The Shark Diaries

In this special episode of Stuff You Should Know, Chuck and Josh tip their hats to Shark Week with an old-fashioned radio play. Join the guys (and a few guests) as they present a dramatization of the 1916 Jersey Shore shark attacks.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to you stuff you should know from House Stuff
Works dot com. Hey, and welcome to the turn of
the century radio play. How's it going great? How are you?
I'm doing good? I'm like, this sounds not like a
radio play. No, it will very soon. Um, this is

(00:24):
a very special stuff you should know in honor of
Shark Week. That's right. Um, we're doing something different, something
that Mr Charles W. Chuckers Bryant put together, UM, a
group of radio diaries. I guess you could say, yeah,
you know, I think we touched on the um shark
attacks at the Jersey Shore in Mattawan Creek in nineteen

(00:46):
sixteen and a previous podcast, how short Attacks work and
dogs a Shark's favorite. Meal's right because the dog was
actually in the water and the first victim was attacked. Uh.
This is the story that UM inspired Jaws Peter Benchley. Yeah,
and it is the famous UM. And there's been a
lot of specials on this, like some pretty good ones. Well,

(01:06):
it's pretty sensational. It's like a hugely sensational. I would
call this though, the special of all specials on this.
You did a great job, you think, so, yeah, Well,
thank you. Uh, so we want to give you a
little backstory so you know what you're listening to. Then
we want to introduce the players to this little radio
play or I guess you call it a podcast play. Yeah,
and uh so, so you know who you're listening to

(01:28):
and what you're listening to. Well, Chuck, let's let's talk
about the attacks. Um, what year is this? Yeah, and
it's a time when beach recreation was like new, the
frozen banana had just been invented, Yeah, sort of, but
this was the first time, like this was the beginnings
of like massive amounts of people going to the beach.

(01:51):
Dude swimming in the ocean, Ladies just starting to show
a little ankle, just dipping their toe in. Mainly the
men out there swimming in there, one piece weightlifters, uniform
bathing suits. Right, that's right. And it was just like
a beautiful time to be alive in America. And so
this is the Jersey Shore. It's much like the Jersey
Shores today where if you live in New York or Philly,

(02:12):
this is where you're going when it's hot. Also very different, imagine, right,
but this is the origin of that time, yeah, or
of that movement or absolutely so this would all come
screeching to a halt. Uh over the course of twelve days,
with um five different victims of four which died on

(02:33):
two on the Jersey shore and then two more on
a creek on an inland Title Creek and Mattawan or Mattawan.
So the first attack takes place on July one, nineteen sixteen, right,
and um, people thought it was a fluke. Yeah, it
was a Philly vacation or named Charles van Zant, and um,
he died. Five days later there was another attack on

(02:53):
the shore. So yes, now all of a sudden, you
have the entire nation's attention because everyone was like a
guy got attacked by shark. It never happens, totally unusual occurrence.
Then five days later in the same area there's another one. Yes,
a swissman attacked on the shore. And then um, after
that is when uh, they don't even know shark or
sharks moved inland to a Title creek and like kids

(03:18):
swimming in this creek thinking it's completely safe. Yeah, boy dies,
man dies trying to save boy. Another boy severely injured.
And uh, it was pretty nuts after that, like the
President Wilson got involved. It was like a nationwide frenzy
because no one had ever known about shark attacks before.

(03:38):
Oh yeah, yeah, this is like the first thing. It
was like an anomaly. Okay, so you were basically like
a sailor to know about a shark attack. I think
so ya an introduction it is. So that's what we
got going on. We'll introduce the players now. Um. First up,
you're gonna hear uh and these are lost diaries that
we found from the scene, right, we should point out

(04:01):
I thought that was a given. It is. Dr John C.
Nichols is played by tech stuff Jonathan Strickland. He uh
is regarded as the first American ich theologist and worked
with his mentor, doctor Frederick Lucas, who was very uh.
They were kind of at odds for a while on this,
like Lucas was like, that's not sharks. Sharks don't do that,

(04:21):
and so Nichols went to the scene and he was
kind of who Matt Hooper was based on Awesome of Jaws. Uh.
Next up, you're gonna hear Louise Van's aunt, who was
the sister of the first victim, Charles, and she was
played by Rachel Frank, who coolest stuff on the planet. Yeah,
I was doing that. I don't know she's still doing that. Uh.

