Show p pS J S fa u X L J. J I 1 1 lip I n en y d It Q C n a Aar h k 6 1 U do V Fr L I flit rj 9 1 C A Ani f w LJ 7 2 L 4 k ov w I i i 7 1 I L r F f I i IL 0 E. E r 3 I I a J 1 J r y Y I 4 i I I Ii u. u i 1 r i J jk j k 4 Tr I w 2 ti t. t f. f tiL L f 3 1 1 One of the most valuable I. I Specimens obtained by Ar- Ar t thur H Fisher the explorer exi explorer ex ex- is the skeleton of a ac t c i t both boto 1 a water fresh-water dolfi dol dol- dot dot- fi j is phin It is the first one to toach 4 ach each the United States end nd has been presented to tot Y t the he Smithsonian Institution I W fH iJ The Th Fish Sir Siren n j f. f r FA A CURIOUS legend of the natives of the Amazon I basin has it that that- the freshwater freshwater fresh fresh- water ter dolphin once had a k habit of assuming the shape t ff r of a beautiful wom woman n and appearing apIci appearing ap ap- I peari g at night m in the streets Ici of the villages that cluster on ont t x the mighty rivers river's shore i Her loveliness was so f Y taking breath-taking that no man I. f. who saw her could resist and once under her spell mush follow fol fol- follow fol- fol f rl low her wherever she went i- i She used to lure her victims along the dark streets to the ther r waters water's edge then turning hold out her arms arm s and when L the man man- rushed to her seize r- r r him about the neck and plunge into the waters which closed over him forever I 1 i TALES ALES of fabulous us riches have ve lured s men of old along the hidden trails I s' s of ancient Spanish conquerors that led 4 through the tho jungle mazes of Brazil Tho The banks of tree-choked tree tributaries of of the thet t I Amazon zon were stocked so said the InI Indians Indians In In- I with marvelous treasure l The adventurers of Pizarro's day days s braved the terrors of the forest and the of the and strewed their perils swamps swamps' n racked fever-racked bones in the White Mans Man's if Gr Grave ve in sear search h of gold But tho the treasure that is sought b bw by Y t w modern modem Jasons is neither gems nor gold r i Instead they seek the scientific fruits of exploration the secrets of nature buried In what is still almost a virgin virginI wilderness The age of romance has not 1 gone forever Returning argosies would argosies would I 4 not exchange their cargoes for Ithe the olden Golden Fleece of that first expedition of xi s I The particular of the latest gem f expedition expo expo- organized organized in behalf of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia is a skeleton of a n water fresh-water dolphin This skeleton is the first complete one ono of its kind ever over received by an American muse museum museum mu mu- se seum m and tho the cap captor lor of the prize tho the explorer has donated it to the Smithsonian Institution at Washington Washing Washing- ton D. D C. C A recent writer has said that there is work to occupy science for a thousand years rears ears to to- jn in n tho the great valley of the tho t o a ri The natives believe that the fresh water fresh water dolphin once once had 1 L J the power of changing into abeau- abeau a beautiful beau beau- o of ul maiden luring men to the theaters theater's waters water's edge where t they ey returned to to t 4 te their 11 ir original shape dragging the victim victim VICtim vic vic- VIC VIC- tim to his death beneath the surface F 1 j w rr a i z sf V o- o The fiercest st st. and most bloodthirsty bloodthirsty bloodthirsty blood blood- thirsty animal known to man manis manis is the the piranha a comparatively comparatively comparatively short t deep bodied fish not unlike a small-mouth small black bass which inhabits the waters of the Amazon and its tributaries With one bite ite it itcan it itcan itcan can shear off a finger J Amazon Perhaps Mr Fishers Fisher's re remarkable remarkable remark remark- ark ark- able film record of his mile trip along the river and its tributaries may help to cut down the time Certain it is that much interest has been aroused in the dolphin the boto as the natives call him and there is al almost almost almost al- al most as much of a sensation in scientific circles over the latest Smithsonian addition addition addition addi addi- tion as there was on the shores of the Rio Tapajos Tapajos' when the boto was harpooned har har- B BECAUSE of the fact that the boto bota isa is isa isa a sacred symbol among some of the tribes it is difficult to get natives to assist as- as assist assist as as- in its