GREATER WEEVER. 40 



its pawing in the sand, shewed its sense of some unwonted 

 object that M'as concealed below, which, M-hcn discovered Ijy 

 digging, inflicted a blow on two persons who endeavoured to 

 grasp it, to their no small surprise and pain. 



The precision and skill with which the formidable spine of 

 the neck is thus directed to an object of fear that shall touch 

 it or approach too closely are indeed surprising, so that by a 

 sudden and rapid impulse it will inflict a wound if even the 

 touch is confined to the tail, and that too without any injury 

 to itself; and formidable indeed is the effect produced by the 

 puncture. It is certain that no exudation or discharge of a 

 poisonous fluid proceeds from this projecting spine; but it is 

 equally certain that the pain which instantly follows the puncture 

 is severe, and there are instances where within a few minutes 

 this pain has extended from the hand as high as the shoulder. 

 On one occasion, when a fisherman had laid hold of a Weever 

 which he had taken on a line, the sudden plunge of the 

 piercing instrument instantly compelled him to drop his prize; 

 and when, ignorant of the danger, it was grasped successively 

 by two other persons, so great was the agony felt by all of 

 them, that they were compelled to leave their fishing, and 

 proceed to land in order to procure relief; which, however, 

 was readily obtained by means of smart friction with the sand 

 of the shore. Nor has the frequency of instances of this 

 accident been lost upon, fishermen, who, in consequence, are 

 usually careful to avoid the risk to which the incautious 

 meddlings with this fish would expose them. And the danger is 

 not wholly removed after the Weever is dead; and we are 

 told that on this account, in some places it is provided by law 

 that this formidable dart shall be removed before its bearer 

 is offered for sale in the market. The spines of the dorsal 

 fin have also been an object of dread, and there is no doubt 

 that a puncture from them might be followed by unpleasant 

 consequences, such as are known sometimes to be produced 

 by those of other fishes that are similarly furnished; but in 

 these cases the wound is only accidental, and the fish does 

 not employ them for any purpose of injury or defence. 



Various were the remedies employed in ancient times to 

 remove the pain, and cure the supposed ill consequences that 

 might arise from a puncture by the spine of this fish; and 



