ANOTHER PRIZE--FISHING FOR SHARKS.
It was on the third morning following the event narrated in our last
chapter that we fell in with another--our second prize. She was a noble
East Indiaman, a ship that could almost have picked up our saucy little
privateer, and carried her at her stern like a yawl, had it not been for
the difference of the cannon we carried. But, of course, that made all
the difference in the world.
She was loaded with silks, spices and preserved fruits, and was
immensely valuable. We had a brisk chase after her, but brought her to
in an hour by a shot from our irresistible amidships gun. A large number
of passengers were on board, which made a disposal of her somewhat
uncomfortable. We had to deplete our ship's company again by putting a
prize-crew on board. But we, here again, had some consolation in this,
inasmuch as we received several recruits from the crew of the prize.
We had struck a bee-line southward some days before, and were now
approaching the equator--the days not growing much cooler in
consequence. One day, when we had got becalmed, the whole ship's company
(almost) went in bathing, and a thrilling incident was the result.
The captain, always glad to make the men happy, had caused the mainsail
to be slung over the side, with either end upheld by the overhanging
yards, the belly of the canvas making a long dip in the brine, thus
making a delightful shallow for the more timid swimmers to exercise
their talents in, while bolder spirits might strike out to any distance
they pleased. A great peril was involved in this operation of mid-sea
tropical bathing, on account of the sharks, which are always more or
less numerous in the wake of a ship.
Well, we all had an excellent time in the water, and were not in a hurry
to come out. The captain had got tired of laughing at us, and had gone
below for a siesta.
Old Snollygoster, after having got through with his ablutions, was
lazily watching us from the rail of the ship. He was probably as able a
swimmer as ever lived. He now amused us with sundry suggestions and
cautions with regard to sharks, warning us not to go too far from the
ship, and solemnly averring that _his_ assistance need not be counted
on, in event we were attacked. Several of us had swum to a considerable
distance from the vessel, when suddenly some one sung out:
"Sharks! sharks!"
I thought it was a joke at first, but upon turning and casting a look
seaward, I, sure enough, discovered several of the ominous black fins
cutting water toward us.
I gave the alarm and struck out for the ship, with the strength of
forlorn hope, followed by all the rest. To experience the horrible
sensations of such a situation is an event which no after events,
however stirring, can ever obliterate. It is horrible! horrible! That is
all I can say. Every instant you expect to hear the snap of the ravenous
jaws in your rear, and the next to feel them on your limbs. I think I
never in my life swam so swiftly as upon that occasion. The ship was not
distant--only a few rods, but it seemed a league to our excited
imaginations. At length, however, with a wild cry of relief, I felt the
canvas of the outstretched sail under me, and, clambering quickly up the
side, was safe on the bulwarks. My comrades followed right at my heels,
and the next moment I had the satisfaction of seeing them safe at my
side. _All_ of them? No, not all. A feeble cry behind apprised us that
one was less fortunate than the rest. It was Dicky Drake. He had
succeeded in almost reaching the sail, and was now all but surrounded by
the infernal, swiftly-moving black fins of the monsters, who were
actually pushing him about with their muzzles. They evidently thought
that they had a sure thing, and might as well have a little sport with
their morsel before devouring it. The poor fellow floated on the waves,
paralyzed with horror and fright, unable to move hand or foot for his
own salvation. It is very probable that this circumstance helped to save
his life.
We were all so horrified at the spectacle that we were powerless to
render any assistance, even if it were possible.
"Avast there, you lubbers!" said a clear, rough voice behind us.
Upon looking back we saw that it was the giant negro, Snollygoster, who
spoke. Unbeknown to us, he had stripped himself, and now stood naked,
with a long clasp-knife, open, and between his teeth. With one bound he
was in the shallow of the sail below, and, with another, he grasped poor
Dicky Drake by the hair of the head and drew him in, and we let down a
rope and had the satisfaction of drawing the poor devil, more dead than
alive, to the deck.
But the matter did not end here. Right in the midst of the sharks sprung
the heroic Snollygoster. He dove out of sight. In an instant the water
became suffused with blood.
"By Jove! they've nabbed him!" exclaimed old Bluefish, excitedly.
