It is a general custom in St. John’s when a horse dies to have it towed over the bar,[65] in order that it may be cast away in deep water. These defunct animals are very often made a bait for shark-fishing; but at times the sharks are so large and so greedy, that these would-be fishers are obliged to let go their bait in order to prevent their boat being overturned, and they themselves become the prey of the monsters. Young sharks are often exposed in the Antiguan markets for sale; and their flesh, stewed down with rice or “sweet potatoes,” forms, among the negroes, a savoury supper.[66] The common attendants upon the shark are the _remora_, or sucking-fish, and the pilot-fish, the former deriving its name from the firm manner in which it can adhere to any foreign substance. This adhesion is performed by means of a piece of hard thick skin, of an oval form, about five inches long and two broad, and which is attached to the head of the fish. This curious appendage is indented like the roof of a cat’s mouth, and can be drawn up or expanded at pleasure. By these means the remora fixes itself so firmly to the back of the shark that no effort of that animal can dislodge it. Some naturalists are of opinion that the sucking-fish is the friend of the shark in directing its course and warning it of approaching danger, in the same way as the hermit-crab acts towards the pinna-marina. Others think this is a fable, and that, instead of befriending, it in time becomes the destroyer of the shark by draining its body of all moisture. I have heard seamen assert, who are often better observers of nature than is generally supposed, that if by accident a sucking-fish becomes separated from the shark, it is unable to provide for itself, and has not even the sense to swim from approaching danger. A remora was caught by the crew of a small vessel on board of which I was passenger. It was placed upon the deck for a few moments in order that I might be better able to inspect it, but when about to be removed, it was found to have adhered so firmly to the planks, that no effort, save the cruel one of cutting off the part, could disengage it. It belongs to the ray kind, and measures generally from two to five feet in length; but one was captured off Guadaloupe, which had attained the unusual length of thirteen feet from head to tail. Many strange tales have been related of the remora being able to stop a ship when in full sail, as well as performing other prodigies of valour; but in this age of wisdom all such statements are deservedly regarded as fables.