388 Lhthyological Papers. [May, 



leaves the water and springs some ten feet into the air, shaking 

 himself violently with the hope of casting off the hook, which 

 he will do unless it is firmly fixed deep in his mouth, or tear off 

 his jaw in the attempt. Another leap, another and another, with 

 all the frenzy of the wild horse when he first feels the lasso, he 

 springs through the air and dashes through the water; for a time 

 there appears to be no diminution of his immense strength, but 

 you may notice that after a while the long curve he at first de- 

 scribed in the air becomes broken, shorter grow the graceful 

 leaps, and finally change into a violent jerking summersault — 

 then all is calm. The fisherman pulls on the line ; one last 

 glorious effort of those splendid powers is made — right in a line 

 with and towards the fisherman; the grande ecaille takes his last 

 leap, and falls helpless into the sea. Now a child can take him 

 without resistance— no struggling, a dead weight upon the line, he 

 is hauled upon the beach. He flounces not, his fins are laid to 

 his body, his gill covers do not move, he is dead ! And not 

 until death came upon him did the mighty and beautiful creature 

 surrender himself to the superior robber. 



I have often seen a school of red fish knocking the mullet into 

 the air. I have seen troops of flying fish retreating from the 

 lovely dolphin, I have heard for miles the roar of an immense 

 company of mullet flying in short, regular leaps before a herd of 

 porpoises, or a family of sharks, by whose giant forms I have 

 seen the sea beaten into bubbles, as they lashed and struck among 

 the frightened mullet, from my boyhood up. I have seen man 

 prey upon his fellow-man, but never has it fallen to my lot to wit- 

 ness so magnificent a sight of the strong preying upon the weak as 

 that presented by the grand ecailles. The yellow rays of the set- 

 ting sun would glance upon the silver armor of a thousand forms 

 leaping in every possible direction, crossing and recrossing, yet 

 never striking, the air was filled with the small sardine thrown from 

 their native element to be devoured as they touched the water, 

 the green gulf was lashed into a sea of foam, and the bright rain- 

 bows were everywhere visible in the scene. We passed through 

 them many times, hoping that one might leap into the boat, caught 

 them by the tails as they swam slowly by, and cursed our lot 

 that we had brought no harpoon. It was a brilliant sight— one 

 which in all probability had not been seen on so grand a scale be- 



fore, as they rarely run more than thn 

 which it may be my lot never to witn 



■ and one 



