EPISODES 305 



prey to their enemies tlie Balacouda and the Bottle-nosed 

 Porpoise. One that had been grained while lazily swim- 

 ming immediately under the stern of our ship, was found 

 to have its stomach completely crammed with Flying-fish, 

 all regularly disposed side by side, with their tails down- 

 wards — by which I mean to say that the Dolphin always 

 swallows its prey tail-foremost. They looked in fact like 

 so many salted Herrings packed in a box, and were to 

 the number of twenty-two, each six or seven inches in 

 length. 



The usual length of the Dolphins caught in the Gulf of 

 Mexico is about three feet, and I saw none that exceeded 

 four feet two inches. The weight of one of the latter size 

 was only eighteen pounds ; for this fish is extremely nar- 

 row in proportion to its length, although rather deep in 

 its form. When just caught, the upper fin, which reaches 

 from the forehead to within a short distance of the tail, is 

 of a fine dark blue. The upper part of the body in its 

 whole length is azure, and the lower parts are of a golden 

 hue, mottled irregularly with deep-blue spots. It seems 

 that they at times enter very shallow water, as in the 

 course of my last voyage along the Florida coast, some 

 were caught in a seine, along with their kinsman the 

 "Cavalier," of which I shall speak elsewhere. 



The flesh of the Dolphin is rather firm, very white, and 

 lies in flakes when cooked. The first caught are gener- 

 ally eaten with great pleasure, but when served many 

 days in succession, they become insipid. It is not, as an 

 article of food, equal to the Balacouda, which is perhaps 

 as good as any fish caught in the waters of the Gulf of 

 Mexico. 



VOL. II. — 20 



