The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1874-06-18
Strange Marine Animals.

the finny tribes of sea, lake and
liver. Ofthese, there are none more re-
than the so-called musical fishes
If the East and West. the blind fishes of
North America, and the volcano fish Ofthe
Andes.
If there is one common characteristic of
III marine animals more marked than an
)ther, it is their absolute silence, or, to
;Oin new word, voicelessness. The one |
exception TO this, and we believe it is only |
IN apparent exception, is the musical fish. |
II is found along the southern portion of
he coast of the United States in the West |
Indies, and on the tropical coasts of South |
America in the Bay of Bengal; in the |
muddy creeks on the shores of India ; |
around Ceylon, and along the coasts and in |
the wide rivers of Burmah and the great |
island of Borneo. These are the localities |
in which its existence is recorded, but il
probably has even a wider range, and it is
not unlikely that it is an inhabitant of all
the sub-tropical seas. Its music is only
heard at night, or in the evening after the
sun has set and particular spots, often OF
very limited extent, seem to be haunted by
the fish, for Oh sailing away from them,
the sound becomes inaudible, and, ON re-
turning. it is again heard. The accounts
of it given by travellers agree as to the
main features of the facts, but, az might be
expected, they differ in some details. The
sound always seems to come up from the
surface of the water in long notes. low and
clear, and perfectly distinct. Sir Emerson
Tennent. who heard it in 1913 at Chilka
Lake, an inlet of the sea on the east coast
of CeylOn, describes it as = like the gentle
thrills of musical chord, or the faint Vi
bration of wine-glass when its rim is
rubbed by a wet finger not one
sustained note, but a multitude of tiny
sounds, each clear and distinct in itself, the
sweetest treble mingling with the lowest
bass" Other and later visitors to the
same spot have given very similar ac-
The fish seem, indeed. to abound
have been met with out at sea
in deep water at least a hundred miles
from Colombo. This strange music has
been heard, too, in the muddy creeks near
Salsette and Bombay, and at ViZasapatam
and along the CorOmandel coast. Other
travellers record having listened to the
musical fishes on calm night among the
islands of the Mergui Archipelago, off the
Burmese coast, and in fresh water in the
Sarumoth River in BorneO. OF these,
some say the sound was prolonged note,
rising and falling like the strains of all
Eolian harp; Others compare it TO music
borne on the wind from a distant shore;
and with others, again, it was drouing,
drowsy sound, all of one pitch, and SEEM
ing not only to rise from the water, but TO
fill all the calm air around. The accounts
of travellers in America are to the same eff
feet NJ de ThOron heard the sound in
the BAY of PailOn, in Ecuador, and in the
river Mataie, and he compares it to that OF
a church organ heard outside the door of
building, when the notes become mingled
and indistinct. The fish, which is there
called by the natives Siren or MusicO, be-
gins its song about sunset, and continues
il through the night. The Rev. Charles
Kingsley, who visited the caves of the
BacOs Islands near Trinidad where the
musical fish abound, describes the song"
as a simple drumming, or like the noise of
steamer letting off steam. This appears
to be correct description of the sound Of
the West Indian and North American va
rieties, for there the fish has received the
unpoetical name of the Drum, the Drum
mer, or, worst of all, the Grunts. The
varieties found in the Indian Ocean and
Pacific are, however, capable Of something
more than this, and are VII deserving Of
their title of musical fishes
What fish it is that produces those sounds
is, as yet, more than uncertain. 1t Is, i'll
deed, question of some difficulty to deter
mine. American naturalists are generally
agreed that the musical fish of the eastern
coasts and of the West Indies is large
fish. known to biologists as the Pc
gonias chroms. 1t grows to a length
Of about five feet, and swims about in
shoals In its gullet there are three
movable plates, covered with large teeth,
and it is supposed that it is the action of
these that produce the drumming sound.
OF course, anything like a real voice would
be an impOssibility: but the least nOist
travels a great way under water, and would
be heard distinctly by any one on its sur
face The CingaleSe at Chilka Lake told
Sir Emerson Tennent that the singers
there were shell-tiSh, and he himself III
clined to the same opinion; but it appears
very improbable to us that it is so. Other
writers have suggested that the musician
is a fish furnished W tn a sucking appa
ratus, by means of which it can attach it
self TO the bottom of a ship or boat, and
that its musical instrument is the row of
suckers on its head. There is, however,
very little evidence to support this theory.
The fact, that by applying the ear to the
side of the boat, the volume of the sound
is increased, proves nothing; for, of course,
in any case, the timber, by its superior
conducting power, would produce this
effect. Moreover, the music has been
heard in places where no sucking-fish has
ever been seen or caught. The fishermen
at Salsette, near Bombay, attribute the
power to small fish very like the com
mon perch; and those at the Bay of Pailon
say that it is white fish, with BLUSH spots
on the back, and about ten inches long,
which they catch on the spot during the
performance. The great difficulty is that
the mere hooking of fish near the boat
can afford very it'll information, for it
might have been swimming near the sur
face, while the real performers were feed
ing quietly at the bottom. Our impress
sion is that there are at least two species of
musical fish-one the PhogoniaS, of North
America and the West Indies, capable only
of the monotonous drumming described
by Professor Kingsley; the other species
not yet determined, and possibly never yet
captured. This musical fish, which has
been heard alike in salt, brackish, and
fresh water, probably, like so many others,
ascends the rivers at certain periods to
spawn. 1t is found both north and south
of the equator in the Indian Ocean, and all
through the Eastern Archipelago; doubt
less it exists also among the islands of the
Pacific. and thus has an unbrOken range
from the shores of India to those of Ecua-
dor.
Stranger still are the blind fishes OF
North America. which dwell all their lives
in the utter darkness of subterranean riv-
ers, where sight would be useless to them,
and beautiful development of the sense
of touch takes its place. In the central
portion of the United States there is great
tract Of country which yields abundant
| supplies of coal, and underlying these
coal-bearing strata there is vast system
of limestone rocks. These are traversed
| by hollow veins, assures, and caves.
through many of which flow underground
streams, forming here and there miniature
lakes. 1t is in these dark waters that the
blind fish are found. In the great Mann
moth Cave of Kentucky there are four spe-
cies of these singular creatures. These are
known as the ADabLyopsis speLoVs. and its
ally, the TyphLicthys subte1Taneus, which
are totally blind, and two other varieties,
the ChOIogaster cor71utus, and the ChoLo-
caster Agassizii, which are partially so.
The Amblyopsis and Typhlicthys resemble
each other very closely, the chief differ
ence between them being that the former