,,the ,,giant ,,fish ,,of ,,florida ,illustration3 ,a ,,whip ,,ray ,,leaping4 ,,the ,,giant ,,fish ,,of ,,florida ,,by ,j4 ,,turner-,,turner ,,with #dh ,,illustrations ,,london ,c4 ,,arthur ,,pearson ,,limited ,,philadelphia3 ,j4 ,b4 ,,lippincott ,,company #aijb ,,preface ,the sea has its big game as well as the land1 and there are some of us--the name of ,mr4 ,w4 ,h4 ,grenfell1 ,m4,p41 at once occurs in this connection--who have derived much sport from its pursuit4 ,whether1 as ,mr4 ,grenfell and others would seem to indicate1 the tunny of the ,mediterranean1 which is identical with the tuna of ,american waters1 may yet be recognised as a sporting fish by ,british anglers has to be seen2 meanwhile the coast of ,america1 and more particularly that of ,florida and ,mexico1 is the recognised resort of those who angle for the biggest that the sea has to give4 ,in this volume ,i have endeavoured to lay before fellow sportsmen at home some of the charms of fishing for tarpon and the other rangers of the ,gulf4 ,the tarpon1 of course1 stands first2 indeed1 there are many visitors to those parts who will fish for nothing else1 thus losing many excellent opportunities of sport on days that are too rough for them to get out on the tarpon grounds4 ,no attempt has been made at anything in the nature of an exhaustive list of the sea fish of ,florida1 which might easily have been gathered from one or other of the ,american standard works on the subject1 such as the invaluable volumes by ,jordan and ,evermann1 published under the auspices of the ,united ,states ,national ,museum4 ,only fish that are likely to attract the notice of the angler have been figured and briefly described1 and this from the sporting rather than from the natural-history point of view4 ,nor have ,i devoted much space to the remaining fauna of the coast and islands2 although a few conspicuous birds like the cormorant and pelican1 and an occasional reptile1 such as the turtle and alligator1 the pursuit of which may pass an otherwise wasted hour1 have claimed a place in these notes4 ,much interest attaches to the realistic photographs with which these pages are illustrated4 ,one of the first anglers in this country to inspect them was ,mr4 ,f4 ,g4 ,aflalo1 a fishing enthusiast to whom ,i am indebted in no small measure for the final arrangement of my notes1 and he at once pronounced them to be certainly the most remarkable in their own way that had ever passed through his hands4 ,they are all from the natural 7not mounted7 fish1 and the effects were obtained by a simple1 though careful1 arrangement of pegs and sheeting4 ,i think that ,i may claim for them a correctness that1 while combining the impressions of both1 could never have been obtained by either the brush or camera unaided4 ,my thanks are also due to ,professor ,george ,a4 ,boulenger1 who1 with ,mr4 ,aflalo1 identified as far as possible the subjects of my photographs4 ,there are but one or two really successful photographers of living fish under water1 and these artists must obviously confine their efforts to comparatively small fish in the confinement of aquarium tanks4 ,now1 a considerable observation of fish at home and abroad under every variety of conditions has persuaded me 7though ,i hardly expect the statement to pass unchallenged7 that the narrow confines of the aquarium tank tend to cramped and unnatural attitudes in the subjects2 and this contention seems to me abundantly substantiated by a careful comparison of the otherwise excellent photographs from time to time published1 and the best studies of the best fish painters4 ,my own system of illustration combines the two1 and in great measure1 ,i venture to think1 obviates many of the faults of both4 ,constant observation of the fish in their natural habitat impresses on me their every attitude1 and1 while unfortunately not possessed of the necessary talent to transfer these groups to canvas1 there is no insuperable difficulty in the way of pegging the various subjects in just the positions they assumed before my eyes an hour or two earlier4 ,the camera does the rest4 ,tarpon fishing is still in its infancy4 ,new methods and grounds will be discovered4 ,meanwhile1 it is a congenial task to tell the story of the big fish of ,florida seas1 not from hearsay or printed reports1 but from personal and vivid experience4 ,j4 ,t4 ,t4 ,cavalry ,club1 ,christmas1 #aija4 ,,contents ,,preface4 ,,chapter ,i4--,,the ,,giant ,,tarpon4 8 ,,ii4--,,among ,,the ,,alligators4 8 ,,iii4--,,how ,,to ,,catch ,,tarpon4 8 ,,iv4--,a ,,lively ,,morning ,,in ,,the ,,pass4 8 ,v4--,,ladies ,,who ,,love ,,the ,,sport4 8 ,,vi4--,,enormous ,,rays ,,or ,,devil-,,fish4 8 ,,vii4--,,harpooning ,a ,,monster4 8 ,,viii4--,,the ,,loggerhead ,,turtle4 8 ,,ix4--,,catfish ,,as ,,scavengers4 8 ,x4--,,bony ,,fish--,,jack--,,garfish--,,jewfish--,, squeateague--,,and ,,bass4 8 ,,xi4--,,spotted ,,eels--,,crab-,,eaters--,,surf-,,whitin g--,,moonfish--,,leather ,,jackets--,,trigger-,,fish--,,and ,,mullet4 8 ,,xii4--,,striped ,,mullet--,,sharks--,,bird ,,life4 ,,index4 ,,list ,,of ,,illustrations ,,page4 #a4 ,a ,,whip ,,ray ,,leaping ,frontispiece #b4 ,,the ,,tarpon #bc #c4 ,,the ,,floating ,,hotel #bg #d4 ,,interior ,,of ,,an ,,alligator ,,island #ca #e4 ,,the ,,alligator ,,made ,,straight ,,for ,,the ,,open ,,sea #cg #f4 ,a ,,tarpon ,,guide #de #g4 ,a ,,good ,,catch ,,of ,,tarpon ,,for ,a ,,lady #ef #h4 ,a ,,hooked ,,piece ,,of ,,coral ,,which ,,was ,,mistaken ,,for ,a ,,jewfish #eg #i4 ,,kingfish ,,accidentally ,,foul-,,hooked #fb #aj4 ,,with ,,lightning ,,speed ,,the ,,kingfish ,,chased ,,the ,,lively ,,skipjack #fc #aa4 ,,the ,,kingfish ,,leapt ,,some ,,twenty ,,feet ,,into ,,the ,,air #fg #ab4 ,a ,,big ,,jewfish ,,for ,a ,,woman ,,to ,,land #gf #ac4 ,,jewfish ,,with ,,sucker ,,clinging ,,to ,,it #gg #ad4 ,a ,,vanquished ,,whip ,,ray #hb #ae4 ,,the ,,whip ,,ray ,,turned ,,helplessly ,,on ,,its ,,back #hc #af4 ,,the ,,hooked ,,tarpon ,,followed ,,the ,,boat ,,towards ,,shore #hc #ag4 ,,the ,,crews ,,of ,,six ,,boats ,,towing ,a ,,harpooned ,,whip ,,ray #hc #ah4 ,a ,,stranded ,,whip ,,ray #ie #ai4 ,,harpooned ,,devil-,,fish ,,in ,,shallow ,,water #ajb #bj4 ,,harpooned ,,devil-,,fish ,,with ,,jaws ,,propped ,,open #ajc #ba4 ,a ,,turtle ,,swimming #aji #bb4 ,,harpooning ,a ,,turtle #aad #bc4 ,,playing ,a ,,turtle #aae #bd4 ,,hoisting ,a ,,turtle ,,on ,,board #aai #be4 ,,dead ,,grouper ,,being ,,devoured ,,by ,,catfish ,,and ,,bream #abg #bf4 ,,gaff ,,topsail ,,catfish ,,and ,,young ,,hammerhead ,,shark #aca #bg4 ,,the ,,sheepshead #ace #bh4 ,,toad ,,fish ,,watching ,,bony ,,fish ,,as ,,they ,,leap #aci #bi4 ,,garfish ,,pursued ,,by ,a ,,kingfish #adc #cj4 ,a ,,marmoratus ,,lying ,,motionless #adf #ca4 ,a ,,caranx ,,hippos #adg #cb4 ,,the ,,mighty ,,perch ,,and ,,his ,,deep-,,water ,,companion1 ,,the ,,red ,,grouper #adi #cc4 ,,piece ,,of ,,snake-,,like ,,conch ,,spawn1 ,,and ,,sea ,,trout #aef #cd4 ,,channel ,,bass ,,and ,,red ,,grouper #aeg #ce4 ,,curious1 ,,snake-,,like ,,eel #afc #cf4 ,,the ,,cobia1 ,,or ,,crab ,,eater #afh #cg4 ,,surf ,,whiting ,,and ,,mango ,,snapper #afi #ch4 ,a ,,moon ,,fish #agd #ci4 ,a ,,leather ,,jacket #age #dj4 ,,the ,,trigger ,,fish ,,and ,,the ,,angel ,,fish #ahj #da4 ,,silver ,,mullet #aha #db4 ,,mullet ,,leaping #ahg #dc4 ,,captured ,,sawfish ,,with ,,sucker #aib #dd4 ,,hammerhead ,,shark #aic #de4 ,,hooked ,,shark ,,seized ,,by ,,another #aic #df4 ,,extracting ,a ,,firmly ,,embedded ,,hook ,,from ,a ,,shark #aih #dg4 ,,all ,,hands ,,give ,,the ,,shark ,a ,,mighty ,,heave ,,ashore #aii #dh4 ,,leopard ,,shark #bjc ,,chapter ,i ,the ,giant ,tarpon ,,chapter ,i ,,the ,,giant ,,tarpon ,in the old country the sport of sea-fishing1 though yearly more popular with its own votaries1 can never oust the sport on inland waters1 until at any rate these are fished out4 ,always excepting sharks as vermin1 there is no ,british sea fish so mighty as the salmon1 or so game as the trout4 ,american waters1 however1 provide more than one salt-water giant calculated to test1 if not1 perhaps1 the finest skill1 yet certainly the greatest endurance that man is likely to bring to its capture4 ,of these1 the big game of the ,atlantic1 the tarpon stands easily first4 ,better than any detailed description of the fish and dentition1 with measurements1 is its picture to be found in this volume4 ,suffice it to say that the tarpon is to all outward appearance1 bar the long dorsal fin ray1 a gigantic herring1 with scales four inches in diameter4 ,it may weigh over two hundred pounds1 and the length of such a monster would be about seven feet4 ,the qualities that recommend the tarpon to the sportsman are--first1 its power of leaping clear of the water1 which lends excitement to its pursuit1 since it may1 and not infrequently does1 land in your boat2 and further1 its mighty strength1 endurance1 and cunning1 which combine to render it a worthy antagonist4 ,it will1 very often1 indeed1 completely tire out an angler1 who then hands the rod to his guide1 leaving him to finish off the half-exhausted fish1 an alliance that1 however unsporting it may seem to the hypercritical1 may be absolutely necessary if the fish1 or1 indeed1 the tackle1 is to be saved4 ,not that the fish1 except as a trophy1 is of much use when gaffed4 ,as food it is of little worth1 and it is quite a pity that the pioneers in tarpon fishing should have thought it necessary to gaff through the gills and kill every fish1 and leave it dead on the foreshore4 ,nowadays a more economic and sporting spirit prevails1 and fish are often landed without being gaffed at all1 and then allowed to go free4 ,attempts have from time to time been made to compare tarpon and salmon fishing1 to the advantage of one or the other1 but the fact is that no such comparison is possible4 ,as well compare shooting trap pigeons and rocketing pheasants4 ,the salmon calls for skill1 experience1 and light tackle2 the ,illustration3 ,a ,,tarpon ,,seizing ,a ,,bait ,,of ,,mullet4 tarpon requires no skill and no experience1 but the very strongest of tackle4 ,it also taxes the angler's strength and staying power to an extent that would1 save in very exceptional circumstances1 be out of the question in salmon fishing4 ,and why1 after all1 any call for these eternal comparisons8 ,to every country and season and income their fish2 and those who have the opportunities may without difficulty kill their ,florida tarpon and their ,highland salmon in the same summer4 ,nor is the tarpon1 though first1 the only fish worth catching in those waters1 and ,i have purposely devoted a page here and there to the sport obtainable with smaller species1 and even with the harpoon4 ,the best time of tide for sea-fishing at ,boca ,grand is slack water1 and the interval immediately before and after it4 ,a good deal depends on the quarter of the moon and direction of the wind1 for it is these that regulate the duration of a fishing-tide4 ,the tides are erratic in those seas2 at times it is possible to fish for three hours on end1 while on other days no sooner are you fairly under way than the tide becomes too strong1 and there is nothing for it but to reel up and go ashore4 ,much the same difference is1 of course1 discernible in sea-fishing at home during a week of spring or neap tides1 but there is much greater irregularity on the ,florida coast4 ,tarpon fishing by night is exciting work1 somewhat too exciting for many people4 ,the fish1 however1 bite with far more certainty than by day1 particularly when the moon is shining4 ,there is an element of danger about this night-fishing1 and more than one nervous system has been shattered by a porpoise jumping into a boat2 indeed1 ,mr4 ,otis ,mygatt1 one of the most celebrated of tarpon-fishermen1 suffered severely from this startling intrusion4 ,it is impossible to know how far one is drifting towards the open sea1 and on all sides are heard the plunges of mighty fish1 which are far more likely to land in the boat than during the day4 ,a great tarpon may seize the bait and get round behind the angler1 to his utter confusion4 ,even if