(04:43):
And she actually saw her brother like from the beach
getting attacked in the water. H. Third up, we have
Stanley Fisher and then Mary Anderson after that, and they
were um a burgeoning love relationship in Matajuan. Between these two.
Stanley was a local taylor, very well loved dude, and
Mary Anderson was a school teacher and they were just

(05:04):
like starting their courtship when Stanley perished right in front
of her face in the creek. Let me think about it.
It's bad enough to see someone killed by a shark,
and somebody that you care about killed by a shark.
That gotta really like leave an impression, I would say so. Uh.
And Stanley Fisher is voiced by Robert Lamb. Stuff to
blow your minds, Robert Lamb, that's right. And Mary Anderson

(05:27):
is voiced by the former I guess you's still Katie Lambert.
The former stuff you missed in history class host right,
it was now departed from our work ranks. I think
that was probably a good point that Katie still doing great.
And then finally we have Joseph Dunn, who was one
of the little Boys who actually survived. This is crazy, man,
Are you really going to tell everybody who does? Joseph Dunn?

(05:50):
I don't think so. Okay, I think we should just
leave the mystery boy. Okay, Joseph Donn is the mystery
boy who is of legal age to be acting in
a podcast play without any kind of like child labor
laws being broken. Right, that's right. And Joseph he was
actually from New York and he and his brother Michael
went to visit his uh aunt and uncle and Cliffwood,
New Jersey and go swimming in the creeks there with

(06:12):
her buddy Jerry Howard hand and things turn pretty gruesome
for all of them. So some rotten luck for the
Jersey shore. With that, should we go ahead and proceed
with the s y s K radio play? Okay? What
do you call this thing? Uh? Uh? Call it listener
mail from a fan in Canada? That's terrible. Okay? How

(06:34):
about the Shark Diaries of the attacks at Mattawan Creek
July one, four p m. Dear Diary, We're headed to
Beach Haven on the train and it could not be
any hotter. I'm covered from head to toe in woolen

(06:58):
cotton and it is quite I considered trying the ocean
out this time, but Father says that women should not
bathe with me. Besides, whoever thought wool stockings and seawater
go together should be run up a flagpole lead weights
in the hymn of the skirt. It's as if Third
attempting to drown us. Even so, it will be grand

(07:20):
to be at the beach for Independence Day. My brother
is beside me making fun of my diary. He has
threatened to steal it and shared around his office. I'm
sure there would be quite bored with it. Though. We
must be close to arriving, because I can smell the
salty air. M. July one, nineteen sixteen p m. Dear Diary.

(07:49):
The resorts are all booked full, and I bet half
of New Jersey and Pennsylvania are at the shore. Every
fifteen minutes a drain dispatches another thousand people. It is
quite a sight. Who would have thought that the ocean
would draw such a crowd. There are young men everywhere
playing cards and keeping an eye out for commers. Father

(08:11):
and sister are resting out before dinner, and I'm roasting
on the hot sand watching my brother swim to England.
Presumably he promised me a walk on the beach but
befriended a dog that seemed keen for a swim instead.
I call him Patches. Currently, he and Patches are swimming
out well past the others, both doing their best dog paddle.

(08:33):
I can barely see him from here, but he looks
to be having loads of fun. He's yelling and waving
his arms for Patches, but it looks like the pooch
has exhausted himself and is heading back. I'm beginning to
think that July two, n two pm where arrived this

(09:06):
morning of an attack on a human in beach Haven,
possibly a shark, most odd naturally. Dr Lucas has already
discounted it, but I wonder my inexperience next to Lucas
is pronounced yet I doubt his resolve to test his
own hypotheses now he nears retirement and news of sharks
feeding on humans is not something that appears to interest him.

(09:28):
His lack of investment was striking. I need to go
to beach Haven and investigate, but I am bound to
the museum. The fish commissioners said that it was likely
after a dog in the water with the victim stripped
the man to his bone on the right and lost
several pounds of flesh on the left. My early thought
is a tiger, or perhaps a bowl. Lucas is convinced

(09:49):
there are no great whites around here. The victim was
very young. July two, nineteen sixteen, three thirty a m.
Dear Diary, I cannot believe the words that I am

(10:10):
about to write. My brother has died. He was swimming
far out in the water when the people around me
began shouting. I saw a long, dark shadow in the
water just behind him. A man said that it was
a shark, but I don't know. I've never seen one.

