Melies always kept the American market in mind when he made film and early on sent his brother to New York to open up an office. where said brother produced westerns for the company. He liked to employ Francis Ford, who later became a big star and gave his brother Jack his start.... who became John Ford. So the link from Georges Melies to John Wayne is not that far.
I don't think that Melies did this one through double-exposure. I think he put a thin fish tank in front of his actors and chivvied the fish back and forth -- including at least one goldfish.
This is one of the many previously lost or infrequently seen Melies pictures that have been made available by Serge Bromberg, David Shepherd and a myriad of other hands in the newly issued DVD set GEORGES MELIES: FIRST WIZARD OF CINEMA. Required viewing for anyone interested in the history of movies ..... and a lot of fun.