the shore is reached in time1 there is considerable difficulty and excitement in landing a tarpon on a dark night4 ,towards the end of ,may those who are not strong enough to land their tarpon without delay lose them to the sharks4 ,as many as five of these monsters will attack a hooked tarpon at once1 and on one occasion ,i remember four of them while thus engaged attacking a fifth1 and in a few moments not a shred of that fifth shark remained4 ,the angler recovered only the head of the tarpon4 ,it is remarkable1 seeing the position of the shark's mouth1 what rapid bites he can take at a struggling tarpon1 just as we should take the first bite of a sandwich4 ,it is no bad plan to carry a rifle in the boat so late in the season4 ,it will often keep off sharks and save a good fish4 ,a few words must now be said as to the means of reaching ,boca ,grand ,pass1 the most fashionable tarpon ,illustration3 ,,the ,,floating ,,hotel4 ground of to-day1 and as to the accommodation to be had there4 ,there seems to be a mistaken idea that tarpon fishing is an inordinately costly recreation2 but this cannot be upheld when it is remembered that the total expenses on the spot amount to little more than thirty shillings a day1 including hotel1 board and lodging1 guide1 boat1 bait1 and guide's keep1 while the return fare1 with forty hours train and four hours boat after reaching ,new ,york1 is not more than #cb out and home4 ,the ,boca ,grand ,pass was not always the headquarters of tarpon trolling1 for this modern method of fishing was first successfully practised some few years ago in the ,captiva ,pass4 ,there is also good tarpon fishing in ,aransas ,pass1 ,mexico1 where living and other expenses are much less than at ,boca ,grand1 but the fish run smaller4 ,in #aija ,hughes' ,floating ,hotel was the only accommodation available1 with the exception of hired yachts1 and1 though most comfortable in every way1 had certain disadvantages arising out of the spot in which it was moored4 ,there was also1 however1 to be shortly completed on ,museppa ,island1 about three miles from ,boca ,grand ,pass1 a well-appointed hotel1 with every modern comfort1 including a steamer and launches to convey fishers to and from the ,pass4 ,guides1 bait1 a photographing room1 and shark-proof bathing establishment were among the attractions to be anticipated at this hotel for the next fishing season4 ,tackle for tarpon fishing should1 for the present at any rate1 be bought of ,vom ,hofe1 of ,new ,york4 ,english tackle makers have the matter in view1 but it is to be questioned whether the lower prices at which they will one of these days be able to turn out equally good stuff will not be more than neutralised by the excessive duties4 ,the rods cost about #c each1 and the reels about #g4 ,money for use during the trip should be sent to the bank at ,punta ,gorda1 a little town with few resources beyond its fashionable hotel4 ,illustration3 ,,interior ,,of ,,an ,,alligator ,,island4 ,,the ,,haunt ,,of ,,the ,,rattlesnake1 ,,gopher1 ,,tortoise1 ,,and ,,raccoon4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,among the ,alligators ,,chapter ,,ii ,,among ,,the ,,alligators ,the scenery of that coast will not be found prepossessing2 but some of the islands1 though almost repellent from without1 with their unvarying fringe of oyster-covered mangrove growth depending in the water1 are really beautiful in the interior1 where their vegetation presents a luxuriant medley of palms1 yucca1 cactus1 indiarubber trees1 and all the wealth of festooned creepers so characteristic of the sub-tropical forest4 ,there are long avenues of cabbage palm1 that curious proof of human patience1 which leads men willingly to fell a plant fourteen inches thick for the sake of a nut-like heart measuring six inches by three4 ,many of the pools and swamps in the interior are still the haunts of alligators1 though the ranks of those hideous reptiles have been greatly thinned by the professional skin hunters4 ,a 'gator hunt is not bad fun on an off day1 even though the twelve-foot veterans are now few and far between4 ,if pursued on the shore1 the alligator will almost certainly make good its escape into the sea1 though how it fares with the ever-attendant sharks has not yet been determined4 ,the first requisite for an alligator hunt inland is to enlist the services of a professional hunter1 which your guide can easily do1 though the only obvious qualification of that official seems to lie in the sanguine but unrealisable assurance that he gives1 that every submerged cave contains a quarry4 ,the only equipment for this 8sport0 is a strong gaff and a fourteen-foot sprit from the boat4 ,you then pick your way through tangled undergrowth1 disturbing many a moccasin snake that glides away on your approach4 ,at every likely puddle the professional one holds his nose and emits a series of fearful grunts1 with the object of attracting the wayward reptile4 ,as this expert trick usually fails1 the only plan is to make fast the gaff to the sprit1 and carefully probe every hole and cave1 exploring crevices in the dry earth that look no bigger than large rabbit earths4 ,at length1 if success is to be yours1 the gaff will be seized in the jaws of the infuriated sleeper1 which may then be gaffed anywhere near the head and hauled from his lair4 ,on being brought forth into the daylight1 he opens his jaws to their full extent and grunts loudly1 but seems a harmless1 torpid creature enough1 though it is prudent to keep clear of his tail1 which ,illustration3 ,,the ,,alligator ,,made ,,straight ,,for ,,the ,,open ,,sea4 can1 with little apparent effort1 whisk a man off his legs2 and of the jaws1 which then snap round unpleasantly near the other end4 ,it would be folly to class this pastime as sport1 for it is merely a novel experience2 but a somewhat more sporting method1 where alligators are sufficiently plentiful1 is to shoot them with a rifle at night4 ,professional hunters take only the underside of the skin1 which is worth just twenty-five cents to them4 ,there is one alligator story that every visitor to ,boca ,grand is sure to hear4 ,a professional hunter was on one occasion engaged to find sport for a man who wanted an easy kill without adventuring his person among the parasites of the bush1 and they returned with a dead alligator within half an hour4 ,it afterwards transpired from an unknown source that the hunter had walked with his employer to a small pond a few hundred yards distant1 and there made strange noises through his nose1 and told the other to fire in a certain direction4 ,the sportsman fired at quite another spot1 being somewhat excited2 but that made no difference1 for the hunter rushed in knee-deep and dragged forth a fine dead alligator4 ,there was no mark of any wound on its hide1 but the man told us that it had been killed by the concussion4 ,no one else said anything4 ,such recreation1 however1 is appropriate only to days on which sea-fishing is impracticable1 and ,i now come to the main business of my notes1 the capture of tarpon by the modern method of trolling4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,how to ,catch ,tarpon ,,chapter ,,iii ,,how ,,to ,,catch ,,tarpon ,have ,i sufficiently introduced the tarpon itself8 ,i hope so4 ,the fish shown in the frontispiece was caught in ,march1 and was therefore in poor condition4 ,they improve rapidly towards the end of ,april1 and are heavy with spawn late in ,may4 ,strips of mullet--four cut from the white belly of each--are the orthodox bait for tarpon1 yet an autopsy will reveal only an occasional fish1 small crabs being by far the more usual food4 ,when a tarpon is seen rising slowly1 head and tail like a salmon1 it may be regarded as on its way to the bottom to feed1 its movements when routing among the rocks and weeds being notified by the string of bubbles that rise to the surface1 much like the otter's chain4 ,in ,boca ,grand the tarpon is fished for close to the bottom1 but elsewhere it is sometimes caught near the surface4 ,when actually rolling and playing on the waters the fish are rarely caught1 and where they congregate in a strong tide and in shallows they are most difficult to hook--not more than one fish being on the average caught out of four or more strikes4 ,when a hooked tarpon does not break water1 a comparatively rare occurrence1 he may be regarded as a heavy fish4 ,once the life is out of the tarpon1 he is of little use1 unless it be to furnish a trophy for exhibition to admiring friends at home1 who may like to see what ,america can raise in the herring line4 ,yet probably this universal neglect is due to the abundance of other more excellent food-fish in those waters rather than to inherent unfitness1 for its flesh is dark1 firm1 and meaty4 ,not the least important factor in success is a good guide4 ,these men are quite characters in their way1 and never speak of their master as having caught or lost a fish3 with them it is always 8,i did this or that10 and in truth their experience and skill mean so very much that this egotism is not altogether unpardonable4 ,they are for the most part civil and obliging fellows1 particularly the niggers1 but there are1 of course1 exceptions1 and these the sportsman should1 for the public good1 never hesitate to get rid of4 ,at the same time a little consideration is due to the guides themselves1 and if they are worked all day1 they should be allowed to rest at night4 ,quite apart from their carefully acquired knowledge1 their duties are by no means light4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,tarpon ,,guide4 ,they have to be at their employers' beck and call at all hours of the day and night1 and to help him get sport in a willing and efficient manner4 ,during the fishing they have to exercise great care in manuvring the boat1 so as to keep a tight line when it is impossible to reel in fast enough4 ,they must also be always on the lookout for moving tarpon1 and they must1 above all1 have an unfailing supply of fresh and well-cut baits4 ,all said and done1 the daily wage of less than a sovereign for the guide and boat is well earned4 ,tarpon fishing has one feature unique in angling annals2 it is a social gathering1 and not by any means a solitary sport4 ,whether the undoubted charm of this distinction lies in the inherent gregariousness1 often undiscovered1 in the angler's bosom1 or rather perhaps in the rare pleasure of seeing one's friends in all manner of difficulties1 it is quite certain that tarpon fishing would be far less popular under other conditions4 ,as it is1 where the fish are seen on the move1 there must every one go1 and twenty or thirty boats will soon be clustered with no more than twenty yards between each4 ,an element of excitement is also imported by the continual apparition of great fish leaping high in the air1 falling into boats and jeopardising life and limb1 for it is a poor choice whether you will have #aej lb4 of lively fish dropped on the top of your skull1 or whether you will rather have it fair in the side1 with the risk of being knocked overboard to the sharks4 ,there will no doubt be disparaging anglers who despair of tarpon fishing as a sport when they read my frank admission that it calls for little special knowledge beyond a useful husbanding of one's strength that can be acquired only with practice4 ,at the same time1 attention to the business in hand will often save many little inconveniences1 such as getting your finger broken by the reel handle1 or cut through by quick-running slack line4 ,in thus discounting the skill at present necessary to the killing of tarpon1 ,i do not overlook the fact that this state of things will not in all probability continue indefinitely1 since there are already signs that the tarpon may become both scarcer and better educated as the sport gains more adherents2 nor is it other than probable that we do not yet know the best methods of catching this splendid fish4 ,in ,boca ,grand ,pass1 for instance1 we fish for tarpon with a strip of mullet used close to the bottom4 ,in