i86 The Under-Water-World 



been recorded weighing 4,000 Ibs. In 

 Florida a popular sport consists in har- 

 pooning one of these large rays and 

 hanging on until the fish runs itself 

 aground, for curiously enough a big ray 

 when hard pressed will almost invariably 

 head shorewards. Eight or nine boats 

 crews may participate in the chase, each 

 attaching itself to the harpoon line by 

 a discreet rope's length, until weight tells 

 and the fish is exhausted. The sting ray, 

 which often exceeds twenty feet across 

 the wings, may be designated to the 

 ff sporting " class, as when struck it can 

 cover some 150 yards of sea-surface in a 

 few seconds by means of a series of 

 ricochets. Sting rays are justly dreaded, 

 as the fifteen foot tail bears a horny shaft 

 some eighteen inches long, closely set 

 with finely serrated "teeth." When this 

 weapon is brought suddenly to bear upon 

 the naked flesh the consequences are 

 disastrous, as the wounds invariably 



