ANIMAL LIFE IN THE GULF STREAM. 



661 



they seek safety in the air, and, after darting as far as possible, 

 will strike the water again and then dash off in another direction. 

 They present a very odd appearance, skipping out of the water 

 and passing through the air by means of their wing-like fins, and 

 then again disappearing. While trying to escape their finny ene- 

 mies they often fly right into the claws of an albatross or some 

 other large sea-bird, jumping, so to speak, " from the frying-pan 

 into the fire." A hard lot is theirs in this struggle for existence, 

 eating smaller animals only to, be themselves eaten. The panic 

 which a shark will cause in a school of mackerel or menhaden, or 

 a dolphin among flying-fish, can hardly be described. Another 

 curious fish that we sometimes meet with is the Hippocam,pus, or 

 sea-horse. These little creatures are most interesting to watch in 

 an aquarium. They curl their tails about any object which will 

 hold them in place, and then assume an upright position. With 

 their peculiarly shaped head and large, intelligent eyes, an almost 

 perfect miniature resemblance to a horse is plainly seen. There 



Fig. 10.— Sea-Horse {Hippocampus bremrostris). 



Fig. 11.— Goose Barnacles on a Bottle. 





it sits motionless, rolling its prominent eyes backward and for- 

 ward until a small animal comes too near, when a sudden dive is 

 made, which generally ends fatally to the intended prey, and then 

 the same grave indifference is assumed. Altogether it reminds 

 me of a toad watching for its food. 



Floating around on all sides are numerous patches of gulf- 

 weed filled with life of all kinds. Here good-sized crabs and 

 shrimps flee for refuge from larger foes, and feed upon their more 

 minute brethren also seeking safety under the floating weed. 

 Here the goose barnacle is found in great numbers attached to 

 everything that floats. This is the animal which is such an enemy 

 to shipmasters sailing from tropical ports. Although the vessel's 



