FISHES. 53 



fins, however, are eaten ; train oil is made from the liver, 

 and the skin, converted into shagreen, is used to cover 

 instrument cases. 



In the last century, it is said that a sailor exhibited 

 as a show, a stuffed shark, by which he had been swal- 

 lowed whole, without being wounded by the teeth, and 

 Avas disgorged on a cannon being fired. The fish, of 

 which the well-known story of having swallowed the 

 prophet Jonah is told, was most probably the giant or 

 White Shark. When this terrible creature is about 

 to swallow his prey, he is, on account of his project- 

 ing muzzle, obliged to turn on his back, and as some 

 time is required to perform this operation, it is possi- 

 ble for a bold swimmer not only to escape, but to 

 engage in battle with him. There is a story told of a 

 sailor who in this manner revenged the death of his 

 brother. The young man, in bathing, ventured too far 

 from the ship, and was swallowed by a shark; the 

 brother, aware of his fate, at once armed himself with a 

 short sword, and boldly threw himself into the sea, 

 where the shark, soon discovering the new prey, swam 

 swiftly towards him. The sailor, no less resolute than 

 active, calmly awaited the arrival of the monster, which, 

 turning on his back, made ready to swallow him. At 

 this critical moment the young man dived quickly below 

 the shark, and gave him a deep wound with his sword. 

 The enraged enemy now turned, opened his huge mouth, 

 and tried to conquer his antagonist, either by swallowing 

 or killing him by a stroke from his tail. But the sailor 

 dexterously avoided both, and succeeded at length in kill- 

 ing his formidable antagonist with repeated wounds of 

 his sword. 



The Saw Fish (squalus pristis) has on its snout a 



