SOME RARE FISH 



ground of dark, clear, blue Gulf Stream water this 

 dolphin was radiant, golden, exquisitely beautiful. 

 It was a shame to lift him out of the water. But — 



The appearance of the dolphin when just out of 

 the water beggars description. Very few anglers 

 in the world have ever had this experience. Not 

 many anglers, perhaps, care for the beauty of a fish. 

 But I do. And for the sake of those who feel the 

 same way I wish I could paint him. But that seems 

 impossible. For even while I gazed the fish changed 

 color. He should have been called the chameleon 

 of the ocean. He looked a quivering, shimmering, 

 changeful creature, the color of golden-rod. He was 

 the personification of beautiful color alive. The fact 

 that he was dying made the changing hues. It gave 

 me a pang — that I should be the cause of the death 

 of so beautiful a thing. 



If I caught his appearance for one fleeting instant 

 here it is: Vivid green-gold, spotted in brilliant blue, 

 and each blue spot was a circle inclosing white. 

 The long dorsal extending from nose to tail seemed 

 black and purple near the head, shading toward the 

 tail to rich olive green with splashes of blue. Just 

 below the dorsal, on the background of gold, was a 

 line of black dots. The fins were pearly silver be- 

 neath, and dark green above. All the upper body 

 was gold shading to silver, and this silver held ex- 

 quisite turquoise-blue spots surrounded with white 

 rings, in strange contrast to those ringed dots above. 

 There was even a suggestion of pink glints. And 

 the eyes were a deep pm-ple with gold iris. 



The beauty of the dolphin resembled the mystery 

 of the Gulf Stream — too illusive for the eye of man. 



143 



