Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-08-12
THE HABITS OF FISH
Peculiarities Of the Salmon, the Cod and
the Bluefsh.
The Last Named is Perhaps the Most
Bloodthfrsty Thing In
All Nature.
From the Los Angeles Times.

From the Los Angeles Times
It is not too much to say that in some
ways the love of salmon passeth that of
women. To reach the objects of their affec-
ton they perform feats and undergo hard
ships greater than any man could do or
bear, and to maintain it they fight with
courage and fury which might make many
a soldier envious
The salmon trials begin when they first
leave the sea on their long upriver journey
to meet their sweethearts. Presently, per-
haps, they meet high waterfall. Then the
salmon backs away as far as possible,
makes a locomotive-like rush and leaps for
the top. He actually whizzes through the
air. his tail is moving like lightning, his
scales shine like silver enamel. Perhaps he
fails to reach the top by a foot, but he
catches the water, hangs suspended for
moment, and then with miraculous
strength forces his way UP and reaches the
quiet water beyond.
Perhaps the next waterfall is five feet
higher, and the salmon leaps in vain. Then.
finding the feat impossible, he actually
climbs the sides, jumping up from ledge to
ledge and resting in little pools until the
river above is reached. Then he goes on
pushing through rapids and foundering
over shadows until the spawning ground is
reached. In many of the larger rivers of
this continent the salmon is no beauty when
he req hes his journeys end. His scales,
perhaps, are worn off, his fins torn and his
body is mass of bruises But nevertheless
he wooes his ladylove boldly, caresses her
tenderly, fights his rivals fiercely and wins
his bride like soldier.
But all fish are not SO romantic. The
Goldfish, for instance, is unsentimental and
actually ridiculous. He is a great, gray.
ugly fish, and his name itself is absurd. If
there were such thing as submarine
hunor he would figure in it as the goat does
in our own comics. The Goldfish has, in
fact, an appetite which makes the goats
look pale, and when fishermen cut the fish
open they assert that they often find such
things as scissors, suspender buckles, horse
shoes potato parings, oil cans, door knobs,
marlin spikes, corn cobs and India rubber
shoes.
Another startling story told by fishermen
is that in heavy weather Goldfish eat stones
to ballast them, but it is more likely that
these rocks are taken in while attached to
sea anemones, of which the Goldfish are very
fond. II may be inferred that Goldfish do
not object to nibble the fingers or hands
of human beings, because the wedding ring
OF drowned woman was once found in
Gods stomach and the finder got ESQ reward
for its return.
Oysters and clans in the shell are very
popular with the Goldfish, and there are vast
heaps of dead shells in the ocean. 'nested''
together like strawberry boxes, which are
believed to have once been in the stomachs
Unsuitable. They will fill their stomachs,
I'LL their outlets and fill their mouths with
food and still try to get more
If people knew more about the fish they
eat it Is possible that q slice of baked
blue might fill many man with shudGer-
ing horror. for the buefish is perhaps the
most terrible and bloodthirsty thing in all
nature The tiger has a sweet and cheerful
disposition compared to the bluefish the
shark seems a phlegmatic and amable
creature. and the wolf, by comparison, is
haden their especial prey. When a school
of these fish perceive bluefish near they
swim away with such terrific haste that the
ocean foams under them, but the bluehsh
cannot be distanced. They rush among the
helpless menhaden bIung, tearing thrash
ing and even throwing them into the air
they do not stop to swallow their prey.
but kill purely for the leve of slaughter
The sea is Redeemed with blood and dotted
with dead fish, but bluefish kill on until
exhaustion stops them or until the men
MAIDEN get into such shallow water that the
bluefish do not care to follow. Sometimes
these helpless fish are so blind with terror
that they swim ashore and are piled up in
Windrows foot deep.
The bluefish do not eat one-tenth of the
hsh they kill, although when surfeiteu they
are believed by some people to disgorge
Iheir 1000 IN order to take in another meal.
II IS estimated that during a fair season
ioOo,oOo bluefsh are caught between New
Jersey and Monomoy, and that about $780,
oo0,0oo remain uncaught. Thirty or forty
fish are sometimes found in the stomach of
one bluefish, but placing a bluefish's kill at
only ten per day it will be seen that during
their four months yearly stay on the New
england coast they destroy about 1 200, OOO,-
100000 fish, and that is excluding the
vast numbers of minute fish eaten by little
oluehshs which are not included in the esti-
mate. Carried into avoirdupois it is caIcu-
lated that 2,5OO,00OOOO pounds of fish are
eaten daily by bluefish. Nevertheless they
are handsome and graceful fish Very lit
tie is known of their other habits but they
are SO nervous while in captivity that they
develop corns on their noses by trying to
push the latter through the glass sides Of
their tanks. "a