The Journal of a Sporting Nomad 
live on crustacea, crabs, and the like. The tarpon 
are covered, when freshly caught, with a thick 
slime; this, if you get it on to your clothes, is 
almost impossible to remove; a worthless suit 
is therefore the only thing to wear when out 
fishing for them. Their scales, some of which 
are as large as small saucers, are peculiar, a 
quarter of each one being tipped with a coating 
of silver, the subsequent scales overlapping one 
another, so that the silver portion only appears. 
The largest scale on each side of the fish is 
to be found on the centre of the body; above 
and below and on each side of this one, the 
scales gradually diminish in size. The tarpon is 
supposed to have a lung of sorts. I can vouch 
for the fact that on a very still calm evening ~ 
whilst fishing for them they can be heard to 
give forth a sort of puff as they rise to the surface 
of the water, which sound I cannot account for, 
unless it is produced by expelling the air through 
the mouth. The flesh is very dark red, somewhat 
like horse-beef, and they bleed profusely when 
cut open. The inhabitants of the district say 
that the meat is not nice to eat, but as I did not 
personally try the experiment, I cannot offer an 
opinion on the subject. I was intensely puzzled 
to know why these fish enter the freshwater 
rivers; I can but think that spawning purposes 
have something to do with it. Fora few miles 
above Fort Myers little tarpon of three or four 
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