The Leaping Tuna 57 
as it did not leap for its prey, there being no fly- 
ing-fishes. In 1887 or 1888 I began to fish the 
waters of Santa Catalina, and here saw the same 
horse-mackerel or tuna, now feeding on the Cali- 
fornia flying-fish, to capture which it sprang into 
the air in magnificent bounds; hence I called it 
the leaping tuna, to distinguish it from the non- 
jumper of the Atlantic. To take so large and 
powerful a fish smooth water was a desideratum, 
and so far as known, Santa Catalina, California, 
is the only locality where the fish has been taken 
with rod and reel; and even here the fishing- 
grounds are limited to about four miles of coast 
in the lee of the island mountains, which afford 
several open bays, generally smooth, the wind 
blowing only part of the day, thus giving the 
angler conditions absolutely perfect, without 
which tuna fishing would be impossible and 
extremely dangerous. : 
It would weary the reader to detail my efforts 
to catch a tuna. I frequently hooked them, lost 
tips, rods, and lines, which were cheerfully offered 
at the shrine, and told the stories to incredulous 
listeners, all to no purpose. Horace Annersley 
Vachell, in his “Life and Sport on the Pacific 
Slope,” who has written a delightful account of 
