The Sumter banner. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1846-1855, 1849-08-22

oel'cvcd 1t to be SO then, having told it
oitcn enough to give to it the most i'm
pllcit crcdcncc by the time he arrived
at mans estate. In addition, as I be.
fore stated, to this harmonious weak
ness, Bob's distinguishing charactcrism
his principal VANITY was Fishing
10 him ali other active au.,stmcnts
we're as nauyht, or ut any rate. subor.
d"ate to this. Bob was a fisherman .
nc had a genius for the thing, which dc.
Vclopcd itself i'll all his actions in that
regard. lie considered the somewhat
prccarlous dominion We exercise over
the monsters of the briny Deep as the
greatest and most important of the gifts
OF the Creator to his creature. lie
loved fishing was ola piscivorous hab.
1t, and loved to cat 'cm when caught:
prcicrrlng fish to either flesh or
iowl:' lie was prcdcstincd to an cx-
ccedlnS close affinity with the scaly
tribe, being clerk in :: fish store was
marked naturally with the figure Of a
tish under the left arm-cithcr a whale
or nlackcrcl, Bob didn't know which
had a 'iishy' look with him, white
looking eye, a sharply defined, attcnu-
atcd, and exceedingly straight and
pointed nose, closely resembling that of
Il plkc,--in strange contrast with the
usual organs Of the Misses Stimson.
all of which were decidedly and ambi,
t3usIy 'snnhbish, "a pouting, oval
shaped mouth, with little or no chin
thercnnto attached, in fact, presented
quite a shady appearance. From
very broad shoulders hung down two
arms reaching but a trihc lower than
'hc place where the h;}s ouyht to be
which In walking were not swung
to aud iro after the manner of ordinary
mortals, but dashed out latcrally; in a
srasmo'llcal sort Of fashion, very much
like man swimming. This, in addi-
ton to a slightly wriggling style of
pcdcstslanisnl, forming tout cnscm.
bic decidedly riScatorial. AS before
stated. Bob was fisherman. The
twelfth Zodiacal sign was his natal con
stcllation. He was born under 'Piscis
Major and had entirely abandoned HIM
sell to It's influences. Bob rcligiouslv
devoted all holidays to his f,voritv pur.
suit. lie was deeply learned in the
names, nature, habits and haunts of the
entire tinny tribe ,-had al: the marks
ana grounds known to old sportsmcn
Tor thirty miles round. and considered
1t glorious sport to start at da ght with
two dollars worth of soft crab and
shrimp for bait, rev eight or nine
miles against a strong tide, sit all day
III the hot sun and row back at night
with bunch Of fish which might justly
be considered dear at quarter of a
dollar! This was what Bob consider.
ed real, substantial enjoyment, none
of your 'wishy-washy, nambv-pambv-
isin' 10: him. lie cschcwcd all dane
lng, thcatrica!s, picncs, kissing parties
and the like, as weak, mawkish, and
beneath the dignity Of mani consider.
lng his !avoritc pasti,.e The only real
source Of nalloycl amusement of an
out door life, with music for domestic
recreation the two combined d,-whcn
possible, the very acme Of human en-
joymcnt.
Bob had stored his mind with a col
lection of legends in relation to the
gentle art, commcncin. . with Jonah S
Whale, which he considered as being
dccrtcdl.v the most authentic of the mi
raclcs, though, rs he himself remarked.
ltccrtainl.V was curious how the whale,
having succeed i'll getting upon 'dry
land Tor the purpose OF vomiting up Jo-
nah, managed to get back to lis native
element, being leglcss and mwicldv {;
but Bob's organs Of 'marvclousncss
was small, by no means correspondent
with lis musical development, not-with-
! standing the active exercise Of his Idc
ahtly, caused him to narratc continual.
ly Fish Storics,' which stretched 10
its utmost tension the largest crgan Of
Wonder III possession of his hearers
One OF Bob's iavoritc stories was in re-
latlon to the taking. in seine, of a
huge sea bass Of exactly the same
length as himself, to an inch, upon that
portion OF the shores OF Staten Island
where now stands the whilom Water
ing Place, New Brighton. In this
adventure his life was pcri!cd repeated
beng dragged by the scaly 'lcvia.
than several times beyond his depth,
and though very fond Of going in Il
swimming. Boo could not swim.
This affair Bob regarded as the schicf
douvrc' Of his life; its result. as dcci.
dcdIy more important than that of the
] l3attln OF ,IruNtnn IN ,l.LinL L..