May, 1919 
FOREST AXD STREAINI 
207 
A ll that afternoon, while John Jr. 
fished for mullet, or had occa- 
sional tries at sharks, Mr. King 
and Hendry labored over the Mae’s 
leaky cylinder, for it was unthinkable 
I to struggle along under this handicap. 
I Some cement was resurrected from the 
I Hendry Curiosity bag and this was pre- 
1 pared and set in place. It would be 
II necessary, however, to allow it to stay 
ij over night. 
I Much to their dismay, on starting the 
i| engine the next morning, the cement 
|i patch blew out! The wooden pegs, 
'I therefore, remained their only altema- 
ji tive and Hendry was on this job up to 
:| noon. Mr. King and John, in the mean- 
i- while, ran the launch over to the Key 
Ij and secured another supply of fresh wa- 
I ter from the old well. It was on the 
II return trip that they had a run-in with 
ii their first Devil Fish. 
At a distance of some two hundred 
I yards from shore, John was quick to 
I spy this hideous, motionless form. It 
I was lying in about six feet of transpar- 
! ent water, apparently oblivious to the 
I presence of a natural enemy. 
“What IS it?” the boy sputtered, his 
eyes widening. 
“Devil fish — and a very large one,” 
his father answered, “want to get him?” 
“Can’t go home without chalking down 
1 at least ONE,” John exclaimed, “what 
do we use .... line and a big hook?” 
“Scarcely it will be the harpoon, and 
a swift, strong jab. Hendry had best 
attend to our sleepy neighbor; he has 
had dealings with them before.” 
And Hendry, streaming with perspira- 
tion from work on the engine, gave a 
whoop of delight when they ran in be- 
side the Mae and took him aboard. It 
was the guide’s special pleasure to in- 
troduce John to new and thrilling gulf 
experiences in the fish line. 
Very stealthily the small boat was 
guided to a position almost over the 
devil fish. Hendry, poised, harpoon in 
hand, in the bow, waited for an oppor- 
tune moment. Before the other occu- 
pants of the boat realized that this sec- 
ond had arrived, the guide’s great, bare 
arm and rugged body lunged forward, 
and the harpoon fairly whistled through 
the air, the rope sawing out a tune 
against the gunwales. 
For twenty feet, in an ever-widening 
circle, the waters were lashed into a 
fury of creamy spray and foam. Hen- 
dry braced his legs and his soft hat 
spun overboard. The battle was on. 
“Its towing us!” John cried, stooping 
in the boat, “hold on Hendry, hold on!” 
But this warning was unnecessary. 
Hendry was in his element. The fish 
grains held, and a great bulk of infu- 
riated devil fish made for deeper water 
v\ith incredible speed. The boat fol- 
lowed, Hendry looping the stout rope 
around a seat. And in this gay fashion 
they zig-zagged down the Key shore for 
a hundred feet until their catch dis- 
played signs of weakening. Slowly now 
and with experienced strength, Hendry 
pulled on the rope. Not a dozen feet 
from them, a dark, convulsing mass 
shadowed the gulf waters. 
“Machete!” the guide grunted, never 
removing his eyes from the quarry. 
Harpooning a Devil Fish in Gulf water. There is a breathless moment before the 
final strike. Our camera man is on the job 
Mr. King thrust it into his hands and 
Hendry slashed at the ugly head, until 
there was no longer movement of the 
winged monster. It was towed to a 
sandy beach and spread out for all to 
see .... a most unsightly, abnor- 
mal creature, with wings that measured 
six feet from tip to tip and a yawning 
cavity of a mouth. As John observed, 
“it was ALL mouth!” 
Photographic proof was quite suffi- 
cient and the carcas was left under the 
bending mangroves, as a thank-offering 
to the little scurrying animals that Cap- 
tain Flynt had so assiduously preyed 
upon. 
W HAT with one set-back and an- 
other there was no getting away 
in the asthmatic Mae until the 
following dawn. The cylinder, patched 
up again, was still leaky but they were 
off for Chokoloskee, Chevelier Bay and 
some of the large inland streams of 
which they had heard so much. It was 
in this district that The Spoonbill might 
have operated, for Captain Flynt, in sev- 
eral talks with Hendry, had intimated 
as much. 
It was slow going, with frequent 
stops, and they were compelled to lay 
off the inlet over night in a drizzling 
rain. 
The trip was resumed very early in 
the morning ... up a sizable river, 
where there were constant diversions 
of beautiful scenery and abundant game 
of all kinds. Despite Hendry’s care the 
Mae went aground at noon on a sizable 
oyster bar, and it was two P. M. before 
they could get off again. John fished 
incessantly and with splendid success 
but the others were too engrossed in 
navigation and cylinder leaks to think 
of baiting a hook. 
Only once did they see signs of habita- 
... a little, shabby hut set 
deep in the cabbage palms and man- 
groves. They were to learn more of this 
place later on, as our story will tell. 
Who knows— perhaps it was from this 
very shack that the Law Of The Egret 
Rookeries had birth. There are those. 
in any event, who will say that the 
Watson boys were responsible for the 
cut trees on Alligator Bay inlet and who 
posted the sinister signs along a dark 
and dangerous route. 
It was turning grey on the river when 
they finally came out bravely into the 
Bay .... a very remarkable body 
of water and one that is little known 
to sportsmen. 
Mr. King had heard of this place be- 
fore leaving Miami, and some portion 
of its record was known to him. Hen- 
dry supplied additional facts from his 
vast store-house of guide interchange. 
“It looks BEAUTIFUL here!” John 
saluted, as he stood in the bow and 
looked around him in the gathering 
dusk, “I’m sure we can expect rich pick- 
ings with either gun or rod. Where are 
we to camp?” 
“On the Island,” his father answered, 
“Chockoloskee is a magic name in this 
territory. Every Indian knows it well. 
But you shall see. I want to again warn 
Another view of a Devil Fish 
