The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-09-14
FISH THAT SING
IN CONCERT

! Do Fish Sing? It is said that they
do and it is possible that from their
music has arisen the legends Of the
singing of the sirens of the sea. Some
most fascinating stories have been told
LOT these musical sounds of the ocean
which are attributed to singing fish.
Humboldt tells how, being in the South
sea, the whole crew became frighten-
ed by strange noise that resembled
the beating of drums in the open air.
/ It was at first thought that this noise
was produced by the wind, but soon
! it was heard clearly alongside the ship,
chiefly forward. It resembled the noise
of boiling water, when the bubbles
burst. Then it was feared that the
! ship had sprung a leak. but the noise
extended successfully to all parts of
the vessel, and about a. m. it ceased
entirely. 1t was afterward accredited
to sounds produced by shoals of fish
Lieutenant John White, of the United
States navy, reports that when in the
, mouth of the Cambodia River he and
his party heard extraordinary sounds
around the ship. They were like a
mixture Of the bass notes of an organ,
the ringing of bells, the gutteral cries
of huge bullfrog and noise that SEEM
ed to come from an enormous harp.
They seemed to shake the very vessel.
These noises increased, and finally
formed a universal chorus on both sides
Of the ship and along its entire length.
As the party assembled the river the
sounds weakened, and then ceased en-
tirely. The interpreter told them that
the cause was shoal of fish Of fat
oval form which had the power of
adhering strongly to various bodies by
the mouth.
The pogonias, or drumfish, which in
habit the Atlantic coast, also make
noises that are often heard at great
distances. 1t is thought-but this is
not certain-that the noise is produced
by rubbing the pharyngian teeth to-
gether. In the fresh water of the Rio
Mataje and the Rio del Moline are
found musical fish, which, because of
this popularity, are called by the ma
tives by the name of "musicos."
During an exploration of the Bay of
Pailon, in the northern part of the re-
public of Ecuador, NJ. Thornton with
his party, while skirting a shore one
day at about sunset, all at once heard
a strange sound, extremely low and
prolonged, which they thought at first
to be the humming of large bee or
insect of some kind. Seeing nothing of
the kind, however, NJ. Thornton asked
his oarsman where the noise came
from, and was told that it was a kind
of fish, called by some Sirens" and by
others 'musicos." Advancing a little !
further, a multitude Of different voices
were heard, that initiated perfectly the |
lower and middle tones of a church |
organ, heard outside the building, as in |
the church porch. The concert began |
about sunset and continued several |
hours, the executants not being dis
turbed by the presence of men, but not |
showing themselves at the surface of /
the water.
Another traveller, LIE Mosle. describes |
a concert of singing fishes, each one of |
which emits, as in Russian music, only |
a single note-full. long and graye-a |
sound like that of an ophicleide. These |
semble:" each executant plays a UNIQUE |!
air in different key. The tones arise |
everywhere-before, behind, in the boat (
and the water in which they are pro- /
duced gives them peculiar quality of /
tone The author of this melancholy |
melody is long fish with a large. fat I
mead The natives call it MACEDONIAN
1t is greenish, spotted, with silyerv
belly, and has short antennae on the
snout
Prayer relates that one night when
he was on the Pontiniac the largest /
river on the west coast of Borneo he
heard very distinct music, sometimes
low, sometimes high, sometimes dis
tant, sometimes near. 1t came from the
depths like the song OF the sirens
sometimes resounding like a, powerful
organ, sometimes like a sweet and har-
monious Aeolian harp. A diver hears
this music much more clearly and per-
ceives that it comes from several dis
tfnct voices. This music so the ma
tives declare. is produced by fish.
Several other kinds of fish are able to
sing. but their identity is not certain
in many cases. The y"doree" John |
Dory), or fish of St. Peter, manifests |
its presence at low tide by a sort of |
that has given it the name |
of water chicken" A ''baIiste" (trig |
ger fish, gives out plaintive and me- |
lancholy sounds like the .creaking of a |
wagon wheel. A pristipome initiates |
exactly the quack of a duck Even the |
funny can thrust its head out of the |
water and sing in voice that initiates |
a crying infant.-London Answers