Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1913-04-25

southern coast. These fish grow to a
Of no real value they are never fished
or hunted to any extent.
In fact, the fishermen dread these
creatures, for they often become en-
tangled in their nets and rip and tear
them to pieces by lateral jerks and
sweeps Of the huge saw" on the nose.
This saw" is q bony elongation Of the
nose and Is armed on either side with
large, sharp, strong teeth, and in the
largest fish these saws" grow to be
five or six feet long and nearly q foot
wide. Il,
Very different from the saw fish is
the swordfish, which Is related to the
mackerels and Is Of great value for
food and Is widely and assiduously
hunted or f1shed on the southern New
England coast, as well as in. the Gulf
of Mexico and In the West Indies. The
weighs as much as 600 pounds and has
huge, brilliant eyes, clean, speedy
''lines," and a long, horny snout, or
sword" with which It can impale am
other fish or even pierce the strongest
oaken timber Of a boat. ~.
Many Of the mackerel family grow
to gigantic size, and the best known Of
these is the tuna" or funny" or
"horse mackerel.p This beautiful and
valuable fish has long been q source Of
revenue and food to the inhabitants Of
southern Europe, but although found
commonly on the American side Of the
Atlantic, II has never been fished for
food except recently, and In the West
Indies. It Is powerful, rapid swim
ming and "gamey" fish and on the Call
ifornia coast is extensively sought by
sportsmen, who fish for 1t with fly rods.
It reaches maximum length Of about
fifteen feet and weight Of nearly q
ton. EH eae
Almost az large as the tunnies are
the Jew fishes. which are related to the
sea bass and which are commonly CALI
ed bass" or sea bass" by the Cali
fornia fishermen. These fish occur
throughout tropical American seas and
grow to q weight Of 500 to 600 pounds.
Although very large and powerful
fish and capable Of swapping q stout
hemp rope or breaking the stoutest
shark hook, yet these fish are caught,
played and landed by fishermen In
California by the aid Of a slender rod
of split bamboo and q tiny threadlike
line.
A fish of very different character
and 30 striking In form that 1t will in
ivariably attract attention Is the giant
lsunfish or moonfish. Its shape is al
most circular, and this, with Its odd
fms and lack Of tail, gives 1t q most cu-
rious appearance. Its name OF sunfish
many hours basking in the sun on the
oceans surface. Its eyes are large, its
mouth small. and taken altogether II IL
among the most grotesque Of marine
creatures, being apparently all head.
It is found practically all over the
world, but Is particularly common on
the south eastern coast OF the United
States and In California waters. It IL
frequently carried north In the Gulf
Stream, and thus often taken off the
New England coasts.
The sunflsh is perfectly harmless and
is so sluggish, stupid and so easily
seen that 1t Is readily approached and
harpooned. This fish often attains q
weight of from 200 to 500 pounds.
Almost as strange In appearance as
the sunflsh are the great devil fish,
vampire fishes" or "bat fishes" Of our
southern coasts and the neighboring
tropical seas. These grotesque crea-
lures grow to colossal size, frequently
being from 20 to 80 feet across their
huge wings" and four feet in thick
ness. Such giant would weigh fully
six tons, and yet so agile and powerful
are the great creatures that they leap
Is to 20 feet out Of water, looking while
In the air like enormous bats. 9H
Their horns" are really extensions
of the fms and are used like hands for
holding food and other objects and In
bringing 1t to the mouth, which Is on
the under side and has no teeth In the
upper jaw. The lower Jaw has about
100 rows Of small cobble-stone like
teeth. The fish Is Jet black above and
livid white below, and despite its great
size Is perfectly harmless creature
except when wounded.
These devil fishes should not by any
means be confused with the true devil
fishes" or giant squids and octopus.
These creatures are moiluscs, and
while living mainly In the uttermost
depths Of the sea, they are now and
then found cast upon beaches, float
ing Injured or dead upon the surface
Of the sea or are found in pieces partly
devoured in the stomachs Of sperm
whales. ,, ,..e . s.....-Ls, .s4s..
The giant squids Of the North Allan
tic are enormous animals with CYL
indrical body five or six feet In diam-
eter and fifteen or twenty feet In
length and weighing many tons. The
long arms or tentacles may be twenty
five or thirty feet In length, while the
great, staring eyes are foot or more
In diameter. -.
There are many other giants in the
sea besides the fish, whales and squids.
Sea turtles Of various kinds grow to
very large size. The edible green tur-
tie frequently weighs 400 pounds, while
the loggerhead grows still larger. Larg-
est Of all is the great leatherback tur.
tie of the southern coast and the Guif
Stream. This great creature grows TO
a length Of eight or nine feet and
weighs from 1000 to 1900 pounds.
Giant crabs are found in many parts
of the ocean, the largest being the
giant spider crab Of Japan. These
crustaceans measure as much as ten
feet across their outstretched legs and
are used extensively for food, large
numbers being canned for export. Odd
ly enough they are hunted with guns
and killed with shot.
The common West Indian lobster
really deserves to be classed as giant
for Il often weighs 20 to 25 pounds.
Our own Holsters, however. often be-
come gigantic, and individuals weigh
ing from rs to 38 pounds are on record,
and several are preserved In various
museums. Among shells also giants
occur, and the giant clam Of the East
Indies grows to be four or fve rect
across and weighs several hundred
pounds. ..-..
Probably when the uttermost depths
of the seas are more perfectly known
even more gigantic forms Of the lower
animals will be discovered, for with all
our modern methods and appliances
: lu n
bottom here and there, and creatures
that are at all agile or able to move
about can readily escape any trawl or
dredge devised by any man.-Ameri-
can Boy.
Wounds Of Modern Warfare.-Sur-
gems in the South African war were
astonished to find how rapidly men
recovered from bullet wounds pene,,
trating the thorax, the abdomen and