notes ot tbe 



" But do they make these noises of their own 

 accord," I asked, " or only when they 're caught ? 



" Both," Pullen said, very positively, " but they 

 ain't just alike. Any critter will squeal when you 

 hurt it, even a fish sometimes, but what I 've 

 heard when the fish was n't meddled with was 

 clear squeakin' 'cause they wanted to." And then, 

 after a pause, he continued, " You can often hear 

 a run o' fish, when there ain't any other noise, 

 makin' a sound that ain't just splashin' the top o' 

 the water. I ' ve heard big fish, out in the meadows, 

 makin' a hummin' sound." 



" How do you know it was fish and not frogs?" 

 I asked. 



" 'Cause I know what sounds other things make, 

 and when I 'm in my boat and hear what nothin' 

 else makes, it 's fish. What else could it be ? " 



"Perhaps somebody was asleep on the bank 

 and snoring," I suggested. 



Pullen was fairly roused by this skeptical ques- 

 tioning on my part, and exclaimed impatiently ! 



I will not repeat his monosyllabic reply. The 

 old man was right. I knew this; but careful 

 questioning is very necessary sometimes to get at 

 the facts you wish, held in the grip of these un- 

 scientific naturalists. There is a tendency to over- 

 statement that may mislead, or of understatement 

 that leaves you in the dark. At least a consider- 

 able number of our fishes have what we may 

 rightly call voices, and may it not be that if we 

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