320 Big Game Fishes 



of an old wreck, and judging that the fish would 

 visit this, I carefully retreated, and having secured 

 a rod hard by, baited the hook with a third of the 

 crushed tail of a crayfish the spiny lobster of 

 the reef. This luscious morsel I cast from a high 

 pile of dead coral rock which formed the inter- 

 vening beach between the pier and the wreck in 

 a highway which I knew the porgy or drum 

 would pass in full view, owing to the remarkable 

 clearness of these tropical waters ; nor was I mis- 

 taken. The moment my bait sank in about 

 fifteen feet of water it was surrounded by a 

 motley throng of grunts, shad, young gray snap- 

 pers, porcupine-fishes, angel-fishes, and others, 

 which seized and tossed it about like a ball, creat- 

 ing a commotion that, as I surmised, attracted 

 the attention of the big fish which in a short 

 time appeared, still swimming slowly and with 

 dignity, its jet-black followers trailing against its 

 sides like the barbels or whiskers of a catfish. 

 One broke away and swam ahead, and rushing 

 into the throng, seized the bait. As the ponder- 

 ous drum approached the lure it stopped, turned 

 slightly upon one side, evidently eying it, while 

 the swarm of small fry melted away as do wolves 

 or coyotes when larger game approaches. The 



