the Keys for forty years had never seen
such a fish. Then Mr. Schutt came and congratulated me upon landing a
waahoo.

The catching of this specimen interested me to inquire when I could, and
find out for myself, more about this rare fish.

Natives round Key West sometimes take it in nets and with the grains,
and they call it "springer." It is well known in the West Indies, where
it bears the name "queenfish." After studying this waahoo there were
boatmen and fishermen at Long Key who believed they had seen schools of
them. Mr. Schutt had observed schools of them on the reef, low down near
the coral--fish that would run from forty to one hundred pounds. It made
me thrill just to think of hooking a waahoo weighing anywhere near a
hundred pounds. Mr. Shannon testified that he had once observed a school
of waahoo leaping in the Gulf Stream--all very large fish. And once, on
a clear, still day, I drifted over a bunch of big, sharp-nosed,
game-looking fish that I am sure belonged to this species.

The waahoo seldom, almost never, is hooked by a fisherman. This fact
makes me curious. All fish have to eat, and at least two waahoo have
been caught. Why not more? I do not believe that it is just a new fish.
I see Palm Beach notices printed to the effect that sailfish were never
heard of there before the Russo-Japanese War, and that the explosions of
floating mines drove them from their old haunts. I do not take stock in
such theory as that. As a matter of fact, Holder observed the sailfish
(_Histiophorus_) in the Gulf Stream off the Keys many years ago.
Likewise the waahoo must always have been there, absent perhaps in
varying seasons. It is fascinating to ponder over tackle and bait and
cunning calculated to take this rare denizen of the Gulf Stream.

* * * * *

During half a dozen sojourns at Long Key I had heard of two or three
dolphin being caught by lucky anglers who were trolling for anything
that would bite. But until 1916 I never saw a dolphin. Certainly I never
hoped to take one of these rare and beautiful deep-sea fish. Never would
have the luck. But in February I took two, and now I am forbidden the
peculiar pleasure of disclaiming my fisherman's luck.

Dolphin seems a singularly attractive name. It always made me think of
the deep blue sea, of old tars, and tall-sparred, white-sailed brigs. It
is the name of a fish beloved of all sailors. I do not know why, but I
suspect that it i