The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1884-08-29
SPEARING FISH AT NIGHT.
STRANGE SIGHTS SHOWN By THE
JACK LIGHT.
Catching a Snv-toOthcd MOnster-A
Divers Advent tire with ~ GAR
fish-WiCe us Rnit for Trout.


81 took him for q pickerel, and the
minute landed HIM he got off the spear
and began a-snappin' and goin' for me,
so Jest lit out and let him have the hull
boat to himself. They're reglar fresh
water sharks"
The great fish was a gar nearly four
feet long, one of the most powerful fishes
of the st. Lawrence and great lakes, unfit
for food, with long, slender muzzle,
armed with powerful, sawlke teeth.
The boats were rugged with braziers over
the bow, in which burned pine knots that
cast lurid light about the smooth
waters of the lake and illumined the
depths far below. AS the boat drifted
slowly along, propelled by an occasional
push, all the curious objects of the bot
tom came plainly into view. The green
and purple grasses assumed strange
ghostlv tints in the ruddy glare and the
white sand patches that appeared here
and there gistened like beds of sill
YER The light penetrated the darkest
hooks and corners, starting the black
bass, which darted away in alarm. Dusky
eels were outlined upon the bottom, re-
naming quiet until they felt the spear, as
if paraiyzed by the sudden blaze of light.
The chubby rock bass started upward, as
if attracted by the glow; the pickerel
moved slowly away, as if half asleep, while
host of other forms of aquatic life illus
trated as many different traits and hab-
it's
"If one of them fe.lers ever gets hold
on yor, " continued the dripping oarsman,
referring to the gar, che II make his mark.
hor l,trc
times YOU won't see one for a year, and
then they come with a rush. They amt
afraid of nothin'. A man by the name
of Bailey, that lived down the river here
piece, went out fishin' one day, and
fouled long silk line. He did not want
to lose it, so he stripped and went down
in about fourteen feet of water to unwind
it from the snag. | was tishin' about a
hundred feet away, and was watchin' him,
and it seemed so long afore he come up
that | was just goin' to pull up and go
over, when up he come and gev yell
that was enough to make your hair stand
on end. He hollered for me and threw
up his arms. up anchor and soon had
hold on him and jerked him into the boat,
and tell you he was a sight to look at.
He was jist gashed all over, so't you'd
thought he'd been goin' over circular
saw. The poor Teller couldn't say nuth-
in; happened to have some salt in the
boat, so l put that on and it soon
stopped the blood. Then he told me
how it was. When he went down
he had hold on the line, and had
got most down to the hook when he
felt jab in the side, Jest as if a sword
hn1 l. ~ In
was a big garlish. In a second the crit
ter had shot by and come for him again,
and took him in the arm, and in the
struggle to get out of the way he got
wound in the line and couldn't get up or
down. While he was kickin' and tryin'
to get away the fish jest made a target of
him until the line broke and he got
clear.
There's muskrat's nest" said the
poler, as the glare of the jack threw a
mass of weed into sudden brightness.
They're regular night animals. he add
ed. "You jest watch the water while
str 'em up" He thrust his oar down
into the mass, and in moment several
dark forms were seen swimming from the
nest. One came up near the top of the
water, as if attracted by the light, which
proved potent charm for many of
the insect tribe, millions of which hut-
tered about.
"Look therem exclaimed the poler
again, pointing to half submerged rock
on which the little form of water snake
glistened. "Jest wait minute and I'll
show you some lrious tishin'." Taking
his delicate fly rod, he put on live min
ho la1
in front of the reptile. Hardly a mo-
ment elapsed before the latter had it and
was writhing in the air, winding about
the line, and finally dropping to the wa
ter and escaping, as it was not hooked,
its teeth being merely caught in the
| bait.
There's place up here, continued
the boatman, about three miles, they call
| Snake Roll where I've seen some queer
| sights. They call it roll because the
snakes are often seen rollin' down hill.
The first time l ever see it l see ball
about as big as a large sized cabbage
/ come rollin' down hill toward me as
| went up. One minute it would 60 kinder
fast. then hold up bit, and almost stop.
| thought it was mighty curious, and
when | got to it | tell you it gave me a
| turn There it was, ball of snakes, the
heads a,stickin' out on all sides, and a
hissin'. | was afeared to touch it, as
there was SO many that if they were all
scattered | would be bound to run over
some of 'em, so let 'em roll on.
"Hear thati" said the talkative guide
| presently, as we moved in toward sandy
shore, and several splashes disturbed the
smooth surface of the lake. Il don't
know for sartn, but that sounded to me
| like mice"
Mice in the water2" asked one of the
| party.
"Sartin. Mice swim jest like duck,
and down by the mouth of the river
they take to the water like EN-. hap
pened to know this way: went down
the river fishin with a gentleman, and
one day he says to me, Jim, jest save
the stomachs of them trout, as | want to
see what they feed on The next day
he found that eight or ten out of twenty
| five trout had been feedin' on mice.
II