"Do they make that noise when they are in the water?" asked Tom.
"Some species do. I have never heard these in the Sound make any noise until they are caught. Sir John Richardson and Lieutenant White tell strange stories about the noises made by these gurnards, as they are called, and Baron von Humboldt says that the noise made by a school of Sciænoides, which is the name of a branch of the same family inhabiting the Indian Ocean, resembled a brass band. There are many species of fishes nearly related to the sea-robin in different parts of the world. One in the Mediterranean is called by the French the noisy maigre; by the Italians, the corro, or crow. It makes a strange cooing moan that can be heard to a depth of 150 feet. It is supposed that the sounds of bells and singing which occasionally issue from the Mediterranean, and which have given rise to so many legends about sunken convents and the like, are produced by the corro. It was known as early as the time of Aristotle, who mentions the Choiros, or pig-fish, as inhabiting the river Clitor, and speaks of its power of emitting sounds. A species in the Gulf of Mexico is called by the Spanish 'el soncador,' and by the Americans the 'grunt.' The little ones are very playful, and I have often watched them at their games of 'hide-and-seek,' or 'tag,' and have landed them with a hook and line; but they made such appeals to my compassion with their short quick groans of pain, and longer and more plaintive ones begging for release, that I generally threw them back. There are other kinds of fish that can make a noise as well as the genus called by naturalists Prionotus pilatus, to which the sea-robin belongs. Even the eel will squeak when caught, and the porpoise sometimes grunts very much like the sea-robin. The drum-fish, too, which makes a noise not unlike a drum. But here is another curious fellow," he added, as he pulled in a small brown fish about as long as your finger.
"What is it, Uncle Harry?" asked Charley.
"It is a swell-fish, as it is called here. I do not know any other name for it, but swell-fish is a very appropriate one."
"It looks like one of those New Orleans cigars that you used to have," said Tom.
Uncle Harry laughed, and turned it over.
"Old gold underneath," exclaimed Tom. "That fellow is gorgeous with his seal-brown coat and old-gold vest; he is certainly a swell fish."
"That is not the reason that he is called so," said Uncle Harry. "You would not believe he would take up as much room as the sea-robin. Look," he continued; and as he rubbed the rough under side of the fish, it slowly began to expand and puff out with air, until, instead of a small cigar-shaped fish, Uncle Harry held in his hand a ball as big as an orange, with a head at one side and a tail at the other.
"It looks like an apple with a sardine for a core," said Charley.
The children laughed.