Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1884-12-12

q.
1t was completely overgrown with sea-
weed and covered with incrustatino
corals, and it was nearly half an hour
before | had cleared away the sand.
during which time 1 bad to go to
the surface. / took down n
shovel, however, and soon found
that my find was cannon, and by its
shape, offOreign make: and so it proved.
as few days later took out ropes and
aderrick on scow and lifted 1t to the
surface. We found that it was an old
Spanish gun, and after the coral was
scraped OF, the arms of Spain were
plainly seen. 1t had been captured
probably by pirates long time ago,
and lost overheard in some way, or a
vessel had been sunk and entirely gone
to pieces.
al was so impressed" continued the
speaker. "with the wonders of this
world under the sea that began to de-
wise some method of reproducing it,
and / made some attempts at photog-
raphy under water. My appliances
were crude. and it can hardly be called
a success; but proved that 1t is posi-
bic, and | haven't the slightest doubt
but that in few years a photographer
can go to the bottom and take mega
tives of wrecks to show the actual po-
sitions. etc. Not only this. but fishes
and all the marine animals can be re-
produced exactly. How can it be
done? Well. that is my secret. but OF
course the electric lighG will be prom
inent feature of such an undertaking.
"Onc of the last trips that made on
the reef was 10 an old wreck that had
been lying there for perhaps fifty years.
i went down to il at night, and when
l turned on the electric light / found
myself in curious place. The hull of
the vessel was seemingly complete, hut
not a single part of the surface but
what was pierced with holes made by
the ship worm (teredo). | attempted
TO step on the wood. and though look
ing solid, my weighted foot sank into il
like paper, and with slight push l
threw over large portion of the old
hulk. The worms had eaten into the
wood and lined their holes with limy
secretion, so that these tubes were all
there was to hold the structure together:
the wood had disappeared. In the
hold great masses of branch coral were
growing up out of a pile that was once
the cargo" rr~-
''HOw about the fish that crawls out
on dry land?" asked some one.
"The fish," continued the naturalist,
ais little fellow that looks very much
like what we call sculpin, although
it has mono of the barbels
and curious appendages that charac-
terize those fish. I first noticei
them in the Spice Islands when
I vyos ,bo,-o :. iS-o -. ,,-.lI-:.-
by the shore one day at low tide
where the beach was formed of dark
mud and weed-covered rocks, when nv
companion said, pointing to some small
objects that were hopping along shore
near the water. Isn't il rather queer
for frogs TO go with salt water?' It's
so queer that / never heard OF it be-
FORE | replied; perhaps it's some
thing new So we determined to find
out what they were. and, taking OF our
shoes, we waded in and along the
beach so as to drive the supposed frogs
ashore. But all at once one started
right up under my ewes and gave n hop
o. about q foot, and to nv astonish-
ment it was fish; and SO announced
TO my friend who was behind. He
wouldn't believe me; 0utwhen he came
up, there the little creatare-was, high
and dry, resting on n stone, with its
head somewhat raised, on its promi-
ncnt pectOral fins. | made Jump for
il and my friend did the same, but
away it went. hopping just like toad,
aud for several moments there was
race between man and fish. We soon
hemmed it in, however. and have i,
in my cabinet now. The side fins are
almost arms, and are strong and DOW.
erful, and on them the fish rests aud
jumps. In Australia, some wears ago.
some geologistS found some fossil bones
that were pronounced to belong to
large fish. In 1876 some one discov.
ertd the identical fish alive.
"The way they did so is somewhat
curious. They were on q hunting trip
up the country, and one night
camped near small stream. In the
middle of the night one Of the party
was awakened by curious barking
sound. and, thinking it might be some
wild animal after their horses, ne
slipped on his clothes, took a rifle and
went out. The noise came ut regular
intervals frOm+he river below, and.
taking a narrow path. he started after
he got down to the level of the water.
he heard the bark and saw a large,
gliStening object, and then saw e lean
along or founder through the grass.
Upon this he fired, and 10 his amaze.
ment found that he had shot fish.
The shot awakened the rest, and the
creature was brought into camp. 1t
was about six feet long. had a small
head and enormous scales, while the
body ended not in a fin, but in point.
Ii was found that they breathed both
air and'water with perfect ease, and
that when hungry the great fish, which
was q vegetable feeder. would come to
the shore, expel the air that it held in
its air bladder. thus making the bark
ing sound. and wander over the flats
in search of food Cincinnati En-