It would be a matter of much time and labour to describe the appearance of the multitudes of fish that were day after day drawn into our boat by means of the brass hook.Peterkin always caught them, - for we observed that he derived much pleasure from fishing, - while Jack and I found ample amusement in looking on, also in gazing down at the coral groves, and in baiting the hook.Among the fish that we saw, but did not catch, were porpoises and sword-fish, whales and sharks.The porpoises came frequently into our lagoon in shoals, and amused us not a little by their bold leaps into the air, and their playful gambols in the sea.The sword-fish were wonderful creatures; some of them apparently ten feet in length, with an ivory spear, six or eight feet long, projecting from their noses.We often saw them darting after other fish, and no doubt they sometimes killed them with their ivory swords.Jack remembered having heard once of a sword-fish attacking a ship, -which seemed strange indeed; but, as they are often in the habit of attacking whales, perhaps it mistook the ship for one.This sword-fish ran against the vessel with such force, that it drove its sword quite through the thick planks; and when the ship arrived in harbour, long afterwards, the sword was found still sticking in it!
Sharks did not often appear; but we took care never again to bathe in deep water without leaving one of our number in the boat to give us warning, if he should see a shark approaching.As for the whales, they never came into our lagoon, but we frequently saw them spouting in the deep water beyond the reef.I shall never forget my surprise the first day I saw one of these huge monsters close to me.We had been rambling about on the reef during the morning, and were about to re-embark in our little boat, to return home, when a loud blowing sound caused us to wheel rapidly round.We were just in time to see a shower of spray falling, and the flukes or tail of some monstrous fish disappear in the sea a few hundred yards off.
We waited some time to see if he would rise again.As we stood, the sea seemed to open up at our very feet; an immense spout of water was sent with a snort high into the air, and the huge blunt head of a sperm whale arose before us.It was so large that it could easily have taken our little boat, along with ourselves, into its mouth! It plunged slowly back into the sea, like a large ship foundering, and struck the water with its tail so forcibly as to cause a sound like a cannon shot.We also saw a great number of flying fish, although we caught none; and we noticed that they never flew out of the water except when followed by their bitter foe, the dolphin, from whom they thus endeavoured to escape.But of all the fish that we saw, none surprised us so much as those that we used to find in shallow pools after a shower of rain; and this not on account of their appearance, for they were ordinary-looking and very small, but on account of their having descended in a shower of rain! We could account for them in no other way, because the pools in which we found these fish were quite dry before the shower, and at some distance above high-water mark.
Jack, however, suggested a cause which seemed to me very probable.
We used often to see water-spouts in the sea.A water-spout is a whirling body of water, which rises from the sea like a sharp-pointed pillar.After rising a good way, it is met by a long tongue, which comes down from the clouds; and when the two have joined, they look something like an hour-glass.The water-spout is then carried by the wind, sometimes gently, sometimes with violence, over the sea, sometimes up into the clouds, and then, bursting asunder, it descends in a deluge.This often happens over the land as well as over the sea; and it sometimes does much damage, but frequently it passes gently away.Now, Jack thought that the little fish might perhaps have been carried up in a water-spout, and so sent down again in a shower of rain.But we could not be certain as to this point; yet we thought it likely.
During these delightful fishing and boating excursions we caught a good many eels, which we found to be very good to eat.We also found turtles among the coral rocks, and made excellent soup in our iron kettle.Moreover, we discovered many shrimps and prawns, so that we had no lack of variety in our food; and, indeed, we never passed a week without making some new and interesting discovery of some sort or other, either on the land or in the sea.
