Red Lodge daily news combined with Carbon County news., 1933-03-01

II and tail are e~ntangled. With
infinite patience and the speed of
long experience, the fishers pull the
net clear-pull 1t clear from razor
edged teeth, thrashing tall and mad
ly squirming body-until at last the
shark Is clear of the net and hang
Ing by Its tail.
III each shark boat Is an OUTSIDE
In baseball bats, or at least what
looks like a baseball bat, only 1t Is
rougher and very much heavier.
There is also a revolver of large
caliber. With one of these weapons
an "anesthetic" is administered to
the captive.
On the dock the shark surgeon
Is waiting. When he dons his blood
stained apron, bares his muscular
arms. and ~delicately tests the keen
ness of his big collection of knives,
the great fish Is headed for a
sharks equivalent of the here
after.
Parts That Are Utilized.
The salvaged portions of a shark,
In order of value, are the hide, the
liver. the fins, and the stomach
bag. Contrary to prevailing opin-
ion, the teeth are valueless. 1t Is
generally believed that sharks
teeth pass as currency in many of
the South Sea islands but although
teeth. ranging from the razor
edged fangs of the tiger to the
ivory stilettos of the gray nurse,
have been hawked throughout the
islands, they have never found O
market.
To revert to the commercializa-
tion. First the shark is killed. No
stunning or near-killing this time,
Next the carcass Is washed and the
surgeon" sets about cutting away
the fms and begins skinning. This
Is a most delicate job, for one false
cut and the value Of the hide is ma.
terially lessened.
What makes the cutting so diff.
cult is the toughness of the hide
II Is rough and thick and stubborn
q veritable piscatorlal coat of mail
and each cut plays havoc with the
~skinning knife. So much so, that
after six incisions hone or oiIstone
must be brought into play. How
ever In a few minutes the sharks
clothes look like a cubist crossword
puzzle. Then it is tug and pull I'M
til the hide Is off.
After shark and hide have parted
company. the latter is "beamed"-
the flesh Is cleared away from the
inner side. Beamlng completed, the
hide i closely inspected. II any
parts r faulty, they are cut
away; and then 1t goes to the shed
for It's first coat of brine. A week
later it is given another coat, and
two weeks later a third. 1t Is then
ready for the tanner.
The tanner. as a matter of fact
Is the man who has made shark
fishing a feasible and profitable
proposition. Until recent years
although 1t had been proved that
sharkskin was among the most dur
able of feathers, 1t was not found
possible to treat 1t commercially
with any great degree of success
But new methods have developed
II Is now possible so to soften tbs
toughest hide that 1t may be put
to practically every purpose for
which the best bullock leather Il
used. II is also possible now to re
tain not only the markings that
make sharkskin so distinctive, but
also Its remarkable qualities OF
durability.
At present, the most articles
manufactured from sharkskin are
footwear, handbags, attache cases
and luggage. The hide of the car
pet shark, with its distinctively mot
tied shagreen, Is used for exclusive
feminine footwear and pocket
books.
oil From the Big Liver.
Once you have seen sharks liver
you can understand why the shark
Is such a bad-tempered fellow. He
Is probably the liver champion OF
the world-that is, In point Of size
Seemingly he s~peciallzes In big liv.
ers, for they put his other organs
to shame. Pindimar's record In this
respect Ia that of a l5-foot tiger
who had a liver 10 feet long weigh.
Ing 200 pounds. And other sharks
are proportionately equipped.
This dreadful loking organ soor
loses Its entity, or whatever Is the
anatomical equivalent 1t Is dumped
into a big container and cooked
Heat breaks down the oil cells and
the resulting product Is shark-llver
oil. the nearest blood relation to
cod-liver oil. If anything, 1t smells
worse. but physicians say that It's
medicinal qualities r the same,
The liver referred to, In Its liquid
medicinal state. yielded 10 gallons