Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-11-03

ST. Thomas, West Indies, leaped over
board and killed with a knife a huge
shark which was gaining upon some
of the vessels crew who had dis
obeyed orders by venturing on
swim.
A shark is very tenacious of life,
and DR.. Gunther, the ichthyologist,
has pointed out in one Of his contri-
buttons to the literature Of his sub
iect that wounds affect fishes gen.
orally much less Ian higher verte-
brates. A CIR inland shark contin-
ues to feed while his head is pierced
by a harpoon or by knife, as long
as the nervous center is not touched.
A Norwegian Antartic explorer, II.
]. Bull, gives a startling word pic
ture Of a sharks tenacity of life.
This man-eater was caught at the
Iceland cod fishery: his liver heart
and internal arrangements were re-
moved, so as to put period to MS
his career, and the thus mutilated
body was then cast into the sea- He
simply gave a leisurely wag of his
tail and swan rapidly out of sight.
The shark is comparatively clum-
sy in his movements and is COM
pelled to turn over in order to seize
his prey, and his many enemies are
not slow in availing themselves OF
these peculiarities. In 1889 captain
Fraser, of the bark Thomas 5.
Stowe, when 100 miles west OF the
Galapagos Islands, caught shark
which had been carrying about in its
body the weapons Of offense of two
swordfish. The latter class of sea
dwellers are plucky fighters and oc-
casionally break off their swords in
the body of an opponent who would,
ierhaps, rather flee than fight.
An early missionary to the South
Sea Islands, a Mr.. Ellis, was Journey
ing in an open boat which was en-
dangered by the unwelcome atten-
tions of ravenous shark. The
shark seized the blade Of an oar and
shook the keel of the boat in an ef-
fort to capsize her. A boatman
grasped the tail Of the finny enemy.
The other members of the colored
crew assisted in dragging the shark
into the boat where he was dis
patched.
A shark once served as a police
man, even, perhaps, against his will.
In 1909 the brig Nancy was cap
tured by British warship as a sus-
pected SLAYER and her release by the
prize court at Jamaica, where she
had been brought for trial. seemed
inevitable, owing to the absence or
incriminatory documents. Curiously
enough, the officers of the Abergav-
emmy, soon afterward in the neigh
borhood, hooked a shark which was
found to contain a bundle of papers
relative to the Nancy. These were
preserved, in ignorance of the
capture of the brig, and eventually
led to her condemnation.
Sharks often attain to great size
on the coast Of Southern California.
In 1906, apparently the largest on
record was dispatched. He measured
32 feet from the tip Of his tail to
the end of his snout, and had a girth
Of Is feet just forward Of his dorsal
fin. Two children of about six years
of age were depicted sitting erect
within the extended jaws of the
slain shark, their legs dangling In
space.
A shark steak, properly cooked, is
neither lightly despised nor ignored
by a sailing ships crew who may not
have tasted fresh meat or fresh fish
for six months of leaden-footed
hours. though some cannot forget
that the shark is a man-eater by
choice. Travellers tales with respect
to sharks (and the same may be said
as to whales) will not stand the test
of scientific analysis. Chambers
Journal.