THE BOOK OF THE TARPON 



put out my line after turning down Broad River 

 than the bait was seized by a splendid specimen 

 of the silver king. The Camera-man missed the 

 early leaps, for he had been slow in getting out 

 his artillery, but after it had been brought into 

 action he was kept busy. We were carried up in- 

 to Broad River Bay, where the channels were so 

 overhung with manatee grass that at every turn 

 my line was loaded almost to the breaking point. 



When the motor boat, maneuvering for posi- 

 tion, got out of the middle of the channel, the 

 propeller twisted a wad of the grass about the 

 shaft and the motor stopped. Then Joe leaned 

 over the stern of the boat, with head and arms 

 under water as he tore at the clinging mass, 

 while the Camera-man relieved his mind by ener- 

 getic exhortation. 



The tarpon led us through Broad River Bay 

 to a series of deep channels which we had long 

 known as the home of the manatee, several speci- 

 mens of which we had captured there. The sur- 

 render of our quarry came after we had entered 

 the broad, shallow, island-dotted bay that 

 stretches from the heads of Broad, Rodgers, and 

 Lossmans Rivers across to the narrow strip of 



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