436 PROSE HALIEUTICS. 



cannot stomach; witness the following lively anecdote, 

 from the 'Edinburgh Ohserver': — 



Looking over tlae bulwarks of the schooner (writes a correspon- 

 dent to this Journal), I saw one of these watchful monsters wind- 

 ing lazily backwards and forwards like a long meteor ; sometimes 

 rising tiU his nose disturbed the surface, and a gushing sound hke 

 a deep breath rose through the breakers ; at others, resting mo- 

 tionless on the water, as if listening to our voices, and thirsting 

 for our blood. As we were watching the motions of this monster, 

 Bruce (a little lively Negro and my cook) suggested the possibility 

 of destroying it. This was briefly to heat a fire-brick in the stove, 

 wrap it up hastily in some old greasy cloths as a sort of disguise, 

 and then to heave it overboard. This was the work of a few mi- 

 nutes, and the effect was triumphant. The monster followed after 

 the hissing prey ; we saw it dart at the brick like a flash of light- 

 ning, and gorge it instanter. The shark rose to the surface almost 

 immediately, and his uneasy motions soon betrayed the success 

 of the manoeuvre : his agonies became terrible, the waters ap- 

 peared as if disturbed by a violent squall, and the spray was 

 driven over the taflraU where we stood, while the gleaming body 

 of the fish repeatedly burst through the dark waves, as if writhing 

 with fierce and terrible convulsions. Sometimes also we thought 

 we heard a shriU, bellowing cry, as if indicative of anguish and 

 rage, rising through the gurgling waters. His fury, however, 

 was soon exhausted ; in a short time the sounds broke away into 

 distance, and the agitation of the sea subsided ; the shark had 

 given himself up to the tides, as unable to struggle against the 

 approach of death, and they were carrying his body unresistingly 

 to the beach. 



Fatal as the white shark is to the unarmed, those who 

 carry weapons of offence very frequently cope with and 

 master him ; even women, undaunted by their teeth, 

 have been known to stab, k la Corday, and destroy them 

 in their bath. The following recital is abridged from the 

 'Oriental Herald' :^ — ^'One day a little boy, about eight 

 years old, happened to be washed from a catamaran 

 which was managed by his father, who was thus early 

 initiating him into the hardships of the mode of life 

 which he intended him to pursue; and before he could 



