The Canton mail. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 18??-1882, 1876-03-04
ABOUT FISHES.
HOr They Hunt Their Prey Their Uc"poHs
of Ofcnse and DcJcnse.

Ho,r They Hunt Their Prey Their Ue"pons
Of Ofense and Defense.
Many of the methods which man has
found most effective in hunting, or in
| that inhuman occupation-war-are en-
ployed by fishes. There is scarcely a
sport which men practice, or weapon of
effense which they use, to which they do
not present a parallel. Mr.. Francis, in
Frazer's Magazine, gives many instances
in illustration of this fact, from which
the following are taken:
Daggers, spears and swords are all pos
sessed by fishes in very high state of
natural perfection, and even guns are
represented among them. The Ch;eto-
don, a fish which is found in the eastern
seas from Ceylon to Japan, has the power
of propelling small drop of water, with
considerable accuracy and force, through
its nose, which is kind OF beak. With
this missile it kills the insects which con-
stitute its food.
There are also. fishes which fish for
their game with rod, line and bait, as
skillfully as any angler. The fishing
frog is sometimes fveor six feet in length,
has huge head and mouth, and is pro-
vided with large sacs attacked to its gill
covers, in which its slows its victims. 1t
is an Indifferent swimmer and is too
clumsy to support existence by the fleet
ness of it's motion. Two long prongs
spring from the creatures nose, which
taper away like fishing rods. To the
ends of these is attached, by slender
threads, glitte,ing morsel of membrane,
which is the bait. The Lophius conceals
himself by stirring up the mud on the
bottom with his fins and tails. He waves
the bait to and fro, so that it appears
like living insect gIancing through the
water, and when the prey are attracted,
he rises suddenly, seizes them, and de-
posits them in his bagnet, where they re-
main, to be transferred to. his stomach at
leisure.
There are also fish which hunt their
prey siDgly or in pairs, or even in packs,
like hounds. Porroises have been seen
driving sand-eels together, gradually sur
rounding them. and then, making dash
at them, devouring a dozen at a mouth
full. The pike and trout are examples o
FISH which hunt their prey singly; and
the way in which one of these will course
and run down a smaller fish resembles
nothing so much as greyhound coursing
hare. OF fish which hunt their food
like dogs or wolves in packs, the Bonito,
which chases the flying fish, is an in
stance and one, perhaps, of the fiercest.
most savage and resolute of these is the
Prirai of South America. The Prirai
has a fighting looking kind of nose and
cold, cruel eye. The jaw is square, pow
erful and, for the size of the fish, locked
into very large head. Although the
creature is only about sixteen inches
long, it has teeth nearlysas large as those
of shark These fish abound in all the
rivers of Guinea. They are very vora-
cious, and there is scarcely any animal
which they will not attack.
Some fish employ others to hunt their
prey for them. There is, for instance.
the little Pilot-fsh, which leads the
shark to his prey. This has been dis
puted, but it appears, in some cases, to
be beyond doubt. Probably the Pilot
fish accompanies the shark, principally
for protection, and is on the lookout for
its own dinner
Many weapons of ofIense and defense
are possessed by fishes. The sword is
represented by the blade of the sword
fish. This fish possesses tremendously
powerful weapon, backed as it is by the
great weight and impetus which it can
bring to bear on its thrusts. Akin to
the sword-fish in its offensive capabili-
ties are the saw-fishes. Though their
weapons resemble rather such as are
used by certain savage tribes than civil
lied saws, yet they are terrible weapons.
and the Indians, who edge their spears
with sharks teeth, almost reproduce the
weapon of the saw-fsh. The weapon of
the narwhal, which is found chiefly in the
Arctic seas, is very complete and eff
Gent spear, composed of the hardest ivo-
ry, and tapering gradually to point.
OF daggers there are many specimens,
more particularly among the family of
Raud;e; and fearful weapons they are,
some of them being serrated and barbed,
and capable of inflicting terrible wounds.
Many other fish are furnished with spines
either upon the fins or as horns, or in
sharp projections from the gill-covers.
Perhaps one of the most formidable
weapons possessed by any fish is the nat
ual pair of shears formed by the jaws of
the shark. The only similar weapon of
offense that can be cited as used by man,
would, perhaps, be the spiked portcullis.
The knOut also has rival in the tail of
the thresher or fox-shark. The upper
lobe is nearly as long as the body of the
fish and very muscular. 1t is curved like
the blade of a scythe in shape, and the
blows which it inflicts with this living
fail can be heard at great distance. The
lasso is represented in the foot of the
NoPhiioPou, " "hioii nature HIS aiso Iur-
nished another curious weapon of de-
Tense in the shape of a bag of black fluid
commonly termed ink-bag. The cut
tie, when closely pursued, sends out a
cloud of this substance to hide him from
view.
SEEING; YOURsELE1S 4 GHOST.
The possibility of this seems to be
shown by Mrs. kemble, in this extract
from her "reminiscences in the March