Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1915-06-12
Texans Body CutIn Twain By Jaws of Man-Eater
Sharks Make Unsafe Salvaging of Emi1y p. Wright

The disappearance OF J.. W. Mcdonald
Jr. OF HARDWOOD. Texas. while swimming of
the Santa Maria bar On the Tamaulipa~
coast. and the subsequent finding of the
lower half of his skeleton. clean-picked by
man eating sharks, J. related by II. T..
.Tl ..I-, superintendent for the Pierce
Fordycc Forwarding company Of Calves
ton. now in Brownsville. To Thu, griSlv
tale Mr.. Thomas adds an account of the
narrow escape. shortly aitrrward. Of an
Indian sailor iriiu the jaws ~ 4 man-ea!er.
Both occurrences took place near the
wreck of the Emily u. Wright. an ammu-
milton laden schooner driven onto the bar.
go miles south Of the mouth Of the Rio
Grande. ~ 4 gale ~ September ., 1914.
Mr.. Thomas T. IN charge Ut a crew salvag-
ing the wrecked schooner. Let Mr.. Thomas
tell IN his own words the story of Ne
Dunald'~ death
'With 4 crew 1T Xix men left Tampico
on the steam tug Santa Teresa. towing a
barge loaded with supplies and equipment
~ N'ik VII At' lZ'h Nfffh VI Aif
Wright. On the morning oi April q We lay
"a M the shore opposite the wreck. Though
the sea was heavy and the surf high We
decided to make II landing and set up our
camp. Three sailors manned the barge
with me. Casting uf from the tug We let
the surf run a. iu~hure. j. W. Mckinley.
"a professional diver. and J. W. Mcdonald,
an oil worker, who had signed on in Tam
pacu a. Mckinley helper. got into a small
~kitf AZ the same time and headed ln~hore.
"Whrn Mckinley and Mcdonald had got
half way 10 shore the Skiff capsized. and
they were thrown INTO the water A. We
were having some difficulty IN keeping the
barge from broaching too. and a. We knew
both men were good swimmers, We did not
Try lo rescue them. They swan in
through the boiling surf. laughing over the
spill. Mckinley kept hi- hand on the boat
Mcdonald swan Al 4 little distance.
Then Il roller broke over the swimmers.
shutting off Mcdonald from Mckinlcv's
view. When the wave had passed Me
Donald was not 10 be- seen. No one had
heard an cutlery h. simply was there, and
suddenly was not.
mckinley was thrown upon the beach
with the skifr. shortly. When the barge
ran onto the sand Mckinley was there.
knee deep IN the wash. waiting for ~.
Johns gone ~ shouted. He had to
shout To make u hear above the crash of
the breakers.
I'VE crowded around him mrrcduluu~lv
while AZ told ~ what ~ knew. Then Ne
simply stood and stared III the white line
Of hrcakcr~ smashing on the bar.
There was nothing Ia be- one for Ne
Donald. except 10 watch tor him To come
in. Il man wa~ ut ~ watch the edge Of
tLr wash tor the hudv-whIch might still
hr found var lito iu II. The rest of u~ set
'n work io .,. 'Ar f.tt- .ud groceries out
uf rhe -nuln. pray ' i- place. Then
vr held N ruuuril. tIi H1 'hr men ~
patrul certain section ri thr beach 90
the lookout for the body. uiich sooner or
later must wash a~hnre-ihat n. unless a
had col Mcdonald. which NJ strong
TN suspected. There were hammer head
VIZ plenty ~ the bar there, Wr knew. though
We had not Thought oi one attackin" "a
man. When an hour passed without the
body washing IN. W. became almost posi-
tive that Y shark had grabbed him. But
We hoped 90 find a part Of hi body. or hi
clothing. or something To- clear up the my>-
terry. 80 We pitched camp and settled
down a. \ ruutin" ratrulling ~ the beach
both directions.
"ln coming IL with the barge We had
lost overheard a ten pound pail Of lard and
several cans ~ Tomatoes , They went t.
tie bottom. VI course. Int TIE tide brought
them III and they washed ashore IL 4 few
hour. That convinced a. that Mcdonald
had not simply drowned. Tor his body