32 FLYING-FISH. 



usual height of flight, as seen above the surface 

 of the water, is from two to three feet ; but I 

 have known them come on board at a height of 

 fourteen feet and upwards ; and they have been 

 well-ascertained to come into the channels of 

 a line of battle ship, which is considered as 

 high as twenty feet and upwards.* 



But it must not be supposed they have the 

 power of elevating themselves in the air, after 

 having left their native element ; for on watch- 

 ing them I have often seen them fall much 

 below the elevation at which they first rose 

 from the water, but never in any one instance 

 could I observe them raise themselves from the 

 height at which they first sprang, for I regard 

 the elevation they take to depend on the power 

 of the first spring or leap they make on leaving 

 their native element. 



On the 6th of June, in latitude P 50' north, 

 and longitude 25° 14' west, a flying-fish was 

 brought me by one of the steerage passengers, 

 which had just " flown" on board over his head, 

 as he was standing near the fore-part of the 

 ship ; being still alive when he brought it to 

 me, I hastened to place it in a bucket of 

 water, to ascertain whether it would attempt 



* Captain Basil Hall. See Fragments of Voyages and 

 Travels. 



