Part 4 (2/2)
”At all events, every attempt made to obtain possession of these _outlawed_ chiefs was unavailing After plundering the country of all that could be found in it, leaving devastation andtheir object, but with the satisfaction of knowing that by taking away 30,000 more cattle, they left thousands of women and children to die of starvation But I must leave off now The results of the war, and the fate of Mokanna, shall be the subject of another ed to you, Mr Fairburn, for the interesting narrative you have given us It is, however, to be hoped that you will have no more such painful errors and injustice to dwell upon”
”As I before observed, Mr Wilmot, it requires time for prejudice and falsehood to be overthrown; and until they are mastered, it can not be expected that justice can be adovernment had to contend with the whole white population of the colony who rose up in ar habit, that any interference with their assuehts
”You overn time, and how impossible it was to exert that power over such an extensive country; and to give you some idea of this, I will state as the reply of some of the Dutch boors to the traveler La Vaillant, when the latter expressed his opinion that the government should interfere with an armed force to put an end to their cruelty and oppression
”'Are you aware,' said they, 'ould be the result of such an atte all in an instant, ould massacre half of the soldiers, salt their flesh, and send it back by those weto those who should be bold enough to appear aovernment to deal with such a set of people, Mr Wilrant it,” replied Alexander; ”and the conviction makes me more anxious to knohat has been since done”
CHAPTER VI
The following ht, and before noon it fell cale size came under the stern of the vessel, and the sailors were soon very busy trying to hook one of them; but they refused the bait, which was a piece of salt pork, and after an hour they quitted the vessel and disappeared, ers and shi+p's coht, and the latter very anxious to cut theht that sharks always took the bait,” observed Alexander
”Not always, as you have now seen,” replied Mr Swinton; ”all depends upon whether they are hungry or not In some harbors where there are plenty of fish, I have seen sharks in hundreds, which not only refused any bait, but would not attempt to seize a man if he was in the water; but I a the bait, I enerally very ravenous, as are, indeed, all the sharks which are found in the ocean”
”I can tell you, sir, why they refused the bait,” said the boatswain of the vessel, as standing by; ”it's because we are now on the track of the Brazilian slavers, and they have been well fed lately, depend upon it”
”I should not be surprised if you were correct in your idea,” replied Mr Swinton
”There are many varieties of sharks, are there not?” inquired Wilreat est kind is the one which has just left us, and is teres the whole Atlantic Ocean, but is seldom found far to the northward, as it prefers the tropics: it is, however, to be seen in the Mediterranean, in the Gulf of Lyons, and is there relish Channel you find the blue shark, which is seldoe-sized but harmless shark found in the north seas, which the whalers frequent Then there is the spotted or tiger-shark, which is very savage, although it does not grow to a large size; the hammer-headed shark, so called froround shark, perhaps the erous of all, as it lies at the botto you notice of its approach I believe I have now mentioned the principal varieties”
”If a h, ould be the best plan to act upon--that is, if there would be any chance of escape from such a brute?”
”The best plan, and I have seen it acted upon with success, is, if you can sell, to throw yourself on your back and splash as much as you can with your feet, and halloo as loud as you can A shark is a cowardly animal, and noise will drive it away
”When I went out two or three years ago, I had a Newfoundland dog, which was accustoht I was very partial to hiinethe Western Islands, and a large shark caed off the taffrail to seize it, swi as loud as he could I fully expected that the monster would have dispatched hihtened and say, followed by the dog, until the boat that was lowered down picked him up”
”I don't think the shark could have been very hungry”
”Probably not; at all events I should not have liked to have been in Neptune's place I think thefroalese divers, and often with success”
”Tell o down for the pearl oysters off Ceylon generally drop from a boat, and descend in ten or twelve fathoms of water before they come to the bed of pearl oysters, which is upon a bank of mud: it often happens that when they are down, the sharks make for them, and I hardly need say that these poor fellows are constantly on the watch, looking in every direction while they are filling their baskets If they perceive a sharkfor them, their only chance is to stir up the mud on the bank as fast as they can, which prevents the ani theain the surface; nevertheless, it does not always answer, and many are taken off every year”
”A lady, proud of her pearl necklace, little thinks how many poor fellows may have been torn to pieces to obtain for her such an ornament”
”Very true; and e consider how many pearl-fisheries may have taken place, and howof fine pearls can be obtained, we ht almost say that every pearl on the necklace has cost the life of a human creature”
”How are the pearls disposed of, and who are the proprietors?”
”The government are the proprietors of the fishery, I believe; but whether they farm it out yearly, or not, I can not tell; but this I know, that as the pearl oysters are taken, they are landed unopened and packed upon the beach in squares of a certain di is over for the season, these square lots of pearl oysters are put up to auction, and sold to the highest bidder, of course 'contents unknown;' so that it becole pearl in his lot, or he may find two or three, which will realize twenty times the price which he has paid for his lot”