Big Game at Sea 



cater fell partly on the dory, crushing it down, and 

 then both disappeared. This incident occurred off 

 Nahant, and for several summers the shark haunted 

 the New England coast and the Gulf of Maine. 

 He repeatedly attempted to capsize boats off Boon 

 Island, and terrorized the dory cod fishermen and 

 others by rising beneath them and swimming about 

 their boats. The " Big Shark " under which alias 

 he was known, is still remembered by the old fisher- 

 men of the coast. 



The shark had earned his title of " man-eater " 

 beyond question, and his nature changed with the 

 acquirement. Though starving at times he haunted 

 vessels, paying little attention to the large migrating 

 schools of fish which most sharks follow up and 

 down the coast. In his soggy brutal mind he asso- 

 ciated ships and this new game, and the small gray 

 eyes had learned to distinguish between the animate 

 and inanimate parts of a vessel; a floating, rippling 

 flag over the stern of a propeller did not deceive or 

 attract, but men who were hanging in the chains or 

 over the rail painting or scraping ship sometimes saw 

 a strange but mighty shadow below them and crawled 

 aboard, terror stricken, with an undefined fear. 



The man-eater had at one time been quick of 

 motion, a swift hunter. He had learned the tricks 

 and customs of the fishes. He knew when the blue- 

 fish migrated, the millions of shad came in from 

 the deep submarine plateau upon which they win- 



88 