But they hadn't done anything of the kind. The next instant the woolly
head of the negro made its appearance above the surface. It was shark's
blood that was dyeing the water. Again the darky disappeared, and the
water grew redder and redder, as another of the monsters floated, belly
up, with a terrific gash in his paunch. The negro seemed to be as much
at home in the sea as the fish themselves. It was a terrific combat, but
one of intense interest. In vain would the monsters roll over on their
backs and snap at their inexorable foe, or attempt to cut him in two
with a sweep of their tremendous flukes. He was away again as quick as
he came, attacking them from under the surface. In this he now had an
advantage, as the water was so bloody that the fish could not see the
blows by which they were being momentarily stricken to death, by the
terrible right arm of heroic negro. At length, five of them were
floating, dead or dying, on the surface, and the rest of them, with one
exception, beat a retreat and did not venture within several rods. But
the grand combat was yet to come. The one shark that lingered was by far
the biggest of the group. I think he was, without doubt, the largest of
the species I have ever seen, and I have seen plenty to choose from. He
was thirty-five feet in length, if an inch, and when he opened his jaws
the cavity Within was a terrible affair, with its double rows of tusks.
He seemed determined to take upon himself the championship of the whole
family and advanced warily upon the negro, who did not flinch for a
single instant. At length and as quick as lightning the monster leaped
entirely clear of the sea and brought around his tail like the sweep of
a scythe. The darky was out of reach just in time. As it was, the ragged
edge of the animal's fluke just grazed his temple, drawing the blood.
But before the unwieldy monster could recover himself for a renewal of
the attack the knife of the negro was buried in his side. The wound was
not mortal, but it must have been a painful one, to judge by the way the
brute lashed the sea in his fury. It, however, served to render him more
wary than before. He now began to swim round and round his foe in the
hope of wearying him. But the negro stood bolt upright in the water,
treading it with perfect ease, and ever keeping his face to the shark.
At length the latter, losing patience, charged, hoping to tear down
Snolly with his snout. But quick as a wink, just as the animal was upon
him, the negro disappeared, and the great effusion of blood that
instantly followed made us aware that he had received his death-blow
from beneath.
I shall never forget the shout with which we greeted the invincible
Snollygoster as his woolly head appeared above the blood-dyed waters,
while the conquered monster drifted off from the side of the ship,
lashing the sea feebly with his tail, but fast expiring. Snolly slowly
came out of the water and up the ship's side.
The captain, who had witnessed the last combat, shook him warmly by the
hand when he reached the deck, while we all gathered around him with
rousing cheers. Little Dicky Drake caught him by the hand and fairly
sobbed. I must say that I had a strong impulse to catch the great negro
in my arms and hug him for very joy. But Snolly rapidly replaced his
clothes, with the simple remark:
"Dis nigga nebber see'd de fish he was afeard of."
You may think that this is quite sufficient for one fish story, but it
isn't. We weren't done with the sharks yet. As the blood faded out of
the water the school of sharks again clustered about the ship, and the
captain determined to afford the men greater sport by catching one, if
possible.
"'Ow will you do it?" exclaimed our prisoner. "'Ow will you 'ook one
when you 'aven't any _worms_ to bait with?"
"Ha! ha! ha!" laughed the captain. "It's true we haven't any fishing
worms, nor grasshoppers, for that matter. But you have been complaining
of the mosquitoes all day, my dear sir, and why not use them? However,
we might as well try 'em first with a little bacon. So Pickle, just
order some one to fetch up the carcass of that pig that died last
night."
The bait was duly brought up on deck, much to the astonishment of the
Britisher.
In the mean time Tony Trybrace proceeded to rig up the necessary tackle.
Upon the end of a rope about an inch and a half in thickness he
fastened a large boat-hook. We then slung the rope through a block and
made the latter fast to the jibboom. We thus had a first-rate purchase
wherewith to fetch up anything short of a few tons' weight. Having made
all ready, we hooked on the bait, and with a dozen stout seamen holding
on to the other end, to be ready for any emergency, we lowered her
slowly down. The stench of the putrid meat had already set the sharks
wild for first bite, but as we wanted to take our choice and capture one
of fair size, whenever a little fellow would jump at the bait we would
quickly haul up and let his jaws gnash together with nothing between
them.