(10:30):
It had a tall fin that sat high in the water.
It took him by the legs and drew him under.
A lifeguard swam out to retrieve him, but it was
too late. He was gone by the time he reached shore.
The water ran red with his blood around my feet.

(10:51):
And I've never felt so helpless in all my life.
His left thigh was in shreds all the way to
the bone. His right leg was hollowed out from waste.
To me, his lifeless face stared skyward. July two p m.

(11:20):
Summer has come upon us fully. It was more than
ninety degrees yesterday, and it may have been even hotter today.
Business has been steady, but slower than it was in
the spring and the winter before that. Mary and I
went for a walk down by the creek after church
on Sunday. She told me about our students. We talked
about Mattawan. We both love it here and don't desire

(11:41):
the bright lights of Philadelphia or New York. It is
a close community and we look out for each other.
I want to raise a family here. I've grown quite
fond of Mary, and I believe that in three weeks
it can be called a genuine courtship. She's kind, pretty smart.
It comes from a good family. There's a rumor in
town that a man was attacked by a giant fish

(12:03):
yesterday in beech Haven. Captain Catrell has told us all
stories of man eaters at sea, but has also regaled
us with tales of giant squids and waves as tall
as four stories. He's well known to stretch for truth,
and his words should be taken with a pinch of salt.

(12:24):
July second, nineteen sixteen, seven thirty six pm, Dear Diary,
July oh July. I cannot believe I have not written
in my diary since the end of the school year.
Summer break was supposed to be my time to catch
up on this sort of thing. All well, Latita, I
am being courted by a man. He's tall and broad,
with blonde hair and blue eyes, very handsome. He's beloved

(12:47):
in town as well. His name is reputable as the
mayor himself. He's a tailor and has one of only
four shops on Main Street, and is consequently quite a
snappy dresser. We took a walk after church on Sunday
and talked about life and our hopes and dreams, and
our families and our past and our future. I'm just
over the moon about it. Really. He loves Mattajuana as

(13:07):
much as I do, and would not give a nickel
for the bells and whistles of Philadelphia. We were in
his shop this afternoon and I watched him cut a
suit jacket. It was really something, a true art. A
strange thing happened as well. Captain Cotrell came by and
told us a man in beach Haven was attacked by
a fish, perhaps a shark. Very odd to hear such
a thing. Jo nix Am, Dear Diary. Today's Independence Day

(13:44):
and it's very hot here in New York. Father is
home because it's a holiday for families. We're supposed to
think about freedom today, but I don't know what they mean.
My brother told me there was a man who got
eaten by a shark in New Jersey. But I think
he's just trying to scare me because we're traveling to
visit my aunt's house in Cliffwood next week. They say
a lot of people go to the beach now and

(14:04):
swim in the ocean, but we only go in the
creek in Mattawan with our friends. We're going to parade
later today. My brother said he would buy firecrackers, even
though Mom said not to. I'm putting a picture of
New York in this diary so I can show my
friends at Mattawan what the city looks like. I hope
I get a good mark for my diary riding project
when we start school. I like it. M July three,

(14:29):
nineteen sixteen, five seventeen pm, Dear Diary. I decided to
take lunch to Stanley today at his shop. I do
not want to run him off by calling too much,
but I missed him, so I threw caution to the wind.
He seemed very pleased to see me, and we made
plans to go to the Twin Lights Lighthouse at the
Atlantic Highlands on the Bay. It is going to be
just splendid and I can hardly contain myself. I'll pack

(14:51):
a picnic supper and we'll watch the sunset together and
then the big fireworks show. My favorite. Stanley traded a
man a tailored suit for life insurance to a cecil suit,
which was far too generous. What on earth does a
man his age need with life insurance? But that is
also what I am growing to love about him. His
generosity is only matched by his kindness. He plays baseball

(15:12):
with the children and they absolutely adore him. I want
to bring him by the schoolhouse that's fall to meet
my students. Listen to me already planning for fall with
him by my side. Oh and I just had to
clip out the ads Stanley placed in the MOTTA one Journal,

(15:35):
July nineteen sixteen, p M. Dear Diary, I met the
lifeguard who tried to save my brother at the funeral.
He was very kind. I believe that he did everything
he could do to save my brother. No one has
ever been attacked by a fish before, and many doubt

(15:56):
the events as they occurred. There have long been stories
of man eaters in the sea, but I most believed
them to be legend. I was there. I know. I
saw him flung from the water. I saw his mangled
left leg exposed fully to the bone. It had been

