The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-12-23
THE BEE SKIP FISH.
Col. Jim Jones Tells Why the New York

Aquarium Has None. l Andrew Jackson Switzer of Bath, a
 true son of old Steuben, dropped in at
 the Aquarium the other day to see that
 other true son of old Steuben, Col, Jim
 Jones' custodian and guardian of the
 seals and fishes and turtles and things
 that disport and distort themselves in
 the tanks open and shut, big and little,
 glass an stone, beneath the roof of the
 sometimes old castle down by the Bat
 tery sea wall.
 "Jack," said Col Jones, "come look at
 the fishes"
 And Jack went around with the
 Colonel and looked at the fishes He
 saw the little bullheads playing off dead
 in their tank because they were mad at
 not having any mud to root in. | He saw the big Mississippi river cat fish that goes to sleep in November and
 sleeps until next May, without eating mite or losing an ounce of flesh. He
 saw the serpent-like green moray chew
 ing water as COW cflews her cud.
 He saw the pickerel, long and lank
 and glaring-eyed, and motionless as a
 painted fish within & painted pond. He saw the speckled trout, and he saw his
 boyhood days so plainly with it that he
 began to bend a pin into hook and look around for stone he could turn up to find a worm.
 He saw the angular trunk fish doing acrobatic stunts, and the thick-lipped moonf1sh with it's look of supercilious wisdom. and no more corpulence than buckwheat cake; the pretty angel fish, acting like anything but an angel; the iridescent and radiant other fishes from the tropical seas, beautiful as pea cocks and vain with knowledge of their beauty, and ever on parade to show off.
 He saw the lady sturgeon in her tank content, and though curtailed somewhat as to pasture range, and bored, perhaps, by the rude inspection of alien eyes, happy in the thought that no free lunch sandwich would ever be plastered with caviare made from eggs of hers
 He saw that animate spnuting geyser, the trick seal, shower bathing the un- suspecting or tardy spectator at it's tank, and having more fun with folks than bear in a bees nest.
 He saw the hellbender, that queer denizen of Allegheny waters, part fish, part reptile part beast ugly as Claiban, yet SO gentle and sociable, so they say along the Allegheny, that it will walk on the river bank and let you shake it's paw.
 He saw everything the aquarium's tanks contained. Jack did from grave to gay. from lively to serene, and then went with Col Jones to his office to ex- change views.
 Its too bad, Colonel" said he, "that you haven't got one of those bee skip fish from old Steuben to show folks here. It would please 'em, know. One of those bee skip fish, Colonel, would be almost college education to folks"
 Col. Jones puffed hard on his cigar and gazed steadily out upon Battery Park. He was too busy thinking to say much.
 "I haven't seen one of those bee skip fish, though, for good while back" continued Jack Switzer Seems to me I'll never forget the first time l ever saw one, and found out what kind of fish it was. had rowed across Lake Keuka one day, l sat down on the shore to rest, and by and by I noticed that every little while bee went hum ming by me toward the lake. I got my eyes on one, by and by, and saw it go straight down to the lake and light on a stake that stuck out of the water foot or two, a couple of yards from shore.
 When the bee, which was heavily loaded with material for honey, lit on the stake 1t gave three sharp, loud buzzes, and the next second 1t dropped from the stake and disappeared in the { water. |
 ".Aha' said I. You diped a little too close to the water that time, Mr. | Bee, and some hungry old trout has nip ped you."
 But had scarcely said it when up | put of the water popped bee, and went humming into the vineyard near the shore. I was startled quite a bit. md then when I saw other bees go to that stake, sound their buz- zers three times and instantly drop Town and disappear, while other bees were popping up out of the water at he same place every whipstitch and back into the vineyard I made up my mind the proceeding was worth some investigation and I inves- igated.
 "Colnel, I discovered that instead of hose bees being nipped by hungry i'd trout, some sort of critter was ising to the surface whenever the bees ,ave those signals on the stake. opening ts mouth and letting the signalling ,ees drop into it, at the same time set ing free other bees that had dropped nto it previously. -ra
 Well, said I, this loks to me as if t beat Sam Johnson's two-headed pet attlesnake that went out doors and attled for policeman the night burg ars broke into Sans place. It looks to ne so,' said. ''So I investigated more and ponder q a whole lot. By and by l came to he conclusion that for some reason best nown to themselves those bees had pened communication with some sym , athletic denizen of the lake, which was , ending itself to the purpose of the bees. yhatever that purpose was. And I bought it behooved me to find out ( that that purpose was Prom a glimpse I got now and then ' the critter when it came up and (