Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1884-11-30
wbeeIias 8esiste1
FOR FUEL AND LIGHT.
Strange Uses to Which the Candle
Fish Is Put.
PICTURESQUE Scenes AmOngthe Indian Tribes
Of British COlumbia---Writing
Book With the Light emanating
From a Little Dead Fish.



chow Won something new in the way OF illu
minsuon.
The speaker had unr6lled from thick
bnrdle Of Chinese paper several objects that
bss an ancient and fshGke smell, aud
,brusting one of them into brass candle
.,;ck after the writer had turned out the gas
- LIGHTED a match and touched it to the end
q, the object \ moment later clear,
Yellow high. inumined the room.
Yes. IT'S a fish, said the collector IN
reply TO a question. Just take this Times
and read Rne or so and be one Of the few
WHO have read BY the light Of a dead Der
ing.
The writer did so and found that he could
read with the greatest ease the light being
equal to that of an ordinary candle.
Yes. i, is curious" continued the natural
IS, but nothing when YOU get used toit.
I've ro, 50 that if | should see a man use
himself as candle | shouldn't De much
.yrpr;ssd. But this idea of using fish is 3
,.rser one. first Observed it when / was
~, the north shore Of British Columbia. !
made a trip all through the country for the
rnrnose Of ObtsiRiug q skeleton OF the rare
n, ms that VAS killed of about a hundred
yr,rs sro. and IL / didu't ind that ran
into some other curious things well worth
lowing. had lived in an Indian village
,.- nearly q week before | heard anything
.f--t the candle fish aud one beautiful
,..,ulight night was standing on the beach
when saw something that appeared exact
is Ike the reflection OF the moon, only 1t
vas Ia the wrong direction. called the
attention OF a native. who was not far of,
,oi; and immediately it seemed to throw
him into the greatest excitement.
He sang Out .Eulachon"
81, l1rd as he could, aud in few moments
ST. east Eily men we're on the beach launch
in,ihsir canoes There was so much cOa-
fusion HAT could not learn what was the
matter b4, luu5led into one OF the canoes
sri oil Ne Went
There we're two men in all the boats bu,
GUYS. making q third. One sat in the
stern and padded, while the other stood IN
the Low win a curious instrument IN his
iaud that until now had not observed. IL
looked Ike an enormous rake or comb
made Of a piece of pine at least eight tee,
lorr with hole for a handle grip at the
tor the lower part thinning off to an edge,
within which was driven sharp iron or bone
teeth from three to four inches apart, 80
that the weapon resembles great comb
hid by the back. Is use was soon evil
dent. and | saw that it WAS an arrange
meut for fishing The ripple had seen on
the water was an enormous school OF fishes,
called bv the natives eulaChOn, and to sur
round them now seemed TO be the chief o5-
Get.
The canoes were swiftly padded out
until they we're all upon the outside, and
then thew rushed at them at full speed, each
man welding his cOmbhke scoop aud dash
ing it into the spar king mass that cleaned
Ike silver. aud az every stroke so thick were
The fishes that the teeth of the comb came
~ covered with their impaled forms.
These we're quickly ierked into the boat and
another dash made, and so on until the
-. tooi vas iuuliy driven In shore, where
re excited natives ieaped into the water,
l-,c deep in the thrOng, and fairly scooPed
hem into their canoes, where their vivid
IEosphOrescence made them look Ike
lien gold. The school
Seen ed so Terrified and DemOralized
,ba, thew Rugged the shore, and if the men
had had nets instead of those outlandish
combs they could have captured millions
where they only took thousands. The
boats were rapidly filled, however, and IN
halt an hour the excitement was over and
the canoes were hauled by the exhausted
fishermen up on the beach, In the morn
ing they were emptied on the shore and the
catch handed over to the squaws, whe tooS
the entire mater of curing in hand. They
seated themselves about their respective
piles, and, taking sticks pointed at the end,
rapidly strung the fish upon them by plerc
lug them through the eyes Cross-pieces
we're then placed upon them to prevent
them falling of, after which they were taken
by children and placed in the smoke at the
top Of their sheds.
No; there was no cleaning or scaldlng
at all; they we're exactly as they came ou'
Of the water. When thoroughly dried they
have a flavor Of wood smoke, and then are
taken and packed in large trails, made o
,,Gar bark and rushes of various kinds
Now thCy are slowed away on q scaholdlng
made OF high poles, and are not touched
until cold weather, as they form winter
supply, or ceche. The natives call them, IN
our tongue, the candle fish, and they not
only eat them, but use them to burn, as
have shown YOU Previous TO this catch
had had no hight, but after / luXuriated II
candle every night and wrote my reports
and took my notes, al by the light OF the
eulachon. The little FISH seems fairly bub
bling over with oil, so much so that l tried
to FRY one, and, turning away for few mo
ments returned 10 lind the back aud other
bones iumring around in lot of tat; the
flesh had melted and actually turned into
oil. You can squeeze it out of them, anc
YOU have no idea of its value to those people
The oil is a medicine;
As Fuel IL Keeps Them Warm.
gives them light and, is a healthy food IL
It's dried state: When eaten, they ar
swallowed bones and all, or are partl!
melted. A candle fish is given to ehilC
to suck on, Just as We would give it sticE
Of candy here. When they burn them the
take "a pointed stick, insert it in the GROUND
and make slit in the other end, into which
a candle fish is thrust and lighted. Ther'
is no trimming or smoking, and when tht
light is no longer needed it is blown out snC
the remainder of the candle eaten; so Their
is no loss, you see, in these dips. Some
times the fish are extremely abundant, anC
the surplus are all made into oil that IS useC
for variety of purposes by the natives.
What do they stew it in? Well, nature
again comes 10 the rescue and they 60 t
the ocean for their bottles as well as thei
oil One ofthe great ses-weeds that grow
eff the coast has hollow stalk that is abou
as large as 8 champagne bottle. These sr'
cut into lengths holding three pints o
more and filed with oil when fresh ant
make perfect bottles.
The candle fish is allied to the smell
and is known scientifically as the msllotu
pscifeus In former days it was found Il
the vicinity Of British Columbia in vas
quantities The mouth Of the Columbi
river is said to have been q famous plac