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Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume 3, Issue 78, 18 December 1851, Page 3

Fearful Encounter with a Shark.—On a recent occasion Mr. James Stewart, manager for the firm of Messrs. Binnie and Co., the saddlers, of North Brisbane, accompanied liv Mr. Rib.-ilsini, schoolmaster, proceeded to the banks of the livet for the purpose of ha'hing. Having undressed themselves, Mr. Klewait plunged into ihe wat<=r; hut Mr. Rol.erlson having a certim insgiving tli.it at) accident was going to happen remained on th • h..lc end cautioned his ciinip inion to keep a sharp look out for shaiks. Mr. Stewart had only been in ihe water a few minutes uhtn lie uttered a violent scream, and at the same inomcat Mr KoV-rtsuu o iscrvi'd n hf •.<■ shark » ith its lielly upwards, ius linn to atlack him utioul twenty yards from the aide. Mr. Stewart conscious of his danger, immediately turned towards the bank, when the .shark bit him in t!ie thigh iciring the flesh i" n shocking manner. Mr. Rob-rison, who witnessed the dreadful scene, stabs that Mr. Stewart in his cud ■avours to reach llie hank was sonieiimes under the belly, ni.d sooieiinns on the hack ol ihe moiuUr, which hit liim a second time on the c.ilt of the leg, and indicted another drci.d'ul wound. Al'cr struggling violently with h"n learlul antagonist lor n lew minilfs he ul length succeeded in reaching the hank in a very uxluiuMcd s'ate, lollowed by the shaik, when he was immediately rescued from his perilous situation by Mr Robertson who dragged him om ol the water, and placed him on the hank. The slink to Innately did not attempt lo idle linn the third time, and finding thul his prey had escaped, moved oil' leisurely into the deep water. Immediately af'er the accident occurred, Mr. Uolieilson rmlo procure the assistance ol Dr. Killow who shortly afterwards nir.ved, and having bandaged the wounds, the sullerer was conveyed to the I .eneral Hospital, whete every attention was paid to, him. \v bile lyii g on the hank Mr. Siewarl had the presence of miuil to lake his hnudkirchi.f, and tie it round the thigh above the wound, to stop ihe hemorrhage, in which impartially succeeded. As soon as the circumstance became known to the inhabit ants, a number of persons resolved upon attempting tlin captue of the shark, and in a lew hours allerv.nrds, Mr Jones, the ISatrack Sergeant, succeeded in dragging him safely to land, ihe voracious monster having triecdiiy snapped nt ;i bullock's heart with which the honk was baited, It turned out to be a shovel-nosed ground shaik, and measured about nine feet six inches. Of course the most liv. ly curiosity on the part of the sp.'ct itors lo learn what he had got stowed away in his inside followed ; and as usual in such cases, they were disappointed, as the stomach was empty. On making inquiries yesterday, we learnt that Mr. Stewart was getting on favourably although very weak from loss of blood.