CHAPTER NINTH 



fFILD LIFE IN WATER 



" 'T' HE antelope has less reason to fear the 

 •* lion than has the minnow to dread 

 the pike. We think of timid antelopes and 

 roaring lions, but the former has good use of 

 its limbs, and so a fighting chance for its life ; 

 but the minnows have little advantage in the 

 struggle for existence, and none at all when 

 the predatory fishes are in pursuit of them." 

 This was written in a note-book more than 

 thirty years ago, and I let it stand as evidence 

 of how easy it is to be in error in matters of 

 natural history. 



When I went to school there was but one 

 teacher of the five that knew anything about 

 such matters, and he had the old-time views. 

 Then a fish was a mere machine so far as in- 

 telligence was concerned. We were told of 

 the cunning of foxes and the instinft of ants 

 and bees, but never a word of fishes. 

 II* 125 



