited the two visiting white
kings" he politely termed us. to
| shark hunt. kato is something of a king
| himself; that is, he is chief of a seacoast
district of southern Mindanao. He is a de-
| voted follower of the sport Of shark hunt
| ing, which is about lively a form of the
! chase as healthy minded man need aspire
| to. Naturally, when royalty visited him,
| kato arranged to show them the royal
| sport. Neither the captain nor myself
| knew anything about Filipino shark hunt
| ing. We thought we were being invited to
go out fishing. We accepted hand.
| The hunt was set for the day after our
| arrival. Promptly at daybreak a great hull
| labaloo on the shale beach signalized the
| preparation of the boats, and after hasty
! breakfast were off Our destination
| was a small blight, shut in by a curving
! oyerhang of coral growth. which acted
| a breakwater, and AFFORDED a quiet harbor
| for the sharks. Our fleet consisted of half
| a dozen twenty-foot canoes with immense
| oVerhangS, fore and aft. We were in the
| head canoe with Kato. AS we sped along
| he explained that we We're almost certain
| to find some big sharks lying in the quiet
| water Garbage had been strewn there the
| day before to attract them There was one
! particularly lively tifteen-footer said Kato,
| that he was anxious to get.
'Fifteen-footer. exclaimed the captain.
| why, he must be man eater" which,
| being translated to kato, elected the re-
| Spouse: Yes, man eater. Ate two of my
men last time. Canoe broke up"
Unpleasant thoughts entered my mind.
| poked tentatively at the side of the canoe
and was instantly sorry that l did 1t. 1t
| gave to the touch like paper.
Good Lord said the captain, "Fd rather
| hunt my sharks from the shore
Hunting the Shark.
But it was too late to draw back now.
| Already our canoe was entering the narrow
| channel between the coral cliffs and the
rest of the fleet was trailing out in single
| file behind US. Kato warned us in low
| tones against loud speech or unguarded
| movement. At sign from him a well-built
| native of middle age, with a long cloak
| over him, stepped upon the forward over
! hang and peered ahead of US.
That's the lookout, | suppose" Whis-
| pered the captain.
Similar posts were set on the other
| canoes. The boats We're hardly moving
| now, cautious were the strokes of the
| paddlers, but we were gradually getting i'll
| to shallower water. 1t was dark, but sim
! gularly clear and limpid, the water of this
| lagoon. Our lookout stood like statue,
| shaking his head from time to time as
| kato whispered a question to him. There
was an order and the paddles stopped NOV
| ing entirely. We were drifting on slow
| current in a bay, all but surrounded by the
| coral reefs. Presently there came from one
| of the craft to the right of US sharp
| clucking sound. The lookout of this canoe
was pointing to a spot in the water little
| in front and between us and himself.
Stretching my neck. l peered eagerly into
| the water, and presently made out what
| looked like dull blotch, swaying just above
the bottom, at depth of perhaps ten or
| fifteen feet 1t was shark. asleep after
| Sorging himself with the offal scattered for
| him. In the uncertain vagueness of the
| water, which naturally magnified objects
| in an alarming manner, he seemed of enor-
nous size, and as his huge gray bulk and
ping mouth. with its cruel octaves OF
teeth, lay exposed, my thoughts reverted
sickeningly to the frailness Of the canoe. AT
| signal from Kato, whose beady eyes
cleaned with savage excitement and the
passion of the chase. the other canoes re-
tired. in order that we might have the honor
of killing the first shark. But how were We
going to do the killing? The question came
up in the captains mind, too, and he de-
manded in loud and excited whisper:
where's the hook and line? Where's
the harpoon? What are we going to catch
him with?'
A Desperate Method.
Kato grinned when the query was trans
| lated and pointed to our lookout. The man
slipped off his long coat and stood before
d
ity. STOPPING, he attached to one ankle a
heavy weight. Over one shoulder he had
cooled a moose at the end of a long rope.
Between his teeth he held a short. broad
bladed. keen kris. To me it seemed like
scene from highly improbable play. That
the man with his rope and kris should go
down into the depths of an alien element
and there attack its fiercest monster was
too much for credence. But the captain
was more practical minded
Hold on, there" he said, and he had for
gotten to whisper. whats that man go
ing to do?'
The question needed no translation. Kato
grinned and pointed down at the shark.
mot while I'm here declared the cap
tain Its murder. He'd have more chance
against tiger. won't stand it."
Noosing the Monster.
He started to get up and the canoe gave
lurch. He sat down hastily. Still grim
Ming in entire innocence of why the white
king was making fuss, the chief made a
signal and the diver was gone So skillfully
did he slip into the water that there was
no disturbance of the surface other than a
little whirlpool where he went down and a
slight ripple from the moose rope as he paid
1t out while sinking. The end Of the rope
was held by two Of the paddle men. No
sooner had the diver reached the bottom
than he set out toward the shark His
every movement was distinctly visible. AS
calmly and unconcernedly as If he We're
sauntering along his own sunlit beach, the
man moved on occasionally STOPPING to dis
engage the weight on his ankle from some
projection Of the coral formation. In the
boat Kato was explaining In whispers that
sharks sleep heavily after eating, and this
one probably wouldn't wake up until the
divers business was concluded. 1t seemed
highly probable to me that the divers bust
ness would be definitely concluded within a
very brief period after the waking of the
shark. The captain was saying something
about heading an expedition to hang Kato