436 



THE OKDER OP FISHES— KAYS AND SKATES 



Stills Ray in his foot; and in tho ilalay Peninsula 

 I treated a Malaj' fisherman whose hand had been 

 completely transfixed by the spine of a huge ray. 



STING RAY. 



Fortunately, this abominable creature is averse 

 to cold, or even moderately cool waters, and is 

 rarely encountered exen as far north as Florida. 

 On our coast, one may bathe for a lifetime witliout 

 seeing e^'en one ; and in all waters they carefully 

 avoid crowds of bathers. 

 tic creature ki 

 ' Man'ta hi-ros'tris. 



is the largest of all rays, and to many persons, even 

 the most truthful accounts of some of its doings 

 will seem beyond belief. To begin with, its maxi- 

 mum size of tircidi/ feet across its "wings " is al- 

 most iiirreilible. The towing of a good-sized fish- 

 ing smack by a harpooned Devil-Fish, going for 

 miles at race-horse speed, is another wonder of the 

 deep. 



Many years ago, the planters on the coast of 

 South Carolina found royal sport in harpooning 

 this monster, and comjuering it. In a volume en- 

 titled "Carolina Sports," the Hon. WiUiam EUiott 

 lias drawn this picture: "Imagine a monster 

 many feet across the back, ha^•ing powerful flaps 

 or wings with which he dri'VTS himself furiously 

 tln'ough the water, or ^•aults high in the air, his 

 horns projecting several feet bej'ond his mouth!" 



If a Devil-Fish could leap out of water, — which 

 there is good reason to suppose that it could do, — 

 it would look as Mr. Beard has represented it in 

 his illu.stration. 



So far as can be learned, large examples of this 

 creature are now rarely obser^•ed, and still more 

 rarely captured. Its centre of abundance now 

 apjjears to be off the Ciulf coast of Florida; but 

 it is also found on the coast of southern California. 



THE DEVIL-FISH. 



