THE TARPON 15 



necessary to keep the boat away from the fish 

 until he is well spent. In narrow streams you 

 lose many fish for they jump into the over- 

 hanging branches of the mangrove trees which 

 line the banks and tumble back into the wa- 

 ter leaving your tackle entangled among the 

 branches. 



The Cauto on the south coast is the only 

 river in Cuba that is navigagable. The other 

 streams are often from eight to ten feet deep, 

 excepting where they flow into the sea; here 

 you will find wide bars with but four feet of water. 



It is a delight to fish in these rivers in winter 

 for there are no sharks to rob you of your fish 

 nor any insects of any kind excepting a few 

 mosquitoes at sunset if your yacht happens to 

 be five or ten miles up a river and moored to 

 the windward bank. The rivers are lined with 

 mangroves and dotted here and there along the 

 banks with royal palms, the most beautiful of 

 trees. 



Of this tree Davis wrote: "The royal palm 

 is the characteristic feature of the landscape in 

 Cuba. It is the most beautiful of all palms and 

 possibly the most beautiful of trees. The co- 

 coanut palm, picturesque as it is, has a pathetic 

 resemblance to a shabby feather duster and its 



