288 THE SEA-DEVIL. 



mont of the escape of a devil-fish and the capture of an- 

 other at Port Koyal. The lieutenant had been called to the 

 beach by seeing a multitude assembled to look at one of 

 these fishes floating past. His curiosity turned to surprise 

 when he saw, flapping on the water, about twenty yards 

 from the shore, a large dark-colored mass, whose shape 

 and size he could not immediately determine, but which 

 seemed prodigiously big beyond anything he could conceive, 

 since it so much exceeded all he had ever seen or heard of 

 fishes. The boats were started oif to pursue it, and it was 

 harpooned, but no sooner was the monster struck than it 

 made off with amazing velocity, towing the boat of the har- 

 pooner after him. A succession of boats now came up. 

 These strung themselves on to the harpooner one after an- 

 other, striking each a harpoon as the boats came up. They 

 consecutively formed a long line, but such was the force of 

 the fish that all the boats were drawn out ten miles to sea. 

 Night was drawing on. To bring the chase to a close, an- 

 other harpoon was struck into the monster, when it made one 

 convulsive effort to get away, and broke loose, carrying 

 away eight or ten harpoons and pikes, leaving every one as- 

 tonished at the success of its escape. 



Another devil-fish was not so fortunate, and Lieutenant 

 Lamont gives the history of its capture within the harbor, 

 which the animal traversed up and down, dragging with 

 such velocity the boat from which it had been struck, that 

 the other boats following could not overtake the fish. Its 

 struggles were tremendous, plunging into the midst of the 

 boats that at length surrounded it, darting from the surface 

 to the bottom of the water, and then rising swiftly, dashing 

 the foam about on every side and rolling round and round to 

 extricate itself from the poles and lines. Unable to get 

 away, it swam off, towing all the boats after it, and then 

 laid itself at the bottom of the water. From this position 

 the stretch and strain of all the boats* crews could not move 



