Los Angeles herald., 1906-05-20

Copyrirht by James Eivcrson.
-7HE pike has been called by Pope the
tyrant Of the food. We admit that
he is q very voracious fsh-in fact,
IGEENl| his excessive greediness has become
- proverbial. But there are many
others Of the fnny tribe nearly as
predatory and savage.
A trout was recently caught in creek that
empties into Grand Lake, Maine, which had
IN its stomach an undigested squirrel. The
little bunny was probably crossing the water
on his raft of bark, and was suddenly seized
and swallowed at one gulp by his ravenous and
watchful foe.
A friend Of the writer, Judge wbitehouse,
OF Farminston, N: H.. long since caught
cusk upon Winepiggeogee Lake, which was
eighteen inches long. On dressing the fish,
he found perch inside of him just nine inches
perch four and a half inches long. These
creatures thus went half their length, swallow
ing each other every time.
1t is a comforting thought that the tables
are sometimes turned on such voracious and
eager denizens of the water.
Our young readers are not, probably, aware
that there is an animal which catches fish
with its paws. This is the jaguar, one OF the
largest and most ferocious animals in South
Americas terrible native tiger.
Besides being large and immensely strong
1t practices extraordinary strategic schemes in
procuring food One Of its reasoning ma
neuyers is to quietly follow the margin Of
streams. At a sight Of a fish near enough to
the game IL thrown high and dry above the
bank
Humboldt tells us that the same ANIMAL
when it finds a turtle, will adroitly turn it
over on its back; then leisurely gnaw out
the flesh between the shell and the cara
pace.
Fortunately for the country, the jaguar has
match in the great serpents that mfest tropi-
cal America.
But to return to the pike
Like all fishes of prey, the pike has remark.
ably large gills, and any one who has watched
it in pursuit of its prey, will have noticed how
widely it has stretched its gill openings so as
to let the water flow off as freely as possible
moment in the mouth cavity, the fshs mo-
ton would be seriously. compromised;
1t may with certainty be said that all fishes
with remarkably wide gils hunt their prey
In long pursuit. Thus, among our fresh water
predaceous fishes, the pike makes the long
est pursuit and has the widest gills.
All the species of this family of fishes are
also characterized by an elongated body COW
cred with scales, depressed head and broadS
blunt muzzle with very large mouth, abund-
antiy furnished with teeth of various sizes on
the jaws. The species are not numerous. They
are all inhabitants of fresh water in the North
ern Hemisphere. Only one is found in Europe
the common pike, native also of Asia and
North America.
The pike is of dusty, olive-brown color
on the upper parts. becoming lighter and mot,
tied with green and yellow on the sides, and
passing into silvery-white beneath; the fine
brown; the larger fins mottled with white,
yellow and dark-green. The tail-6n is
forked.
A veteran carp m France came to its end by
violence on the part Of an immense pike, or
he might have reached his fifth century. He
was pet of Francis ], King of France, nearly
four hundred years ago, and was kept for