338
FINDLAY E. RUSSELL
species is wanting. Certain of the anglerfishes, butterflyfishes, jacks
or pompanos, rabbitfishes, sea basses, snappers, spadefishes, squirrelfishes and surgeonfishes have been implicated in poisonings to man,
but for one reason or another it would seem best a t this time to defer
treatment on their " venomousness".
A. Stingray
These elasmobranchs have long been known to be venomous (Plin y
A.D. 23-79). They are often depicted as " demons of the sea ", " denizens of the deep " or " devilfishes ". Popular and scientific descriptions
of their habits and feats, true and untrue, would fill this volume
several times over. One interesting aboriginal story comes to us from
Tasmania :
" Two women were bathing . . . the women were sulky, they were sad ; their
husbands were faithless, they had gone with two girls . . . they were swimming
in the water, they were diving for crayfish. A stingray lay concealed in the hollow
of a rock. The stingray was large, he had a very long spear . . . he pierced them
with his spear . . . he killed them . . . he carried them away . , . he came close to
shore . . . with him were the women, they were fast on his spear . . . they were
dead.
Two black men fought the stingray ; they slew him with their spears . . . the women
were dead. The two men made a fire . . . On either side they laid a woman. The
two black men sought some ants, some large blue ants. They placed them on the
bosoms of the women. Severely, intensely were they bitten. The women revived. . .
they lived once more."
An early stingray victim was Captain John Smith. Walter Russell,
" gentleman, doctor of physicke ", who accompanied Captain Smith as
he and a company of fourteen explored Chesapeake Bay in June, 1608,
described the encounter (Mumford, 1903) :
" . . . but our boate by reason of the ebbe, chansing to grownd upon a many
shoules lying in the entrances, we spyed many fishes lurking in the reedes : our
Captaine sporting himselfe by nayling them to the grownd with his sword,
set us all a fishing in that manner ; thus we tooke more in one houre then we could
eate in a day.
But it chansed our Captaine taking a fish from his sword (not knowing her
condition) being much of the fashion of a Thornback, but a long tayle like a ryding
rodde, whereon the middest is a most poysoned sting, of two or three inches
long, bearded like a saw on each side, which she strucke into the wrist of his arme
neare an inch and a halfe : no blood nor wound was seene, but a little blew spot,
but the torment was instantly so extreme, that in foure houres had so swolen
FINDLAY E. RUSSELL
species is wanting. Certain of the anglerfishes, butterflyfishes, jacks
or pompanos, rabbitfishes, sea basses, snappers, spadefishes, squirrelfishes and surgeonfishes have been implicated in poisonings to man,
but for one reason or another it would seem best a t this time to defer
treatment on their " venomousness".
A. Stingray
These elasmobranchs have long been known to be venomous (Plin y
A.D. 23-79). They are often depicted as " demons of the sea ", " denizens of the deep " or " devilfishes ". Popular and scientific descriptions
of their habits and feats, true and untrue, would fill this volume
several times over. One interesting aboriginal story comes to us from
Tasmania :
" Two women were bathing . . . the women were sulky, they were sad ; their
husbands were faithless, they had gone with two girls . . . they were swimming
in the water, they were diving for crayfish. A stingray lay concealed in the hollow
of a rock. The stingray was large, he had a very long spear . . . he pierced them
with his spear . . . he killed them . . . he carried them away . , . he came close to
shore . . . with him were the women, they were fast on his spear . . . they were
dead.
Two black men fought the stingray ; they slew him with their spears . . . the women
were dead. The two men made a fire . . . On either side they laid a woman. The
two black men sought some ants, some large blue ants. They placed them on the
bosoms of the women. Severely, intensely were they bitten. The women revived. . .
they lived once more."
An early stingray victim was Captain John Smith. Walter Russell,
" gentleman, doctor of physicke ", who accompanied Captain Smith as
he and a company of fourteen explored Chesapeake Bay in June, 1608,
described the encounter (Mumford, 1903) :
" . . . but our boate by reason of the ebbe, chansing to grownd upon a many
shoules lying in the entrances, we spyed many fishes lurking in the reedes : our
Captaine sporting himselfe by nayling them to the grownd with his sword,
set us all a fishing in that manner ; thus we tooke more in one houre then we could
eate in a day.
But it chansed our Captaine taking a fish from his sword (not knowing her
condition) being much of the fashion of a Thornback, but a long tayle like a ryding
rodde, whereon the middest is a most poysoned sting, of two or three inches
long, bearded like a saw on each side, which she strucke into the wrist of his arme
neare an inch and a halfe : no blood nor wound was seene, but a little blew spot,
but the torment was instantly so extreme, that in foure houres had so swolen