Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-02-28
ANTIQUITY OF WISHING.
Some Curious Fscts About the Mose Ancient
Of Human Industriea.


Of Human Industries.
A KAKI. OR OYSTER, OF VENERABLE
"A appearance and high reputation for wis
dom, according to eminent japanese authority
as stated TO q SrAR reporter by Q scientist q,
the Smithsonian Institution, was lying at eass
one day amid the rocks beneath the eastern
waters and was watching the sunlight which
played among the reeds and grasses Of hi,
pleasant retreat IL needed but . glanc<
down through the hmpid depths 10 see thai
this bivalve, with his well-developed beard AND
expression Of cool tranquility, was . highly
distinguished member Of his order. A gentle
murmur proceeded from his half-open mouth
as he addressed youthful kurumyebi, or lob
ster, standing respectfully near him, and any
one acquainted with the language of molluski
might have understood that he was comparing
for the benefit of his friends the relative advan-
tages OF shell fish and their captors-
ALL FISHERMEN ARE POOR
II know quite well, !" whispered the kali Ian.
guidly, that unfortunate human race which
cannot even breathe this delicious atmos phere
Of ours. They are all an unhappy lot and have
very little idea of the pleasures of existence;
but those who are the particular enemies OF us
and OF Others who dwell in the ocean are worse
ermen-I don't care Of what country or Of wha;
age-and defy you TO mention a single man
OF wealth or leisure or importance among them.
They are all as poor as periwinkle and as I'M
protected rs jellyfish. As for their houses,
did any one ever hear OF a fisherman living in
cottage lined with mother-of- pearl2 Then
look at the dangers they are necessarily in
curing. There comes q little puff and over
they go, while lie here and watch their bodies
floating about upon the surface"
1rlN
across the sunlight, and, quick as thought the
kaki ceased his discourse and closed his shell
with a snap At length, when a long time had
elapsed and he was convinced that all danger
had passed, he opened his eyes-and found
himself deposited upon a fishmonger's stall.
Nevertheless il is true. the oyster said
that, rich and varied are the products of the
ocean. the lakes and the streams, there is nc
trade or occupation SO peculiarly distinguished
through all times and all nations by the pov.
erty OF those who pursue it a. is the craft OF
fishing.
THE ANTIQUITY OF THE INDUSTRY.
Probably no branch Of industry can lay
claim to greater antiquity than that Of fishing
Its origin would seem to be coeval with the
earliest efforts Of human ingenuity. for the
Oldest monuments of antiquity show the fisher
man IN full possession of the implements o,
his calling and even those tribes of savage,
which have learned neither to keep fiocks MOI
TO till the fields are skilled in the fabrication
of the hook. the fish spear and the net The
earliest civilization of the eastern Mediter-
ranean was begun with fishing. Sidon, which
means 1.-The fishery" was originally a fishing
village and its enterprising inhabitants de.
voted their attention mainly to the collection
OF certain kind of mollusks, from which they
prepared the famous 1yrian purple, prized
more highly for the richness and variety OF
its hues than any other dye known to the
ancients.
Certain hicroglyphs on ancient Egyptian
monuments seem TO indicate that the people
who erected these memorials employed comor.
ants TO catch fish for them, the Chinese dc
al this day. In the same manner it is known
that the old Egyptians found in the sharing OF
crocodlles favorite occupation. Men in fiat
bottomed boats covered with palm leaves Be-
duced the unlucky reptiles into shallow water
and speared them there. The art of drying
and curing fish, not discovered in Europe until
the fourteenth century, was known of old in
the land of Pharaohs and pictures still extani
representing the various stages of the process
and showing among other things how the big
hsh were cut IN pieces before being desiccated.
WARS OVER HOLY FISHES.
But perhaps the funniest thing to be told re-
speeding the antiquity Of fishing relates to the
holy wars which were waged in ancient Egypt
over the finny denizens Of the water, the con-
fiicts arising from the circumstance that. as
often happened. one tribe would insist with the
utmost lrreverence upon eating up the fishes
which the inhabitants of an adjoining territory
held in divine alteration.
The child of today, in learning his alphabet
calls the letters by their names simply because
the ancient Phenicians were pleased to make
similar figures the symbols of certain sounds
and 1t is thought very likely that the Pho nj
clans have been driven to invent that alphabet
by the necessity of corresponding with people,
OF various tongues incidentally to the grea
commerce which grew out of the fishery.