The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-10-22
JUMBOS OF TRoPIc SEAS.
THE IMMENSE FISHES THAT
SWARM ABOUT CUBA'S Asst.


Prey-The Manntee and One of Its
Lairs-Drum Fish and sting Ray.
From the New York Sun.
Guantanamo Cuba.-Since the American
occupation of Cuba a great deal has been
| learned regarding the marine life of the
waters surrounding Cuba. The Spaniards
were always too busy and the Cubans too
inherently lazy TO pay much attention to
such matters. and so il remained for the
! Americans to investigate and discover
much that was common enough heretofore
but which had failed of record for the rea-
sons mentioned. In no other part of the
world has nature so freely endowed the
waters with such strange and gigantic
forms of sea fauna as are to be found
along the shores and among the reefs of
Cuba. Lying on the sands far up the
coast. beyond Guantanamo harbor and
near Cabo Maisi Light. there Is the decay
ing carcass of huge sunfish that must
have weighed fully 1000 pounds in life.
1t was stranded high and dry during the
late hurricane that swept over this part of
the West Indies, and while il lasted the
mass afforded feast for hundreds of
sCaVenger buzzards. At present little of
this once great fish remains; nothing but
the bones and framework bleaching in the
sun
Judging from what Is left Of the fish. II
must have been fully twelve feet thick at
its widest part 1t was all head and no
body. had no tail, and evidently had been
equipped with two enormous paddles-au
upper and a lower fin-that must have
| been very much similar In size and APP
pearance 20 the side sweeps of a canal
boat. Sunfsh common in tropical wa
ters and Cuban spongers and divers tell
some wonderful stories of huge monsters
of this kind they have encountered among
the reefs. when they least expected such
sights. What the huge, unwioldy suniish
was ever created for no one in these parts
has yet been able to discover. The balloon
like creature is a lazy swimmer and an
indOent forager 1t has no speed. and 1t
is not equipped with means of either Of
Tense or defense by which to secure food
or beat off am enemy. 1t Is one of those
lubberly monstrosities that has no purpose
in anything, and merely exists because it
is alive, and grows because it can't help
itself.
The awfish is another marine wonder
that is more often seen than heard of IN
the West Indies 1t grows TO huge propo
tons in Cuban waters, and reaches size
that 1t rarely attains in other latitu IS
Ordinary specimens frequently average 200
400 and 800 pounds each, while others pass
far beyond these dimensions and reach as
much as 500 and LOCO pounds. Many con-
found this creature with the swordtsh
bur the two species are totally different
The sawfish belongs to the group Of rays
and sharks while the swordhsh is all. ed
TO the mackerel family especially 10 the
giant of that species, the morse mackerel
a monster sawtish was beached near
Guantanamo a short time ago by some
fishermen who were SEEMING for silver null
let. When taken cut of the water il weigh
ed 9l5 pounds. The huge fish had pung-
! ed into one o their nets taaripr ap5 ri
ping the strands beyond all repair but at
the same time getting himself so tangled
that in spite of his great weight and
mighty strength he was easily made a
prisoner. couple OF halfrhitches were
passed around his flippers and he was tow
ed ashore and hauled high and dry on TIE
sands where his lively antics and powerful
thrashines caused every one to retire 10
a safe distance. His body was a precise
model of an enormous bue shark including
the pointed dorsal fin and the muscular.
fan-like tail. The most peculiar thing
about this particular fellsw was the half
dozen little pilotfish which chung by means
OF suckers 10 the monsters back. All
sawtish are accompanied on their fogaging
expeditions by pilots. which swim before
the big one, on eacn side of the snout or
saw and guide their patron 10 the schools
of muslet which swarm in the waters OF
the tropics The small pilOttish lead their
great companion to the shoals of mullet
rated saw, charging among them AMI
striking right aud left which results in
the killing or disabling of great numbers
of fish. The pilots. OF course, have an ak
TO grind in thus shrewdiy remaining an al
ly to the sawfish; for, while they are safe
from the assaults of sharks. tarpon and
others, which would prey upon them had
they moi a,protector, they not only secure
a meal whenever they want il for the
many destroyed and mud.ated mullet
crushed by the big one, but also il wou
seem that their huge comrade never al any
time has desire to dine upon his dimin-
utive guides.
Ii may be surmised that, after steering
their champion to the spot, they discreet
~ remain in the until the carnage IS
complete. when they hurry to the front
and participate in the feast so cruelty
prepared. Cuban watermen declare that in
deep water pilothsh swim before and on
each side of the saw; but, on reaching
shoal water, they attach themselves 50
firmly and so securely 10 the mosaic like
back of the larger fish by means of an
oval sucker, that il is next 10 Impossible
10 detach them except by severing with
a knife their tenacious grip. The sucker
of pilotfsh resembles the sole Of an old
rubber shoe. and it IS remarkable what
power of adhesion this curious contrivance
OF nature is capable or
Between Cabo Mais on the west and
Hayti, on the east, flows the Windward
passage connecting the waters of the
| Caribbean sea with those Of the North
Atlantic. The narrow passageWay jam
med in between the two capes is the great
highway for migratory fishes passing
north and south or vice versa; and here,
in season. come the larger predatory fishes
in search of plunder and prey. Strange
sights are often Witnessed IN the Wind
ward passage, and sometimes when two
jumbos of the deep chance to meet while
separately foragng, odd combats occur.
Early in the present year the lighthouse
keeper at Cabo Maisi observed a tremen-
douS commotion about a mile seward,
accompanied by numerous spoutings and
tail thrashings which Indicated that a
whale was engaged in combat with some
other denizen of the deep. 1t CHANGED that
the drift of hostilities brought both COM
0atants nearer and nearer to the shore
until il was possible to determine by