324 The Barracouta 



squid. Evidently our visitors had been in no danger 

 of starving. But that is perhaps a superfluous observa- 

 tion, since it would be hard to point out any fish that 

 is, so vast and universal is the provision made by the 

 Creator for their supply. Along the South African 

 coast and in its spacious harbours, the Barracouta 

 revels in an infinite abundance of food, supplying 

 himself in the enormous quantites of his own young 

 fry the needs of others. And incidentally feeding 

 himself of course, since like all other deep-sea fish, 

 except the shark, it makes not the slightest difference 

 to him which he eats, his own young, or another's. 



The Barracouta of the West Indies and the Gulf 

 of Mexico, like the hake of our own coasts, is a com- 

 paratively scanty species. Not only is he distinctly 

 different from the Southern Barracouta by reason 

 of his armour of scales but also in his habits and 

 numbers. Like the shark he is an apparently morose, 

 solitary fish. Very seldom indeed are two seen together, 

 as if they could not bear to share any spoil, needing 

 all they can obtain for their own capacious stomachs. 

 And it is abundantly evident that they do not breed 

 in such numbers either, since shoals of them at any 

 age are never seen. Also the great size to which they 

 attain is not even approached by the scaleless Barra- 

 couta, which from a comparison of their habits is just 

 what might reasonably be expected. Like restless 

 phantoms they roam those beautiful seas, bringing fear 

 and destruction with them both for their own kind 

 and man. But whether the terror in which they arc 

 held by the latter has any foundation in fact I have 

 been quite unable to learn. 



There are several varieties of Barracouta inhabiting 

 the deep sea, that is to say, living at very considerable 

 depths, but naturally they are seldom seen. Such 



