Forty Years On The Pacific/Strange But True Fish Stories
STRANGE BUT TRUE FISH STORIES
Mostly About Sharks And Turtles
You'll take my tale with a grain of salt
But it needs none, nevertheless.
NO doubt many who read the heading of this chapter will smile, incredulously, with raised eyebrows. As a matter of fact, the statements recorded here are absolutely correct, strange though they may seem.
Shortly after my arrival in Australia, I visited Twofold Bay, Eden, New South Wales, and heard tales about the "killers."[1] These are veritable wolves of the deep. When battling with a school of "right" or whalebone whales along the coast, they know the value of combination, and close in on all sides, and fiercely attack, by jumping at their prey and biting them, driving their frightened victims into the bay, where the monstrous creatures either are captured by the whalers from their boats or else are stranded in the shallow waters. The "killers" are afraid of, and will not molest, the giant sperm whale.
When a whale is secured, the "killers" satisfy themselves by eating the tongue, leaving the rest of the body.
The whalers have a lookout in the season on the headland at the bay, and when whales are sighted, they fire a gun. The boats then go out, and the killers accompany them, attacking the whale, delaying its progress, and thereby assisting the whalers to secure it. Should a whale-boat capsize, the killers keep off the sharks which abound in the vicinity. It is said that the killers have some kind of telepathy, for if a pack at the south of the bay attack a whale, and there is a pack at the north end, five miles off, they seem to get a message and come rushing through the ocean, to join their mates. Each of the killers is known by its peculiar marks. They have big spots of white or color, and are separately named by the whalers. The aborigines in the Two-fold Bay district had an idea that when one of their number died, he came up a killer, so they had a great veneration for them. They have a certain area which they frequent, and it is said they object to fishing-boats dropping a kellick line, and will lift the kellick and tow the boat to a different part. I cannot, however, vouch for this statement.
When carcases of the whales, after the killers have had one of their busy days, lie strewn along the beach, the place, strange to say, becomes a health resort. Rheumatic patients visit Twofold Bay then and try the whale cure, which consists in almost burying one's self in a whale's body, thus getting a bath of blubber, which, it is said, generally rids them of their complaint.
Several patients tried the cure while I was there, and brought back to the hotel such an aroma of dead whale that the other guests left them to enjoy it all to themselves.
Whales are slothful, and sleep very soundly. In January, 1917, the steamer Niagara ran into a whale in the tropics, asleep, and cut it completely in two. The effect of the impact sustained by the ship is described by Chief Engineer Peterson as being very severe.
A species of killer is also found off the coast of California and British Columbia, where they indulge in fierce fights with whales, and huge volumes of spray and foam are thrown up. In the Behring Sea this killer is very destructive among the seal herds.
Whales travel in schools at times. About Easter (1918) twenty-five whales were washed ashore north of Auckland, New Zealand, by a tidal wave. Soon another tidal wave reclaimed them, taking them out to sea, by which time they were dead, and a third tidal wave carried them ashore once more.
By this time the aroma arising from the carcases established the claim that the ambergris of whales is the base of all perfumes. In due course, the blubber was tried down into whaleoil, barreled, and shipped to Australia on board the ill-fated steamer Wimmera, which was sunk by a German mine, and thus parts of the whale returned to its native home.
Ambergris is the most valuable product yielded by the sea. It is a morbid secretion from the intestines of the sperm whale and resembles soft yellow soap or hardened froth. It can be smelled from a great distance. Strangely enough, it is the base for the manufacture of the most expensive perfumes. Its value varies, but forty dollars per ounce was an average price. Strange tales are told about sailors, ignorant of its value, scrubbing it off the decks where waves had carried it. Sometimes it has been found high and dry on beaches. At Honolulu a big lump, a mixture of sand and ambergris, was found on the beach and used as a door weight until its real composition was revealed. Then it was sold for $750. Captain Allen, of the Samoan and Ellice Islands, once gathered a cask of the precious stuff from the sea, and knowing what it was, got full value for his find.
