1894.
Feb. 21
(No 2)
At Sea on the "Madiana"

and was going downwind. In other words it is quite 
clear that these fish, either certain birds and insects,
flap or scale on set wings as suits their pleasure or
convenience.
 [margin] Flying Fish [margin]

Usually they fly on a nearly level plane but by no
means uncommonly they follow the undulations of the
waves rising and falling a foot or two while occasionally
one will mount directly upward to a height of five or
six feet, hover a moment and then either plunge
back into the water or glide off on a long, gentle
decline. They turn right angles with perfect ease and
often very abruptly. There appears to be much [underlined]individual[underlined]
differences in their powers of flight. Some rise feebly
and handle themselves clumsily, others are almost
as easy and graceful of movement as Swallows
although the grace is of a different quality. I am
by no means sure that the Flying Fish is not the
more beautiful creature of the two. Against this background
of intensely blue water with the sun striking fairly on
it's sides it gleams like highly burnished silver and
attacks the eye as quickly as would the flash of
bit of looking glass. When going straight away it
a grayish appearance and is often inconspicuous.
Hubbard, who has been in the bows of the steamer
and who has seen Flying Fish very much nearer
than those which I have been watching confirms 
much of the above. He thinks that four or five
strokes of their wings are usually given when the fish
first starts or when it wishes to rise above a wave
and that it sails most of the time.