Tbe Kingfisb 291 



during my visit a small fleet of boats would gather 

 in the narrow pass and fish. Those who fished as 

 a business had long bamboo poles which they kept 

 moving* up and down, landing a mackerel of small 

 size every few minutes. I used a light black- 

 bass rod, and baiting with shrimp, caught by a boy 

 with a cast-net, enjoyed the sport, taking fishes 

 from three to seven pounds; but the man with 

 the fifteen-foot bamboo, with a short line tied to 

 it, beat me ten to one, and gazed at my light tackle 

 as the armament of a tenderfoot. While fishing 

 here several skipjacks and a three-pound "ten- 

 pounder" jumped into my boat at intervals of 

 ten minutes ; then an alligator gar rose alongside 

 apparently anxious to emulate the small fry, while 

 a speckled sting-ray hovered for a moment in the 

 air like a bird, astern. These and schools of mul- 

 lets, constantly leaping in silvery waves on all sides 

 in the shallows, gave the impression that all the 

 fishes in this peaceful region were jumpers ; and 

 there was consolation in the thought that if the 

 fish did not bite, they might at least jump aboard, 

 which was much the same thing if dinner, as well 

 as sport, was to be considered. I have seen the 

 Spanish mackerel in many waters, but these Texas 

 fishes, with their black and vivid yellow or golden 