other places where the sport is followed they use a whole mullet near the surface4 ,the probability is that we know no more of the life history and habits of the tarpon than our fathers knew of the salmon forty years ago4 ,it is when greater art is called for in the capture of the scarcer and more wary fish that the more intelligent guides and sportsmen will inevitably score in a measure that1 it must be confessed1 is not always the reward of superior intelligence to-day4 ,as to season1 the most agreeable time for tarpon fishing is undoubtedly from the second week in ,april until the end of ,may1 or as much longer1 for the matter of that1 as the mosquitoes are graciously pleased to let you bide in peace4 ,still-fishing1 the old-fashioned method of angling1 is practised under the lea of some islands only on days that do not permit of your getting out into the ,pass4 ,it bears considerable resemblance to some ways of sea-fishing at home1 and consists in anchoring the boat1 baiting and throwing out a gorge-hook1 and then sitting down to wait for a bite4 ,as often as not the bite never comes2 as often as not1 when it does1 the fish proves to be a shore-haunting shark4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,a ,lively ,morning in the ,pass ,,chapter ,,iv ,a ,,lively ,,morning ,,in ,,the ,,pass ,i will now endeavour to describe a typical morning's tarpon fishing in the ,pass1 and one such morning will1 with varying results1 be found much as another4 ,the tides of ,boca ,grand are erratic1 yet the guides must have an accurate knowledge of their vagaries1 since on them depends the duration of the fishing-time4 ,only in slack water can tarpon be fished for with any comfort4 ,the tide is1 in fact1 slacking1 as four and twenty boats drift rapidly down through the ,pass and out towards the ,gulf1 to row back close in shore and out of the current1 and repeat the process4 ,presently1 as the tide is all but done1 some one gets a strike2 up comes a hundred-pounder a second or two later1 eight feet in the air1 shaking his head in fury until his gills rattle loudly1 then1 with a plainly audible grunt1 shaking free first the leads1 then the bait1 and finally the hook1 all in about a second of time4 ,this performance1 however disturbing to the novice1 barely attracts the notice of the old hand1 for he is well accustomed to such treatment1 and does not regard his hook as fast until the fish has made its second jump in vain4 ,still1 the sight of the fish acts like a magnet on the other boats1 which are now being rowed towards the favoured spot with all the strength of their guides1 who well know that1 like most of the herring tribe1 tarpon feed in shoals4 ,and now ,i see that the lady-angler who yesterday landed four tarpon1 is fast into another4 ,up it comes and dashes straight into old 8,orange ,blossom's0 boat1 all but knocking the old man overboard1 and wetting him through and leaving abundance of slime and scales on his coat2 then1 with a couple of kicks that break an oar and knock a crack in the boat1 the tarpon flounders over the side4 ,she must have lost it6 ,no2 it is still on1 and there is no doubt about its being well hooked4 ,the guide is now making frantic efforts to get his boat out of the press and towards the shore4 ,meanwhile there have been two other strikes2 one of the fish got away at the first jump1 the other is playing the deuce all round1 and now it is steering straight for 8,dibbler's0 boat4 8,reel up60 yells the guide1 but that is more than 8,dibbler0 can do1 for is he not fast in his customary jewfish8 ,about three of these great fish 8,dibbler0 hooks every day1 and always in the same spot1 losing them all with unfailing regularity through ,illustration3 ,a ,,good ,,catch ,,of ,,tarpon ,,for ,a ,,lady4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,hooked ,,piece ,,of ,,coral ,,which ,,was ,,mistaken ,,for ,a ,,jewfish4 breakage4 ,it is futile to try and persuade him that just at that spot the rock rises about fifteen feet higher than on the rest of the reef3 nothing will induce him to keep clear of the rock1 and he has his daily exciting struggles with his impassive and unmoved antagonists4 8,keep away60 he shouts1 now 8,i am going to land this jewfish1 whatever happens60 ,yet who can keep a hooked tarpon clear of a given spot8 ,already the lady's tarpon has fouled poor 8,dibbler's0 line1 and he1 all unconscious1 and with a radiant face that beams with anticipation1 shouts out to us the inspiring intelligence that he is moving it at last1 and will certainly land the record jewfish very shortly4 ,alas6 the tarpon soon cuts through his frayed line1 leaving him to float disconsolately onward and reel in1 bemoaning the loss of yet another jewfish1 and just as he was getting the best of it too6 ,sometimes one of the lumps of coral is detached1 and the novice1 and on occasion even the old hand1 will play it for the best part of an hour1 for it may easily be mistaken for a jewfish1 a sulky monster that may weigh up to #cjj lb4 ,the deceptive effect is heightened by the drifting of the boat1 and altogether there is much excuse for the error4 ,it is wonderful1 too1 how deceptive some of the bolder biting fishes are4 ,i recollect on one occasion seeing a novice strike1 as he thought1 a tarpon1 throw himself backwards and play it as he supposed right2 his guide1 who also seemed to think it was a tarpon1 manuvred in the orthodox way1 and presently a pound-grouper flew into the boat6 ,there have now been some seven strikes1 with only two tarpon landed1 and sport is somewhat slack4 ,a fair angler carelessly trailing her bait over the side is suddenly startled by the magnificent leap of a thirty-pound kingfish1 a mighty mackerel1 which all but wrenches the rod from her hands4 ,away it dashes1 taking out line at an appalling pace1 foul-hooked in the eye1 but unable to free itself1 and at last duly brought to gaff4 ,what a handsome fish6 ,particularly noticeable are the knife-edged1 conical teeth1 that can cut baits just below the hook as with scissors1 and the small proportion of its fin to its swimming power4 ,the kingfish is one of the swiftest swimmers in those seas1 and the ,spaniards recognise this by calling it 8cavalla10 or the horse4 ,i have shown two figures of kingfish1 the one chasing a skipjack1 its favourite food1 below the surface1 the other leaping in the air and throwing up a newly-hunted skipjack1 an almost invariable habit4 ,indeed1 a kingfish breaking water always appears to have a skipjack in readiness to throw up1 and this1 its next meal1 accompanies it for about a third of its flight4 ,although the skipjack appears to be knocked out of the water by the kingfish1 and sometimes shows bleeding rents in its sides1 it may be that the leap is a voluntary one to avoid capture1 for it is ,illustration3 ,a ,,king ,,accidentally ,,foul-,,hooked4 ,illustration3 ,,with ,,lightning ,,speed ,,the ,,king ,,fish ,,chased ,,the ,,lively ,,skipjack4 difficult to imagine the object of the kingfish in throwing its prey into the air4 ,these skipjacks often skip into boats1 and exceedingly beautiful little fish they are1 with the steely blue sheen on their burnished silver coats1 and their amber fins and sharply-forked tail4 ,the damaged tail-fin of the swimming kingfish figured opposite struck me the moment ,i caught it1 and ,i came to the conclusion at the time that the tail-fin had been bitten by a prowling shark that the kingfish was1 thanks to its lightning speed1 able to baulk of a more substantial meal4 ,of the sharks that infest this coast ,i shall have something to say later on4 ,they are numerous and ravenous1 and spare nothing1 great or small4 ,and now the tarpon are biting again4 ,there are two1 three1 four strikes2 three fish have jumped1 two are fairly hooked4 ,the excitement grows4 8,hi1 you1 sir6 reel up there4 ,can't you see you have fouled that lady's line8 ,cut your line--tell you you have no fish on at all--just cut your line60 8,pull like hell60 shouts some one to his guide1 as his tarpon rushes in towards him4 8,pick up that chair1 ,bill10 cries the guide1 a minute later4 8,my gent's fallen out--got to tow him ashore4 ,there goes a rod broken at the butt40 8,lend us an oar1 ,sam2 mine's smashed40 8,come and get it yourself10 sings out the courteous ,sam4 8,can't2 got a fish on40 8,look out6 ,there's a shark after your tarpon4 ,where's your gun80 8,now1 then1 you there2 where are you shooting80 ,and so on1 and so on4 ,six mad tarpon1 six mad fishers1 six mad guides1 and six quite unmanageable boats dashing about in confusion among near a score of others4 ,this it is that makes tarpon fishing so fascinating once you get the true spirit of the thing4 ,in those two hours that we have been out just nineteen fish were landed out of fifty or sixty strikes1 and more than one boat never got a touch4 ,as soon as the tide runs too strong boat after boat is pulled ashore1 and every one seeks a shady nook for luncheon1 generally under the lighthouse4 ,here in the cool we munch our sandwiches and talk tarpon1 every other subject being tabooed at ,boca ,grand4 ,and how wonderfully has that big fish of yesterday increased in the night6 ,it was really a fine fish1 scaling1 as a matter of fact1 #aga lb41 and needed no editing4 ,yet the man who weighed it called #aha lb4 ,the fortunate angler added a matter of #aj lb4 for loss of weight in transport to the scales4 ,this somewhat generous allowance for wear and tear brought its already respectable weight up to #aia lb4 ,that was last night4 ,to-day he speaks of it as 8close on #bjj lb410 and we can infer what that will mean as soon as he gets back home4 ,then1 as to its measurements1 he left it hanging out last night1 and measured it alone this morning4 ,it hung by one ,illustration3 ,,the ,,king ,,fish ,,leapt ,,some #bj ,,feet ,,into ,,the ,,air1 ,,and ,,up ,,with ,,him ,,came ,a ,,skipjack ,,deeply ,,gashed ,,along ,,the ,,side4 jaw1 and its own weight must have stretched it by at least three inches4 ,he is not1 however1 content with measuring it with the mouth open2 he must needs add another four inches 8for luck40 ,this is only a fair example of the manufacture of long and heavy fish1 and a little study of such cases will go far to explain not merely the extraordinary shrinkage in the hands of the taxidermist1 but also the otherwise incomprehensible fact of some sportsmen getting so large a percentage of the heavy fish1 while others score only the average4 ,,chapter ,v ,ladies ,who ,love the ,sport ,,chapter ,v ,,ladies ,,who ,,love ,,the ,,sport ,there are generally some ladies in the company1 indeed the gentler sex seems to have taken to tarpon fishing to an extent quite unforeseen when first men introduced the sport4 ,it is wonderful1 too1 how ladies manage to hold on to these mighty fish1 and to husband their strength1 the department in which1 in their excitement1 they might reasonably be expected to fail4 ,i have already mentioned the feat of the lady who killed her four tarpon in one morning4 ,considering that these fish weighed close on #ajj lb4 apiece1 this was no mean achievement4 ,this same woman1 while beaching one of her first heavy fish early in the season1 fell backwards over a few straws4 ,she was too exhausted to stand upright again for some moments1 but so excited was her imagination that she was firmly persuaded1 until convinced by the evidence of her own eyes1 that she had fallen over a log4 ,there were many other successful lady anglers4 ,one of these caught and landed a jewfish scaling #acg lb41 and this must have called for all her strength1 for these jewfish have enormous power of resistance so long as they sulk at the bottom1 which they do as if they were rocks4 ,i have watched a man fighting with a #cej-lb4 jewfish1 which he eventually succeeded in killing1 though not without a severe tussle1 which taxed his patience and his tackle in no small degree4 ,for a long time we thought he was playing a rock1 after the manner dear to 8,dibbler10 so little did the object in which the hook was fast seem to yield to his persuasions1 