New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-09-17
EELS ARE Give WIRES"
Queer Fish That Can Stun or Kill
by Electric Discharge.

NY olOSOl ~ DlSCudl GO
! OF all the wonders which perplex the
wise men Of the world the origin Of the
mysterious electric current is the greatest
/ Second only to this battling secret is the
! origin Of the marvellous and astonishing
/ living batteries of certain fishes which have
| the magical power Of producing their own
| electricity at Will and I'm quantities large
/ enough to make them dangerous customers
to meet These animated live wires" in
| the shape Of fishes inhabit various parts of
the seven seas, and although scientists have
! studied them assiduously for years and
| years their secrets are still hidden in the
microscopic cells of their electrical organs.
| Foremost among these piscatorial dy-
namos is the electric eel of the brackish
waters Of South America. This eel is moth
/ ing more than fish in an extended and
! elongated form, which possesses a powerful
electric battery near the tail, with which 1t
stuns its prey and drives away its natural
| enemies. When attacked II merely claps
it's live wire caudal appendage against
its enemy and presses the button lnstan-
taneously the victim gets powerful shock
of electricity which is strong enough TO
knock a man down.
Dlssect an electric eel. If you please; the
/ secret will defy you You will find that the
electrical organs consist OF two pairs OF
longitudinal organs located between the
! skin and the muscles Of the caudal region.
They consist OF 240 cells. supplied by more
| than two hundred nerves. The eel can dis
charge current enough to kill an animal oil
considerable size. After few consecutive
shocks the battery is exhausted, and the
eel has TO retire to a nearby mud BANK 10
rest so that he can generate a new supply
These cells are very good TO eat but no
! one cares to take them of the hooks 20
the common way to catch them is TO arrive
horses into the bayous where they are
known to be plentiful The eeis attack
tho horses and quickly exhaust their bat
teries When they are powerless to DO any
further mischief they are speared D! the
natives Not infrequently horses are lost
in this manner of fishing
Now. the eel is not the only FISH to De
safeguarded by powerful electric batteries
There is the torpedo ray. or skate whlch
looks like a three-cornered KITE WIN
long tail, equally dangerous to handle WIN
ont rubber gloves There are also seVerai
| ouite unrelated fishes which possess the
extraordinary property of communicating
an electric shock to animals with which
they come in contact
In all cases the electrical organs are
notifications Of muscular tissues LOOKING
like a mass Of closely packed prisms' each
divided into a series Of compartments
filed with a gelatinous substance Inc
| whole is like a group Of voltaic pies
The electric ray has it's batteries located
near the head. and supplied with energy
from large nerves proceeding IRON t'e
brain. 1t is an ugly customer. and can
Give as much trouble as the electric eel
a man getting shock from large Specl-
men will remember it for long uihe' IL II
doesn't Kill him outright. Even the httle
RAYS can give quite shock when molested
in any way.
1-bep there is the electric catfish from
tbe Nile which carries around powerful
s,orage battery concealed under It's SKIN
revt IN the muscles This battery Is a
LAYER or blanket Of electric cells, covering
,oet of the body. The current can be dlS-
charged at will and it is quite powerful
hut az the fish never attains huge proper
tions it's current is never dangerous 10
anything except small animals
! ,I,hua ALI the FISH mentioned are ca
nable Of producing electricity Tor huntihS
and defensive purposes, not one Vi then'
,,,ilizes the current for electric nshtmB'
And vet strange as it may SEEM there
GRO nlentv Of fishes who do use eleCtrlciS
: ,,-.,,,ced nv themselves for this very pur-
pose. ...or,,, been
Not until recently has any attempt pee"
,,,ada IN investigate the life Of the deeper
rarts of the ocean. But the travis anu
ldraqnets suspended mile under the wa
80 where II is necessarily totally dain
IN +be time. reveal multitude OF sina'i
eobes each equipped with an electric hsht,
NU,,bour this light. Of course, they "oulu
, ~, ,,,,aflo tn see at all at that great oepth'
, ,,.b.ra tho sunlight can never penetrate
. Tho nets bring up host OF these sHiai'
6ebes and in nearly every case they are
co,unned with the brightest eyes ana htiio
Individual lanterns to light their way along
t the dark pathways Of the deep
" nan knows lust how the electricity
, ,or ,bis light is produced, but 1t is there
,evertheless. The deep sea hsh are o'
-. c+,.,noe shapes. and in most Of them
the lamps are suspended at the ehds VI
-, foolars and can be turned on or or al
will Presumably, when the fish wants &c
. an -, visit or a hunt for food he just
I turns on his lamp and starts out. When ne
wants TO rest ne SEEKS soiiie
ner IN the rocks and turns out the nsht
sleeping in comfort and safety until ne Il
hungry again ,.o,.
There are many other animals ihseo'S
and bugs which can produce more or iess
electricity. but in such feeble ana llihi'eo
amounts that they are hardly worth men
,ioning in this article. OF course every one
r Is familiar with the common lightning Dug
which can produce brilliant glow OF neat
less light at will.
a HAIRS BREADTH.