The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1911-08-17
A SKOWHEGAN BOY
SHARK FISHING
Robert Merrill Has In
teresting Experience
The Mammoth Fish Flopped His Tail
and Smashed the Boat.

q school IN Porto Rico, writes to
friend in Skowhegan and tells hin
OF an exciting fishing trip he had an,
his fish was shark He said:
The other day went on a hunting
and fishing trip and it Is a C"fist
story l want to tell you about be
cause you like this sport; (who il
Skowhegan does not0
Well the story begins like this:
On Friday night at nine O'CLOCK.
party of nine started on a fishing triI
to the Caribbean sea in a two wheeled
cart drawn by four oxen, and loader
with water and supplies for two n
three days.
For eleven hours and a half vi
travelled in hits way over mountain
trails and through the rivers. finall,
arriving at our stopping place at So
in the morning, very tired. very hun
cry, and very sleepy The first thin1
We all did was to climb a cocoanut
tree and bring down five or six cocos
each, which we soon deyoured and
thus appeased our hunger and thirst
at the same time. Afterwards We
took a swim in the Caribbean and
there had good nap on the floor OF
palm tree,
Now comes the fish story" In
the afternoon four of us went out in
a small fishing boat with two native
fishermen A short distance from the
shore was a chain of very small is
lands. some of them so close together
and so oyerhung with vines and dense
foliage that it was barely possible for
us to enter with our boat
| knew we were after fish. but
didn't know what kind until | looked
over the side of the boat. You can
imagine my feeling when | saw at a
glance ten or a dozen sharks, rang
ing in size from six feet to fifteen in
length and darting about under our
boat in shallow water like so many
swallows. | have seen sharks in
aquariums but that was my first ex-
perience With the real thing in his ma
tive element. For some time watched
them frolicking about, they not seem
ing to be afraid of us, and even Went
so far as to poke them with an oar.
Then | began to wonder how they
we're going to get one for they had
nothing on board but a light net that
would not have lasted moment with
one of those monsters. Shortly l
found out their method. They lighted
a dynamite cartridge and threw it in
to the water over one of the sharks.
Immediately there was an explosion
tearing up the water around and
nearly capsizing our boat and as soon
rs could get the salt spray out of
my eyes | saw twelve foot shark
laying in the water stunned. To tell
you the truth | like fishing as well as
any "Skowheganian,' but when they
use dynamite to kill their fish | think
it is changing a manly sport into a
brutal business proposition, and
therefore I was glad for what shortly
happened.
The man who had thrown the car
fridge now got back into the boat and
started to get ropes ready to draw the
supposed to be" dead shark on board.
AS he pushed alongside the shark be-
gan to show signs OF life and sudden
ly without warning he seemed to stand
on his head on the water and with
crash brought his tail down on the
! forward end of the boat crushing it
| like a peanut shell and barely missing
the man who had thrown the car
fridge. At first | was a little taker
back on seeing the water rushing int
the boat and having seen the water
| infested with maneaters a minute be
fore, but following the example of th'
others l got hold of an oyerhangina
vine and scrambled to terra frma'
HHd AhNhNS ~ tht Olutt sue OI lut
/ island where we signaled our friends
to send a boat to our rescue.
With this new boat we went to
the next inlet a distance of about one
hundred yards where they blew up a
school of small fish killing about a
/ hundred with one cartridge. 1t was
here that l won renown. The Porte
Ricans, who all have the Spanish
black eyes, believe they cannot lool
at the sun or open their eyes undo
water, and therefore began trying t
get the fish from the bottom by goin
down feet first and cropping abou
blindly for them with their eyes clos
ed. while I. with much practice in III
Kennebec, was able to dive from tn
boat and with my eyes open bring u
ten fish to their one. For this l wo
much praise and they called me tn
American Blue Eyes"
This is about all there is to my "fls
story except that we had a fine tis
dinner cooked by the fishermen.
, While this was a rather novel eN
: perience for me, l would rather tax
by alder fishing rod and go out on
/ II T. . I