SEA FISHING 



of his ward and heritage and because he 

 could no more renew his armor by bathing 

 in the silver spring; and so he made him 

 the everlasting coat of silver mail, which 

 never fades nor wears oiF, either in the water 

 or out of it. It will neither dim nor tarnish. 

 Any Indian brave who wears the scales of 

 the tarpon on his person will possess a medi- 

 cine which will ever be to him a talisman 

 of good fortune, both in this world and the 

 spirit land to come. Plenty wiU surround 

 him long after the buffalo have ceased to 

 run. 



The first tarpon was taken by rod and 

 reel by William H. Wood of New York on 

 April 18, 1885, bottom-fishing, and it was 

 not until the invention of the Van Vleck 

 tarpon trolling-hook that the method of 

 fishing for them in this manner became a 

 success ; for before that, out of ten fish you 

 would "hang" you might with luck save one. 

 I say invention of Van Vleck hook, yet the 

 very same shape of hook can be seen in the 



[19 1 



