54 Tarpon Fishing in Florida. 



line is tied on to the boat, the bows may be dragged under water 

 if one is unprepared. We had, too, neglected to tie on our line 

 an empty air-tight tin can, which makes a powerful brake when 

 being dragged at a high velocity through the water. I am now 

 within 20 yards of the huge flat fish, which does not alter his 

 course by a fraction of a degree, but takes two or three swims of 

 about 30 feet just under the surface, and sinks out of sight. The 

 fatigue of F.'s boatman at once disappears, and I am given to 

 understand that, when in a small boat, close quarters with a 

 freshly harpooned devil fish are apt to be unpfeasant. This was 

 one, I should say, about 10 feet broad, and so by no means a 

 very large specimen, as they have been caught 20 feet, and 

 reported up to 30 feet across. It is surprising what a hard 

 straight blow it takes to drive home a harpoon into one of these 

 giant rays, and how easily it slides off the fish's back. If fishing 

 from an anchored boat, these monsters are a constant source of 

 anxiety, as the consequences would be extremely unpleasant if one 

 got foul of the rope. During my stay, I saw one of these huge flat 

 fish jump about 6 feet clear of the water, and come down again 

 with a loud ungainly flop, but the whip rays, which have been 

 caught up to 200 lbs., and the sting rays often reached this height. 

 The object of these manoeuvres was, I presume, to rid 

 themselves of their suckers. A Remora or " delayer," as the 

 naturalists call it, is a little fish of a muddy blue-black colour all 

 over, here usually 8 or 9 inches long, though they have been 

 caught up to 2 feet in length. They are approximately circular 

 in section, and generally about an inch in diameter. They attach 

 themselves to the back and sides of their unwilling comrades by a 



