A FIGHT WITH HOUNDS OF THE SEA.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume I, Issue 5, 7 February 1890, Page 3

A FIGHT WITH HOUNDS OF THE SEA.

It was just before daybreak on a dewy morn ng of 183— when our small party of four set out to “ drift for shad.” There was the rector, my cousin B , and myself, who went to learn how this drifting was conducted, and the old fisherman, Chris, the owner of the shad boat, who wont tor fish.

By the time the long-fathoms of brown net were unwound from the great creaking reel, and coiled in the stern of the boat, the tide had turned, and a current had begun to set outward from the little ere> k in which our boat was moored. Our rusty mainsail was soon hoisted to catch the gmtD cat’s-paws from the shore, and we were under way.

A word of explanation here. The shad fishing of the Bay of Fundy in carried on f »r the most part by drifting. Che boats employed are roomy, heavy, single-masted craft, with a cuddy, or forward cabin, in which two men may sleep with cornf >rt. These craft, when leaded, draw several f■•et of water, and are hard to float off when they chance to run aground They carry a deep k el, and are staunch s a-boats—as ail boats need to be. tnat navigate the rude waters of Fundy. When wo had gained a few cable lengths fro.m sh To the bre ze freshen'd slightly. It was a ran? - zephyr, but ii drove the boat too fast for us to pay on the net. We furled the sail, an 1 thrust the.boat along with our heavy sweep-, while Chris paid out the net over the stern.

These Fundy boats sometimes stay out several bid. s, making a haul with • ach tide, but.it was our intention mereiy to drift, out with this ebb and return by the next fl »od.

It was slow .work for awhile. We ate, told stones, speculated as to how many fish .were entangling themselves in our meshes, ami at about 9 o’clock appealed to Chris to haul iq. The trera ndous Puudy tide had drifted us in five hours ov.r 20 miles’ We decided to run the boat into the mouth of a small river on our to take a good swim before we started on our return trip. The plan was accepted -by Chris, and we set ourselves to hqu. in the net, In the centre of the boat stood two huge tubs, into which we threw the silvery shad as we took them from the mesh -s. When we found a stray skate, squid, or sculpin, we returned it to its native elementbut a small salmon we welcomed as a special prize, no I laid it away in a wrapping of sail-cloth. The catch proved to be a rather light one, though Chris averred it was as good as any he had made that year. Why* what has become of the shad 7 asked the rector,- - It seems to me that in former years-one could sometim.-s fill alt these tubs-in a single trip. Aye, aye, growled Onris, that’s true enoug.i,sir! But the ftsnin’ aip’t now what it used to be, aiid it’s all along o’ them blamed dog-fish. 1 What do'the dog-fish have to do with it? Tasked. ’ Do with it! answered Chris. Why 9

they eat ’em. They eat every tbiug they kin clap ther eye onto. They’re thiclier’n bees in thes e here waters the last year er two back. They are a kind of small shark, I believe ? put in the rector, in a tone of enquiry. Well, I reckon as how they be. An’ they’re worse ror any other kind as I’ve heern t<*ll of, because thev kinder

hunt in packs like, an’ nothin’ ain’t a-goin’ to escape them, once they git into if. I’ve caught ’em nigh on to five foot long, but mostly they run from three to fo a r foot. They’re spry, I tell you, an’ with a mouth onto ’em like a fox-trap. They’re the worst varmin that swims, an’ good for nothin’ but to make ile out of their livers. I’ve seen them called ‘ the hounds of the sea,’ said B. Are they bold enough to attack a man ?

They'd attack an elephant if they could git him in the water. An’ they’d oat him, too, said Chris. I hope they won’t put in an appearance while we’re taking our swim, remarked the rector. I don’t think we had better swim far out.

By this time we were near the mouth of the stream, a broad, shallow estuary 300 or 400 yards wide. In them ddle was a gravelly shoal, which was barely uncover d at low wamr, and was then marked by a line of seaweed and small stones. W(j bore up the northern channel,.and saw that the snores were stony, and likely to afford us a firm landing; but the channel was unfamiliar to Chris, and suddenly with a soft thud, we found nuraelv. s aground on a mud hank, 100 yards from the shore. The tide had’yet a few inches to fall, and we knew that we were fast for an hour or so.

When we had got ourselves out of our clothes (he surface of the shoal in mid-channel was bare; It was about 5J yards from'the boat, and we decided to swim ever to it and look for anemones. and starfish, 8., who was an indifferent swimmerj took an oar along with him to rest on if he should get lired. We laughed at him for tbe precaution, as the distance was so short; but he retorted:

If any of those sea-ddgs should turn up, you’ll find that said oar will come in pretty handy.

The water was of a delicious temperature, and we swam, floated, and basked in a leisurely fashion. Wo"'i we had reached the bar the tide was about to turn. The Fundy tides may be said to have practically no slack ; they have to travel so fast and so far that they waste no time in idleness. We hailed Chris, whom we had left in the boat, and told him the. tide had turn d.

Chris rose frnm liis lounging attitude in Si.ern, and took a look at the water. I’he next moment he was on his f- et yelling: ‘‘All aboard I all aboard! Here’s the dog-fish ao miin’!’’ B. and I took the vrai- T at once* bu l the rector stopped us. Bick ! he c>m, inaad'd. Tney’re upon us already, and our only chance is here in the shoal water till Onris can get the boat oyer to us.

