50 CRUISE OF THE BARRERA 



Pacific waters, but he will sometimes attack a 

 man. In shallow water (fifteen or twenty feet), 

 especially if clear, sharks are timid. Close to 

 a boat anchored where the bottom can be seen, 

 a bather is quite safe. In deep water even near a 

 boat the risk increases. A long swim away from a 

 boat or the shore is not to be advised. If there is 

 blood in the water from a wounded man or fish, a 

 bather is in real peril. There are certain places 

 where sharks prowl about for food, such as city 

 dumping grounds, fish-cleaning docks, slaughter- 

 houses near the shore, etc. To enter the water 

 there, would, of course, be attended with danger. 

 They are in fact indifferent lazy creatures of a low 

 order of intelligence that become instantly aroused to 

 a frenzy of activity by the smell of blood. At such 

 times they will attack anything that moves, — even 

 each other, and are of course exceedingly dangerous. 

 We relied upon the Patron's advice entirely and 

 only kept out of the water when he actually warned 

 us, and this was seldom. Indeed we dived into the 

 deep pools of the sand-bars near the reef where sharks 

 abound and were often in sight, but we dared not 

 jump overboard in Bahia Honda or Cabanas harbors 

 where never a shark was seen. 



