I did the same on a fresh 9V battery and got 10A for less than 1 second then the current dropped very rapidly. Did you notice that the battery got very warm?

I was looking at the battery when I connected it, so I probably missed the peak by the time my eyes got to the meter. Yes, it got quite warm very quickly, and I was holding it, which is why I chickened out!

 

Thanks all for contributing to my knowledge base. I appreciate the time taken with this discussion and answers to my question.