432 THE SERVICES OF LIEUT.-COLONEL FRANCIS DOWNMAN, R.A. 
articles. The Solebay frigate with nine vessels which had sailed with 
us thus far, took their leave and steered south. They are destined for 
St. Augustine and Pensacola, having on board for those garrisons a 
Hessian battalion and Allen’s corps. 
10th November .—The Venus frigate crowded sail ahead of the fleet. 
We supposed her sent on to the place of our destination to reconnoitre 
in that quarter and to give notice of our approach. From the 10th 
to 16th, moderate weather, from 16fh to 23rd, perfectly calm and 
very hot. We are now in the lattitude of 26° 4'. From the 23rd to 
29th quite calm, and very light winds and variable. This day we 
discovered a devil fish playing round our ship. He appeared to be 
about 15 feet from wing to wing. He had two sucking fish upon him 
one about two feet long, the other about a foot. These fish were 
quite white, and it seemed to us they gave him a great deal of un¬ 
easiness, for by the different attitudes the devil put himself into, we 
concluded he wanted to shake them off, which he very often did, but 
in an instant they were fixed on the same place as before. The devil was 
attended by a great number of pilot fish, such as are generally seen 
in company with the shark. We caught six of these with small hooks 
from the stem of the ship ; they were about one foot long, very hand¬ 
some, and exceedingly good eating. The devil fish is of a dark brown, 
with a lighter colour running in irregular stripes across his back, the 
belly and the whole of the under part being perfectly white. His 
shape has a near resemblance to the skate or stingray, differing only 
in the fore part where he has two arms or feeders or feelers about 
three feet long, which he makes great use of when swimming, turning 
them different ways, as if to see or feel for prey with, very often mak¬ 
ing their extremities meet together. He often turned himself on his 
side, and then on his back, and in this position exhibited a most beau¬ 
tiful appearance, which was very much heightened by the lively and 
variegated colours of the small fish that attended him. It was curious 
and entertaining to observe how fearful these little aides-de-camp were 
of losing the company of their general and guardian, for whenever 
they ventured to the stern of the ship they scarcely stayed a moment, 
and never came at all unless the devil himself swam near; when this 
was the case they made a sally from their garrison and attacked our 
baits with great voracity. I could not discover the situation of the 
eyes of the devil fish, but I imagine they are between the feelers. He 
has a long tail not unlike a coach whip which he whisks about with 
much dexterity when on the surface of the sea. These fish, notwith¬ 
standing their enormous size, will often throw themselves several yards 
clear of the water, and do not be surprised when I assure you that the 
fish above mentioned was not so long by several feet as some I have 
seen off the coast of Florida. He remained about our ship from early 
morning till late in the afternoon when a breeze springing up we lost 
him. During the fine calm weather we have had for many days, we 
have been much entertained with the variety and abundance of fish 
that have played about us. We caught some flying and other fish. 
I have taken a representation of the devil as he appeared in the sea at 
