THE SHARK. 
161 
bailing a great hook with a piece of beef or pork, which is 
thrown out into the sea by a strong cord, strengthened near 
the hook with an iron chain. Without this precaution, the 
shark would quickly bite the cord in two, and thus set him- 
self free. It is no unpleasant amusement to observe this vo- 
racious animal coming up to survey the bait, particularly when 
not pressed by hunger He approaches it, examines it, 
swims round it, seems for a while to neglect it, perhaps ap- 
prehensive of the cord and chain : he quits it for a little; but 
his appetite pressing, he returns again ; appears preparing to 
devour it, but quits it once more When the sailors have 
sufficiently diverted themselves with his different evolutions, 
they then make a pretence, by drawing the rope, as if in- 
tending to take the bail away ; it is then that the glutton’s 
hunger excites him ; he darts at the bait, and swallows it, 
hook and all. bomelimes however, he does not so entirely 
gorge the whole, but that he once more gets free ; yet even 
then, though wounded and bleeding with the hook, he will 
again pursue the bait until he is taken. When he finds the 
hook lodged in his maw, his utmost efforts are then excited, 
but in vain, to get free} he tries with his teeth to cut the chain; 
lie pulls with all his force to break the line ; he almost seems 
to turn his stomach inside out, to disgorge the hook ; iu this 
manner he continues his formidable though fruitless efforts, 
till quite spent; he Sliders his head to be drawn above water, 
and the sailors confining his tail by a noose, in this manner 
draw him on ship board, and dispatch him. This is done by 
heating him on the head till he dies: yet even that is not 
effected without difficulty and danger; the enormous crea- 
ture, terrible even in the agonies of death, still struggles with 
his destroyers; nor is there an animal in the world that is 
harder to be killed. Even when cut in pieces, the muscles 
still preserve their motion, and vibrate for some minutes after 
being separated from the body. Another method of taking 
him, is by striking a barbed instrument, called a fizgig, into 
his body, as he brushes along by the side of the ship. As 
soon as he is taken up, to prevent his flouncing, they cut 
°ff the tail with an ax, with tlie utmost expedition 
This is the manner in which Europeans destroy the shark ; 
hut some of the negroes along the African coast take a bolder 
and more dangerous method to combat their terrible enemy. 
Armed with nothing more than a knife, the negro plunges 
mto the water, where he sees the shark watching for his 
1 'iey, and boldly swims forward to meet him ; though the 
M'eat animal does not come to provoke the combat, he does 
1 ot avoid it, and suffers the man to approach him, but just 
; s he turns upon his side to seize the aggressor, the negroe 
