The Honolulu republican. [volume] (Honolulu, T.H.) 1900-1902, 1901-09-10

and wheu ready Tor the table. taken
cut and sold
Distinef Hshfts Ct TIE Fishes
4 great many Of the fishes in rs
val have habits distinctly their own
For instance. hundreds Of them I've
in the coral beds During orr inyes-
legations we secured large quantities
OF decayed coral fresh from the wa
ter and upon smashing IT with : ham
mer. hundreds Of miniature speci-
mems we're brought TO view. We Sc
cured many specimens in thins way.
Our first examinations, however.
we're begun In the markets The
fishermen OF Hawaii are all Japanese
and Portuguese When they fish they
try for all kinds, making no distinc-
ton whatever In their catches. and
all their product IS taken directly to
the markets. which are presided over
! exciusiyeIy BIZ the Chinese The Jap
anese IN most cases take their fish 10
the market while the catch is yet
alive. and this custom proved OF
great value TO US In the markets
| the fish are sold by the piece instead
Of by the pound They are expensive.
too Figured in--pound fish sell for
about So Gems in Hawaii. while il re
| qaires pretty good fish meat to de
mand Is cents a pound in this coun-
try. When we had exhausted the mar
kets for our specimens we employed
| fishermen to angle and drag at sea
/ for us. and thus We obtained many
| species which we would otherwise
have missed.
The natives of Hawaii eat all
kinds of fish. and some of the species
which are not considered fit for food
in this country are regarded as es-
| pecially fine throughout the islands
| In this class are some of the fle
fishes. for instance. They are not
considered good food in this country
but in Hawaii they are eaten pretty
generally. a great many of the fish
es there are large, some Of them be
ing from four TO six feet in length
Their colors are also of the mos
brilliant type, and a great many spe
eies furnish a most picturesque ant
Kaleidoscope appearance, theil
scales being of all the hues delight
ed in by the aesthetic.
The Surgeon Fish.
"A fish which is very common il
Hawaiian waters is the one known
in this country as the surgeon. o.
doctor. This is fish which carrie.
a small lance protruding from tn,
side of its body. 1t lives in the insu
lar waters IN great abundance Tn,
surgeon is called the 'barbero,' o
'medico, by the Spaniards bar
bero' is a barber. The barber. |
will be remembered, was a lancer il
olden times, and it was he who per
formed the first surgical operation
upon humanity. namely, the process
of bleeding The Spaniards recog
Inized the surgeon fish as we di,
and gave it relatively the same name
I'VE were unable to secure an,
specimens of deep-sea fish on thi
trip. Fishes of this kind, however
will be secured by another expedition
which viii sail shortly for the sam
ground.
THE high. price demanded fes sfisl
in Hawaii is commensurate wit
| prices demanded for everything els
in the islands. The planters, VIII
are very wealthy as a rule, set tn
pace there and everybody else 70
lows. We took a short drive one da
and were taxed the exorbitant sur
of $3.50 therefor Upon another OF
casion we drove thirty-five miles i
team and were obliged to pay tn
driver sS5 for the trip, the rate be
ing 81 for each mile" E. s. L.