ded at Nassau, a jew-fish, which takes the
same place here that the halibut fills at the North, being cut into
steaks and fried in a similar manner. They are among the largest of
edible fish, and this specimen weighed about four hundred pounds.
According to Bushy, at certain seasons of the year the jew-fish lies
dormant upon the sandy bottom, and refuses to take the bait. In these
transparent waters he is easily seen when in this condition, and the
native fishermen then dive down and place a stout hook in his mouth!
Though this may sound like a "fish story," we were assured by others
of its truth. Bushy undertook to give us the names of the various
fishes which abound here, but the long list of them and his peculiar
pronunciation drove us nearly wild. Still a few are remembered; such
as the yellow-tailed snapper, striped snapper, pork-fish, angel-fish,
cat-fish, hound-fish, the grouper, sucking-fish, and so on. Both
harbor and deep sea fishing afford the visitor to Nassau excellent
amusement, and many sportsmen go thither annually from New York solely
for its enjoyment.

The colored people of Nassau, as we were assured by one competent to
speak upon the subject, form a religious community, according to the
ordinary acceptation of the term. They are very fond of church-going,
and of singing and shouting on all religious occasions. Nervously
emotional, they work themselves up to a hysterical condition so
furious as to threaten their sanity, but having naturally so little of
that qualification, they are pretty safe. No people could possibly be
more superstitious. They shut up and double lock the doors and windows
of their cabins at night to keep out evil spirits. There are regular
professional man-witches among them, persons a little shrewder and
more cunning than their fellows. The very ignorant believe in a sort
of fetichism, so that when a boat starts on a sponge-fishing trip, the
obeah man is called upon for some cooeperation and mysticism, to insure
a successful return of the crew. The sponge fishermen have several
hundred boats regularly licensed, and measuring on an average twenty
tons each. On favorable occasions these men lay aside their legitimate
calling, and become for the time being wreckers, an occupation which
verges only too closely upon piracy. The intricate navigation of these
waters, dotted by hundreds of small reefs and islands, and which can
be traversed by only three safe channels, has furnished in fo