The ocean / By P. H. Gosse.

  • Gosse, Philip Henry, 1810-1888.
Date:
[pref. 1845]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The ocean / By P. H. Gosse. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    307/388 (page 285)
    rolled by, the water was too shallow for the Shark to swim. The remains, therefore, were taken into the canoe, and brought ashore. The water was so much stained by the blood, that we discovered a red tinge in all the foaming billows, as they ap- proached the beach. “ The unhappy sufferer was an active lad about fourteen years old, who left my door only about half an hour previous to the fatal accident. I saw his mother, in the extremity of her anguish, plunge into the water, and swim towards the bloody spot, entirely forgetful of the power of her former god.* “ A number of people, perhaps a hundred, were at this time playing in the surf, which was higher than usual. Those who were nearest to the vic- tim, heard him shriek, perceived him to strike with his right hand, and at the same instant saw a Shark seize his arm. Then followed the cry which I heard, which echoed from one end of Latraina to the other. All who were playing in the water made the utmost speed to the shore, and those who were standing on the beach saw the surf-board of the unhappy sufferer floating on the water, without any one to guide it. When the canoe reached the spot, they saw nothing but the blood with which the water was stained for a considerable distance, and by which they traced the' remains whither they had been carried by the Shark or driven by the swell. The body was cut in two by the Shark, just * The Shark was formerly worshipped in the Sandwich Islands.