Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1907-10-25
A Weekly Letter From the Orient
FURNISHED BY THE RECORDERS SPaC
IAL CORRESPONDENT, WHO Is
MAKING A Tour OF THE EAST
ERN COUNTRIES.
Especial to Recorder.)

Honolulu, H. |. July 2O-Ther
are some odd things that one run
across in travelling about the worlt
that are so strange that one is diff
dent about telling Of them for feal
those to whom the information j.
impaired will think that the truth
is being strained a little. In such
category must come the fish mark
ct in Honolulu. To people accus
toned to seeing fish of temperate
waters there is no comprehension
of the strange forms that the deni.
Gems of the deep take on in those
countries where the water is con.
tinually warm.
When first walked down the
a;sles of the Honolulu fish market
| had to take a sudden reef in my
memory to see il | had been drink
ling anything recently that would
give one queer visions. | did not
exactly see blue monkeys with
green tails, but saw such varie'
gated coloring and such impossible
shapes in fish that ! thought my
mind must have become warped by
the climate.
We are so accustomed to having
a certain shape in our minds when
| fish are mentioned. that we cannot
associate ANY other shape with the
funny tribe, but that idea received 9
severe jolt when | saw trunk fish
lying on the counter, looking all
the world like a grotesque Japan.
csc jewel box. Imagine a fish
about five inches long, with square
sides and ends, separated by sharp
corners. At one end queer lit Il
snout surmounted by two beady
eyes, and at the other end a carica
ture of tail, while two little 6ns
adorn the sides. IL your magma
ton is good you can see in your
minds eye a trunk fish. 1t is not
edible, but when it is taken in the
net with other kinds it is sent tt
market as curiosity.
But th. trunk fish is mild il
comparison with the puppy eel
Take the most loathesome, slimy
snake that you can conceive of
and in place of u snake head put
on it the head of new born pup.
py, ears and all, and you have an
object that will I'll you with dis
gust. Hawaiians eat this sort OF
animal with relish.
| could go on enumerating queer
and disgusting fish for some time
J but there are so many that are
!, beautiful beyond description that
think they will be more interesting
to you. What | considered mos,
beautiful of all saw, was little
fish about the size and shape OF thu
common perch of American waters
1t was delicate pearl in color, it,
flesh translucent, and at intervals
were bahds Of blue. green, yellow
and gold, as perfect in color ant
size, as If they had been laid OF
i with artists brush. They looked
like the cnloring of finest Dresden
china, and ran around the body il
perfect proportion, equidistan
from each other. There were fisl
entirely blue, of color so rare as t
make one dream Of summer skies
again there were red ones, yellow
ones, black ones, all looking as i
! they were hand painted, and as j
the color were so fresh that i
would come off il it were touched
| thought at first that these wer
, painted china fish used for signs
and it was only when | held one il
, my hands that / was convinced t.
the contrary.
On one table lay lot of cuttl
fish, younger brothers to the dew
} fish, and from which the bone tina
is put IN canary bird cages comes
Hawaiians prize this fish highl
and make a most palatable dish o
it by boiling 1t in coconut milk.
tasted of this dish with considera
bic hesitancy at first, but found
very delicate in flavor, and came h
the conclusion that all things ar
not near as bad as they look.
i Hawaiian waters are noted TO
their sharks and the fish marke