Extraordinary Fishes from California. 215 
was with my comrades industriously prosecuting the exa- 
mination of the vicinity of San Salita, as to its adaptiveness 
for a navy yard, and could not leave for San Francisco without 
suspending the work; and the means for preserving the fish 
could not be otherwise procured. This explains the apparent 
‘culpable indifference which allowed me to omit preserving 
the specimens. I have sent directions to California to have 
caught for me several of the fish ; and if at the present time 
(September 16th, 1852) the females were pregnant (which is 
not probable) to take from one the bag containing the young, 
and put mother and young in the jar of alcohol, and put 
several other females untouched into a jar also. These 
specimens will by direction and examination, even if they 
be not pregnant, and if the jar contains no young, determine 
the truth and accuracy of the statement I made in my former 
letter on the subject. This fact proved by these specimens, 
it will be very easy to obtain during the next spring and 
summer specimens in all stages of pregnancy. I think if 
J remain in the country, I can assure you a sufficiency of 
specimens, to determine to your satisfaction the true state 
of the affair, during the course of the next year. The fish I 
refer to, in my opinion, does not exist in very great numbers 
even in the waters of San Salita Bay, for the two which I 
caught on this occasion were the only ones which I fell in 
with, though I fished in the same place probably four times. 
There was a little peculiarity perhaps in the circumstance 
of my taking them as I did. I had previous to this time 
tried my rod and line, and as I mentioned before, four times, 
always with success as regards groupers, perch, &c., with- 
out a sight of the singular fish under consideraton. A few 
days, perhaps a week, after the four trials, and on the 7th of 
June, I rose early in the morning for the purpose of taking 
-a mess of fish for breakfast, pulled to the usual place, baited 
with crabs, and commenced fishing, the wind blowing too 
Strong for profitable angling; nevertheless on the first and 
Second casts, I fastened the two fishes, male and female, that 
I write about, and such were their liveliness and strength, 
that they endangered my slight trout rod. I however suc- 
ceeded in bagging both, though in half an hour’s subsequent 
