10 THE TARPON 



killed by the cold in this stream. The banks 

 were lined with dead fish of the largest kind. 

 Since that time, few tarpon are to be found in 

 the Peace River. 



I was in Florida at the time of the "Big 

 Freeze," living in a houseboat on the St. Lucie 

 River. The mercury went to 18 degrees, and 

 the river water steamed and smoked. It was 

 not the cold that directly killed the fish, but 

 the cold seemed to have consumed the oxygen 

 in the water, for the fish died from asphyxia- 

 tion. 



For two hundred miles both shores of the 

 shallow Indian River were banked with dead 

 fish, mostly so-called surface feeders such as 

 snook, bluefish, and the like. The bottom fish 

 did not seem to be affected. 



I saw many bluefish of five pounds flopping 

 along on the surface, but no mullet. These 

 wise fish went to sea in schools the day before 

 the Norther arrived. 



We picked up nineteen green turtles that were 

 benumbed by the cold and floating on the sur- 

 face. These turtles were stacked on the lower 

 deck of the houseboat and revived much to the 

 consternation of the crew, although they were 

 compensated for their troubles the following day 



