A SHARK'S SUICIDE.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIV, Issue 34, 8 February 1913, Page 17

A SHARK'S SUICIDE.

E SAD END OF SAN JOSE JOE. San Jose Joe is d<>ad. This is the best bit of news snilorg on the west coast of c Central America and California, between 0 Panama and San Francisco, have heard In s many years (say.-! the "New York Herald"), r For San Jose was a shark full twenty-eight 0 feet In length in death, although guesses about his size in life ranged from what !he f really was up to forty feet. t. The news of Joe's death was brought by r an officer who has been many years In the s employ of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company. The taking oft nf the terror of Cenf tral America was tragic—for the terror. ;, Ills home port was San Jose de Guate- . mala and his cruising ground from Chame perico on the north to San Juan del Sur y on the south. All that came to his maw on that long stretch of coast was legitimate r prey. According to sailors, who dreaded j him. any one of their number who happened c to fall overboard when the shark wns near , had little chunce of ever again 'walking a j deck. a GREEDY JOE. In fact, everything that fell within reach 3 of San Jose Joe belonged to him by right 1 of might, and it was this greediness that 1 finally cost him his life. t The tragedy occurred at San Jose, the terror's home port. » A certain small succulent fish abounds r in these waters, and to secure an abundant . supply of the delicacy Is one of the first objects of the crew of any ship arriving I j there. Some do it one way, some another, but the captain that unwittingly caused I Joe's death had an original scheme all his I Dynamite was what he relied on. He had , sticks of the explosive about two inches in length and of rhe circumference of a lead pencil. To these a time fuse was attached, and when the small fish, hundreds of them, gathered close to his vessel after I a meal and the leavings were dumped overboard, he would throw one into the very centre of the school. The explosion that speedily followed caused a concussion that stunned the fish, and caused them to float on' top of the wa>ter as though dead. Then » was an easy matter to put oft" from the vessel in a small .boat, and with a net dip up as many as was desired. Of course, thie "was\iot sportsmanlike, but it was highly satisfaci tory to a lot of hungry sailors. SWAIi.OWED TrrE DYNAMITE. At the time Joe died the fish were there I —so was the captain, so was the dynamite I and so were the sailors. It was soon after breakfast. The explosive had been thrown overboard, and all hands were waiting for the result. Suddenly there was a great commotion In the water, a ' scurrying of the small fish in every direction, and directly off the port gangway appeared Joe, his vindictive little eyes ! hungrily blinking at the sailors lining the rail. ' With a swish of his tall he turned over ' on his back, slhot toward the elowly sinking ; piece of dynamite, opened his great jaws and swallowed It. - That was his death warrant. He hardly had got down the stick before it exploded. i Tliere wasn't even a struggle or a gasp. As a sailor would say, "he -was ripped from stem to stern." and his great bulk of a body floated on top of the water.