Omaha daily bee., 1909-12-04
SHARKS ATTACK ONLY DEAF
Sea Tragedy at Singapore Pro-
an Exaggera-
ton.

The destruction Of the steamship La
Seyne near Singapore last week calls up
in the mind speculation as to the ability of
anyone to prove, to actually demonstrate
by f%irst-hand evidence, that a shark was
ever known to force the fighting, so to
speak, and attack a living man in the
water. There is a good deal to say on both
sides.
The disaster to La Seyne, in whatever
light 1t is viewed, can be contemplated only
with a sensation of horror. The picture in
the mind is vividly dreadful. On one hand
we nave the Frenchman steering to the
northward, bound into Singapore from some
port south of the line, on or near which
the accident occurred.
It was one of the units Of the great Mas
sageries Maritimes de France, perhaps the
most important of all the ocean lines UNI
der the tricolor. 1t was in the Straits of
RHO, in the archipelago of that name. The
hour was 4 in the morning, which, on the
equator, would indicate the darkness of
midnight.
All suddenly, out OF the ~blackness, arose
the iron hull of the British steamship
Onda, which, having left Singapore at
midnight, was hugging the Blntang shore,
laundering on into the south; and in the
dark 1t stepped on the Seyene as a man
would step on a mouse that ran athwart
him. That was all there was TO the trag-
edy, for in two minutes the Frenchman
filled and foundered, leaving its human
cargo battling with death on the surface.
That is, those who were not sucked down
into the warm whirlpool that spun and
wriggled above the sinking ship.
Then came the tales of the sea monsters
that were cruising about, with a weather
eye lifted for dalnties of any description
here was a feast ready prepared. and from
all the cardinal points came the sharks, in
seas that are famous for their ferocious
citizens, We are told that in the attack
men fought furiously in defense Of the
women, fought till they themselves van
ished in the lambert fires of phosphorus
that sleep in the tropical sea, the 1.-THE
bodies of their murderers twisting and
darting among their victims.
Reports arrived that nearly 100 persons
lost their lives through the sharks, which,
II true, would summon visions of the hor-
rors OF laundering slave ships in the West
Indies a century ago. But, looked at coldly
who is it that has actually seen a shark
bite a living man? Plenty Of examples OF
dead bodies being consumed by sharks
may be cited. But the shark, in spite OF
his reputation and the sinister sound OF his
! very name - SollbN nat VI a toWdIut linz
his distant land relative, the grizzly bear
The late Hermann Oelrichs Of New York
probably one OF the best amateur swim
mers in the world, made a standing Offer
Of a large sum Of money that would be
paid to anyone who could testify and sub.
stantiate his statement that he had seen q
shark bite a living, struggling man. Mr.
Oelrichs always insisted that sharks had
never been seen to attack a swimming
person or one still alive; and his reward
for the man who could prove he had wit
messed such a spectacle held good In AM
part Of the world. This reward was never
paid, for the reason that nc one could
prove tina he had seen the incident. Or
investigation the claimant for the reward
invariably fell back on the statement Of
some one else when 1t narrowed down L
proof. Il was told so by an eyewitness,
was the customary conclusion.
OF course this does not prove that NJ
shark has ever attacked a living man. on
the contrary, where the most wolfish OF th'
tribe most do e~ongregate, II is much more
than probable that proofs could be oh.
tanned by eye witnesses, II sufficient
trouble were taken. Otherwise why Is Il
that diving for shillings at suez and PorI