The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-04-25
AN ODD MICHIGAN VILLAGE.
A Thousand Little Fishing Huts on Ice.
The Fisherman's Methods.

T1NhfIUliN = N1tino0s.
"The oldest settlement, I guess, that
can be found anywhere in this country"
said William COtter. Of East Saginaw,
sis Fish City, OF Saginaw bay. When l
say 1t IS on Saginaw bay, | don't mean
that it is on the bay in the sense that
Chicago is on Lake Michigan, OF that
Albany is on the Hudson river, but that
1t is. in winter time, literally on the bay,
and extends for several miles out over its
surface. 1t is a city on the ice, conse-
q%uently IS not founded on a 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
q given location IN a city would avail
there. The buildings in this interesting
town are neither large nor imposing, as
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 as the bur
rows Of a prairie dog village cover the
prairie. They are the huts Of men who
do the winter fishing for pike, pickerel,
lake trout and white fish, and as oon as
the ice forms on the bay their construc-
ton 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 a
sheet iron cylinder stove n little over a
foot high, with a hole in the top, n stool
and a shelf eighteen inches wide, on
which the fisherman sleeps. There Is a
floor in each hut. and IN the floor a trap
door twenty inches square. When this
is raised a hole of the Same size through
the ice is discovered. At the side of this
the fisherman sits all day and a great
part of the night watching for his game,
which he captures in a novel manner.
ITO decOy the fish to the hole in the
ice he takes a herring, which he catches
with a hook and line as ne needs n
Grams a piece of lead four inches long
down its throat TO make it sink, ties a
long string to it by a slip moose .over its
head, fastens the other end of the string
TO the ceiling of his hut and lowers the
herring 10 the water. The decoy fish
viii live an amazing length Of time, not
w~ithstanding its stomach and throat are
filed with lead, and the ballast makes its
Efforts at swimming 50 peculiar that the
game fish are quickly attracted TO the
decoy. When the herring dies the fisher
mar manipulates the string with n
hand while he holds his spear in the
other. The water over which these huts
are built is from ten to fifteen feet deep,
but 1t Is so clear that the bottom Is easily
seen. To the end of this spear handle
the fisherman has a strong string securely
fastened, and the string is tied 10 a nall
in one side of the hut, so there Is no
danger of the weapon being lost In the
water in case Of accident. A decoy
herring will not be long IN the water be-
fore up viii dash some alligator Jawed
pike. or a big, graceful lake
trout, or a glistening whiteiish.
Like a 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 eQualed only by the Indian spear
throwers of the Sault Ste. Marie. The
fish run in schools, and the favorite times
for fishing are early in the morning and
from nightfall until midnight. After
dark a lamp with a strong reflector Is
used TO light mp the hole IN the ice and
the water beneath, ard then the fishing
is the l~iveliest aad at its best. Some
times q fsherman's wife and two or
three children occupy his hut with him
all winter long, and seem 20 suffer no
inconvenience from the cramped and not
altogether cheerful quarters. From
:. 600, 600 10 2, 800, 900 pounds of choice
fish are taken in this way every season
at Saginaw bay.
In the spring, when the ice begins 20
threaten a break up, the prudent mhabit-
a>ts Of this queer city lose no time III
taking down their houses and seeking the
shore with them. There are always a
great many among them, however, who
brave the inevitable break up until the
last moment, and 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 by some one to rescue these
reckless fishermen. but their suiIerines
are intense. and it sometimes happens
that lives among them are lost before the
rescuing parties locate and reach them
TN L. Nj --l H--w.