Now, for something about sharks. In the charming tropic still known as Aitutaki, in the Cook Islands, sharks are caught by their tails. Major Large, the Government Resident, has often seen this very interesting exploit, and as he speaks from his own observations, and not merely from what has been told him, and is, moreover, a most reliable man, we may accept as correct what he has narrated.
Sharks from five to seven feet long like to sleep in some coral caves beneath the surface of the water in a deep and spacious lagoon- These haunts are known to the natives of the island, and when they go shark hunting, a party of them takes a boat and pulls out to the place where the sharks repose. An expert diver, to whom apparently is given all the honor and glory, and also all the danger, first ascertains that they are "at home" in their caves and sleeping soundly. Then he leaps overboard, dives down to them and nooses the tail of the shark that is nearest to him. If it awakes while this is being done, it is soothed by gentle massage. As soon as the noose is tight, a signal is given, and the shark is quickly hauled tail first into the boat, to its astonishment and to the consternation of anybody who gets in its way while it is still alive and vigorous.
The Rev. William Wyatt Gill, who did a great deal of missionary work at Aitutaki, has also described the natives' daring actions in regard to sharks. There once lived on the island a very successful shark-catcher named Reubena, whose ancestors had excelled in the perilous sport for generations. One day Reubena, with a noose in his hand, dived down into a submarine cave. Just as he had slipped the noose over the tail of the nearest shark, it moved, and Reubena found there was not room for him to get out of the cave. Gently stroking the side of the shark he induced it to move away. Mr. Gill, in recording the incident, says that massage is believed to be very agreeable to the fish; but, of course, care must be taken not to stroke it the wrong way, or irritate it.
Reubena was making his escape when, to his dismay, another shark came back from feeding on the lagoon, and blocked up the entrance with its unwieldy body. Even Reubena, with all his skill and courage, dared not attempt to massage a shark's head, and he waited in captivity until the monster should move. At last, after a while, which seemed to be hours, the shark passed quietly into the cave. A faint light streamed in through the opening, and the fisherman, who had barely sufficient strength left to spring from the sandy bottom, rose to the surface of the water, and was seized by his mates, with blood flowing from ears, mouth and nostrils. He was taken ashore and attended to, and recovered, and the same afternoon paid another visit to the cave, and succeeded in capturing several of the inmates. Mr. Gill stated that the flesh of the lagoon shark is regarded as a very great delicacy.
Sharks are numerous round about Tonga, and are caught in considerable numbers by hooks, or more commonly still by a simple bait and a running noose. At all great feasts in Tonga, the presence of as many sharks as possible is considered to be an indispensable requisite. They are always cooked entire, whatever may be their size, and are enclosed in a long basket made from the cocoanut leaf. The flesh of a young shark is not bad eating. The Maoris have nowadays lost all interest in the old-time institution of shark-fishing. The present generation of them much prefer tinned salmon or dried shark, as a relish. But in the old days, the Maoris looked forward to shark-fishing as a national holiday. The bodies of the sharks, after they have been disemboweled, were hung by the tails to a tall scaffolding till thoroughly dried by the sun and wind. Then they were stored away, just as we might store bacon.
There are conflicting opinions as to whether a shark will attack a native. My belief is that they will attack a native as quickly as a white man, if they are molested. Possibly the color of the white man's body may attract a shark's attention quicker than the dark skin of the natives.
They are more ferocious when traveling in pairs. Sharks are not very vicious among the islands, especially where they are right out in the ocean and fish food is plentiful. They are more dangerous in harbors like Sydney and Melbourne. I have never known a shark to attack any of the native boys who dive round the ship for coins thrown by passengers.
