The Lebanon express. (Lebanon, Linn County, Or.) 1887-1898, 1891-04-24
1ag CATFISH AND IT'S nAunrs.
ITS Ancestors Were Very Big and Had
Only One Eye. Like Cyciops.

It's Ancestors Were Very Big and HAD
Only One Eye. Like Cyeiops.
1t is singular fact that the
specimens of the iinny tribe that attract
the attention of scientists aud ichthy-
ologists. aud are most studied by them.
are the modest. ugly. and lower orders
of the kind. says the N. Y. Times.
The catfish has lately been the subject
of considerable investigation. and the
theory now is that this fish, the annoy
ance of anglers. though the small boys
delight. Is descendant of a powerful
and tegxible-looking order of fish that
livedesn the good old days that only
geologists aud students of antediluvian
matters can tell about.
1t is fact that the catfish of today
in some localities grows to an immense
size and weight and those who have
seen the sixty Founders OF the Missis-
sippi river can well imagine what
monster the specimen of the prehistoric
ayes must have been, especially as then
it Is supposed to have had only one
great big eye in the middle of its fore
head. Prof. Bashfold Dean of the COL
lege of the City of New York has con-
tributed an article on the catfish to the
fish commissioners which will soon be
issued. This article treats of the
Ol IuG HNfl As u IS now IOunu
almost all of the ponds and rivers of
the north. aud contains something of a
scientific nature concerning the ances-
try of the fish and the leviathan pro-
portions of the grandfathers of the
present race.
The features of the common bull
head. or catfish. are well known aud
familiar to every fisherman. Its head
is broad and ugly-looking. and is large
in proportion to the rest of the body;
horns project from the top fin and the
two side fins. which are exceedingly
painful to come in contact with, as
many fishermen can testify. The head
is tenacious, hard mass of bone. in
the side of which two little, wicked
looking eyes peep out. The skin is
tough and hard to penetrate. Prof.
Dean. after examination. has come to
the conclusion that the catfish was a
sort of archaeological cyclops. that
must have been a terror in its time.
With size of porpoise proportions.
hide like that of rhinoceros, tremend-
Gus horns. and armored head. the
pachyderm must have been n horrible
sight as well as tremendous fighter.
The idea that there was only one eye
is derived from the peculiar formation
of the head. In the middle of the fore
head is depression which is believed,
according to those who make a study
of the physical construction of geolo-
gical remains. to be the socket of an
eye. The habits of the class of fishes
to which the catfish belongs would
seem to add evidence 10 the theory.
The catfish is fond of working in the
mud and burying itself in the Shiny
ooze that lines the bottom of ponds and
rivers. In the winter it hibernates and
only comes out in the spring when a
thunder-shower gives warning of COM
ing warm weather or more probably
wakes it.
In the geological ages. when the fish
were immense and enemies were
abundant,it was necessary that the cat
fish should be well provided with
means of defense as well as able to at
tack the other forms of life that it
needed as food. Just as now;it lies in
the mud waiting for its prey its dark
skin having the color of the bottom, so
that the approaching water spider,
worm. or bug has not the slightest
suspicion of danger, SO in the odd ages
the big cyclopian. secure in q great pit
in the mud, patiently waited for the
coming of prey, the great single orb
peering out from the mud and mire
capable of observing any disturbance
heavy coating of impenetrable armor
made it as safe from the attack of other
animals of the deep as was the knight
of the crusades against the flight of
arrows from a barbarian tribe. The
waters must have fairly boiled when it
sailed forth from its hiding-place and
the mud had been flung aside as from
giant dredge. Some idea of its ap-
pearance can be formed by in imagina-
ton dressing the Mississippi specimen
in this silurian armor. 1t requires the
the big western catfish. What must it
have required to open up the Uranium
of the monster whose head was armored
with hard bone plateP
If the ancestral catfish was as quar-
relsome as the fish of today its home
must have been the scene of constant
gigantic encounters. The little fellows,
comparatively speaking. of the Jersey
ponds are very irritable fish. In the
spawning season especially the males
are great fighters, and specimens are
often caught in a crippled condition
as well as bearing marks of marine
battles. These fights are among them
selves, but they also are constantly at
tacking other varieties of fish. The
reason that the other varieties remain
in the same ponds with the catfish is
because they can swim faster and thus
escape from the violent and pugnacious
enemy.
As food fish the catfish is success.
When once the thick hide is removed
the flesh is tender and sweet and makes
a fine dish. There is great difference
in the quality of the flesh according to
the season when the fish is caught.
After winters sojourn in the mud the
taste is naturally of muddy FLAVOR.