Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-06-13
The Fire that Never Burns Out.


There are only about dozen men In THU
country who do not like to 60 fishing. Many
do not go once in ten years, but all the time
they think they will 60 next week or mex,
month, and they keep thinking of the fun they
used to have thirty or forty years ago, wher
they were boys. An old man who had fished
every year for fifty years, and enjoyed it came
INTO business place the other day limping
VIII, WIN one nand on the small of his back, and
looking as If he wanted to die.
"What luck?"
90, no luck to speak of. The fact is, my fish
sigh, as a pain took him in the back. "'Tain't
what IT used to be, boys; faint what it used to
9avliMht and was a boy would get up before
tamarack pole and a strong line, and with q
piece PIE OF pork rind for bait: would catch fish
and reels in those days. and no artificial flies
that know Of We would get a bite, and throw
Inc nsn over our heads, out on land, and see
family and al! the neighbors, and enjoy It,
Later years, when became a man, 1 had
the fishing fever just as bad, and would
rel Of Of money, and work hard for a week
ana IT would do me good. would be heavier
ana ,n,,, stronger when came back, and my brain
would work like a steam engine. But now,
up. 1t takes me all the fall and winter to ge,
spring fishing, and the iifst day 60 out am
used up for month. Bones and muscles that
ala not Know had years ago, ache SO now
LOO Old to walk much, and too rheumatic to
rae 10 boat long, and have to be petted like
a enid: l have to employ a man to row the
Doat, put ON my bait, and take off my fish, and
my hngerj and thumbs are getting SO rheumatic
that can hardly turn the handle to the reel
Another year and will have my hired man
reel in my fish, while sit in a chair on The
bank, and then want to die. When man gets
SO II makes his back ache to cast his bait in the
IlSh, MS legs ache when he stands up his
neck aches when he turns around, his head
aches when the sun shines, and everything
stomach seems to all drop out an hour or two
before lunch time, he is played out as a fisher
man, and ought to know it. 1 shall never 60
"0h, you hadn't ought to give up, fishing,
S3at ss fish eo srs biting Se spsnady oeS
hundred pounds OF black bass in Okauchee
Nor said the old man, as he took his hand
on the small OF his back and Strengthened up to
try his back and see if 1t was broke. 'Say, you
pack up my rod and things and get them down
a Turkish bath, and 90 out there for day or
two If could catch one fish and feel just as
dld when was boy, would give thousand
then, with the old tamarack pole, walking
around in the wet grass bareiooted, looking into
the water and seeing the fish lazily watching
earth. and then noticing the difference of ex.
preston On the mug of the fish otter |
had him out on the bank. / wouldn't
my feet wet, because l would catch
a cold that would lay me up for a month.
used TO be wet from Genesis to Revelation six
days In a week. and / never knew what it was
TO have Il cold. l have carried a string of fish
that weighed more than II did. mile, and
would go tor sleep while scaling fish in the old
Woodshed.and was as happy as person could
be. But 1t Is all changed now. Even pleasure is
hard work, aud realize that must stop fish
in: forever But say, hurry up and get them
things to the depot" and the old man who
thought he never would fish any more went
out to a tackle store to buy some hooks, and
went to the depot forgetting to take his Turk
1sh bath. Q, they never give up fishing.