The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1875-09-25
CATFISH.
The Character and habits of the "Pimeiodus
Catus."
From the New Orleans Times.

The Character and habits of the "Pimeiodns
Catus.
From the New Orleans Times
From the 1ullpouts of the brook, up to the
great wolltish, II compact cham, with no
missing link, connects the great family OF
catfishcs Why catfish, we shall presently
see HIS lavorite seat and homestead Is, I'M
doubledly, The inland STA of the Mississippi,
but he can live anywhere, and in point Of
I fact does live everywhere. His services are
| indispensable and his adaptation to his busl-
ness perfect. lie is found in the rivers of
/ Asia, and has relatives living in the North
seas. He ranges the waters AS widely as man
ranges the land. Pimel0das CdtnS is IA true
cosmopohtan.-in fish society. lie Is the sly
est of all the fishes. lie delights in still wa
tiers, deep holes, cddies and tao cover OF DRIFT
wood-except that pale, lean fellow who ire
uuents the brakish waters OF the coast, he Is
a bold rover. He is omniverous as shark,
cruel as fate, soft, slow, oily, undulating in
his motions, cunning crafty and greedy. Gar.
bage of any kind forms his diet, and doubt
less his little, bcady eyes sparkle with delight
when he chances upon Il particularly odorous
bit Of il.
The first rule Of the catfish philosophy is,
that there is nothing which it is impossible
10 swallow. No catfish Is in good Standing
among his fellows unless he can bolt his own
weight in meat and bones without winking
or stretching his neck. He Is impudent and
brave, resisting capture with the greatest de-
termination, dies slow and dies game. He
never takes his prey with any OF the swift,
! fierce cagerneSs of the trout, pike or bass
there is no dash, no eldR about him. lie APP
proaches the bait deliberately clasps It in his
vicelike jaws, and moves away 50 gently at
first, with such soft strain upon the line,
, hot, in .,,Ln hn T. aston cd
or not. He is 10th to exert his immense
strength and will not do so until he finds
himself firmly hooked. Then he rouses
himself, and struggles with stubborn, angry
courage, quite in contrast with the fright and
terror of other game fish.
He is, among fish, what the owl is among
birds, very wise, very STILL very independent,
and always hungry. Though night-prowl.
or by profession, he Is very much IN the habit
of lunching at all hours Of the day He has
no scales, his skin is softer than satin, as
smooth rs ivory, and his whole organism
the perfection Of elasticity, compactncss and
strength. You never see him idly trisking
about nor spending his time in foolish gam
bols lie never tllrts himself out of the wa
ter, even when seeking his prey, much less
from any nonscnsical ambition to show his
agility He hugs the ground closely, avoids
swift currents, or, when in them seeks the
eddies and the shelter of the rocks at the bot
tom; winds in and out along the shore,
solemnly, mysteriously, stealthily, always on
! the lookout for something TO swallow, yet
never disappointed If he finds nothing,
Though always graceful in his movements,
his general appearance carries with it the
impression of laughabe mixture Of Gun.
ming, malevoence and drollery. lie is wag,
a rogue, tyrant, glutton
He sometimes attains the weight of 200
pounds, and then he IS as ugly u customer as
one could wish to see. His head is as wide
as u road-scraper and pretty much the same
shape. His ponderous jaws set together like
steel trap, and, when out Of water, his eyes
have a vicious, metallic luster which they re-
tain till he has breathed his last gasp.
The poctical justice of being swallowed
by another fish, has never been meted out to
the catfish. The three poisonous thorns
which stand out from his body, one at each
side and one above, afford him ample pro-
lection. Altogether, the catfish is a very
queer fellow, IA fellow OF infinite originality
and humor. Iryou ever have an opportunity
TO observe HIM IN his native element, you
will find him an interesting study. You will
never find the great leviathans of the fish
market in water clear enough for an observa
lion, but the smaller members Of the family
] lllC utuplub VI NlO oi'Oh, ioi IhStduOS,
you may often see His palp droop grace.
July over his muZzle, not unlike amoustache,
and as he moves leisurely about, the almost
incredible phenomenon of 1.-THE tail that wags
the dog" is clearly illustrated; for the tail of
the catfish certainly does wag his body. He
seeks no companions, is the most selfcon.
tanned of all the fishes, yet is no misanthrope.
He delights in punching his broad nose un-
der chips and sticks, and sometimes merry
freak will sieze him all at once, and he will
double himself up, seem to touch his nose
with his tail and bend himself into scollops
in the very exuberance Of his muscular elias
ITCHY. Then away he goes again, wagging
his head at all the other fishes, seeking with
all his wonted and industrious solemnlty, for
something to swallow.
As an article of diet, catfish meat is popu-
lar in western hotels where it figures as
baked trout" 1t is dauby, but then it is
cheap SO cheap. The supply is in
exhaustible and the price uniiorm-never
any cheaper or any nastier at one season than
another, Boiled, it makes very good salve
or poultce. His general utility in life de-
tracts from his acceptablity in death-with
many people. AS standard dish, he ranks
a little lower than hash, u little higher than
ratpies
A Door man with an EMMY nurse came one