Giant Fish of Florida 



survives in the adopted scientific name of Manta. It appears 

 to me that such a diet is against all probability, if we may 

 judge by the food of most of the order, but these men are 

 firmly convinced that the giant ray, or, as it is also not 

 inappropriately called, devil-fish, is an inveterate enemy to 

 man, and they at least earn the right to an opinion on dangers 

 to which they alone are constantly exposed. 



The proper way to capture these creatures, if any one cares 

 about an occasional hour's excitement, is with the harpoon. 

 As for catching them on the rod, it is only done by foul 

 hooking, and it merely strains the arms and tackle in what 

 cannot be described as a very good cause. Harpooning, how- 

 ever, may be really exciting, and I will try to describe such an 

 adventure to the best of my recollection. 



You take the harpoon and get your guide to row you along 

 the shore northwards. Standing in the bows, behind the 

 neatly coiled harpoon line, you keep a sharp lookout for game, 

 and very soon you see a mighty disc lying on the sand at no 

 great depth. Poising the harpoon in the air, you let drive at 

 the object of your desires ; it vanishes in a trailing cloud of 

 sand, and you have an opportunity of seeing how poor a shot 

 you made by insufficient allowance for refraction, which, of 

 course, distorts the size, shape, and position of objects under 

 water ; and, as you assure yourself that in this case the harpoon 

 went a good five feet ahead of the fish, you resolve to study the 

 position of the next more accurately. 



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