By now you have probably heard of Hilton, a 20 year old, 13 foot great white shark tagged in Hilton Head, South Carolina that is being tracked by the Osearch research team. He is currently exploring the east coast of Cape Breton, captivating all of our imaginations and expanding our minds as to what is out there in the open sea. The tracking is all part of a study to learn more about great white sharks and their behaviour in the north Atlantic. Another shark, Nova, was just tagged by the group in southern Nova Scotia to help in providing even more information. Great white sharks have been known to visit Nova Scotia waters, but it is thought that cold water temperature reduces their abundance and frequency in our area.

This recent attention compelled me to dig more into getting more info on the Fourchu Rammer, a story that once captivated and struck fear into the hearts of Cape Bretoners, but seems to be all but forgotten by most, besides the community of Fourchu, die hard history enthusiasts and monster hunters.

It all started in June of 1953 on the east coast of Cape Breton, with reports of a large “sea monster” terrorizing fishing boats off of Main-a-Dieu, Little Lorraine, Glace Bay and Petit de Grat. “Last week Newman Dublinsky was testing a new motor cruiser 12 miles off shore at Main-a-Dieu when the undersea raider started a charge. Dubinsky, who said the fish ‘just missed’ raced to the shore. He was accompanied by his four children and five fishermen. About the same time fishing craft from the village of Little Lorraine scattered for safety when a giant fish attacked. Earlier this week two Glace Bay fishermen hauling lobster traps raced for shore when they spotted the ‘Rammer’ in the distance.”

Accounts of the fish described by some as 25 to 40 feet long with a six-foot dorsal fin, and “punch-drunk shark bent on destruction”. Some believed it was a shark while others believed it to be a type of swordfish. Many referred to it simply as a "sea monster".

All of these attacks led up to one of the most famous shark attacks in history, some 100 yards off Fourchu, Cape Breton on July 9, 1953.  John Burns, 40 and John MacLeod, two local commercial fisherman, were checking lobster traps in a dory when they saw a large ripple in the water, followed by the appearance of a large dorsal fin. With abrupt force the shark struck the underside of the dory, biting a two-foot hole in the hull, then left. The fisherman frantically worked to block the hole but it was to no avail. After taking on significant water, a large breaker tossed them both out of the boat. John MacLeod went under the water four times before being pulled from the water near death. Johns Burns sadly drowned.

Depiction of the Fourchu Rammer incident in National Geographic magazine, painted by Paul Calle.

All but 2 of the 20 fishing boats in Fourchu stayed in port the next day, uncertain of what exactly happened, but not taking any risks. Shortly afterwards the boat was examined and a tooth or teeth (depending on the source) was/were recovered by local fisheries officers who sent a tooth to the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology for analysis. He later confirmed it to be a great white shark over 12 feet long and weighing approximately half a ton.  

Shortly after this event the shark was tabbed the “Fourchu Rammer” and panic was at its height. One fishermen pointed to the attack to declare the shark was “not a man-eater” and is “merely bent on an orgy of destruction”. A fleet of fishing vessels, some armed, along with the RCMP, searched the waters off of Cape Breton for the shark for a number of days. They employed a plane, but as there was thick fog during this time, it was mostly ineffective in the search.

On July 19 Lester Fleet of Louisbourg harpooned a large shark inside Louisburg harbour on Cape Breton’s east coast. The 600 pounder, regarded as ‘a big one in these waters’, gave Fleet a 20 minute battle after he was harpooned. Those in Fourchu believed Charles Rafuse, the fisherman that rescued John MacLeod during the attack, killed the Fourchu Rammer shortly after. Others say that the shark was never found nor heard from again.

Later on this story garnered international attention. National Geographic featured the incident in a shark attack article as part of their February 1968 issue, and an artist’s drawing that was featured in the Sydney Post Record was briefly featured in the movie Jaws. It would not be a stretch to say that this incident inspired events in the book and movie.

As we follow Hilton’s journey I can’t help but see a stark difference in our understanding and respect for sharks today. A CB Post article refers to Hilton as “charming”, a major departure from the “man-eater” and “monster” descriptions that ran rampant in the 1950s. But we know more about their ecology, their role in the ocean and their vulnerability as a species now than we did back then. It will be interesting to see what we can learn through this recent research project.

I would like to once again thank Don MacLean for his insight into this story. His article from the Cape Bretoner from 2000 greatly contributed to this post. 

I would love to hear from some of the people that may have more to share on the Fourchu Rammer. If you have any more information please get in touch with me or comment and I will include your part of the story.

Chris Bellemore is a come from away blogger living on Cape Breton Island who is logging his experiences in this strange and wonderful place.

Some of my other articles:

 Swordfish in Louisbourg: https://capebreton.lokol.me/what-louisbourg-was-know-for-swordfishing

Cape Breton lobster: https://capebreton.lokol.me/the-lobster-food-for-thought

The WW2 plane on top of Jerome Mountain, Cape Bretonhttps://capebreton.lokol.me/the-ww2-plane-on-top-of-jerome-mountain-cape-breton

The last schooner in Margaree: https://capebreton.lokol.me/the-last-schooner

Also, a link to the page I manage: Abandoned Places and Untold Stories of Cape Bretonhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/518156224947471/?multi_permalinks=1761060267323721&notif_id=1530696915827502&notif_t=feedback_reaction_generic