capture The rivers too were unusually high while the expedition was traversing tho Amazon basin and hence there were no places such as appear appear in ordinary seasons where fr freshwater freshwater fresh fresh- sh- sh water dolphin may be found disporting lisp themselves Knowing the value of the specimen to science however Mr Fisher persisted and at length his persistence was rewarded by the capture of the mammal Ho He tho the specimen on tho the banks of the tho Tapajos where the tall trees rise like liko a wall their branches mingling with the vines that intertwine until they form a leafy roof overhead so that the tho vast reaches of forest are aro in a weird eternal twilight While Mr Fisher was engaged in his careful task a group of native women approached and watched him with curiously curiously curi cud eager eyes They talked among themselves made odd little gestures and appeared to urge one ono another on At JI Jf y 1 L t The n natives a t i v e s whom the theY expedition ex- ex ry Y r 4 pe d i t ion encountered encountered en en- R countered were fine looking stalwart men 11 j X y During the trip Mr Fisher spent considerable consider consider- k h able time on a raft on which a thatched palm-thatched hut but had been constructed Invariably he flew the Stars and Strip Stripes son on his primitiv f craft cruising little-known little waters Vaters length on one of them the boldest asked if she might have an eye of the boto both Now there is a legend concerning the eye of the dolphin which runs that any woman who is so fortunate as to possess possess possess pos pos- sess it may win the heart of any man mansho she sho may desire With that talisman she sho man can hope will prove irresistible no no to evade her spell Yes most certainly said the r ex-r explorer explorer ex ex- when the request had been convoyed con con- convoyed convoyed con voyed to him and he cut the eye clear of the flesh and laid it fn in her covetous brown hand She twittered her thanks in native jargon and ran away But that was not the end of the incident incident incident inci inci- dent for presently the husband of the had become become become be be- woman appeared heard that sho she come possessed of the vamping eye and began to object vociferously Why he ho contended violently this would never do The eye must bo be taken away at once oncel His wife would be bo throwing her spell over him and he ho would never be able to toha ha have ve his own way again I All the other native men would fall victims to her charms plus the eye and there would beno be bo bono no more peace peace illustrating illustrating the faith of the tho ho natives in the tho t legends of long ago The boto is about eight feet long It feeds on small fish and crustaceans for which it gropes for its sight is very very dim if indeed it can see at all with its long snout in the muddy waters at the bottom of the river Sometimes it is pink or flesh-colored flesh sometimes it is entirely black and occasionally a specimen willbe will willbe willbe be found that is black above pink and and pink beneath Superstition is a magic s shield for the boto for even though tho the fat yields yields' a anoil an anoil oil that is most excellent for burning in lamps the tho legend that use of the light so made will result in blindness protects the source of supply T THE HE boto interesting as it is cannot claim the sole spotlight of this latest e expedition The first pictures motion-pictures of the piranha a man eating fi fish h that measures hardly more than a foot in iQ length arc are another important of the trip through the pathless tropics These cannibal fish as Roosevelt loved to call them are the most ferocious fish in the tho world for even the most formidable creatures of the deep sh sharks and barracudas usually atta attack k things Copyright VM cr CO f f Academy demy of Natural Sciences X t i Expedition Brings Back i d 4 Specimens The native Indian girls of South America are are shy eyed dark creatures a and n d some of th them m are are really pretty even by Caucasian standards of f feminine e m i n i Inc n beauty try of the Bot B to othe the r L' L Eye of Which Is a Love c Talisman for the South V. V t s1 ill American Tribal Women Wo l wn smaller than themselves The piranhas however habitually attack things much larger They will snap a finger off a h hand nd incautiously trailed in the water over the side of a canoe to go in swimming swimming swimming swim swim- the ming or even