Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-05-15
oar breaks into an infnity of glisten-

! oar breaks into an infinity of glisten-
| ING ripples that cross and recross each
| other as they retreat like threads and
bars OF molten silver. To lie at full
length in the boat at such a time,
watching the light wrcaths of smoke
curl straight upward from a pipe. and
listening to the distant voices OF the
! night, that only serve to intensity the
surrounding silence, is q poem, q
dream. or an idyl. The air is heavy
with the perfume of jasmine and
orange blossoms from the almost in
visible shores. From them, too, come
the trcmulous calls Of the little
screech-owls, hidden in moss-hung
| coyerts amid live-oak branches, the
| Str.dent voices of katydids and tree
frogs, mellowed by the distance, and
underlaid by the deep bass of bull
frogs, and the monolonous, all-per-
vading hum of insects. Above all,
clear and sweet, rise the rich. full
notes of the mocking-bird from the
scented depths OF IN orange grove.
Nearat hand occasional splashes in the
watermark the leap OF the silver-scaled
mullet, attracted. as a moth to a
candle, by the burning lantern in the
stern of the boat. Other lights, glcam-
ing like will-o'-the-wisps owe the sur
face of the dark waters, reveal the
presence of other fishing boats, from
which come occasional snatches of
song, long-drawn plaintive negro melo-
dies, in full accord with the hour and
Gene.
When the drift is ended by the turn
of the tide, by then net getting out ofshape
and assuming positions u%nfavorable for
a catch, or by its approach to q part
of the river where the water is compar.
at;vely shoal, and the bottom is COW
cred with rocks, or ''hangs," as the
fishermen call them, on which it might
catch and become torn, the haul is be-
gun. Starting at the end of the net
frat thrown, the boat is rowed slowly
along its length by the STRIKER"
and slows it in the trays. The beauti-
full ppaline shad, caught by the gills in
the entangling mesh, are thrown into
the bottom of the boat, and the ''strik-
er'1kceps tally of Their number as one
aftd another is added to the shining
heap. At length the last ''shot'' 10
hauled, and the striker announcing
the total amount of the catch. the fish.
ers know at once what reward they
have reaped for their hours of toll, and
they begin their long pulltoward camp
in al state of mind controlled entirely by
theft success or lack of it.
Oh Sundays fish and fishermen enjoy
a legally compelled rest, for, by a law
of the State OF Florida, no nets may be
thrown from sunset OH Saturday until
sunrise on Monday. Another law reg
ulates the size of the mesh in the nets,
and fixes it at five inches. This, how.
ever, does not wholly accomplish the
purpose for which it was intended, for
a iive-inch mesh holds most of the fe-
male fish, big with roe, but allows the
more slender to slip through and es-
cape.
"A single haul often secures several
hundred shad, for which the fishermen
receive fifteen cents apiece in the Jack
sonville market; but it sometimes hap
pens that none is caught-a result thas
u APPLY designated a "water haul"
Only a small portion of the entire catch
finds q local market, as most of it is
shipped each day, in refrigerator cars
to the North, and especially to New
York clty.-KtrE Munroe, IN Haapcr's
Weekly.