The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1904-10-26

~ memories Ddch ~ Me.
bald a youngish middle-aged man who
has put in q number OF cruises, boy
md man in the navy. Il had quite a
few shark experiences when 1 was on
The old line of Government packets,
nd I found them out. I'm just as
huch afraid, of 4 sea tiger now as
you'd be of 4 ships kitten tapping con-
licensed milk out Of a wardroom saucer
bn the galley deck, only, of course, I'd
no q lot more moving when 4 Shark
Tas around and looking me over than
would in the presence of the kitten.
1.-THE first time a shark ever got gay
with me was when l was a tlke or q
prentice on the old Swatara. down in
he harbor of Mazatlan. Mexico. 1 was
starboard side cleaner, and one af-
ernoon was cooked in a swing, Swab-
bling paint. and with my bare feet
hanging not above a twelfth of 4 faith
Pm from the water.
Gail of a sudden I noticed 4 little
differing. goggle-eyed and snout-nosed
fish a-rubbering around a lot in the
little space of water directly below
where my feet were swinging. He
poked so perky and impudent that l
h for throwing a cake of saltwater
oap at him, but then l got to figuring
hat the cat could look at the kind and
hat it wasn't doing me any harm to
have this little fish watch me polish Off
lny cleaning station, and so l let him
box, and presently 1 became 50 busy
b. trying to light a furtive cigarette
Without the officer of the deck spotting
he that I forgot about the little snout-
hosed fish.
"Presently an old bo'sun's mate
walked over to the starboard rail and
boxed down at me.
"'Hey, you cub he calico down to
he a minute after ht. had taken his
POSITION at the starboard rail. you'd
letter be gittin' them tootsies O yourn
ome few away from tn waters edge
you don't want to go shy a pair o
eet for the balance O. the cruise. Sec
hat pilot fish a lookin' at You an
keckonin' his big shark mate down
selow?'
''ThiS old bo'Sun's mate was 4 great
tringer to the 'prenticeS. and l was
10 sure that he was stringing me then
hat 1 barely looked up at him. 1t was
good thing that 1 didn't look up just
Ehen-I'd probably be in the Snug Har-
)or. with two wooden legs now, if l
had looked up at him just at that in
liant.
"For. continuing to look down as I
tSEorked, I saw something whitey-gray
~ wishing to the surface Of the blue
Eater-something about twenty foot
long, and the for-ard ten foot OF 1t,
S it seemed to me, all teeth, rows and
4ows of them-and then I got busy.
"'Shin up. you whelp" the old
So-sun's mate bawled at me through
he funnel that he made of his hands,
nd just MS I grabbed the port rope
winging the bo'sun's chair and started
o go hand over hand up to the rail,
Il here was a shower Of salt water that
ounded like the breaking Of a water
pout just below me-and 1 had my
rst close view of a belly-up naneater.
HE shot up above half Il fathom
bove the water for ME, but 1 already
ad q hold on the rail: and he missed
ne by quite 4 stretch. But as long
IS I was a side cleaner L never
wabbed paint from q bo'sun's chair
fter that with bare feet. My bare
seet had been the bait for that big
bark, guided by his little pal, the
ilot fish.
"About three years after that l got
ONE more shark education at Papete.
Tahiti. A gang of seamen gunners-
was just out of my apprenticeship
hen-one day got permission OF the
)fRcer of the deck to take 4 beach
win. So we lowered away the long
boat, sped her to the coral beach,
stripped and went in in the buff, about
Eighteen of us.
sit was very hot and gummy wealth
b. and so we were not thinking about
Rharks, although a thousand OF them
Rssembled about the ship every time
he cook dumped 4 bucket of galley
Refuse through the swill tube. Any
how. we were all pretty young. In
edition to being young l was CHESTER
han I've ever been since, particularly
[because there wasn't 4 man or 10y on
board the old hooker that could each
he anything about swimming. That's
how it came that, as soon as we
umped into the water on the Papete
beach that day, I proceeded to out
win all the rest, just to show 'em.
81 didn't turn to look back until l
3Tas about 300 yards from the beach.
The only reason why I turned around
hen was because I heard Il lot of noise
from the beach.
when 1 turned, I saw about n hun-
ired naked natives and all of the
goung fellows from our ship lined up
$n the beach at the edge of the water,
umping up and down and waving
Their arms at me and yelling with all
their might. But something else that
saw was a lot more important TO me,
bout a million huge, wet and shiny
shark fins between me and the beach.
Some of them weren't more than ten
ards from me. The fins were moving
klowly on the surface of the water.
II could see my pipe out in plain
Eiew then. 1 stopped and trod water
nd nervously slapped the surface OF
the water with my hands. l noticed