The boat-hook passed through what appeared to be
the middle of the creature with a splash, and four or five fish, about 8
inches long, and of narrow girth, floated away, stunned, killed by the
shock. Then it was realised that the apparently solid fish was really a
compact mass of little fish, moving along with common impulse and
volition, each fish having a sinuous, wriggling motion. So closely were
they packed that it was impossible without careful scrutiny to discern
individual members of the group, and so intimate their association and
so remarkable their mutual sympathy, that they seemed to possess minds
with but a single thought, hearts that beat as one. Here were not forty,
not four hundred, but more likely four thousand living, moving, and
having their being as a single individual. Dispersed for an instant as
the boat-hook or paddle was driven through it, the mass coalesced
automatically and instantly as if controlled by mechanical force, or
composed of some resilient substance, and swayed again on its course,
while the dead and stunned drifted away.
Examining the specimens procured, it was found that they resembled
lampreys in shape, olive green in colour, with pale lemon-coloured
streaks and marks.
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