A TALE OF THE SEA.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 176, 19 July 1872, Page 512

A TALE OF THE SEA.

The .following tough yarn is related by , the.writerof " Bound About New ZeaL land,", in the ' Australasian,' as a story , told to him along the coast of New Zealand : ."I was engaged one day washing and . painting the outside of the ship , f in which vessel I was serving as a sea- * man. ( Three of us were on a kind of raft along L near the keel of the ship, when one of 5 those sudden and violent squalls came on us which are common enough-off the Cape. Ere we could hand up our pots l and brushes, a heavy sea struck the vessel . amidships ; my two mates caught hold of L a loose rope and swung themselves aboard, I but before I could follow their example a r second sea struck the raft I was standing , on,.which parted from the vessel, and t grasping the plank firmly, I found myself . cut away, and fast floating astern, a rain mist completely hiding me from observation, and in a few minutes a quarter of a mile separated me from the vessel, whose double-reefed topsails were barely visible as each mountainous wave rose and fell , under me. It did not take me long to ascertain my hopeless position, and with what lashings I could spare from the planking I lay on, or rather grasped, I made myself fast, and, reflected on my chances of escape from starvation, or what . seemed to me more horrible, a feed for the . sharks, which swarmed in those latitudes. Night came on suddenly ; wearied, faint, and washed by every wave, I lay watching the stars, and at .last exhausted, I fell asleep. The rays of the "rising sun woke , me early next mora, and standing on the , raft, clinging to a rope made fast and around me, I gazed around. "Not a sail, nothing but a waste of . waters, and with bleached lip and des- , ponding heart I lay down in utter despair. I do not know how long this dreamy reverie lasted, but I shall never forget the sensations I experienced in feeling a heavy ■ bunip against my raft, my first thought being that I.was happily- aground. On . looking over the planking my blood curdled,, for right under me, paddling gently . along, I saw a huge blue shark, a thorough monster; every now and then rising and under me, as though vexed at in furnishing him with a fresh monster kept me com- -^^^^^^^%^* aat fetched day, now &S^^^^^', r disporting with my te§£§oLgs! by occasional displays of his belly and of ~cws of • .•-■SJg&.j" gHstening" teeth. For.houm.lsat, shrinking at his approach,'uutil nervecKby his familiarity, I took my knife, wluch.\Tate had preserved to mo, tore up a piece of ,my planking and lashed it to the end, passing the time by prodding the monster as opportunity offered. Growing bolder in my frenzy, and as the sun was setting o'er the sea, leaving me cold, hungered, and feverish from thirst, I thought of an idea common - enough to us sailors when lai'king with sharks in becalmed weather, , viz., to use up some of my rope in the shape of a noose which, if slipped over his sharkship's head, must make fast at his tail and sling him; When the noose had been made fast at its end to my raft, I slung it alongside and waited the result. I had not long to think. about the comi- . cality of the tiling, for -the shark swam p through ere darkness set in, and in an t ■'.... .■'■..-■■. . instant sped on quickly. The noose worked true, and the next moment found me being towed at something. like ten knots; the shark in evident fright, and - both of us considerably 'knocked up with \, our comical relationship. It was a bright J starry night as we- drove through the . phosphorus; now and then the brute j jibbed, then headed on me, and away we 'went off the track in opposite directions, V

the shark giving me opportunities for a 'prod' with my spear-knife, a chance I rarely lost, until wearied out, leaving it to the skipper to. make his own longitude. I knew ere ]ong after the tightening up • of my waist rope I fell asleep, and to this day I don't know which funked it most, for I lay worn out with watching, and the shark put on all sail. with fright at the stiffness of his screw and, the rude prods I dealt at his stern as chance offered; anyhow I awoke, hearing shouts, men's voices in , confusion mixed, and the sight of the stern-board of a large ship right over my head. "I remember one man calling out, 'Here's a dead body on a raft,' and I sat up, giving that man as good a fright as I had got. A dozen voices rang out, C A shark, a shark ! Look out!' as I greedily seized a rope thrown me. The ship I was taken aboard was bound for Australia, and the story is soon told. \ The.shark had found this vessel's track during the night, and followed in itsiwake, as those critters will. The sailors were ; already, preparing for my preserver's capture, but after hearing my most incredible dehVerance, left his sharkship to his glory, and he paddled about us all-day, leaving us at sundown. I came on to Austrab'a in.the vessel."' - This man of the raft as depicted above is now a very popular captain- in the New Zealand trade; he solemnly silenced my incredulity by assurances of gratitude" for sharks in general, and his name is similar to places where sharks occasionally hide, beneath timber or " under-wood."