Evening star., 1880-02-14
HAvE FISHES A LANGUAaEe
Mr. Seth Green Narrating the Re.
suit Of his InvestigatiOns.

Messrs Seth Green, Robert B. Roosevelt and
the Hon. Richard q. Sherman, the three State
in Rochester recently, after visit OF inspection
to the State Fish Hatcher1es at Caledonia, and
Mr.. Roosevelt said:
Gentlemen, can tell you that the man of
the future will have to understand the language
OF beasts, and birds, and fishes"
To this Mr.. Seth Green added:
81 know that trout hold conversations just
as regularly as we do. How would those trout
out there in the Caledonia ponds know the diff
ference between long plain stick and a regu-
lar fishing rod, as they do, If they didn't talk it
To-day the Sun correspondent visited Mr..
Green for more information, and this question
"Upon what observations of the habits of
fish dialect?n
principally upon my knowledge of their
foTetnought sagaeity memory and general IN
first pond at Caledonia there are about 5000
brock trout, each OF which was taken from its
native waters with fly. We caught great
and seldom had been f1shed for in the lid, re-
mote lakes of the Adirondacks. But when,
after they had taken the fly, we wound them
Slowly SLOW into our ooats VIII ad ne dne ree .ney naa
stand just how they came to be decoyed,
caught, and transferred. OF course, they lived
ard kept healthy nth for we put them in fresh
/ tell you they have memories, and they never
forgot the exact shape and appearance Of the
implements that took them from their native
waters After their transfer to Caledonia,
they came to know me perfectly, for fed
them, and every time came to the pond they
followed me around and kept as close to me as
course they displayed more life and determtna-
ton when / had feed-pan In my hands, but
they were always friendly when they knew
have taken friends up to the pond with me to
see these pets and to show how smart they
were. I would conceal fishing rod behind
my person for while. The trout remained on
Just as friendly terms as ever, until / held that
fishing rod out over the water, where they
could see it and the tackle. They recognized it
instantaneously, as their former enemy, and
With clean stick and no tackle on it, and they
pay no attention to it. For five years their
memory has held out perfectly In this respect.
All the other trout in the Caledonia ponds
were Matched there from spawn, and as they
had not any unpleasant experiences with fish
ing rods or tackle they are no more frightened
when the implements appear near them than
when the most friendly act Is done for them. 1
never refuse an anxious or ambitious young
man the privilege of casting fly In the pond
where the tranSplanted trout live, for know
that these fish have had experience enough to
"But, Mr.. Green, because these fish have
memory you will hardly contend that their in
tellisence reaches point where language be-
"No, sir; but because they have sagacious
tntelltgence-DOt an 1nstinct-which teaches
them TO profit by the fortunes or misfortunes
that befall the family of fishes. How many
nlen are there Of whom the same can be said
with lnvariable truth? Talk about natural Sa-
gacity; why, can point you to as striking In
stances of 1t, in primitive form, among fishes
as you ever heard Of among men. In the winter
OF 1910 hunted deer and f1shed for salmon
Il out in and around Bonaparte Lakes, just
north Of Herkfmer county In the Adfrondacks.
THESE
were baited with good-shed minnows, as full
Of life as though at liberty. After the lines
In the morning twenty-five good big trout.
Each successive morning l got less and less,
until on the eighth day the number OF trout
taken had diminished to seven or eight. But
every bait was gone from every hook as on the
first morning when ! made the big haul I
knew the trout hadn't all been taken from
those waters, but 1t was also apparent that 1
couldn't catch any more Without removing my
tackle. So cut new holes in the ice and
moved down about quarter OF mile. There
my results were In exactly the same ratio as
the first, and l had to move again in seven or
eight days. One day ran line Of hooks IN
such a direction that one OF them came right
over rocky bar, where there was open water.
decided to try an experiment with this hook.
fastened the upper end of the line to an over
hanging piece Of brush, SO that nothing could
Interfere with the bait below without making
the brush wriggle. Then lay down to watch.
Very soon the brush began to wriggle in
lively fashion. Looking down into the water
SAW magnificent trout experimenting with
the minnow attached to the hook. Keeping as
close to the minnow as possible, he repeatedly
snapped at it very cautiously, reopening his
mouth before he had fairly closed 1t, SO as to
prevent swallowing anything he did not want.
When the minnowiin its flight had gone as far as
the line would permit, Mr.. Trout made a more
forcible snap at it, so as to cut 1t almost en-
tirely from the hook. Down to the bottom
sank the mtnnow, and down after it darted
Mr.. Trout, gobbling it down at a mouthful
that was pretty sharp trick Of his, and 1t was
just that gamy way OF doing things under the
surface that had compelled me to move so fire.
quently. How came that trout and every
other one in the same waters, to adopt this
Identical mode of reasoning, conclusions, and
tactics. except by means Of a language which
trous consequences with trout which had, on
the other hand. taken the bait without precau-
tion and strategy? OF course, all the fish, even
In the same locality, were not privileged to see
the struggles and capture of the unfortunate
ones. But there were few Of them that didn't
know OF it, all the same However, measured
powers OF strategy with these same smart fin
MES, and l beat them on their own grounds. 1
managed it so that when found a line wrig-
Cling could drop 1T suddenly to the bottom, In
which case the trout Invariably darted down
trout might have beaten me on this point, also,
If lad given them time to get their heads to-
G.ther and gossip over the matter till they
ejGn5t eGqld agree upon some new tactics. But I
From your experience with these salmon
trout, then, you argue that they live in fami-
nes, have family secrets, and DO not bother
others than the members Of the family and
their nearest ncighbOrs?"
"'ThatS 1t exactly; fishes are lust as domes-
tic and local in their habits as human beings
more so, for those Of the same tribe do not en-
croach upon the territory occupied by their
ne1ghborS. To Illustrate: In 1887, company Of
US began fishing for salmon troutoff Port Hope,
Ont. The first year 1T wasn't an uncommon
thing for us to catch $50 trout of ten pounds
each on 800 hooks The next year the number
caught at the same place dwindled down to
years it was impossible to catch more than
dozen or fifteen on 800 hooks in the same place.
Moreover, the few we did catch weighed three
or four pounds apiece only. We had caught
that family all out. You couldn't catch any
more there for years. Ihad precisely the same
experience afterward, off Cobourg, Grafton
and Colbourn. knew one old trout up there
at Caledonia that lived under the same old log
for four years. I might do my best, but /
couldn't catch him with my tackle. He always
managed to get away with 1t without injury to
there was any. One day boy came along
with string and hook and worm and he
threw that old trout right out the very first
cast. gave him S. for the fish, and was glad
to get him anyhow, after trying so hard and so
often to no purpose. That old fish had studied
my peculiar ways and means of fishing TILL he
knew them and how to manage them, Just as
well as did myself"
"And are trout the only species of fish that
you consider intelligent and sagacious?"
BY no means; think they all know and