Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1889-12-07
PORTUGUESE MEN-of-WAR.
Two Rare Specimens of This Queer Jelly
Fish in American Waters.

Two Rare Specimens of This Queer Jelly
Fish in American Waters.
Two objects half a foot long were
discovered floating off Coney Island a
few days ago by fisherman. They
were evidently jelly fish, but OF a
species known to very few fishermen
in this part of the world. They seemed
to be transparent bag OF jelly, long
and narrow, with a beautifully tinted
comb running from stem to stern. and
thei" backs rose far enough above the
water to catch the breeze. so they
sale along right merrily. They were
captu ed in pail of water and carried
ashore, where an old sailor said they
were Portuguese men, of-war, and that
they were a strange sight north OF the
Antilles
The fish are very common in tropical
seas. They usually grow to be six or
eight inches in length, but have been
seen lcager. Above the surface
of the water the physalia (the
scientific name of the fish, appears
like big bubble-like envelope filled
with air, with a raised crest divided
longitudinally, and brilliantly colored
with blue or yellow or pink or deep
purple On the under side of the
physalia are a great number and
variety of appendages, some OF which
are feeding mouths having flask
shaped bodies with the mouths of the
TASKS opening downward, while others
are magnifcently tinted streamers
which trail far behind the fish as it is
waited along by the wind.
The body of the physalia is usually
perfectly white and transparent. Some
times it is opalescent or topaz or sap
phire or aqua marine tinted, while an
iridescence plays over the surface in a
lambert flame. The crest is elevated
or depressed at the pleasure of the
fish. 1t is the most beautiful of all
jelly fishes.
1t is common sport with sailors to
get a greenhorn to pick up POrtu-
guese man-of-war out of the water
The sailor who performs this simple
act doesn't forget it for many day.
As he takes up the fish the tentacles
entwine around his hand, and imme-
diately there is a most intense sting
ing sensation on every spot OF flesh
where the filaments touch. In fact,
the pain is so pungent that the sailor
often faints. To remove the singing
nettles every particle must be torn of
piece by piece, so closely do they ad-
here to the skin, and so long as the
mimi est fragment remains so long
does the poisonous nettle torment the
poor sailor. In fact, even after the
tentacles are pulled off, the hand
swells and white ridges appear on the
skin like those caused by the poison
GUS nettle weed, and instances have
been known where the arm and shout
der have swollen frightfully and the
lungs been so affected that breathing
became difficult. In twenty-four hours
after this experience the sailor is well
again.
1t is on record that a sailor who had
heard of the poisonous nature of the
Portuguese man-of-war, and who, re-
fusing to believe the story, proceeded
to cook and eat one, died in a few
hours in great agony.
Fish sharps affirm that >the jelly
fish, by means of the long, poisonous
tendrils beneath it, paralyzes fish that
come in its way, and thus render them
a helpless prey. Fishes have been
found in its stomach half digested.
1t will not endure long confinement.
After great storms in the tropics Por-
tuguese men-of-war are often found
stranded on the beach. Sailors de-
clare that the appearance of Portu-
guese men-of-war so far north fore
BODIES something perfectly awful, but
what it is they don't divulge.-N. Y.
Sun.