FISHES. 35 



The Horned Pikes (exos belone) are very long and 

 slender, and recognized by their oblong, bony-plated 

 heads, wide jaws, and small teeth. They measure about 

 two feet in length, are bluish-black above, green and 

 gold with a shimmer of blue on the sides, and silvery 

 below. The horned pike lives in all the seas, and comes 

 to the shore with the mackerel, and being very voracious, 

 often springs out of the water to seize whatever comes 

 within its reach in the shape of prey. These fishes are 

 taken by the spear, mostly at night by the light of flam- 

 beaux. The flesh, lean and hard, is used only for bait ; 

 the bones are green. It is also known by the name of 

 the sea pike, garfish, spitfish, and billfish, receiving the 

 latter name from its bill-shaped muzzle. 



The Flying Fishes (exocoetus volitans) are broad- 

 shouldered and remarkable for the excessive length of 

 their pectoral fins. They are brown on the back, silvery 

 below, and measure about one foot, are found in all the 

 oceans near the equator, and not only spring up out of 

 the water to escape some enemy or barely to fall back 

 again, but their fins or wings with which they really 

 cleave the air, serves to sustain them in their flight for a 

 short time. They rise to a height of twenty feet above 

 the surface, and can maintain a horizontal course for a 

 distance of three hundred feet. Swimming in shoals, 

 several thousand will rise up at once, and falling on the 

 decks of ships, are captured by the crew, and furnish not 

 only an excellent feast, but are ample food for curiosity. 

 It is a beautiful sight to watch them as they rise above 

 the water ; for, like a flock of sparrows fluttering from 

 tree to tree, so do the flying fishes fly from wave to wave, 

 not, however, pursuing a course of pleasure, but seeking 

 to escape from a voracious enemy. 



