316 Big Game Fishes 
and that the early Indians were familiar with the 
notes of the drum is shown by the legend of Pas- 
cagoula and its music, it being described as rich, 
soft strains which rise from the water on still 
nights, sounding like the notes of an A£olian harp. 
In the narrative of Bienville, who entered the 
Mississippi in 1699, there is an account of the 
music of Pascagoula. The Italians give the name 
of covo to one species, which utters a croaking 
sound. £7? roncador of Central America has a 
similar habit, and Sir John Richardson states 
that upon one occasion he could not sleep on the 
coast of Carolina owing to the drumming of a 
certain species. Lieutenant John White of the 
British navy reported to his government that 
when anchored at the mouth of the Camboya 
River, his men were demoralized by strange 
sounds which came up from the sea, “ resembling 
the bass of an organ mingled with the tones of a 
bell, the croaking of an enormous frog, and the 
clanging of an enormous harp.” Humboldt also 
refers to a similar occurrence which is quoted by 
the same author: “About seven o’clock in the 
evening the sailors were terrified by an extraor- 
dinary noise in the air like the beating of tam- 
bourines, followed by sounds which seemed to 
