224 Big Game Fishes 
appearance of the tarpon makes upon the man 
with the rod. 
I saw my first tarpon under peculiar circum- 
stances at Garden Key on the Florida reef. I 
had a platform built beneath a wharf, where I 
could fish and watch certain fishes unseen, pro- 
tected from the terrific heat; and one day when 
creeping to this vantage-ground I was amazed to 
see directly by my side, in water so shallow that 
its long dorsal spine was at the surface, a huge 
tarpon. It was perfectly stationary, and a better 
opportunity to observe the great fish with silvery 
armor was never afforded. The fish was at least 
six feet in length, and as I gazed down upon it, 
its back had a deep blue tint. I did not dare to 
move, fearing that the fascinating vision within 
my very reach would disappear, and for several 
moments feasted my eyes upon its fair propor- 
tions, when it slowly moved down the sandy slope 
into the deep blue channel and disappeared. “= 
What induced the great fish to take this position 
I could not conceive. The following day, with a 
cast-net boy and fishing-tackle, I went to Long 
Key, which at that time, previous to a hurricane 
which I understand washed it away, was a sandy 
island, about four feet high, fifty feet wide, and 