and it was only the fact of his being too old a hand to be taken in by any such makebelieve that convinced us that big game was really in question4 ,for a good twenty minutes hard pulling he cannot have moved that jewfish through more than fourteen feet of water1 and all his labour would seem to be undone next moment1 for the monster simply sinks to the bottom again and is doubtless trying to cut his line against some sharp coral edge4 ,yet his skill and patience have not in fact been thrown away1 for the great fish is tiring4 ,the next steady strain brings it appreciably nearer to the surface1 and at last1 after a giant's contest lasting fully two hours1 the three hundred and odd pounds of fish float blown and helpless on the top of the water1 the vanquished monster looking more like a barrel than a fish4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,big ,,jewfish ,,for ,a ,,woman ,,to ,,land4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,jewfish1 ,,with ,,sucker ,,clinging ,,to ,,it4 ,like most ground-hugging species1 the jewfish1 once brought to the top1 is inflated and helpless4 ,his one hope is in the razor-edges of the coral1 and well he knows how to turn these1 where available1 to account4 ,if he is caught1 it is because he has inadvertently wandered far from his natural defences1 and cannot risk a sudden haul from above by an attempt to regain them4 ,a ponderous perch-like fish1 he is known in many southern and sub-tropical seas1 and is a favourite object of sport1 like his ally1 the grouper1 all round the ,australian coasts4 ,it is just possible1 of course1 to reckon too securely on this helplessness of jewfish when hauled to the surface1 for an occasional captive may put forth exceptional efforts to regain its liberty4 ,thus1 ,i recollect a case in which one of #cjj lb4 was lost by a lady through too great reliance on this usual collapse1 for the fish was made fast by the line close alongside the boat1 and was being towed ashore1 when it made a sudden dash for freedom and went down like a stone4 ,like most of the other great fish of those waters1 the jewfish is troubled with suckers1 and in the photograph facing this page may be seen a sucker of about #a lb4 adhering to the side of a #djj-lb4 jewfish4 ,so close do these uninvited guests cling by means of their sucking apparatus on the head1 that only a quick leap 7which the jewfish1 by the way1 cannot manage7 and a sudden twist in the air dislodges them4 ,i have seen sharks leap out of water and throw them off in showers4 ,the only thing that will tempt a sucker from its comfortable position is a small and suitable bait dangled near it4 ,thus lured1 it will frequently swim away from its host1 and allow itself to be caught4 ,the scales of the jewfish are somewhat curiously formed1 and those of sufficiently active imagination profess to see in the centre of each an accurate and unmistakable full length portrait of the ,virgin ,mary4 ,many1 however1 will1 ,i venture to predict1 look for this in vain4 ,before quitting the subject of the many successes achieved by women on those hunting grounds1 ,i may mention one in which an enormous whip ray was foul-hooked1 and the lady obligingly stood on her victim that the camera might do its share4 ,on the whole1 fishing in ,florida seas may be said to offer thrilling sport to such ladies as are venturesome enough to give it a trial4 ,there is just that spice of danger which sportswomen never resent1 without the need of prolonged roughing it1 that tries them far more than sudden calls on their endurance4 ,as long experience and angling skill are not required1 at any rate at present1 a lady has on her first outing as good a chance as any one of hooking the record fish of the season1 tarpon1 jewfish1 or shark1 as the case may be2 nor is the ordinary work of tarpon fishing1 though beyond doubt arduous1 such as to alarm any woman of average aptitude for outdoor sport4 ,when you have fairly hooked your tarpon1 you sit comfortably back in the armchair1 your rod resting in a socket screwed on the thwart or suspended round the waist1 and thus you pit your ,illustration3 ,,the ,,vanquished ,,whip ,,ray4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,whip ,,ray ,,firmly ,,harpooned ,,turned ,,helplessly ,,on ,,its ,,back4 ,illustration3 ,,steadily ,,the ,,hooked ,,tarpon ,,followed ,,the ,,boat ,,towards ,,shore4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,crews ,,of ,,six ,,boats ,,towing ,a ,,harpooned ,,whip ,,ray4 strength against that of the fish4 ,your reel carries #bjj yards of line1 but it is rarely that half of that length is required4 ,most tarpon fishers bring their fish to the gaff from the boat1 but it is far more sportsmanlike to beach them1 as they need not then be destroyed4 ,when this lady foul-hooked the whip ray1 it towed her boat about for quite half an hour4 ,she then got rather tired and handed her rod to her husband1 who1 in the course of another hour's hard fight1 could do no more than raise the brute to the top of the water fully thirty yards away from his boat4 ,he then sent along to the man with the harpoon to help him1 and next time the ray came to the surface the harpooner had it fast1 and it was triumphantly towed ashore by a remarkable procession of boats4 ,its estimated weight was #ejj lb41 and this ,i should regard as not far wide of the mark4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,enormous ,rays1 or ,devil-,fish ,,chapter ,,vi ,,enormous ,,rays1 ,,or ,,devil-,,fish ,rays1 which are somewhat closely related to the sharks1 though so different to the casual observer1 are characteristic of all seas1 but especially perhaps of the tropical waters of ,america1 where some of them attain to enormous weight4 ,the stingrays1 of which the one depicted in this volume is a variety1 armed with formidable serrated spikes at the base of the tail1 are in some cases fearsome creatures1 while many of the family are provided with the means of numbing their victims with an electric discharge4 ,the whip ray1 however1 though carrying spikes above the tail1 is a harmless and indeed beautiful creature4 ,at the same time1 its frantic leaps when driven wild by the suckers that adhere to its disc are sufficiently alarming to those unaccustomed to its ways4 ,to see a kite-shaped creature with a long and whip-like tail leaping high in the air1 then merely touching the water again like a ricocheting shell and again soaring aloft1 a series of such leaps taking it quite a hundred yards over the surface1 is1 to say the least of it1 a novel spectacle to those just out from ,europe1 the seas of which do not afford these apparitions4 ,it is as if the monster fish were suddenly tenanted by the wandering spirit of a defunct kangaroo1 and when it is added that its aerial leaps often bring it quite close to the boats--though ,i do not remember hearing of a single case in which it actually jumped into one--it will be seen that there is some excuse for the occasional signs of alarm evoked by its sudden appearance4 ,the splash with which it regains the water can1 on still days1 be heard quite a mile away4 ,the swimming action of these great rays is very beautiful1 displaying all the graceful undulating movements so characteristic of the shark tribe1 which go so far towards mitigating the repulsive appearance of some of them4 ,there is always this striking contrast between the live and dead shark2 the one1 though endowed with instincts that can never commend it to our goodwill1 is yet a very lithe and graceful robber2 the other1 deprived of all life and movement1 shows only the vices with none of the redeeming beauty4 ,a more characteristic pose of the rays1 however1 is that of lying motionless1 or1 at most1 with its disc slightly undulating with respiration1 on the sand just under water4 ,sometimes1 indeed1 they are found lying a yard or so above low-water mark in pits of their own making1 and it is in such positions that they may be particularly dangerous1 through no fault of their own1 to the too eager surf-fisherman who wades bare-footed in the muddy water1 careless of such risks4 ,the whip rays seem of wide distribution under a variety of names1 and a striped species has been taken on the ,irish coasts4 ,it would be difficult to know what use the delicate tail--usually stripped bare of its skin an inch from the tip--can be to this fish4 ,the armament of spikes at the base can be erected at will1 and the fish is able to bend up its back1 much after the fashion of the scorpion1 so as to bring them to bear on enemies attacking it in front4 ,each spike is serrated1 its innumerable small points setting inwards1 and the whole is enveloped in a skin so thin as to be ruptured by the mere act of withdrawing it from some body into which the fearful weapon has been thrust4 ,my own impression is that portions of this skin remain in the wound1 and set up that local poisoning that gives to such an act of aggression the popular name of 8stinging40 ,there are even larger rays on that coast than the whip ray4 ,the giant ray1 for instance1 is one of the largest of existing fishes1 and specimens have been captured measuring as much as twenty feet across the 8wings40 ,indeed1 the ,spanish and half-caste pearl divers call this ghoulish monster the 8blanket10 from a fixed belief 7though no one can have survived to tell the tale7 that it envelops its victims as in a blanket1 and then devours them at leisure4 ,this sobriquet survives in the adopted scientific name of ,manta4 ,it appears to me that such a diet is against all probability1 if we may judge by the food of most of the order1 but these men are firmly convinced that the giant ray1 or1 as it is also not inappropriately called1 devil-fish1 is an inveterate enemy to man1 and they at least earn the right to an opinion on dangers to which they alone are constantly exposed4 ,the proper way to capture these creatures1 if any one cares about an occasional hour's excitement1 is with the harpoon4 ,as for catching them on the rod1 it is only done by foul hooking1 and it merely strains the arms and tackle in what cannot be described as a very good cause4 ,harpooning1 however1 may be really exciting1 and ,i will try to describe such an adventure to the best of my recollection4 ,you take the harpoon and get your guide to row you along the shore northwards4 ,standing in the bows1 behind the neatly coiled harpoon line1 you keep a sharp lookout for game1 and very soon you see a mighty disc lying on the sand at no great depth4 ,poising the harpoon in the air1 you let drive at the object of your desires2 it vanishes in a trailing cloud of sand1 and you have an opportunity of seeing how poor a shot you made by insufficient allowance for refraction1 which1 of course1 distorts the size1 shape1 and position of objects under water2 and1 as you assure yourself that in this case the harpoon went a good five feet ahead of the fish1 you resolve to study the position of the next more accurately4 ,look out6 ,here is a long1 dark object coming straight at you4 ,it is a shark4 ,let him have it right in the neck4 ,that is better4 ,the harpoon has struck this time4 ,habet6 ,only the weapon has entered near the tail1 not within four feet of the spot you thought to reach4 ,you have to keep the rope close to the bow1 or the brute may capsize you4 ,but the harpoon has come away1 and you coil the rope for the next comer4 ,there is a sting ray right under your boat4 ,no calculation necessary this time4 ,you strike it fair in the centre4 ,be careful how you handle it1 for should it get its spike into you1 you will remember the wrenching out of the barbs4 ,all ready again6 ,see that dark patch a hundred yards ahead6 ,it is a whip ray1 weighing perhaps #djj lb4 ,how gracefully it flies beneath the water6 ,you take careful note of its bearings1 and reckon that it lies about seven feet deep and perhaps seventeen feet ahead4 ,this means that the centre of the fish is some nine feet nearer to you than appears to be the case4 ,good6 ,you threw too far again1 but the ray is struck near the head1 