Daily Yellowstone journal. [volume] (Miles City, Mont.) 1882-1893, 1888-05-13
AN ODD MICHIGAN VILLAGE.
A Thousand Little Fishing Huts ON Ice.
The Fisherman's Methods.

ne ffruef"d"e heihous-
"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 il is on the bay in the sense that
Chicago is on Lake Michigan, or that
Albany is on the Hudson river, but that
it is, in winter time, literally on the bay,
and extends for several miles out over its
surface 1t is city OH the ice, conse-
uuently 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, aud il is not likely
that the ordinary regulations for finding
a 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 OF more than SIX
feet square They are built IT common
boards. and cover the frozen surface Of
the bay almostly as thickIy as the bur
rows of prairie dog village cover the
prairie. They are the hutS Of men who
do the winter fishing for pike, picberel,
lake trout aud white fish, and rs soon as
the ice forms on the bay their consiruc-
ton is begun. The fishermen 1--we 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
sheet iron cylinder stove little over a
foot high, with hole in the top, q stool
and a shelf eighteen inches wide, on
which the fisherman sleeps. There Is a
floor in each hut, and in the floor trap
door twenty inches square. When this
is raised hole Of the same size through
the ice is discovered At the side OF this
the fisherman sits all day and great
part of the night watching for his game,
which he captures in novel manner.
TO decoy the fish to the hole in the
ice he takes a herring. which he catches
with hook and line as he needs one,
Grams piece of lead four inches long
down It's throat TO make it sink, ties a
long string TO it by q slip moose over its
head. fastens 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 so peculiar that the
game fish are quietly attracted 10 the
decoy. When the herring dies the fisher
man manipulates the string with one
hand while he holds his spear in the
other. The water over which these huts
arc built is from ten to fifteen feet deep,
but il is so clear that the bottom is easily
seen. To the end of this spcni handle
the fisherman has a strong string securely
fastened. and the string is tied TO n nail
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 will dash some alligator jawed
pike, or big, graceful lake
trout, or glistening white6sh
! Like q lasb the gear shoots dowr