or farmers.

TALES OF BIG FISHES.

The whip ray, sea bat or devil fish, as it is variously named, is fairly
plentiful in Galveston Bay, so the appearance of four of these sea
monsters at one time the other day did not excite any special remark.
But they were seen by three boys, all under sixteen, and they determined
to get one and sell it. So one of the boys borrowed a Winchester rifle
while the other two got a rowboat and a harpoon, and out they went after
their prey. The boys rowed around awhile, and soon saw one of the
fishes, and pulled up within forty or fifty feet. One of the boys fired
a shot into the ray, which immediately breached, scooting fully twenty
feet out and ahead, like a flying fish. Two more shots were fired, and,
after beating the water furiously, it died. Then a harpoon was thrown
into the creature, and it was towed to the wharf, where it was slung and
hoisted out with a windlass. This fish measured fourteen feet from wing
tip to wing tip.

Another fish tale from the Gulf of Mexico relates to the adventures of
five sailors who were running a small schooner down the coast off Corpus
Christi. The vessel was gliding along smoothly when the monotony of the
voyage was broken by a six foot tarpon leaping upon the deck from the
water. The big fish at once began making things interesting on the boat,
and for a time it looked as if the crew would have to jump overboard to
escape being knocked lifeless. They finally regained control of their
nerve, however, and decided to have it out with the fish, so one of them
seized an axe and the others hand-spikes and at the tarpon they went.
The struggle was long and fierce, and one of the sailors was knocked
overboard by coming in contact with the tarpon's tail. A rope was thrown
him and he was pulled back on deck. At last the fish succumbed to the
repeated blows of the axe and hand spikes and lay along the deck as dead
as a mackerel.

When the steamer Dumois came into Boston recently, she brought as a
passenger a man named John Calder, who came on board under peculiar
circumstances. He was a Jamaica fisherman, and unwittingly hooked a
sword-fish. Mr. Calder didn't want that kind of a fish, but it would not
let go, and, as he did not want to lose a long and valuable line by
cutting himself away, both man and fish held on until forty miles at
sea. At this juncture the steamer came along, the fish was captured, and
the plucky fisherman sold the big catch