NATURAL HISTOR Y. 109 



" Oh, we shall be very glad to hear of him. 71 



"Listen, then. There is a kind of eel, 



which when it is touched will give a very 



hard blow, just like an electric shock, to the 



person who touches it." 



" Is there any spark, Uncle Philip ?" 

 " No, boys ; there is no spark, but the blow 

 is tremendous. I remember reading of one 

 of these fish which was caught in a net, and 

 a foolish sailor would take it up, though he 

 was told it would hurt him. The fish shocked 

 him so violently that he fell down in a fit, 

 and it was a long time before he came to his 

 senses ; and his story was, that the moment 

 he touched the fish, i the cold ran swiftly up 

 his arm into his body, and pierced him to the 

 heart. 7 The fish has this power to defend 

 itself, and to kill other fish for food." 



" But, Uncle Philip, how do they ever man- 

 age to catch them alive ? I should think they 

 would be shocked to death." 



" I will tell you. ?A very sensible traveller 

 and learned man* gives an account of the 

 manner in which they catch them, by a way 

 called, by the South American Indians, ' fish- 

 ing with horses. 7 " 



* M. Humboldt. 

 K 



