Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1900-10-11

When I was boy of fifteen, my
father, who was a government official,
took me on trip to Key West, and
thence up the Florida Reef as far as
Cape Florida. There 1 was left to
spend a few days with the lighthouse
keeper and his family, while my faith
er went on up the coast, intending to
stop for me on his return.
Dick, the eldest son of the keeper,
told me so much about the hunting
and fishing to be had in the vicinity
that | was most eager to go out with
him for a days sport. So he prom
ised to. take me with him early the
next morning to visit his Tenet,
which was stretched across a narrow
channel leading U2 between two shoals
into Biscayne Bay, about mile from
the lighthouse.
At the first dawn of day he routed
me out, and after hasty wash and
cup of hot coffee to keep off the ma
laria, we started, in the best of spirits.
AS we passed the lighthouse tower,
the keeper called out to us from the
top. where he had been on watch since
midnight.
Don't go near the man-eaters' hole,
and be sure to get back in time for
breakfast"
The man-eaters' hole. as Dick eX
planned to me, was a large, deep ba-
sin, not far from where tls2 turtle-net
was set, in which q number of big
sharks were usually lurking. 1t was
considered dangerous to cross in their
vicinity in small boat. for they were
likely to attack. Indeed. Dick and his
father had several times been followed
so closely by one or more of them that
they had run their boat into shallow
water to get rid of the annoyance. The
sharks would bite savagely at the oars,
or anything that might be trailing
overheard. Upon one occasion large
shark had almost capsized their boat
by rising up under it, and the creature
was driven off only by repeated blows
upon his back with the oars.
Ort on the bay not breath of air
was stirring, but the water was alive
with innumerable fishes of all kinds
and sizes, that leaped flashing into the
mir, or darted to and fro in the clear
depths below Over them lowered my
RAIDS of noisy, eXpectant gulls, grace
FIJI man-o-war hawks and ponderous,
tapping pelicans. AS these birds chose
their victims. they plunged one by one
with unerring aim. to emerge shortly
\, writ rlif-
i tering fish in each beak.
At the boat-landing we took a
7 hurried glance into Dicks turtle-pen,
s. with it's score or more of large green
y turtles, awaiting an opportunity for
shipment to Key West. whence they
would go by steamer to New York.
Then, launching Dicks small white
i halr' boat, we jumped in and started
off, each pulling pair of short souls.
i Across the main channel that leads
by the cape into Biscayne Bay we
& rowed until our oars touched bottom
on the shoal at the opposite side. Then
i following round the edge of it, keeping
in shallow water. we soon reached the
vicinity of the turtle-net.
AS we drew near to it, Dick exclaim :
ed: What in the world is in that
net? 1t must be an awfully big fish OF
some kind!'
Indeed. large body was splashing
and throwing the spray high in the air.
while something that looked like the
broad, fiat blade of an ore was way
ing to and fro three or four feet above
the surface. We approached with eau :
ton, until Dick saw the thing clearly.
Then he said, excitedly, Its a Dig
sawtish, all wound up in the net.
That's his saw sticking up in the air.!
Sure enough, monster sawnsn
Pristis pectinatus) had become en-
tangled in the net. and in twisting ana
turning to free himself, had torn large
holes by thrusting his saw and ms
through it, and had wound it round his
tody in large ball
Dick said the sawfish was at least
fifteen or sixteen feet in length. ana
We could see that his body would
measure fully four feet across the
widest part. His saw, on each side
of which large. strong teeth were SCI