and you will get some sport anyhow4 ,the infuriated fish tows the boat in all directions4 ,it is too heavy to haul in1 and must be got ashore4 ,this is not very difficult1 for you let it run free when heading in that direction1 and check it when making a move for deeper water4 ,at last it is beached4 ,there is no occasion to cut out the harpoon1 for all you need do is to thrust in your finger and press up the barb on either side1 and it comes away at once4 ,as a trophy1 the back of this ray1 with its black ground and small white rings within larger ones1 characteristic of old fish1 makes a handsome table cover4 ,the tail is about six feet in length1 and less in thickness than a cedar pencil1 and at its base are three or four barbed spears4 ,it feeds entirely on crustacea1 never taking a fish bait1 and is caught only by foul hooking4 ,in the roof of the whip ray's mouth will be seen a series of processes like corrugated grinding stones1 and there is a corresponding series on the lower jaw4 ,it is between these that the shell fish are thoroughly triturated4 ,i have somewhere read that the male rays have sharper teeth and no grinding arrangement1 but ,i am not sufficiently acquainted with the sex distinctions to bear this out4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,stranded ,,whip ,,ray4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,harpooning a ,monster ,,chapter ,,vii ,,harpooning ,a ,,monster ,i remember another exciting adventure1 which resulted in the capture of a giant ray1 weighing many hundred pounds4 ,the wind had just gone to the south after many days of cold northers1 and1 whereas it would require several days of such wind to bring the tarpon back to a feeding humour1 this first breath from the south was sufficient to stir up a long line of foam and slush that means food to the devil-fish4 ,twenty feet and upwards across these monsters may measure1 and they have been taken weighing over #d1jjj lb4 ,in the corners of the mouth1 which gapes like a letter-box1 are coiled fans that are used in waving the food into the throat4 ,three of these devil-fish we saw on the day in question1 coming along and raising breakers as if they were steam-propelled rafts4 ,with the tips of their great wings occasionally showing1 and their huge shining black backs continually appearing above the surface1 they looked very terrible4 ,in full pursuit was the man with the harpoon1 who had been waiting such a chance for weeks4 ,and now1 as we can plainly see1 he is close to this moving line of flesh4 ,whiz goes the harpoon1 hurled by a strong and practised arm2 not only the metal head1 but also the shaft is deeply buried in that three-feet slab of flesh1 and the maddened monster bounds off with lightning speed4 ,the next moment the man changes places with his guide1 no easy proceeding in a slender #ad;ft4 craft1 but it is necessary that he should do so1 for he killed a devil-fish alone not a month since1 and the skin has not yet grown again on his raw hands4 ,ere the boat has got properly under way a loose bight of rope catches the guide round the leg1 and flings him into the gunwale2 there is plenty of way on now1 and a dangerous list into the bargain as the bow dips under water4 ,the man rushes1 knife in hand1 to his guide's assistance1 but the latter succeeds with great dexterity in freeing himself from the coils1 and there is no need to cut loose4 ,and now the pace grows fast and furious4 ,eighty feet of line are out1 waves are flying from the bow1 and the boat speeds so that no launch in ,florida could catch her4 ,the great fish is close to the bottom1 and suddenly shifts its course4 ,this manuvre is like to cost it dear1 for it enables six ,illustration3 ,a ,,harpooned ,,devil-,,fish ,,in ,,shallow ,,water4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,harpooned ,,devil-,,fish1 ,,weighing ,,about #bjjj ,,pounds1 ,,with ,,the ,,jaws ,,propped ,,open4 other boats1 which had already stopped fishing1 to join in the chase1 to cut off a corner and hitch on to the circling harpoon boat4 ,a seventh boat from the fishing grounds has failed to make connection1 and1 before the day is over1 others will wish they had done likewise4 ,on1 and ever on1 speeds this extraordinary procession1 the like of which was surely never seen under other circumstances1 propelled by an unseen power to an unknown destination with a force so great that it makes no account so far of the additional strain on its resources4 ,some have tried to back water as a check on the runaway1 and have for their pains been almost thrown out of the boats and had the oars torn from1 their hands4 ,onward they tear1 the great fish keeping carefully in the deep channel-way1 and avoiding treacherous shallows on its unrestrained course to the open sea4 ,when the ray has thus run for five miles1 it quite suddenly doubles on its course1 with the surprising and discomforting result that the seven boats are tied in a knot4 ,quickly they will have to extricate themselves1 else1 as it is impossible to go full speed ahead in that formation1 over they must go4 ,the pace gradually slackens during the next three miles1 and at last all oars are shipped and the guides back water4 ,this is not without its effect on the 8devil10 who promptly heads again for the open sea1 and moves on until the shore is but a streak on the horizon4 ,anxious eyes are now seeking for the smoke of the steamer that they hope will have been sent to their assistance4 ,it is two hours or more since the giant was first harpooned1 and it is tiring sufficiently to allow of its being brought now and again to the surface to receive a ,winchester bullet or two in its spine4 ,its mighty wings still flap1 however1 and it is like some great unwieldy water bird for ever struggling onwards4 ,and now the welcome smoke can just be seen in the distance1 though it will take the steamer a good hour to reach the ground1 and goodness knows how many hours to tow such a flotilla home4 ,only two hours of daylight remain1 and one of these is well nigh gone ere the steamer comes along1 and promptly crashes into the somewhat erratic harpoon boat1 striking her fair amidships1 almost the worst disaster of the day4 ,fortunately she was a nice limp boat with scarce a sound rib in her1 and she gave so freely to the sudden blow that little fresh damage was done and she leaked but slightly more than usual4 ,the rest of the day's sport1 the slaying and towing ashore of the giant ray1 was a matter of time only1 yet1 curiously enough1 when that man went harpooning devil-fish again he went alone4 ,the rest of the company had somehow lost all taste for such weird recreation4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,the ,loggerhead ,turtle ,illustration3 ,a ,,turtle ,,swimming4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,,the ,,loggerhead ,,turtle ,one of the favourite objects of the harpoon in those waters is the loggerhead turtle1 and as the procedure differs in some respects from that followed in the pursuit of the unprofitable ray1 ,i will attempt to give some account of the way in which amateurs spear their turtle4 ,if you must catch your turtle before you cook him1 you must as surely find one before you can spear him4 ,turtles are in the habit of coming up for a breather somewhere about slack water1 and at such times they may be seen basking lazily at the surface4 ,a small and sharp harpoon is necessary to penetrate the turtle's shell1 and it is important to make this change in your equipment if you go from rays to turtles4 ,all being ready1 your guide paddles you as quietly as possible into the pass1 and you must get in the way of standing motionless in the bow in a slight lop1 for roughish weather is undoubtedly the best for turtle-spearing4 ,at length you see a great loggerhead some three hundred yards ahead on the port bow4 ,the loggerhead turtle is the most common on this coast2 the more delicate green turtle is the rarest2 and between them in point of numbers comes the leathery species4 ,it is most important1 when you have sighted a turtle1 to creep up as close and as quickly as possible1 without making the slightest noise4 ,you must even stand quite steady and crouch without kicking the boat1 as the least disturbance may send the turtle to the bottom4 ,the great thing is to restrain yourself from letting drive with the harpoon until the most favourable moment1 and the most favourable moment is that at which you are closest to your quarry1 so that it may feel the full force of the harpoon4 ,if1 when you are within reach1 the turtle shows signs of diving1 in with the harpoon2 otherwise1 get a little nearer4 ,now put all your back into the cast1 and the barbed point goes clipping through the shell4 ,you think that it did not penetrate very far8 ,well1 your instinct is probably correct1 so it will be as well to fix another dart ready and1 playing him gently the while1 strike again the moment he comes up to breathe4 ,he may remain beneath the surface fully twenty minutes1 on the move the whole while1 but he will soon want air after that time has elapsed4 ,if you were sure of having struck the barb well home1 the more usual course ,illustration3 ,,harpooning ,a ,,turtle4 ,illustration3 ,,playing ,a ,,turtle4 would be to haul in at once2 but it is sometimes safe to give the case the benefit of the doubt1 and to handle the captive gingerly at first1 until a second blow has made things doubly sure4 ,up he comes at last2 a second barb is driven into shell and flesh2 and now1 being quite sure that there is a firm hold1 you alter your tactics and haul boldly4 ,as he comes floundering to the surface you seize one flipper 7careful6 that beak1 which is fashioned to crush the strongest shells1 could easily nip your hand off at the wrist67 while the guide lays hold of the other4 ,you both keep well on the opposite side of the boat to prevent her collapsing1 and the turtle1 weighing #bjj lb41 is finally lifted in tail first and laid on his back4 ,you are very careful to keep your legs out of his way1 for the flippers hit hard and the male's nails tear deep4 ,blindly in his impotent wrath he flounders1 striking out in all directions and chipping away planks like matchwood if he gets the chance4 ,before hoisting in a turtle1 see that your oars are properly stowed away4 ,we once landed a heavy loggerhead upon an oar half drawn into the boat1 with the result that it was driven through the bottom1 and the accident discovered only when the boat was a third full of water4 ,in spite of hard bailing1 by the time the turtle had been shifted1 and the guide had whipped off his shirt and stuffed it into the hole1 the boat was in a sinking condition1 and the turtle had most of the fun to itself4 ,though its reputation is deservedly less than that of its green relative1 the loggerhead nevertheless makes excellent soup1 but you have to dress your own turtle if you want to utilise it in this way4 ,the first thing is to kill it1 and killing a turtle is easier to write than to do4 ,its head must be cut off at any cost1 and the particular cost to avoid is having your fingers nipped off4 ,always bear in mind that the shell is a very important part of the skeleton2 the ribs and neck are firmly joined to it4 ,the big bones fore and aft1 as well as the shoulder blades and pelvis1 are separate2 otherwise all the solid parts and the shell are one4 ,i am not desiring to discourse on the anatomy of the turtle1 but this unity with the shell is worth remembering by any one attempting to remove the head4 ,to get at the turtle's best meat you have to cut round the margin of the under plates and lift up the lid4 ,even then1 unless you have some experience of the composition of the animal1 it is by no means easy to be sure that you have struck the liver1 and not some other part that you do not want4 ,a turtle is one of those creatures that do not seem nearly dead when you have killed them4 ,when the turtles are pairing1 by the way1 nothing will drive them from each other's company1 and there can under the circumstances be no possible sport