In some islands, particularly Christmas Island, the Ellice and Phoenix groups, turtles are very plentiful. They breed rapidly. The female turtle will swim ashore at high tide and crawl along the sands, probably scraping several holes before she settles down to lay her eggs. After selecting a spot, she will lay from one hundred and one hundred and fifty and return to the sea. After a lapse of fourteen days, she will return to the same spot and lay about the same number of eggs, and again return to the sea. She will repeat this procedure until she has laid from four hundred to six hundred eggs. Then she abandons the nest, having covered the eggs with sand, and the heat causes the eggs to hatch in three or four weeks. When the young are able to wriggle, they make for the sea, and at times large numbers are devoured by the fish and the male turtle. They are rich in oil. Their eggs are soft-shelled, but are much liked by the natives. It is claimed that but for the destruction of so many of the young, turtles would be as plentiful in the Pacific as rabbits are in Australia.
De Rougemont may have been romancing when he talked about his own turtle-riding experiences, but the fact remains that turtle-riding is by no means a difficult feat. On the Great Barrier Reef, which runs along the North Queensland coast, "joy rides" on turtles are an exciting and thrilling pastime. The turtles when they come ashore at night are intercepted on their way back to the water and incapacitated by being turned over on their backs. When the party is ready for the sport, the turtles are put on their feet, or their flippers, again, and the riders sit astride their backs.
Once the turtles get into the water, the fun is fast and furious. When they are very big and there is a danger of one's legs being gripped by the hind flippers, the precaution is taken of affixing a wire or rope to the flippers, so that the turtle can be made to release its hold. Sometimes they dive, but the riders soon learn the trick of tugging at the shell at the point where the head protrudes, and so preventing the diving business altogether. Turtle-riding is not so dangerous, if you mind the flippers and take your sport in shallow lagoons.
At Rockhampton, Queensland, a feature of their carnival week is the turtle race. The jockeys catch a flipper in each hand, and have to exercise great agility to retain control. Unless they are careful, the turtle will dive and then the rider is off the turtle and out of the race.
My experience with turtles convinces me that they are no more expensive to keep than goats. In 1908 a Chilean warship, General Baquedano, visited Sydney, and the officers made me a present of a small turtle, about the size of one's hand. I placed it in our fern-house for safety, and it appeared to thrive there for several years, without much attention to food.
The Shark And Turtle On Tutuila
[edit]A very pretty ceremony takes place at times at Vai Togi (Hurled Waters) nine miles from Pago. It is known as the "Calling of the Shark and Turtle." The legend states that many years ago a Samoan prince and princess were walking along the so-called iron-bound coast near the village of Vai Togi, bemoaning the threatening disaster to their people. During the walk, a Samoan god (Aieotai) appeared to them and they were greatly frightened. Summoning courage, however, they addressed the god, saying, "Famine and death threaten our people. What may we do to save them?" The god replied: "You can save your people only by great sacrifice." "You"—addressing the princess—"must jump from yon cliff into the sea, where you will be turned into a turtle. And you"—turning to the prince—"must do likewise, and your form will be changed to that of a shark." This they immediately did, and ever since, at various times, the natives will congregate on the shore at this spot and chant a native song, thus:
"Fonea! Fonea! lau mai si manu meal
Ose i iluga nei Osa Letuli iluga nei!
the interpretation being:
"Come, friends, to the feast prepared for thee!
Arise and prepare for this, as have the Letulis (Chiefs) always!
Soon the turtle and shark rise to the surface of the water and the natives wave gracefully to them, saying: "In lele! La Lele!" meaning "Beautiful one." Strangers are cautioned against pointing toward the sharks, lest the familiarity be regarded as an offense by the spirit of the martyred royal Samoans. Of course, skeptics will not believe the claim that the shark and turtle will rise to the surface for the natives, but I make this statement on the positive assurance of a surgeon of the United States Navy whom I met there, and Captain Trask, who has been many years in the trade.
