FIGHT WITH GIANT FISH

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LVI, 2 May 1925, Page 5

FIGHT WITH GIANT FISH

' -«4jjcr ATTACK OX TINY BOAT

EXPLORER'S ESCAPE

Mr E. A. Mitchell Hedges, the explore!', describes a ti,idling fight with a rav, the dangerous giant fisli of the Caribbean Sea of lehtfaL America, which attacked the small boat in which he was hunting, the fish. ah- Mitched-Hedges, Dr. Thomas Gann and others are on an expedition to British Honduras for deep-sea research and to investigate' the remains of the ancient Maya^eivilisation. We started the engine of the Cara (our vnehtj .and* ran' nine miles up the reef, close to North-East. Cay. I 1 have as - ,a- pilot a Cayman of the name of Levi. His knowledge of the reefs and fish is uncanny, and quite instinctive. Only a man horn and fired here in the great lonely spaces can feel his .way through the coral ‘ . fangs' and" hidden rocks, literally scenting the home cf the ray. We of {ho great .cities have lost, largely, these senses that are developed to their full in Nature’s children.

We dropped anchor, and taking, a twenty-foot pole with a barbed harpoon fixed to the end, which in turn is* attached to a hundred yards of strong hemp line, and armed with my l fie firing the. special bullets for this v.ork, we left in our little d’nghv. We until, realised fully the danger of our Tho ray is a repulsive."repl itian-lonki'.ig' creature. with white underside aid slatey-grev hack, and a ' long. wh:l like tail in winch .is situated an ivory dagger—in an adult fish fully a fmt in length.

DEATH IN 6 MINUTES This is serrated down' both edges like fish-hook barbs, and when it strikes its victim can only be removed byvthe fish giving a tremendous wrench. In'..this weapon lurks a terrible death. There are glands that contain deadly poison, which Hows into the. punctured note. Three t o six minutes is'the limit of-fife for anyone who is unfortunate enough to be struck bv this dreadful crei'uie.

We had spotted our first fish. Creeping up cautiously to within a yard ,or two, Levi raised .the harpoon. It-' flashed downwards, while I clutched the-at-tached line, and prepared for the rush which would inevitably follow. In a swirling vortex of water and a cloud of sand flung upwards, with one wild dash the creature .rushed madly ahead.' The line tore through my handset-lie' tk-sh could not stand the burn as it- r-tssed through my palms. I held it. tig-itly down over tho side of t*he boat <-icse to th.e bow. , . Thq' friction cut into the wood ;, but by now our little light boot hatUgath'ered momentum and was being* pulled rapidly along by the fish., ‘ Now Levi took a’hand, and we both hung on. Suddenly the wild rush 'ceased. We hauled in, yard by yard, untii'we .were almost on top of it, when the fish turned and jshot off at right angles, nearly capsizing us! But- tho brute’s strength was spent. Slowiy brought it- up It was quite still when, almost on the surface, its flukes began to thrash He water madly. The tail whipped :<-ind over the boat.

“Hold with all your strength, .Levi, for a second!” I released the hue find grasped my rifle. The head appeared once more above the surfacq, There was a tremendous burst o-f water wilt eh sent/waves intoihe boat. Then barked. Onlwfune shot frith the bullets I am. using "was necessary, and the fish lav inert and motionless. We successfully beached it and cut- the harpoon clear. , A few minutes’ rest, and we were off on the hunt again.

SHOT 15 FEET INTO THE AIR Another black patch appeared, apparently larger than the others. It was quite motionless. Again Levi struck with the harpoon white 1 grasped the line. The fish rushed no more . than twenty yards, then turned and made straight for the boat. Into the air it shot, fully fiffeen feet, its white belly gleaming above us. We were in awful danger. -No longer were we the attackers, but were being deliberately attacked by this great fidli. Its tail swished round, missed, and with a crash its body struck the water within two feet of the boat. Again it dashed off, once more to turn and charge, this time missing us by a bare margin of inches. It again struck the 'water, sending a wave on board that half sank us.

We were powerless to avert what looked like certain disaster, fen' the ray shot beneath the surface away from u^—■ then stopped. We knew what . was coming. Another mad rush towards us, then again into the air it was propelled, carried onwards by tho momentum it had gained. I liad grabbed my rifle mechanically. “Shoot—shoot!” gasped Levi. I fired. More by luck than judgment the bullet crashed through the creature in midair. It fell in a burst of blood and foam, while we sat there, grey and shaken, as we realised our escape from death had been miraculous.

I have caught a good many of these fish, but it is the first time I have ever experienced one attacking in this fashion. It weighed 3601 b. The reason 1 wanted particularly »o capture females of this species was, if possible, to. obtain specimens of the young, which are born perfect, the same as human beings. Previously I had believed that the dagger in the tail is developed after birth. I admit my mistake, as from the last fish captured I removed . three embryo rav. Each shows that the 'dagger develops before birth, and, like the teeth of the sawfish, is covered with a membrane to prevent laceration in the womb of the mother.