bathing in waters where they abound is almost to sign ones one's death warrant warrant warrant war- war rant for even those who may ma escape the attacks of a school of piranha will almost certainly be mutilated by the malignant A wounded man or beast fish who falls in their way will will willbe be torn to bits and devoured for the blood in the water drives piranha mad The piranha is a short deep- deep bodied fish with a blunt face and a heavily undershot or projecting projecting projecting pro pro- lower jaw which gapes teeth widely The razor razor edged edged are wedge-shaped wedge like a sharks shark's and the jaw muscles possess rabid furious great cat power The teeth snaps of the jaw drive the through flesh and bone The with its short muzzle z head staring malignant eyes andA and and A gaping cruelly armed jaws is is the embodiment of evil order to photograph the fish a sp specially ape In constructed dally built aquarium was Vas the under Mr Fishers Fisher's direction piranhas were caught with hook and line and then placed in buckets of water transferred to the aquarium An idea of their ferocity may be gained from the fact that in transferring the fish from rom the buckets to the tank one of the native boys who were helping lost a thumb TT IT T WAS in the Rio on the Island of Marajo a body of land larger than the tho whole of the British Isles that lies in the mouth of the Amazon River that the tho explorer finally found the tho piranhas after carrying his special aquarium with him for weeks The only redeeming feature about these fish is that they themselves are fairly good to eat although they have havo havea a great many bones If a native falls fall into the water and the watching piranha snaps off a toe or ora ora ora a finger the flow of blood will bring the there re rest refit t of tho the school of fish upon him like liken a n pack of w wolves A child who fell into the tho water wat r. r during tho ho trip rip of oZ on an earlier arli r I before explorer was literally devoured aid could reach him In some places the natives capture a supply of the fish by pouring the juice of a vine into the water This juice seems to have the effect of an anesthetic anesthetic anesthetic anes anes- upon the ferocious little monsters and after it has been applied they may maybe maybe maybe be readily captured Some idea of the rapidity with which they use their savage teeth may be ba gained when it is known that when a capybara capybara-a a huge aquatic guinea pig about the size of a small was sheep sheep was shot and sank in the water the smell of blood brought the piranhas darting upon the the- carcass which ten minutes later was more than half eaten TUT AN ANY are the tales that are told by M returned travelers concerning the ferocity of the cannibal fish An extraordinary extraordinary incident related to Roosevelt by another explorer is slightly different from the average average story of mutilation The party had not previously encountered encountered encountered the piranha they had been traveling traveling travel travel- ing for days and were very hungry At length they reached a stream dynamited it as was their usual custom and waded in to seize the stunned fish as they floated on the surface One man having his hands full and not liking to lose any of the food they so sorely needed tried to hold one fish by putting its head into his mouth The piranha recovering from its stupor bit a section of the mans man's tongue out and the resulting hemorrhage was so terrific that the victims victim's life was saved sayed only with the utmost difficulty The most valuable fish from irom a food standpoint found in these tropical waters according to Mr Fisher is the which often grows eight feet in length and five feet in girth and weighs as much as pounds It hasan has hasan an elongated snout snout covered with bony plates or scales the body being ca cal Tho The plates or scales covering it give the appearance of an ornamental coat of mail and when a has hasi 1 been caught these scales are arc used to tomake make picks for mandolins The saW salted d and nd dried meat makes one of the principal prin principal prin prin- cipal articles of food along the Amazon The results of Mr Fishers Fisher's expedition through the scientific trove treasure have hwa been presented by him to the Philadelphia Philadelphia Philadelphia Philadel Philadel- phia Academy of Natural Sciences on behalf of which he ho undertook the thc fi fie work 9 of the trip J |