The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1875-09-04
OrrA VA FREE IRA DER: SATURDAY, sEPTEMBER4, 1875


There's generally about six OF them in the
bunch, with light dresses on, and they have
three poles with US many hooks and lines
among them. As soon as they get up 10 Mo-
sertown they look for q good place to get
down on the RATS and the most ventursome
one sticks her boot heels in the bank and
makes two careful steps down; then she sud
denly finds herself Of The bnttom with both
h nds in tn" " a.er and feeling that every.
body in this wide world is looking at her,
and ss never tells anybody how she got there.
The other girls. proiling by her example,
turn around and 20 down the bank on theii
Ia ands and toes backwards.
Then they scampcr over the RATS until they
Fl nd shallow place where they can soc the
f sh and shout
"Oh! see one"
"Wherw
"There."
"Oh! my, so he Is"
Let's catch him."
Whose got then baits:"
Somebody's got MY hook"
"You lazy thing you're sitting on my pole"
"Show me the wretch that stole my worm"
All these EXPLANATIONS are got Of In tone
that awaken every lazy echo within mile
around, and sends every fab within three
acres square into gallopIng Mysteries. Then
the girls by superhumsa exertions get worm
on the hook and "throw in" with . splash
like the launching Of waAh-tuS, and await
the result. When q silver-fin comes along
that, had any unfortunate fish weighing less
then fifteen pounds been on the hook, would
have landed it in the neighborhood OF the
new church on College Hill. After while
feebe-minded sunfish contrlves to get fas.
tened on the hook of timid fsAerwOman
and she gives tongue:
"Oh. sometime got my hook!"
"Pul up, you little idgzltw shout Ave eX-
cited voices as poles and hooks are dropped
and they rush to the rescue. The girl with
the bite gives spasmodic jerk, which send
that unhappy" sunny" into the air the full
length of forty feet iof line, and he comes
down on the nearest curly head with a damp
flop, that sets the girl 10 clawing as though
there were humble bees in her hair.
couch! Murder! take 1t away. Ugh, the
nasty thing"
Then they hold up their skirts and gather
about that fish as 1t skips over the logs, one
all the time holding the line In both hands,
with her foot on the pole, as though she had
an evil-dlsposed goat at the other end, which
she expected to butt her at any moment. Then
they talk over IT,.
"How ever will we get 1t off,"
CANT 1t pretty"
Look how it pants"
Wonder If it amt dry"
"Poor little thing, let's put it back"
"How will we get the hook from III"
"Pick it up" says girl who backs rapid.
! ly out Of the circle.
'"Good gracious I'm afraid Of 1t. There
it's opening III mouth at me-"
Just then the sunny" wiggles of the hook
and disappears between two logs into the wa
ter, and the girls try for another bite. But
the sun comes down and fries the backs of
their necks, and they get no more bites but
fly bites, and they get three headaches in the
party and they all get cross and scold at the
fish like so many magples. If an unwary
chub dsres to show himself in the water they
poke at HIM with their poles, much to his
disgust. Finally they get mad all over and
throw their poles away, hunt up the lunch
basket, climb up into the woods, where they
sit around on the grass and caterpillars and
eat enough Of dried beef and rusk and hard
boiled eggs to give wood horse the night.
mare, after which they compare notes about
their beaux until sundown. when they 60
home and plant envy in the hearts of all their
mouslin-delaine friends by telling what 'just
, q splendid time they had