Even as he spoke we noted some small black fins cuttiucr the water he-

tween the boat and our shoal. - We turned bf ck with alacrity. The first thing 0 iris did. was to empty both birrels of ipy fowling piece oh >ug the fins. At once a great tur in >il ensued, caused by the struggles of two or three wound d dog-fish. The next moment their struggles were orought to an end. Their companions tope them to pieces in a twinkling. • The rector shouted to Chris to try to throw us the boat-hook. It was a long d.u’ow, but Chris's sinews rose to the emergency, and the boat-hook lan I d at our feet. The boat-hook.. was followed by a brokm gaff, which struck the sand at the forth r side of .the shoal.

Meanwhile, between us aa 1- the boat the water nad become alive with d >g fish. Our .shoal sloped so--abruptly ihit already they could swim up t • wiiniu two or three fet of us. ■ We k mw that the tide would soon bring them upon us, and we turned cold as we thought what our fate would, be unless Chris could reach os in lime. Then the’battle began. ...

B. apd I, with our awkward weapons, managed to a un a copple of our assailants. The r- ctor’s hoatdiook-did more deadly execution ; it‘ore of the first fish it strpck, • At ■ once the scented- their comrade’s” blood, darted on the wounded fish, devoured it, and crowded upon us for more.

Uur blows with the■oar•and gaff served temporarily to disable our asSidapts, but not gash their tough skin. But the moment blood was started on one of our enemies his comrades finished the. work for us. Almost every stroke of the;, boat-hook tore a fishi w iicn straightway became food for his'fed'ova, fue most 1 could do ivitii my-gaff was to.tap a d )g-fish on the head’ when 1 could, and stun him for awhile; -

During these exciting minutes the tid<r was rising with terrible speed - '.'The water that now came weaning 1 tfver ' bur to<.*s was.a lather of foam ami bl’dod. thcv.ugn, w hicii sharp, dark • fins, ’ ate I opg. keen uodics darted, and'crowded, and snapped. ••• ‘ Suddenly one fish, fiercer ’than the reat, made a dart at B-’s legs,” and its sharp snout just grazed his ah n, causing. him. j© yell with horror. We tried

to getrdhf feet out : '6f' the water by standing on the highest stones we could find. Our arms were weary from wielding the oar and gaff, but the rector’s boat-hook kept up its deadly lunges. ■ Chris had been firing among our assailants; he beb Id our strait, threw down the gun, and strained furiously upon his one oar in the endeavour to shove off the boat. She would not budge.

Boys, brace up! brace up ! cried the

rector. She’ll float in another minute or two. We can give these chaps all they want. As lie spoke his boat-hook ripped another fish open. He had caught the knack of so u ing his weapon that he caked his opponents from underneath, without wasting an ounce of effort.

The-fight was getting too hot to last. A big fish, with a most appaling array of fargs, snatched at my foot. Just in time I thrust the broken end of the gaff through his throat, and turned him on his back. His neighbours took charge of him, and he vanished in bloody fragments.

As I watched this an idea struck me.

Chris, I yell d, the shad, the shad. Throw them overboard a dozen at a time.

Splendid, cried the rector, and B, pano-d approvingly, that’s the talk That’ll call ’em off.

Down came his oar with fresh vigour upon the head of a dogfish, whic i turned at once on its side. Then tne shad began to go overboard. At first the throwing of the shad produced no visible eff 'Of, an 1 th“ attack on pis / continued -with: unabated, fury. Then the water 'began to foam and twist where the shad w.-r ■ dropping, and on a sudden we were left alone.

The whole pack forso >k us to attack the shad. ■ How ih w fought andlashed and sprang and tore, in one mad turmoil of fo.mi and fish.

Spread them a bit, B. cried. Give the n all a chance, or they’ll come back at us.

She’s afloat! she’s afloat! he yelled the next moment, in f’natic delight.

Onris threw out an >ther d'Z;n of fish, Tsen he thrust his oar over the stefpbV and;.tliybig' boat moved i«lowly toward us. At in ervals Chris stopped and threw out ra »re shad. As we eagerly watched his approach the thought occurred to us that when the boat sh m IT' reach us; it .Wou}d. be, with "the who.e pack surrounding it; ‘ The ravenous creatures seemed almost ready to leap aboard.

We can use these oars and things as leaping poles, suggested B. That’s what we’ll have to do, cried tlie rector. ‘ Then he cried to Chris, bring .her sine on to the shoal, so we can all jump aboard at the sa oe time.

As the boat drew nearer, Cnris paused , again; and r tfiwy' a ; shad tar astern, Away darted the dog-fish, and the boat rounded up close before us,

Tiie agility with which we sprang aboard was rcm’ark-Lb>e/ had Cnris almost hugged us iu his joy. .Not another shad they’ll git out er me; he declared, triumphantly. Wel : , I should rather think not, remarked the rector.' "But they might as well have some ra »re d tg fish. With thesj words lie put his foot upon the gnu-wale, aul his unwearying boat ■ hook.went back jabilahtly ihto the oatcle. '

Rapidly loading and firing my shotgun, I pick-d 'iff as m-iuy of our enemies as [' comfortibly could, and 8,, by iashiug, the: boat’s hatcliet on the end of tne gaif, made a weapon with wliica he played havee among our foes. Bub the fray lasted not much bongo'. liiuu uenthle as were the survivors, their Hunger was :b •coining appeased, and the ferocity diminished. da a liitle ' wnile they had sh 'eraj off to a saf o* distance. , W.ieu we hid time to think of our condition we f m i I th it our backs were painfully scorched by th s o| izi.ig; Ju ia sun. As witu pain w* strug fied into our clothes, C.iris tri.ume I our coarse inwards home. I reck in you know now ’bout all vou’ll wancer kuw 'omt tea w'-ys o’ dog-fish, tie suggested, Tn -y are owui.dy nliod-tsirsby, said the recjiijr, but at the snqe time to y are iptepcstiiig. T icy w.ive ps a uooio contest, you 0411’t ficuy,