ODD MKMBKRS OF THF FISH FAMILY. 9 
pendently of each other. Their heads were singularly like 
that of a horse, and they swam in an upright posture, their 
tails seizing hold of whatever they chanced to meet in the 
water. 
“ I next noticed a large company of fish in bright, beau¬ 
tiful array; prominent among them were the mullets. 
These wore bright red coats with clear white vests. One 
of them met with a fatal accident by the way, and as it ex¬ 
pired turned successively to purple, violet, blue, and at 
last to palest white. The sea parrot was another fish 
decked in the most lively 
colors, the yellow, green, 
blue and red forming 
bands of spots which 
shone with a metalic lus¬ 
ter. With these was also 
a large company of batis¬ 
tes,, who gamboled about 
like children, producing 
curious combinations of 
color. Another member 
of this division of the pa¬ 
rade was the stickleback, 
a small fish of beautiful colors. It is particularly interest¬ 
ing because of its nest building. It collects small pieces 
of sticks and straw with which the bottom of the nest is 
laid among the water plants, and these they cement to¬ 
gether by an exudation from their own bodies. Tast of 
all in this gay company was the opah, or king-fish, a large 
oval fish with the most gorgeous colors. Before I had 
time to note more of this division, they had swept by me 
with a swish, swash. 
“ While still dazzled with this array of beauty, I was 
roused by a sharp shock, and for fifteen minutes or more 
my hand and arm were deprived of all sensation. The 
