A FIGHT WITH A STING-RAY.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVI, Issue 36, 11 February 1905, Page 13

A FIGHT WITH A STING-RAY.

< SESSJ&IQS&I* ADVENTURE, IS EIJI. Th place of henonr in the Christmas number of the "Wide World ITagasine" is siTori to aa edfentttre of two young teachers who were enjoying an outing on one cc the Fiji Islands. They had laid a net at the mouth of a creek, and next- morning they fouad from the commotion in the water that some targe fish had got within the net. To dear the net (says the wrtterV, I ordered Tomassi (a native Fijian) to dive and kill tlie creature. •He was an expert dfver and bad often dona the same thing before, but when, a£6er two or three minntes. he did not reappear, we began to get .anxious. As we watched a long, flexible object .whipped suddenly out of the water, and falling across the net cut It as if it were ' S cobweb. Then, with a thrill of alarm, we realised- why Tomassi had not reap- ; peared. oa the surface. Instead of a shark, he had met with the dreaded sting-ray, .more dangerous far than, any shark, thtft 'haunts the seas! The long, flexible tail of this terrible creature is armed with two sic&le-like spines, sharp as the keenest razor?, and forming the animal's only weapon. <*<? offence and defence. With light-nlag-ais& rapidity tb.e fish, can deliver sm unerring siash. cutting a deep gash In the flesh of whatever it comers into contact with. Meanwhile the great ray was rushing tackwards and forwards against the net, , trying to free himself from the meshes that enveloped him. Harry cast the har- : poon. fwie© unsuccessfully, but the thfrd time he struck the brute fair and square in the middle of his broad, round back, where the lance buried its point a foot deep in the cartilaginous flesh. The effect of this painful stab seemed to be to draw the creature's attention to the boat, for with one mad rush he burst through the battered remains of the net and mad-a ( a swift charge right at us. With the speed of an express train he eamo. gathering momentum at every foot ami hurling the water to right and left in masses of foam, till be struck us fair and hard, so that the little boat shoot and ' careened over till I thought she would cap- , size. Then the harpoon line, which was fast to the gunwale in the bow, tightened TritH a twnag. and we started through the water at a speed that the boat at her best , had uever rivalled. Bnt the mad demon at the other end of the line could not stand the strain, and suddenly the line slackened and we ceased to move. Harry sat in the bows intently watching for tha I next move of the troublesome creature, when suddenly, as I watched him, he ! crouched low in the bottom of the dory and shouted to us to do tho same. Then, with a s-wisli and a sprinkle o£ salty water, a dart farm o£ great size shot clean over the dory, the end of the terrible tail dragging across the thwarts as U took the water at the other skie. Without pansing the ftsh turned again immediately and made straight for usiitm lhatll ate'.y and made straight at us. .Like a torpedo he came, swimming almost on the surface, and I -shall never forget the Horror I experienced as he charged down upon us. ' Snddenly there ujs a violent collision.- si crash, and we were in the water with. him. I took a long, deep dive towards the- cutter, which was anchored not far from the scene of this strange combat. I came to the surface twice in the intervening Sfty ■ yards, and then pulled myself quickly oft ' board. Harry's tactics had been of a liUo character, only in his zeal to escape he r so far overshot the mark as to pass clean under the cutter in his last dive. A few planks floating around the broken 1 hull of the dory were ail that were to ba 1 seeu: bnt as we watched, a broad, black, ■ shiny back appeared in tbelr midst. The : terrible tail lashed the water furiooslj for a few seconds, and then slowly the bij ' body turned over on its back and showed us a deep, long gasli oa the glistening white belly. Evidently Turago hail dived under the monster and given it a mortal wound with his knife. Happening t» glance in the direction of tUe spot -wiiere tlie net lia.il been set, I saw him swimming towards us, bearing the unconscious Tomassi with. him. Wo pulled them'aboard In. a hurry. Turago appear- ■ ed none the worse far his adventure, but : the other boy was in a very bad state, uav- '■ Ing receiretl a deep wound on the thigh which had laid the flesh, open to the bone, i and had caused the poor fellow to bleed - almost to death.