58 A NATURALIST ON THE " CHALLENGER." 



the net to try and break through. And the beast would have 

 burst through had not Mr. Cox hammered it on the head with 

 a boat-hook whenever it turned at the net, whilst the men 

 belaboured it with anything they could get hold of as it got 

 drawn into shallow water. 



There was great excitement, and it seemed very uncertain 

 whether the shark would not break the net and let out not only 

 itself but all the other fish. At last we ran the brute up high 

 and dry, and then it suffered instant punishment. 



The sailor has absolutely no pity upon a shark. I have 

 heard one of our men say to a shark which he had just hauled 

 on to the forecastle with a line, " Ah, thou beggar, thou'd hurt I 

 if I was in the water and now I'll hurt thee," whereupon 

 he caught it a vicious kick and proceeded to gouge it. When a 

 big shark like the present one is landed it is regarded as a 

 general enemy, against whom everyone has an old score to 

 pay off. Mr. Cox shoves the boat-hook about five feet into its 

 mouth and down its throat. The others job the beast in the 

 eyes with sticks and knives and make a deep slash across 

 the tail to prevent its lashing out, and proceed to open the belly, 

 where the usual miscellaneous collection is found ; lots of ships' 

 beef bones, a two pound lead sinker of a fishing line, with chop- 

 stick and hooks complete, &c, &c. 



We caught plenty of fish. Gray and red mullet, a Gar fish 

 or Greenbone, with long slender beak-like jaws (Belone), and 

 another fish closely like the Greenbone, but with a long beak- 

 like lower jaw only, the upper jaw appearing as if cut off close 

 to the snout (Hemiramplms). With these were other curious fish 

 with deformed-looking heads (Argyrciosus setipinnis, Gcdeoides 

 polydactylus). 



A fire had been lighted on the shore and we had a ship's 

 boat's cooking stove with us. We fried some of the fish, and 

 with bread and preserved meats and plenty of beer made a 

 good supper, and set to work again hauling the net till it had 

 long been dark. Then we had hot tea and grog, and packed our 

 net and fish into the boats and pulled on board. 



We did not reach the ship until past 11 P.M., and at 3 A.M. 

 I was, by arrangement, to start on a trip to try and ascend the 



