Page:Voyage in search of La Perouse, volume 1 (Stockdale).djvu/84

74 In the night we oberved that our veel was followed by a large hoal of dorados. As they wam much fater than we ailed, they often moved in a circular coure round our veel with incredible wiftnes. Although the night was very dark, it was eay to follow them with the eye; as they leave a luminous track behind them. This phophoric light, produced in the agitated water of the ea, appears the more brilliant in proportion to the darknes of the night, and the velocity with which the fihes move; o that we were able to dicern their track very ditinctly, although they wam everal feet below the urface of the water.

30th. We were now in thoe eas that abound with voracious fihes, uch as the bonito, the tunny, and others of the ame clas, which find plenty of food amongt the different pecies of fih on which they prey; the principal of which is the flying-fih (exocætus volitans, Linn.). The bonitos that followed us were eaily caught by our fihermen, though they ued no other bait than a bunch of feathers, bound up o as to reemble a flying-fih, within which the hook was concealed.

We had been almot becalmed for ome time, but the regular winds began to recover their force. They were again interrupted on the 3d of November by a torm, which continued during the whole