(16:18):
virtually torn from his body. The Times ran a small
story on page eighteen. My brother deserved more, so much more.
N six am. Another shark attack yesterday in New Jersey

(16:42):
Spring Lake. The Times this morning is already all over
this event. So much for dodging a media circus. Lucas
finally agrees that something is a miss. This is no
blasted sea turtle. We have eyewitness accounts this time. It's
clear that someone should go to Spring Lake and examine
the body. I feel like I'm the most qualified man
in New York, maybe even the country. Lucas may fight

(17:06):
me on this press conference in the morning at the museum,
so we had better get our ducks in a row.
Lucas said that the jaw of a shark is not
strong or capable of severing human bone. I have grave doubts.
July sixteen PM. Dear Diary, It's been almost a week

(17:30):
since we lost my dear brother. I found his journal
today and reading his final entry breaks my heart each
time my eyes pass over it. We received word this
morning that another bay there was killed two days ago.
Its Spring Lake, a bellhop at a local resort. His
attack has drawn much more attention than our own just

(17:51):
days ago. I feel terrible for his family. Perhaps in
time I can reach out to them. No one seems
to know what is happening on our beaches that were
so different just days ago. What was previously a welcome
distraction from the polio epidemic in New York is now
a beach awash with the blood of our brothers and sons.

(18:12):
I pray for the end of summer. J n PM.
Word has come to Mattawin that another bathere was attacked
on the shore yesterday. This time it was spring Lake,
not far from here. If this is true, it is
most uncommon. We have never heard of a shark attacking

(18:33):
a man, and now we have heard stories of two
in just one week. I imagine that the news will
disrupt activity at the shore. Luckily, for us, all we
have to worry about is the odd catfish nipping our toes.
I tried to talk Mary into coming for a swim sometime,
but she said she prefers to watch me from the bank.
I think she's just being shy. She said that she
would not want Captain Cattrell to see her in a

(18:55):
bathing gown, and I think she may have a good point.
She's smart, she is. Surely the shark business is just
people's imagination getting the best of them. There're no sharks
in New Jersey. July seven, nineteen sixteen to seventeen pm.

(19:22):
Stanley just phoned and said that Captain Cotrell reported another
shark attack on the shore. They did not believe him
at first, but the newspaper confirmed it. It was Upspring
Lake this time, which means much more to do about it,
I'm sure. Stanley said that a scientist in the paper
insisted that sharks do not come to New Jersey, and
even if they did, they would not be interested in humans.

(19:44):
I just do not know what to think sharks biting
people in New Jersey? Whoever heard of such a thing?
Stanley swims in the creek, but you would not catch
me dead in there. You cannot see six inches into
the water. Besides, Captain Cortrell is always running up and
down in his motor boat. And let me just say
that he will never see me in a skirt and stockings.
The very thought makes me pale U nineteen sixteen three

(20:14):
pm press conference went well enough. Lucas was met with
questions straight away. The first blasted question asked what he
would tell the thirty mayors of the Jersey Shore about
their beaches. High loath reporters. We did our best to
calm nerves. Lucas is convinced that it was mistaken identity
and that the incidences are a merely a sad coincidence.

(20:36):
He avoids using words like man eater and does a
much better job with the press than Murphy or I could.
Asbury Park has erected wire netting, and that, along with caution,
should do for now. It is highly unlikely that we
should ever hear of another shark incident on this coast.
Even so, this is rich with opportunity for our records.
A man has never been attacked by a shark before

(20:57):
in the United States, and I go to em tomorrow.
July n six pm. Just returned from the examination of
victim number two, Charles brewder Spring Lake, Swiss, with no
family in the States. The Times was correct in its story.

