52 
SURVIVAL ON LAND AND SEA 
All wounds made by fish spines should be thoroughly cleaned 
and disinfected at once. 
Handling Dangerous Fish 
Never attempt to pick up a scorpion fish of any kind with the 
bare hands. It makes no difference how the fish has been taken, 
with hook and line, poison or dynamite. If the fish has any life 
left, a slight movement may drive a spine into your finger, car- 
rying enough venom to cause excruciating agony. Always use 
a dip net , your spear , or some substitute , such as your machete or 
bayonet. Never poke your bare hands into holes or crevices in 
the corals or feel under rocks. To do so invites grave risk of 
serious wounds. A moray eel or wolf fish may be in such hid- 
ing places. Moray eels are brightly colored and many have 
strongly marked patterns. In the American tropics a common 
one is greenish black in color and 5 to 6 feet long. One form in 
the Mediterranean is golden yellow in front, purple toward the 
tail, and is beautifully banded and mottled. It attains a length 
of 4 feet or more. In the Pacific some of those around the coral 
reefs grow to a length of 10 feet or more, and commonly have a 
light-colored background with black spots or a network of black 
lines. Others have black or brownish over-all color and orange 
to yellow spots. The morays are always hungry and very savage. 
Their jaws have strong, knifelike teeth and can easily nip off a 
finger or two. They have even been known to bite through a 
heavy shoe. Like other eels, however, they are good to eat. 
Wolf fish are grayish or brownish in color and have an elongate 
body, 4 to 6 feet in length, tapering to a more or less rounded 
tail. They have strong, sharp teeth and are noted for their 
ferocity. Natives avoid such dangers almost instinctively. You 
must learn — but don’t learn the hard way. Death may be the 
result of carelessness. 
