346 THE CAT-FISH. 



a cluster of magnolia, with its wax-like flowers and its 

 almost overpowering perfume. 



The fish caught in the lower waters are sometimes 

 very large, and at the same time not very nice eating. 

 There is one huo*e monster called the Alii orator- Gar, 

 not to be confounded with the reptile, but, like him, 

 covered mth impenetrable scales. This creature is the 

 terror of all the fish in southern waters. His mouth is 

 full of large sharp teeth, like those of the pike. He is 

 a great annoyance to fishermen, frequently seizing fish 

 when hooked, and making off with them in the most 

 impudent manner. Everyone who has a chance kills 

 this ugly fish, although it is never eaten. I saw an 

 alligator-gar that had been caught in the Brazos de 

 Dios River, which weighed one hundred and fifteen 

 pounds. It was eleven feet in length. 



Two kinds of Cat-Fish are found — the yellow and the 

 blue — or, as it is more commonly called, the 'mud 

 cat.' They are ugly fish, without scales, and with a very 

 large mouth. The cat-fisli has three poisonous bones 

 projecting from its body, so that the fisherman must be 

 very careful while extricating his hook from its mouth. 

 The wound caused by these spikes is very painful, as it 

 festers and forms a nasty sore ; in one or two instances 

 lock-jaw has followed. The spikes are one on each 

 side behind the gills, and one upon the back, and are 

 the termyial points of fins. 



The cat-fish grow to a large size, and I have seen 



