CHAPTER XII. 



TAliPL^M— TARPON— SILVER KING. 



[^3Iegalops t/irissoides.~\ 



BY AL. FRESCO, 



For life I can't help scribbling once a week 



Firing old readers, nor discovering new, 



In youth I wrote because my mind was full 



And now because I feel it growing dull. 



But " why then publish ? " — There are no rewards 

 Of fame or profit when the world grows weary, 



I ask in turn, — why do we play at cards ? 



Why fish ? Why read ? — To make the hours less dreary. 



In journals devoted to sports of forest and stream, we frequently 

 notice references to the lordly salmon, the noble striped bass, the 

 plucky "bronze backers," and the speckled beauties — but the tar- 

 jjon, "the Noblest Roman " ot" them all — the game fishj^ar excell- 

 ence of American waters is seldom noticed. When the acrobatic 

 performances, and the fighting qualities of this noble fish become 

 known, a new revolution will preseul itself to those who can enjoy 

 true piscatorial sport. In a recent communication published in one 

 of your contemporaries, that accomplished writer " S. C. C." referred 

 to the fighting qualities of the tar]>0Qj and in writing comparaiivc- 



