CHAPTER VII 
HARPOONING A MONSTER 
I REMEMBER another exciting adventure, which resulted in 
the capture of a giant ray, weighing many hundred pounds. 
The wind had just gone to the south after many days of 
cold northers, and, whereas it would require several days of 
such wind to bring the tarpon back to a feeding humour, 
this first breath from the south was sufficient to stir up a 
long line of foam and slush that means food to the devil- 
fish. Twenty feet and upwards across these monsters may 
measure, and they have been taken weighing over 4,000 Ib. 
In the corners of the mouth, which gapes like a letter-box, 
are coiled fans that are used in waving the food into the 
throat. Three of these devil-fish we saw on the day in 
question, coming along and raising breakers as if they were 
steam-propelled rafts. With the tips of their great wings 
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