DEVIL-FISHING IN THE GULF STREAM 
193 
ring-Hog line and, reversing the engine, 
which was not very sportsmanlike, but 
decidedly effective in checking it, we 
brought him alongside without further 
loss of time; then turned our attention to 
the new mystery now close at hand. 
We were all excited at the thought of 
getting a harpoon into a big Leopard 
Shark, which will fight any and everything 
that swims, and, according to some deep- 
sea fishermen, is really the only member 
of the shark family of whom man need 
be afraid while in the water. 
But the reader can imagine how our 
interest was increased when all at once 
Captain Thompson, who, having uncanny 
eyesight plus long experience with sub¬ 
sea life, suddenly exclaimed: “Stand by, 
men; it’s the biggest Devil-fish I have ever 
seen!” 
LIKE A HUGE FLAPPING BIRD 
As we drew near it seemed to me that 
the entire bottom of the ocean in that 
area was suddenly dark and slowly mov¬ 
ing off, and I discerned in the translu¬ 
cent depths a gigantic shadow which had 
the appearance of a huge bird flapping 
its wings and swinging its long, thin tail 
from side to side, as it flew slowly along. 
While we were coming up within strik¬ 
ing radius of the fish, which was evi¬ 
dently devouring something it had killed 
and was paying no attention to anything 
else, our harpoon lines, used in dispatching 
the Herring-Hog, had been straightened 
out and put in readiness for the combat 
which was to come. 
As soon as we came near enough. Cap¬ 
tain Thompson let fly with his heaviest 
harpoon, and then, as the little boy said 
when he dropped the cat into the pail of 
stewed tomatoes, “the fun began.” 
I am sure that none of us was ready 
for what followed. The Devil-fish rose 
as though hurled upward by a submarine 
explosion. One of its great bat-like 
fins broke above the surface, sending 
gallons of water over us and splintering 
the harpoon pole against the boat’s side 
as if it had been a match stem; then its 
lo-foot pectoral wing struck the water 
with a terrific impact, making a noise 
which could have been heard several 
miles away. 
For a moment the monster seemed be¬ 
wildered, and that lost moment cost him 
dear, for it enabled us to throw another 
harpoon, which struck deep into its body 
near the spine. Away it started to sea, 
taking our harpoon line with it, at a pace 
which made us apprehensive as to its length, 
although a moment before, we thought 
there was a wide margin for safety. Grad¬ 
ually all hands put their weight against 
the line, and as the boat was by this time 
moving properly on an even keel, we took 
a wrap around a bow cleat and started 
seaward—giant fish, boat, and crew! 
Every once in a while the Devil¬ 
fish would hurl itself several feet out 
of the water, and its huge body would 
come down with a crash like the ex¬ 
plosion of a 42-centimeter shell! More¬ 
over, each time it broke the surface it 
looked larger than before. Now and 
then it would sound for deep water in an 
effort to shake us off, and several times it 
went down so far that Thompson stood by 
with a hatchet to cut the lines at the last 
moment, in the event the bow should be 
drawn completely under water, which came 
perilously near happening more than once. 
All of a sudden the lines slackened, and 
we frantically hauled in as the monster 
turned and dashed toward the boat, com¬ 
ing up almost, but not quite, under our 
craft, its gigantic bulk lifting one side of 
the heavy launch well out of water and 
giving us a pretty stiff scare. 
THE BEGINNING OF THE END 
With his usual skill and presence of 
mind, however. Captain Thompson let 
drive another harpoon he had at hand, 
which found lodgment in the Devil-fish’s 
head, and away it dashed again. With 
two harpoon lines, one in each side of the 
body, we were actually able to drive the 
monster as one would a runaway horse, 
swerving it toward the distant shore of 
Bimini and into more shallow water by 
the process of pulling first on one line 
and then on the other, which course was 
a little too much for the fish to resist. 
Meanwhile time was flying apace. 
By this time the Devil-fish had towed 
us for about ten miles, and although it 
was losing much blood, it was still going 
strong; so our next experiment was to 
throw out and let drag our anchor in 
order that this maneuver might further 
impede its progress. But this expedient 
made little difference to the giant, for it 
continued to pull us along as if our heavy 
craft were but a birch canoe. 
