The 1916 New Jersey Shark Attacks, the Worst in US History

Between July 1 and July 12, 1916, at least one shark mauled five swimmers along 80 miles of New Jersey coastline, resulting in four deaths and survival of one youth who required limb amputation. According to Richard Fernicola’s absorbing and well-researched account titled “Twelve Days of Terror” (2001, Lyons Press), these events took place during a time when biologists, including ichthyologists (fish), believed they fully understood the migratory habits and range locations of sharks, i.e., “only harmless sharks inhabited near-shore waters” and “powerful and aggressive pelagic (deep sea) shark[s] stray[ing] into shallow water…would certainly be a harmless juvenile version.” (pp. xxvi-xxvii) Furthermore, sharks simply did not attack unless provoked. One lasting sequel of the 1916 NJ shark attacks was the stimulation and reconfiguring of scientific knowledge about shark behavior.

The map below depicts the location of Beach Haven, Spring Lake, and Matawan Creek, where the shark(s) mauled the five individuals in July 1916:

The five mauled individuals were:

• Beach Haven, N.J.: Charles Vansant, 25 years old, died: July 1, 1916.
• Spring Lake, N.J., Charles Bruder, 28 years old, died: July 6, 1916.
• Matawan Creek, N.J.
• Lester Stillwell, 11 years old, died: July 12, 1916.
• Stanley Fisher, died: July 12, 1916.
• Joseph Dunn, 12 years old, survived with amputation of left lower leg: July 12, 1916.

How did the attacks come about?

1. Charles Vansant, a University of Pennsylvania class of 1914 graduate and broker with Philadelphia’s Folwell Brothers brokerage firm, took a train from West Philadelphia to Beach Haven on Long Beach Island on July 1, according to Fernicola. After checking into the Engleside Hotel, Vansant took a pre-dinner dip in the ocean, frolicking with a local dog and then swimming beyond the lifelines to chest-deep water. He called to the dog to follow him but the dog exited the water. Observers on the shore noted a black fin moving toward Vansant from the east and began to shout to Vansant who was unable to hear them and instead kept calling for the dog. Suddenly Vansant screamed and began moving rapidly toward the beach, the water around him turning red. About 120 feet from the beach, the lifeguard and two other men locked arms to hoist Vansant onto the beach. Vansant exsanguinated on the beach through his severed femoral (thigh) artery in spite of efforts to apply a tourniquet.

2. Charles Bruder, an affable Swiss bell captain at the Essex and Sussex Hotel in Spring Lake who sent much of his income to his mother in Lucerne, Switzerland while his brother was fighting in World War I, entered the surf in the employee bathing area during a work break at 2:15 pm on July 6, 1916. Bruder ventured approximately 130 yards from shore as his friends left the swim area. Suddenly, Bruder let out screams as onlookers watched the water around him turn red. Guards launched a rescue boat and hoisted him over the gunnel into the boat where he died before the boat reached the beach. The following sketch of Bruder’s fatal injuries is by author Fernicola who is also a medical doctor (p. 204).

3. Matawan resident Lester Stillwell, an epileptic 12 year old who nailed peach baskets together at the Anderson Basket factory, during the summer, joined his friends at the Wyckoff dock area on the Matawan Creek to play in the muddy water around 2 pm on July 12, 1916. Matawan Creek was a narrow, brackish Atlantic Ocean tidal river, approximately forty feet across at its widest point and thirty feet at its deepest point. Lester began to float on his back over the deepest spot in the dock area while his playmates spotted an “old black weather-beaten board or a weathered log” bob to the surface of the water. As one of the boys did a flip from a piling into the water, Lester let out a scream and was dragged under. The boys ran to Main Street for help, summoning Stanley Fisher from his dry-cleaning store (see below, #4). Lester’s body eventually floated to the surface of the water. The following sketch of Lester’s injuries is by author Fernicola (p. 205) For sketches of the other victims, buy the book.

4. Matawan dry cleaner Stanley Fisher dashed with several other men to the Wyckoff dock on hearing about Lester Stilwell’s unfortunate disappearance (see #3 above). After poking the water with a long rod, Fisher dove into the deep hole to look for Lester. He thought he saw Lester’s body and made one last dive all the way to the bottom of the hole, grasped Lester’s body, and was suddenly hammered on his right thigh by the shark. Fisher released Lester’s body as the shark dragged Fisher underwater two times. Another man immediately directed his boat to Fisher and slapped the shark with a boat oar. Fisher was pulled into the boat and deposited on the old wharf, bleeding profusely from his leg. He lived long enough for transport by train to Monmouth Memorial Hospital in Long Branch, NJ, where he died at 6:35 pm the same day.

5. Twelve-year old Joseph Dunn, whose home was New York City, was visiting his aunt in Cliffwood (near Matawan) on July 12. Joseph, his older brother, and three friends went swimming at the New Jersey Clay Company brickyard docks along the north side of Matawan Creek, approximately one half mile east of the Wyckoff dock, where creek dredging made the water deeper and a dock ladder made entry and exit easier. The boys heard warning cries about a shark and bolted up the ladder. Although Joseph was the farthest away from the ladder, he was able to reach the lowest rung of the ladder. Suddenly, he was pulled away from the ladder by the shark, which had bitten into his left leg. The older boys pulled Joseph free. He was transported by car to St. Peter’s Hospital in New Brunswick, NJ, where he survived albeit following amputation of his lower leg.

