LOS ARROYOS TO PUNT A COLORADO 145 



good returns, a notable feature being a fine large 

 species of Hippocampus — the " sea-horse." 



At dinner that night we had an instructive 

 conversation upon man's ability to accomplish 

 wonderful feats of strength and agility when under 

 the stimulus of great fear. The subject was intro- 

 duced by a member of our crew who had acquired 

 a good working knowledge of unnatural history 

 through extensive reading of the Sunday supple- 

 ments. His imagination, so nourished, peopled 

 the earth and the waters beneath with many 

 strange creatures, which, if captured, would neces- 

 sitate a complete revision of zoological classifica- 

 tions. He recounted with perfect faith the exploit 

 of a friend who, being capsized upon the reef, found 

 himself surrounded by sharks. His efforts to 

 gain a footing upon the sharp corals only resulted 

 in cruel laceration of his feet and hands. In such 

 predicament he was forced to mighty effort to 

 save himself and he then and there accomplished 

 what might seem, to one of limited experience, a 

 very miraculous thing. He ran along the surface 

 of the water for a hundred yards or more — to be 

 exact, a trifle over an even hundred yards — to shore 

 and safety. We were all stunned into silence. 



