1894.] ESSAYS. 69 



The iulml)itiints of the great deep furuish a never endnig source of 

 eutertaiumeut to "Those who go clown to the sea in ships." 



" I hear a sound amidst the washing of the tide ; 

 It glideth by our vessel now, wherever we do ghde, 

 'Tis the whale — It is the shark! ah, see, he turns upon his side." 



We passed several whales who seemed in no wise frightened, but 

 remained around the ship for some time, every now and then coming 

 to the surface to breathe. They seemed to be aware that we did not 

 intend to attack them. Often the young whale is harpooned to secure 

 the mother, who never deserts her offspring. 



We met a young captain of a whale ship in Barbadoes, and later 

 heard that he struck a whale with the harpoon and in paying out the 

 rope it became entangled around his leg and he was drawn into the 

 water. His body was afterwards found when the whale was again 

 captured. 



It was my good fortune, at one time, to see a whale on dry land at 

 Provincetown. It was towed into the harbor and beached. People 

 came from far and near to see it. It measured 80 feet in length. 



Of the myriad inhabitants of the great deep the shark is the most 

 voracious. From his attack no unarmed man can defend himself. I 

 met a captain in the West Indies who had lost his mate overboard. 

 He saw the shark bite him in two with one snap of his jaws. They 

 have a number of rows of teeth, and are obliged to turn over when 

 they seize their prey. They are found in all parts of the ocean, but 

 attain their greatest size in the tropics, having been seen there 35 feet 

 in length. They are often seen following ships, greedily swallowing 

 everything thrown overboard, old boots being just as acceptable as 

 anything else. 



While in the West Indies we took the small boat and rowed to a 

 fine beach to bathe in the salt water, a very risky thing to do, we 

 were told afterwards, on account of the vicious sharks that frequent 

 the place. We were told of a little chihl who trailed Ms hand through 

 the water while in a boat, when a shark came alongside and bit his 

 hand off. We took no more bathing excursions at that place. 



At the mouth of the Rio de la Plata all hands threw out their lines 

 and drew in fish as fast as they could bait their hooks. I was the 

 only one on board who had no luck. Astonished that I got no fish I 

 began to complain when, at that instant, I felt something tugging at 

 my line. It was too heavy for me to pull in. The mate was standing 

 near and I asked him to look over the railing and see what was pulling 

 on my line. He did so, and reported that I had caught a shark. I 

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