BRIEF NOTES ON FISHES. 431 



and when a small fish comes near, dart at and seize it 

 with all the agility of that fish. Sometimes they seize a 

 large chub midway across the body, and worry it nearly 

 into halves by a slight motion of the jaws. When satis- 

 fied that the chub can not escape, they loosen their hold, 

 and, taking it in a more convenient manner, they swallow 

 it without further preliminary carving. Zadoc Thomp- 

 son, in his " History of Vermont," refers to^the feeding 

 habits of the gar as follows : " This singular fish was de- 

 scribed by Samuel Champlain as an inhabitant of the lake 

 now bearing his name, more than two hundred years ago. 

 He called it Chausarou, which was probably the Indian 

 name. The Indians assured him they were often seen 

 eight or ten feet long, but the largest he saw was only 

 five feet long, and about the thickness of a man's thigh. 

 It is considered a very voracious fish, and when any of 

 them are taken or seen in the water, the fishermen calcu- 

 ]ate upon little success in taking other kinds. Charle- 

 voix tells us that he preys not only upon other fishes, but 

 upon birds also ; and that he takes them by the follow- 

 ing stratagem : concealing himself among the reeds grow- 

 ing on the marshy borders of the lake, he thrusts his 

 bill out of the water in an upright position. The bird, 

 wanting rest, takes this for a broken limb or dry reed, 

 and perches upon it. The fish then opens his mouth and 

 makes such a sudden spring that the bird seldom es- 

 capes him. Charlevoix also assures us that the Indians 

 regarded the teeth of this fish as a sovereign remedy 

 for the headache, and that pricking with it where the 

 pain was sharpest took it away instantly." I must con- 

 fess I have my doubts about this stratagem on the part of 

 the gar, but if it was true of them in Charlevoix's time, 

 is it at all probable that they have lost the art since ? On 

 the other hand, if gars were so smart then, were other 



