The Mariposas 353 



of small catches I hooked a fish which soon 

 demonstrated that it was essentially game. I had 

 no thumb brake, and the fish took my line at 

 marvellous speed, resisting all attempts to capture 

 it, and putting the delicate tackle to the test more 

 than once, coming in only after a well-sustained 

 protest. The captive must have weighed be- 

 tween eighteen and twenty pounds ; and on other 

 occasions I took larger specimens of this interest- 

 ing and conspicuously beautiful fish, shaped very 

 much like the typical angel-fishes, with a high, 

 elevated body much compressed, the upper or 

 dorsal and anal fins extending back in graceful 

 points suggesting plumes, giving the fish the 

 appearance of having three tails. My boatman, 

 Long John, called it a porgee, the third fish to 

 which the name was applied on this portion of 

 the reef. 



The fish, which is Chcetodipterus faber of sci- 

 ence, has a wide geographical range. I have 

 caught small individuals in the Gulf of Mexico, at 

 Aransas Pass, Texas, at the Tortugas, Old Point 

 Comfort, Virginia, and have seen it taken from a 

 pound net in New York harbor near Coney Island. 

 Dr. Jordan describes it from San Diego, Califor- 

 nia. The young are easily recognized by the six 



