Giddy fish - [Fearsome Critter]

Giddy Fish  - [Fearsome Critter] - (latin: Parvipiseis)

• About this critter: A tiny fish, with a rubbery, bouncy body with an elastic quality like that of india rubber. (I can only imagine that it tastes funny.) - Sociable, with the tenancy to imitate the actions of one another: Made easy to catch in the wintertime through a hole in the ice, when one comes up to the surface to investigate said hole, the fisherman would wack the leader with a paddle, and the fish would bounce up onto to the surface, others under the ice would soon take the cue and would begin to bounce also, causing them to bounce up and down, out of the water and onto the ice. - Monarchs would use these Wild Giddyfish's clownish behaviour as a torture method. - [The Giddyfish is often said to be a relative to the "whirligig fish" which swims in circles so quickly it knocks itself out.]

• History:  The Giddy fish is Perhaps best known for its inclusion as one of several critters which are described in the bestiary of Paul Bunyans Natural History [Charles Edward Brown, published 1935] - The description goes as follows –

GIDDY FISH. They were small and very elastic, like India rubber. They were caught through holes in the ice during the winter. The method pursued was to hit one on the head with a paddle. This fish would bounce up and down. Taking the cue from him the other fish would bounce also. Presently all would bounce themselves out of the water onto the ice. There they were easily gathered up. 

The Giddyfish has since made periodic appearances in bestiaries such as "Curious critters" [Lauber, 1969] "Mythical creatures of the USA and Canada" [Wyman, 1969] & various jokebooks and the like. (The description appears essentially identical in most other bestiarys and future instances from then forward.) -- Notably, the book does not contain a description of how the fish might look but goes on about how it was captured.

"The king then made the loggers a speech of apology and warning. He told them that the only crimes punishable by death in Kansas were dealing from the bottom of the deck, throwing a horse race or a fight, and shooting craps with loaded dice. Those convicted of such crimes were sentenced to watch the giddy fish until they laughed themselves to death" – Paul bunyan chapter 3 the king of kansas - full story here.

...A news paper clipping from The Tacoma news tribune [Dec 1927] muses on the book with the idea that the Giddyfish's potential origin was perhaps to do with migrating salmon. - this seems to be accurate enough as future Paul Bunyan stories omit the torture incident and emphasize the flopping bit much more often, as such this part of the giddyfishes lore was not included in Paul Bunyans Natural History [1935] One can assume that if the giddyfish was 'real' the fishing method described was the reason why they dont exist anymore. (as is similar for most critters)

Art sticker by @samkalensky part of my Fearsome Critters collection of stickers  check my shop and follow for many more