358 Big Game Fishes 
An interesting feature of the latter fish is 
its tameness. Through a water-glass I have 
watched a diver in armor at the bay of Avalon. 
who sat upon the bottom and crushed some 
black echini, whereupon numbers of these fishes 
swarmed about him, eating from his hand with 
great complacency. At my request he took 
down a wire box and placing some bait in it, 
caught several of the little creatures. On the 
Florida reef a brilliant assemblage could be col- 
lected by tossing over some crayfish at which 
the radiant creatures would rush, and amid them 
there generally would be the singular surgeon 
fish which carries its lance in the side of the tail 
(Fig. 9), which is freely used to enable it to hold 
its own in the struggle for existence. To land 
the game is not everything in fishing, or the chief 
end of the angler; indeed, these diversions, the 
study and observation of the habits of fishes, the 
unexpected glimpses of their home life, the view 
of their beauties and charm of coloring, are a part 
of the day’s fishing, which are perhaps more 
compensating than to make a goodly bag. This 
is especially true on our southern borders, where 
vast reefs stretch away, embracing coral lagoons 
and shallows. 