A natural phenomenon occurs at Pago Pago yearly during a certain phase and condition of the moon, which time is predicted to a nicety by the Samoan wiseacres. There comes to the surface of the Pago harbor millions of wormlike bodies of varying lengths from six to twelve inches. These worms usually appear before dawn and the top of the water becomes almost a writhing mass of phosphorus. By sunrise all vestige of these worms has disappeared. On the predicted "Pololo" night, the people gather in the various villages skirting the harbor at Pago, and dance and make merry, awaiting the event. The sentinel stationed on the beach shouts "Pololo," when the worms appear. The people then flock from the villages and embark .in small boats, and although the hour is 1 A.m. the harbor presents a very busy scene. The worms are gathered in dip nets; many are eaten raw, while more are taken ashore and cooked, and considered a great delicacy. The officers resident there informed me'that they have not acquired a taste for the "delicacy" yet.
I have witnessed and heard of some rather startling accounts about flying-fish; I have seen them fly aboard on the Indian Ocean, but more often on the Pacific. They are generally attracted by the lights of the deck. One flew aboard the Sonoma in 1915, near the equator. It was cooked for my wife and found quite palatable. Captain Trask related that on the preceding voyage, a flying-fish flew into the porthole of the cabin occupied by Mrs. Hamilton, an actress, when she was retiring, and flopped merrily about her room, causing great alarm to the actress.
On a trip to Alaska, in 1916, I was describing the incident,' when a Seattle man said that it was nothing compared to his son's experience while going around the Horn the year before. He caught a flying-fish with a pedigree, and put it into a cage with a canary, which taught it to sing.
The natives of the Line Islands, i.e., the Gilbert and Marshall Islands, near the equator, are so expert in catching flyingfish, that they stand in a skiff with a torch in the left hand, and scoop in the right, and when the fish are attracted to the flame, they will swing the scoop and catch several at a time.
Shooting flying-fish on the wing from small boats, is one of the water sports of Honolulu. When the fish is shot, it will drop into the water but won't sink, and Honolulu retrievers are trained to swim out and bring it ashore. An easy method of catching fish that is resorted to on some of the Hawaiian Islands consists of taking the leaves of the Holo or Ahuhu plant, which resembles the indigo plant, putting it in a bag, mixing it with sand, and then grinding it up. You then drop the bag over the boat's side and the contents will stupefy the fish, which rise to the surface and float on top of the water.
Outside Tahiti, natives catch flying-fish by fixing a sail in a small boat, against which they suspend a small light. "The fish is attracted by the light, toward which it flies, with the result that it hits sail or mast and drops into the boat. Another method of catching other fish at Tahiti is rather novel. The native chews cocoanut into fine threads, which he wraps around a stone, making it fast by tying a fish-line around it with a slip-noose. At the end of the line is a fish-hook.
Fish are most difficult to catch in Pago Pago Harbor; in fact, two Japanese catch nearly all the fish secured. The Chief of Leone, at Pago, described to me the effect of the tutu nut, which is one-third the size of the cocoanut. There are many little nooks in the rocks where the fish hide, and to prevent the waves from breaking into the place, the natives build walls of coral. The nut is then grated and thrown into the water, the fish become stupefied and they are easily picked up.
On the Island of Guam, in the Ladrones, fish are caught by throwing a bagful of these nuts in the water, resulting in the same effect. Speaking of Guam, reminds me of an amusing incident that occurred during the Spanish-American War. An American battleship, en route from San Francisco to the Philippines, laid to in the offing and fired a gun at the Governor's house on the island. Soon a small boat was launched from shore and proceeded to the man-of-war with a message from the Governor, giving the commander his compliments and expressing regret for not answering the salute, because he did not have any powder. Although the war had been in progress some months, the Governor was unaware of it.
Throughout the islands, "fish drives" are held in the lagoon at regular intervals. I saw one once. The natives, armed with their many-pronged spears and plaited bags of utu-nut, as it is called in Raratonga, had assembled on the beach. At a given signal they waded into the lagoon, a large proportion of them trailing behind with the bags of utu-nut , The spear-bearers formed lines across the lagoon, and the people with the utunut walked slowly about, scattering it. As the latter came into contact with the water, a peculiar narcotic was formed and diffused. This process is called "poisoning the lagoon," and when it has been done, the fish get into a condition best described as intoxicated. They swim about in a foolish, aimless manner, and are quickly seen and captured.
