The oddest and most beautiful representatives of the finny tribes of stream, lake and ocean are swimming tranquilly in the tanks in the Fisheries Building at the Pan-American Exposition, and the exhibit is both instructive and delightful.

The salt water fish were brought to the grounds Monday in a tank car and transferred to their present quarters. The exhibit was in charge of Capt. Smith. The fish were brought from Morehead City, N.C.  They were caught in nets recently for the special object of being exhibited at the Exposition.

If their movements are any index to their emotions the fish enjoy being exhibited. Yesterday the water was aerated and many of the fishes raced about as if half mad with joy.

In Glass Tanks

The tanks are in a corridor and through the glass sides every motion of the denizens of the deep is visible. The bottoms and three sides of the tanks are lined with rock and seaweed in imitation of the ocean caves and coral groves.

The varieties of the fishes are many, in one tank hermit crabs, sea-robins and spider crabs were illustrating how dearly nature loves to throw freaks together in odd moments. In the next tank tautogs from Cape Cod and pigfishwere showing their silvery scales. Next to these were bur fish and swell fish.These swell fish possess the power of adjusting their protruberant eyes at any angle and spend hours in showing how many kinds of cross-eyes bullfrogs they can resemble.

Sea bass have a tank all to themselves and their next door neighbors beyond are winter flounders, summer flounders and pin fish. The pin fish are among the most beautiful in the entire building. Adjoining them is the tank home of the croakers, which appear to wear gold-rimmed eye-glasses. Sea trout and king fish come next, and then another crab tank. It is in a dim light and the first view reminds the visitor of the home of the octopus which Victor Hugo describes with so many horror frills in his "Toilers of the Sea."

Some Weird Crabs

In the semi-twilight are to be seen blue crabs, king crabs and diamond back terrapins. They fulfill every point of resemblance to the "slimy creatures" that "crawled with legs upon slimy sea" in Coleridge's vivid nightmare poem, "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner."  They were all active. Occasionally the king crabs, in their explorations of their new quarters would tilt themselves bottom out against the glass side of the tank, giving the visitor a view of legs and claws and strange, monstrous locomotive machinery that might suggest recollections of delirium tremens if he were ever fortunate enough to have been visited by that punitive infliction.  Toad fish, sea cucumbers and eels are neighbors of the crabs, and adjoining them are the spots. Skates and sting rays occupy the tank farther on, and end the exhibit of salt water fish.

The fresh water contingent came yesterday, and were likewise transferred to the tanks occupying the semi-circle opposite to that of the natives of the briny-oh. The fresh water exhibit consists almost entirely of trout clans. They were brought from Detroit, and were in charge of Capt. Burnham. The list of fish installed in the tanks yesterday included rainbow trout, brook trout, black-spotted trout, frost fish, sturgeon, croppies, rock bass and grayling.
 
 

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