THE DRAWING OF THE SEINE. 153 



lying unhurt upon the sand were several young pike 

 and a beautiful bill-fish ; the latter still alive, but not 

 active, as were the pike. I gathered it up with much 

 care, and placed it by itself in a large jar. It soon re- 

 vived, and the wonted brilliancy of its silvery and steel- 

 blue back and sides returned. This is one of our most 

 striking fishes, and I have always lingered by the water's 

 edge when they chanced to show themselves at or near 

 the surface. These fish do not like still water, and if 

 they wander into quiet ponds, and do not find the exit 

 as readily as they found the entrance, they become 

 amusingly restless, if, indeed, they do not suffer. It 

 would seem as though they required water that was 

 thoroughly aerated, and could not live long in the warm 

 and "dead" waters of a shallow pond. 



Recently a bill-fish was found on the sandy shore of 

 the river, at low tide. It was apparently unhurt, and 

 twisted and squirmed vigorously, but did not move 

 towards the receding waters, as doubtless it desired to 

 do. Why did it not leave with the tide? was the ques- 

 tion asked by each of those who saw the struggling 

 creature, but no one offered a solution of the problem. 

 Reaching the spot, the cause was evident enough. The 

 inquisitive bill-fish had snapped at the extended soft 

 parts of an open mussel, and the enraged mollusk had 

 closed its shell with a snap, and caught the fish by the 

 lower jaw. The mussel showed no inclination to re- 

 linquish its hold, and now that the water had gone, was 

 evidently striving to bury itself in the sand until return 

 of tide, as is their usual custom. It could not, however, 

 drag the fish down with it, nor could the captured bill- 



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