Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1875-02-24
The Lan-uage Of Fishes.

inc new tdings from the 8 dark, unfith-
omed caves and throwing its tears OF
spray at Your feet Bat these are not the
only sounds that come up from the sea.
Musical notes are often heard, that IN olt-
en- time were credited t. the siren harp.
They come to IL, in low. sweet notes, bur-
dencd with u hidden meaning. swelling on
each rise, and finally bursting from the
deep in Il chorus of rich sounds and har-
monies.
These peculiar marine sercna'les were
for Years regarded with >upcrstltlou> awe
bv the toilcr of the sea. BY some they
were taken rs Sims Of good luck, and by
others, ofthc old school and Marryatt class.
us the songs of the vast crews of the dr;tt
who roamed the sea in the phantom crafts
that appeared to their living comrades 1t
dark moments ana in weird form, an ON
nous fDrchoding of speedy ill-tortunc. ana
so these strange notes were traced to differ
ent orr gins. until some curious individual
threw the blame of all the disturbance up
on the fish family. and then it became
known that they. having mouths, spoke
after their own fashion, and 50 "ilr sirens
and mcrnaidS passed away. Their far
forms are no longer seen reclining on the
messy shore Their sweet voices have
been superseded by the croak of the unof-
Tending Pisces, and the wtll-known lines.
.'ln =uls enchante !, where the siren sings,
ANA coral reefs lie bare"
have lost their Romance. Alas for the adj
vance of time. Il, with every throb our Old
and wcll-loycl legends slip away. and iii; :
appear in the dim distance of t e past.
\ noted ti>hv vocalist is found in the
llertH ScuruS. which was no e., for til.
powers of is vocal org:n>. Piny en-
banned il in VERSE Us the king of fishes,
and Ovid and O>>an have also sung its
praises in >onr. Sclcucu> stated with all
GOOD filth. that it WAS the only fish that
ever slept. and Ethan bestowed upon it the
honor Of being the best beloved hv it, fell
lows Wonderful tales ar" told of it, pow
rr> of inton;,tion. ami although 1t WAS IN
great demand for die table. the men Were
10th t. take il in Consequence of ihc walls
and means it gave Vent 10 when captured.
At other times. when free. t> Voice rose
from tn sea clear IL a bell, and laNi>hinw
in the Sweetness of il meio y.
The Well-knuWn Taruar'!~ are noted far
and wide for the strange >Ound> they pro
ducr. and IL vet the peculiar mechanism
has not been clearly demonstrated. Al
time, tn sound i not unpleasant, and ut
others il resembles the barking of 4 doy.
or HE grating Of two rough substances.
This may be- The cast. in some species. but
| have held a fish, found in the southern
waters, AMI similar t. our perch. in my
hand. and listened 10 tn sounds. and they
seemed to be produced by 4 movm, III OF
the laws or throat. ~ IN lips ana mouth
fro:ru.ici at every sound ii uttered; but it
is not unlikely dat they are produced bv
Il, III
irving to escape ON the Jersey coast the
Priou,tllS III ,tlus j. c1lle,. the p;g or hor
fish. on account of lis continual barking rs
it is drawn in by the net; and in almost
every section of the country We fad thr>,.
locali~m~ all tcndin. To represent the vocal
tastes of the tnnv population.
In thu days Of OLD Rome. the mul ;rn:>.
OF >"n els. We're supposed t. have 4 rcgll-
lar language. low and sweet. says an Cd
writer. AMI = with IN injonatiun 20 t:t>cin-
1tln- that few could resist IL influence.
and i ! sad that the Emperor Augustus
p1"trndr' /" understand thor words Il l.
hn"WH. however, ti;tt he dl'i d'No;c much
If h!> tan" Ia tn cultivation ct these crct-
lures, not tor hypothesis OF language ID II
because they wei" highly esteemed IN Il
@1>tI"n"mlr point OF View. intact. :" iir'
WIS ms carr" lhtt som cpicurc- would
only eat "f Those that iltd been ttt"ncd
on human flesh
strange ~"nll'I> ar" often heard as" TX
M rom Inc waters "l oar "Wh co That
w"alI b. apt /" a>t"nl>.l the >uVrr>tltl"u~
listener i l.r were not acquainted with the
in"iir!dIn- cause ct tt!r disturbance.
\ Sometimes II Mss mt" ihc ar like tn
pAny o. a II -" dram. and AGAIN seems i"
>'t'I "NII thr waves Win = low lhurnur-
M WAL 'h II Hnt were |" PItc' Your
car Close /" ih' surface tn" strange sounds
would appear TO com" from five o. * dill
lcr.nt places. amen are "lcn startled
like the drum Of some lon--lo>t cr,w than
the. voice of an INSIGNIFICANT n,,mbrrn tL.
family of fishes: f,r 81 II il i. and we'll
known II the brarorl drum-ti>h. But how
il produces the u1,cr musical notes is 4