164 FISHES AND FISHING. 



sible ; the poorer people eat it, and when cut open, 

 salted, dried and broiled, it is not a bad adjunct at 

 breakfast. 



At St. Helena, these fish attain an immense size, 

 and are caught by the residents very frequently; 

 more than one person has lost his life through being 

 dragged into the sea by these fish. I knew one per- 

 son who had tied his line to his arm, a practice not 

 uncommon there, I am told, amongst those who fish 

 for these eels of a night ; his bait was taken by one so 

 powerful, that if he had not fortunately had a knife 

 with which to cut the line, he must have been drawn 

 into the sea. 



According to the "Annual Eegister," 1769, January 

 2 1st — A conger eel of an enormous size was sold to a 

 fishmonger at Billingsgate, for five shillicgs ; it was 

 seven feet in length, and to the middle of the body 

 was as large as the thigh of a stout man, weighing 

 upwards of lOOlbs. This extraordinary fish was 

 discovered by the people of a peterboat, on the shore 

 somewhere below Gravesend, who had the dexterity 

 to land and throw a net over it, which intercepted 

 the eel from recovering the river. "Without this 

 method, or some weapons, it could not have been 

 overcome, as the conger will, when attacked, bite his 

 assailant in as desperate a manner as some dogs. 



Oppian relates a curious device the Grecian boys 



