Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1889-09-07
THAT BIG FISH.

In the window of BissantZ 81 Matthews
hardware store swings a mounted noun
tain trout that when pnlled from his Sc
cluded haunt mid the boulders of the wild
crystal flow OF the Rio Grande, weighed
five pounds plumb and which fish has a
peculiar interest, not only to the man who
captured him, but the entire piscatorial
party who spent the warm days of July
and August in that cool, rock envlroned
retreat known as the Gap of the San Juan
Range. Late one evening, while the en-
tire Wichita party were regaling them
selves after big days sport on the front
veranda of the hotel, there alighted from
the Del Norte stage the tall and somewhat
rugged form OF rawboned Yorkshire
Englishman, who seemed loaded down
with fishing tackle and sporting equip
ments His SLOUGH hat, brusk way and
immense nose attracted the notice of the
Wichita crowd i'll a moment, and re-
marks were soon passed around: Here's
a chip; he's brick; now for fun" etc. 1t
soon transpired, however, that the pro-
posed victim of the guys was none other
than Dean Hart, the famed divine of the
Denver cathedral, noted for his hot fights
with the Denver press; man who had
fished and hunted in every country on the
globe and, further, that he came fully
equipped with just the kind of flies and of
mock minnows necessary to take the con-
ceit out of the Wichita party, whose ex-
PLOTS had reached the deanery in Denver.
An hour sufficed to make his acquaint-
ance and before bedtime he had agreed to
be one of the Wichita party for the next
6, i 81 h. late ,,vty horr
in the meantime been afforded an oppor-
tunity to praise his wonderful and costly
equipments. The boys went to bed lit
tie shaky, but they felt worse when the
next morning they beheld the square
shouldered Yorkshireman and divine en-
cased in the most wonderful waders,
strapped about with innumerable para
phernalia and topped out with
the funniest skull cap on this
side of the big pond. When the
river was reached the party was divided
up and sent off in couples, by previous
understanding and choice, Charles A.
Smythe being allotted to the Dean. Now
Charley knew Of a big semi-circular pool
under high chalk cliff where, behind
some particularly immense boulders, he
had secured some mighty STRIKES" few
days before and where be felt sure, if his
nerve and luck didn't fail him, he could
make it warm for the man against whom
he was pitted. Nothing was seen of either
of the champions by the rest of the party
until near noon when the singularly &C
coutered form Of the Englishman was OBJ
served swinging across the intervening
mesa To our question of What luck,
Dean" came the answer: "Pshaw | have
lost my two favorite silver minnows, and
that Wichita fellow is standing in the
water up there up to his arm pits
pulling out whales" And so il proved.
The second fish that Charley hooked that
morning was the fish in the window re-
ferred TO and which George Mathews
afterwards sent 10 Denver and had
mounted As quick as his spotted lord
ship felt the hook be Tit out" down the
river, threshing along like hurricane or
charge of cavalry, jumping at Simes six
feet out of water and making Chsrley's
reel hum, and standing his hair on end.
The fight lasted thirty-five minutes when
the big spotted beauty was safely towed TO
shore, Charley lying down for rest and
the Dean going off in disgust The fish,
OF course. looks little as it did when
caught. II is shriveled up and contracted
with all the beautiful and delicate color
ings of its body faded out and gone.