Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1911-03-27

SHARKS.
Proof That Sharks Eat Men Seems to
Be Irrefutabe.

feature of the disaster was the man
ner in which many of the passengers
met their fate. In their extremity
the vessel remained af1Oat only a few
minutes after the shock-the passen-
gers threw themselves into the sea,
trusting to be picked up by the Onda's
boats. The first of them had scarce
ly touched the water ere a shoal of
sharks was circling the scene and
dragging down scores of men and wo-
men, who never came up again.
These facts were sworn to by dozens
Of eyewitnesses to the spectacle, yet
the number of people who have scout
ed at the story is remarkable They
have maintained in face of this that
the shark wouldn't do anything Of the
kind; that the shark is not a man
eater. Numbers of. people in the
United States went to the length of
writing to the American consul gen
eral in Singapore, James T. Dubois,
asking him if he had ever come across
cases of sharks attacking men. A
distinguished American scientist when
passing through Singapore recently
boldly assured Mr.. Dubois that no
such thing existed as the man-eating
shark. And still more recently an
English lecturer in London upheld the
statement that the shark was a ''tmd,
useful. and amiable fish,
The unusual interest shown i'm the
topic induced Mr.. Dubois to investi-
gate the subject Very thoroughly. and
the area which he secured for his in
formation was extensive, ranging
from the Philippines to Alden The
Philippines proved a very fruitful
source of information.
The most notable case was the one
in which Lieut.. James II. Stewart of
the Philippine constabulary, was the
victim. Lieut.. Stewart retired last
year and went back to the States.
Shortly before his retirement he
had occasion to go to BolnaO on
horseback, and feeling hot at the end
of his ride, he went bathing. When
swimming about 80 yards from the
shore he noticed the back fin of a
shark near him and then the whole
body came within his vision, and
he could make out that the length of
the fish was 6 or : feet He saw the
fish describe a half circle and dive, and
not knowing where it would reap
pear, Lieut.. Stewart trod water while
he looked round.
The shark was nowhere visible, but
just then the officer felt himself seized
by the calf of the leg and being drag
ged down. With the energy of des-
perate man he struggled for his life,
kicking the fish with his right foot and
trying to resist the downward efforts
of the shark with his arms. Probably
the shark was astonished at the Vio-
lent struggles of its prey; anyhow, it
let go. Lieut.. Stewart managed to
swim ashore before he collapsed and
once ashore he was taken in hand by
the natives. He had lost good part
of the calf of his leg and great
quantity of blood, but fortunately he
recovered.
Col. Mark L. Hersey, district direc-
tor, Mindanao constabulary, also sup
piled an incident that happened to a
gentleman of his own family. The
gentleman in question was a Mr.
Masury of Georgetown, Mass, a
brother of the late John W. Masury,
the paint manufacturer, who died
some years ago at Center Moriches,
Long Island.
Mr.. Masury in his youth went to
sea, and when visiting a foreign port
once went swimming. A shark pur-
sued him and took foot off, and till
his dying day Mr.. Masury was d liv-
ing proof of the fact that sharks do
eat men.
The case of Lieut.. Edwin r. Hearn,
another Philippine constabulary Of
ficer, was also given to Mr.. Dubois.
In 1904 Lieut.. Hearn was caught by a
shark while bathing in the sea at
Tayabas. The officers left arm was
in the sharks mouth right up to the
shoulder, and before he cOntrived to
extricate it he had been carried some
% yards out to. sea. What he did get
out of the fish's mouth was little more
than the bone of his arm, and he never
fully recovered the use of the mem
Der.
Capt. Littman, master of a trading
steamer that runs through the Malay
Archipelago, tells the following story:
1T happened many years ago when
/ was second mate of sailing ship
lying at anchor off Cape st. James,
Cochin China. one Sunday morning
the captain ordered me to tell the
men forward not to battle over. the
side of the ship because the waters of
the bay We're infested with sharks. I
told the men as | was ordered, but in
spite OF my warning six of the sailors
went overheard swimming.
After half an hour or so | heard
some yelling and shouting in the water
and on looking overheard | saw the fell
lows swimming back to the ship in
great haste and climbing up the ropes
which We're hanging over the ships
side. Five of them got safely on
deck. but the last one, a Swede, who
was bit slow, was chased by big
shark
The fellow managed to get hold of
the rope and hauled himself just
above water. when | saw the brute
jump after him. clear out of the water.
and get hold of his foot tearing away
skin and flesh right down to the bone.
The fellow saved his life by clinging
to the rope for all he was worth, but
when he was hauled UP on deck he
tainted. His foot finally healed up,
although he practically remained I,
cripple"
Among the many instances of this
kind that Mr.. Bubois has gathered to-