In all the lagoons in the Tahitian group are to be found many varieties of most beautiful fish of various shapes and colors. But the stranger must beware, unless he possesses the knowledge of Professor David Starr Jordan, of Leland Stanford University, for some of these fish have poisonous spines, while the flesh of others is also poisonous. Centipedes in this quarter will, when molested, sink their claws into one's hand and leave a perfect tattoo to decipher, which will remain for months.
Professor Jordan must know all about fish, for I ran across his tracks in the Samoan group, where he studied their habits. But there is one incident in his travels he may forget to publish in his book on fishes. He, with his wife and a distinguished Japanese scholar, were passengers on the island steamer Kawau, between Apia and Pago Pago. The skipper, a New Zealander, was ready to anticipate the wishes of his guest, until the Japanese, in a somewhat peremptory manner, asked for a glass of water. The skipper, not knowing the status of his highness, suggested that he should go direct to h--- and get his own glass of water. Dr. Jordan could not suppress a laugh, and remarked that it was the first time that he had heard it suggested that a professor of the Leland Stanford University should go to h---.
This awakens memories of the days of long ago. David Starr Jordan and I were born in Wyoming County, New York, and attended the same old stone schoolhouse in Warsaw; but I left in 1866, the year he entered, and I guess he stayed at school longer than I did.
The effects of change of diet on fish was forcibly impressed upon me once when I was dining, on a Friday, with a priest at Cairns, Queensland, and what seemed to be a fine piece of pork appeared on the table. He gave me a slice out of the center, and it was alternately fat and streaky lean, and had a grassy flavor. My host.asked me if I did not think it strange to see meat on his table on Friday? I admitted that it did, and he explained. The "pork" was not pork at all, but fish. Storms in the Gulf of Carpentaria, of the western shore of York Peninsula, had washed thousands of fish miles inland. When the water receded, they were left high and dry among the grass, upon which they subsisted for months. This diet, together with the heavy dews, had the effect of giving the fish a porky flavor.[2]
Searcy, writing of his explorations in the Gulf of Carpentaria, states that on one occasion he heard sounds as of music, apparently coming from beneath his boat. Looking over the stern, he saw striped fish, which, in his opinion, must have caused the sounds. He also described a method of catching fish by drugging them, as at Pago and Guam. Natives secure a piece of a certain creeper, bruise it between stones and tie it to a stick, which they thrust into the water. Soon a whitish *This story is based on the peculiarities of the little fish called anableps. cloud appears, and the fish, stupefied, rise to the surface. The plant is believed to contain strong narcotic properties.
The natives of New Guinea (Papua) fish by means of a kite made of four leaves each, sixteen inches long. From the kite are suspended two lines; one is held by the fisherman and the other reaches the water. To the latter is attached a thick tassel made of spider's web, which bobs up and down in the water. In biting at this bait, the fish becomes entangled in the web and is hoisted by the fisherman into his canoe.
Fishing In China And Japan
[edit]As far back as any data is obtainable, Chinese and Japanese have resorted to unique methods of catching fish with cormorants. The opening of the fishing season in Japan was celebrated as a holiday—the Emperor lending eclat to it by his presence.
At night the boats float down stream, guided by the fisherman. In the bow of the boat is a pole, to which is attached a lighted brazier.
The birds are held by cords fastened to a brass ring fixed around their throats, the other ends being held by one man, who controls a dozen birds.
The fish are attracted by the lights, and the birds then dive repeatedly, catching the fish in their mouths, but are prevented from swallowing them by the brass ring around the neck. As soon as the fisherman decides the bird has enough fish, he pulls the cord and it returns to the boat, when the gullet is emptied. When this is done, the bird returns again for further supplies. The fishermen are very expert, and rarely ever get the lines mixed. Toward morning, the fisherman having secured a sufficient load, removes the rings and the birds are then fed.