MONSTROUS APPEARANCES BELOW WATER 309 



happens to be caught in a surf, and I have heard of one 

 being killed through being dashed against rocks by a 

 tidal wave. 



Most of these observations on the dugong having 

 been made beneath the surface of the water, under unusual 

 circumstances, I think they may be of some interest to 

 my brother naturalists; and I may further mention that 

 there is very great risk to the diver who descends on 

 coral reefs or formations of any kind. Branches or sharp 

 pieces of coral may cut the dress, or the air-tube or life- 

 line may become entangled in the growths or around 

 masses, in which case life must inevitably be lost. The 

 utmost care and watchfulness is necessary to avoid such 

 accidents as those mentioned, and the men in the boat 

 must be thoroughly reliable, as the safety of the diver 

 depends as much on their circumspection as on his own. 



When I first made descents, I was often much alarmed 

 at sharks and other dangerous marine creatures. I 

 remember on one occasion a very large white shark 

 suddenly loomed up near me, and came straight towards 

 me. Before I could pull the signalling cord, however, 

 the creature took fright, and suddenly wheeling, dis- 

 appeared, with a swirl of the water that caused me to 

 oscillate and swing about most uncomfortably. The 

 incident gave me such a shock that it was some time 

 before I again cared to descend. I was assured, however, 

 that sharks are afraid of a man dressed in the certainly 

 monstrous-looking costume of a diver, and subsequent 

 experiences confirmed this assurance, so that by-and-by I 

 felt no apprehension at the presence of sharks, and I 

 have sometimes had as many as twenty in close proximity 

 to me. On catching sight of me, these formidable animals 

 invariably swam quickly away. Not only sharks, but all 

 fishes and other marine creatures were afraid of my 

 odd-looking figure, and always fled as soon as they 

 perceived me. This, very often, was not until I was close 

 to them. I clearly perceived, when beneath the waves, 

 that there was something peculiar about the vision of fishes. 

 Very few, if any of them, can see objects beneath them, 



