Arizona republican., 1898-06-19
FIGHT WITH A PARTON.
Specimen Weighing 155 Pounds
 Landed After a Hard Struggle.


 One of the most hotly contested and thoroughly satisfactory fights between a man, armed with a light rod and reel, and a tarpon in the fullest possession of his powers that has ever come to
 my knowledge, occurred in Biscayne
 waters last week. The man was MT. Fred H. Benton of New Haven, Conn.,, and the tarpon, who was six feet eight inches long, three feet two inches around the body and weighed 155 pounds, was a resident of Caesars creek, a deep, narrow channel lying between Mangrove island, beloved of |a1l fishermen who know it, and forming the southern entrance to Biscayne bay. On returning from a cruise among the Florida keys, the yacht Susie B, came
 to anchor on Wednesday evening in Caesars creek, and MT. Benton and his brother, Lewis, went out to fish while slipper was preparing. Darkness was settling over the scene, and they were about to return to the yacht without Having caught thing, when MT. Ben ton, who had never before experienced al tarpon, suddenly became very much
 aware that a member of that family
 was. in possession of his hook.
 Right here it should be explained that although tarpon have swarmed
 ih Caesars creek all winter, they had positively refused to take bait up to this time. Moreover, the present fish seems only to have made a playful snap at MT. Benton's lure in passing, for the hook barely caught in his low
 CT lip. where it may still be seen in the mounted specimen. Thus. in the prolonged struggle that followed the strain of pulling it did not come on
 his inwards ,as is the case when the bait is gorged, but on the powerful
 jaw, where it was hardly felt. This fact makes the fight in question partic- ilarly interesting.
 AS he felt the hook the great fish $ave three tremendous leaps high in the air, shaking his head savagely, and
 then started out to sea, towing the dingey behind him as though it were
 toy boat. After awhile he changed
 lis tactics, and began a series of short
 {ushes and counter rushes, leapings. rapid circlings of the boat, and darting
 to and fro directly beneath it. This vas kept up for an hour, during which time the night became intensely dark and a furious squall of wind and rain swept across the black waters.
 f At the end of that first hour the tar bon, still as vigorous as ever, decided
 to travel and started up the coast. Up
 the whole length of Elliot's key and past Sand key, a distance of more than six miles, he ran, making break to
 fling himself high out of the water every few minutes as he went. Each
 time he did this, the patient angler,
 standing in his boat, reeled in a few
 yards of line. of which 600 feet were out, only to lose all that he had thus gained a.moment later, when the great fish again started. Off the Ragged
 Rocks the tarpon again stood O1t to sea, crossing the broad nawk chan nel, direcly in the yellow gleam of Fowry light, and finally, beyond the outer reef, he was brought to gaff at S1:30 o'clock, or five and half hours from the beginning of the fight.
 f As the monster lay alongside the lit tie dingey, barely discernible through the darkness of a second squall, which N as at that moment bowling down the reef, he appeared completely exhaust led. The moment he felt the gaff, how jever, he showed mighty reserve of strength, flashing the water into foam with tremendous struggles, thrashing the boat with his powerful tail until 1t seemed as though the sides would sure fly be crushed in, and taxing the utmost efforts of two strong men to finally drag him from his native element
 By this time both men were pretty we'll used up, their boat was half full of water, the tarpon itself was no light lead, and they were so many miles from the yacht that it was 3:30 o'clock the following morning before they re- gained her.-Forest and Stream.