Was the shark(s) responsible for the five maulings ever captured? On July 14, 1916, New York taxidermist and Barnum and Bailey lion tamer and animal trainer by trade (I’m not kidding), Michael Schleisser, caught a seven and one-half foot, 325 pound shark in his net while panning fish for breakfast only a few miles form the mouth of the Matawan Creek. The shark took the boat on a ride as it thrashed forward until Schleisser killed it with a broken oar. When Schleisser slit open its belly, out spilled “suspicious fleshy material and [human] bones” that took up “about two-thirds of a milk crate” and “together weighed fifteen pounds.” (p. 155) Shark experts identified the shark, which Schleisser had quickly stuffed, as a young Carcharadon carcharias or great white shark, rarely seen in those waters. (p. 163) The attacks stopped following this capture.

How common are unprovoked shark attacks? Unprovoked shark attacks, according to the International Shark Attack File (ISAF)*, are on the rise, as depicted in the following graph. Fortunately, fatalities relating to the attacks are on the decline, as depicted in the second graph below. The most common activity associated victims of unprovoked shark attacks is surfing, followed by swimming and diving (see bar chart below).

Graph showing increasing worldwide trend in unprovoked shark attacks.
Source: http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/sharks/statistics/Trends.htm.

Graph showing decreasing worldwide trend in fatalities due to unprovoked shark attacks.
Source: http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/sharks/statistics/worldwidefatalityrate.htm

Bar chart showing what victims were doing when attacked.
Source: http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/sharks/statistics/Act.htm

How, when, and where do sharks attack?** “ Most attacks,” according to ichthyologist George Burgess, “occur in near shore waters, typically inshore of a sandbar or between sandbars where sharks feed and can become trapped at low tide. Areas with steep drop-offs are also likely attack sites. Sharks congregate there because their natural food items also congregate in these areas.

”There are three major kinds of unprovoked shark attacks. By far the most common are "hit and run" attacks. These typically occur in the surf zone with swimmers and surfers the normal targets. The victim seldom sees its attacker and the shark does not return after inflicting a single bite or slash wound. In most instances, these probably are cases of mistaken identity that occur under conditions of poor water visibility and a harsh physical environment (breaking surf and strong wash/current conditions). A feeding shark in this habitat must make quick decisions and rapid movements to capture its traditional food items. When these difficult physical conditions are considered in conjunction with provocative human appearance and activities associated with aquatic recreation (splashing, shiny jewelry, contrasting colored swimsuits, contrasting tanning, especially involving the soles of the feet), it is not surprising that sharks might occasionally misinterpret a human for its normal prey. We suspect that, upon biting, the shark quickly realizes that the human is a foreign object, or that it is too large, and immediately releases the victim and does not return. Some of these attacks could also be related to social behaviors unrelated to feeding, such as dominance behaviors seen in many land animals. Injuries to "hit and run" victims are usually confined to relatively small lacerations, often on the leg below the knee, and are seldom life-threatening.

“‘Bump and bite’ attacks and ‘sneak’ attacks, while less common, result in greater injuries and most fatalities. These types of attack usually involve divers or swimmers in somewhat deeper waters, but occur in near shore shallows in some areas of the world. ‘Bump and bite’ attacks are characterized by the shark initially circling and often bumping the victim prior to the actual attack. ‘Sneak’ attacks differ in having the strike occur without warning. In both cases, unlike the pattern for ‘hit and run’ attacks, repeat attacks are not uncommon and multiple or sustained bites are the norm. Injuries incurred during this type of attack are usually quite severe, frequently resulting in death. We believe these types of attack are the result of feeding or antagonistic behaviors rather than being cases of mistaken identity. Most shark attacks involving sea disasters, e.g. plane and ship accidents, probably involve ‘bump and bite’ and ‘sneak’ attacks.

”Almost any large shark, roughly two meters or longer in total length, is a potential threat to humans. Three species, however, have been repetitively implicated as the primary attackers of man: the white shark (Carcharodon carcharias), tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) and bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas ). All are cosmopolitan in distribution, reach large sizes, and consume large prey items such as marine mammals, sea turtles, and fishes as normal elements of their diets. These species probably are responsible for a large portion of ‘bump and bite’ and ‘sneak’ attacks…”

What does a great white shark look like up close?

Photo of a great white shark.
Source: http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Sharks/Attacks/perspect.htm.
Photo by Steve W. Ross.

Editor’s Note: Sharks are a natural hazard associated with swimming, diving, and surfing at the world’s beaches. As the population of people entering the water at beaches increases, so will unprovoked shark attacks. Risk of sustaining an unprovoked attack increases with certain activities, especially surfing. Certain measures have been taken to control shark ingress to beach swimming areas (nets, for example), but people always find a way to enter unprotected waters. The preeminent US expert on sharks is Gary Burgess, an ichthyologist with the Florida Museum of Natural History.

Sources:

*The International Shark Attack File is “a compilation of all known shark attacks that is administered by the American Elasmobranch Society and the Florida Museum of Natural History. The American Elasmobranch Society is a professional organization comprised of international workers studying sharks, skates and rays. More than 3,200 individual investigations are currently housed in the File, covering the period from mid-1500's to present. Many of the data in the File originate from the voluntary submissions of numerous cooperating scientists who serve worldwide as regional observers. Regional observers forward investigations of attacks in their areas for integration into the File.” See http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/sharks/isaf/isafabout.htm for more information. For more information on the history of the ISAF, visit: http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/sharks/isaf/isafhistory.htm.

** Source of background information on unprovoked shark attacks: Gary Burgess at: http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/sharks/attacks/howwhen.htm.