THE BASEBALL PLAYERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVI, Issue 9307, 9 March 1889, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE BASEBALL PLAYERS.

ON THE VOYAGE. CATCHING A SHARK. Mr. J. M. Ward, one of the baseball players writes to the New York World tho following sketch of tho voyage to Ceylon : — Colombo, Ceylon, January 26.— The Chicago and All America baseball teams, who are making a tour of the world, arrived from Melbourne, Australia, last evening. Tho long voyage across the Pacific, and the Indian oceans was monotonous in tho extreme. There was no sea-sickness, and for tho greater portion of tho journey the sea was like a mill-pool. There woro days when tho sun beat down so fiercely upon the deck that the boys lay in their bunks panting like limrds and cursing tho weather by every saint in the basoball calendar. Eα. Crane appeared to sutler the most by reason of his excess of adipose tissue. He would sit for hours in the shade of the masts dripping like a sponge, and with his face as red as a boiled lobster. His mental condition was such that it was not safe to approach him. Tho unbearable heat of the sun during tho day was moro than overbalanced, however, by tho incomparable beauty of tho nights. Very few of the party thought of retiring before 4 and 5 o'clock. The sea was generally covered with a film of phosphorus and half a dozen of tho gang would sit half the night tiring small bits of coal and wood out upon the waves to see tho fire ily upward in a shower. While engaged in this pleasant occupation ono evening Wood and iTogarty discovered a thin streak of light just beneath tho water and about fifteen feet from the ship. They called upon tho first officer for elucidation, and were told that the streak of light represented a shark of the mau-eating variety, and, unless they wanted to figure among tho contents of the shark's capacious maw, they had better give the rail a wide berth, as these sea-wolves were known to spring on the dock of a steamer, select a victim and make tl\eir escape before they could be thwarted. The two ball-playere took a header into tho cabin and were lost to the world for three days. The shark w.is caught next day by orders of the captain. The second officer prepared an immense hook, guarded by about four feet of heavy chain and some forty feet of line. Anson offered to solve the question of bait by offering Clarence Duv.'d, the little cbony-hued mascot of the Chicagos, as a tid-bit for tho shark, but Clarence made such strenuous objections that tho plan was abandoned. In lieu of the pickaninny a small bit of salt jx>rk was fastened on the hook and it was sent far astern. A dozen sailors grasped the line and when tho tug came they gave a long pull and a strong pull, and the monster sprang over the stern with a run, thrashing about furiously and scaring the ball-players out of several inches of growth. Baldwin and Heaiy disappeared down the main hatch, Anson tried to climb the mizzen-mast, while Crane sprang upon a rail and balanced himself by a rope. The shark was soon despatched, and, ufter due inspection, was consigned again to the deep.