A STRANGE FISH

Temuka Leader, 28 February 1880, Page 2

A STRANGE FISH

• \ I ■ - » A letter written bj the Rev. F; Patou of Efate, Ist November, published in last week’s Southern ojross, gives the following account of a strange { fish : When the anchor was t' “ lifted, and the vessel ready tu.s<artjrpm Eromaiiga, an incident happeneh w iiciiv,.,., cast a dark shadow over us for a tilde. A very strange looking fish had been. aroutjqß the vessel at some distance below The water. Every effort to catch i ne had failed when a teacher speared" one of them, and brought it to the captain in water, when it appear d as surrounded by' feathers owing to its very long fins It bad also Irora its forehead two processes like horns an inch and a half or so long, and soft after it was dead. Its tail and long fins were beautifully coloured, like a turtle-shell. Allround the it» fins were a row of sharp spines like darning needle points. The captain had given his orders, and the men were just about to set the vessel in motion whenhe thought he would take a look at the j trange fish. As ho attempted to lift it out of the water, it struck one of its sharp spines into the top of his finger which in a moment caused excruciating j ain. I saw him spring from, it in agony, but knew not the cause. Learning what had taken place I at once bandaged his wrist with my pockethandkerchief as tightly as it could be tied, and a litttle higher with a tape, as firmly compressed as possible. As I got to him his fingers were being para[ysed and cramepd,and a moment or two after his head fell heavily on my and consciousness appeared almost gone We gave him a largo dose of brandy and opium, and sucked the puncture,, round which a dark ring was rapidly spreading ; and as he lay on the, deck sinking, in the absence of a lance,t, Mr Robertson got a penknife, and, I cat through the wound, but no b.oo 1 ■ I then cut deeper, right across the dirk ring, yet no blood came, till byj strong persevering sucking of the it • came, and flowed so freely I wa»„ itfraid.J [ had cut an artery, but as the bleeding, continued consciousness returned, and. he gradually recova’ed. I dressc-fi the wound with ammonia and cold water and kept the bandage on and wet till next day when we relaxed it, and in a few days he was all r ght again. life takop the fish to Sydney preserved in spirits.

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