Devil-Fishing in the Gulf Stream 
By JOHN OLIVER LA GORGE 
Associate Editor National Geographic iSAaga^ine 
W HAT tne rolling prairie of the 
Far West was to the buffalo in 
the olden days, when it roamed 
in countless thousands to and fro in 
search of new pastures and salt, the ever- 
rolling Gulf Stream—that mighty, warm 
river which parallels the east coast of 
Florida—is to the fish legions of our semi- 
tropical seas. 
How many fishermen realize that there 
are found in the Atlantic Ocean offshore 
between Miami and Key West nearly 600 
varieties of fish—an amazing total which 
constitutes one-fifth of the entire fauna 
of the American Continent north of Pan¬ 
ama! 
UNRELATED MONSTERS OF THE DEEP 
When one starts in to tell of the amaz¬ 
ing variety of undersea life along the 
Florida east coast, it is difficult to decide 
where to begin and end, for it is an inex¬ 
haustible subject. Such being the case, I 
will not attempt a survey of it now, but 
will confine myself to the experience of 
our party in hunting and capturing a 
Devil-fish, said to be the largest specimen 
taken in American waters in twenty years. 
In the general mind the Devil-fish and 
the Octopus are frequently confused, 
whereas they belong to entirely different 
fish families, and the only physical re¬ 
semblance between these two gentry lies 
in the fact that they both live in the same 
waters. The Devil-fish, or Manta biros- 
tris of science, belongs to the giant ray 
family—a huge batlike creature which 
uses its body fins as a bird does its wings 
in flying, with a waving, undulating mo¬ 
tion, which propels it along beneath the 
water at remarkable speed. 
Aside from its immense wing-spread, 
the outstanding feature of the Devil-fish, 
and the one from which it derives its 
Satanic name, are the lobes, or, as they 
are sometimes termed, cephalic fins, 
which extend outward and upward from 
each side of its flat head like curling horns. 
In the adult fish the head fins are from 
three to four feet in length and about six 
inches wide. Nature has fashioned them 
of a leathery muscle tissue which spells 
strength in every ounce. 
When the giant ray dashes into a school 
of fish, these head fins are of great assist¬ 
ance in obtaining food, for, like the arms 
of a boxer, they are in constant motion, 
whirling about and sweeping its living 
prey into the yard-wide mouth with al¬ 
most lightning speed, as it hurls its great 
body about in its natural element. 
The remarkable strength and twisting 
movements of the so-called horns are re¬ 
sponsible for many of the allegations 
lodged against this fish as a menace to 
mankind, whereas, unless attacked and 
in panic, the huge sea-bat hurts no one. 
As a matter of fact, however, there are 
a number of authentic reports of the 
Devil-fish’s running foul of a ship’s an¬ 
chor chain. True to instinct, it clasps the 
chain tight by wrapping its tenacula 
horns or feelers about it, applies its tre¬ 
mendous strength, lifts the heavy anchor 
as if it were a feather, and starts to sea 
with the anchor, chain, and ship, to the 
amazement and terror of the crew, who 
cannot believe their very eyes, as their 
vessel moves onward at a fast pace with¬ 
out a sail set or an engine’s turning over, 
when, to all appearances, a moment be¬ 
fore their vessel was moored to the ocean 
floor. 
THE OLD MAN OF THE SEA 
The Octopus (Color Plate, page 156), 
on the other hand, although sometimes 
termed “Devil-fish,” is of another family 
entirely, an invertebrate, known to science 
as the typical genus of Cephalopods, or, 
in plain words, the highest class of 
mollusca, in which squids, cuttle-fish, 
and octopi are grouped. In Pacific waters 
the Giant Octopus, technically known as 
Octopus punctatuSy grows to an immense 
size; indeed, captured specimens have 
measured a radial spread of 20 to 30 
feet. 
In appearance the Octopus is most re¬ 
pulsive, having a large, ugly head, a fierce- 
