The skin of the shark is rough, and is
used for polishing wood, ivory, &c.; that of one species is manufactured
into an article called _agreen_: spectacle-cases are made of it. The
white shark is the sailor's worst enemy: he has five rows of
wedge-shaped teeth, which are notched like a saw: when the animal is at
rest they are flat in his mouth, but when about to seize his prey they
are erected by a set of muscles which join them to the jaw. His mouth is
so situated under the head that he is obliged to turn himself on one
side before he can grasp any thing with those enormous jaws.
I will now give you an account of the death of a very brave little boy,
who was killed by a shark. He was an Irish boy; his name was Volney
Beckner, the son of a poor fisherman. His father, having always intended
Volney for a seafaring life, took great pains to teach him such things
as it is useful for a sailor to know, and tried to make him brave and
hardy; he taught him to swim when a mere baby.
[Illustration: VOLNEY BECKNER'S FIRST VOYAGE.]
Volney was only nine years old when he first went to sea in a merchant
ship; the same vessel in which his father sometimes sailed.
Pages:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25