Shark Fishing, 123 



spars, betook themselves to the deck. One of them, a 

 female rice bunting, drew our attention more particularly, 

 for, a few moments after her arrival, there came down, as 

 if it were in her wake, a beautiful peregrine falcon. The 

 plunderer hovered about for awhile, then stationed him- 

 self on the end of one of the yard-arms, and suddenly 

 pouncing on the little gleaner of the meadows, clutched 

 her and carried her off in exultation. I was astonished 

 to see the falcon feeding on the finch while on the wing 

 with the same ease as the Mississippi kite shows while 

 devouring, high in air, a red-throated lizard, swept from 

 one of the trees of the Louisiana woods. 



" One afternoon we caught two sharks. In one of 

 them we found ten young ones alive, and quite capable 

 of swimming, as we proved by experiment ; for on casting 

 one of them into the sea it immediately made off, as if it 

 had been accustomed to shift for itself. Of another that 

 had been cut in two, the head half swam out of our sight. 

 The rest were cut in pieces, as was the old shark, as bait 

 for the dolphins, which, I have already said, are fond of 

 such food. Our captain, who was much intent on amus- 

 ing me, informed me that the rudder-fishes were plentiful 

 astern, and immediately set to dressing hooks for the pur- 

 pose of catching them. There was now some air above 

 us, the sails aloft filled, the ship moved through the 

 water, and the captain and I repaired to the cabin win- 

 dow. I was furnished with a fine hook, a thread line, 

 and some small bits of bacon, as was the captain, and we 

 dropped our bait among the myriads of delicate little 

 fishes below. Up they came one after another, so fast in 

 succession that, according to my journal, we caught three 

 hundred and seventy in about two hours ! What a mess ! 

 and how delicious when roasted ! if ever I am again be- 

 calmed in the Gulf of Mexico, I shall not forget the rud- 

 der-fish. The little things scarcely measured three inches 



