Barre evening telegram. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-19??, 1900-09-13
The BILL FISH.


at Highgate Springs, July 9th. Mr..
A. T., Dean and wife were in the part
of Missisquoi Bay called Gander Bay,
when he saw peculiar fish near the
surface Of the water and succeeded
in capturing it with gait. 1t PROV
ed to be hard fish to kill. The only
way Mrs. d. could be persuaded not to
walk home was for Mr.. ID. to keep the
gatf firmly hooked and hold him from
going round the boat. The fish was
As inches long and weighed 10 pounds.
This fish is very rarely captured in
this lake.
The following excellent description
is given in Thorn pson's Natural His
! tory of Vermont of the BIZ Fish:
Body long, cylindrical: back slight
" arched in regular curve: head
hattened above and on the sides, en-
cased in bony covering having dis
tinct striae, grooves and sutures with
the Jaws, which are thickly set with
teeth Of different sizes, heightened
out into a slender, tlattened beak,
upper jaw reaches beyond the lower,
with nostrils near it's extremity:
| tongue lleShy, biiObate: roe green;
eyes just behind the angle of the
mouth and near the articulation Of
the lower jaw: color above brownlsh
leaden. sometimes with an umb- +
hue, darkest on the head, ye lowsh,
pearly white, sides spotted with black
ish towards the tail: pectoraland center
fins brownish, dorsal, caudal and anal
yellow and ruddy, spotted with black:
dorsal tin commences over the postc-
rior part Of the anal; the attachment
of the caudal oblique fin rounded with
the outer rays armed with sharp,
spiny scales; body covered with thick,
strong, hard, bony scales of rhom-
boidal form and regularly arranged in
oblique rows. Upon the lateral Inc,
which isstraight but indiStinct near
the ia l. there are sixty scales, Length
of specimen before us three feet, four
inches: upper jaw to the angle of the
mouth, seven inches: from the angle
to the orbit, one half inch: from the
point Of the bill to the middle of the
gill opening, twelve inches or just one
third of the total length, measured
through the middle Of the caudal fin:
ventrals midway between the point of
the bill and extremity of the tail:
weight six pounds.
History-'This singular fish was de-
sclibed by Samuel Champlain as an
inhabitant OF the lake bearing his
name more than 200 yea age. He
called it Chausarou, which was prob
ably the Indian name. The Indians
assured him they were often seen
eight or ten feet long, but the largest
be saw was only five feet long and
about the thickness of mans thigh
1t is considered a very voracious fish,
and when any of them are taken or
seen in the water, the Indians calcu-
late upon little success in taking
other kinds. CharleyoiX tells us that
he preys not only upon other fish,
but upon birds also: and that he takes
them by the following stratagem:
Conceaiing himself among the weeds
growing on the marshy borders of the
lake, he thrusts his bill out of the
water in an upright position. The
bird. wanting rest, takes this for a
broken limb or dry reed, and percheS
upon it. The fish then opens his
mouth and makes such sudden
spring that the bird seldom escapes
him. CharlevoiX also assures us that
the Indians regarded the teeth of this
fish as sovereign remedy for the
headache and that pricking with it
where the pain was sharpest took it
away instantly. The scales With
which this fish is covered are SO thick
and strong as to form coat of mail
which is not easily pierced with
spear. They are taken only OCCASION
ally in the seine at the present day,
but are said to be sometimes seen in
considerable numbers lying in the
marshy coves. Its flesh is rank and
tough and is not used for food The
usual length Of those now taken is
from two and a half to three feet
though they are often much longer.
The specimen from which the preced-
ing figures and description were made
was taken at the mouth of Winooski
river May IL, 1871. One of the larg-
est specimens which have seen was
taken at the same place June 16, 1898.
and is now in my possession. 1t is 46
inches long, and when caught weigh
ed nine and one half pounds. This
species is found in the great western
lakes and in the Ohio river, where
this and several other species are
known by the name of oar fishes