The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1880-10-21

calieu the Wide-gaD. Forthwith he enter
tanned us with story he had heard of on,
OF the kind being taken with over lift,
young herring in its stomach. But here
one OF our amateur DISCIPLES Of old Isaac
Walton, after puzzling his not dull brail
Tor some moments, recognized it fully
from descriptions he had read, as the grea
Angler of Lophius. .'" nH .l.'7 -
| We then made close and careful cxa
| mutation for comparison with icllthyolo
glcal treatlses; and found dangling from al
its sides sort Of fringe of fleshy matt or,
the object Of which Except to add to tho
| hideorsness Of the most deformed creature,
we could not possibly conjecture. Sprout.
ing out of the top Of the head were three
long filaments, like miniature flag-statfs, the
foremost Of which bore thin streamer OF
flesh Cooking like pole, rod and line ready
baited) The monster Is said to be a very
slow. swimmer, and would not he able to
get mouthful to eat, even with its enor.
nous mouth, If It had to outswim its prey
before catching it; but its method Is differ
cnt. Burying itself in the mud or sand at
the bottom of the water, 1t gently moves
the long t1lamont which serves as a fishing
rod, and with the tempting. looking strealner
which answers as a bait, quietly angles for
It's dinner. Some unwary fish, attracted
by the tc.looklng morsel moving
about, is cnticed within reach, when by a
noiseless movement Of its side arms or fins,
the Lophius cngulfs its prey in its huge
mouth, as man would use hand net.
This" exclaimed nv nephew, sis GER
talnly the angler Of the naturaists des.
crption; 1t answers exactly. In fact" he
continued, "the whole fish is mass Of
gristlc and muscles, and is all organized
with reference to,and for the sake solely
OF, the terrible mouth. So tina. this fish
would furnish tho best type of grccdiness
and rapacity, in the whole book of Nature.
The upper jaw is capable of some degree
OF prntrusion, and in opening tho mouth
the lowor jaw is thrust forward instead OF
being lowered, and ut tho base of the upper
jaw sidclong motion is put in operation
by which it appears possible that the Aug
Ter might be able to swallow prey almost
equal 10 it's bulk, to which also the wide
gullet can afford passage, and the stomach
welcome; while the skin of tho body is
30 loose as to allow any degree OF disten-
sion without Inconvenience, and tho sides
contain no ribs that could offer any resis-
tance." .|
Our specimen was Just three feet long,
ohu llo Okc3hIu dCtOSS VIC WluCSL expansion
OF the fins twcnty-thrce inches; bat our
captain persisted the specimens of tile same
tribe taken in European waters sometimes
measures between five and six feet long.
After this wonderful catch, the ordinary
dwcllcrs of the briny deep seemed too
ordinary to further inteacst us, 80, draw
Ing our lines, we bade the captain hoist
sail, and for couple Of hours were borne
along by delightful fresh wind. Our
empty baskct and the state of the water in
the ice cooler, gave evidence that the inner
man had been amply satisfied. Tired and
happy, heavily laden with large strings of
fish, the result OF our sport, we crossed the
weather beaten hand of our skipper with
the ''siller BRIGHT" and, after u pleasant
little car ride, rcachcd the farm just as tho
shades of evening made the early summer
twilight most enjoyable, bearing with all
the pride OF the hero the singular captive,
which had furnished us with such a plea
SAINT proof of tho "works of the Lord, and
his wonders in the mighty deep"