--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Cardon, P. V. collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 31 number: 11 published: 1928-09 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: "P. V. Cardon, “The Man-Eating Shark,” *Improvement Era* 31, no. 11 (September 1928): 951–953." source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera31011unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera31011unse start_page: 951 end_page: 953 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1928-09) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera31011unse publication_year: 1928 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1928, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # The Man-Eating Shark The Man-Eating Shark By P. V. Cardon William Bccbe, noted naturalist, recently was quoted in press dispatches as having satisfied himself that there is no founda- tion for a belief in man-eating sharks. It is not my desire to take issue with Mr. Beebe. I am disposed to accept his authoritative opinion on this question. But I can present incontrovertible evidence that at least one shark ate a man; or, to be more exact, parts of a man's body. On May 18. 1925. a private soldier in the army of the United States, stationed in Hawaii, was bathing in the bay near Halei'wa. Suddenly he screamed, disap- peared beneath the surface, and never again was seen. Sixteen days later the trunks he had been wearing when he disappeared, to- gether with a human skull and a number of bones identified as human, were found In the stomach of a large shark, caught accidentally by a fisherman off the coast from Kahuku Plantation's Philippine camp. The facts pertaining to this incident were given me in December, 1927, by Antoine R. Ivins, manager of Laie Plan- tation, which adjoins Kahuku Plantation, on the island of Oahu. Mr. Ivins helped to land the shark, was present when the shark's stomach was opened, and he helped secure an identifi- cation of the bathing trunks found in the stomach. This is the story he told me: "On the second of June, 1925, Hamana Kalili set out a 500-foot line equipped with about 150 hooks, baited with pieces of squid (octopus.) He was fishing for ulua. His line was made of cotton, and was about three-fourths the cross section of a lead pencil in size. "Next day, with a Filipino helper, he went out to draw in his line and take off his catch. "Imagine Kalili's surprise to find a large shark fast to the line! He was hooked in the tail, and by that time so completely exhausted that Kalili and his helper were able to tow him to shallow water by means of the small line. Then a rope was tied around the shark's tail and he was anchored to a stone set in the sand of the seashore. "As the Hawaiians do not eat shark meat, Kalili's first impulse was to set the shark adrift; but, on second thought, he decided his white friend, Joseph Musser, bookkeeper on Laie Plantation, should be allowed to see the strange catch. "Summoned over the telephone, Musser lost no time in joining Kalili and his helper. The shark's great size prompted Musser, in turn, to summon some of his friends. Returning to Laie, he got his wife, me and my wife, a 'Mormon' elder of the name of Morrell, and some Samoan friends who said they would like to get the shark meat, as they were not at all averse to eating it. "We all went over and found the shark in the shallow water just off from Kahuku Plantation's Philippine camp. "Leaving Laie in such a hurry, none of us had thought to fetch a tape measure, so when we fell to discussing the size of the shark we could satisfy our curiosity only by measuring with a piece of Kalili's line and then measuring this piece upon our return to the plantation. "By this means we discovered that the shark measured 12 feet 6 inches long, and was of the heavy-set order. I would say he was as large around as a fair-sized Jersey yearling heifer." It was natural for Ivins to make this comparison. He is a great lover of ani- mals and, next to thoroughbreds and Ken- tucky saddlers, he loves Jersey cattle best. "The shark was still in the water," he continued, "and was not yet dead, though nearly so. As seven men could not pull it out of the water, we had to wait for the waves to float it, and then heave to get it upon the shore. After it was up 952 IMPROVEMENT ERA a short distance, we put the rope under the shark's body, anchored it to a rock in the sand, and then rolled it beyond reach of the waves. "By this time the shark was so nearly dead that it offered no opposition, al- though it still had enough life to open and shut its mouth spasmodically: and when its eyes were touched it would flinch. When completely out of the water, it soon died. "Our Samoan friends now proceeded with the aid of th#ir cane knives (machetes) to get some of the shark meat. "The loins of the shark were fully as thick as a good beef loin, and did not look bad at all. "When the viscera poured out on the