The daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Ind. Ter. [Okla.]) 1898-1902, 1900-04-18
STRANGE ATLANTIC FISH.
Aquatic Specimens That Were sup
posed to BE Extinct Again Maxi
ing Their Appearance.

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Nearly 21 years ago, in May, 1879
Capt. Kirby, of Gloucester, Mass, il
command of the schooner William v
Hutchins, was almost directly south
of Nantucket seeking hake and cod
when his crew commenced to take
great numbers of "a strange and
handsomely colored fish," With the
conservatism that marks fishermen
most of these strangers were thrown
overheard, but Capt. Kirby kept few
and cooked them for his own table,
He found it one of the finest fishes
he had ever eaten, and determined
to keep all that were taken there
after, so when the schooner came in
at Gloucester it brought some 1000
pounds of the new fish Messrs.
Friend & Son bought the lot and dis
posed of their purchase in various
ways. Capt. Kirby sent one of the
fish to the National museum, where
DR.. G. Brown Gcode md DR.. Tarle-
ton H. Bean examined it and pro-
nounced it a tile fish, but a new
genus and species. The fine appear
ance of the new fish, its delicious
taste and bountiful abundance seemed
to promise a valuable addition to our
food products, and Prof Baird, then
United States commissioner of fish
and fisheries, was much interested in
, this new factor in the resources of
the sea.
In 1880 the fish commission steamer
Fish Hawk was completed, and the
scientific exploration of the bottom
life off our coasts was begun with
facilities unattainable before 1t was
found that the coast fell away grndu-
ally until the water was about 100
fathoms deep, and then declined very
suddenly. To use Prof. Verrill's words,
the slope beyond the 1OO-fathom line
is usually as steep as the side of
great mountain chain and about as
high as Mt Washington. Off the
southern coast of Massachusetts this
slope is very near the gulf stream,
and it has fauna unsurpassed in the
world in scientific interest. The gulf
stream brings stragglers from the
tropics and the cold arctic currents
bring beings whose normal habitat
lies in the polar region, and the re-
suit is naturalist's paradise. The
tile fishes belong in warm water, and \
the gulf stream was no doubt re-
sponsible for their being so far north. /
For three years the tile fish was
source of wealth to the fishermen. /
and then a sudden catastrophe be-
fell the industry, the exact nature of /
which may never be known. During /
March and April, 1852, vessels enter
ing New York and other Atlantic
ports reported passing great numbers
of dead fish on the northern edge of
the gulf stream. They proved to be
tile fish, md investigation showed
that they covered an area 40 miles
long and % miles wide. The fish com
mission chartered the schooner Josie
Reeves for an investigating tour, but
the vessel returned without having
taken a single specimen. This unpre-
cedented destruction of animal life
wide attention among the
and scientific journals,
and from the data collected Capt. J.
w. Collins of the fish commission esti-
mated the number of dead fish at
], ,43s, 10000, a number that would be
sufficient to give every man, woman
and child I'm the country 2ss pounds
Df fish. allowing ten pounds 10 each
ish. Prot. Nerrill attributed this de-
struction 10 a very severe storm that
prevailed at that time and probably
lrove the icy cold water near shore
nto the area usually covered by the
warm water Of the outer margin of
he gulf stream. Not a single indi-
'idual seemed 70 have escaped. and
he tile fish wns placed Professionally
n the list Of extinct animals
On February s. 1897. the 7s-ton
chooner Mabel Kenniston was over