The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-06-17

'uHs ~ tie nost iH9sessiias aaNlssua ~
tbe VISITOR asli ~ anttfsl hif1fy eds
aecf, " NJ shaft n v found IN ~ aNaa
ant u~re,utlau q trrwlreui fisos N tia
~mythoiegy. fplk ofs. fsileipH and dotNNalia
ee0nagny ~ ai oolmtfisa i,uTjisfina ~ alt
waief
The shsfs u undoubtedly = dse wAhbad
name. bsH n fraily tloea aUf dpsseVs hall
the tsd things sati ~ With ah uHfuifls
kated nulasHce and etprna~ " Missy
eaya, ~etprclally n hsherineu ~ y sabs
erfvaa 4 mupt hecssstsy rufpops, haalets
thss ~ ~scavenesr ~ tn $3.50.
'tAke tbs graf and the oarich on fand,
tl~ shark will awalluw slutunl anythtaa
that contea M way. ~ n y man, q hefue,
iea,i~Fed fowls, b ysttsp. IN cins, fots 90
tircea II wood. Ths s~tsrclrs known as man
! eaters have baen known w. attack huFuan
beings, hot they fareiy ddppo unleae dfivente
u by extfcsns hunger. or " tbs peFsoa -
foatlna on tn enrface ~ alowly swlHfhln9
along. A vigorous movement, On ths pare
Of q swimmer IL very apt 70 scare away any
shark. 4,
sTha shark family comprises many menis'
hers. there being ptKty.tvo distinct speciea
IN North American waters alone. Many
of thnpe bear peculiar common names, act
Frillsd. COW, dog, builhead, cat. nurAs,
requiem. hammer headed. tlresher, backs
Ing, man eater, maokercl, bramblo and
angel. While many are comparatively
small, othars attain n great si1e.
a man eater was captured In Monterey
Bay. Cal. a few years ago which measured
thirty-two feet In length. Another caught
near Sequel, Cal, was about thirty feet
long and had q young sea lion weighing
about 100 pounds In its stomach.
In 1904 an Italian fisherman caught q
shark twenty feet long and weighing $500
pounds In a net in San Francisco Bay. In
It's stomach were Nix large porpoises which,
the animal had swallowed whole.
Il helped to open up one 10 the Honolulu
fish market a few years ago. n found In
It's stomach the body Of a man, complete
from the waist down with the exception OF
one leg. also some ducks. tin cans, etc.
Thu body was identified later as that Of %
man who had disappeared about ten days
before while bathing of Koko Head. The
shark was twenty feet long.
I'm order to give an idea of how easy 10
would be for a man eater 10 swallow q
full grown man, l prepared the skeleton OF
a fourteen foot man eater and after tho
jaws were dried separately and propped
open ! was able to crawl through
them without the slightest difficulty.
"The most remarkable shark ever caught
was secured by Fred Miller Of Tacoma; in
1901. 1t was eight feet long, and had two
heads and Y tails on the one body.
attains its greatest preeminence. Here 1t
was formerly worshipped az a god and
even now II does not take much to drive
many Of the native converts back TO shark
UP, as tho Christian religion sits easy on
many OF them. r
"In the Hawaiian Islands shark worship
was at one time almost universal. This
worshtp was not confined to an unseen,
idealized form, but was often centred in
certain range along shore. Most Of the
natives believed in the transmigration OF
souls and frequently cast their dead, and
also their living babies into the. ses to be
devoured by the sharks, believing that their
souls would ever after animate those fshes
and incline them to respect the bodies OF
the living members Of the family. Each
shark god had a special keeper. or kahn,
responsible for it's care and worship.
The largest and most celebrated OF the !
shark gods of the islands was K~uhaimoana&
a male, whose mouth was said to- be asE'
large as an ordinary grass house, and whose
bulk was 80 great that it could not navt-,
gate the channels between the islands
oaAA q olOoe W SIIol IL btS okVAA EAls
Second in size and power was Ramo.A
hoalii, elder brother Of the terrible volcano
goddess Pels.
@In the Solomon Islands sharks are su>s
posed to be the abode Of ghosts. Men
will before their death announce that they
will appear as sharks, and afterward any
shark remarkable for size or color which
Is observed to haunt a certain shore or
rock is taken to be some ones ghost. and
the name Of the deceased Is given to IL.
SOn many Of the South Sea Islands thed
eating Of shark meat was tabood to women1g
and 1t meant death II they ~disobeyed the
taboo. The men, however, had no conn
Functions about eating, a shark, provided
1t was some other mans god.
lin Norway the shark fishery is Of con-
siderable importance. Small sloops are
employed. As soon as a shark is caughti
1t is hauled up just clear of the water. With
thrown into a tub. Then its eyes are put
out and it Is out adrift to go and complete
the very slow, in it's case, process OF DYING
where and how it pleases.
In extenuation Of their cruelty in putt
ting out its eyes. the fishermen say that !
il they did not do it SO voraoious is the
animal that it would be apt to come back
and take the bait a second time.
Lik the turtle, the shark Is hard TO
convince that it has been mutilated enough
animal. In illustration of this tenacity OF
life may be mentioned the instance OF q
large gray shark captured in Australian
waters a few years g
After being hauled up the side Of the
boat the monster was ripped pen from,
head to tail. The vital organs and entraiisi
were removed and thrown overheard, and
then both jaws were hacked out for the
sake Of securing the teeth, and Its eyes
put out. .t
Nothing but the shell OF the hsh re-
manned, and this was lowered overheard.
Very much 10 the astonishment OF his cap.
tors the shark slowly swarm around close
to the boat for a few minutes and then
l~aboriously began to swim of. soon disap-
pear1ng in the distance.
aThe native Of the Hawaiian Islands A
probably the most fearless hunter Of thu
shark. Occasionally the more expert seek /!
the fish In coves and caves below tho sur
face after the shark has gorged itseK and
sleeps with its head forced into the sides Oh
It's resting place.
"The diver gently slips a moose around
the tail and the shark is then hauled up aud
despatched. AS the slightest false move
ment OF the diver would startle the fab,
and cause II to attack him, an idea can be
gained Of the care and delioaoy necessary
TO be exercised in this manner Of hunting.
AT other times the natives take the
shark with q spear. Diving to a Favorable
spot in four or five fathoms Of water. the
diver places himself ia a half crouohinR
noox,,ra n oa mat a larua noral ranlt md -atto