358 Big Game Fisbes 



An interesting feature of the latter fish is 

 its tameness. Through a water-glass I have 

 watched a diver in armor at the bay of Avalon, 

 who sat upon the bottom and crushed some 

 black echini, whereupon numbers of these fishes 

 swarmed about him, eating from his hand with 

 great complacency. At my request he took 

 down a wire box and placing some bait in it, 

 caught several of the little creatures. On the 

 Florida reef a brilliant assemblage could be col- 

 lected by tossing over some crayfish at which 

 the radiant creatures would rush, and amid them 

 there generally would be the singular surgeon 

 fish which carries its lance in the side of the tail 

 (Fig. 9), which is freely used to enable it to hold 

 its own in the struggle for existence. To land 

 the game is not everything in fishing, or the chief 

 end of the angler; indeed, these diversions, the 

 study and observation of the habits of fishes, the 

 unexpected glimpses of their home life, the view 

 of their beauties and charm of coloring, are a part 

 of the day's fishing, which are perhaps more 

 compensating than to make a goodly bag. This 

 is especially true on our southern borders, where 

 vast reefs stretch away, embracing coral lagoons 

 and shallows. 



