78 Big Game Fishes 
more than once seen them die suddenly, and a 
few moments after a desperate rush come up 
again dead. I have been one of three anglers 
to battle with a tuna five hours. This fish, 
though sorely wounded, towed the boat an esti- 
mated twenty miles; and had we not, seeing that 
night was coming on, and that we were out of 
sight of Avalon in an open boat, hauled it in 
by hand, I am confident that the fish, which 
weighed but one hundred and twenty-five pounds, 
might have towed us across the Santa Catalina 
channel or for an indefinite distance. Another’ 
tuna fought Mr. W. Woods and boatman fifteen 
hours and then escaped. Yet other fishes are 
caught in from thirty minutes to an hour. Dur- 
ing the season of 1902 Judge Beaman of Denver, 
Colorado, fought a tuna of unknown size, which 
towed the twenty-two-foot launch from near 
Avalon, across the channel, to the vicinity of 
Point Firmin, an estimated twenty-one miles, 
in six hours and a half. The fish was lost at 
the gaffing; the line had chafed off at the swivel. 
Many tunas, as stated, are caught in a short 
time; but, as a rule, such fish are in poor con- 
dition, or have just spawned, and lack their nor- 
mal vigor. 
