The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-04-09
FOUGHT OFF THE SEA MONSTER.
Thrilling Experience of a Sailor
When Cast Overheard.
New York Sui

New York SUM
At the first regular meeting for the
year 1891 of the Manhattan branch of
the International Ancient Mariners
club, he'd on tuesday evening last in
this city. G. Americas Bergall, a char
ter member, told OF an experience OIL his
earlier days when he was a sailor on
q voyage of the bark Henrietta TaYely,
hence for Honolulu.
The Henrietta TaVely, said Mr..
BergaI, was a nush-deck ship, with
just low iron rail running around her.
/ was standing one day when we were
nearing the equator-in the Pacific ocean
by the lee main rigging, splicing a rope.
what's that2 No, not the main brace,
just a pain common rope opening W
the strands with an iron marine spike
and getting along all nice and comfort
able when big sea plunked into the
cold hooker on the weather side and
heeled her over so that I, having both
hands full at the time, went over the
low rail on the ice.
She was making, I should say, about
eight knots at the time, and SO. you see
/ slid along her side pretty fast and of
course, close 10 it with the slight .eeway
she was making, and 1 calculated that
I'd hit the mizzen chains sure and hold
on there and holIer and then be taken
aboard again But 1 missed them by a
hands breath just, and when hollered
/ couldn't be heard, for my head was
under water, being carried down now
by the weight of the marline spike,
which I'd still hung onto when 1 went
overheard, and which l still held.
o. g @
You see, it was instinct for me to
hold onto that MARINE spike. and you
must remember, too, that that going
overheard and sliding along the ships
side and grabbing at the mizzen chains,
1t seems to include a lot of hap
penings, all really took place in a very
few seconds time. / was under water
astern almost before [ had time to
think, and still holding onto the mar
line spike, which j know now well
enough was carrying me down, but
which l hated to let go of even then
1t seemed like giving up the last ia
miliar thing that bound me to life and
the things knew. And, as a matter of
fact, that momentary hesitation result
ed not in my letting the marine SPIKE
go, but in my hanging onto it tighter
than ever, with the final result that [
saved my life by it.
In that mOmentary elaboration
brushed against something that was
passing, as ] had Brushed against the
side of the ship; but this new thing
was something very different; it was
great shark that was following the
ship. l struck him about midships and
mOved rapidly along his sandpapery-
like side, forgetting now, again, all
about the marine spike; holding onto
it now instinctively, as 1 had done be-
fore. but thinking now only of the
shark and how 1 could get away from
him. But as I slid along his side, as
he slid ahead through the water, an
other thought struck me, that I'd nail
onto his tail when that came along for
support and because that was the far
thest thing from his head, and then L
had a vague sort of AN idea Inat vas
going to do this because the shark was
going my way, toward the ship
AS he slid along-all this occupy
ing, of course. not more than a second
or two, but d man can do a heap of
thinking in a very short time under
such circumstances kept an eve out
for his tail, and when this came along
/ nailed onto the long, projecting upper
lobe OF tit was whiptait shark. and
shorter, about thirty feet long-and
hung onto it, AS the shark drew ahead
my body swung around and straight
ened out in the water with a jerk that
made me tighten my grio on the shark
tail to hold on, and that brought the
shark up like shutting off the steam
would take the life out of the motion
of a steamer.
The rext instant the shark swung
his head around to where / was to bite
me in two. Then ! WAS glad I'd hung
onto the marline spike AS the giant
swung his head round ] hung onto his
tail with my left hand, and just before