(21:19):
Both legs were taken, one at the knee and one
at midcalf. Lifeguards rode out in the boat this time
and pulled his body in. One remarked about how light
it was, not realizing initially the legs were missing. Most disturbing,
the flesh was torn in strips, jagged, the bones splintered
like wood. There's no doubt that this was the result

(21:41):
of a shark, but what species? Could it be? A
road great white? The President has mobilized the Coastguard. I
am reporting news to his men now. July nine, R
D E. P. M. Dear Diary. My brother told me

(22:03):
today in church that another man was eaten by a
shark in New Jersey. But Mom said it wasn't true.
She said they both got bit and died. But sharks
only go into the ocean, and I don't need to
be scared of them. In Mattawan, Mom said after supper
tonight she's going to talk to her aunt on the telephone,
and my brother and I could talk to our friend
and Mattawan because he has a telephone now too. July six,

(22:32):
eight am Dear Diary. My brother and I talked to
our friend on the telephone last night. It was really swell.
Mom says that he's a hooligan, but my brother said
he's a good egg and swims good too. We asked
him about the sharks and he said nobody there talked
about it, but they are sad. He said, we could
sneak into the dock at the New Jersey Clay Company

(22:54):
and no sharks are there. M. July eleven, nine, sixteen
eleven p m. Dear Diary, It has now been ten
days since we lost my brother. I miss him so much,
we all do. His car is still in front of

(23:17):
the house, and I catch myself seeing him behind the wheel.
After the second attack, a scientist who studies ocean fish
came to Spring Lake. He's having a hard time with
the local journalists. They've printed that my brother was bitten
by a giant sea turtle. They've written that it was
a bloodthirstea rogue shark. The scientist makes claims of sensationalism

(23:42):
and pleads for patients. He says that only a great
white has been known to attack a human, and that
there are none in New Jersey. Resorts have hired armed
guards to patrol the beaches. They've erected wire nets for
bathing areas. I never to see the ocean again. July eleventh,

(24:10):
nineteen sixteen, nine fifteen PM. Dear Diary, I'm in bed now.
My brother is teasing me. He said that when we
go back to Mattawan, it's going to be scary. He
said that last summer he felt something touched him underwater
by the dock, and he said it was a shark. Probably.
I'm supposed to be asleep now because it's my bedtime

(24:31):
and we leave early in the morning. I'm scared of
the shark, but I don't want him to know, because
he'll tease me again. July twelve, nine, sixteen eleven. AM
back at the museum at last. Seems like all is

(24:53):
calm now. It has been nearly a week since the
brutal attack. The media has taken a rest for the
time being. There is much research to be done now.
Lucas and Murphy are keen to hear my account. Everyone
looks to us now for answers, and for now my
colleagues are deferring to me as the only ichthyologists. Popular
theories abound ship sinkings and sailor deaths in the North

(25:16):
Sea are creating a taste for human flesh. Naval bombings
are driving European sharks this way. Some have even said
it was a purposeful conspiracy of the Germans to Luis
into war. It's tiresome to deal with such poppy cock.
My strongest inclination is that there is a Pacific weather
phenomenon known as El Nino that has shifted the warm

(25:36):
Gulf stream closer to shore. This has brought sharks that
have never been to our waters. More Later, July twelfth,
nineteen six pm, I am famished. Mary said she would
bring lunch by after she finished her tutoring, and she

(25:57):
cannot arrive soon enough. In fact, I believe I see
her coming my way now. She told me last night.
To today marks one month, and when I first called
on her. It's hard to believe that much time has passed.
We should do something special. Maybe I should close the
shop early and take her into Philadelphia for dinner. She
is closer now, and the sun is cast an angelic

(26:19):
glow around her head. Or perhaps that is not the sun.
I may curse myself by writing it down, but I
believe I might love her. July seven oh three, a m.
Dear Diary, I feel positively on cloud nine this morning.

(26:41):
Today marks one full month since Stanley first called Everything
is going so well. I hate to tempt fate by
writing about it, but I think that I may be
in love. It gives me goose bumps to even write
such a thing. I stopped by his shop yesterday evening
and he was going out with Red to play baseball
with the boys. He invited me to come along and walk,
and was surprised to learn that I enjoyed the game

(27:02):
very much. It's very exciting to me, and there's a
great level of skill involved. He is so wonderful with
the boys. They love him and fight over whose team
he should play on. It has been a full week
since any word of shark attacks. We are all relieved
to know that it is over. The scientists from New
York are learning what happened and trying to decide why
this occurred. It is largely perplexed them. I do not

(27:24):
plan to go to the ocean anytime soon. Even so.
I don't like the boys in my class or Stanley
swimming much at all. But the creek feels like a
much safer option. July twelfth, n eight am, Dear Diary,
I had a bad dream that a giant fish with
a big mouth ate me. I don't know if it

(27:45):
was a shark because I've never seen one. It was
as big as a street car and had long teeth
and were red. I was swimming in the creek with
my brother and my friend, but they looked different. The
fish bit my leg and pulled me in the creek,
but I came up and I was in the ocean.
My aunt was on the beach and a wooden chair,

