﻿30 
  

  

  THE 
  NATIONAL 
  GEOGRAPHIC 
  MAGAZINE 
  

  

  ;;{-:-: 
  r: 
  . 
  /:;■;;; 
  ; 
  " 
  ^ 
  : 
  /§m:mmT:mM&3. 
  

  

  Photograph 
  by 
  A. 
  W. 
  and 
  Julian 
  A. 
  Dimock 
  

  

  TARPON 
  LEAPING 
  

  

  This 
  great 
  fish, 
  the 
  ''Silver 
  King," 
  dear 
  to 
  the 
  heart 
  of 
  all 
  sportsmen, 
  was 
  caught 
  by 
  the 
  

   camera 
  in 
  the 
  verv 
  act 
  of 
  shaking 
  the 
  hook 
  from 
  its 
  mouth. 
  

  

  Then 
  from 
  the 
  air 
  above 
  comes 
  another 
  

   menace 
  to 
  the 
  safety 
  of 
  the 
  panic-stricken 
  

   legions. 
  The 
  seagulls, 
  man-o'-war 
  birds, 
  

   and 
  pelicans 
  dart 
  upon 
  them 
  as 
  they 
  break 
  

   the 
  surface 
  in 
  their 
  mad 
  efforts 
  to 
  escape 
  

   the 
  dangers 
  of 
  the 
  sea. 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  possible 
  to 
  locate 
  a 
  shoal 
  of 
  small 
  

   fishes 
  by 
  watching 
  the 
  birds 
  which 
  feed 
  

   from 
  the 
  sea. 
  These 
  fly 
  over 
  the 
  shoal, 
  

   waiting 
  for 
  the 
  inevitable 
  attack 
  of 
  the 
  

   larger 
  fishes 
  to 
  drive 
  the 
  food 
  they 
  seek 
  

   to 
  a 
  point 
  of 
  vantage 
  near 
  the 
  surface 
  

   of 
  the 
  water. 
  

  

  nature's 
  protection 
  and 
  regulation 
  

  

  In 
  addition 
  to 
  sheltering 
  nearly 
  every 
  

   species 
  of 
  sea 
  creature 
  under 
  the 
  laws 
  of 
  

   chance 
  by 
  providing 
  extreme 
  prolificness, 
  

   Nature 
  has 
  not 
  failed 
  to 
  furnish 
  other 
  

   protective 
  measures 
  to 
  offset 
  somewhat 
  

   the 
  dangers 
  that 
  everywhere 
  threaten 
  to 
  

   eliminate 
  whole 
  species. 
  

  

  Numerous 
  cases 
  are 
  recorded 
  where 
  a 
  

   certain 
  kind 
  of 
  fish 
  has 
  been 
  almost 
  ob- 
  

   literated 
  and 
  for 
  long 
  stretches 
  of 
  time 
  

   has 
  been 
  thought 
  to 
  be 
  extinct, 
  but 
  in 
  

   some 
  manner 
  a 
  sufficient 
  number 
  of 
  indi- 
  

   viduals 
  of 
  the 
  species 
  remained 
  to 
  find 
  

  

  protecting 
  shelter 
  where 
  they 
  might 
  live 
  

   and 
  propagate 
  their 
  kind. 
  

  

  THE 
  SUPPOSED 
  PASSING 
  OE 
  THE 
  TlEEElSH* 
  

  

  One 
  case 
  is 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  tilefish, 
  of 
  which 
  

   much 
  has 
  been 
  written. 
  In 
  the 
  year 
  1882 
  

   vessels 
  arriving 
  in 
  Philadelphia, 
  New 
  

   York, 
  and 
  Boston 
  reported 
  having 
  passed 
  

   through 
  miles 
  of 
  dead 
  fish 
  of 
  this 
  species. 
  

   From 
  the 
  various 
  accounts, 
  it 
  was 
  esti- 
  

   mated 
  that 
  an 
  area 
  of 
  from 
  5,000 
  to 
  7,500 
  

   square 
  miles 
  was 
  thickly 
  strewn 
  with 
  the 
  

   dead 
  and 
  dying 
  creatures. 
  The 
  number 
  

   of 
  fish 
  in 
  this 
  area 
  was 
  computed 
  to 
  be 
  in 
  

   excess 
  of 
  1,000,000,000. 
  

  

  Various 
  reasons 
  were 
  advanced 
  for 
  this 
  

   gigantic 
  tragedy, 
  the 
  most 
  plausible 
  being 
  

   that 
  a 
  very 
  sudden 
  drop 
  in 
  temperature 
  

   along 
  the 
  northern 
  edge 
  of 
  the 
  Gulf 
  Stream 
  

   proved 
  fatal 
  to 
  these 
  warm-water 
  fish. 
  

   It 
  seemed 
  for 
  several 
  years 
  that 
  the 
  

   species 
  was 
  almost 
  totally 
  wiped 
  out, 
  but 
  

   recently 
  tilefish 
  have 
  been 
  rediscovered 
  

   in 
  great 
  numbers 
  in 
  their 
  former 
  habitat. 
  

  

  * 
  Sec 
  "America's 
  Surpassing 
  Fisheries," 
  by 
  

   Hugh 
  M. 
  Smith, 
  U. 
  S. 
  Commissioner 
  of 
  Fish- 
  

   erics, 
  in 
  the 
  National 
  Geographic 
  Magazine, 
  

   June, 
  1916. 
  

  

  

  