The Punta Gorda herald., 1920-04-01

rage TO Jenny-GOd rest her soul
and OF course the ship did not seem
to piow along fast enough. Sudden.
~ something struck me with terrific
force just below the left eye. l was
stunned for the moment, and when
hnally got my senses together |
| ooked around and there | saw a
large flying fish sprawling on the
deck. You see, in tropical waters
flying fish are very numerous and you
can see them every day spring out
of the ocean and fly along the sur
Iface for long distances-accordi
TO their age and size-in order to
escape dolphins and other large fish
that pursue and prey upon them.
Il picked up the flyer and stuck
it into pail of sea water and then
went below to nurse my swelling
Ieye and face. Despite my prompt
and vigorous attentions. l was soon
carrying around the loveliest black
eye you ever saw. For days l fearI
ed blood poisoning would set in, but
in the course of two weeks the bruise
healed and left only a scar-a scar
that l shall carry to my grave, they
tell me.
Now" the captain continued, ris-
ing, I'VE will so over to the grove
and take look at the flyers"
He put on his hat and coat and we
left the house for the creek bank
where, in a grove of orange trees
skirting the shore, l beheld the
strangest sight / had ever seen or
read about. The branches of the
trees were laden with flying fish,
huddled together like sparrows on a
cold day. They were in sitting post
ure, resting on their bellies, and be-
came somewhat restless as we ap-
preached. l feared they would rise
and make for the creek, but the
captain began TO whistle a peculiar
tune which soon calmed them and we
were able to pass under the trees.
Before | 90 into any further ex-
PLANTATION" said Skipper Davis, II
must finish my story how l got the
flyers up here on dry land. After /
had placed the fish in the pail of sea
water, as | told you, | became quite
interested in it, and gave up the idea
of having it prepared for my supper.
So the next day l placed it in large
barrel of sea water and began to
feed it, By the time we got TO New
York it had become so tame that
when l put my hand containing food
into the barrel the fish would rise
and eat. Indeed, it seemed to like
being handled, and even to be held
out of the water for a short time.
Il reached New York. resigned,
and got ready to leave the ship.
carried the flyer with me on the
train in a large glass jar, and | had
previously filled five barrels with
sea water and forwarded them by eX-
press, as | had resolved to propagate
flying fish here at home if it was at
all possible. The only thing | fear
ed was that the fish would die when
| transferred it to fresh water, and |
knew that my five barrels would give
out sooner or later. But, after my
and we had settled here on
Shell creek my wife became inter
ested in the flyer and, unknown to
me. sent some of the sea water to
Tampa chemist and had it analyzed,
and in that way we discovered how
to make our own sea water right
here.
LAS the spring advanced | put the
flyer into a large open iron tank
which we had in an out building, and
one morning when | went out to
feed the fish ! discovered hundreds
of little ones swimming about in the
tank. They grew rapidly and it was
not long until they began to fly short
distances on the surface of the water
in the tank. Many of them died,
but enough lived to supply what |
needed for my experiment.
The process of making our own
sea water became tedious and at my
wife's suggestion we began to dilute
if with fresh water, that is, we put a
smaller quantity of the saline chem
icals into the creek water out OF
which we made the sea water. After
the third year we quit the sailing
process altogether and the fish grew
and thrived in pure fresh water.
Il then decided to transfer the NY
ers to a dam in the creek and to build |
an acquarium near the bank to put
them in IL the weather should get |
too cold. | have always made it my
business to get acquainted with each
one of my flyers, and before they are
six weeks old they lose their sense
Of fear and shyness and learn to
swim right up to my hand and eat
out of it.
Training Natures Scaplancs.'
There was much difficulty in
training the flyers for extended trips,
and my first attempts to increase the
distances they would fly were certain
y very discouraging, but | kept at
t and finally discovered that each
year the young ones would outhy
he mother fish, and after fourteen
summers of untiring effort some OF