182 



VOYAGE TO PANAMA. 



through the water^ a large white object near 

 the surface^ looking exactly like a rock. Hav- 

 ing no charts of the bay^ and depending only 

 upon the pilots the captain was exceedingly 

 alarmed for the safety of the Crawford^ as he 

 imagined^ like myself, that we had got among 

 reefs. The pilot was on the other side of the 

 deck^ and we shouted out to him our fears. 

 Upon describing what we had seen, he said 

 that it was no rock, but a large fish, called 

 rnayiia^ which however he said might easily be 

 mistaken for a rock at night. These fish are 

 very common on this coast, and are terrible 

 enemies to the pearl divers, on whom they 

 have been known to fall with all their weight, 



* Upon consulting Ulloa, I find that he gives a de- 

 scription of this fish. He states that its muscular power 

 is very great, and that it is able to roll itself round any 

 animal^ and crush it to pieces by its force. 



