The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1898-06-29
a TRAGEDY OF THE SEA.
The Revenge of the June Fish on the
Blanket Fish Was Complete.

The Revenge of the June Fish on the
Blanket Fish Was Complete.
Speaking about fish, said the
retired angler, who, sated with a
long and varied experience, told odd
and wonderful tales of fish and fish
ermen when seated in some friend
ly cafe, lone of the oldest things
that ever came within my ken hap
pened several years ago on the south
Texas coast, in Corpus Christi bay,
and since that time I firmly believe
that even fish are actuated at times
by the most commendable senti-
ments of friendliness and conserva-
tism.
lone day, when 1 was fishing
from small boat some miles from
the shore and near an old wreck in
the bay, l found that the water was
so clear that the fish were able to
trace the line to the boat, and they
persistently refused to take the bait,
realizing the yank at the end of it.
Getting tired at last of fishing and
catching nothing, l bent my head
over the side of the dory and watch
ed the fish as they played about the
sandy bottom. The water was about
12 feet deep, yet the bottom was as
clearly visible as if it had been but
two. While watched the antics Of
the fish l saw an immense bulk
slowly paddle within the radius of
my vision. It was a great june fish,
one of the sort that equals in bulk q
Louisiana cow.
1.-The fish settled upon the sand
directly under the boat, and then,
to my amazement, it opened its cav
ernous mouth, and out came several
score Of small fishes, which began
to frolic in evident enjoyment.
While they thus amused themselves
a shadow grew upon the bottom,
and l made out the form of very
large blanket fish stealthily slipping
toward the unsuspecting small fry.
Suddenly they saw the enemy, and
with mad rush the lot made for
the mouth of the big june fish, The
latter, however, happened to be
closed upon a too venturesome crab
and did not open to receive them
quick enough, and the blanket fish
swallowed about a dozen before the
crab disappeared within the nav Of
the june fish. The depleted school
sought refuge in the mouth of its
elephantine protector, and, with a
sluggish flap of its basslike tail, the
hulk swan out of sight, and the
blanket fish proceeded sweetly to
slumber upon the brown sands.
"This is where it made a mistake.
Possibly not five minutes had elaps-
ed before I saw the june fish peep
from behind the wreck, and then,
as it saw the blanket fish sleeping,
it slowly made its way toward the
devourer of it's small friends. AS
it halted above the blanket fish, and
almost directly beneath my boat, ]
saw that it held in its tremendous
mouth a large rock. Just as l made
this discovery the june fish let the
rock roll from its mouth, and it fell
with a dull thud, which I could dis
tinctly hear, directly upon the liver
colored back OF its enemy. The
stone must have weighed 50pounds,
and it must have severed the verte-
br@ Of the blanket fish, for the latter
gave a fearful jerk, and then for a
little while its long tail wiggled des.
perately and its horned brow dug
up the sand in clouds. When its
struggles ended, I saw that it was
dead and almost covered with the
sand it had disturbed in it's efforts
to escape the rock.
"When the water had cleared, the
big june fish came creeping again
from behind the wreck and follow
ing it the residue of the school Of
small fry that had apparently been
taken in charge of by their big pro-
tector. Ascertaining beyond doubt
that the blanket fish had passed in
it's fshy checks, the june fish and
the small fry merrily gamboled
above the corpse of their antagonist,
and there / left them. st. Louis
Globe-Democrat.