The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1874-10-09
NEW USE FOR EXPLOSIVES.
A " Fish StOry''-CatchingS Sea-Fish with
Nftro-GIvcerine.

A 50 Fish hStory'-Catching SeR-Fish with
NitrO-Glyoerine.
A. W. Chase, of the United States
coast survey, in q recent commuDica
tion to the California academy of sciences
son Fishing by Means of Explosives, u
presented the following brief descrip.
tion of the method employed in this
modern mode of sea-fshing. Having
rowed out in a skiff FROM shore
| to where the water was from six to
eight fathoms in depth, and where its
clearness rendered the bottom plainly
visible, he would drop an explosive car
fridge, the fuse of which had been 30
graduated as to explode halfway be-
tween the surface and the bottom.
"The cartridge" he states, "would
slowly subsequently, in a spiral-and
few bubbles of air or smoke arise to
the surface. When the fire reached
the illuminate of mercury, there would be
sudden white flash, then a quick,
sharp detonation, the blow striking the
bottom of the skiff as if some one had
struck it with a hammer. Then, in a
space of time varying from eight to ten
minutes, every fish within a radios of
forty of fifty yards would slowly come
to the surface. Those within the i'm
mediate vicinity of the explosion, OF
course, were killed by bursting the
bladder and injury to the large intes-
tines, and had to be speared up from
the bottom. Those, however, at a
greater distance would be simply stun
ned, and could be taken in with a net.
Care had to be taken to avoid touching
those only slightly stunned until the |
net was fairly around them, as the |
slightest blow would arouse them from |
their torpor."
Following this description of the |
method is the following statement, for |
the truth of which he vouches, and yet |
which, according to his own admission,
might we'll be regarded as a genuine
" sh-story :" Z" had brought up by
an explosion a number of yellcw-bass
fish, weighing about four pounds each.
These are delicious in chowder, and so,
instead of putting them in alcohol, i
had them cleansed, which was done by
scaling, removing the intestines, and
cutting off the fins and tail. The head,
however, still remained joined to the
backbone. These fish, from the time
they had been taken from the water up
to the time of cleaning, remained appa-
rently lifeless. Nor did the reno val
Of the intenstines arouse them. They
were then taken up to the old barracks,
where I was temporarily camped, and
hung upon nails driven into the clap
boards. Some little time after they
had been thus disposed of, one of the
men came in and asked me to go out to
Iook at the fish. did so, and found
every individual bass slappinR around
IN as lively manner as if he had been
freshly caught and hung up. They had,
n fact, recovered from the explosion,
and proceeded to die in the common
ashton. took one down, and broke the
backbone where it joined the head.
It's struggles ceased instantly, thus show
pg that the vital force had been arrest
ID in the nerve centres and brain at the
ime of explosion and, when the effect
lad passed away, that the fish had re- ,
umed a galvanic life. 1t was probably
bout half an hour from the time of ex- :
,losion when this occurrence took
,lace. I have not been able since,
however, to secure the same result,
Though | must state that the only
ime since then that 1 have tried the a,
experiment. was on the Oregon coast, ,,
vhere L brought up school of salmon, !
II of which were picked for Agassiz.
1he fish were, however, too close to
he explosion, as they were killed out c
ight." a