The Savannah morning news., 1904-05-15
WOLVES OF OCEANS DEPTHS.
Sharks Richly Deserve the OdiOus
Name Applied to Them.
From Forest and Stream,


Every once in a while someone will
man-eating sharks. 1t would not do
to tell an old sailor that. He knows
better. Some years ago met young
man who knows that there are such
fish-he had LETT his left foot and part
of his leg with one of them while he
was bathing off Key West, and had
not the ships boat got to him the mo-
ment it did the shark would have eat
en- the rest of him.
When sailing in a steam whaler in
1874 one of our amusements was fish
ing for sharks. / made a hook after
a drawing and with it we caught a
number of them. One of our boat
steerers gave me his opinion of how
the shark became a maneater, and l
have often since thought he had it
right Since then 1 have seen the same
opinion advanced to account for the
man-hunting tigers. All tigers are not
man-eaters. His idea was that If a
man-eating shark did attack a man
then any other sharks that might be
in the neighborhood would also attack
him, and after these had done so they,
too, became man-eaters.
The shark is like a wolf in one re-
panions that may be present will tear
him to pieces without loss of time. /
have seen them do it,
We were under sail and were stand
ing west under light wind, hardly do
ing more than keeping steerage way,
with the sea as smooth as mill pond
when one morning just after daylight a
shark was seen following us about 100
yards astern of the ship. He had
probably been doing this all niglis.
Only his dorsal fin showed above the
water, but he seemed to be a large one.
Our hook was thrown to him, but the
only notice he took of it was to drop
a little further astern; he did not want
the hook. At noon he was still in
his place astern and. leaving the hook
out for him, we went to dinner. He
might get bold enough to take the
hook when we were not in sight.
thought, but he did not, for when we
next came on deck he was still as far
astern as before. and now l made up
my mind TO shoot him.
We had rifles on board, but ! could
not use one of them without the cap
tain's permission, and just as l had
started to go and get his permission
he came on deck, and seeing the shark
sent me for his glass and rifle.
l brought up an old Sharps rife. and
while the captain stood at my elbow
with the glass to coach me l fired
three shots; using his fin, the only
part of him l could see, to aim by.
wanted to hit him amidships and as
low down as I could and not have the
water defect my ball. The first shot
was too high, the next one not high
enough. but the third got him, and the
ball hardly hit when two other sharks
that none of us had seen before seized
him, one on each side of him, and
dragged him down.
For the next few minutes something
seemed to be doing back there. The
big shark got to the top OF the water
twice, throwing himself nearly out of
1t the first time and giving us a chance
to see how large he was, but each
time the others pulled him below
again. They were still fighting when
we had dropped them too far astern
to be able TO see how the fight ter
minated.
These sharks will follow a ship day
after day to pick up what may be
thrown overheard. The sailor thinks
that It is he they 4-&ant to pick up.
Some Of them would not refuse him If
he did drop over. When we found
them following US we would bring up
a bucket Of kitchen refuse and throw
IL to them, then present them the hook
and some one of them generally made
the mistake OF taking II. When he
did we only got him; the rest Of them
always left