hark, not daring to turn and expose his more
vulnerable parts to the formidable sword of his enemy, lashed at him with
his heavy tail, as a man uses a flail, working the water into a syllabub.
Meanwhile, in honour, I suppose, or in the love of fair play, his seven
compatriot sharks stood aloof, lying to with their fins, in no degree
interfering in the fray. Frequently I could observe, by the water's
eddying in concentric ripples, that the great shark had sunk to the bottom,
to seek refuge there, or elude his enemy by beating up the sand; or, what
is more probable, by this manoeuvre to lure the sword-fish downwards,
which, when enraged, will blindly plunge its armed head against a rock, in
which case its horn is broken; or, if the bottom is soft, it becomes
transfixed, and then would fall an easy prey. De Ruyter, while in a
country vessel, had her struck by one of these fish, (perhaps mistaking
her for a whale, which, though of the same species, it often attacks,)
with such velocity and force, that its sword passed completely through the
bow of the vessel: and, having been broken by the shock, it was with great
difficulty extracted. It measured seven feet; about one foot of it, the
part attached to the head, was hollow, and the size of my wrist; the
remainder was solid, and very heavy, being indeed the exquisite ivory of
which the eastern people manufacture their beautiful chess-men. But to
return to our sea-combat, which continued a long time, the shark evidently
getting worsted. Possibly the bottom, which was clear, was favourable for
his enemy; whose blow, if he succeeds in striking while the shark is
descending, is fatal. I think he had struck him, for the blue shark is
seldom seen in shoal or discoloured water; yet now he floundered on
towards the bottom of the bay, madly lashing the water into foam, and
rolling and pitching like a vessel dismasted. For a few minutes his
conqueror pursued him, then wheeled round and disappeared; while the shark
grounded himself on the sand, where he lay writhing and lashing the shore
feebly with his tail. His six companions, with seeming unconcern, wore
round, and slowly moving down the bay, returned by the outlet at which
they had entered. Hastening down to the scene of action, I saw no more of
them. My boat's crew were assembled at the bottom of the bay, firing
muskets at the huge monster as he lay aground; before I could join them,
he was despatched, and his dead carcass laid on the