I'j2 THE OCEAN. 



alongside for that purpose, I discovered that they 

 had got a large Saw-fish entangled in their turtle- 

 net, which was towing them out to sea, and hut for 

 my assistance they must have lost either their canoe 

 or their net, or perhaps both, which were their only 

 means of subsistence. Having only two boys with me 

 in the boat at the time, I desired them to cut the fish 

 away, which they refused to do ; I then took the 

 bight of the net from them, and with the joint en- 

 deavours of themselves and my boat's crew, we suc- 

 ceeded in hauling up the net, and to our astonish- 

 ment, after great exertions, we raised the saw of the 

 fish about eight feet above the surface of the sea. It 

 was a fortunate circumstance that the fish came up 

 with the belly towards the boat, or it would have cut 

 the boat in two. 



" I had abandoned all idea of taking the fish, until, 

 by great good luck, it made towards the land, when 

 I made another attempt, and having about fifty 

 fathom of rope in the boat, we succeeded in making 

 a running bowline-knot round the saw of the fish, and 

 this we fortunately made fast on shore. "When the 

 fish found itseK secured, it plunged so violently, that 

 I could not prevail on any one to go near it : the ap- 

 pearance it presented was truly awful. I immediately 

 went alongside the Lima packet, Capt. Singleton, 

 and got the assistance of all his ship's crew. By the 

 time they arrived the fish was rather less violent ; 

 we hauled upon the net again, in which it was still 

 entangled, and got another fifty fathoms of line made 

 fast to the saw, and attempted to haul it towards the 

 shore ; but although mustering thirty hands, we could 



