and its Tributaries. 19 



Observations. This fish is an inhabitant of the Mississippi, 

 and occasionally strays up into its tributaries, the Illinois, the 

 Ohio, and perhaps some others. I have never met with a 

 recent specimen, but find the skins of two, prepared in the 

 Western Museum of Cincinnati ; one was stufi'ed, the other 

 dried in an extended form. Mr. Dorfeuille, the former pro- 

 prietor, informs me that one of them was taken some distance 

 up the river, towards Pittsburg. It is five feet and eight 

 inches in length, and twentyfive inches in circumference, 

 and is so well prepared that, though somewhat decayed, it is 

 believed the drawing taken from it, and accompanying this 

 description, affords a tolerable representation of the recent fish. 

 I am under great obligations to Mr. Bartlett, of the Museum, 

 for permission to use his specimen. 



Mr. Silsbee, a member of my medical class, has also pre- 

 sented me with the bony scales of one taken about four years 

 since, by some fishermen, with a seine, at the mouth of Mill 

 Creek, a mile below the city of Cincinnati. It must have 

 been still longer than those in the Museum, judging from the 

 size of the scales. 



Both my figure and description disagree in many points 

 with the description of Mr. Rafinesque, but are essentially 

 correct in reference to the specimens from which they were 

 taken. And it should be recollected that he made out his 

 description from a sketch and a jaw in possession of Mr. 

 Clifi'ord. 



Rafinesque says, that in the Mississippi it attains to the 

 length of eight to twelve feet, and is a match for an alligator. 

 It is truly a formidable fish, — the shark of fresh water. Its 

 bony scales and head must be almost impenetrable, and im- 

 pervious as the mail of the alligator ; and its formidable teeth 

 and bony jaws, as well as its superior agility, must render it a 

 powerful competitor ; though I should doubt its ability to 

 destroy a full grown alligator. 



The shortness of the jaws and head, the sculptured surface 

 of the scales, and the great size and general contour of the 

 body, will readily distinguish it from the common or the duck- 

 bill Gar-fish. 



