Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1903-07-14
SOME STRANGE FISH YARNS.
AND ALL THE STRANGER BE
CAUSE THEY ARE TRUE.
Fishes That Leave the Water For a
Stroll on Land-The Musical Fish
of Florda-The Climbing Perch,
the Shooting Fish and Other Tales.

/ ~~A0 ~ - Insult yOu hAh laugh Cl'
sons are willing to believe any old
thing they hear in and out of Christen
! dom until-when it comes to fish. And
yet, we have some of the most authen-
tic of all strange yarns on record in
the animal kingdom, remarked an cid
fish expert, aiming against tne turtle
tank of New York's big aquarium,
down at the Battery, says the Com.
mercial Advertiser
81 suppose if 1 told you there were
fish that can travel half mile over
land in search of water you wouldn't
believe me; yet we have no less an au-
| thori.y 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 embankments in
the tall grass.
"The fish most noted for its land
travels is 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
were compelled to travel in the hot
nyd nil
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 peculiar
construction of the head they are en-
abled 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 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
musical sound was located. Except
the trout and the weakfish 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 few
blue spots near its beny. The sound
is a peculiar drone, not unlike the
sound of church organ heard at
great distance. But schools of these
fish when assembled drone throughout
the night, and the grave, sonorous
note is as if you were listening to the
music while standing on the outside
of church.
Another remarkable fish is the
climbing perch, the most pored of all
the fish for the tenaeity with which it
clings to life. This fish is found on
the Ganges, 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 eTho TravoIe re rrr,r, NEoLo--...o
dams where the compiler says he
was told by Suleyman, who visited In
dia 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 gill-coyers.
and then bends his tail and fins into
the clefts of the bark and by stretch
ing out lis body urges upward.
"The shooting fish is one found
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 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 plant in shallow water he
swfms away distance of four or five
feet, takes aim, and with amazing ac-
curacy elects out off his tube-lika
mouth single drop of water. which is
so we'll 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 hin 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.
Keep it living in a white jar for
some days and the change continues
until the fish is absolutely white. Put
II DdCh INTO q UidCSs
vessel and within half hour you viii
find it has grown darker until it has
assumed nearly the color of the bot
tom of the jar and becomes difficult u
see readily. Anglers must have OBJ
served that usually trout is of the
color of the sand on the bottom of
their stream; but that the fish has the
power to change color over wide
range is a fact not generally known.
Here's a story that may shake your
faith in everything / have told you so
far. but it's gospel truth, and. after
all, shows only that a fish, the same
as warm-bIooded animal, is affected
by alcohol-and why shouldn't it be?
The incident occurred on the Miami
river in Kentucky. The proprietors
of a distillery located on that river
had not stock enough in their pens
70 drink fhs sion mr. residue left af- I