or advantage in killing them1 particularly as the male is then unfit for food4 ,such are some of the fruits of harpooning4 ,it will be found a pleasant change1 exercising a new combination of the senses ,illustration3 ,,hoisting ,a ,,turtle ,,on ,,board4 and muscles1 and requiring some skill2 but it is1 of course1 only a bastard form of sport1 and is usually resorted to on days when the tarpon will not feed1 or the tide is too strong for fishing4 ,the turtle is the only useful animal taken on that coast by such means1 and there is this excuse for harpooning your turtle that you cannot get them in any other way4 ,the turtle's cousin on land1 the gopher tortoise1 which is common enough in those parts1 is said to be taken in a very curious way1 though1 as the animal is useless1 few put it to the test4 ,this tortoise lives in underground burrows1 not unlike rabbit earths1 and its abundance may be judged by the number of such burrows4 ,into these the natives say they drop a ball attached to a string1 a sudden intrusion that infuriates the occupant of the burrow1 who1 in his slow and sure fashion1 pursues it into daylight1 and is then easily secured4 ,i hand on the story for what the cautious reader may think it worth4 ,personally1 ,i am not much inclined1 from my limited knowledge of reptile habits1 to credit it4 ,the turtles come ashore in the warm ,may nights to lay their eggs1 and the female1 as soon as she touches land1 raises her head and peers cautiously around to see that the coast is clear4 ,satisfied on this point1 she scrambles on to the dry sand and above high-water mark1 scrapes a hole and therein deposits her eggs1 covers them up1 and returns to the sea4 ,three sittings she will lay each season1 and many a banquet is thus provided for raccoons4 ,it is at this laying season that so many turtles are procured for the market1 and many a loggerhead finds its way into the real green turtle soup4 ,in their wanderings below the surface they not infrequently get foul of a line1 but1 so hard is their skin1 that the hook seldom penetrates4 ,some idea of the toughness of the skin may be formed when it is mentioned that even the strongest men can with difficulty pierce it with a gaff4 ,when they chance to foul a line they are generally played for about half an hour1 after which they show once and then go free4 ,on one occasion the harpooner of the party slowly and cautiously approached a basking loggerhead1 his right arm poised1 his weapon ready to strike4 ,then1 slowly1 it was lowered2 the turtle must have been dead at least a week4 ,yells of laughter greeted his discovery1 for the decaying reptile had drifted down the whole line of boats1 reaching him the last1 and had even deceived one or two of their inmates into fetching out their gaffs4 ,,chapter ,,ix ,catfish as ,scavengers ,,chapter ,,ix ,,catfish ,,as ,,scavengers ,with the exception of the sharks1 which1 vermin as they are1 give a measure of sport under favourable conditions1 ,i have now disposed of most of the really big game of the ,florida coast waters1 and it remains to draw the reader's and intending visitor's attention to the number of other sea-fish that on occasion give excellent sport in those latitudes4 ,i have often thought that in the all-absorbing ambition for the record tarpon some of these humbler fish1 which would themselves create a sensation in ,english waters1 are too consistently neglected4 ,the sharks shall receive notice where their low standing as vermin relegates them1 at the end of the book4 ,it may be complained1 particularly by those who have never been on the spot1 that ,i have passed too lightly over the real art of tarpon fishing1 made too little of its difficulties1 laid too much stress on the simplicity of success4 ,well1 these are matters of opinion4 ,i never1 in my own tarpon experiences1 found a single instance where real skill and expert knowledge were nearly so important as brute strength and endurance1 and ,i write only of what ,i know4 ,those who like detailed instructions in the art of tarpon fishing should consult the back files of ,forest and ,stream1 the great ,american fishing paper1 and in these they will find innumerable excellent articles and letters on the subject4 ,in a quite recent volume1 for instance1 ,i find an admirable series of tarpon papers from the pen of ,mr4 ,j4 ,a4 ,l4 ,waddell1 and ,i append1 as a specimen of the detail with which some of these writers lovingly handle their subject1 ,mr4 ,waddell's twelve ways in which a tarpon may be lost by the careless or ill-starred4 #a4 ,by failure of the hook to penetrate a soft place4 #b4 ,by the cutting of a hole in the mouth1 from which the hook drops when the line is slackened4 #c4 ,by breaking or corkscrewing the hook4 #d4 ,by breaking the line1 owing to3-- 7a7 its deterioration4 7b7 fouling of line by overrunning of the reel4 7c7 tangling of something by the reel handle4 7d7 too severe application of the brake or reel handle in order to stop the fish4 ,illustration3 ,,dead ,,grouper ,,being ,,devoured ,,by ,,catfish ,,and ,,bream4 #e4 ,by breaking of the snell4 #f4 ,by breaking of the rod1 generally in the tip1 but sometimes in the butt4 #g4 ,by carelessness of boatman in gaffing4 #h4 ,by attack of a shark4 ,it remains to put before the intending visitor to ,florida some of the commoner but yet interesting sea-fish1 less game than the tarpon1 less immense than the jewfish1 that will under a variety of conditions1 and on days when the tarpon itself is out of reach1 afford excellent sport4 ,these notes are not1 of course1 addressed to the expert naturalist2 indeed1 they are for the most part very brief1 and serve chiefly to introduce my photographs1 which may1 perhaps1 claim to be the most characteristic series of the kind yet published4 ,,the ,,common ,,catfish 7,galeichthys felis7 ,as the turkey buzzards on land1 so the catfish in the sea act as scavengers that we could ill dispense with4 ,the sharks1 on the other hand1 with their fiercer and more predatory instincts1 may rather be compared with the eagles among birds4 ,these catfish are1 as may be seen from the photograph1 not beautiful to the eye4 ,neither1 for the matter of that1 is the condor1 yet it is1 perhaps1 of more use to ,south ,america than the humming bird4 ,we here see a trio of catfish busy on the carcase of a monster grouper that floats dead on the surface2 and what would become of such polluting offal but for services such as are rendered by these useful scavengers1 one shudders to think4 ,these catfish have no scales1 their bodies being shiny1 and sleek to the touch1 but the fisherman must beware of insidious spikes hidden behind the fins4 ,any one familiar with the salmon will not fail to notice a similar adipose fin on the back of the catfish1 in front of the tail1 and the other distinctive feature is the growth of whiskers1 in reality sensitive feelers1 on the head4 ,many catfish are found only in the rivers of the warmer regions of the globe1 and ,german and ,austrian anglers have their own siluroid in the giant wels of so many continental rivers and lakes4 ,in the picture will be seen a couple of sea-bream1 apparently hovering around to pick up the leavings of the larger fish1 and1 for this or some other reason1 sea-bream are very often caught in company with catfish4 ,catfish and buzzards are not the only scavengers of that coast4 ,no tarpon that is wanted again should be left on the shore1 for no sooner are you out of sight than every hole and cranny in the sand above high-water mark gives up its ghostly crabs1 elfish little body-snatchers that creep stealthily1 and quickly eat their way into the soft parts of the fish4 ,ghost-crabs they call them thereabouts1 and phantom-like they look when disturbed and tearing seawards with their attenuated white legs held on high4 ,illustration3 ,,gaff ,,topsail ,,catfish ,,so ,,called ,,from ,,their ,,flyaway ,,fins1 ,,and ,,young ,,hammer ,,head ,,shark4 ,,the ,,gaff ,,topsail ,,catfish 7lurichthys marinus7 ,in the gaff topsail catfish there is not merely an extraordinary development in the 8whiskers10 but the back fin also carries a long threadlike growth not unlike that in the tarpon4 ,all these catfish frequent sandy grounds1 and are rarely found in the clearer coral waters4 ,the present species runs to greater weights than the last1 and it is as a rule found both farther from land1 and in deeper levels4 ,as they are all inoffensive scavengers1 and by no means the fierce creatures they look1 it is difficult to account for their being so often hooked by tarpon fishers1 except by the probability of their endeavouring to suck the baits off1 and getting foul hooked4 ,all catfish are active at night1 which might be thought to account for their popular name1 only that they are on the feed all day as well4 ,it is nevertheless a pretty sight on hot nights when the sea is highly phosphorescent to throw morsels of fish or meat into the water1 and watch the balls of fire darting in all directions as the catfish and others dash to their repast4 ,in the picture will be seen a baby hammerhead shark 7,sphyrna zygna71 a rather interesting personality1 for it had not long been born when photographed1 and had not in fact developed the singular 8hammer0 of a later stage1 its eyes being still flush with the sides of the head1 and its only distinction from the more typical sharks lying in the extraordinarily prolonged snout4 ,i give a photograph of an adult hammerhead later on4 ,,the ,,sheepshead 7,archosargus probatocephalus7 ,i mentioned the sea-bream in writing of catfish1 and one of the commonest of the group on that coast is the sheepshead1 so-called1 ,i imagine1 from the solid1 sheeplike teeth that can even crunch the mangrove oysters1 in the neighbourhood of which these fish are so fond of foregathering4 ,these growths of oysters on the red mangrove always attract the notice of visitors unused to the spectacle4 ,the best bait for these bream is a fiddler crab1 a crustacean found in every lagoon thereabouts1 and owing its name to a singular habit of waving its large claw 7only the male has this disproportionate limb7 exactly as if it were drawing a bow across a fiddle4 ,as the sea-bream are fond of company1 playing one is generally the prelude to a good bag of them4 ,they bear little resemblance to their namesakes of rivers and ponds1 for they are not so slimy or sluggish1 but on the contrary more spiny1 and have the dark band markings and game fighting manner of perch4 ,they feed not far from the bottom1 and must be struck sharply the moment they bite1 and for their size they play very well4 ,they can be taken in immense quantities4 ,illustration3 ,,sheepshead ,,in ,,appearance ,,somewhat ,,like ,,english ,,perch1 ,,their ,,front ,,teeth ,,resemble ,,those ,,of ,a ,,child4 ,,chapter ,x ,bony ,fish1 ,jack ,fish1 ,jewfish1 ,squeateague and ,bass ,illustration3 ,a ,,fat ,,toad ,,fish ,,squatted ,,at ,,the ,,bottom ,,watching ,,the ,,slim ,,bony ,,fish ,,as ,,they ,,leap4 ,,chapter ,x ,,bony ,,fish1 ,,jack ,,garfish1 ,,jewfish1 ,,squeateague ,,and ,,bass ,,bony ,,fish 7,elops saurus7 ,,and ,,toad ,,fish 7,antennarius marmoratus7 ,this active and graceful fish1 a near relative of the tarpon1 which perhaps derives its name from its leanness1 rises freely to the fly under favourable conditions1 and its wild jumps make lively sport4 ,its several popular names are puzzling--there is a tendency on the other side to eccentric naming of fish--and no fish is considered genteel without at least three or four to choose from4 ,under the two bony fish in the photograph will be seen1 on a shell1 one of the remarkable toad fish clinging to its support and lying in ambush for unwary small fry4 ,this particular specimen1 of which ,i give an enlarged presentment1 seems a very primitive creature1 with its handlike fins and tiny eyes and general absence of vitality1 yet it is admirably equipped for satisfying its own greed and escaping that of its enemies4 ,it is all but invisible clinging to the shell against a deceptive background of weeds1 and its gaping mouth is