The Opelousas courier., 1903-08-22
|SOME STRANGE FISH YARNS,
AND ALL THE STRANGER BE
CAUSE THEY ARE TRUE.

Fishes That Leave the Water For /:
Stroll on Land-The Musical Fish
of FIorida-The Climbing Perch
the Shooting Fish and other Tales
"Tell a man you're going to give
him a fish story and he'll smile; tel
him it's a dead straight fish story
and you'll stake your reputation on 1t
and he'll insult you and laugh. Per
sons are willing 10 believe any ole
thing they hear in and out of Christen
dom until-when it ONE to fish. Ant
yet, we have some of the most authen
tic of all strange yarns on record IT
the animal kingdom" remarked an ole
fish expert, leaning against the turtle
tank Of New York's big aquarium
down at the Battery, says the Com
mercial Advertiser.
81 suppose if l told you there were
fish that can travel half a mile over
land in search of water you wouldn't
believe me-; yet we have no less an au'
thority than Sir John Bowring to
vouch for the fact. More, Sallegoix
in his account Of Siam names three
species of fish that left the water and
travelled along the entertainments in
the tall grass.
1.-THE fish most noted for its land
travels is a species of perch about six
inches long, found in Ceylon. When
water falls during the dry season
these fish have the power of travelling
over dry land or either to burrow into
the mud and to become torpid until
awakened by the return Of the wet
season rains. When they take to
land they prefer to travel by night
when the grass is wet with dew, but
there have been instances when they
we're compelled to travel in the hot
sun and across dusty roads-pilgrim-
ages which cost thousands of them
their lives. The fish, travelling, work
on laboriously, using ~alternatively
their heads and tails to jump onward
at intervals, while owing to a peculiar
construction of the head they are en-
Pabfed to carry moisture enough to
keep their gills sufficiently wet for a
long time.
"The Guianas have a 'doras' which
is known to travel over hard ground
in search of water once the dry season
becomes critical, and negroes in that
country have been known to fill bask-
cts with the animals by simply inter-
cepting a school while on an expedi-
ton.
"a remarkable discovery was made
some years ago in the inland streams
Of Florida, where a fish that emitted
a musical sound was located. Except
the trout and the weakish no other
fish provided with the faculty Of emit
ing sound was thought to exist. But,
unlike the pair just named, the fish
of Florida need not be caught to be
made to talk The musical fish Is
about ten inches long and a graceful
handsome animal, white, with a few
blue spots near it's beLy. The sound
is a peculiar drone, not unlike the
sound Of a church organ heard at a
great distance. But schools of these
fish when assembled drone throughout
the night, and the grave, sonorous
note is as il you were listening to the
music while standing on the outside
Of a church.
Another remarkable fish Is the
climbing perch, the most noted of all
the fish for the ~tenacity with which it
clings to life. This fish is found on
the Gauges, where it is known that
boatmen have kept it alive In an earth
en- pot without water for five or even
six days. When taken out for use at
the end Of that time it is as lively and
fresh as when first caught.
"This fish actually climbs trees. and
was mentioned more than 1000 years
ago in The Travels of Two Mohamme-
dans,' where the compiler says he
was told by Suleyman, who visited In
dfa in the ninth century, of a fish that
left the water to climb cocoanut palms
to drink their sap and then return to
the sea. The fish climbs, making use
OF the rough bark of the trees, where
IN he fastens his toothed %gil1-covers,
and then bends his tail and fms into
the clefts of the bark and by stretch
ing out his body urges upward.
1.-THE shooting fish is one found a
little nearer home, being in the West
Indies; but he is a remarkable crea-
ture who derives his name from the
way he catches his prey. This fish
has a hollow, cylindrical beak and fire.
quents the rivers near the seashore
In search of food. When the fish
spies a fly or a toothsome insect sit
ting on a plant in shallow water he
swims away a distance of four or five
feet, takes aim, and with amazing &C
curacy elects out off his tube-lik9
mouth a single drop of water, which is
SO well directed and so swiftly shot
forth that the insect is thrown into
the water where he gobbles it up.
UNLESS you are a fisherman and
up to the habits of our brook trout
you probably do not know that that
game fighter has besides his nerve and
strength another gift of nature which
is to protect him from his enemies
that Of changing his color to cores
pond with his surroundings. Put a
living trout into a white basin of wa
ter and you'll find within half an hour
it begins to grow lighter in color.
TxnAr# ~ If-fp ~ -, - ,-LsL~ - r.