Uncle Dick and Lisa's Old Time Animal Tales

A Waterman fishing lately at a place called Magdalen Bridge, had the misfortune to be devoured by a large Sea Dog, [Shark] in sight of several other fishermen who had made their escape. But considering what a prejudice this monster might do to their fishing, [ruin their fishing] and being also desirous of revenging their companions death, they provided themselves with Iron instruments and Steel hooks, and getting into Barques, followed the fish by his trail, for he had appeared thereabouts several times. Coming up with him the 6th of June, they threw out Hooks concealed in a Horfe’s Burtock, [fish] but as the monster had been aware of the hooks, he blew upon the fish without baiting it. [did not bite] Whereupon the fishermen went another way to work; which was, by calling [putting] into the sea a cord with a slip knot, in the middle whereof was a bait, and holding both ends of the cord in their hands. The monster sprang upon the bait with such violence, that his head went clear through the noose, and the fishermen pulling the cord, had their prey caught. The fish, to disintangle himself, pitched tail over head, broke the nape of his neck, and threw himself on shore. The fishermen, and other people who ran to it were overjoyed at that. He was 20 feet long, had a very wide throat, with three rows of teeth like saws in the upper jaw, and one in the under. He had two fins three feet long, and another upon his back longer than the rest. His tail was in the form of a bow, six feet wide. The belly was fourteen feet in circumference. It was a female, and weighed six Cantara’s, of 23 pound each. [take a guess] The next day, the Watermen opened the belly, where they found, besides a large quantity of fish, half a mans skull with hair on, both the jaws, and part of the back bone with its ribs, which they judged to belong to their unfortunate companion, who had been devoured some days before. Our committee of Health ordered the fish to be burnt, for fear of infection.