Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1888-05-05
AN ODD MICHIGAN VILLAGE.
A thousand Little Fishing Huts ON Ic
Tho Fisherman's Methods.

Tho Fisherman's Methods.
''The oldest settlement, ] guess, that
can be found anywhere in this country"
said William Cotter, Of East Saginaw,
''is Fish City, on Saginaw bay. When
say it Is on Saginaw bay, don't mean
that It Is on the bay in the sense that
Chicago Is on Lake Michigan, or that
Albany Is on the Hudson river, but that
Il is. in winter time, literally on the bay,
and extends for several miles out over its
surface. Il is city on the ice, conse-
gucntly Is not founded on q rock, and
naturally its existence Is not permanent.
During the season just past there were
1000 houses in Fish City.
'This queer town Is not laid out with
any idea Of regularity. and It is not likely
that the ordinary regulations for finding
n given location in q city would avail
there. The buildings in this interesting
town are neither large nor imposing, a.
the biggest one among them is not more
than eight feet high or more than six
feet square. They are built of common
boards, and cover tho frozen surface Of
the bay almostly as thickly rs the bur-
rows Of a prairie dog village cover the
prairie. They are tho huts Of men who
do the winter fishing for pike, pickcrel,
lake trout and white fish, and as soon as
the ice forms on the bay their construc-
tion Is begun. The fishermen live in
their huts from the time they are built
until the breaking up Of the ice in the
spring forces them to come ashore. The
furniture Of these huts consists Of q
sheet iron cylinder stove n little over q
foot high, with hole in the top, stool
and shelf eighteen inches wide, on
which the fisherman sleeps. There Is
floor in each hut, and in tho floor trap
door twenty inches square. When this
is raised hole Of the same sizc through
the ice is discovered. At the side Of this
the fisherman sits nll day and great
part Of the night watching for his game,
which he captures in novel manner.
ITO decoy the fish to the hole in the
ice he takes herring, which he catches
with hook and line "a he needs one.
Grams piece Of lead four inches long
down its throat to make it sink, ties
long string to il by slip moose over its
head, fas;cns the other end Of the string
to the ceiling Of his hut and lowers the
herring to the water. The decoy fish
will live an amazing length Of time. not
withstanding its stomach and throat are
filled with lead, and the ballast makes its
efforts at swimming 30 peculiar that the
game fish are quickly attracted to the
decoy. When the herring dies the fisher.
man manipulates the string with one
hand while he holds his spear in the
are built is from ten to fifteen feet deep.
but II is so clear that the bottom is easily
seen. To the end Of this spear handle
the fisherman has strong string securely
fastened, and the string is tied to nail
in one side OF the hut, so there is no
danger Of the weapon being lost in thc
water In case Of accident. A decoy
herring will not be long in the water be-
fore up will dash some alligator jawed
pike. or big, graceful lake
trout, or glistening whiteiish.
Like n flash the spear shoots down
through the hole in the ice, aud it rarely
misses its mark. The skill with which
these Saginaw bay fishermen throw their
spear is equalcd only by the Indian spear
tl,rowers Of the Sault Ste. Marie. Tho
fish run in schools. and the favorite times
for fishing are early in the morning and
from nightfall until midnight. After
dark q lamp with strong reflector is
used to light up the hole in the ice and
the water beneath, and then the fishing
is the livcliest and at its best. Some
timcs q fislicrman's wife and two or
three children occupy his hut with him
all winter long. and seem to suffer no
Inconvenience from the crampcd and not
altogether cheerful quarters. From
1000, 900 to $500. 900 pounds of choice
fish are taken in this way every season
ut Saginaw bay.
''ln the spring, when the ice begins to
threaten break mp, the prudent iniabit-
ants Of this queer city lose no time in
takiIg down their houses and seeking the
sliow with them. There are always
great many among them. however, who
brave the inevitable break up until the
l..>; moment. AMI every spring. in spite
Of past experiences. some Of these are
sure TO be carried out into the lake by
the shifting ice. Tugs are always dis
patched hy some one to rescue these
reckless fishermen. but their sufferings
are intense. and it sometimes happens
that lives among them are lost before the
rcscuing parties locate and reach them"
N.,, NnrL Mail aud Exnrasa