The morning call., 1891-08-12
NO HUMBUG THIS TIME.
A Real Live Mermaid Caught and
q Big Snakes Catch.

The Japan Mail is responsible for ths
following stories. and if they were not true
that paper would not have published them
In Japan II newspaper man is caught in q
lie they chop his head off, If the same
practice was In vogue in this country there
would be good many heads lying around
loose. Here are the stories:
A MERMAID.
Barnum the great is dead, and so Is that
equally great agent of his who in former
years inhabited Yokohama, where he manu-
factGred and shipped stIosites to the
renowned menagerie in the United States.
Ii either of these benefactors of humanity
were still in the heSh how ravished with
delight ana excitement he would be by
clrcumstantial account just published in the
columns OF that grave aud erudite jour
nal, the Tokyo Shimpo. "On the 10th
lnst., says our contemporary, "One
OF the men employed in the sea
of TsushIma for the purpose of
raising the Takachh0 Maru observed a
very slngular-iooking fish, and Immediately
obtained q spear, with which he killed it.
On examining 1t he found that it had a
glrls h. al, with human eyes, mouth and
ears. Hair was growing on the head, and
there were appendaSes like hands where
the pectOral fins should have been. All
this part OF the thing was undoubtedly
human. The belly, back and caudal port IN
were piSclne, their color a brownish black,
ike the color OF carp. The monster was
ieet long aud measured l foot 9.5 inches in
circumference. Here was one OF the Great
ures known as mermaid (ningyo). Tradi-
tlon says that any one eating a mermaid
shall live thousand years. The fishermen
accordingly cooked and ate it, finding it eX-
ceedlngly palataDle, much superior in taste
to Dream or a carp. Mermaids are de-
scribed and illustrated in the Wakan
Sansaizuye ana other books, where they
are said to live in the seas off the west coast
and TO mako their appearance on the eve CT
great tempest. Tsushima is on tho west
coast and IL happens that, the day after the
capture of the strange fish, there was
fierce gale. Thus it must necessarily have
been mermaid. The only pity is that in
stead of being eaten, il was not preserved
for exhibition purposes"
A SNAKE.
We have had mermaid on the tapis and
now we are treated TO a tale of wonderful
snake. The kOkKai is responsible. 1t says
that on the 18th inst. a man called Nom
ura Tahichi, 90 years of age, went out with
his wife Otora, VINO was As, to pursue his
mura, province of Tamba. The husband
and wife separated at a place called
Matsu-yama. Shortly afterward white
engaged telling tree, Tahichi thought he
heard his wife cry out. Running to the
place, he was Mortified to find that huge
snake. described as being three feet in cir-
camferenee, had Otora's head in its mouth
and was engaged swallowing her, despite
her struggles. Tahichi ran off TO the ham
let and summoned seven or eight of his
neighborS, who, when they reached the
scene of the catastrophe, found that the
snake had swallowed the woman as far as
ner feet, and was slowly making its way to
its hole They were too much terrified to
touch it, and it finally effected its escape ur-
molested. This monster of Tamba and the
mermaid of Tsushima must be bracketed
together.