Smithsonian miscellaneous collections . ace of thesea. It is known in the Indian Ocean as Mhor, at the Seychellesas Chagrin, in the Gulf of California as Tiburon Ballenas orwhale shark, in the Gulf of Panama the natives call it tintoreva,and the one stranded on the coast of Florida was referred to asan East Indian basking shark. We find little recorded as to the use made of this gigantic a letter on shark fishing at Kurrachee, province of Scinde, BritishIndia (to which Dr. Gill has kindly called my attention). Dr. Buistin 1850 wrote: The great basking shark or mhor, is always harpoone
Smithsonian miscellaneous collections . ace of thesea. It is known in the Indian Ocean as Mhor, at the Seychellesas Chagrin, in the Gulf of California as Tiburon Ballenas orwhale shark, in the Gulf of Panama the natives call it tintoreva,and the one stranded on the coast of Florida was referred to asan East Indian basking shark. We find little recorded as to the use made of this gigantic a letter on shark fishing at Kurrachee, province of Scinde, BritishIndia (to which Dr. Gill has kindly called my attention). Dr. Buistin 1850 wrote: The great basking shark or mhor, is always harpooned; it is found float-ing or asleep near the surface of the water; it is then stuck with a harpoonof the size and form indicated in the annexed woodcut. The fish, once struck, is allowed to run till tired; it is then pulled in, andbeaten with clubs till stunned. A large hook is now hooked into its eyes ornostrils, or wherever it can be got most easily attached, and by this the shark 139 I40 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS [vol. 48. is towed on shore; several boats are requisite for towing. The mhor is often 40, sometimes 60 feet in length; the mouth is occasionally 4 feet fins of the sharks are exported from Bombay to specimen on the Cape fortunately fell into the hands of Dr. Andrew Smith, Surgeon to the Forces, then resident at Cape Town,who records that the specimen described wasthe only one that had been seen at the Capewithin the memory of any of the fishermen. Atthe time is was discovered it was swimming leis-urely near the surface of the water, with a cer-tain portion of the back above it. When ap-proached it manifested no great degree of fearand it was not before a harpoon was lodged inits body that it altered its course and quickenedits pace. Dr. Smith first described the animal in theZoological Journal in 1829, where he gave whatI believe to be the first notice and description ofthis interesting species. The title of his articleis Contributions
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