Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-08-17
THE MIGHTY GA FISH
he is Easy to Hook, but Hard to
Catch.
This Monster Of the OrinOc0 VIII Eat
an OK MT a Meal and a Ships Cap
stan Cannot Haul Him ON Board.

which little Is known beyond the shores of
the waters in which it lives is that strange
nail-clad fish called the ga, or armadillo
fish. 1t grows from five to eight feet long,
and is of extraordinary thickness in pro-
portion to it's length. It's body is protected
by armor similar to that of the armadillo;
and it's head terminates in a triangular
beak, from twelve to twenty inches long
ard eight to fourteen inches broad at the
base. which, when opened, displays series
of cross-ridges above and below, sharp
edged and hard as teeth.
This fish will attack anything that comes
within Its reach-horse, OK, jaguar, or man
-sezing it's prey with its beak and taking
out in clean triangular piece, large
mouthful of flesh and bone as it is able
to compass at a bite. 1t is rare that any
creature once seized by the ga escapes it.,
being usually killed or crippled by the first
bite.
The ga IS seldom taken, for it's armor
protects 1T from the natives spears and
when hooked, 1t dives. head foremost, into
the mud of the river bottom from which it
is almost impossible to dislodge it. If a
sufhcient strain be put the line, either
the tackle gives way, which is the common
result, or the hook is torn from the fish,s
mouth.
THE only ga that ever had chance to
examine was found in a dried-up pool on
shore sI, where 1t had been stranded after an
lnundation,' said DR.. A. H. Ellis recently
arrived in New York, after several years
residence in Venezuela. He was telling a
group of friends about the fish and rep
tI!es or the Orinoco. He continued:
Il hooked ga once but failed tn land
II. l was in charge of the cattle steamer
Coratel on the Orinoco, and we were at
a q, at lmataca Island, off the mouth of
the RIO Toro ! saw an OK that had waded
INTO the water up to his belly to drink.
suddenly turn, struggle to keep his footing
aiiu then rush out of the water, believing,
With half his brisket bitten away.
mats the work of a ga sir said NV
scotch engineer, who had been on the river
zen years Now that he's got round to the
cattle drinking place you'll see more of
that work If we stay here
is there no way to catch him?' I asked
VIII he bite at hook?
certainly, sir, If you bait 1t with any,
thins that's eatable. But that's all there
Is to it. A cable and steam-winch couIdn,t
get ga up from the bottom
Wen see, l said. Let's make a hook
first that will hold
we went down into the engine room.
iouhd plnchbar two and half feet long
and forged it into a hook with a stronS
Darb and ring at the end of the shank
10 this we fastened a new three-ouarter-
inch rope, and batting the hook with a
so9h :: kld. TOOK 1t out in boat and drop
pea IL into the water near where we had
seen the OK attacked; then we rowed back
TO the steamer, where the other end of
the rope was Delayed. We kept feeling of
ing hard on the Delaying pin. The ga had
seized the bait. The engineer and /. with
two native Sailors tried to haul the fish
IN hand over hand but we might as we'll
nave tried to pull a tree up by the roots
for all the line we gained. Then we pass
Ell the rope round the capstan and set it
going The line seemed almost ready to
part, but at last something gave way be-
low and 1t slackened. We pulled it in and
there was our hook Strengthened out like
q bar while. fast to the barb, were two of
the bony ridges from the gas jaw The
nsh evidently had seized the hook and
could not disgorge it, but the strain that
tore the hook from It's jaw failed to start
the ga from the bottom.
There Is another sort of bad fish in that
regional little fellow. found in the Grin
oco and in the salt water off it's mouth,
called the caribe. In shape it resembles
the northern pickerel and has much the
same colors and ma rkings, only with that
yellowness of tint which almost every ship
In Venezuelan waters shows The caribe
Is about twelve inches long, and goes
about in great schools, attacking any crea-
ture, alive or dead which they find in the
water, devouring it piecemeal. The carl
be's mouth is fitted with sharp. cutting
teeth, and, whatever victim 1t fastens to-
II comes away with a bit of flesh. Let an
aihgator or manatee be shot wherever the
c2ribes abound, and almost instantly the
waters around the floating body will he
alive with these fish crowding to seize
upon 1t; they even leap upon it from the
water, so thickly as literally to conceal
their prey from view. So suddenly and
hercely do they come that 1 have known
a morse, that had waded out into the wafer
only up to his knees. to be fatally injured
py an attack from caribes. Seized at once
by every leg and by the nostrils, the fish
cnnslng TO him In swarms. he got to the
shore only to fall helpless on the hank
hamstrung in both foreegs Painful
stories are tod OF human beings attacked
and devoured alive by caribes
Monster alligators are found in all the
fresh waters of Venezuela. 1t is favorite
tflck OF the alligator to lie in wait at the
drinking places of cattle watching for
chance TO seize an OK or horse by the nose
and drag him into deep water where IT can
drown him. This done it swins with Ire
prey TO some secluded place. and there
tears II 10 pieces and feasts on 1t at
leisure / have known alligators eighteen
feet In length to be killed in the Orinoco
ana have seen others in the water that I
knew We're still logger
1T is common practice to shoot NJ
tnese reptiles from the decks of steamers
plying up and down the Orinoco and If is
seldom seldom that some of them are not seen
lying within rifle range. The eve is tn,
point aimed at by expert marksmen An
aiigator shot In the eye dies Instantly and
VIII noat; II hit in any other part, whether
Killed or wounded, 1t sinks
Some of the branches of the Or;noo,
though very deep, are narrow, 50 that the
Tops OF the trees meet overhead producing
tne erect upon the voyager of passing
-1oSSH a luhHel from these Oyerhany-
ing branches the great water boas hang.
Heao downward, waiting to seize any prey
tnat may pass on the current beneath
tnem. A party of US were coming down
one or these streams in a coureI (dugout1
Padded by Indians, and from time to time
an Englishman of the party, named Yeo'
hreC MS rifle at some snakes The rest of
us had cautioned him never to fire at anv
snake until after we had passed it, but
with true English self-sufficiency he ac-
knowiedsed our advice by firing at large
pea hanging from limb just as the canoe
was beneath 1t. He hit the snakes body
cut did not break its hack, and Instantly
uncoiiing from the limb the boa droppad
pump into the boat. AS nobody cared To
snare the canoe with a writhing, twenty
1901 poa every man went out of the craft
as suddenly as the snake had dronned In
Inc boa glided into the water as soon as
ne could pull himself together. and made
tor the shore. Those Of us who were IN
the same side of the canoe with the snaLe
nade haste to swim round to the other
sac ana we all got safe aboard before
Ire aliigators found out what was going on
feo, who had swum to dry tree root and
rerched himself upon 1t, was the last man
10 De taken in. We didn't hurry hit
ABOUT going for him, but gave him a f,li
hal1 hour there to reflect upon the wisdom
OF sometimes taking advice
In our camp on the Guanuco river nm
the coast OF Venezuela, a little Irishman
named McCarty had a thrilling experience
he WAS a deVil-may-care raoLIo,s