72 Tarpon Fishing in Florida. 



the silence of the nig-ht, and our brief acquaintance terminates for 

 ever. As I reel in a "reat white cloud floats under the boat, 

 and I suppose that in addition to the tarpon and the porpoises, 

 whose elephantic gambols are causing me some uneasiness, I have 

 found the rays at home as well. Another bait is ready and we 

 feel a jar as something strikes the boat near the bow. I look 

 round in time to see a glowino;- splash as the tarpon dives. 

 Whether this was an accident or curiosity on the part of the 

 tarpon, I am not sure ; but I am not at all anxious that the fish 

 should take the least interest in the boat. My guide tells me 

 how last year a sportsman fishing at night was struck in the back 

 of the neck by a frisky porpoise, and how he was still on his bed ; 

 but porpoises or no porpoises, this is not a sight to be missed. 

 For a moment or two the water seems almost a network of 

 moving light, and I am soon engaged with another tarpon. He 

 is captured after an exciting tussle, during a great part of which 

 his position in the water is plainly visible. We take his 

 measurements on the shore and his weight works out at 165 lbs., 

 but the mosquitoes accelerate our movements, and we are soon 

 back on the fishing grounds. The thickest part of the shoal 

 now seems to have passed over, but I still see an occasional 

 fish, and capture one more before a wonderful night's sport 

 comes to an end. 



On another day one of the sportsmen from the yacht broke 

 his rod with a very vigorous tarpon, and consequently took some 

 three hours to tire him out. The fish was within a few feet of the 

 boat when a hammerhead saw his chance and made a dash for it. 

 A shark is by no means a lightning mover, and the darkey 



