TV/// m.rt: N//.IA-A-. is. 7 



maraudings, it tries to Lit,, the line asunder, a feat easily |erfonm-d |.\ its lancet -like teeth 

 with tli.-ir notched edges. 



uieiimes. howeMT. it tak.-s t. . another -i rata-em. and a.s aoon as it feels the hook, rolls 

 itself n HIM' I so rapidly on its axis, tliat it winds the line round its l>ody into a mass of inex 

 tricable entan^I. nuMit. S> effectually is tliis feat achieved, tlial, in spite i.f the value of the 

 liiu-. tin- fishermen liaM- U-i-ii known to give up any attempt to unravel its knotty oon- 

 Viiliitii.ns. Tliis fi.sh has another fashion of biting the line asunder \\idioiit any apparent 

 reason. 



Perhaps, however, it never is so thoroughly desti -urtive as in tin- pilchard season, when it 

 follows tin- Mi.st ^hoals of these n'sh to the continental shores, and devours them \\holesale. 



K\.-n ul|.-M II,. \ IK inc 1 in the Met, the I'.ln.- -li.uk is llol I.. I-.- l.atll.-d Of <i"|. livd cf lls 



exi-ec-ed kin i iel : for, swimming along tot irholl l'-ii_-'i: Of the net, i! bites al tin- im-l.is.il 

 fish, curing nothing for the m.-!ies, and taking out large mouthful- of mingled net and 

 pilchards, swallows them together. 



The sailors have an idea that this voracious fish is able to succor her young, when in 

 danger, by OJH-IIUIL,' ln-r mouth and letting tln-m sv\im down her throat. It is undoubted I \ 

 trii.-, that living young have been found in the stomach of large sharks; but whether they 



had lie.-n swallowed as a means of protection, i- l-\ lm nn-alis i piM-d. Til.- reader will d.mlit 

 lessly reniemlier the similar stories that have been told of the \I\MT and other |H>iMonouH 

 snakes. 



The skull of a Shark shows the terrible teeth with which it is armed. They lie in several 

 rows, ready to take the place of those which are broken or cast oil when their work is done. 

 From these teeth, which cut like broken glass, the natives of many savage lands make tools 

 and weapons of war, by ingeniously lixinir them into wooden handles. 



The voracity and dullness of nerve U-loiiging; to the Shark is really wonderful. One of 

 my friends was h'shimr after a large Shark that was following the vessel, and. after a little 

 time, succeeded in inducing the lish to take the great hook that had leen nicely baited with 

 pork to suit his palate. Too sudden a jerk, however, having been given to the line, the hx>k 

 tore its way through the side of the cheek, setting the Shark free. The wound was a terrible 

 one, and bled profusely ; but the Shark seemed to care little or nothing altotit it, still hovered 

 about the bait, as if unable to resist its attr.irti.m-. and after a little while was hooked a 

 second time and hauled safely on board. 



The capture of a Shark is always an event on lxard ship. esjM-cially if she be a sailing 

 vessel and the wind has fallen. A hook made for tin* purpose is secured to a fathom or so of 

 iron chain, the Shark being capable of biting through a rope in an instant, and in no way so 

 particular in its diet as to need line tackle. Indeed, a.s in the last -mentioned instance, the 

 creature seems to be perfectly aware of the danger, but to be incapable of resisting the tempt 

 ing morsel. The other end of the chain is firmly lashed to a stout rope, and the latter secured 

 to the vessel, as one rush of a powerful Shark would pull half a dozen men overl>oard. 



All things l>cing ready, a good large piece of pork is fixed tightly on the hook, and 

 allowed to tow overboard. The Shark. Ix-ing to the full as inquisitive as the cat, comes up 

 with tnie feline curiosity, and sniffs at the bait with an air of deliberate scrutiny. Some- 

 times, having jM-rhaps lately juirtaken of a good meal, it i> MTV coy about taking the bait, 

 and keeps the anxious anglers above in a state of tantalized impatience for an hour or m 

 Generally, however, it dashes at the liait at once, ami has even U-eti known to leap from tin- 

 water and hook itself In-fore the bait had even reached the surface. 



Now begins a mighty struggle, and all is eager excitement. The Shark knows no wiles, 

 but uses all its great strength to tear away from the hook by she-r force, having apparently 

 but slight sens., of pain, and in many cases would do so were not a check put upon its efforts 

 b\ a rope knotted into a bowline ami dexterously slip]..-d over its tail. Pn-in^ now held by 

 Ifoth extremities, it is shorn of .. like Samson without his locks, and lifted on deck 



by both lines. Sometimes a trident like harjioon. technically called a "grains." the handle of 

 which is heavily loaded with lead to make it fall with greater force, is dropped upon the 

 struggling fish. 



