WORSHIP OF SHARKS, 175 



times two inches in breadth, sharp-edged, and notched like a 

 saw, and as they are so planted in the jaw that each tooth 

 is capable of independent action, being furnished with its 

 own muscles, and as the strength of the jaws is enormous, 

 they form a most terrific and formidable apparatus of de- 

 struction. 



Although no part of the shark is wholesome for food, the 

 flesh being coarse and leathery, yet it is eaten by the na- 

 tives of Guinea, after being kept a considerable time to 

 render it tender. The fins being gelatinous are used by the 

 Chinese for making a rice soup. The liver yields an abun- 

 dance of oil which is much esteemed. I have already men- 

 tioned the uses to which the skin is applied. 



On some of the African coasts there are human beings so 

 depraved and superstitious as to worship this fearful mon- 

 ster, and who believe that a person swallowed by him is sure 

 to go to heaven. Their mode of adoration is thus : The 

 negroes proceed in their boats to offer sacrifices of goats, 

 poultry, and other things. But far more horrible still is the 

 offering of an infant, reared for the purpose until it reaches 

 the age of ten. The poor child is bound to a post on a 

 sandy point at low water ; as the tide rises the sharks ar- 

 rive, and the infant is devoured, the parents fully believing 

 that it will enter Paradise. We may ask ourselves if it is 

 possible to find a more atrocious and dismal proof of human 

 depravity ! 



The South Sea Islanders had some strange superstitious 

 ideas relative to some of the shark species. Although they 

 would not only kill but eat certain sharks, the large blue 

 kind {Squalus glaucus) were deified by them ; and rather 

 than attempt to destroy them, they would endeavor to pro- 

 pitiate their favor by prayers and offerings. Temples were 

 erected, in which priests officiated, and offerings were pre* 

 sented to the deified monsters ; while fishermen and others, 

 who were much at sea, sought their lavor. Many funny 



