CATCHING A SHARK.

Bruce Herald, Volume II, Issue 41, 19 January 1865, Page 6

CATCHING A SHARK.

Permit me just to catch this shark, ;which is alongside,- for the. amusement of those fine boys of yours, and then, gentle jreader, I shall waft tb.ee to the spicy shores, iof India with the speed, of thought. i Gomehere,-boys-^Boyou seelthose two: jblack r things Jike the blade of a shoema^: ( key's knife,; moving 1 slowly over the ':.. smy

fcottlre . w.ater.?; ' Well; ": those are- tl*e bacK irad'tail ftiis'qf a 'shark, arid you msiy see by the distaW between- tliem that he js of goodly .size-. Now they, have disappeared — he lias gone. down, but will "soon be up again jjie-wiliridt leaVe us till he gets^ something to- eat/ if lie : remain' here tor days; See! there* lie :comes, shootingUp from the felire depths ~ of the ocean like : a^ u ge ; bar of silver ; and now that lie is tire sbimter/ -you' can see him distinctly- thrduglr the transparent water. He Is, 'as I thought, a shark of unusual sizejg-riearly: fifteen long, I should say; onWe shall have, a better opportunity of judging presently when we get hirii on! board. Mark ; the malignant glance of his green eye, as he rolls it upwards, glaring upon us with cannibal looks, and thinking in his own mind what a nice tender morsel one_ of you young gentlemen would make, if you jqst happened accidentally to tumble overboard:

Hullo, youngster, mind what you are about there; arid don't be . climbing- over the tafFrail, else he is likely to have his longing- gratified. Do you observe these two beautiful little fish striped with, green and purple and gold, like living rainbows -^see how close they swim in front of the shark's nose, and how exactly taey retain their position, as if they were attached to it by invisible strings, and drew the huge monster in spite of himself. These are the pilot fish of which you have no doubt often hes&sd. • They are saitl to go in front of the shjjUrfor the purpose of guiding him to his prey. But I rather suspect that they accompany him as the jackal accompanies the lion, to iced upon the scraps of food which escape his more powerful jaws. However, whatever their object may be, they certainly appear to have a strong* attachment to their voracious friend, and after the shark is taken, will linger round the ship many houi\3, seeking about anxiously, as if clistvess at the' loss of their companion. But come bo\ r s, we have seen enough of him in the water, and now let; us try if we cannot induce him to come on board. We shall dv. the civil thing, and drop him* a line of invitation! at all events.

Now we bend the hook on to one end of

tins rope,' the. other end is made fast on Jboard, to prevent, his running" away with "^fc — and now, if we had a hait we are l-ead}' for him. Here, you smart little fellow with the curly head, just jump forward, and ask the ship's steward for a piece of pork 6ut of the barrel. That will do fimously, Now you see, we fix it on the hook thus, throw it overboard with a splash, to. attract his attention. There he sees it, and comes at it like a bulldog;, he is very hungry, and has gorged it at once— there now, he is well | hooked, hold on, and mind he does not pull some of you overboard. Ay, plunge away, old boy; that hook fought to hold you, strong as ymi are>: ' No! — by all that's unlucky, he*s off? See, he 'has bent the hdofc like a piece of wire, and shaken himself clear, although it was fixed in his maw, and has come away with a large portion of it sticking to the barb.

This; one would think, is enough, to give him a disgust to pork for some time to come. But your shark when hungry, is not easily put off his feed. I see he is L still prowling about, so let us bend on a fresh, hook, and try him again. Ha ! he is rather shy of it this time ; he swims round and round, smelling and nibbling, but is afraid to bolt it, Pull it away; do not let him play with. it. There! see how angry he gets— see how bedashes about in search .'.ok. the tempting morsel which has been snatched from "him. Now he is savage enough to go. at any thingslet him have it again. He pounces upon it without hesitation, and makes off! Give him line, give him line— 'let him gorge it. Now then, check him with a hearty tug; well doneM it is through his jaws "this* time;, and we have him safe enough, if there is virtue in hemp "ap3 iron. , Clap on; lieri, all of you-— take a turn round this belayingpin. . Heavens ".. and earth, what a: rush ! Give him line boys; he is as strong as a whale, and must have his fling -at, first. Now then check him— 'gently, np\y- coax iiim.ajong; see what a sprjhg he .makes, a'nd-Kow ■furiously lie lasses the water with his tail! Now he turns on his side; haul his head 'above* water, and ,hol(l on, till I get .this, bowline hitc^h,. oye.r' his head. There) ftVall If ast ;, and: jupw, "sir-^-as old' Isafcfc is ymiro\pvi some' of yojU idler?^ and' pass -him"'!.

along to the gangway. Hook .on the tacr kle, hurrah j and (hoist awW. Be'aV a hand with tliat hatchet one. of "you, else he'il break-some of bur : legs. Well struck ! another chop, arid the formidable monster, paralysed by the loss' oi' his tail, lies gashing 6n the deck, perfectly at the mercy of his captors. And now, my dear boys, having given pouv a lesson in shark fishing, T must refer you'for further information, to the black cook, who will :gladly instruct you as to the most approved method of preparing his tail; for the captain's table. — 'My Indian Journal.