The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1898-04-27

Glance of Life Under Water as Seen
in the Tanks at the Aquarium.


In Of the tanks at the aquarium,
there is an eel three feet long and thick
in proportion, that came from Cold Spring
Harbor on Long Island. 1t is a powerful
looking creature; as it swims lazly about
or shakes twist down through it's length
or takes some one Of the rigid attitudes
which 1T now and then assumes, it con-
veys the idea of great strength. and 1t is
easy to imagine that Il strong man would
have difficulty in holding 1t.
In the same take there are about a dozen
catfish from the Susquenanna river at
Havre de Grace. The largest of these cat
fish is about fifteen inches in length. The
eel and the catfish are very much alike in
color and, though they are totally unlike
in form, it seems. to look at them, as
though they were not wholly unrelated
They live together in the tank on terms
which. if not exactly friendly, are certainly
not unfriendly. At feeding time the eel
which Is the quicker, gets it's share prompt
ly and fully without regard to the catfish
Generally the eel stays b. ITSELF and when
not swimming about it is likely to be at
one end of the tank while the catfish are
at the other; but when they meet the cat
fish are neither frightened nor disturbed
by the superior bulk and strength of the
eel whose presence among them they seem
to take quite as a matter Of course
The catfish are likely to huddle all TO-
gether at the bottom of the tank in one
corner by the opening of the intake pipe
Fish in tanks often do this to get the first
of the new, living. incoming water. and
fish commonly head up against current
If the catfishes were where they could do
so they would bury themselves in the mud
here they crowd together in a heap down
in this corner
Sometimes the eel, which has been
swimming lazily about, perhaps has
been staying motiOnless over in the other
corner comes over TO catfish corner and
1>,,r In V1{lN 0f
catfish do not resent this, and it seems
as though the EEL conscious as it may be
of it's own vastly greater strength did
not come over wantonly to disturb them,
but more because 1t wanted to see some
body
Sometimes it varies its approach The
other day when the catfish were all piled
up together in their corner with their
heads all in one direction, toward the
wall, the eel came over above them in the
water and curved it's body around in the
angle of the corner over them. Then it
dropped bodily down through the water
until it's body touched the nose of the cat
fish that was uppermost Still dropping
it's body, still curving in the angle of the
tank. and slightly dislod ging those with
which ii came in contact, the eel slid past
all the catfish until it rested on the bot
TOM under the noses of all of them.
Pretty soon the eel raised itself up slow
ly raising all the catfish with it. AS the
eel rose further it introduced into it's body,
very deliberately. various slow twists.
which had the effect OF more completely
disntegratng the pile of catfish and plac-
ing them in the water at various angles.
Finally the eel formed itself into perfect
ring, resting upon the bottom, and rising
vertically in the water. In this position the
body of the eel presented an appearance
Of singular strength.-New York Sun.
Some Uncertainty.
accompanies the soubrette to and from the
theater? A near relative, to judge from
the resemblance.
The Leading Emotional-Yes. either a
mother or daughter. A sister would
hardly take so much trouble.-Detroit
Journal