New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-06-19

Ulrr-r
their personal habits are legion According -
ther- they held converse with man ard 81 -
instances aided him II his daily OCCUPATIONS -5,,
glowing thar they Possessed nearly all -ba +
tributes OF human beings. though in a lesser de-
gree During the early historical period so r,,,,,
n these legends were proved 10 he raI~. 49, =.
became fashionable, except among the uredpcatas
70 deny 10 fishes almost all human passions ,r
emotions. and 10 refer 10 them as ''voiceless snd
ernot0Eess creatures" More recent tnvestigatfops
however. have demonstrated that fishes as we'll
as land animals. are largely swayec by the san,a
emotions. and IN their limited way give ex
rraeelon 70 these.
Fishes save certain means OF demonstrating their
emotions, such erecting their scales or I'm ravs
when Under the influence OF anger or terror as
seathers or hairs are erected in birds and rnar,
mas. As fishes have eyes without movable eve
Ids cheeks incased with bony plates or covered
with hard scales which are scarcely suitable for
Fniing. while external ears are wanting one can
hardly expect TO find special expressions, as ~
.ov pain establishment, etc. so well marked as in
sore Of the higher grades OF animals, IN which
.be play OF the features often affords an insight
into their internal emotions.
Change Of color Is OF the best indexes 10 the
emotions. When the fish IS sick its color is apt to
be faint while when n health, angry or breeding
,be colOrs stand out brightly and vividy. One OF
the best examples OF the effect OF the emotions on
color is that Of the stickleback This species has
n violent temper. and appears 10 be always carry
ing an imaginary chip its shoulder. During the
breeding season combats between the males
exceedingly common When fighting their brilliant
colors stand out wildly. but after the combat IS
ava- the defeated one his gay coors faded, hides
his disgrace among his more peaceable companions.
Even then he IS not left IN peace. the victor
seems 10 take delight in prosecuting him in many
WAYS
The parrot fishes are also noted for their scrap
ry" procliyities. and the same color changes are
noted in them IN the sticklebacks.
Fishes. again. are charged with being voceess.
hut nothing could be further from the truth,
more than three hundred species are known 10
produce sound.
The sc.anidaa are probably the best examples o.
the faIslry Of the above charge These fishes,
which are called ''maigres' emit sounds having
mean o. about twenty-five seconds, and also vari-
Gus notes. usually degeuerating into a hurninG
sound either from excess or want OF intensity.
when travelling IN schools, these sounds may be
heard from 2 depth q twenty fathous. II has
been suggested that the story Of the songs OF the
tabled sirens had its origin in the utterances OF
schools Of these fishes
When captured the sca5. or horse rnackerei the
s.obeash The Erunr the pigish and the hoghsh
make soGnds resembling the grunting OF a pig,
while one Of the best known Of the fishes along
me South Atlantic seaboar6. The croaker. gets its
name from the croak il gives when taken into the
boat. The barbel and carp also croak when taken
out OF the water
A snec.es OF Tetrodou IS called ''seafrog'' by the
natives 81 Malabar. India, on account OF the noise
I. makes when captured The red g1rnard has
earned the name OF 'seacock' from the GROWING
noise which il makes. while another Species Is
called the piper" for the sane reason
s.lu-old found IN The RIO Paraaa. ard called
tn armada. is remarkable FOR a harsh grating
noise which il ernIts when caught with hook and
lire and TINS can be distinctly heard while II is
SIN beneath he surface The Corvina nigrn = hs1
81 the Tagns. emits sounds resembling the Flora-
tons OF deep toned bell. gong or pedal pipe u
en- organ. Sea hsrrtngs. when tie net has been
rH-lw~ Hn
same also The fresh water bullaead OF our waters.
According ID Francis Day. re obtained several
saeat fishes. NacrJles virlac-s, locally termed
.1zLIer fish" 81 Madras. india, and 'on touching
one which was lying or some wet grass, II erected
SIS armed syles. emitting s1lEC resembling i'e
razzrE OF = bee. and apparently II anger or fear
An ar2rh.5.ous z-r1ld fish. C.sr!as ulacracanthus,
being taken .-l9 me hand. Is zl.1 10 squea1 ana
shrek. Certain o. the Lle@l-es also make noise
similar this. Tie Zig Jewish Of the Gulf OF
Mexico VIII oftcn freak the stiffness OF tire night
V--h his Boom, Boom GzIivered mc1otonously
t-r considerable sine.
The legend OF Pascag1uIa River and its uyterioCs
music oeemed supernatural Uy the Indians and TIE
curly whites "Eo heard g. has since been explained
as -ae noise made ly sea drums. l. speaking Of
tins Sun current legend - recent writer says. III
may o+-ea De heard there on summer evenings
'ls listener Lal-s ,le beach, or, get more
f-Ecr1lly- IN lo-t floating on the river. low.
la.1t-F= sound is heard rising and falling Ike that
a. al seo.1n harp, and seeming 20 Issue from the
water The sounds. which arc sweet and plaintiye,
iu- mCuotC-o-s cease Cs soon IS there is any noise
c- disturbance o. The water"
ia The Gays cs ola Rome The muranas, o. sea
els, U--e supposed to have a regular Language
COW and sweet says ancient writer, and
P.-h -C information SO fascinating that few could
rsss- ITS influence and Il a also said that the
Emperor Augustus even pretended 10 understood
iheir wor5z.
When Humboldt visited the South Seas in IS,2.
about =. February p extraordinary
noise startled the crew. At first it Ike the
beating q many drums n the distance and then
ne sounds seemed 70 come from the ship itself,
near the poop. Az first The terrified crew thought
tnol breakers were hand, and then that the
vessel had sprung leak; but II was soon discov-
tr-1 thar the sounds ere produced by fishes
Lieutenant White, T.. s N in the narrative ~
MS voyage 70 tie China Seas IN 1874. mentions a
similar experience Al the mouth Of a river IN
Caub0Gia the ships company was alarmed by re-
laarkaL.e noises around the bottom OF the vessel.
ne sounds" he says, were ike mixture OF tho
bss - the organ the ringing Of bells the cultural
notes ~ great frog and tones which The l1naglna-
lon might attribute 10 enormous harp me
chip seemed actually 10 rrcnble with the vibration.
Steadily the noises increased until they formed 4
chorus around the entire vessel" Subsequently, as
The ship sailed or. they diminished and finally
ceased a native Interpreter stated that they were
mace by kind Of fish which chung 10 objects with
IT'S mouth
Sir J Emerson Tennent tells OF z visit he made
70 Ceyion IN lS43. when he went in a beat 70 hear
some famous water music at Batticalva. He was
rowed quietly TO the spot by moonlight. where the
sounds came Up from the water like the gentle
thrills OF a musical chord or the faint vibrations
OF wineglass WHOM the rim IS rubbed with a
mesteEed finger. il not one sustained note
Dct a multitude Of tiny sounds, the sweetest
treble mingled with the lowest bass. The natives
p -FaF1g cF z