striped black and white inside in an attractive manner that proves the doom of many fish endowed with a fatal curiosity4 ,this particular individual1 indeed1 had actually swallowed a young snapper of exactly its own weight and half an inch longer than itself6 ,i relate this merely as it came under my own notice1 for ,i took the one from the other1 but ,i hardly expect to be believed4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,gar ,,or ,,needle ,,fish4 ,,they ,,leap ,,astonishing ,,distances ,,in ,,the ,,air ,,especially ,,when ,,pursued ,,by ,a ,,king ,,fish4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,marmoratus ,,lying ,,motionless4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,caranx ,,hippos1 ,,one ,,of ,,the ,,most ,,beautifully ,,coloured ,,fish ,,of ,,the ,,pass4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,mighty ,,perch ,,and ,,his ,,deep ,,water ,,companion ,,the ,,red ,,grouper4 ,,the ,,cavally ,,or 8,,jack0 7,caranx hippos7 ,the scad1 or horse-mackerel1 are familiar in most seas2 even on the ,british coasts we have them4 ,in warm latitudes1 however1 they are beautiful as well as bold1 and the combination of burnished silver and metallic blues and yellows on the favourite 8jack0 of ,florida waters make him a very handsome fish4 ,like all the horse-mackerel1 he is capable of wonderful bursts of speed1 and takes all manner of baits1 particularly those not intended for him4 ,he is not much fished for purposely1 but may be regarded as one of the miscellany that one time or another come to the basket of the sea-fisherman at ,boca ,grand4 ,there is no doubt that if fished for with the fly to which he will rise1 so strong a fighter would show very fine sport4 ,,the ,,garfish 7,belone spec47 ,the flying fish is by no means common1 though probably existent on that coast1 but it has a relative in the garfish2 and1 though this does not commonly do much flying1 it can on occasion1 as when pursued by a swift and powerful enemy1 throw itself clean out of the water with much energy1 and can propel itself for thirty yards in the air by occasionally tipping the water with its tail4 ,in this case the garfish are alarmed by a kingfish that is really after a skipjack4 ,a good deal of prejudice exists against this fish at home1 on account of its green bones 7,i take this to be the same species that swims in ,british waters71 but it is first-rate eating4 ,garfish may be found1 as a rule1 close in amid the surf1 where they hunt for small1 thin-shelled sandhoppers1 about the size of ,french beans4 ,one of these on a small hook is1 in fact1 the best bait if any one wishes to angle specially for garfish1 but the long bill and the presence inside it of innumerable needle-like teeth do not make the work of extracting the hook particularly pleasant4 ,,jewfish 7,promicrops guttatus7 ,,and ,,red ,,grouper 7,epinephelus morio7 ,of the jewfish enough has already been said4 ,the lower figure in the photograph is a red grouper1 a large deep-water fish with a good deal of pale red on the head and throat1 and a more vivid red inside the mouth4 ,it is a vigorous fighter when hooked on deep rocky ground1 and makes an excellent table fish1 but it is not so common as the black grouper4 ,,the ,,spotted ,,squeateague ,,or 8,,sea ,,trout0 7,cynoscion nebulosus7 ,,and ,,ground ,,spearing 7,scirus myops7 ,the subjects of this photograph are not salmonoid fish out of drawing1 as might at first sight appear1 but fish1 miscalled 8trout10 of ,gulf waters that give fine sport when hooked4 ,as if in vindication of its spots and name1 this 8trout0 will often take a grilse fly when on the feed4 ,it is a strong fighter and jumps continually4 ,it is usually taken spinning with reel or artificial bait4 ,found on the sandy grounds1 it is in some favour as a food fish4 ,many visitors fail to take with them a light fly rod2 hence these very sporting fish are done to death on a kind of miniature tarpon rod in a hand-over-hand fashion1 whereas they would otherwise afford nearly as much sport as a four-pound lake trout4 ,on the sea bed1 beneath the squeateagues1 will be seen a ground spearing4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,great ,,piece ,,of ,,snake-,,like ,,conch ,,spawn ,,curled ,,upwards ,,where ,,the ,,sea ,,trout ,,basked4 ,illustration3 ,,channel ,,bass--,a ,,hard ,,fighter1 ,,easily ,,mistaken ,,at ,,first ,,for ,a ,,tarpon4 ,,black ,,grouper1 ,,by ,,nature ,,much ,,like ,,the ,,red ,,grouper1 ,,but ,,more ,,abundant4 ,,channel ,,bass 7,scinops ocellatus7 ,,and ,,black ,,grouper 7,garrupa nigrata7 ,the channel bass1 or red drum1 is a bronze fish that runs up to #dj or #ej lb4 weight1 and gives good sport on a rod in the surf4 ,so many of the smaller sporting fish are caught in the surf on the ,florida coast1 that ,i have often wondered whether this is a merely local habit1 due to their dread of the sharks outside1 or whether indeed sea-fishermen at home neglect the more productive surf1 in their haste to fish the extreme end of a long pier or the deeper waters attainable in boats4 ,the black grouper is a great trouble to the tarpon fisher1 for on some days it seizes bait after bait1 and at once darts into some convenient crevice in the coral4 ,the puzzled angler strikes again and again1 and each time finds himself hitched into the rock1 which often entails the loss of all his tackle with many feet of line4 ,only the old hand knows the real source of the trouble and promptly changes his ground1 but as those fish are more or less numerous all through the pass1 the real secret of avoiding them is to fish a few feet higher4 ,,chapter ,,xi ,spotted ,eels1 ,crab ,eaters1 ,surf ,whiting1 ,moon ,fish1 ,leather ,jackets1 ,trigger ,fish1 and ,mullet4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,curious ,,snake-,,like ,,eel1 ,,without ,,slime1 ,,usually ,,found ,,stranded ,,after ,a ,,storm4 ,,chapter ,,xi ,,spotted ,,eels1 ,,crab ,,eaters1 ,,surf ,,whiting1 ,,moon ,,fish1 ,,leather ,,jackets1 ,,trigger ,,fish1 ,,and ,,mullet ,,spotted ,,eel 7,mystriophys intertinctus7 ,there is something peculiarly snakelike about these yellow1 black-spotted eels1 which are only found washed ashore after storms from a certain quarter1 and never1 at any rate to my knowledge1 take a baited hook4 ,there are many of these spotted eels in the waters round ,florida ,keys1 and one of them is known as the 8sea-serpent40 ,the small upper fish in the photograph is evidently a wrass of some kind1 probably a rock-cook 7,centrolabrus71 but as no one catches the wrass1 save by accident1 ,i never studied them4 ,,cobia ,,or ,,crab ,,eater 7,rachycentron canadus7 ,this handsome and sporting fish is allied to the mackerel1 and in some parts1 indeed1 goes by the name of 8bonito10 though the true bonito is more closely related to the tunny4 ,its specific name is a good instance of the singular inappropriateness of some such titles1 for it does not occur in ,canada4 ,the cobia grows to a length of four or five feet1 and is a dashing fish when hooked1 though it is not very common in the angler's catch4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,cobia1 ,a ,,strong ,,and ,,dashing ,,fish4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,upper ,,fish ,,is ,a ,,surf ,,whiting1 ,,the ,,lower ,a ,,mango ,,snapper4 ,,surf ,,whiting 7,menticirrhus littoralis7 ,,and ,,mangrove ,,snapper 7,neomaenis spec47 ,the surf whiting1 as its name implies1 frequents the surf1 where it is caught like so many others on that coast2 it takes mullet as bait4 ,the snapper1 which is one of a very large group1 derives its distinctive name from the fact of the young1 and sometimes the grown fish as well1 being found feeding in the neighbourhood of the mangroves4 ,,silver ,,moon ,,fish ,,or ,,look ,,down 7,selene vomer7 ,this eccentric-looking fish is of a beautiful mother-of-pearl tint1 and the long ray of the dorsal fin shows the subject of the photograph to be a young fish1 for this long growth is shed at a more mature age4 ,the moon fish makes capital bait for tarpon and other large fish1 and the wonder is1 indeed1 that such a species can survive at all1 for it is to all appearance both defenceless and slow in its movements4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,moon ,,fish4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,leather ,,jacket1 ,a ,,quaint ,,fish ,,rough ,,as ,,sandpaper1 ,,tough ,,as ,,leather1 ,,and ,,as ,,hard ,,and ,,thin ,,as ,,half-,,inch ,,board4 ,,leather ,,jacket 7,monacanthus hispidus7 ,these leather jackets are found in most tropical seas1 and with their large sheeplike teeth they seize any bait left stationary at the bottom4 ,they are without true scales1 the body being covered with roughnesses instead4 ,they are thin1 tough fish1 and of no use for food4 ,,trigger ,,fish 7,balistes carolinensis7 ,,and ,,angel ,,fish 7,angelichthys isabelita7 ,the trigger fish1 like the last species figured1 also goes by the name of 8leather jacket10 and is1 as a glance at its general outline will show1 a similar type of fish4 ,the trigger fish derives the name from the curious arrangement of its dorsal fin1 which lies flat in a socket or slot4 ,it has1 like the last1 no true scales1 but excrescences1 which can be plainly seen in the photograph4 ,it is not often taken on a hook4 ,the little angel fish is one of the most gaudy inhabitants of those seas1 where the usual preponderance of gaily coloured fish is hardly1 perhaps1 so marked as in some other warm waters4 ,it is found in shoals round wrecks and sunken piles4 ,blue and yellow1 with reddish and brown and olive markings and spots1 some varieties of the 8angel0 are beautiful if somewhat gorgeous fish4 ,if well angled for they can be taken in quantities4 ,these are among the many accidental arrivals in the tarpon fisher's boat1 but ,i have thought it best to give as many photographs of local fish as possible1 so that the visitor with a liking for natural history may not be at a loss to identify an occasional strange fish1 about which he wants to write to the proper authorities for further information4 ,illustration3 ,,trigger ,,fish--,a ,,leathery ,,dark ,,fish ,,with ,,rough ,,diamond-,,shaped ,,excrescences ,,instead ,,of ,,scales4 ,,angel ,,fish1 ,a ,,delicate ,,very ,,beautiful ,,little ,,fish4 ,illustration3 ,,silver ,,mullet1 ,,restless ,,wanderers1 ,,ever ,,skimming ,,in ,,shoals ,,along ,,the ,,coast4 ,,silver ,,mullet 7,mugil brasiliensis7 ,this is the less common of the two mullets found in those waters1 and is chiefly noteworthy as being not the one in general use as bait4 ,it is taken only in nets1 and not often in those1 as its habit is to skirt the shore1 where shooting a net is attended with difficulties4 ,,chapter ,,xii ,striped ,mullet1 ,sharks1 ,bird ,life ,illustration3 ,,mullet ,,leaping ,,apparently ,,devoid ,,of ,,object4 ,,chapter ,,xii ,,striped ,,mullet--,,sharks--,,bird ,,life ,,striped ,,mullet 7,mugil cephalus7 ,the adventitious interest that attaches to this active fish is that to it we owe all our tarpon1 for the tarpon baits are cut from its white stomach1 four from each fish4 ,it seems identical with the ,british grey mullet1 a similar slimy fish which feeds by a kind of suction among the sea herbage4 ,there is1 however1 this difference that the ,florida mullet is for ever jumping on all sides of your boat in shallow water1 and is surrounded by many enemies1 whereas the grey mullet at home has1 at any rate in the grown-up stage1 few enemies beyond man1 whom it is generally able to elude4 ,the same fish in ,florida seas has so many foes1 and is bait for so many monsters1 that the wonder is it survives in such quantities4 ,during the tarpon season the one family of fishermen at ,boca ,grand are fully occupied in procuring sufficient mullet to provide bait for the anglers4 ,thirty fishers would require about #aej mullet a day4 ,it is1 therefore1 scarcely surprising to hear that mullet are seriously decreasing in numbers4 ,i very much doubt whether several other fish would not produce equally killing baits4 ,i can answer for the moon fish and