FLYING FISH.
In the sea there are three flyers that really, from the extent of their flights, deserve the name. Those of our readers who have been at sea, especially in the south, may have seen the common flying-fish, with its brilliant blue and silver body, and lace-like, sheeny wings. From the crest of a blue wave they dart, singly or in flocks, fluttering along, rising and falling, turning in. curves, and returning to the water with a splash—perhaps to fall victims to some watchful bonito, or dolphin, that has been closely following them beneath the water.
These privateers of the sea are their greatest enemies, following them under water, and emerging as they rise in the air just in time to catch the luckless flyers as they descend. The dolphins will take great leaps of twenty or thirty feet in following the poor flying-fish, which, notwithstanding their long wings and wonderful powers, often fall victims to their tireless pursuers. They frequently fly aboard vessels at night, perhaps attracted by the light, or, it may be, caught up by the wind from the crest of some curling wave, and carried high in air against the sails.
The gurnard, though it has also long, wing-like fins, presents otherwise a totally different appearance. Its head is enclosed in a bony armor, from which project two sharp spines. Some of these fish are of
a rich pink color, while others are mottled with red, yellow, and blue, and as they fly along over the water, and the sunlight falls upon their glittering scales, they seem to glow with a golden lustre. With such hard heads, it will not be surprising information that they are disagreeable fellows to come in contact with; at least, so thought a sailor who was standing at dusk upon the quarterdeck of a vessel near one of the West India Islands. Suddenly he found himself lying upon his back, knocked over by a monster gurnard, that, with a score of others, had darted from the water, this one striking the man fairly in the forehead. The gurnards are also chased by dolphins, and they are frequently seen to rise in schools, to escape from the larger fish; while hovering above them are watchful gulls and man-of-war birds, ready to steal them from the jaws of their enemies of the sea.
In company with these flying fish, may often be seen curious white bodies, with long arms and black eyes. They are flying squids, Members of the cuttlefish family, and the famous bait of the Newfoundland cod-fishermen. On the banks they are often seen in vast shoals; and during storms, tons of them are thrown upon the shore. When darting from wave to wave, they resemble silvery arrows, often rising and boarding ships in their headlong flight. So valuable are they for bait, that four or five hundred vessels at St. Pierre are engaged in catching them by means of jiggers, or small tackle.
Many of the squid family leave the water when pursued. Even the largest of them, often forty or
fifty feet long, have been seen to rise ten or fifteen feet in the air, and sail away as if propelled by some mysterious force, their hideous arms dripping and glistening. They are certainly the largest and strangest of the flyers without wings.
St. Nicholas.