New-York daily tribune., 1858-11-02

that uskes y"D i-eI sur" you ha'r "@'A
bitrT. But with such a bite YOU SELDOM 80.
tahrr Gunner. The reasoU Il. as no" ~'H 80
i OIL, the suses cunners that bite 10 that i'hioh'
too small they are 70 swallos the bait readily
] title i,nws nrt vet arrived ~ years oi ul-cI'
ton, vii mpuf-uiiy thrust themselves ID a''""7
crowd of iargcr and wsrr FISH. Who arr s'"''F
contemplating and smelling the bai' brioTe 'en.1',
Ing a. touch it, and suddenly sn1pnlg loio o'
corner OF II, young geo'lr'lan, nos more VIA
I've inches ioLg vii dr-g the tempting uoisi
away lrom und-r the yery hoses Oi bis seni0F>
He seldom runs with il moTe than tSo or tli7','
Grt however. ard after the first iinpufent 7ush
d-urs =. sDd seuds off f,st % his tail viii carry
him The lrger Gunner, If be takes the nAit AZ
a takes Il souerly snd eOus.dcraie.!, and does
not MAKE 4 greedy snatch at II. He l. very eN-
pert at getting the bal cd without Delng caught by
tie took though where cunner- abound there y
such crowd. AID 80 much competition, that the
w2rest tsh j. tempted now snL then io an meal
tious aud fatal bite.
WIS - much pleased with watching the move
uc,.,s Of the cunners. that did not care To catch
them | had tsken i've or SIX Of moderate SIZE
y Eo rould HOOK isi-mselve- M spIt- ot my rndetV-
ors 10 prevent i, snd had exhausted my share of
tie bait when the Professor, who had been pulling
them I'D in considerable nnmhers, called cut 70 me
from lie other end of the dory:
There is the ling of the cunners told you Of
you ever see bigger one"
II was indeed a large one-hy far The largest
Gunner Rad ever seen. Ills great comparative
size was spprrent when be- moved in throng of
his own species as be did presently sauntering
about for q few minutes with stately ar, brush
ing aside hs subjects with M estic sweep oI his
tail. After promenading for Il short time without
finding enything WORTHY Of his roy attention, ne
gldcd SLOWLY into the recesse- of patcn 0l sea
weed at the base Of one of the rocky heaps Not
doubling that be would soon reappear, deter
mined To capture him. | cut of the he1d of
small Gunner and fixed it securely on the hook.
The common herd of cunners attacked this bait as
soon as il was dropped among them, but could
make nothing of II. They could not disengage it
nor gorge it, and il was so hard they could make
little impression by nbbling. Sill, they tugged
and pulled and pushed till nearly al had tried their
teeth upon H. Not one. however, could take Il IN.
At tlenrth the big one came ont of his lurking
place among the seaweed where probably he had
been feeding upon crustacea As he lounged about,
brought my bait several times in front 0i his nose
AgBin and again be pOked II away with disdan.
Al length, suddenly il seemed to strike him as
something that demanded attention. tie paused
before il for about minute evidently considering
what il meant as il hung within an inch of his
nose, wsgglng his ts gently all the while to keep
himself in position. felt sure he would take II;
but no; with one sweep OF has tai he wheeled
about and dsrted away toward the rocks. " lie Is
gone" said to the Professor, who was watching
the affair with interest. No, there he comes
again; he has thought better Of It"
The Gunner had got his nose among the sea-
weeds, when lie paused, wheeled again, made a
straight line ior the bait, took il Ia his mouth
without the slightest hesitation, and deliberately
marched of with it TO his den in the rocks. He
did not rush of az young Gunner would have
done, but moved away with grave uncOncern
that said plainly as words could say 1t: Il
know what ann about. | have fully considered
this matter. aud its al right. This prize Is mine,
and I'm going TO enjoy it comfortably ana at
leisure" gave HIM plenty OF slack line, and
when be had got fairly housed in his place OF
refuge slowly counted hundred before ven
tured to pull him up. The bait was 10 large and
tough that doubted whether be- would swallow it.
When be carried it of, be merely took hold of it
with his thick, leshy lips. At length pulled. |
Lad him. lie had fairly swallowed tine bait, and
was fact enough. had measuring line in my
pocaet, and found his length was sixteen inches.
His weight cannot tell. tor We neglected 10 weigh
him after our return tO the slOOp.
A few minutes later We heard the sound Of
horn from the direction in which We judged the
Helen 10 have drifted though at d considerable
distance.
"They want Us 10 come back, said ], "w what
can the matter be 7"
Il
ottcniivcly scanned the neighbornG shore, as If be
were considering the stale oi the tide. AT length
be spoke:
'What time is i;' l have left my watch hang
ing in the cabin
so is mine haven't the least idea Of the
time In this fog, all hours of daylight seem pretty
much alike"
"As well as I can Judge BY the tide" said the
Professor, "it is considerably past ncon have
smoked three cigar, which ought to have taken
three hours, and Il was after 10 when we set out.
suppose they want us to come to dinner; but
I've no notion OF going back without lobster or
two for supper. What say youi'
Agreed. Hand NE bit of that bread, and
I'll stay Ill DARK, ii yOa wish"
TWO or three short blasts on the horn, in rapid
succession indicated that our comrades were get
tng impatient.
"Let them toot." said the Professor: at viii
do their lungs good. Now for lobster"
Being good deal puzzled to comprehend how
be expected 10 catch HOLSTERS with hook |
watched his proceedings with attention. While
fishing for cunners had observed several Holsters
prowling about. backing in and out from the sea-
weed and scattering the cunners by their sp-
proach. Two OF three small founders had aso
made their appearance, sliding along the bot
tom. taAing my bait with their usual stupid greed-
ness and getting caught accordingly. The Profess
sCr cut u piece from one of these, fastened both
the hooks of bis line in II and dropped II over the
side of the dory. II was instantly surrounded by
d crowd of cunners. BY gently jerking the line up
and down he kept these from stealing the bait, and
in few minutes lobster darted out of the sea-
weed, and rushing among the crowd as ii to see
what Was going on, put them TO fight. he did not
seem 10 notice the bait himself, bat the Professor.
following his movements, dropped the tempting
uorsel in front of his claws. Presently he seized
j, with avidty and conveyed il TO his mouth. The
Professor let him have if for minute until his claws