Attempted Suicide and Gratitude of a Fish.

Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume 1, Issue 8, 12 April 1849, Page 4

Attempted Suicide and Gratitude of a Fish.

At the meeting of the Liverpool Literary and Philosophical Society, held recently, some most extraordinary statements relative to the instinct of the brute creation were made by a visitor, D.\ V. uwick. Vrom the following specimen, ild think lie might venture on an cxtenVi.JwSt' the Arabian Nights' Entertainments, wiih ever j prospect of success. He said that, wheil he resided at Dunham—the seal of the Karl of Stamford and Warrington—ho was walking one evening in the park, and came to a pond where fish intended for the table were temporarily kept. He took particular notice of a fine pike, of aba tit six pounds weight, which, when it observed him, darted hastily away. In so doing, it struck its head against a tenter-hook in a post (of which there were several in the pond, placed to prevent poaching), and, as it afterwards appeared, fractured its skull, and turned the optic nerve oil one side. The agony evinced by the animal was most horrible. It rushed to the bottom, pud boring its head in the mud, whirled itself round with such velocity', that it was almost :u.;t to the sight for a short interval. It then ! lunged about the pond, and at length threw ils.?lf'comj>letely out of the water on the bank. He (the doctor) went and examined it, and found that a very large portion of the brain was protruding from the fracture in the skull, lie carefully replaced this, and, with a silver toothpick, raised the indented portion of the skull. 'J'lie iish remained still for a short timt;, and lie then put it again in the pond, tt appeared at first a good deal relieved j but jii a Jew uiiuutcs it again darted aud plunged

about, until it threw itself out of the water a second time. A second time did Dr. Warwick do what he could to relieve it, and again put it into the water. It continued for several, times to throw itself out of the pond, and with the assistance of the keeper the doctor at length made a kind of pillow for the fish, which was then left in the pond to its fate. Upon making his appearance at the pond on the following morning, the pike came towards him to the edge of the water, and actually laid its head upon his foot. The doctor thought this most extraordinary; hut he examined the fish's skull, and found it going on all right. He then walked backwards and forwards along the edge of the pond for some time, andthe fish continued to swim up and down, turning as he turned —being blind on the wounded side of the skull, it alway3 appeared agitated when it had that side towards the bank, as it could not then see its benefactor. On the next day he took some young friends down to see the fish, which came to him as usual; and at last he taught the pike to come to him at his whistle, and feed out of his hands. With other persons it continued as shy as fish usually are. He (Dr. Warwick) thought this a most remarkable instance of gratitude in a fish for a benefit received ; and as it always came at his whistle, it proved also what he had previously, in common with other naturalists, disbelieved, that fishes are sensible to sound.