100 THE SHARK. 



ferocious creature, is by baiting a large hook with a piece of 

 beef or pork, which is thrown into the sea, attached to a strong 

 cable, furnished near the hook with an iron chain. Without 

 this precaution, the shark would quickly liberate himself by 

 biting asunder the rope. It is curious to observe the voracious 

 animal coming up to survey the bait, especially when he is not 

 sorely pressed with hunger. He approaches, swims around it ? 

 and for a time seems to neglect it, apprehensive perhaps of the 

 cord and the chain : he quits it for some moments, but his appe- 

 tite being aroused at the sight, he soon returns, and appears 

 yeady to devour it, but often quits it a second time. When the 

 mariners have sufficiently amused themselves with observing his 

 various evolutions, they make a pretence, by drawing the rope, 

 to take away the bait. It is then that his natural voracity over- 

 powers him ; he darts with violence at the bah, and swallows it, 

 together with the hook. Sometimes, however, he does not so 

 entirely gorge the whole, but that he again gets free; yet even 

 then, his insatiable appetite is so irresistible, that although 

 wounded and bleeding with the hook, he will again pursue the 

 bait until he is taken. When he finds the hook lodged in his 

 stomach, his utmost efforts are exerted to get free, but in vain : 

 he tries with his teeth to cut the chain ; he pulls with all his 

 force to break the rope ; in this manner continuing his tremen- 

 dous, but fruitless efforts, until his strength is quite exhausted, 

 he suffers his head to be drawn above water, and his tail being 

 first confined with a noose, he is drawn on board and despatched. 

 The usual manner of killing him, is to beat him on the head till 

 he dies: that, however, is not effected without difficulty and 

 danger. This enormous fish, terrible in the agonies of death ? 

 struggles with his destroyers, and there is scarcely any animal 

 that is more tenacious of life : even after he is cut in pieces, the 

 muscles still preserve their motion, and vibrate for some time 

 after being separated from the body. Sometimes he is taken by 

 striking a barbed instrument, ealled a fizgig, into his body, as he 

 swims alongside of the ship. As soon as he is drawn up into the 

 ship, they cut off his tail with an axe as expeditiously as pos- 

 sible, in order to prevent any accidents from its tremendous 

 strokes. 



These are the methods taken by Europeans for destroying the 

 shark : but some of the negroes on the African coast attack him 

 in a bolder and more perilous manner. Armed with nothing 

 but a knife, the assailant plunges into the water, where the 

 shark is watching for his prey. At the moment when the vora 

 cious fish is turning upon his side to seize him, the negro, watch- 

 ing the opportunity, plunges his knife into the monster's body, 

 ana then vigorously repeats his blows till he brings him down to 



