The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1880-06-03

1 ODD Fish.
fsua All ~ Yeaf Roahd.
Captain Leigh In his voyage TO Guiana
recounta. ave saw q white thing floating
upon the water, which sunk when the
Ship came within fity or slxty PAGES Of It.
It fesembled a mans head without hair.
Some said they saw great many Of them,
and observed two black eyes and a mouth
upon them. We also saw \ strange sort
Of Gsh, about as long as an ordinary lam.
prey, and equally round, with large I'm
or crest above foot high over is head,
and stepped in q continued series down
10 il tai. II aNims upon one aide, 90
that the I'm, together with the body, rep.
resentB large hSh Of triangular form, and
Il makes It's way by shifting from one side
10 the other. But when Il catches It's prey
the I'm q straight, and sppears above the
water Of an asby color, though the body
Is as white and as round as 4 tAllSW.
candle.n
Perhaps the talloW.candle fish men.
toned by Captain Leigh 10 relation Of
the one noticed In The ColoRtIi, December,
lbIbl Ab lOllpNE
"In the waters Of British North Ameri.
ca, as We are informed, there Is n fHh, an
odd fsh, a. surprising In It's way a the
sea serpent, and infinitely more useful. Il
Is q species Of Bmelt, and may be poelical-
ly described "a an aquatic gloW.w0rm.
We are told 1t may be literally used In the
same way as q candle, by simply setting a
light to the tail, when Il will burn with 4
fame as steady as that Of the dips which
our grAndiai6eIs used TO have 10 put up
with before gas WAs invented. II, Is n
small silyory fsh, averaging about four.
teen inches long, Is excessively fat, and NJ.
lords Ap excellent and valuable oil, which
Is 90 inhAmmAble that the dried carcass
will serve as 4 torch. Among the natives
the fish Is known as the oolaham, and by
them, as by Others who have tasted 1t, 10
considered one Of the most delicious pro- |
ducts Of the sea, being far more delicate
In flavor than the herring. The fish are
caught In wicker baskets, and are smoked
as much as their oily nature will allow"
Here are some very odd fish from the
Danube:
"lhe River Danube has great plenty Of
fish, and one sort OF uncommon, called |
the hellsow, a very large Gsh-some Of
them twenty feet long-Whlch are guppOs.
ed 10 come out Of the Euxine Sea. They
taste like q sturgeon, and have hollow
nervous chord down the back, which
when dried they use instead OF whip. |
When they fish for them they blow horn
ora trumpet, the noise Of which brings
great shoals about their boat. There 10 u
fish called gtundel, that has ak boards,
two short and four long,
Mr.. Fotherby tells Us that In the Caspian
Sea there Is delormed sort Of fish called
the glutton, whose head seems TO be with.
Ia lis belly. 1t has q round tail seven or
eight feet broad, and as many long, by
which II can overturn boat.
Poisonous fishes are often alluded TO in |
ancient works, and It Is but due TO their
authors 10 say that their statements have
been fully confirmed by subsequent In.
quiry into results. There Is no doubt that
congers, pike aud barbel have been long,
and still are, recognized In Europe Ss
poisonous at certain seasons, and roo Of
barbel especially 10.
The symptoms usually observed In
cases Of poisoning OF this kind are nAu-
sea, collie, great heat and itching Of the
skin, quick pulse, giddiness, loSs oil vision,
Culu ClAulIuy ppIbpNuluuI huu uuAll
death under commissions. The exact ma.
ture Of the poison has aSyet been but III.
Tie ascertAlned. 1t has been Ascribed by
some 10 the feeding OF the fish on poison
Gus molluSca, by some TO the disengAge.
ment Of sulphuretted hydrogen, and by
others again 10 n particular specific venom
not yet discovered by chemical analysis.
Whether the fish possesses that poisonous
quality ut all seasons is not sufficiently
known; but II seems that most species be-
longing TO the tribe are equally n0xlous,
for r. 0sbeck In his Voyage 10 China
and the East Indies" gives the following
startling account Of the TetrAOdon ocelA'
tus OF LinnguS: This ash Is one Of the
finest ever saw, but 30 poisonous that
whoever eats Of 1t generally dies in two
1ours' time. The Chinese who affirmed
the fact, seeing me take the fish into my
hands, earnestly desired me to wash my.
sell, adding that II Is forbidden under
soIne great penalty to besold among other
Dr.. Stuart Ellridge states that the
salmon Is doubtless the most common
toxic fish Of Japan. From the spring on.
ward this fish Is out Of season, and II eaten
alter that period OF the year occasions
such accidents as follow the eating Of
tainted meat. In Japan tho like dangers
follow the eating Of the kateuo (bOnilo)
aud the maguro. The Lethrinus nambo
can be eaten with immunity .until It At
tains q certain size-say length OF five to |
i've and 4 half inehes-atter which It be. |
comes poisonous. Here then II would ap- |
pear that the age OF the fish has some. |
thing to do with It's injurious qualities.
Pappenheim gives list Of more than
forty poisonous species, principally In.
habitRnts Of the torid zone. Among
these we lnd maekerels, perches, herrings
and seA.pikes,