Page:Colymbia (1873).djvu/185

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RECREATIONS AND SPORTS.
179

movements, and by the brilliant and ever-changing colours of their bodies. The coryphene is a remarkable fish in shape. Its head is large and blunt, its body tapers away to the tail, which is terminated by a swallow-tail-shaped fin. Its back fin is remarkable, extending all along its back, from the top of the head to within a short distance of the end of the tail. It is a large fish, those we had with us being between five feet and six feet long, and sometimes they attain even larger dimensions. Any want of elegance in its shape is compensated by the wonderful beauty of its colours, which at one time are like burnished gold or silver, at others of every colour of the rainbow. Its strength and activity are very great, its sight of the keenest, and its voracity is amazing. When we came near the spot where the flying-fish were supposed to be, we opened out into extended order in search of our game. Presently one of the party intimated that there was a fine covey in front of us. We no longer moved straight forward, but under the guidance of one of the sportsmen, we turned off to one side so as not to disturb the unsuspecting fish. Making a detour, we arranged ourselves in a line, at the distance of about one hundred yards beyond the covey. The young man who had charge of the coryphenes remained behind, keeping—his hounds I was going to say—his fish quite quiet and motionless, until he saw that we were in our places. He then allowed the coryphenes to dart forward among the flying-fish. The latter soon spied their enemy, and, rushing to the surface of the water, spread their wings, and fluttered through the air straight in front of them. Their powers of flight are limited; for, after flying about one hundred yards,