Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1872-05-16
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MY FIRST SALMON.

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u NatafxAaia how 1,,killeI nv 8rsi
salmon T SNSlk comeeaits down 6eslde
me under -tbe4, old chestnut, and hear
the thrilling story. Al! how tie dear
old memories come over me! Shall /
ever forget that eventful day? j
remember that for some days pre-
viously I had been fearfully chaffed
about my apparent want of success in
the gentle, art,-an' empty cteel being
the absurd and unjust criterion bT
which W. 1M9ad 4cEaded most un-
mercifully by those charming girls stay
ing at Glenmnir; chafed and thorough.
y well "'.bean-baeged."'. But stay.
Perhaps you do not know the delights
OF bean-bagging, what beap-bags are,
or how. bean-bags are lplayed7 MOI
Then will tell you; and If Won oct
nothing else from the perusaf of fhe
story I am about to relate, YOU win
thank me to the last hour of your exist.
ence for initiating you into the mystery
of bean-bags' .::. ..-.'.':
ALI that IS necessary is canvas, mus
lin, or linen bag, about four inches
square, containing beans or split. peas.
That il all.' But the use'ufthem Al !
therein lies bliss untold. The game is
played by two people, ,-one, of course,
being OF the. gentier sex,-youth and
beauty indispensable. The old and
ugly, as in a good many other games I
wot Of, are completely out of it. In
fact, have often heard the latter aver
they never could see any fun in beam
bags; but, l repeat, in q country house.
on wet day, or With nothing else to
do to take q bean-bag ip7 each hand.
stand opposite your antagonist, the
young and fair,-at about ten paces'
distance, prepared for action, is q mo-
ment worth living for. Your enemy
commences by throwing the bag held
in her right hand at you, which you are
to catch in your left, at the same time
throwing your right-hand bag at her
then you must quickly pass the one
caught from left to right, and throw it.
The game thus proceeds, and, as each
player is in possession of two bags, q
keen look ont for squalls il. necessary,
! nedlhsrdI saS that, ,afterabout three
minutes sefious play, tile whole thing
ends in a regular romp.; the fair one
having perhaps failed to catch a bag.
sends them all at your head anyhow
You retaliate the best way you can, con-
sistent with mercy, and a general en-
gagement follows. Again: repeat,
bean-bags is great fun. Try it, and
you will concur in my opinion, and
bless me for putting you up to so rood
a thing. Pardon the digression. but I
could not resist it. The memory of the
dear old game, especially with one GER
tain-ah, well, never mind! <:
Well as said, I hsdAbe6n greatly
chaffed by avery one at the house. and
I had determined On this particular
morning to do or die, my resolve to do
being considerably stronger then my
desire for sdeath in case Of failure.
mast candidly confess, however, that
never was great success in the art OF
old Izaak Walton. Old Izaak did love
the surroundings, I loved: the sport
immensely, tits true but I loved it,
not so much for what I could !. or did
catch, but for its necessary and attend.
ant surroundings. To me, in those
dear romantic days, it was indeed bliss
to stroll along the banks or up the cen.
tre OF some lovely, rapid trout stream,
with q pipe in my mouth, enjoying
thoroughly the beauties of nature, the
glorious sensations of youth and perfec,
health: occasionally sitting down and
dreaming dreams,-ah, s,sch dreams J.
and nursing and mddlging in such
delusive hopes and thoughts, which
never could possibly, by the most mir.
aculous combination of circumstances,
be renlized, except in-dreams. All
this, under the soothing influence o1
the blending of the sweet music of the
waters of the running clear stream,
with the cooling of the doves, and the
wild and clear notes of the nightingale,
made me realize that II have beer
blessed.
Sleeping dreams, they say. are unac.
countable; and we certainly do see in
our nightly and sleeping visions, while
wandering through unknown and per
haps impossible worlds, q strange
heterogeneous mass of unheard .o1
things; but believe that We, one and
all, have indulged in dreams of a fal
! wilder and more impossible nature than
gentle sleep would ever introduce into
our imaginative brain.
Halo another depression. I reall,
must get on, or you will begin to wonder
if this "fish" was ever caught at ali.
The day was one I had been longing
for in vain for sou.e time; cloudy, with
no great heat in the air. and delicious
breeze that would beautifully rippl,
the waters of the ladies pool, tht
scene of my intended operations. NJ,
faithful gillie Simon had been dull
warned to be in attendance at 10 pre-
clsely; and, as the clock struck tha
hour, I was greeted by his old honest
though whisky-drinking face, with tn
following remark:
Are yer for the pool tn morn, sir
For, II sac, We maun ut once, as ther
is llst grand breeze on the water. an(
If yen no get fash the day, my name
With these words of announcement
l was proceeding to leave the house b.
the least frequented path, and. as
hoped and trusted, unobserved. Bu
no ; mercy for this day, at all events
had deserted me, for I had hardly 90
clear of the house before o torrent q
chatf and shouts of laughter, aimed q
me from an upper window, fell uDo
my devoted head, much, fear,-sha
l confess it ITO Simon's secret anus,
me"t, which my evident chagrin onl
increased.
Simon, Can't yon find blind OF,
for the captain this morningl''
"Ah, Harry, my boy, believe me, til