346 NATURAL HISTORY OF HAWAII. 



and ul'fal left hy tlie butchers. The ghastly head with its gaping month was first 

 to be dropped overboard. Thrusting one hand for want of a better hold into the 

 open mouth of the dead .ininial, the laborer slipped his other hand under the 

 head as it had been cut free from the body, when, without warning, the yawn- 

 ing mouth clapped shut in a death grip on the hand and wrist of the Japanese. 

 The sufifering man was only extricated from the vice-like jaws by main 

 strength. One of his comrades seizing him, another the shark's head, his hand 

 was literally pulled, in a frightfully lacerated condition, from the dead animal 's 

 mouth. In spite of the fact that the animal's tiesh had been boiling an hour, 

 and was ready to be served to the waiting company of Japanese, the muscles of 

 the .jaws had responded to some stimulus that caused them to clamp the man's 

 hand. 



Sometimes the natives hunt for sharks in pools and caves in the reef, 

 where they are occasionally found fast asleep. When a "shark hole" is lo- 

 cated a diver will go down and deftly slip a noose about the tail of a shark, 

 which is then hauled up and dispatched. Experts have captured six or eight 

 fair-sized sharks in a day in this manner. 



The skin of sharks in the hands of the natives found its principal use in 

 tlie manufacture of heads for their hula drums, while the teeth and bones were 

 used as ornaments and implements. The tiesh was generally eaten, but out 

 of respect to the great shark god it was tabu to women, who -were forbidden 

 to partake of it under pain of death. 



The Hammer-Head Shark. 



Among the various species of sharks the hammer-head,'' or mano kihikihi, 

 is perhaps most curious in its characteristics. It is a wide-ranging form 

 found from the Mediterranean to Cape Cod in the Atlantic, as well as at widely- 

 scattered localities in the Pacific, including Hawaii. The singular form of the 

 head is one of the most unusual modifications among fishes. Instead of retain- 

 ing the usual form, the front part of the head of these sharks is broad, flat- 

 tened and extended on each side into a process, on the fiat terminal surfaces of 

 which are situated the eyes. 



The Dogfish. 



The Hawaiian dogfish.'^' which is also found in Japan, is an active species 

 of the smaller sharks that may be identified by the stout spine in the dorsal 

 fins and by their sharp, squarish cutting teeth. In the Atlantic, dogfish are 

 sometimes captured in large numbers, their livers being used for the production 

 of shark-oil. In Hawaii shark-oil fishing has never been carried on to any 

 extent, though sharks are abundant in certain localities, and once or twice 

 vessels have been fitted out to engage in the trade. 



The Mackerel Shark and 'Ku.i.er' Whale. 

 Mackerel-sharks seven to nine feet in length, which furnish the large 



6 Sphyrna zygmna. « Sqmtlus mitsukurii. 



