The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1875-01-07
Fishes Without Ewes.

A correspondent of the New York
Mail says
E. ". Putnam, jr., the director OF
the Peabody AGA 'emy, who is one of
the most effective workers of all our
younger men of science, has Just re-
turned from q scientific exploration in
and about the Mammoth cave, going in
every day with three or four guides as
helpers, and remaining IN often until
nearly midnight The party loaded
themselves down with great lanterns and
extra stores of candles, with which,
when they reached the place of their
work, that whole part of the cave would
be brilliantly lit mp. Tho rivers IN the
cave were all carefully seined, and by
travelling day aud night from the cave
to Salem Mr.. PutnRm was enabled to
bring home with him, alive, a number
of the fishes which he had the good
fortune to obtain. Most of them, IN
fortunately, die on reaching the Ohio
river, where IL became necessary to
change the water in which they were
kept. The dissolved mud in these
western streams proved fatal to all the
larger fish, choking their delicate gills
and actually sutf joating them. Yet five
of the smaller ones were to be seen
alive IN corner of the museum, and it
is hoped that they eau be kept alive at
least long enough for satisfactory micro
seopic observations by Mr.. Putnam and
DR.. A. s. Packard.
Three of these are the well known
blind fishes, which it was supposed were
the only inhabitants OF the cave waters.
These fishes have but rudimentary eyes,
visible only under the microscope, aud
quite useless to them, but in place of
the organ of sight the microscope shows
where the eyes should be a number of
delicate threads, which seem to float in
the water above their heads. These
are nerve filaments, by which the senss
Of touch is made to replace that of
sight. In the cave itself, II one places
a finger in the water in front OF these
curious fishes, even at considerable dis
tances, they will Immediately turn
about and swim off as fast as they can,
these flaments giving them notice,
probably by the vibration of the water,
I I some foreign body in front of them.
But it Is the other two fishes which will
attract the attention of scientists. An
observer who, some thirty years ago,
described the blind fishes, recorded
also that he thought he saw, at the
bottom of the rivers, another kind of
suggestion bad been passed over by the
nstnralists, and nothing thought of it.
Mr.. Putnam. who is q disciple of
Agassiz IN the sense of being bis fol-
lower, against Darwin, as well as pupil
OF his, believed IN the existence of such
fishes, and determined that If possible
they should be found. It was some
days before his seining had any success;
! but at last he obtained both the e7 less
! fish and specimens of the fish having
/ eyee, which the previous naturalist
| therefore had really seen. These hsh
/ have not only eyes, bat color. The
/ blind fish have bieached-out look. az
! If they ba once been OF the color oi
| gold fishes, and in some way the color
had almost entirely faded out. These
/ others are of a dark, blsckish color
/ ike that OF a great proportion of fish
/ we catch in our bays. ft is a curious
| fact that they swim close to the bottom
/ of the rivers in the cave. instead o
near the surface as do the blind fab
and it would seem as though II, as the
/ Darwinians claim, the blind fish bad
lost the sense of sight from lack 0, need
] of il, and had been bleaehed out by the
darkness in which they lived, these
other fishes LIVING stiH below, and, il
/ possible, IN darker piac- than tbeil
/ eyeless brethren, shouid be quite a.
/ blind and even mere cOicrless. Mr..
/ Putnam found, also, the eyeless cray
fisb, and others having eyes, both Will
and without color, and IL Is certainly y,
/ a pretty kettle of hsh which be has
brought out of the darkness for the
delectation Of the scientific world. he
also brought back Eve or six species Oi
open air fish, which had been hacked
INTO the cave BY the overlooking of the
Green river. One old bull had been
seen by the guides ia the same pool il
the cave every day for six years until
| Mr.. Putnam brought him "a light. Tha.
/ gentleman also discovered 81 the cave 8
fora, whose existence had been unsus.
pected, 8 plant which seemed TO consist
] Of roots aIOne being the most curious.