302 AUDUBON 



Vast numbers of beautiful Dolphins glided by the side 

 of the vessel, glancing like burnished gold through the 

 day, and gleaming like meteors by night. The captain 

 and his mates were expert at alluring them with baited 

 hooks, and not less so at piercing them with five-pronged 

 instruments, which they called grains; and I was de- 

 lighted with the sport, because it afforded me an oppor- 

 tunity of observing and noting some of the habits of this 

 beautiful fish, as well as several other kinds. 



On being hooked, the Dolphin flounces vigorously, 

 shoots off with great impetuosity to the very end of the 

 line, when, being suddenly checked, it often rises perpen- 

 dicularly several feet out of the water, shakes itself vio- 

 lently in the air, gets disentangled, and thus escapes. 

 But when well secured, it is held in play for a while by 

 the experienced fisher, soon becomes exhausted, and is 

 hauled on board. Some persons prefer pulling them in 

 at once, but they seldom succeed, as the force with which 

 the fish shakes itself on being raised out of the water is 

 generally sufficient to enable it to extricate itself. Dol- 

 phins move in shoals, varying from four or five to twenty 

 or more, hunting in packs in the waters, as Wolves pursue 

 their prey on land. The object of their pursuit is gener- 

 ally the Flying-fish, now and then the Bonita; and when 

 nothing better can be had, they will follow the little 

 Rudder-fish, and seize it immediately under the stern of 

 the ship. The Flying-fishes after having escaped for a 

 while by dint of their great velocity, on being again ap- 

 proached by the Dolphin, emerge from the waters, and 

 spreading their broad wing-like fins, sail through the air 

 and disperse in all directions, like a covey of timid Par- 

 tridges before the rapacious Falcon. Some pursue a 

 direct course, others diverge on either side; but in a 

 short time they all drop into their natural element. 

 While they are travelling in the air, their keen and 

 hungry pursuer, like a greyhound, follows in their wake, 



