Lawrence democrat. (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) 1884-1925, 1905-04-07

| glimpse of this dreaded monster. While
| could not doubt my hosts word, yet
felt the stories concerning the huge
shark must in some way have been ex-
aggerated. n
| caught myself floating along the
| bays surface by the hour, in my boat,
leaning far over the gunwale to scan
the 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
cap seldom penetrate it more than a
few feet But along Cuba's coast. in
many places where coral formation Is
most prominent, a man can 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 gazed with straining
eyes, / could never catch even mo-
mentary view of the great shark. True,
4 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 waterproof fish, dog fish,
| fish with scales that blazed like dia-
monds, and odd-shaped jelly fish. Once
saw crawling crablike along the bot
tom devil fish, whose tentacles must
have had reach of six or seven feet
from tip TO tip. AS the shadow of my
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 | rowed around the
point half mile beyond the house
rose to about II inches below the sur
face a quarter of mile from shore.
From thence l 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 solid hour without
getting 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, found one of the fiukes was
entangled in jutting bit of rock a
foot or two below the surface | could
not reach. it, so | stepped out OF the
4 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 | turned to step aboard
it was at least ten feet distant
watched it recede with more amuse-
ment than chagrin. | had longed for
chance to swim; yet | had not
wished to go counter to my hosts re-
quest But under circumstances like
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 ther
row back for my garments.
At last l was ready. The boat was
nearly hundred yards away by th;:
time. Reveling in the prospect of ;
= plunge in those cool waters on 81
warm a day, drew in a deep breatl
> and dived off the reef Down, dowI
! | went, far below the surface, unit
:, had almost descended to the cora
9 sands that carpeted the bottom Of TIL
: bay. Then struck out, swimming
>, under water in the direction l knew
: my boat had taken. 1t was a deliciou
sensation to feel the cool caress of tn
., crystal clear water, to have made my
y self part of that marvellous submarine
:, world.
= On and on I swan. At last looke'
> up, for a large obong shadow la,
= athwart the glittering white sands, al
most directly above me.
II 81 must have swum farther than
imagined" thought l, ito hav
= reached my boat by this time"
The next moment | felt as thougl
II the waters about me had turned to ic5
b For it was no boat that swung idl
6 above me, but an enormous fish!
!. can Shut my eyes and see him nov
:, the white underside the tremendou
eXpanse from the snubbed oval. hea
u TO the family quivering tail. And
turns me half sick to recall it.
- 1t was undoubtedly eel lobo" ha
- seen enough sharks to know their I'm
- mistakab!e shape. And this fish Wa
y shark, but far larger than any othe
. shark i had ever seem
| did lifetime of thinking in tn
- next ten seconds. He had not yet see
! me, for he was facing in the same dl
= rection as |, and | was not yet quit
~ up to him.
= | had a general idea where the boa
W should be, and swan for it with a
\ my strength, still keeping close to tb
bottom of the bay, and making a d.
tour to avoid the sharks eye.
swan hard, putting into ever
stroke all the power and speed {
y. which l was the master My heal
to throbbed like a trip hammer and