The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1877-09-06
Uncle Jerry's Fish Story.

fish they isl
A party of fishermen were camped on
the Rattlesnake Creek, near the ceie-
brated Greening Farm, in the best trotit-
fishing section of the Shohola region, IN
Pike County, Pa. The question OF the
voracity and tenacity of fish was being
discussed over the pipe and bowl, after
days tramp of many miles. Old Uncle
Jerry was present. The catfish, the eel,
the black bass, the trout, and pickerel
each had it's champion, and illustrative
stories that must have made the bones OF |!
Munchausen turn and rattle in their |
grave were related to prove the superb
GRITTY of each in the two attributes men
toned. Uncle Jerry had taken butlittle
part in the discussion, and the weight OF
argument seemed to be in favor of the
catfish. Then the old fisherman came
to the aid of the pickerel.
ga full-grown pick'rel It's healthy"
said Jerry, "'ll eat its childurn and its
childurn's childurn to the tenth genera
ton; N Pm burned # amt seed one
It had got holt N his own tail somehow,
N was tryin' his pootiest to get away
with hisself take It that fish that
hez SIGH a appetite S that orter be put
down 'mong them as hez 'tleast inklin'
of voraishusness. Is a pick're tee
naishus? Wall, mebbe 1 dom know
'zacly what teenaishus is; but I've
cotched pick'rel through the ice, throw
ed 'em out, and seed 'em flop round
till they frozed stiff; KEEP 'em two r
three days, then carried 'em twenty
mile to Git home, IN chucked 'em on the
kitchen floor till KID Git ready to clean
'em. I've seed these same fish lay thar
by the stove bout five minutes, N then
begin to gap and work their gills, n
then pooty soon 90 to floppin' and skip
PIN round the room, with their jaws
open like young alligator, 'nwouldn't
be still till 1 hit 'em in tn head wi ar
AK. Mebbe Danl Webster's dictionary
don't call that teenashus, but # faint
It's poorly durn nigh on to it; amt it,
boysp"
The boys could scarcely help allow
ing that there was at least suspicion
of tenacity about n pickerel guilty of
such conduct.
"Guess l never tole you bout ole
Squire Billins's pick'rel that he he'd
onct, did 1? Wall, boys, thar was a
fish! Mebbe you won't b'lieve this sto-
~, but it's true s preachii', n # you
ever see the ole Squire he'll tell you the
same thing He KEEP the pick'rel in a
spring in pastur' on his farm. 1t want
more'n foot N a half long, the pick rel
want, but he were s commojus as a
ten-acre lot. burned fl hain't gone t.
that spring with a twelve-quart pail full
o. liver, and, after feedin' it all to ole
Teetotaller-they called him Teetotaller
cause he never got full-he'd snap his
jaws and tear round in that spring till
she b'led, cause there want any more
liver comm to him. The cows feed
in tn lot got so they was fraid to 90
an drink il the spring, cause Teeto-
any thing. Old Squire lef' subsile
pillow layin' near tn spring one night,
and mex mornin' 'twere gone. They
allus blamed teller It lived over that
way wi stealin' It, but I tell you he's
innocent. That durn pick'rcl eat that
pillow!
"Wall, anyhow, the Squire bought a
new cow one day, an turned 'er in the
spring lot; [ were thar, an me an the
ole man was leanin' on the fence lookin'
at tn new COW. She fed round a while,
an then walks over t. TIL spring to
drink. She drunk, and turns round an
stands still, a swishin' an swoshin' her
tail in the spring. She were nice fat
critter, an ole Teetotaller liked tn
looks of 'er, an made up his mind to
eat 'er up. So he waltzes over to that
side O. the spring, an when the cows
toll init hn aln
on it like a bar trap. Did that COW
heller? Some, think. An then she
guy one jump and ole Teetotaller came
out'n that spring s if he'd been shot
out'n cannon. An roun' that lot
they went, the cow a-bellerin' an hum
PIN her back, and lookin' S if the
wuthlessness of this h'yer mundane
spear he'd never struck Ter so forcible
afore, while Teetotaller were takin'
up the slack in 'er tail about Il foot at
every jump. They hedn't made more'n
one circuit O. the lot afore tn pick rel
he'd put hisself out side o all that cows
tail, but in maxim grab fur 'er rump
he missed his holt and came t. tn
groun,. kerfiummix.
"'By the horned spoon!' said the
ole Squire, that settles Teetotaller!'
awe ruined over t. whar he fell,
'spectin', o. course, t. fin him dead
erin June shad. But, boys, you may
ask the Squire, N he'll tell you tn
same thing-if that durn fish want a
raisin' up and tryin' to see which way
that COW he'd gone, an a spittin' out
cows HAIR enough to mix hod O plas-
ter, hope I'll never see the back O my
neck! One o. Teetotaller's eyes were
out, and there were han'ful r two o
meat Scnnned nnt'n his hack. but we