(28:06):
but she could not hear me scream. Then my brother
was in a boat beside me, and I tried to
climb in. He laughed and kicked me until I fell
on the ocean, and the big fish bit me again
until he ate me. I woke up and my brother
said I was screaming, so I guess I really did
scream when I was a sweep. I don't want to

(28:26):
go to mattawan anymore. Maybe I can fake sick and
stay in Cliffwood. We leave on the train U nineteen
six pm. Shocking news today. We'red in from Mattawuan, New Jersey,

(28:53):
of three shark attacks in the tidal creek. This is
very difficult to believe, and we all suspect that the
state has succumbed to sharkus. Drea Matta Juan is a
full eleven miles inland. Very doubtful. Regardless, Dr Lucas has
dispatched me directly. I depart on the morning train. H

(29:20):
July nine, sixteen am. Dear Diary, it is with a
broken heart that I write these words. Stanley is dead.
He has gone from me before he was even mine.

(29:40):
It has been two days since the awful event. It
was a shark, dear God, a shark. It got him
right in front of my eyes, in front of the
eyes of many. We buried him at two today in
the pouring rain. I am unable to sleep or eat.
I have hardly moved from my bed. Father said it

(30:02):
will take time, but I will never forget the events
of July twelve. The immente will haunt me to my grave.
July nineteen, sixteen, six fourteen pm. Today I examined two

(30:24):
of the victims, a man named Fisher who was trying
to retrieve the body of another victim, a boy named Stillwell.
Another boy, Joseph Dunn, is the only survivor and is
recovering in the hospital. His left calf is torn to pieces.
Fisher's injury was similar to the two at the shore.
The right thigh had a deep wound and the femoral
artery was severed. There was no way to stop the blood.

(30:49):
He was taken in front of dozens of locals, including
his new sweetheart. Stillwell, was not recovered until the following day.
His left ankle was chewed off, left thigh mangled from
hip to knee. His left abdominal region was open, and
his intestines were nearly all torn out. The right hip,
chest muscle, and left shoulder were also lost. His right

(31:10):
leg and face were the only parts untouched. July nineteen,
sixteen PM. I have just returned to my boarding house
after two days of chaos. Matajuan has turned into a battleground.
Men dangle legs of lamb and sides of beef from
the bridges. There's a near constant barrage of exploding dynamite.

(31:34):
Women line the banks with rifles. Their methods are not safe,
but I cannot deny my desire to catch the beast.
I believe that the shark is moving north and attacking
people on its journey. I suspect it is either a
rogue white or a tiger shark that has strayed thousands
of miles from its natural environment. July nineteen, sixteen PM

(32:00):
at the Museum. Again, the shark hunt in Mattawan seems
to be working, but I doubt that any caught so
far are responsible. Could be the work of more than one.
A local sea captain named Cartrelle caught a seven footer
and has it on Ice and Town a nickel per viewing.
A nine footer was captured in Long Branch twenty five pounds.

(32:22):
Lucas informed us that a man drowned at the Atlantic
Highlands yesterday. People were afraid he was being attacked by
a shark. The headlines now reach all the way from London.
A parcel was delivered today from the men who captured
a seven footer. It contained human bones taken from the
belly and a description dark, dull, blue white belly. They

(32:43):
said a man's head could fit inside its mouth. It
sounds like a small great white to me upon an examination, however,
the bones, while human, were from the lower arm. All
five victims in New Jersey were attacked at the legs.
This means there's been at least one unreported attack. People
will never hear the words shark again without feeling fear.

(33:14):
July four, nineteen sixteen, twelve fourteen pm. It has been
nearly two weeks since I lost Stanley. Though I can
still smell him on my clothes. Each day brings new promise,
only to shadow again. I feel like the story must
be recorded, as hard as it is for me to
write it. I was at his shop in the afternoon

(33:37):
on July twelve when some boys ran down the street
by the shop in a panic, shouting about a shark
in the creek. Stanley dismissed them at first, but I
saw that the boys were naked and pale as ghosts.
They said that a shark had taken Lester, stillwell, in
the creek. Stanley did not hesitate for even a moment.
He said that Lester had the fits and that if
he did not get to him soon, he would be finished.

