Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1920-07-29
NAVIGATING SHARKS
One Of the largest Of These Measures
20 Feet In Length

One ~ the Lnrgest Of These Measures
- Feet In Length
Az the open season" for sharks ap-
proanhes, South. American liners srriv-
ing in New York report the sighting of
these sea monsters, fact which lends
interest TO the following communication
to the National Gcogra phic Society by
DR.. Hugh NJ. Smith world famous
authority on fish
when giant fishes are mentioned most
people will AT once think OF the shark,
among which, indeed. are found the
largest fish now existing" writes DR..
Smith. "Of the many species of sharks
noteworthy on account OF their size
there are about half dozen which are
pre- eminent. These differ much in their
disposition, some being as harmless as
doves and others the incarnation of
ferocity.
THE sleeper shark tSomniosus micro
cephalus). whose scientific name fits it
so admirably, appears to have developed
its body at The expense Of its brain. for
1t is sluggish, stupid glutton. about six
times as long as an average man. AT
home in the Arctic regions it sometimes
makes visits as far south as Cape Cod.
the British isles and Oregon. 1t is most
face. apparently DOING and easily ap-
preached, but al times. when hungry.
1t rouses itself and fercely attacks
whales. biting huge pieces out Of their
sides and tails, and when feeding on the
carcass OF whale which has been killed
by hunters it is so voracious that 1t
permits spears and knives TO be thrust
into IT without seeming to take any
notice.
One Of the most prodigious and perhaps
the most formidable Of sharks is the
man-eater' Carcharodon carcharias). 1t
roams through all temperate and
tropical seas and everywhere is an object
of dread. It's maximum length is 40 feet
and its teeth are three inches long
While there arc few authentic instances
OF sharks attacking human beings prior
10 the recent tragedies), there have un-
doubtedly been many cases where sharks
simply swallowed people who had fallen
overheard, Just as they would swallow
any other food. How easy it would be
for man-eater to devour a person
whole may be judged from the finding of
an entire UNDERGROUND sealion in the
stomach of 5)-foot shark on the Cali
fornia coast. certain man-eater $751;
feet long had Jaws 70 inches wide, inside
measure and teeth 21-c inches long.
This may have been the great fish of
the scripture narratives, and it is Dos
s1ble that at that time much larger man
eaters existed than are now known as
shark teeth with edges five inches long
have been found on the sea-bottom. and
these are believed by naturalists to have
belonged to sharks not long dead. The
phosphate beds Of South Carolina Weld
very large fossil teeth OF a shark which
was related to the man eater of the
present day; Judging from the compare
tive size 1T these teeth. Professor
Goode thought that sharks "a or 50 feet
long must have been common.
Many years ago Norwegian bishon
in a learned paper brought to the atten-
ton OF the scientific and theological
worlds shark which he attempted to
prove must have been the great fish
that swallowed Jonah. This was the
basl1ns shark tCetorhinrn ma ximus)
known also as the elephant or bone
shark, which is an inhabitan of the
polar seas but occasionally strays as
far south as Virginia and California
and in former years was not rare on the
United States and British coasts The
species has the habit at times of col,cc+
ing IN schools at the surface and hsskinr
IN the sun with its hack PARTLY our Of
water II reaches a maximum length
or q" feet and is exceeded in size by only
three or four animals extant. Provided
with small teeth it feeds on fishes and
floating crustaceans, and is not Of a
terocfous disposition. II is DANGEROUS only
by virtue of lis great bulk and whom
attacked its powerful tail casily de.
nohshes boats. In former years the
basHng shark was hunted for its nj,
on the coast ~ Norway and Ireland. II
was also harpooned on the shore of Mass
achusetts in the early part of the last
century, and as many as ~ barrels of OF,
were sometimes obtained from the liver
OF one shark There are many records
OF hasking sharks q to IS feet long from
the coast OF New York Massachusetts
and Maine, hut the species has not been
common in our waters in recent years.
The largest Of all fishes, the largest
of all old-hiooded animals and the larr.
est of all existing animals with the ey.
ccption of few species of whaAes is the
whale shark tRhireodon typicus). Or
iEinally described from Good Hope, but
now known from India. japan. South
America. Panama California. and various
other places. a small specimen having
been obtained on the Florida coast a few
years ago. This shark has very broad
ana obtuse snout ana an exceedingly wide
mouth armed with numerous minute
teeth; the dark -coored body is marked
with many small whitsh spots. The
species is stated to attain length Of 70
feet and is known to exceed 80 feet. Not
withstanding its immense size. however
it is harmless TO man unless attacked, and
feeds on the small creatures for which
it's teeth are adapted. Its huge bulk
makes it dangerous in the same way that
q whale is dangerous. Years ago IL was
reported that the sperm. whale fishermen
at the island Of Saiwt Denis, in the Indian
Ocean, DREADED TO hsrpoon a whale shark
by mistake, and stories are told of a
harpooned fish, having by a lightning
like dive exhausted the supply of hope
which had been accidentally fastened to
the boat, Owed deeper still, and SO pulled
a pirocue and crew to the bottom,