6 
NATURE} STUDY. 
Odd Members of the Fish Family. 
BY MARY HAZUN ARNORD. 
In a little village by the sea, where we spent a happy 
summer, lives Captain Jedediah Mack—“Uncle Jed,” he 
is called by old and young. He is a grizzled old sea cap¬ 
tain, eighty years “young,” and has beguiled away many 
pleasant hours with his fish stories and tales of adventure. 
He has tiny gold rings in his ears, tattooed arms and a 
wooden leg, and his bronzed face wore its most benign ex¬ 
pression when he was surrounded by a group of children 
listening in open-mouthed wonder to his yarns of many 
thrilling escapades at sea, and though possibly at times he 
might “draw upon his imagination for facts,” his true won¬ 
der tales were more marvelous that any imaginary tales of 
Sinbad, the Sailor. 
Thus I found him one day last week, whittling out min¬ 
iature boats for a trio of grandchildren clustered about him, 
in his tiny cottage on a bluff overlooking his beloved ocean. 
I wish space permitted a description of the interior of 
Uncle Jed’s home, with its heterogeneous decorations— 
harpoons, curious shells, corals, sea mosses, oddly carved 
boxes, rare bits of tapestry from foreign shores, charms, 
idols, and—the pride of Uncle Jed’s heart—a perfect mod¬ 
el of the good ship “ Mary Ann,” complete from bow to 
stern. Over all hovered a distinct aroma of tar and other 
ship flavors, which was like incense to the old man’s nos¬ 
trils. The atmosphere and surroundings gave an added 
charm to the sailor’s stories, and I wish I could reproduce 
for you his quaint language. 
I questioned him in regard to some strange fish of which 
I had recently learned, and as soon as he had launched 
forth on his favorite theme, I had but to listen. 
“Well,” said he, “there are 1300 different species of 
fishes, and among them there are some pretty curious ones. 
