Big Game at Sea 



the shape of a balloon, its spines standing out in 

 every direction, its head, eyes, and fins almost disap- 

 pearing; and when tossed overboard to rid ourselves 

 of a dangerous creature, it was perfectly helpless, 

 blowing away before the wind like a gigantic soap 

 bubble. 



These fishes and many more were taken in almost 

 as fast as they could be caught. The lure was cray- 

 fish. If this bait was changed, it was another story ; 

 if conch was used, red grouper, a big uninteresting 

 fish, was invariably caught, which reminded me of 

 cod-fishing off the Maine coast, though the cod is a 

 whirlwind compared to this lethargic monster. This 

 had gone on for over an hour, when I noticed the jew- 

 fish line slowly moving over. It was either a jewfish 

 or a shark, and I slacked away until it was assumed 

 that the fish had taken the bait, then gave him his 

 strike. The response was immediate, and my arms 

 went overboard before I could release the line, which, 

 after a short rush, stopped. Assuming that the fish 

 was gone, I hauled in, but it was there, and I draw a 

 veil over the proceedings. At first I thought we had 

 hooked the keel of the old galleon, but occasionally 

 felt tremendous blows on the line. It was the Jew- 

 fish, the original sulker, that simply held back and 

 was finally hauled in, three hundred and sixty-four 

 pounds of it, like a log, to roll over and twist and 

 deluge us with spray, though I doubt if it ever 

 realized that it was hooked. 



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