FISH AS POSTMEN.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CV, Issue 12536, 25 June 1901, Page 11

FISH AS POSTMEN.

A very extraordinary case of a fish acting as a letter-carrier comes from Ileyjavik, in Iceland. On April 29 of last year 'al certain Captain Christiansen, of the s.s., Laura, received an unimportant letter from the Sheriff of Vestermann whilst the ship was lying at the latter port. Having perused the missive, the captain threw it overboard, and his astonishment may be well imagined when, on May 15, the identical communication, soiled and disfigured, was handed to him by the Consul of Rey? javik, to which plaice it had actually travelled in the stomach of a large cod-fish, and had been extricated from the same by a local fisherman. Seeing that Vestermann’ lies some 180 miles from Reyjavik, th« letter must have travelled 1 that distance between April 29 and May 15, the postman consuming just over two weeks IQ its submarine journey.

There have, however, been cases before this of fish undertaking the carriage of letters. ■ Borne fifteen years ago a whale,which was stranded on tho south coast of France, was found, upon being cut open, to - contain a mail-bag, wherein there reposed many hundreds of letters. The bag i®; question formed part of a collection which was being conveyed to Guadeloupe by & wrecked vessel, and tho letters, though somewhat dingy, were in a perfect stated! preservation. They were at once gent on to their destination, each letter being marked on the outside, “Delayed through shipwreck,” no mention, of course, being made of the extraordinary incident which; had occurred since the missives were post- , ed.

Rather amusing was the following: A young lady, walking on Brighton pier,-; dropped into the sea by accident a rather tender communication, addressed to the man of her choice. She forgot the incident completely, but was reminded of the same in a rather abrupt fashion, by the receipt-, one morning three months later, of a letter from her sweetheart, informing her that the missive had been posted to him from Boulogne by a fisherman of that town.. It seemed that the latter had found the note; in the interior of a huge mackerel, and that, being acquainted with English, he had entered into the humour of the situation, and had without delay, posted the communication to its proper owner. Never, perhaps, has a love-letter been conveyed by' a more peculiar postman. A dolphin found off the coast of Sicily was the conveyer of a letter from a French gentleman addressed to his wife in Baris: Evidently the writer had allowed the note, to fall overboard whilst journeying on ius yacht in the Mediterranean, but the letter reached the lady in due course, though, some six months intervened between its' date and its receipt.