THE RAYS. 369

men say that when alive the sharks do not molest the ‘ diable-
de-mer,’ whose offensive weapons consist of those enormous
flexible sides (one can hardly call them fins) with which they
can beat almost any shark to death. As a rule when har-
pooned, they endeavour, like other rays, to bury themselves
in the sand, and if they succeed in doing this, no line can ever
haul them out of it—their flat bodies act on the principle of
an enormous sucker. Another curious fact about them is that
when harpooned they swim sideways, edge on, in order to
avoid exposing too broad a surface to their enemy. They
never do this unless harpooned.”
Ray Catching. Lieutenant Lamont gave the following graphic
description of a Ray fishing expedition in which he took part
near Port Royal, Jamaica, in 1824, to Professor Jameson.
‘‘The first appearance of an animal of this species, since I
have been here (about eighteen months), was about two
months ago, when I was called out to the beach by some of
the inhabitants, whom I found, on going there, to be assem-
bled in great numbers, to see what they call the Sea Devil.
I confess my curiosity was not less excited than theirs, when
I saw floating close to the surface of the water, about twenty
yards from me, a large mass of living substance of a dark
colour, but of the shape and size of which I could not, at the
time, form any proper idea, it being so very different from
what I had ever before seen or heard of, farther than that I
supposed it to have been many times the size of what I now
believe it was. No time was lost in setting out in pursuit of
him, with harpoons, &c.; and it was not long before he was
come up with, and struck with one of the harpoons, when he
made off with great velocity, towing the boat after him, As
he seemed to incline chiefly to the surface of the water, six or
seven more harpoons were (with the assistance of several canoes
that had come up) successively plunged into him, and all the
boats made fast to each other, which he was obliged to pull
after him, with several people in each, Such, however, was
34