f them. Their great dread was the ground
shark, which lay motionless at the bottom of the sea, and gave no
indication of his presence. The result was that occasionally the divers
would sink down to their work quite unknowingly almost by the side of one
of these fearful creatures, and in such cases the diver rarely escaped
without injury of some kind. With regard to the ordinary shark, however,
our divers actually sought them. Their method of capturing them was
almost incredible in its simplicity and daring. Three or four of our
divers would go out in a boat and allow themselves to drift into a big
school of sharks. Then one man, possessed of more nerve than the rest,
would bend over the side and smartly prick the first one he came across
with a spear taken out for the purpose. The moment he had succeeded in
this the other occupants of the boat would commence yelling and howling
at the top of their voices, at the same time beating the water with their
paddles, in order to frighten away the sharks. This invariably
succeeded, but, amazing to relate, the shark that had been pricked always
came back alone a few minutes later to see what it was that had pricked
him. Care has to be taken not to inflict a very severe wound, because
the moment the other sharks taste the blood of a wounded companion, they
will immediately turn upon him and eat him. When the inquisitive shark
is seen coming in the direction of the boat, the Malay who has accosted
him in this way quietly jumps overboard, armed only with his small knife
and a short stick of hard wood, exactly like a butcher's skewer, about
five inches in length, and pointed at each end.

The man floats stationary on the surface of the sea, and, naturally, the
shark makes for him. As the creature rolls over to bite, the wily Malay
glides out of his way with a few deft strokes of the left hand, whilst
with the right he deliberately plants the pointed skewer in an upright
position between the open jaws of the expectant monster. The result is
simple, but surprising. The shark is, of course, unable to close its
mouth, and the water just rushes down his throat and chokes him, in
consequence of the gills being forced back so tightly as to prevent the
escape of water through them in the natural way. Needless to remark, it
requires the greatest possible coolness and nerve to kill a shark in this
way, but the Malays look upon it as a favourite recreation and an
exciting sport. W