The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1910-01-08
Observation-Disclosures t:lt:l D:
! HerFinny ;
! Playmates ;
u WOMAN TRAINS FISH TO ;
= EAT FROM HANDS
= UNDER WATER

dllo ISL lEo uOl COuluUu pelo
yet they are very interesting, as
have found from experience. That
others, if inclined, may find ways OF
enjoying the jewellers of the deep
without taking their lives, l will tell
of school of fish that entertained
US one summer On the shores OF Lake
Minnetcnka.
| We began to WIN their confidence
by throwing crumbs to them as We
sat in the boats Under the willows,
/, but noticing it was hard for them to
come to the surface for food, | tried
holding bits of bread in the water.
At first they all sped away, but were
soon back again Invests ating my
hand, shyly, but coming nearsr and
nearer, till one ventu.el TO nip the
bread. 1t was good and harmless,
| and he tried again. AnCther came,
/ another AMI another, till courage,
| which is everywhere contagious,
| spr ad among them, AMI as the days
went by they seemed almost to for
| get fear and always swan eagerly to
| lake shore
| For a time ! always whlstled to
| call them in, but later l went silently
and found them just as ready to greet
me as when l called. | noticed,
though, that if We ran out on the
pier heavily, CT rocked a boat on tie
water, the focked in more speedily,
which fact co 'ded with the Obssr
vations of scientists, that fsh are in
some way very sensitive to vibrations
of the water.
In our bay tie sunfish tribe was
most numerous and fearless. l often
put my two hands together like a
dish, and holding them under the wa
ter they were instantly filled, crowd.
ed with the soft, ve'vetv little things.
There never was anything smoother
and softer than a living fish in wa.
ter! Rose petals would be rough in
comparison.
We never startled them by taking
them out of the water; had we dom
so the spell would, doubtless, have
been broken and We should have had
no tame fish. The only one l ever
took from its native cement was an
unfortunate that had been lured by
a hook and though escaping with his
life had the hook still hanging in
his mouth This l removed and re-
turned him again to the water, re-
lieved from what was probably pain
FIJI nrViH I'D
and distressed; but after performing
that surgical operation 1 was never
able, if he remained with US, to dis
tinguish him from others.
These little fellows grew very fast
with the good living provided. but
we no more thought Of making a
meal Of them than of our sweet-voic
ed canaY.es.
One morning a long. slender pick
erel came and made his abiding place
with us. He was very much Of an
aristocrat, always holding himself a |
little aloof from the others. and nev.
er tempted to come to their table by |
any variety Of fool l could offer; |
never offended when / stroked his |
smooth sides. / always ncticed what |
a cruel looking face he had and won.
dered If it was because he was very |
hungry Most of the time he held |
himself nearly motionless in tie wa
ter, but when he did move it was
like lightning fash: then all his
finny companions disappeared. Max
ing a circle through the water he |
would return to his usual position
near the boat, watching with his set |
eye as If he were the appointed ruler
there.
After time my brother, coming
down to the lake. saw him AMI ask
ed. "How long do you. think your
school of fish will hold out to feed
that cannibal?" The words were
revelation. 1t was surprising l had
never suspected his strange manners.
as I had noticed th7t he
always seemed to be swallowing
when he returned from his
flights through the water. Besides"
brother added. "he could snap on
your finger at a single bite if he
chose"
There was no lon-er a welcome for
our pickerel; instead, willow branch
was struck vigorously through the
blue waves whenever he approached.
and soon he came no more.
The most friendly. undisturbed in.
dividual in our living collection was
a black bass. He was a little more
than foot long when we first no.
ticed him. He seemed to make his
abode in a growth of water MOSES