224 Big Game Fishes 



appearance of the tarpon makes upon the man 

 with the rod. 



I saw my first tarpon under peculiar circum- 

 stances at Garden Key on the Florida reef. I 

 had a platform built beneath a wharf, where I 

 could fish and watch certain fishes unseen, pro- 

 tected from the terrific heat ; and one day when 

 creeping to this vantage-ground I was amazed to 

 see directly by my side, in water so shallow that 

 its long dorsal spine was at the surface, a huge 

 tarpon. It was perfectly stationary, and a better 

 opportunity to observe the great fish with silvery 

 armor was never afforded. The fish was at least 

 six feet in length, and as I gazed down upon it, 

 its back had a deep blue tint. I did not dare to 

 move, fearing that the fascinating vision within 

 my very reach would disappear, and for several 

 moments feasted my eyes upon its fair propor- 

 tions, when it slowly moved down the sandy slope 

 into the deep blue channel and disappeared. 

 What induced the great fish to take this position 

 I could not conceive. The following day, with a 

 cast-net boy and fishing-tackle, I went to Long 

 Key, which at that time, previous to a hurricane 

 which I understand washed it away, was a sandy 

 island, about four feet high, fifty feet wide, and 



