It was in May, 1906, that an adventure happened to me which dispelled once for all in my mind a deep-rooted doubt as to whether a shark would attack a human being in a boat.
    The weather had been stormy for some days, but had finally cleared, and a smooth sea tempted me to try my luck with the “auau,” a fish which is a favorite of mine on account of its “gamy” qualities.
    Embarking in a fourteen-foot flat-bottomed skiff soon after daylight, I rowed to my fishing ground near the bell-buoy, a distance of nearly two mass from the harbor of Honolulu, anchoring about six hundred feet on the Waikiki side of the buoy.
    Sport with the auau was good, and it was not long before I had about forty of the long, little fish, each about two feet in length, lying in the bottom of the skiff.
    While fishing I had noticed two sharks pass near me, one of which hovered around the boat for a little while and then disappeared. Their appearance caused me no apprehension, however, for it was no unusual thing to see sharks near the bell-buoy.
    Presently my attention was attracted by a big shark, fully sixteen feet long and unusually heavily built, which made a dash at a fish that I was pulling in. It turned over on its side in an attempt to seize the auau, but I was a little too quick for it, and managed to land my fish safely.
    I recognized the shark as a “niuhi,” one of the argest and fiercest species found in the local waters, and much dreaded by the natives on account of its unsavory reputation as a man-eater. Its presence off Oahu is rare, the fish frequenting the warmer water near the Equator. Hawaiian tradition says that the “niuhi” is seen only after or during a heavy storm, the disturbed water having driven it away from its usual haunts. The scientific name of this shark is, I believe, Carcharodon carcharias.
    The failure of the big brute to secure my fish seemed to anger it, and it came to the surface again, poking its head out of the water and regarding me with malevolent eyes. Then it seam slowly round the boat, frightening all the auau away.
    Still I did not feel alarmed, but tried to scare the shark off with an oar, having no spear or other weapon in the boat. The man-eater disappeared for a few minutes and, congratulating myself on having got rid of such an ugly customer, I began to scent up the water, with the idea of attracting back the frightened school of auau. I had hardly started fishing again, however, when the big shark came to the surface a few feet from the boat, throwing its body half out of the water as if intent on swamping the craft. Had he hit the skiff he would assuredly have wrecked it. Luckily, the shark miscalculated its distance and struck the water instead, causing a commotion which rocked my little craft violently.
    By this time I was thoroughly frightened, for I recalled stories told me by natives of gigantic sharks whose habit it was to attack small boats until they succeeded in falling on them, and thus brought their occupants within reach of their voracious maws.
    Hastily pulling up my anchor I started to row to Kepo Harbor, a small channel in the reef, and nearly a mile nearer the shore than the main harbor. Just then the shark made another great leap out of the water, landing on the surface with a terrific splash. He repeated this alarming maneuver several times, each time coming nearer, his object clearly being to fall on the boat.
    Thinking to pacify the monster, I threw a fish from my catch into the water, and the shark made for it almost instantly and devoured it. Taking advantage of the lull in the brute’s activity, I made as much headway shoreward as possible, but had not pulled many strokes before my assailant caught up with me, and repeating its former tactics, while I pulled for dear life, came within an ace of upsetting the boat. His great gleaming body rose from the water like a flash of light, to fall again with a resounding smack, driving great waves towards me, and I shuddered as I pictured my fate if he once succeeded in striking my part of the boat. Had the skiff been very light, so that I could more or less calculate his next move and pull away, the boat would certainly have been swamped.
    I threw over another fish, and it was immediately grabbed by the shark, which was now swimming close alongside the boat. It did not rise from the water on this occasion, however, being probably tired out with its former efforts.
    There was still a considerable distance to be rowed before Kepo Harbor was reached, and I kept on throwing fish overboard whenever I saw the shark approaching, which was a matter of no difficulty, owing to the clearness and calmness of the water.
    It was not long before I began to realize that it was a question whether my fish supply would hold out until I reached the little harbor in the reef. If it didn’t—well, I felt my hair bristling at the very thought. In order to eke out my rapidly-diminishing catch I cut the remaining fish in two and threw half an auau at a time to my insatiable pursuer.
    Despite this expedient, however, my stock was all gone before the harbor was reached, while the attitude of the man-eater was as threatening as ever. Directly the food supply stopped the shark, with uncanny intelligence, apparently realized that he had been duped and that his intended victim was escaping, for he promptly renewed his efforts to swamp the boat, and he came terribly near being successful, for I was getting exhausted from my hard pull, and less able to dodge his rushes. Had there been another quarter of a mile to travel, I believe that the brute would have got the best of me, for when I finally reached a place of safety I was completely played out.
    The great fish boldly followed me right into Kepo Harbor until as shallow a depth as ten feet of water was reached. Then, very reluctantly, he retreated seaward.
    There were times during the shark’s pursuit when I was well-nigh in despair, for I thought that the monster could surely get me. Since then I have not been fishing in deep water off Honolulu unless in a heavy shore-boat and with company.

From— The Pacific Commercial Advertiser. (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands), 28 June 1908. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.