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Show oo DEVIL FISH CAUGHT WEIGHS 3DQ0 POUNDS Mrs. John Corley, formerly of Ogden, Og-den, writing from Miami, Fla., the present home of the Corlews, sends The Standard the following account of the capture of a devil Tlsh off the coast of Miami: Three thousand pounds of fish food came into Miami Saturday all in one piece. Parts of this gigantic fish, a catch made eight miles off the beach coast, will soon be finding their way into the bill of fare of some of Miami's households. house-holds. The fish was bought by a local fish company for that purpose, and after being salted and smoked will be placed on the market in small lots. The hide will be tanned. Speculation was rife Saturday after the deep sea monster had been hauled from the water to the lop of a rack on J j the Elser pier as to what would be done with it. It was fifteen feet, ten inches in width. The fish is what is known as a devil fish or giant ray. It was caught bv Capt. Harry Newman of the Yacht Kemah in the kingfishing grounds after a battle lasting from 9 o'clock In the morning until 2 o'clock in the afternoon, during which the creature was harpooned once and shot seven times with a shot gun. Saturday's catch was by far the biggest fish "of the kind that has been caught in these waters since tho landing of tho forty-two-foot marine monster being exhibited ex-hibited in Miami, which was brought in severalyears ago. That was a differ- iiWMi.ij,.ypiiiiLjiiiiij. i uiuimm iwiim, Jwj.jjBIj ,1,,, ent species of fish. Last year W. K. Vanderbllt caught a devil fish which was thought to be pretty large, and that weighed only 500 pounds. Captain Newman was alone in his guide boat, an eighteen-foot launch, when he sighted the devil fish. He pulled up as near as possible and threw a harpoon into its side. The fish started off like an express train, dragging the launch from the king-lishing king-lishing grounds to the beach, when the harpoon pulled out. Mr. Newman than secured It with a shark hook and was given another eight-mile ride. In the meantime he called for the assistance assist-ance of two fishermen and with his shotgun shot the fish seven times before be-fore it succumbed. The Century dictionary gives the following definition of the devil fish: "Devil fish, or giant ray, (Manta birostris). In zoology a name of various var-ious marine animals of large size or uncanny appearance. In the United States a name applied chiefly to a gigantic cephaloterold, ray, which has! very wide-spreading sides or pectoral fins, long cephalic fins turned forward and inward, a terminal mouth, and i small teeth, in the lower jaw only. The I width of this great batoid fish sometimes some-times exceeds twenty foot. It pro-1 jesses In the ocean by flapping Its1 sides or pectorals up a"nd down and ! i is occasionally hunted by sportsmen ! ; with harpoons." |