At last, however, one rousing big fellow, who had evidently scented the
battle from afar, came rushing up at railroad speed, pushing his
voracious way through his smaller fellows. The bait was suspended fully
six feet from the surface of the sea, but with a flying leap he took the
whole hog at a swallow, and was hooked, of course. His weight drew the
line down into the sea with a tremendous splash, almost jerking one or
two of us overboard. But the next instant we were ready for him, and
began to haul in with a will and a "yo-heave-ho!"
The old fellow didn't like it, but come he must, and, in spite of
himself, he began to rise clear of the water. He then endeavored to bite
off the rope, but Tony had been too sharp for him there, by twining the
line, for three or four feet above the hook, with stout wire, so that
the teeth of the monster gritted but harmlessly against the tough rope
by which he was held.
Slowly but surely we drew him up until we got him taut up against the
tackle-block, when another squad of sailors threw out some grapnels to
haul him on deck, tail-foremost. The other men stood by, armed with
cutlasses, hatchets and boarding-pikes.
"Now, be ready to pull him in when I give the word," sung out the
captain, who was dancing about, the merriest man on the ship. "And be
sure you keep out of reach of his flukes, or your mothers will forget
you before they see you."
"'Eave 'im hin! 'eave 'im hin!" cried Adolphus de Courcy, who was
impatient to try the efficacy of a sword-cane, which he held in his
hand.
"Now, lads, haul away!" ordered the captain.
Slowly we brought him in, lowering him by the head as the other squad
dragged in the tail. At last the monster was fairly on deck, when, at a
signal from the captain, the men at the tail released the grip of their
grapnels, while we simultaneously cut the line at his head. You had
better believe we sprung out of reach lively, as soon as we had done
this. And with reason; for the shark began to flounder at a most
terrific rate, and if any one had happened within the reach of his
flukes, he would have been a goner.
One laughable incident occurred.
The cockney was either not spry enough in getting out of the way, or he
was too intent to get in a shy with his sword-cane; at any rate he
caught a side wipe from the flat of one of the flukes, which sent him
head over heels into the bow-scuppers.
"W'y, 'ow did that 'appen?" exclaimed the poor fellow, picking himself
up, amid a storm of applause. "You see, I just vanted to get von vipe at
the willain vith my walliant blade, when down I goes vithout knowing
v'ere I vas hit."
It is astonishing how high a shark can leap from the water, but to see
one of them bounce up when he has got solid oak beneath him as a
purchase, is worth a long voyage. This shark would leap up
perpendicularly fully thirty feet in the air, and come down with a crash
that would make the vessel tremble to her keel. The blood poured from
his mouth from the severe contusions he had received, but he seemed to
lose nothing of vitality; until, at length, when we had enjoyed his
gymnastics sufficiently, the captain made a sign to commence the
assault.
The sailor regards the shark as his natural enemy, and never misses a
chance to slay or maim him. So, as soon as the signal was received, we
all began to dance about our victim, to get in a blow, which was
anything but an easy matter, and, at the same time, avoid the sweep of
his flukes, or the snap of his awful jaws.
"First blood!" yelled the cockney, with enthusiasm, as he succeeded in
inflicting a slight scratch from which a few drops of blood oozed out.
"Do yer call _that_ blood?" exclaimed old Bluefish contemptuously, as he
danced in and fetched the shark a deep gash with his tomahawk, and this
time the fountain of life began to flow in earnest.
Then the captain got in a blow, with his cutlass, between the eyes, and
almost at the same time I ran my sharp pike clear through the black fin
on the shark's back.
The struggles grew sensibly more feeble as the wounds told upon him,
until at length the shark lay almost motionless. You may be sure that
all hands, even down to Dicky Drake, were as brave as lions when
injuries could be inflicted without danger to themselves.
Everybody now rushed, and a general thrusting, slashing and hacking took
place until there was nothing left of the shark but a bloody and
shapeless mass.
Every one then fell off exhausted, except Adolphus de Courcy, who
enjoyed the fun so much that he couldn't be prevailed upon to stop.
"Just let me 'ave von more vipe at the willain!" he exclaimed, stabbing
the lifeless mass again and again, until forced at last to desist by the
laughter which his ferocity called forth.
Well, the fun was all over, and the next thing to do was to heave the
carcass overboard, and to wash the decks, the last of which was
performed in a vein somewhat less merry than before. But the captain
made quite a holiday of it, gave us plenty of grog, and there was as
little grumbling on board the Queer Fish that day as you would be likely
to fall in with in a year's voyage.