When the nose of the fish was alongside the step of the yacht, its tail was just opposite the foremast, a distance of over 15 feet, but, to make the measurement reasonable, the sportsmen came to the conclusion that they would give the fish 15 feet as a fair measurement.
Commodore Sully secured an improved Winchester and went on top of the pilot house to get a good shot. The fish was lying very near the surface, and did not seem to pay the slightest attention to the boat and its occupants. Two shots were fired in rapid succession, but they did not seem to bother the fish in the least.
When the shots were fired the giant sank slowly and came up again a few feet further ahead. A dozen more shots were fired from the rifle, but no impression was made. Fully half an hour the yacht lay to while its occupants tried all kinds of means to wake up the monster of the sea.
Werlein finally grabbed a long boat-hook and wanted to tie a line to the handle and harpoon the fish, but the others were not exactly certain as to the results of such an experiment, and would not listen to Werlein. Finally the yacht got under way again, and the devil fish, with a few lazy waves of its giant tentacles, dropped in behind and followed the boat for fully half a mile. Then it disappeared.
A few weeks ago W. C. C. Claiborne and several other fishermen returned with a story about three devil fish seen at the island, but their story was taken with a large grain of salt. Claiborne has a reputation for story telling, but his tale is followed up now by this experience, and the sportsmen
