Big Game at Sea 



it, turning and lifting itself partly out of water, roll- 

 ing the boat over, throwing oars, grains, and fisher- 

 men into the shallow lagoon. 



The turn cost the fish its life, as it ran high on 

 to the narrow mud flat, where it beat the shallow 

 water with its powerful wings, every movement 

 urging it further out of its native element. Paublo, 

 who had waded across the little channel, in his exu- 

 berance, bounded onto the flat back of the monster 

 and waved his hands aloft, while Chief ran in shore 

 with the rope and presently had the devil fish securely 

 fastened to a mangrove tree not fifty feet away. 



We had earned our game and were well exhausted. 

 At high water the ray could have escaped by way of 

 the channel through which, doubtless, it often passed. 



Stretched upon the hot sands beneath the strag- 

 gling mangroves, Paublo humming a low barcarole 

 of his own invention, Chief silent, but with a long 

 smile fixed upon his countenance, we could not believe 

 but that the writhing black mass was a monstrous 

 bird, one of the uncanny pterodactyls which geologists 

 dream about ; yet it was a noble quarry, 



" The struck eagle stretched upon the plain, 

 No more through rolling clouds to soar again." 



The weight of the ray we could only conjecture, 

 but it was doubtless over a ton ; and had this light and 

 airy swimmer sprung upon the boat it would have 

 crushed it like paper. 



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