Experiments in Sea Angling 163 



have waved feathers, so far as any effect on the 

 animal was concerned. It sped on with a vio- 

 lent motion of its tail, its big fin cutting the 

 water like a scimitar. When the reef was 

 reached it dashed over it, grounded for a mo- 

 ment, tossed itself about, whirling into a big 

 curve, then straightened out, gaping its wide 

 and ugly jaws; then catching a wave as it flooded 

 the jagged rocks, it dashed on. As the boat 

 grounded we jumped over and held her, and for 

 a second I thought the shark would tow us, boat 

 and all, over the barrier, but the rope broke and 

 we saw the big fin dashing away down the long 

 line of breakers. A rod, or small line, with such 

 a shark would have been impossible; the fifty- 

 poimd limit would have been reached in a 

 second, and the slightest swing, the slightest 

 mistake, would have broken it. 



I succeeded in keeping several of these huge 

 sharks in captivity for some months, but the end 

 was always the same apparently the big game 

 starved to death; at least all the food tossed 

 into its long prison -an enclosure affording 

 plenty of water and room was untouched. 

 Every hour of the day the big fish spent in 

 swimming about the edge of its prison, a lion 

 in truth whose spirit seemed broken. I even 

 harnessed one of these sharks in a primitive 

 fashion by throwing about it a loop which fitted 

 on over its head and caught in front of the two 



