THE VULNERABLE PART OF TEE SHARK. 171 



•against this ferocious monster ; and although of such fearful 

 strength and audacity, he is sometimes overcome. The na- 

 tives on the African coast show great courage and dexterity 

 in attacking him. The mouth of the shark being placed in 

 the lower part of the head, he is obliged, in order to seize 

 his prey, to turn round in the water, and the negroes, taking 

 advantage of this, thrust a knife into his stomach, the part 

 where he is most vulnerable, for the skin on the upper por- 

 tion of his body is so hard and rough that it forms a kind of 

 armor, defending him from the bites of any animal he may 

 encounter in the deep. This skin is even made use of by 

 ^carpenters for polishing hard-grained wood, and it is also 

 ■employed for other purposes where hardness and strength 

 are required. 



An amusing instance of punishing a shark for his greedi- 

 ness was related some years ago. The author of the article 

 •says : 



" Looking over the bulwarks of the schooner, I saw one of 

 these watchful monsters winding lazily backwards and for- 

 wards like a long meteor ; sometimes rising until his nose dis- 

 turbed the surface, and a gushing sound, like a deep breath, 

 rose through the breakers, at others, resting motionless on 

 the water, as if listening to our voices and thirsting for our 

 blood. As we were watering the motions of this monster, 

 Bruce, a lively little negro and my cook, suggested the pos- 

 .sibility of destroying it. This was, briefly, to heat a fire- 

 brick in the stove, wrap it up hastily in some old greasy 

 cloth as a sort of disguise, and then to heave it overboard. 

 This was the work of a few minutes, and the effect was tri- 

 umphant. The monster followed after the hissing prey; we 

 saw it dart at the brick like a flash of lightning, and gorge 

 it instanter. The shark rose to the surface almost immedi- 

 ately, and his uneasy motions soon betrayed the success of 

 the manoeuvre. His agonies became terrible: the waters 

 appeared as if disturbed by a violent squall, and the spray 