ground, it wasi plain that Mr. Shark had just enjoyed a good meal, and I suggested to a Samoan tha_t he open the stomach. "The first thing to appear was a large ulua, weighing perhaps twen- ty-five pounds. Then followed another, al- most as large. It was evident that they had not been in the stom- ach of the shark very long, for each had one or more hooks in its mouth, indicating that the shark had taken them from the line which, strangely enough, later caught him. The scales of these fish, and some of their flesh, were partly dissolved by the shark's stomach juices. "Next we noticed wrapped around one of the fish something which looked like a piece of burlap. Then we saw a nice large lobster, almost whole. Then fol- lowed some long bones which were plain- ly not fish bones. We examined two or three of these, and decided they were hu- man. To make certain, however, I sent The two fish (uluas) taken from tb shark's stomach for Dr. Buffet, Kahuku Plantation's physician. "When the doctor arrived he removed all doubt. We were indeed viewing the remains of a human being! "Further search uncovered the bones of both upper arms, both the bones of each forearm, most ail of the bones of the left hand, except the thumb, the top of the head from about the eyes back to and includ- ing the bones by which the head connects to the spinal column, a wad of black hair about three inches long, and some trunks made by cutting the legs from a pair of men drawers. Mr. Shark had eaten a man! "You can imagine, perhaps*, how we felt upon making this dis- covery. To say it was uncanny would be put- ting it mildly. "It was interesting to note the different reactions to our discov- ery. The Hawaiian who caught the shark giggled the whole time, as if to cover his em- barrassment; but his Philippine helper show- ed little emotion. The Samoans were plainly uncomfortable; the doctor was full of inter- est but, at the same time, impressed with the terrible fate that some poor fellow had suffered. One of the party, at least, was so sick that he was nauseated most of the night. Others failed to sleep much. As for myself, I could not forget the sight for days. "We sent the bones and the clothing to the sheriff at Honolulu. Since the trunks still bore a laundry mark, identification of the shark's victim was possible. "They proved to be the drawers of a private soldier who, sixteen days before, MAN-EATING SHARK 953 had disappeared while bathing in the bay near Haleiwa. He had uttered a scream and disappeared beneath the surface, never to reappear. "In view of the fact that in that neigh- borhood several other persons have been drowned, and their bodies never recovered, ours was an extremely interesting dis- covery. "Of course there was much speculation as to just what had happened. Dr. Buf- fet seemed inclined to believe that the shark dismembered the body and ate only the limbs and the head. If this were the case, how did the shark get the trunks into his stomach? "I am of the impression that the shark swallowed the entire body, head first. This would have been possible, as his jaws, which we took home with us, opened up to 18x20 inches. My shoulders are only about 17 inches broad. so you see I would be easy for such a fish. "But what became of the ribs, shoulder blades, back bone and pelvis, if the whole body was swallowed ? As the bones found were almost dissolved, it is not impossible that the others had already been absorbed. Then, too, it is possible that the large bones had been thrown out through the mouth after the meat was absorbed." In any event, there were human bones in this shark's stomach. There were also some bathing trunks which had been worn by a soldier who had disappeared beneath the water, screaming. The reader must decide for himself whether this was a man-eating shark, or whether he is to be remembered only as a shark which ate a man. The After-Glow Mauwood. Ca'.forna Light, diffusive golden light! See how it streams from yonder setting sun! Wide beams of light — radiant glowing light! Up from the horizon, up to the zenith. Broad bands of rays — great fan-shaped rays1! Mark how that cloud, banded in warp and woof of flame. Burns just above the darkened western hills! And, underneath, like ocean billows rocking. The sea-green vapors tremulously wait, Embosoming the sun in their embrace! Farewell, O Sun! Good-bye! good-bye! What glory thus to die! How red upon the lingering cloud the after-glow! How radiant now the saffron-tinted west! Long twilight creeps from off the eastern mount Across arroya, mesa, and the vale. Across the Rio Grande dunes and groves. And in the western desert greets the night. Yet light still lingers on the radiant cloud, And on the river's ripples flashes red. Farewell, thou after-glow! Farewell, the twilight hour! Thus hour by hour the after-glow Shall follow on its course around the world. So man may live, and leave behind an after-glow Of all his virtues for his fellow-man! Joseph Longk:ng Townsend