The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1914-05-22
FISHING FOR SHARkS
Natives of Samoa Have Great sport as
Business.

We who live Oh the island c.. Samoa
never let an opportunity pass to kill a
Shark, says writer in Chambers
Journal. The waters which surround
our little world are infested with
them; and sometimes a native will be
caugh; and killed by one Of the terrib'e
man-eating monsters-quite frequent
" enough indeed, to glve savage zesr
to the sport. 1t would be difficult to
say whether even bird-catching occu-
pies higher place in the regard Of any
one of us. The natives are wonderful
~ expert and courageous, and as the
f:eSl of the s.ark is the principal
dainty at their great feasts, parties OF
men are forever going in search Of il.
The favorita time is When a s,orm
has just blowa itself out, For the sharks
have been driven inshore, and may be
found sheltering in great numbers un-
der he black rocks that border the la
goons. The men, who nave rcwed ont
in a rail canoe, throw food overb card,
piece by piece, and this serves the
double purpose OF attracting the
sharks and gorging them so that they
may be reAdered easy O. capture The
water around he boat quickly be-
comes alive with ,Ie brutes and when
TIE bait is dev2ured they retire to tae
shady waters. where rocks overhang
stretches of smooth sand, and there
they lazily sire ch themselves at full
length, and sink into half sleep. The
natives in the canoe paddle slowly
along, and presently discover one OF
these sharks in droWsy slumber. Tne
leader of he fishers raises his hand in
signal to the paddlers to stay in the
course cf he boat, and one man-gen-
orally a young and active fellow
climbs ever the side into the water,
and, with the moose of a rong rope
OF bark fiber in his hand, dives beneath
the surface. Swimming quietly along
undsr t1e water, he come to sleep
ing fish and with a quick, deft move
ment slips the moose ever its tail.
Ten. as gen ly as ne came, he returns
to the canoe and when he has clam
bered safely back into it the natives
take hold 0f the rope and rouse the
shark from its sleep with mighty
rull together. The shark is dragged
through the water before it las time
to reflect and in spi of its sudden
paaic and frenzied struggles, it is
gradually hauled toward the boat By
keeping its tai! clear # the water the
ia Ives have made it prac ically help
l SIS; and at last by peculiar move
ment, they jerk it into the canoe and
g tremendous blow With a club finishes
rs career.
Sometimes he SHARK has backed in
to creyice r nole in lie rocks before
il aas settled down to sleep, SO that
head alone is accessible In such
case the diver will swim up to it.,
and with h utmost c-olness tap it
but firmly on the head. Sleepy
md gorged with food as il is, and an
Dyed by the Interrupt ion, without
moving exactly tie cause CT i, the
shark turns around with a swish in a
space barely largely enough for it to lie
in. AS it does so it exposes its tail,
and the diver clearly dr5ps the moose
over it and returns to the boat in the
customary manner. For the sake Of
yarie V, have seen a baited hook car
ried out by these natives and dropped
in about twelve feet of water, the line
being hen brought back to land. When
a shark siezes the bait, and is safely
hooked. me natives sloulder the rope
at the edge Of the water, and singing a
rude, measured chant, dance inland,
dragging the fish into the shadows.
where i, is speedily killed.
The spot is exceedingly dangerous,
as can be imagined, but We Samoans
are taught to be as muc1 at home in
the water as are the sharks, so that
an astonishing indifference is display
ed toward hem. In some parts OF the
islands shark-fshing is regarded as
being as much Of trade as u sport,
and the operations are carried out by
different method from those describ-
ed above. The fishers tie rope fl
| +aon or +wnntv foe around a barrel