A STORY OF SIX SHARKS. 97 



bo'sen, who cried : " Never fear, he'll have it yet ; 

 he's got all sails set, and ^11 take the hook after he's 

 eaten the bacon. Hup ! there he is ;" and in fact, 

 the monster, whose greediness had got the better of 

 his prudence^ had snapped at the hook and delivered 

 liimself up with fins and tail bound to the crew of 

 the good sloop Triumphant. At this, a general huzza 

 was raised, and the crew was in an ecstasy of delight. 

 He was hauled out of the sea, and the top-man who 

 held the slip-knot passed it with marvellous dexterity 

 over the body of the shark, whose terrific struggles 

 shook the Avhole ship, and excited general hilarity. 

 After many efforts, they succeeded in getting him 

 over a port on the main deck, and he fell heavily in 

 the midst of the spectators who made way for him 

 for fear of being struck by his powerful tail. The 

 sailor who had the hatchet then gave him a powerful 

 blow in the belly, and put it out of his power to do 

 any further mischief. This shark was seventeen feet 

 long, and was justly reckoned a very large specimen ; 

 for, according to the captain and sailors, sharks very 

 rarely measure more than from twelve to fifteen 

 feet. All beyond that are exceptional. The M^eight 

 of our prize was about two thousand pounds, and 

 when the last struggles were over I could examine it 

 at leisure, study it, count the number of its teeth, 

 and the conformation of its jaws and fins. Then it 

 was that I understood how the shark would be the 

 scourge of the seas if nature had enabled it to 



VOL. II. II 



