The plan was successful, and he found himself safely on board an American frigate, although he was an Irishman. He had received a college education in Ireland, and was an excellent surgeon. Having filled up our water, we sailed for San Bias. Very soon after leaving Panama, the smallpox broke out, and spread rapidly through the ship; although but few died, yet the ship was a complete hospital. Two tiers of hammocks were hung along on each side of the gun-deck. Fortunately the weather was good, and by the unremitting attention and skill of Dr. Edo-ar, with Dr. Ticknor, the disease was stayed, and the ship's company restored to perfect health again. This second visit to San Bias, was through the solicitation of several merchants, who had been largely engaged in business at Guadalaxara, and other places in the interior of Mexico, and in consequence of the unsettled state of the country, felt that their property was unsafe, and wished tohave it removed to the United States.
On our former visit to this place, Capt. Downes had given them encouragement that he would return again in the course of a few months, which would give them time to collect their specie ready for shipping. While lying here we caught the largest shark I had ever seen. He had been several hours playing round the ship; and it seemed as though he wanted to be taken; so we baited a good strong shark hook, and hung it over the bow; and it had hardly reached tb» water, when he came up, rolled over, opened his tremendous jaws, and swallowed the hook. I could not refrain from thinking how many well baited shark hooks, there are set to catch unwary youngmen, who are in the habit of lurking round places of danger; when it too often happens, that if they once get hooked they are gone.
Possibly it may be with them, as it is sometimes with the shark, they escape with a broken hook in their mouth, which must be to them a source of pain and misery the remainder of their lives. Young reader, think of this! But to return to our shark. We tried to drown the monster and thought we had succeeded. We then got a good rope with a bowline over him, and a tackle on the fish davit, and roused him up, but he had no notion of dying, and appeared as lively as ever. We ran boarding pikes down his throat; that also had but little effect upon him. We then turned boiling water down his gullet, this stilled him for a few minutes, but he soon revived again and began to thrash round in a terrible manner.
We then tried what efficacy there would be in red-hot firebrands, which were jammed down his throat; and the tenacity with which this fellow hung on to life, was truly astonishing. We finally hoisted him on board, and as soon as he touched the deck, he commenced again, and fairly took possession of the forecastle. One fellow shoved a white oak capstan bar into his mouth, which he ground up like a biscuit. Next, we ripped him open, and took from his maw, a whole bullock's head, the entire hide, and a full bushel of fish. Even when his entrails were taken out, he would snap at a piece of wood, and hold it so firm that a man could scarcely get it away.
He measured sixteen feet in length, and about eight feet nine inches round the body; he could have swallowed a good sized man whole, and there still would have been room for a bushel or two of fish for dunnage. This, although a fish story, I assure the reader is true, as I was an eye-witness to the whole transaction. We had been accompanied from Callao, by a beautiful little hermaphrodite brig called the Macedonian. It was said that Cochrane had robbed this brig once, of two hundred thousand dollars, but I believe it was proved that the property belonged to a Spanish house, which if true, the property was a lawful prize. This brig was bound to Manilla.
A young midshipman, (a very excellent young gentleman) obtained permission from Capt. Downes, to return to the United States, via Manilla, and accordingly took passage in the brig. We afterwards heard that he had been brutally murdered at Manilla, and the report stated that he had been cut up into seventy pieces. It appeared that just about the time that he arrived there, from some unknown cause, the water was thought to be poisoned, but the Spaniards would have it that it had been done by foreigners. They accordingly sallied from their houses, crying, "death to the foreigners," and immediately fell upon every one they met, when a general massacre was the consequence, and poor Wilson, was among the victims.