Democratic Sentinel, Volume 22, Number 30, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 August 1898 — A WONDERFUL ALASKAN FISH. [ARTICLE]

A WONDERFUL ALASKAN FISH.

Dried, It May Be Used •• a Candle, and the Remains Are Eatable. Those , men who are engaged in the profitable business of seal fishing in the Behring Sea and Pacific Ocean, along the shores of Alaska and British Columbia, hare found that a species of fish of the smelt family inhabit- these waters. These fish, in much the same way as the herring, by the irresistible force of Instinct, are annually led to approach the shores for the purpose of depositing their spawn in the shallow wafers. They arrive in vast shoals, keeping closely together, and are caught by the fishermen with nets and lines. Each of these nets is 150 feet long and 20 feet deep, and along the upper edge is fastened to a series of cork floats. When the net is to be shot a large buoy is attached to the end of the drit rope, the buoy is thrown overboard and the sails set. As the boat dashes away from the spot the nets, which have been attached to the drift rope, are thrown successively overboard, until all are paid out and hang in the water like a net wall. The strain of the buoy at one end of the drift rope and the boat at the other keeps the rope straight and the net upright As the fish come swimming along they are arrested by the net which they can not see on account of the thin twine of which it is made, and of the large meshes, which are about 2% inches in diameter. The head slips through the meshes, but the middle of the body is large and can not pass. When the fish attempts to recede, Its open gill covers become hitched in the meshes, and so retain it in that uncomfortable position till the uet is drawn In. The fish Is also a voracious biter : and can be caught almost as soon as the line can be baited and thrown overboard.

On being examined, the fish are found to be of a rich green on the back, variegated with a deep blue, while the abdomen Is silvery white, with golden reflections. The fish are so extremely fat, that on being held up to the light they are almost transparent, the backbone of the fish being seen to stand out perfectly against the light. The fish live for some considerable time after being taken out of the water. After the fish are caught they are dried and stored away until the long winter months arrive, when It gets dark early and the Alaskan Is snowed up. Here comes an opportunity for using them. Not a bit at a loss for light, the Alaskan takes one of these dried fish, Inserts its tail Into a crack in his rough wooden table, and lights Its nose. The fish burns with a bright and steady flame of about three-candle power, giving a clear, white light and a very considerable amount of heat, A fairly large fish will burn for a period of three hours. The scientific explanation Is extremely simple. The vertebrae which form the backbone of the fish are found to be largely formed of phosphorus, which not only causes It to ignite easily, but also accounts for the strength of the flame and the heat developed. The substance of the fish, which consists so largely of fat, acts as a retarder to the rapid burning of the vertebrae In precisely the'same way as the tallow acts in an ordinary candle. The fat of the fish Is largely composed of stearine, which Is also the chief chemical constituent of the tallow used for making candles, and which gives them their firmness and consistency. Valuable as is the fish for its lightgiviug properties, it also has Its value as a food. If necessary, It can he eaten after having been used as a candle, It then being simply smoked, or It can be boiled or cooked In the ordinary manner, In whichever way it is treated, to a hungry man it servos as a very welcome and appetizing dish. In flavor it is much like the smelt, having the same sweet taste, but Is much fatter. Still another use to which It can bo put Is as a substitute for cod liver oil, which, }f taken in sufficient quantity, by aiding the natural heat of the body, proves an excellent protective against the severe eold. The oil Is obtained from the fish by Immersing them In cold water and squeezing, the product obtained being almost equal In quality to the genuine cod liver oil.—New York Herald.