35 2 Life in the Open 



tint the water with gold. They soon break up into 

 twos and threes, or small schools, and can be caught, 

 trolling or still fishing as the case may be ; and the ease 

 with which they are hooked gives the splendid creature 

 the place of the bluefish of the Atlantic. 



You may see the angler at Avalon sitting on post 

 or string-piece of the dock angling for yellowtails and 

 rock-bass men, women, and children, while out in the 

 bay is a large fleet of rowboats, angling for this gamy 

 roustabout that has been known to jerk a boy from 

 the pier. 



They tell a story at Avalon to the tenderfoot, which 

 I will not vouch for, to the effect that one morning 

 service was being held in a tent chapel, this being be- 

 fore the days of churches, when a small boy came in, 

 whispered something in the ear of a man, who immedi- 

 ately got up and went out. Presently another followed, 

 others joined him, and when two thirds of the congre- 

 gation had left, the Presiding Elder, unable to resist any 

 longer, so the story goes, cried out, " Hold on, brethren, 

 let 's start fair," and hastened down the aisle, and was 

 soon seen on the beach where every man, woman, and 

 child had gathered to see the greatest run of yel- 

 lowtails ever witnessed at the island. They filled the 

 waters of the little bay, a ravenous throng which bit at 

 anything, and the beach was soon lined with anglers, 

 who were involved in confusion worse confounded. 

 No one who has not seen a similar sight or a jack-beat 

 in Florida can form any conception of it, or the com- 



