Bryan morning eagle. [volume] (Bryan, Tex.) 1898-1909, 1900-12-02
ETHICS OF FISHING.
A SCIENTIFIC VIEW or The ALLEGED
CRUELTY or The SPORT.
The Creatures Are Most HsPpy Wien
They Are Hooked-They Nave Little
Capacity For suffering Rad Even
Little Pleasure In Eating.


They Are Hooked-Theyn Nave Little
Capacity For suffering aHd Even
Little Pleasure In Eating.
A little boy was fishing FOR the first
time. With the customary luck OF n
beginner be- had bass and perch galore
10 answer the Invitation OF bis bait
Presently the Impulses of the hui
name side OF his nature made little
hesItating protest against the more
savage Instincts of the sportsmanlike
side. The wr.gEling N the iish when
be- caught them troubled him. and be
sought o. apologize % his conscience
Tor the suffering he was apparently Ina
flctIng. lie said. - think the reason
they jump so IS that they are ~ glad 20
get out of that wet water"
Cur1usly enough. u we may accept
the testimony 90 the scientists. the llt-
tle boy was quite right 4 fish Is never
40 happy ms when be- Is drawn out ~
The water The air is to him quite an
that laughing gas is 90 q human being.
II gives him q hundred times more
oxygen per second than his gills ever
got Tor him from the inhalation d wa
ter. II makes him delightfully."- drunk
en-. II cyhilarates him. Il Ills him
with a completeness u physical JOY
the only Joy he Is capable Of feeling
wholly unknown 90 him 10 his native
element lie dies presently. Il Is true.
I but De- dies 'n an ecstasy ~ enjoyment
Instead ~ dying IN bis appointed fash
/ Son by sunocatIon In the nav Of some
[ bigger FISH.
| IN footnote 70 the thirteenth canto
| Of "Don Juan" Byron denounccs lzaak
Walton as sentimental savage and
/ charactcrlzcs fishing a. "the cruclest.
the coolest n pretended sports" That
only shows how little Byron knew
about the natter lis sports involved
the sacrifice Of women rather than
worms
n Is time 10 set this matter of fsh-
inc upon Us moral legs. as Il were an
end % be- accomplished merely Boy tell
ing the truth about H. 4 FISH Is the
very lowest form Of the vertebrates. II
Is Incapable of any Joy except that OF
getting hooked and thus drawn out Of
the water 20 which Us nature con-
demus q and Tor n time breathing the
air that lntoxIcates Il IN delightfully."-
deadly fashion. n has not even the In
I .sf...t 80 .-.s.strf .aaaufaffau swn.ff Ia
the case of a few rare species. II
knows nothing Of companlonshlp. foT
the scientists tell MS that even when
hsh swim ln schools" Il Is only be-
cause they are engaged In a common
predatory pursuit of prey, each endeay
orlng 20 snatch from the others th'
morscls they seek 10 swallow.
So low IN the scale Is the FISH that
even IN eating be has no pleasure e1
ccpt that OF distendlng his stomach
For the scientists hnd no taste COB
lets" at the base OF his tongue, and ey
cry fisherman knows that the hsl
swallows his prey whole with no pos
slblllty Of detecting It's flavor. An,
further. every fisherman who has troll
ed knows that the hsh Is 80 FAR an In
discriminate gormand In his search 10
food that be will swallow a coffe,
spoon with n bur attached MS readll!
I as the dnintlest halt morsel that coult
be displayed IN front Of his greedy eye
and his rnpaclous mouth.
Still. again. every fish that Is caugh
upon n hook gets only what he de
serves lie is caught every time In al
! attempt 20 swallow some other crea
turc whole and digest Il In slow tor
| ture. Indeed the entire life Of ever.
, fish Is passed In a ceaseless endeavo
, 90 catch and swallow other fish. So IA
, ms science can discover. fish of mos
species make no distinction even In IA
/ vor ~ their own young. their onl
ground of selection being n considerr
b tion for their individual throats In th
act OF swallowing. on that acconn
! alone the severely spIned suntish e'
. capes the predatory perch, and th
, bullhead the moment his horns" ar
n hard ceases 20 be IN danger even froi
4 the most voracious of plckerel
The fisherman Is not n monster q
q wanton cruelty lie is merely d
o scendant n Adam exercising that I'd
4 mlnlon" over inferior creatures whic
God authorized him 10 exercise.
George Cary Eggleston In New Yor
World.