Tbe Leaping Tuna 83 



tuna is accomplished as a result of the attempts 

 of the fish to seize its prey, the flying-fish, in the 

 air, and is made almost directly upward at the flier, 

 which is a foot or more above the surface. As a 

 rule, the mark is missed, and the living arrow darts 

 upward six, eight, ten feet at rare intervals, then 

 turns with the perfection of grace and plunges 

 headlong into the sea. It is manifestly impossi- 

 ble to measure such a leap, yet on one occasion 

 I thought that I saw nearly fifteen feet attained, 

 though I may have been mistaken, and freely 

 confess to the excitement so often an aid to the 

 imagination. At the time the observation was 

 made I was drifting in the largest school of tunas 

 I had seen. I had noticed the school sweeping 

 up the coast of the island, the channel covered 

 with whitecaps for acres, caused by the rushing, 

 leaping fish, and had rowed out in a light skiff to 

 meet it. Tunas were in the air on all sides; 

 others rushing along the surface, while the flying- 

 fishes soared in all directions in such numbers 

 that I watched them carefully to avoid the 

 winged projectiles. Looking down I could see 

 numbers so terrified that they swam close to the 

 keel to elude the savage tunas. The latter were 

 leaping and plunging about me, and I realized 