(34:00):
He grabbed Red and Arthur Smith and was gone before
I could stop him. I arrived at the creek several
minutes after Stanley. He was in a rowboat with Arthur
and Red searching for Lester. They dragged chicken wire under
the boat to try and find him. The water was
red with blood and people began to arrive in a panic.
Stanley became frustrated and suggested they dive for him. They

(34:23):
all changed into bathing suits behind a tree, and one
by one entered the water. They searched for a while,
and we're losing hope and cold Red said they should
call it off, and they all began to come to
the bank. Stanley decided to take one more dive. He
went deeper than before you could tell. Stanley surfaced holding

(34:43):
what remained of Lester, stillwell in his arms. He was
walking toward the bank, knee deep in water when the
beasts took him by the right leg. He dropped Lester
and yelled, he's got me. The sharks got me. Those
words ring in my head. I do not remember what
happened after that. They told me that a deputy was
able to fight off the shark with an oar, and

(35:04):
that Stanley was aware of what happened. His only words were,
oh my god. A doctor applied a rope to his thigh,
and they took him by train to Monmouth Memorial Hospital.
He died there hours later without me by his side.

(35:25):
M August nineteen sixteen, five p m. Dear Diary, I'm

(35:45):
in St. Peter's Hospital in a town called New Brunswick.
It has been a month since I wrote in my journal,
and it's because I was bitten by a shark. My
brother feels bad about teasing me now, and it's very
nigh to me. We were swimming at the dock with
our friends and Magdalen, and an old man came by

(36:05):
in a boat yelling shark. My brother and the others
got to the dock and got out, but I was
behind him. I got all the way to the ladder
when I felt something bite me very hard. It was
a shark and it pulled me back into the water.
My brother and my friend jumped in and pulled me
away from the shark, and they put me on the dock.

(36:27):
I don't remember anything after that. I woke up in
a hospital and my leg hurt very bad. I have
had three surgeries and my doctor put new skin on
my leg. He said I'm going to be okay. My
mom cried when she saw me, but I told her
it didn't hurt. The nurse here is nice and gives

(36:48):
me candy. She says, I had bad dreams when I
first got here about the shark, but now I'm not
scared anymore. The people that work here called me a
little Jonah because he was eaten by a a O.

(37:09):
August sixteen, six pm, Dear Diary. They let me walk
today with crutches, and it hurts some. The doctor said
that it will not hurt forever. My mom told me
today about the other people in Mattawan who died because
of the shark. Some boy named Lester stillwell, and a

(37:29):
man who tried to save Leicester. I think his name
was Stanley. That makes me sad for their families. They
say that I'm brave before people got killed by the shark,
and I think the least I could do is steel fortunate.
I'm okay. October sixteen pm. It has been three months

(37:59):
since the terror at Mattajuan Creek. Joseph Dunne fully recovered
and was released home one month ago. My final thoughts
on what happened in New Jersey this summer. Whether sharks
in general are more numerous in our waters this summer
than during previous years may be seriously questioned, notwithstanding the
way in which local fishermen and the crowd of incoming

(38:19):
steamers have vied in frightening the public. Shark stories with
a certain foundation, and truth will always be forthcoming when
reporters have been ordered to get them. It may be
recalled that the summer of nineteen fifteen, although marked by
no such horrifying events as we have known this year,
was nevertheless popularly considered an exceptional Sharks season. So now

(38:40):
we must move forward and try to learn from the
events of July nineteen six, a summer that I believe
in the future may be remembered not only as a
terrible tragedy, but as the birth of modern Eck theology.
M Wow, holy cow, that was chilling. Chuck, you did

(39:06):
so good with this. Jerry did great Who Jerry sound
designed the whole thing? Oh yeah, yeah. And then Robert
and Jonathan and Katie and Rachel and uh the mystery voice,
the mystery boy. Everyone did a great job. And that
was that. I hope you guys enjoyed it. That's a
heck of a way to wrap it up. That was that.
How about the uh the familiar sign off? Let's hear

(39:26):
it for Chuck Bryant first, everybody, way to go. Check
writer producer director. I believe. Uh yeah, I guess it's
a little directing going on. Yeah, triple threat. Um yeah, Okay, Well,
if you want to contact us, you can tweet to
us at s Y s K podcast. You can join
us on Facebook dot com to tell Chuck what a
great job you do with this, and you can send
us an email. Wrap it up, spec it on the bottom,

(39:48):
send it off to Stuff podcast at Discovery dot com.
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