112 The Shark 



are the bursting-up places where boiling springs arise 

 from subterranean fires and of necessity raise the 

 temperature of the surrounding sea ; or the outlets 

 of submarine volcanoes fiercely struggling to assert 

 their destructive power against the unthinkable mass 

 of superincmnbent water. Apart from these excep- 

 tions, the temperature of the sea below one hundred 

 fathoms is about thirty-one degrees Fahrenheit, or 

 just above the freezing-point of salt water. 



But we are neglecting our Sharks, who, with an 

 adaptability shown by no other fish, come and go 

 between the surface and depths of four to five thousand 

 feet. Especially the Rays, who in all their varieties 

 are great travellers up and down, being found at all 

 depths from ten to one thousand fathoms. And 

 unlike the usual deep-sea denizens they do not acquire 

 any very great alterations of physique ; to be sure, 

 the ordinary Skate is sufficiently hideous for anything. 

 I vividly remember, when second mate of the ' Har- 

 binger ' in Table Bay, some twenty-two years ago, 

 fishing for craw-fish with an improvised net made of 

 spun yam netted on to a big iron hoop. Feeling a 

 great jerking at the rope, I called for help, and we 

 hauled to the surface a Skate fully six feet across 

 from tip to tip of his ' wings.' He was far too large 

 and heavy to be hauled on board like that, so we 

 harpooned him, and after a long struggle succeeded 

 in getting him aboard. 



He lay on deck, a thing of utter hideousness in form 

 and colour, so much so that after gazing upon him for 

 a little while, the repulsiveness of the creature made 

 me feel quite iU. And the great mouth lined with 

 teeth just like ours, opening and shutting convulsively, 

 looked appallingly human. I was roused from my 

 shuddering fit by the sight of one of the boys just 



