The Mineral argus., 1884-05-15
A QUEER FISH
Taught to Jump Over a Hurdle ana Lean
Out of the Water,

Taught to Jump Over a Hurdle ana I.s.u
Out of the Water.
"If you want to see sport, p" said a lover
of animals, watch that cat" The ami
NAL had stationed herself in the library
door, and was looking intently in the
room. In a few moments she began to
walk slowly toward a large aquarium
that stood in the window. and with q
light leap mounted the narrow edge
balanced herself over the water. Next
she leaned down, thrust her red tongue
into the miniature lake, and began Ian
ping the cooling water. Then came q
rush, and a bright speckled object
darted. A splash, a clicking, sucking
sound, and a wall of feline anguish rose
on the air. There was a second of
wavering, and a round bunch of hair
fell into the water with a sounding
splash, scrambled out again, and dis
appeared through the door amid the
daughterof the witnesses.
THAT" said the host, Happens about
every day, with only slight variations.
You see, the fish, a sunfish, is perfectly
tame-trained, in fact, to rise to NV
hand and take its food from me by
leaping several inches out of the water.
Being continually leased the fish has ac-
quired an irritable temper, and attacks
everything that approaches the water.
Some time ago the cat discovered the
fish and leaped upon the bank as Won
have seen her do, putting her head
down to the water. The moment her
whiskers touched it the sunfish had her.
and hung on like a good one. She
started back and fell to the floor, the
fish dropping back. The next day she
again made the attempt, and in balanc-l
ing upon the side of the narrow 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 1 feed it with and
nipped it well. You know it is
times said that fish cannot see what is
going on out of water this fellow is an
exception, however. Watch it now"
Thespeaker took a small piece of cloth
held it over the tank and within three
feet of the water. In a moment the
sharp-eyed and richly-hued fish was at
the surface. The rag was then lowered
and the prisoner leaped clear of its ma
tive element in its endeavors to reach it.
The experimentalist next placed 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 sunfishes," said the fish trainer,
"are, [ think, the most intelligent of all
our fresh water fishes. / train them to
preform extraordinary feats, such as
jumping over a hurdle on the surface
of the water, and then over a series of
them. You often see fishes in nature
doing the same thing. l have trained
my suntish so that it rings a bell sus-
pended over the aquarium, but. like
Barnum' clown elephant, it rings it con
tlnually unless a supply of food is
kept up. The sunfish, has its likes
and disGkes and it has two fast friends
in a pair of catfishes. Some time ago
[ introduced a number of gold fishes,
and all but n were accepted in good
fellowship. Toward this one unfortu-
nate, that was n of the triple-tailed
Japanese fishes, the sunfish showed
the greatest aversion, spending the en-
tire time in chasing it around the tank,
biting 1T IN the most savage manner,
and, seemingly urging on the catfshes,
who, would creep slyly up to the victim
and Selling a fin, cling to it with ferocity.
[ was obliged to take the poor fish out
and place it in al adjoining tank, where's
very sight of it still enraged the
suntish, and yet, as l said before, to-
the Americans it was perfectly
friendly.-New York Sun.