Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1914-07-01


The waters which surround
that little world are infested
by them; and sometimes a native will
be caught and killed by one of the
terrible man-eating monsters-quite
frequently enough, indeed, to give
savage zest to the sport 1t would
be difficult to say whether even bird
catching occupies higher place. The
natives are wonderfully expert and
courageous, and as the flesh OF the
shark is the principal dainty at their
great feasts, parties of men are for
ever going in search OF 1t.
The favorite time Isl when storm
has just blown itself out, for the
sharks have been driven inshore, and
may be found sheltering in great
numbers under the black rocks that
border the lagoons. The men, who
have rowed out In frail canoe, throw
food overheard, piece by piece, and
this serves the double purpose of at
tracting the sharks and gorging them
SO that they may be rendered easy
of capture. The water around the
boat quickly becomes alive with the
brutes, and when the bait is devoured
they retire to the shadowy waters
where rocks overhang stretches of
smooth sand, and there they lazily
stretch themselves at full length, and
sink into a half sleep.
Catch Them Asleep.
| The natives in the canoe paddle
slowly along, and presently discover
one OF these sharks in drowsy slum-
Der. The leader of the fishers raises
his hand in signal to the paddlers to
stay the course of the boat, and one
man-generally young and active
fellow-climbs over the side into the
water, and, with the moose of a strong
rope of bark fiber in his hand, dives
beneath the surface. Swimming
quietly along under the water he
comes to a sleeping fish. and with a
quick, deft movement slips the moose
over fits tail.
Then, as gently as he came, he re-
turns to the canoe, and when he has
clambered safely back into it the ma
tives take hold of the rope and rouse
the shark from its sleep with a
mighty pull together. The shark is
dragged through the water before it
has time to reflect, and in spite of it's
sudden panic and frenzied struggles,
# is gradually hauled toward the boat.
BY keeping It's tail clear of the water
the natives have made 1t practically
helpless; and at last, by a peculiar
movement, they jerk it into the canoe,
and a tremendous blow with a club
finishes its career.
Sometimes the shark has backed in
to a crevice or hole in the rocks be-
fore 1t has settled down 20 sleep, so
that its head alone is accessible. In
such a case the diver will swim up to
it. and with the utmost GOODNESS tap
it gently but firmly on the head
Sleepy and gorged with food as 1t is,
and annoyed by the interruption, with
out knowing exactly the cause of it,
the shark turns round with a swish
in a space barely large enough for 1t
TO lie in. AS it does so 1t exposes its
tail, and the diver cIeverly drops the
moose over 1t and returns to the boat
in the customary manner For the
sake of variety. a baited hook is car
ried out by these natives and dropped
in about IL feet of water, the line
being then brought back to land.
When a shark seizes the bait, and is
safely hooked. the natives shoulder
the rope at the edge of the water, and,
singing a rude, measured chant, dance
inland. dragging the fish into the shall
lows, where it is speedily killed
Sport Is Dangerous.
The sport is exceedingly dangerous,
as can be imagined, but the Samoans
are taught to be as much at home In
the water as are the sharks, SO that
an astonishing Indifference is dis
played toward them. In some parts
of the islands Establishing is re-
garded as being as much a trade as
q sport, and the operations are car
ried out by different method from
these described above. The fishers