64 Fish Stories 



enemies see them from below, they are colored like the sky, 

 appearing silvery. And in the channels between the reef 

 and the shore, the fishes are dull green on the backs, like 

 the water, while the bellies are always white. The fish that 

 burrow on the bottom in the coral sands are all mottled 

 gray like the sands themselves. On the " iron-bound 

 coasts " of black lava when there is no coral, the little 

 fishes are all black. Protective colors clearly predominate' 

 even in coral seas, but there are likewise defiant colors which 

 no one can explain, unless it be as aids to help the members 

 of the species to find one another ; and these defiant species 

 are protected by a keen eye that catches every movement, 

 and by a speed which is the greatest that any fish can 

 develop. 



Inside the reef are many fishes most excellent as food, 

 mostly of the silvery type of the horse-mackerel. Common- 

 est of these is the Atule; and most toothsome and most 

 valuable, forming a perfect chowder, is the big Cavalla or 

 horse-mackerel known throughout the South Seas as Ulua. 



Outside the reef are albacores and tunnies, and still 

 farther the great sharks, especially the species with the fins 

 all tipped with black, and the one with the fins all tipped 

 with white, but these belong to another chapter. Flying 

 fish in abundance and of many species swarm about the 

 coral islands, and once in a while you may catch one on the 

 fly. You will wonder at the swiftness of their motion, with 

 their fins held firm like an aeroplane, and only the force of 

 the great screw-like tail to give them impetus. But if you 

 have keen eyes, you will see that this is true, whether you 

 can account for all they do or not. There is an ancient 

 proverb current in the South Seas: " If you cannot account 

 for the milk in the cocoanut, do not hesitate to make free 

 use of it ! " If you cannot account for everything you see 

 when you go a-fishing, do not hesitate to keep on fishing 

 just the same ! 



