The Forrest City times., 1897-08-27
The Shovel Bill Cat.

The paddle fish (tecbnIcal name, Poiy- odon Spatiiua.)
 About three years ago a colonel from Arkansas this name was not given) in yaded the editorial sanctum of the New York Times. and regaled it's inmates with a wonderful story of fish found in Ar kansas; fish they had never seen-neyer heard of before. He asserted that in the lakes where it abounded other hsh could not be caught on account Of its propensity to steal the bait from the hooks, and Of the fine sport to be had. in extermina ting them by bearing them at night.
 His wonderful fish was the shovel bill cat.
 Tn, above named fish inhabits the lakes and bayous of the alluvial laiids of the Mississippi river and the basins of its tributaries and as far west as the Sabine river.
 From the first sight Of the fish, some forty years ago. until very recently. there has always existed doubt in the mind of the writer as to what it fed OH. With it's large mouth and no teeth. no muscular or hard rough lining to it's lips to hold such food as it might prey on. With no crunching device such as is found in game fish at the base of the glls and entrance to the naw to crush ninnOws or other food as they swallow 1t. It seemed en- tirely united for fish of prey. On the contrary with its wide mouth the immense gill flaps. its long soft, fringe like gills so finely divided, that water could be strained through them and at the same time re- tain animalculae, or any soft vegetable substance found, suspended in or floating on the surface of the water as food.
 In the spring of 1895 l tied some set lines to overlapping branches of cypress trees that line the margin of Fishing Lake bayou. On one of the lines the following day l captured large shovel bill cat. the only one 1 have ever seen taken with hook and line.
 This seemed conclusive evidence that they would bite at hook. Later in the season some one informed me they could be seen swimming on ,lreir back, at all hours of the night, skimming the surface of the water. For some time afterwards l made it rule to go out on the bayou at night and watch them from canoe as they skinned the surface with their mouths wide open and jaws distended, their long bills serving as a balance and guide. Being white updelneath and swimming on their backs they are plainly visible on star light nights. It was plain to me then how l captured one with hook and line, its mouth crossed the line and when the hook was drawn to the surface caught it in the jaw.
 In the month of November following skinned lot of them for market. this gave me an opportunity to disSect their stom- achs Here 1 will digress little to ex- plain what they feed on.
 During the summer and autumn months the surface of most of the lakes and bayous Is covered with green scum or sediment l cannot name or describe it further, but its presence suggests to the mind mias matte or maarial poison. 1t is on this the fish feeds. Their internal organism con sists of two mawS or pouncles, one placed below the other and conn ected by a nal- row passage or canal with some smaller inteStines beneath the lower one The upper stomachs (ab0ut twenty were cxam- ined were filled with the green sediment apparently in it's natural state. the lower one contained the sediment changed to q darker color with the addition of a lot of worms, about thirty or forty in number 10 each fish. The worms seemed a necessary part or their existence as they were pres- ent in all of them ind were about ,hree- tourthS of an inch in length, on,:-half Of an inch in diameter, their bodies creased transverseiy at intervals of abont nmr.six teenth of an inch. Their color was dingy white, their bodies tough and hard.
 Here We have creature apparently evolved by divine process of nature to consume and subsiSt on pois onous cffiuyia and at the same time acrate the stagnant waters to make them habi able for other fish. and vet there are some who wantonly destroy them for pleasur'.
 SlOO Reward $iOO.
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