The Mariposas 353 
of small catches I hooked a fish which soon 
demonstrated that it was essentially game. I had 
no thumb brake, and the fish took my line at 
marvellous speed, resisting all attempts to capture 
it, and putting the delicate tackle to the test more 
than once, coming in only after a well-sustained 
protest. The captive must have weighed be- 
tween eighteen and twenty pounds; and on other 
occasions I took larger specimens of this interest- 
ing and conspicuously beautiful fish, shaped very 
much like the typical angel-fishes, with a high, 
elevated body much compressed, the upper or 
dorsal and anal fins extending back in graceful 
points suggesting plumes, giving the fish the 
appearance of having three tails. My boatman, 
Long John, called it a porgee, the third fish to 
which the name was applied on this portion of 
the reef. 
The fish, which is Chetodipterus faber of sci- 
ence, has a wide geographical range. I have 
caught small individuals in the Gulf of Mexico, at 
Aransas Pass, Texas, at the Tortugas, Old Point 
Comfort, Virginia, and have seen it taken from a 
pound net in New York harbor near Coney Island. 
Dr. Jordan describes it from San Diego, Califor- 
nia. The young are easily recognized by the six 
2A 
