THE OCEAN WOULD. 
590 
the eager band were repulsed with great difficulty, but not till it was 
too late : the unfortunate sailor was so exhausted that he died a few 
hours after. By a fair enough retaliation Nature has surrounded the 
mackerel with numerous enemies ; the larger inhabitants o. the ocean 
eagerly devour them. Certain fishes, in appearance very weak, such 
as the murasna, fight them with great advantage. 
Closely connected with the mackerel and other Scombridse, we 
have the Bonita of the Tropics. This is a fish of considerable size, 
Fig. 391. Tlie Sword-fish (Xipliias gltuiius). 
celebrated by its pursuit in great shoals of the flying-fish, of which 
we have already spoken. The Bonita (. Lhynnus ptlo.iiii/s ) is not 
unlike the mackerel in shape, hut less compressed, and upwards of 
twenty-five to thirty inches long. It is occasionally found on our 
coast, hut only as an accidental visitor, for its true home is the 
Tropics. It is a beautiful fish of a fine blue colour. 
The Sword-fish, Xipluas gladius (Fig. 391), so called from the 
upper jaw being elongated into a formidable spear or sword, was 
known to the ancients, and has borne the name which recalls its 
salient characteristic from very early times. Jn short, it is recog- 
