A Book of the United States. Various
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to twenty pounds, are found in the western rivers. Of the gar-fish there are also numerous varieties. The alligator-gar is sometimes eight feet long, and is voracious, fierce and formidable, even to the human species. Its dart in rapidity equals the flight of a bird. Its mouth is long, round, and pointed, thickset with sharp teeth; its body is covered with scales so hard as to be impenetrable by a rifle-bullet, and, when dry, answer the purposes of a flint in striking fire from steel. Its weight is from fifty to two hundred pounds, and its appearance is hideous. It is, in fact, the shark of rivers, and is considered far more formidable than the alligator himself. The devil-jack-diamond fish is another monster of the rivers. One has been caught that weighed four hundred pounds; its usual length is from four to ten feet.
Eels vary in length from two to four feet. The best species for the table is the yellow eel. Of sturgeon there are six species in these rivers, some of them four feet in length; some of them are said to form a palatable food. The Mississippi saw-fish varies in length from three feet to six; it has twenty-six long teeth on either side, in the form of a saw. There is also a spotted horn-fish from two to three feet long, the horn being one quarter the length of the body. The beautifully striped bar-fish go in shoals in the southern streams; they weigh from one to three pounds, and are taken with a hook. The shovel-fish is found in the muddy lakes of the middle region of the valley; it weighs from ten to fifty pounds, is without scales, and has in front of the mouth a bony substance between six and twelve inches long, and two or three inches wide, with which it turns up the mud in search of its food. It is exceedingly fat, and is taken for its oil.
‘We have never remarked this fish in any museum,’ says Mr. Flint, ‘although to us the most strange and whimsical-looking fish we have seen. We have seen one instance of a horribly deformed animal, apparently intermediate between the class testudo and fishes. We saw it in a water of the Washita, and had not a fair opportunity to examine it. It is called toad-fish, has a shell like a tortoise, but in every thing else resembles a fish. It is said to be sufficiently strong to bear a man on its back; and, from the account of those who have examined it, this animal must be a lusus naturæ.’
The rock fish,56 drum and sheep’s-head are large fish, taken in saline lakes in the neighborhood of the gulf of Mexico. In size they correspond to the cod and haddock of the Atlantic, and are among the most common fish in the market of New Orleans. The fish of the gulf shore partake of the character both of salt and fresh water fish; this arises from their being taken in shallow lakes principally composed of fresh water, but having outlets in the gulf, through which in strong south winds the sea-water is forced in such quantities that they become salt. There are a vast number of craw-fish every where in the marshy grounds and shallow waters. By penetrating the bank of the Mississippi, they have more than once made perforations which have imperceptibly enlarged to crevices, by which the inundation of the river has been let in upon the country.
The fish of the western rivers are generally less esteemed than those of the Atlantic waters; and in truth, fresh-water fish generally will not vie with those of the sea. The fishes of the Mississippi and its tributary rivers are for the most part coarse, tough, large and unpleasant in their flavor. ‘Except the trout, the small yellow cat-fish, the pike, the bar-fish and the perch,’ says Mr. Flint, ‘we do not much admire the fish of the western waters.’
Dr. Mitchell gives the following account of a gigantic fish of the ray kind, which he calls the oceanic vampire. It had been taken near the entrance of the Delaware Bay, by the crew of a smack which had been fitted out for the express purpose of capturing some sea-monster. After an absence of about three weeks, the adventurers returned with the animal to which we refer. It was killed after a long and dangerous encounter. The weight was so considerable, that after it had been towed to the shore, three pair of oxen aided by a horse and twenty-two men could not drag it to the dry land; the weight was supposed to be between four and five tons. Its length was seventeen feet and three inches, from the tip of the head to the tip of the tail. The breadth from the extremity of one pectoral fin or wing to the other, measuring along the line of the belly, was sixteen feet; when measured over the convexity of the back, eighteen feet.
On each side of the mouth there was a vertical fin two feet and six inches long, twelve inches deep, and two inches and a half thick in the middle, whence it tapered towards the edges, which were fringed before with a radiated margin. The fin or organ thus constituted was so flexible as to bend in all directions, and be made in many respects to perform the function of a hand. The wings, flaps, or pectoral fins, were of very curious organization; they bore more resemblance to the wings of a bird than to any thing else, and were yet so different as to manifest a remarkable variety of mechanism, in organs intended substantially for the same use. Fish of the kind now under consideration may be aptly denominated submarine birds; for they fly through the water, as birds fly through the air.
IV. REPTILES.
Reptiles, or animals of the serpent, turtle, and lizard class, are found in various parts of the United States; and in some in pernicious abundance. All varieties of the rattlesnake57 are seen; of these, the largest is the yellow rattlesnake. This is sometimes seen from six to nine feet in length, and as large as a man’s leg. A species of small rattlesnake is numerous on the prairies; in the far west, they are said to live in the same burrows with the prairie dogs. The snapper, or ground rattlesnake, is very troublesome; it travels by night, and frequents house paths and roads. The copper head is a snake supposed to be more venomous even than the preceding, but is less frequently found. It is of a dirty brown color; but when it has recently shed its skin, some parts of its body resemble burnished copper.
There are three or four varieties of the moccasin snake inhabiting the southern country. The upland moccasin somewhat resembles the rattlesnake, but is still more disgusting in its appearance. The largest variety of the moccasin snake is similar to the water snake of the Atlantic country. It is a serpent of the largest size, exceedingly venomous, with a very large flat head, lazy, and unobservant of man. There is another species of the moccasin seldom seen on shore, of a brilliant copper color, striped with gray rings. The brown viper, or hissing snake, is from six to eight inches long, terminating in a sharp tail; when angry, the color of its back changes, its head flattens and dilates to twice its usual extent, and its hiss resembles that of a goose. It is extremely venomous, and of a very repulsive aspect. One that was confined by a stick across its back, instantly bit itself in two or three places; and when released, it soon become swollen and died.
Mr. Flint expresses his conviction that the Mississippi valley presents a greater number of serpents, and is more infested by them than the Atlantic shore, excepting perhaps its southern border. Wherever the population becomes dense, the swine prey upon them, and they quickly disappear. Their most permanent and dangerous resorts are near the bases of precipitous and rocky hills, about ledges and flint knobs, and in the southern countries along vast swamps and stagnant waters. The bite of these serpents is venomous, and the person that is bitten often becomes blind. During the latter part of the summer, the serpents themselves become blind; the popular belief on this subject is, that this blindness arises from the absorption of their own poison into the system. During this period, though their aim is less certain, their bite is most dangerous. Death seldom occurs, however, from this cause.
The country has the usual varieties of harmless serpents, such as the green garter, chicken, and coach-whip snakes. The glass snake is often seen with a body of the utmost brilliancy. A stroke across the back separates the body into several pieces, each of which continues for some time to exercise the powers of locomotion. The bull or prairie snakes are of hideous appearance and of large size; they inhabit holes in the ground, and run at the traveller with a loud hiss, but instantly retreat if he stands and faces them. They are believed to be perfectly harmless, but their aspect is such as to excite great horror.
Ugly animals of the lizard kind are seen in all the climates in a greater or less number; they are found under rotten logs, and are dug out of alluvions, the last description being lazy and disgusting. They appear to be harmless. Common small lizards are frequent in the southern districts, and also varieties of small chameleons. These will change in half an hour