The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1902-08-23
UNDER-SEA SHARKING.
TALE OF DEEP-SEA DIVER.
Bv ARTHUR E. McFARLANE.

| AC Olu ulSCl WdS puLllH6 Z" AuCOSA
Patch on one of his sons suits.
1T amt what you could call right
handsome piece OF tailoring, is it?' he
| said. The waists just trifle too
much like a sea-cow's, and as for the
| trousers, an elephants amt much bag
| gier. don't wonder that when a ma
| gets into clothing like this, and then
| crowns it with a head-piece like a
wall-eyed lookout lamp, shark never
takes him for anything human and
| Catable.
mo, a shark won't touch man in
| armor.' And they're not SO mighty
| fierce after human flesh out Of it. On
a black coast the natives'n tell you
they can run the surf and dive for
coins without much danger because
sea-tigers' hardly ever touch any bui
white men; and almost all whites in
shark waters have a firm belief that
dark meat Is the only sort the brute
care about
"As for their cruelty-though I've
got shuddering, vivid recollection OF
the fury of one of them when wound
ed don't believe much in that. eth
or. When they make kill they tear
il to pieces and down it the quickest
they can, which isn't more brutal than
nature. Indeed, what's made me sick
hundred times has been the cruelty
of sailors and fishermen toward them.
| like fish in a pan just little better
than | like them in the water. But
it's a worse animal than I've ever run
across that deserves torture. And sea
teasts are. as rule. the most harm
less. casy-going. good-natured tribe
imaginable.
my only adventure with shark
vas in the spring when hired with
OCULAR wrecking company. and had my
GIst job south of Cuba. That was he
Using of the famous Georgia Belle,
-hich was about the unluckicst and
ccstlicst yacht that ever kept a mil
lionaire from worrying lest he'd die
rich
ION this occasion she'd run on one
g those saw-tooth reefs eff Cayo Lar
go in the JarlinillCs: and after giving
her owner and his friends just time
enough to get away in the boats, she'd
backed and took to the bottom, first
bow and then stern. When climbed
down to look at her, found 30 feet
of her forward sheathing from keel
to cutwater riddled and torn like a
hiscuit-tin target. And the first part
q, my Job was to sling myself over
Ter side. like a house painter from
roof, and put sticking plaster OF
6oncrete and canvas over every one
Of those thousand odd holes. It was a
months contract, and promised to be
a mighty tedious one, too. -
"But up above we had considerable
diversion. Not only we're there the |
crews of the tug, the derrick and sup
ply-boat. but there was Batabano
sponging-sloop raking OF the reef, and
Fer officers used to come over even |
ings and entertain us with music. |
They had only a cranky mouth-organ |
and broken guitar; but we all used
to join in the choruses.
whether 1t was the racket or the
refuse from the cooks galley, VIC |
brought ourselves visitor. The third
day was down, heavy shadow sud-
denly swung over my head. At first
thought the tug had warped round;
but when looked up I saw fis.i
that seemed as big as a topedo-boat.
It hung above me there in the under
sea twilight, slowly furling and unfurl-
Ing it's tail like propeller standing
up against tideway.
II knew what 1t was. My whole
inner machinery seemed to stop short,
my blood went cold and heavy as mer-
curry, and I clutchei at my sling cables
% keep myself from falling. What I'd
heard of a man in armor being safe
rom sharks went out of my head like
he bubbles from my helmet; and
when at last the 'sea-tiger' slowed
,round, and slid quietly of through
he black-blue wall of ocean behind
ne, caught at the signal-line as II l
. ere drowning. I
UP Ou lie Tug, IHOu6u, IACy OAAy
bought 1t was a great joke. They
lad seen the man-eater! The mate
aid he seemed to him about the
ength of the Great Eastern, and the
mouth on him looked like a church
Ioor hung with icicles.' Tivey, the
,lgineer, declared 1t was true that
hanks had the power Of throwing OF
Electricity, for at first 1t was as II
hey had a galvanized jumping-jack at
he end of the lifeline.
1T ended with my going down again.
boxing silly and feeling mighty snaky
bout the middle. But I wasn't trou-
led again that day.
yet next morning the shark was
round, and OF and on through that
reek. He was always alone. It was
he small fish, though. that always
ave me the first warning. As l
craped at the Bellies sheathing. a
oxen or more little 'gropers' were all
he time at my elbows on the watch
Or broken shell-fish and barnacles,
Ike chickens after worms when you're
padding garden; and all of a sudden
hey'd whip away, and next moment
he shadow would swoop in over me.
~