The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1884-06-19
MMiseeIlaneons. g
PlSCATORIAL WONDERS.
\ TRAINED SUNFISH-SO2IE QUEER
STORIES ABOUT FISHES.

STORIES ABOUT FISHES.
If you want to see sport said a
lover of animals to a New York
Sun reporter, ':watch that cat" The
animal had stationed herself in the
library door and was looking in
tently into the room. In few mo.
ments she began to walk slowly to.
ward q large aquarium that stood
in the window, and with a light
leap mounted the narrow edge,
balancing herself over the water.
Next she leaned down, thrust her
red tongue into the miniature lake,
and began tapping the cooling wa
ter. Then came q rush, and a
bright speckled object darted up
ward A splash, clicking, suck
ing sound, and wall of feline an
guish rose on the air. There was a
second of wavering, and q round
bunch of hair fell into the water
with a sounding splash, scrambled
out again, and disappeared through
the door amid the laughter Of the
witnesses.
That said the host, ':happens
about every day, with only slight
variations. You see, the fish, a
sunfsh, is perfectly tame-trained
in fact, to rise to my hand and take
it's food from me by leaping sever
al inches out of the water. Being
continually teascd the fish has ac-
quired an irritable temper, and ut,
tacks every thing that approaches
the water. Some time ago the cat
discovered the fish and leaped up.
on the tank as you have seen her
do, putting her head down to the
water. The moment her whiskers
touched it the sunfsh had her, and
hung On like good one, she start
ed back and fell on the floor the
fish dropping back. The next day
she again made the attempt, and in
balancing upon the side Of the mar,
row rim her tail touched the water.
The fish seized it, and in she went
but she never seems to learn. Just
now the fish mistook her tongue for
the meat feed it with, and nipped
it we'll. You know it is sometimes
said that fish cannot see what is
going on out Of water; this fellow
is an exception, however. Watch
it now"
The speaker took q small piece
of cloth and held it over the tank
and within three feet Of the water
In moment the sharp-eyed and
richly-hued fish was at the surface.
The rag was then lowered, and the
prisoner leaped clear of its native
element in its endeavors to reach
it. The experimentalist next plac.
ed his hands in the water and the fish
darted at them and passed through
his fingers, allowing itself to be
touched without the slightest sign
of fear.
The sunfshes," said the fish train
er, "are, l think, the most intelligent
of all our fresh water fishes. | train
them to perform extraordinary
feats, such as jumping over a hur
die on the surface of the water, and
then over series of them. You
often see fishes in nature doing the
same thing. l have trained my
sunfsh so that it rings bell sus
pended over the aquarium, but, like
Barnum's clown elephant, it rings
it continually unless supply OF
food is kept up. The sunfsh has
likes and dislikes, al4d it has two
fast friends in q pair Of catfish
Some time ago l introduced mum
Der of gold fishes. and all but one
were accepted in good fellowship
Toward this one unfortunate, thai
was one ofthe triple-tailed Japanese
fishes, the sunfish showed the great
est aversion, spending the entire
time in chasing it round the tank
biting it in the most savage man
ncr, and, seemingly, urging on the
catfshes, who, though they woulc
not touch the other fishes, woult
creep slyly up to the victim and
scizing a fin, cling to it with feroci
ty. l was obliged to take the poor
fish out and place it in an adjoining
tank, where the very sight of il
still enraged the sunfsh, and yet
as l said before, toward the Ameri
cans it was perfectly friendly.
"The accidental nipping of the
cats tail he continued, reminds
me OF a story told by a friend OF
mine who has spent much time II
South America. One season he
hired boat and native crew, and
pushed q long way up the Essequi
bo river on a jaguar hunt. One
night he came to camp on q small
Island that he reached by q faller
trunk. Here he swung his ham
mock six or eight feet up and turn
ed in. When he awoke in the
morning almost the first thing that
attracted his attention was large
animal lying fiat on the log that he
had passed over the night before.
His rifle was lashed under the
hammock, and as the slightes'
movement would have alarmed the
brute my friend was obliged to liz
still and look on. But he was full
ly repaid by what occurred. The
jaguar was lying close to the loe
4 IL m TIok Tho -,