The Warner weekly sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1885, 1884-05-09

Taugnt TO Jump over a Hurdle ana Leap
Out Of the Water.

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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 aquariani
that stood in the wiDdcw, and with D
light leap mounted the narrow edge,
balanced herself over the water. Next
she leaned down, thrust her red tongue
into the miniature lake, and beg1u lap
ping the cooling water. Then came a
rush, and a bright speckled object
darted. A splash, a clicking, sucking
sound, and q vail of feline anguish rose
on the air. There was a second of
wavering, and a round bunch of hair
fell into the water with q sounding
splash, scrambled out again, and dis
appeared through th door amid the
daughterof the witT ses.
"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 my
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 you
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-
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 / feed il with and
nipped it we'll. You know it is some
times said that fish cannot see what is
going on out of water; this fellow is an
exception, however. Watch it now
Thespeaker took q small piece Of cloth
held it over the tank and within three
~sharp-eyed and richly -hued fish was at
the surface. Their was then lowered
and the prisoner leaped clear of its ma
tive element in its endeayors 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, 7 said the fish trainer,
care, / think, the most intelligent Of all
our fresh water fishes. I train them to
preform extraordinary feats, such rs
jumping oyer q hurdle on the surface
of the water, and then over a series Of
them. You often see fishes in nature
doing the same thing. ! have trained
my sunhsh so that it rings a bell sus-
pended over the aquarium, but, like
Barnum' clown elephant, it rings it con-
~tinually unless a supply of food is
kept up. The sunfish, has its likes
and dislikes and it has two fast friends
in q pair of catfishes. Some time ago
[ introduced a number of gold fishes,
and all but one were accepted in good
fellowship. Toward this one unfortu-
nate, hat was one of the triple-tailed
Japanese fishes, the sunfsh showed
the greatest aversion, spending the
tire time in chasing it around the tank
biting il in the most savage manner,
and, seemingly, ugsing on the catfishes,
who, would creep slyly up to the victim
and, Selling afin, cling to- it with ferocity.
I was Obliged to take the poor fish out
and place it in an adjoining tank, where's
the very sight of it still enraged the
sunfish, and yet, IS 4 said before, to-
ward the Americans it was perfectly
friendly. New York Sun.