78 DEVIL FISHINQ. 



The spice of danger mingling with this sport, 

 serves to increase its relish. He who wields the 

 harpoon, should have a quick eye, a steady arm, 

 and a cool head; for if he loses his presence of 

 mind, and suffers- himself to be entangled in the 

 rope, during the first furious runs of the fish, he 

 may lose his life. But no precautions can abso- 

 lutely secure the sportsman against danger ; a 

 truth which had nearly been brought home to me 

 in a manner peculiarly painful as the incident I 

 am about to relate will serve to illustrate. 



I had left the cruising ground but a few days, 

 when a party was formed, in July 1844, to engage 

 jn this sport. Nath. Hey ward, Jun., J. G. Barn- 

 well, E. B. Means, and my son, Thos. R. S. Elliott, 

 were respectively in command of a boat each, ac- 

 companied by several of their friends. While 

 these boats were lying on their oars, expecting 

 the approach of fish, one showed himself far 

 ahead, and they all started in pursuit. It was my 

 son's fortune to reach him first. His harpoon had 

 scarcely pierced him, when the fish made a demi- 

 vault in the air, and, in his descent, struck the boat 

 violently with one of his wings. Had he fallen 

 perpendicularly on the boat, it must have been 

 crushed, to the imminent peril of all on board. As 

 it happened, the blow fell aslant upon the bow 



