CHAPTER IV 

 BARRACUDA AND SHARKS 



My own diving experience has been too limited to justify any authori- 

 tative discussion of this subject, but I place this danger here, the last on 

 the list, because it seemed by far the most unlikely to me. Mankind has 

 a pecuHar, and rather unreasonable attitude of mind towards danger. 

 Despite the obvious danger that confronts millions of us on our concrete 

 highways, we proceed at high speed, chatting and joking, most of us 

 entirely free from any thought of the peril we are in. We go around 

 curves with soft earth on the sides, and pass cross roads with entire faith 

 in our ability or that of the companion who is driving to control the 

 ninety horsepower mechanical monster in which we are riding. But if 

 we are invited to walk through shrubbery in which it is said there may 

 be rattlesnakes, many of us are restrained by fear. The danger, slight 

 though it may be, of being struck by a hidden foe has an effect upon 

 us that upsets our reason. 



The idea of walking on the sea bottom, where one is defenseless, and 

 where hidden foes may approach from behind without warning, there- 

 fore inspires fear, and may seem to be a most foolhardy courting of 

 disaster. 



The fact is, however, that the diver seldom, if ever, has been attacked 

 by a Barracuda or a shark. The Barracuda is the most evil-looking fish 

 that I know. His magnificent streamlined body, the undershot jaw, and 

 cruel expression mark him as a killer with lightning-Hke speed. Exag- 

 gerated stories are told about him. Natives at Nassau have stated with 

 assurance that he is known to strike humans with such force that he 