its allies1 also the devil-fish and rays in general1 whose milky-white under sides were tried with success4 ,,sharks ,,and ,,shark-,,fishing ,i conclude this little book with a few notes on sharks and on bird life on that coast4 ,shark-fishing can now and then be very good fun1 although the fish are vermin4 ,after all1 we do not eat tarpon1 and the saw of the sawfish makes as good a trophy as the scale of the great herring4 ,i am not1 of course1 for one moment comparing the one fish or fishing with the other1 but on days when it is too rough to get afloat1 or when the tide does not serve1 it is better to catch great sharks from the beach or pier than to loaf on shore doing nothing4 ,having named the sawfish 7,pristis pectinatus71 ,i will start off with the picture of a fine specimen1 measuring #ah feet1 which was taken on a night-line set for sharks4 ,it moves slowly and prowls on the bottom1 close in shore1 for food4 ,a sucking fish was still adhering to this one when caught4 ,for all its shark-like appearance1 the sawfish is in reality one of that kindred group1 the rays1 of which some pictures have already ,illustration3 ,a ,,captured ,,sawfish ,,to ,,which ,a ,,persistent ,,sucker ,,still ,,clings4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,hammerhead ,,shark4 ,a ,,savage ,,and ,,repulsive ,,fish4 ,illustration3 ,,this ,,shark ,,seized ,,another ,,already ,,hooked ,,and ,,was ,,itself ,,caught4 been given4 ,it must1 of course1 be distinguished from the swordfish1 which is more closely allied to the mackerel1 and which has a long pointed weapon without teeth on its edges4 ,any one wishing to catch a sawfish on the rod must seek such weird game in the isolated deep holes in the lagoons and shallows4 ,the average depth will not be more than three or four feet1 but every now and then the lead will go down into a much deeper hole1 and there lie the sawfish4 ,a well-known ,american angler caught one weighing #gjj lb4 in this way4 ,the chief food of the sawfish is said to consist of horseshoe crabs1 but it also in all probability slashes round with its great saw and stuns sufficient fish for a meal4 ,i have seen young sawfish out there with the scales of smaller fish impaled on the teeth of their saws4 ,evidently these teeth must grow blunt with age1 for piercing a fish scale is a feat that would certainly be beyond the saw-teeth in all the larger specimens that have come under my notice4 ,on an earlier page ,i have given the portrait of a baby hammerhead shark1 drawing the reader's attention to the fact that the 8hammer0 was not yet developed4 ,this difference in two stages of growth may be appreciated by a comparison with the subject of the accompanying photograph1 in which the curious hammer1 with an eye at either end1 is plainly seen4 ,the hammerhead shark 7,sphyrna zygaena7 is a voracious species1 yet when swimming after a ship it has all the graceful1 undulating movement of the family4 ,i do not profess to know these vermin severally by name1 but two or three pictures of some that were captured during my stay may be of interest4 ,the subject of the first was1 like most of the tribe1 a cannibal1 for it took another shark 7though ,i do not know that it was of the same species7 that had been hooked1 and the two were secured by the coloured 8gentleman0 in the picture4 ,this incident of its swallowing a fish already hooked reminds me of another4 ,an angler had to return to ,england rather suddenly1 but he was anxious to complete his catch of #ajj tarpon for the season4 ,he had already caught #ii1 and but half an hour remained before his boat left4 ,he hooked the hundredth1 luckily enough1 but it was promptly seized by a shark1 and it still looked as if his century would not be completed1 when he very cleverly landed shark and all1 with a few minutes to spare1 and thus made up his total of tarpon4 ,the end of ,may is the time when sharks most plague the tarpon fisher1 and is consequently the time for shark fishing4 ,the best way is to bait a large hook with a whole split fish made fast to a long stout line4 ,then you fling this well out from the ,lighthouse ,jetty1 leave a good coil of slack1 and make the end fast4 ,before very long1 the slack line begins to creep out1 then rushes1 and you must1 if the shark is a large one1 call all the help you can muster1 for the fight will be a good one4 ,all hands play him from the beach1 and1 with a little give and take1 he generally comes in with a run1 a nasty-looking brute perhaps ,illustration3 ,,extracting ,a ,,firmly ,,embedded ,,hook ,,from ,a ,,shark4 ,illustration3 ,,all ,,hands ,,give ,,the ,,shark ,a ,,mighty ,,heave ,,ashore4 fifteen feet long4 ,if you catch a great leopard shark1 or man-eater 7,carcharodon carcharias71 the white belly of which is seen in the photograph facing the following page1 it may be worth while ripping him up to see whether there are any boots within1 or perchance even more personal signs of human occupation4 ,in one of these a sea-lion weighing #ajj lb4 was once found on the ,california coast1 but you will be far more likely to come across a quantity of horseshoe crabs4 ,from this last shark figured we took three or four young ones1 quite ready to swim away if they had been given the chance4 ,they were not1 for it is no part of humaneness to spare sharks4 ,,bird ,,life4 ,the bird life of ,boca ,grand is not sufficiently studied by those who spend their holiday there1 so intent is everyone on fishing4 ,yet it is most interesting1 what the plume hunters have left of it4 ,america is the great land of waste as well as of production1 and the egrets and other beautiful fowl are surely following the bison4 ,on fine1 still days1 when there is great splashing of carangoid and other fish1 the pelicans are soon astir1 dashing into the shoals and putting them to rout with heavy loss4 ,then1 too1 may be seen the little kittiwake gulls settling unmolested on the heads and backs of the great birds1 and always expectant of the scanty leavings that they never seem to get4 ,pelicans are nowadays so scarce at ,boca ,grand that any small peculiarity is certain to be noticed whenever one puts in an appearance4 ,i recollect one coming along one day with his pouch slit from side to side and hanging loose4 ,what dreadful battle had given him such a gash could only be guessed1 but he seemed to grow thinner and tamer and more hungry every day1 for every fish that he caught forthwith dropped out through the gap4 ,at length1 however1 he seemed to rise to the occasion1 and as soon as he caught a fish1 he would clap his beak close to his breast and coax his victim down his throat4 ,the process was slow1 but sure1 and in a few weeks this pelican was well ,illustration3 ,,leopard ,,shark4 and strong again1 and the gap in his pouch had to all appearance healed4 ,there is an island just off the coast measuring scarce one hundred yards in any direction1 and thereon stands a pelicans' rookery4 ,there these great confiding1 prehistoric-looking1 silly birds used to gather until they were all but shot out by plume-hunters at #be cents4 the skin4 ,and here1 in the highest trees1 some of the great birds still congregate1 their curious webbed feet looking most incongruous as they grasp the swaying branches4 ,the neighbouring island1 somewhat larger in extent1 is the home of innumerable cormorants and herons1 both blue and white1 all nesting in the tall black mangroves1 and so tame that you may approach to within six yards of the little blue herons4 ,yet on all sides are the tiny corpses of deserted little birds1 their parents in the breeding plumage ruthlessly shot down to deck women's hats6 ,the thin end of the wedge of bird protection has1 it is true1 been inserted1 but the law is almost inoperative in these out-of-the-way regions1 and the slaughter proceeds unchecked4 ,and so the beautiful ,american woodlands are being denuded of their unrivalled bird life in order that every mistress and every maid may dangle 8osprey0 plumes over their heads4 ,with my pictures1 then1 end my notes1 and ,i am only too conscious of their meagreness4 ,my object1 however1 was1 as ,i may have said already1 to put before intending visitors to ,florida--and tarpon fishing must gain a wider public before long--some of the chief fish that they are likely to meet with in those waters4 ,two curious facts that ,i find in my diaries seem worth setting down in conclusion4 ,one is that dogs cannot live long in that climate4 ,they succumb within four years to a disease that has hitherto been a complete mystery4 ,a local doctor has1 however1 isolated the microbe responsible for the mischief4 ,my other hint is for the smoker4 ,i find that a local cigar epicure always made a practice of storing his weeds in the refrigerator1 in order to keep them in condition1 for it is more difficult to keep cigars green than in a perfectly matured state4 ,,the ,,end4 ,,index lurichthys marinus1 #acc ,albula vulpes1 v4 ,elops saurus1 #ada ,alligator ,hunting1 #cf ,angel ,fish1 #agh ,angelichthys isabelita1 #agh ,antennarius marmoratus1 #ada ,aransas ,pass1 #bi ,archosargus probatocephalus1 #acd ,batistes carolinensis1 #agh ,bass1 ,channel1 #aei ,black ,grouper1 #aei ,boca ,grande1 #be ,bony ,fish1 #ada 8,bonito10 #aff ,bream1 ,sea1 #acj ,cabbage ,palm1 #ce ,captiva ,pass1 #bi ,caranx hippos1 #adg ,carcharodon carcharias1 #bja ,catfish1 ,common1 #abi ,catfish1 ,gaff ,topsail1 #acc 8,cavalla10 #fj ,cavally1 #adg ,centrolabrus1 #afe ,channel ,bass1 #aei ,cigars1 ,preserving1 #bjf ,cobia1 #aff ,coral ,fouling ,lines1 #ei ,cost of ,tarpon ,fishing1 #bi ,crab-eater1 #aff ,crabs1 ,fiddler1 #acd ,crabs1 ,horseshoe1 #acj ,cynoscion nebulosus1 #aed ,devil-fish1 #hi ,dogs1 ,mortality of1 #bjf ,eel1 ,spotted1 #afe ,elops saurus1 #ada ,epinephelus morio1 #aec ,fiddler ,crabs1 #acd ,florida ,keys1 #afe 8,forest and ,stream0 7quoted71 #abf ,gaff1 ,use of the1 #he ,galeichthys felis1 #abi ,garfish1 the1 #adh ,garrupa nigrita1 #aei ,giant ,ray1 #ia ,gopher ,tortoise1 ,method of catching1 #aba ,green ,turtle1 #aah ,ground ,spearing1 #aed ,groupers1 #aei ,guide1 ,duties of a1 #dd ,hammerhead ,shark1 #aie ,harpooning ,rays1 #ib1 #ii ,harpooning ,sharks1 #ic ,harpooning ,turtles1 #aab ,horseshoe ,crabs1 #acj ,hotel near ,boca ,grande1 #bi ,hughes' ,floating ,hotel1 #bi ,islands1 ,scenery of the1 #ce ,jewfish1 #gi ,kingfish1 #fj ,ladies as ,tarpon ,fishers1 #gc ,lamua cornubica1 v4 ,carcharodon carcharias1 #bja ,leather ,jacket1 #agg ,leathery ,turtle1 #aab ,leopard ,shark1 #bja ,lines1 ,american1 #cj ,loggerhead ,turtle1 #aaa ,look ,down1 #agb ,man-eating ,shark1 #aie ,mangroves1 #acd ,mangrove ,snapper1 #aga 8,manta10 #ib ,menticirrhus littoralis1 #aga ,monacanthus hispidus1 #agg ,mugil brasiliensis1 #ahc ---- cephalus1 #ahi ,mullet ,baits for ,tarpon1 #aij ,mullet1 ,silver1 #ahc ,mullet1 ,striped1 #ahi ,mystriophys intertinctus1 #afe ,neomaenis griseus1 #aga ,playing a ,tarpon1 #fe ,playing a ,shark1 #aif ,pristis pectinatus1 #aij ,promicrops guttatus1 #aec ,punta ,gorda1 #cj ,rachycentron canadus1 #aff ,rays1 #hi ,red ,grouper1 #aec ,reels1 #cj ,rock ,cook1 #afe ,rods1 #cj ,salmon and ,tarpon ,fishing compared1 #bb ,sawfish1 #aij ,scales of ,jewfish1 #hj ,scales of ,tarpon1 #bb ,scinops ocellatus1 #aei ,scirus myops1 #aed 8,sea ,serpent10 #afe 8,sea ,trout10 #aed ,selene vomer1 #agb ,shallow ,water1 ,tarpon in1 #ec ,sharks1 #aij ,sheepshead1 the1 #acd ,silver ,moon ,fish1 #agb ,silver ,mullet1 #ahc ,skill required in ,tarpon ,fishing1 #dh ,skipjack1 #fj ,sphyrna zygaena1 #aie ,spotted ,eel1 #afe ,spotted ,squeateague1 #aed ,still ,fishing1 #di ,striped ,mullet1 #ahi ,sucking ,fish or ,suckers1 #gi ,surf ,whiting1 #aga ,tackle1 #cj ,tail of ,whip ,ray1 #id ,tarpon1 #ba ,toad ,fish1 #ada ,tortoise1 #aba ,trigger ,fish1 #agh ,turtle1 ,cutting up1 #aah ,turtle1 ,harpooning1 #aab ,tylosaurus marinus1 v4 ,belone spec41 #adh ,vegetation1 #ce ,vom ,hofe1 #cj ,waddell1 ,mr4 ,j4 ,a4 ,l4 7quoted71 #abf ,ways of ,losing a ,tarpon1 #abf ,weight of ,tarpon1 #bb ,whip ,ray1 ,foul-hooked1 #he ,whip ,ray1 ,habits of1 #hi ,whip ,ray1 ,harpooning1 #ib