brute grows to a length of thirty feet, and its strength may be
imagined from the fact that a young shark, only six feet long, has been
known to break a man's leg by a stroke of its tail. Therefore, when
sailors have caught a shark at sea, with a baited hook, the first thing
they do when it is drawn upon deck is to chop off its tail, to prevent
the mischief to be dreaded from its immense strength.

Hughes, the author of the "Natural History of Barbadoes," relates an
anecdote which gives a good idea of the nature of this monster: "In the
reign of Queen Anne a merchant ship from England arrived at Barbadoes;
some of the crew, ignorant of the danger of doing so, were bathing in
the sea, when a large shark suddenly appeared swimming directly towards
them. All hurried on board, and escaped, except one unfortunate fellow,
who was bit in two by the shark. A comrade and friend of the man,
seeing the severed body of his companion, vowed instant revenge. The
voracious shark was seen swimming about in search of the rest of his
prey, when the brave lad leaped into the water. He carried in his hand
a long, sharp-pointed knife, and the fierce monster pushed furiously
towards him. Already he had turned over, and opened his huge, deadly
jaws, when the youth, diving cleverly, seized the shark somewhere near
the fins with his left hand, and stabbed him several times in the belly.
The creature, mad with pain and streaming with blood, attempted vainly
to escape. The crews of the ships near saw that the fight was over, but
knew not which was slain, till, as the shark became exhausted, he rose
nearer the shore, and the gallant assailant still continuing his
efforts, was able, with assistance, to drag him on shore. There he
ripped open the stomach of the shark and took from it the half of his
friend's body, which he then buried together with the trunk half."

The negroes are admirable swimmers and divers, and they sometimes attack
and vanquish the terrible shark, but great skill is necessary.

When Sir Brooke Watson, as a youth, was in the West Indies, he was once
swimming near a ship when he saw a shark making towards him. He cried
out in terror for help, and caught a rope thrown to him; but even as the
men were drawing him up the side of the vessel, the monster darted
after, and took off his leg at a single snap.

Fortunately for sea-bathers on our shores, the white shark and the
monstrous hammer-headed _zygaena_ seldom appear in