CURIOUS CREATURES. 255 



THE DOG-FISH AND RAY. 



Olaus Magnus writes of " The cruelty of some Fish, 

 and the kindness of others. There is a fish of the kind 

 of Sea-Dogfish, called Boloma, in Italian, and in Norway, 

 Haafisck, that will set upon a man swimming in the 

 Salt- Waters, so greedily, in Troops, unawares, that he 

 will sink a man to the bottome, not only by his biting, 

 but also by his weight ; and he will eat his more tender 

 parts, as his nostrils, fingers, &c., until such time as the 

 Ray come to revenge these injuries ; which runs thorow 

 the Waters armed with her natural fins, and with some 



violence drives away these fish that set upon the drown'd 

 man, and doth what he can to urge him to swim out. 

 And he also keeps the man, until such time as his spirit 

 being quite gone ; and after some days, as the Sea 

 naturally purgeth itself, he is cast up. This miserable 

 spectacle is seen on the Coasts of Norway when men 

 go to wash themselves, namely, strangers and Marriners 

 that are ignorant of the dangers, leap out of their ships 

 into the sea. For these Dogfish, or Boloma, lie hid 

 under the ships riding at Anchor as Water Rams, that 

 they may catch men, their malicious natures stirring 

 them to it." 



