MY FIGHT WITH THE DEVILFISH 



219 



out exactly according to carefully laid 

 plans, and a detailed description would 

 be like working out a problem in niatlie- 

 matics after the answer is known. 



In spite of this I do not advise any one 

 to try my method, as it is certainly 

 dangerous. The big drogue especially 

 makes it so, for it keeps the wounded 

 Manta close to the boat, and the great 

 weight of an adult devilfish makes the 

 wrecking of the boat a certainty if the 

 fish should run into it at full speed. If 

 the boatmen attempt to keep out of the 

 way of the wounded fish, the boat is 

 almost certain to be sunk by a l)low from 

 one of the huge pectoral fins; while to 

 have a boat large enough to withstand 

 such blows would make it almost im- 

 possible to approach close enough to 

 harpoon the wounded fish. 



Placing the big spade lance in exactly 

 the vital spot at exactly the proper in- 

 stant, of covu'se ends the fight at once; 

 but the difficulty is to place it there and 

 to get a crew with sufficient confidence 

 in the harpooner to meet the on-rushing 

 Manta with the boat. In spite of all 

 my preparations the battle with the 

 great female deA'ilfish came near to being 

 my last. 



After several days of windy weather, 

 which had made successful Manta hunt- 

 ing impossible, the morning of April 11, 

 1915, opened calm and hot and, although 

 little was said, it was evident as we left 

 camp after an early breakfast, that the 

 feeling had spread among the crew that 

 before our return we should have a great 

 fight and get the big fish that we had 

 come for. 



To kill a Manta, perfect handling of the 

 boat is necessary and a proper crew is 

 the first consideration in equipping an 

 expedition. In my twenty years' ex- 

 perience in fishing off the coast of North 

 Carolina, I have always made up my 

 crew from the native market fishermen, 



in preference to the guides and boatmen 

 usually employed by sportsmen. On 

 this occasion, in addition to Captain 

 Charlie Willis, I was fortunate in secur- 

 ing the services of Captain Jack McCann, 

 of Punta Gorda, Florida, beyond ques- 

 tion the best-known and most efficient 

 fisherman on the Florida coast, and he 

 selected the three other members of the 

 crew — all young men, trained, active, 

 and without fear. Captain McCann 

 also furnished the boat, which was a 

 small, twenty-six-foot, open boat with 

 an eight-horse-power gasoline engine. 

 The construction, however, of this little 

 boat was extra strong, or it would have 

 been wrecked by the terrific pounding it 

 received. 



The men were nearl^^ perfect for the 

 positions which they were to fill, know- 

 ing what to do no matter what condi- 

 tion might arise; therefore not much 

 time was required in training the crew. 

 On such an expedition it is necessary for 

 every man to move instantly when the 

 word is gi^•en, like part of a perfect 

 machine, for I cannot turn my head 

 when the fight is on. 



Charlie Willis stands forward with me 

 to throw the auxiliary harpoon; Cap- 

 tain Jack McCann steers the boat; 

 another man stands just behind me to 

 throw the drogue overboard as the har- 

 poon leaves my hand, and to give me my 

 spade lance; the next man runs the 

 gasoline engine, while the last stands 

 ready with a bucket to bale water should 

 this become necessary. All, including 

 myself, are ready at a word to throw 

 their weight on the high side of the boat 

 if it should begin to turn over. 



W^hen the boat passed out through 

 Captive Inlet into the Gulf of Mexico, 

 the water was so thick that a Manta 

 would have had to rise to the surface 

 to be seen, and I posted three men to 

 keep close watch, one on each side of 



