Morgan County democrat. (Versailles, Mo.) 1900-1906, 1905-04-07

Just an old superstition invented by sail
ors. and that sharks only feed on dead
bodies
Then say So, do they, retorted my
host: then they couldn't have been
with me in my yawl when my best fish
erman, Andrea, fell overheard. There
was a rush through the water and |
caught just one fleeting glimpse of the
monster as it dragged him under. He
ley came up. There are a dozen other
men along this bay who can tell 0
sinliar stories of ell lobo marino. That
is why l beg you not to swim in these
waters"
For at least a day | was greatly i'm
pressed by what I had heard. Then |
began to experience a longing to get one
glimpse of this dreaded monster. While
| could not doubt my hosts word, yet l
felt the stories concerning the huge
shark must in some way have been ex-
a%ggerated.
| caught myself floating along the
bays surface by the hour, in my boat,
leaning far over the gunwale to scan
thu perfectly clear dept. beneath me
for some trace Of eel lobo.
In northern ATTITUDES. no matter how
clear the water may be, the human eye
can seldom penetrate it more than a
few feet. But along Cuba's coast, in
many places where coral formation is
most prominent, a man a look down
from his boat through three fathoms of
crystal-clear water and discern every
object lying on the cleaning white coral
sands below.
Yet, though l gazed with strainine
eyes, | could never catch even a mo-
mentary view Of the great shark. True,
| saw several other sharks, ranging from
four to perhaps eight feet in length. but
nothing larger. Hundreds Of other fish,
too, flashed here and there through the
transparent water-pilot fish, dog fish
fish with scales that blazed like dia-
monds, and odd-shaped jelly fish. Once
/ saw crawling crablike along the boz
tom a devil fish. whose tentacles must
have had a reach of six or seven feet
boat fell on him he hid himself behind
a mass OF inky fluid, drawing his body
and arms up into a compact ball.
Still no "lobo," and at last | decided
he was a myth.
One morning I rowed around the
point a half mile beyond the house
and anchored to a tiny coral reef that
rose to about II inches below the sur
face a quarter of a mile from shore.
From thence | cast my line and
watched the baited hook sink slowly
through the clear water. This was
my ~favorite fishing ground, Yet to-
day I cast for a solid hour without
getting a single bite.
The tide meantime was running out.
At last my rock rose above the sur
face of the water. decided to row
home. On pulling up the anchor, how
ever. l found one of the hukes was
entangled in a jutting bit of rock a
foot or two below the surface. l could
not reach it, so l stepped out of the
boat on the rock. and plunging my
hands into the water disengaged the
anchor and lifted it back into the boat.
A light breeze was blowing, and as ]
was wiping the water from my hands
| did not notice that the boat was
slowly drifting away.
BY the time I turned to step aboard
1t was at least ten feet distant. !
watched it recede with more amuse-
ment than chagrin. I had longed for
a chance to swim; yet | had moi
yrfchnI ~ un ntptn 10 n 4. Inrt't -
quest. But under circumstances like
these he surely could not object to my
rescuing his boat before the tide bore
it off to sea.
| disrobed quickly and laid my
clothes on the rock, meaning to swim
to the boat, climb aboard and then
row back for my garments.
AT last l was ready. The boat was
nearly. a hundred yards away by this
time. Reveling in the prospect of d
plunge in those cool waters on so
warm a day, | drew in a deep breath
and dived off the reef. Down, down
I went, far below the surface, until
I had almost descended to the cora
sands that carpeted the bottom of tna
bay. Then | struck out, swimming
under water in the direction ! knew
my boat had taken. 1t was a delicious
sensation TO feel the cool caress of the
crystal clear water, to have made my.
self part of that marvellous submarine
world.
On and on I swan. At last | looked
up, for a large oblong shadow lay