42 THETARPON 



should take two or three at every draught. These 

 Fish are found plentifully along that shore from 

 Cape Catoch to Trist especially in clear Water 

 near sandy Bays ; but no where in muddy or rocky 

 Ground. They are also about Jamaica and all 

 the Coast of the Main; especially near Cartha- 

 gena. ' ' 



Thousands of anglers since Dampier's day have fell 

 a sudden strike and been amazed to see a huge silvery 

 fish suddenly break water and go bounding away with 

 their tackle, while they gazed upon it with envious eyes. 

 But, apparently, its capture by rod and reel was never 

 considered a possibility. It was taken by harpoon or on 

 hand lines precisely as the big shark is now captured. 

 In an article written in 1876 on the Game Fish of 

 Florida, S. C. Clarke, the noted fisherman, said: 



"The tarpum I have not seen. It also is rare 

 and is described to belong to the mackerel family, 

 growing to the weight of 80 to 100 pounds. A 

 surface fish, very active and strong, with brilliant 

 silvery scales the size of a dollar. It is rarely 

 taken with hook and line, as it generally carries 

 away the tackle, however strong. It goes in 

 schools and leaps from the water when struck, 

 either with hook or spear. The only successful way 

 of killing the tarpum, I am told, is to strike it with 

 a harpoon, to which is attached, by a strong line, 

 a small empty cask; the fish by struggling with 

 this buoy, exhausts itself so that it may be ap- 

 proached in a boat and killed with a lance." 

 In an article on fishes written in 1884, it is said: 



