DEVIL-FISHING IN THE GULF STREAM 



483 



brought him alongside without further 

 loss of time ; then turned our attention to 

 the new mystery now close at hand. 



We were all excited at the thought of 

 getting a harpoon into a big leopard shark, 

 which will fight any and everything that 

 swims, and, according to all deep-sea 

 fishermen, is really the only member of 

 the shark family of whom man need be 

 afraid while in the water. 



But the reader can imagine how our 

 interest was increased when all at once 

 , Captain Thompson, who, having uncanny 

 eyesight plus long experience with sub- 

 sea life, suddenly exclaimed : "Stand by, 

 men ; it's the biggest devil-fish I have ever 

 seen !" 



As we drew near it seemed to me that 

 the entire bottom of the ocean in that 

 area was suddenly dark and slowly mov- 

 ing off, and I discerned in the translu- 

 cent depths a gigantic shadow which had 

 the appearance of a huge bird flapping 

 its wings and swinging its long, thin tail 

 from side to side, as it flew slowly along. 



While we were coming up within strik- 

 ing radius of the fish, which was evi- 

 dently devouring something it had killed 

 and was paying no attention to anything 

 else, our harpoon lines, used in dispatch- 

 ing the herring-hog, had been straightened 

 out and put in readiness for the combat 

 which was to come. 



As soon as we came near enough, Cap- 

 tain Thompson let fly with his heaviest 

 harpoon, and then, as the little boy said 

 when he dropped the cat into the pail of 

 stewed tomatoes, "the fun began." 



I am sure that none of us was ready 

 for what followed. The devil-fish rose 

 as though hurled upward by a submarine 

 explosion beneath it. One of its great bat- 

 like fins broke above the surface, sending 

 gallons of water over *us and splintering 

 the harpoon pole against the boat's side 

 as if it had been a match stem ; then its 

 i o- foot pectoral wing struck the water 

 with a terrific impact, making a noise 

 which could have been heard several 

 miles away. 



For a moment the monster seemed be- 

 wildered, and that lost moment cost him 

 dear, for it enabled us to throw another 

 harpoon, which struck deep into its body 

 near the spine. Away it started to sea, 

 taking our harpoon line with it, at a pace 



which made us apprehensive regarding its 

 length, although we had, as we thought, 

 a wide margin for safety. Gradually all 

 hands put their weight against the line, 

 and as the boat was by this time moving 

 properly on an even keel, we took a wrap 

 around a bow cleat and started seaward — 

 giant fish, boat, and crew ! 



Every once in a while the devil-fish 

 would literally hurl itself several feet out 

 of the water, and its huge body would 

 come down with a crash like the explo- 

 sion of a 42-centimeter shell ! Moreover, 

 each time it broke on the surface it 

 looked larger than before. Now and 

 then it would sound for deep water in an 

 effort to shake us off, and several times 

 it went down so far that we stood by 

 with hatchets to cut the lines at the last 

 moment, in the event the bow should be 

 drawn completely under water, as came 

 perilously near happening more than 

 once. 



All of a sudden the lines slackened, and 

 we frantically hauled in as the monster 

 turned and dashed toward the boat, com- 

 ing up almost, but not quite, under our 

 craft, its gigantic bulk lifting one side of 

 the heavy launch well out of water and 

 giving us a pretty stiff scare. 



The: beginning of the: end 



With his usual skill and presence of 

 mind, however, Captain Thompson let 

 drive another harpoon he had at hand, 

 which found lodgment in the devil-fish's 

 head, and away it dashed again. "With 

 two harpoon lines, one in each side of the 

 body, we were actually able to drive the 

 monster as one would a runaway horse, 

 swerving it toward the distant shore of 

 Bimini and into more shallow water by 

 the process of pulling first on one line 

 and then on the other, which course was 

 a little too much for the fish to resist. 

 Meanwhile time was flying. 



By this time the devil-fish had towed 

 us for about ten miles, and although it 

 was losing much blood, it was still going 

 strong; so our next experiment was to 

 throw out and let drag our anchor in 

 order that this maneuver might further 

 impede its progress. But this expedient 

 made little difference to this giant, for it 

 continued to pull us along as if our heavy 

 craft were only a birch canoe. 



