The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1884-09-19
A Strange Fish.

over their experiences, ut the Plankin-
ton House one evening last week. when
the subject turned on fishing. and each
gave racy experience. One told how
some Sparta fellows got him TO go out
trout fishing by telling him that about
eight miles out there was stream that
was alive with trout, and how he hired
livery team and took the boys with
him. and how they put him on to a
stream and told him to follow it down
miles where they would meet him at
bridge with the wagon. He broke
brush all the forenoon. got mired in
the mud, had a cow chase him up q
tree. and farmers drove him out of
fields with pi,chforks, and finally he
arrived at the brid &c, without having a
bite except from mosquitoes, and found
the wagon gone, and he walked 10
Sparta and found that the bows had
come home, supposing he had got to
the bridge ahead of them, and got
ride TO town with farmer, He swore
they played it on him on purpose, and
said 1t cost him twelve dollars.
Another told of hiring a man to row
him on Lake Winnebago. to troll, and
how he trolled all the afternoon and
never got bite. and being near-sight-
ed. never found out until he got back
tn the hotel that his oarsman rowed
right around in one place all the time,
where there was no wind and no fish,
being too lazy 10 90 out where the wind
blew and the FISH would bite. Others
told of spearing suckers, and bobbing
for catfish on the Mississippi river, un-
iii finally 1t came the turn of man
who sells platform scales, and he opened
up. Said ho:
Boys, | have caught something that
no live man ever caught"
''lf there is anything we have never
caught we want to hear of it." said tho
boot and shoe man.
well. you shall hear about It." said
the scale man. lighting cigar. II
was trolling for bass in lake up north
with man rowing the boat for me.
We had noticed loon swimming
around and diving, and keeping watch
of us, and j WAS wishing had rifle,
when the loon dove. and 1 got about
half asleep when all of sudden | felt
a yank on my line that nearly pulled
me out of tie Loaf 1t was just as
though horse was hitched on the hook
and running away. The oarsman turn
ed pale and said | had got a muscal-
longe. l grabbed the line and began
TO reel in. when there was the awfulest
pulling and fighting ever felt on
hshline. Pretty soon the loon came to
the surface with the hook in his mouth,
flew few yards, got tangled, and dove
again and began TO swim of. Then
we saw that the loon had been SWIM
ming around and had seen the minnow
on my hook and swallowed it. 1t was
new experience, ami l rceled him in
until he got near the boat, when the
oarsman was going TO Kill the bird. but
insisted on keeping him alive. TO give
to some historical society as the only
loon ever caught with hook and line.
He came near swamping us getting
him in the boat. and fought us after he
was In. We sat on him and held his
wings to keep him from beating our
hands black and blue, and he was moro
trouble than white elephant drawn in
a lottery. The hook was so far down
his nn"k that we ~nnldn't get II ont
killing him, So cut the line
near his bill and put on another hook.
The boatman put the loon down in the
bow of the boat under the end seat,
md piled coats and the lunch basket
,n top of him, but h8 kept fighting,
oinching the oarsman in the pants with
lis long sharp bill, and finally he
worked the coats off his body and flew
'ut of the boat and dove under water,
md when he came up he was thirty
'ods away, shaking his head and try
ng TO get the hook out He went down
again and came up further off and
ooked around at US and squealed as
hough he was expressing his opinion
VI q man who would deceive a poor
bird that way. We lost sight of tho
Don and were sorry 10 lose him, but
lever think Of that experience without
aughing right out. whom l think of the
lisgusted LOOK about that looms eyes
when he was pulled up to the boat,
md how he seemed to say, You think
'ou are darned smart, don't youp' when
Ie got loose and bid us good-by. I
uppose man might fish lifetime
nd not catch another LOOM"
The boys looked ut each other with q
ort of disbelief in the story, though 1t
Tas true, and when Chicago grocery.
ian started to toll about catching nm
strich on pin hook once, they all ad-
burned 10 the cigar stand where the
igar man was telling about catching
ne ague. Everything is catching
mong the boys.-Geo. W. Peck, in
eck's SaB.