Weekly commercial herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1884-18??, 1885-11-06
4 A BASS o
Stirred Up with EIectrioity-B Made Hun.
cry with q Tonic.

New York SUM-
One afternoon a little gray-haired man,
with mild blue eyes and clean. shaver
lace, sat upon the mill-dam Of one Of the
chaln Of ponds which check the flow Of
inc Whippany river in Morris county,
New Jersey. He held in his hand a fine
spit bamboo rod, while at his side was a
polished mahogany box with wires run.
nlng from its corners. and a brass crank
projecting from IFS side II was evidently
an electric apparatus aud one of the wires
dropped straight down into the water.
while the other led away along the side Of
the pond to its upper end Near the
Dox was a two gallon demiiohn
and a graduated glass such as
chemists use for measuring liquids.
while at his left was a can containing a
score OF hideous water insects known as
Dogerts or helgramites, and a basket in
which two fine black bass were lying
upon a bed of oak leaves. At intervals
The old gentleman carefully attached a
helgramite to his hook and deftly cast it
into the pond with a turn Of his loft
wrist, and at the same instant vigorously
turned the crank on his box. For ten
minutes he cast the bait and turned the
crank at frequent intervals, and then.
with an expression of disappointment. nut
aside his rod and turned to the demiiohn
and removed the cork. Then, carefully
wiping the glass with his handkerchief,
he poured out about a fluid pound OF a
yellow liquid, which he cast out upon the
pond A moment later he was struggling
with a large bass, and his whip.like rod
bent nearly double as he skillfully handled
the reel and walked slowly toward the
shore, with his wrinkled face lit up with
the keenest pleasure.
"He'a got a whopper, " said d bare
footed boy who had been watching his
maneuvers for half an hour. Turning to
the youth with a triumphant glance, the
old gentleman said:
1t was the tonic that fetched him.n
After a struggle Of three or four min.
utes' duration the angler landed a three
pound bass, and as the fish painted away
its life on the grassy bank he danced
about II, saying:
The tonic is q success, a great success.
The calisaya was what il needed. Less
iron, more calisaya; that's the thing.
did | understand you to say that YOU
caught that bass with a t~onicYS asked a
stranger who stopped to view the captive
mo, sir; not directly with q tonic. |
do not put a tonic on the bait, but admin
lister it through the medium of the water
in the pond. 1t is a emost important dis.
covery, and will revolutionize the art Of
angling. Bass are sluggish in August,
and will not take food readily, but the
tonic mixture stimulates their appetite
and they take the bait voraciously. p
What is the electrical apparatus for?"
AAh, that is another triumph, an
swered the little old gentleman. at is
one OF my most important scientific dis
coveries. In that box is a powerful map.
neto-~ electric machine, with which | a
reach the deepest recesses Of the pond.
and awaken the sleeping fish with a
thrilling shock of electricity. 1t is
a most remarkable success. Most extra
ordinary"
"lou have caught three bass I OBJ.
serve?"
"Yes, three beauties. and I have been
here only about five hours. AS soon as I
receive my inheritance from Spain | shall
patent both inventions. l am STAYING ont
here for my health, and am giving full
sway to my genius.
Come, doctor, it is time to return. "
said a burly looking individual in a blue
suit who had just arrived on the scene,
and the old gentleman, with his assistance
wound up the wires and packed away his
"He is pretty well fixed, and we have
% humor him., said the man in blue to
he stranger, as he followed the old gen.
leman up the hill leading to the asylum.