St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1886-08-07
TWO FEET OF TROUT.
The Remarkable Narrative of . Truthfus
Man Who Went Fishing.

the h0m8rkADie N8fESIlS6 Oh =
Man Who Went Fishing.
School Director James A. Blanchard,
Of Williamsport, has been up here
gathering in trout. The other day he
came in with peculiar, far-away look
in his eyes. He sat down without re-
moving his basket from his shoulder
or taking off his gum boots. He didn't
say word to anybody, but seemed to
be trying to solve some point that puz-
zled him by gazing into vacancy.
Halo, Blanch," exclaimed friend,
slapping him on the back. '.What
luck to-day?h
The school director withdrew his in
quiring gaze from vacancy and looked
up ut his friend
"Luck?" said he. 'Singular luck.
I'm here, amt L; and this is you?"
He was assured he was right on both
points.
..Then it amt dream" said he.
''and it amt the jim-but no matter.
I'll tell You how it was. fished an
hour and killed one trout Fact of the
matter is, whatever the fish had been
feeding on. it wasn't yeast. They
didn't rise worth cent. But killed
one in an hour. 1t was in good condi-
ton. and haven't the least doubt that
it was all of six inches long. Well.
got tired and lay down by the side OF
the creek in the shade and went to
sleep. slept half an hour or so,
guess, and woke up in better humor.
".I'll give 'em another chance, said
|. If they don't take in this gang OF
flies like crazy bait, said l, then these
Dents creek trout amt the trout |
think they are.
so l tickled the gliding ripples
some more with my cunningly devised
feathers, and tossed them deity here
and there upon creamy foam flecks,
but my single trout was tossed from
side to side in the lonely depths of my
creel for some time before got COM
panion for him. In fact, was so long
in getting him comrade that |
imagined that he had come to life again.
and was Hopping with indignation and
disgust in the basket. BY and by.
though, Handed another one. He was.
may be, little short of being half
FOUNDER, but he was as plump as a
gosling. showed him down through
the opening in the creel-lid and tished
on. Well, not to weary you with q
long recital, l managed to get three
| more in another hour or so, and they
were all good ones. Then l couldn't
get another rise and gave up in dis
| gust. sat down on moss-grown
rock.
".Well, said, as wiped my brow
and held it up to the cool breeze that
came tremblingly BY and coyly kissed
| it, WELL said |, I've tished more
than two hours. and guess I've got
more than two feet of trout. Two feet
If trout, unused.
"Then, presently, l thought I'd take
look at EN-. unfastened the lid OF
the basket, opened it, and looked in.
| That gaze was not one second in dura-
| ton If the lid to that basket had been
pulled down by ten horse power
| spring it couldn't have gone shut quick
er than shut it. and if had been sit
ting on ten-ton dynamite cartridge,
and it had exploded, don't think I'd
| have got up from that rock much soon-
er than l did Whya Because l was
| surprised. There wasn't one of those
trout to be seen in the basket-not one.
But they were there, and instead OF
there being two feet of them there were
four feet and half of them, good meas
ure. l fear l am wearying you,' said
| the school director to his friend, and
he rose to go.
mo, MOI" said the friend, restrain.
ing the angler. and looking at him
L tol ,n
seen, you say?' continued the friend.
mo trout to be seen. but still they
were there. and instead of aggregating
two feet in length had a total of four
feet and half! Blanch, old man, !"
said the friend. you're worn out. Let's
go tamper with something"
NO" said the school director. I'm
| all right. Those trout were there, but
thev were nowhere to be seen. After
awhile recovered from my surprise,
and then opened the lid of the basket,
turned the trout out on the ground. and
never offered to prevent them as they
made their way to the brook and sprang
in. They swan away and saw them
no more. l go home tomorrow
There was silence for five minutes,
during which the expression on the
school directors friend face was pain
full to see. At last the tired angler
said. musingly:
There is no doubt but what he got
in while l was sleeping in the shade at
the brookside No doubt at all. He
just crawled in the hole in that basket
! lid while slept, and gobbled that lone
some six-inch trout of mine without q
murmur. Then he laid low while l
tempted the four other denizens of the
pool from their pelucid haunts. and
Just moved them away one by one, as
passed them in to him. with all their
dewy glitter and matchless SAVIOR on
them. But if any one had told me tn at
even our-foot-and-a-half water snake
had such blissful command of impu-
dence. or such persistent and elastic
appetite, I'd have set him down rs
! a..
The school directors friend led him
gently away, and the current rumor is
that they went in and tempered with
enr,atb;np Deyf's Creek PA Cor ~