26 FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST 



fish. I was positive it would escape. But a mysteri- 

 ous dispensation from St. Zeno must have been given 

 us, as, after three hours, I had it nearly on the quarter 

 and called for the gaff. But I was too sanguine. I 

 had it within twenty feet circling, when suddenly it 

 sprang away and dashed to the bottom, only to come 

 whirling to the surface again, and dash about the 

 boat at a rate that was ominous; then it turned in 

 the direction of Avalon and swam steadily on and on. 

 To give the details of this contest, with its exciting 

 moments, its astonishing plays, its stupendous activ- 

 ities, would be impossible, but in the third hour 

 after not a moment's rest the tuna started down the 

 coast and towed us back to Avalon. Here, after 

 nearly four hours, and after a ten- or twelve-mile tow, 

 I again brought it to the quarter and held it, a glorious 

 moment. Jim pushed the gaff over, hooked the fish 

 and, for a second or two, held the monster that beat 

 the water and tossed the foam in air. Then the gaff 

 handle was shivered, and the fish, which we now saw 

 well for the first time, and that it was a giant, rushed 

 off, taking fifty feet. Again I rounded it up with 

 fingers that had no feeling, bracing for a last effort. 

 Slowly it came in, circling the boat ; now it was on the 

 quarter, and Jim, with a quick movement, slipped a 

 larger gaff under it, jerked the big head out of water 

 and held it at the rail, while it almost swamped us. 

 Then he slipped it in, and the biggest tuna up to that 

 time ever taken with rod and reel lay thrashing the 

 boat with menacing blows. 



I have taken a number of tunas, but none so thor- 

 oughly proved themselves in the game-fish class as 

 did this splendid one hundred and eighty-three 



