Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-06-23
A PRIMITIVE CRAFT.
Fishing in Welsh Streams From an
Antique, Cranky Coracle.
DAvY JONES' FAVORITE CRAFT
An Exciting Voyage Down Rapids and
Past Rocks.
TROUT ExTERMINArED BY SAVAGE PIKE


knows, or, at any rate. has been told, that
the coracle is the ancient British boat; but
how many people have seen coracle or
know the method of its navigation? The
case for the antiquity of coracles is pretty
strong one, for there is evidence of their use
by the British. in the time of the Romans;
but such has been the uprooting of cherished
beliefs in recent times that few people prob
ably would be surprised to hear thot coracles
had never been heard of before the middle
OF the last century, and that the first
had been used, not by Noah, as
the prevalent belief in Wales is,
but by one David Jones (of locker
celebrity, of Llangollen. There is much
In the coracle, however, which favors the
idea that it is a primitive boat. That a
large wicket basket covered with skins
would float is an idea which might occur to
man at an early stage of civilization; that it
might be made big enough to hold man, or
even two, and that it would be convenient
for crossing rivers, and even for floating
down them. while its lightness would make
it easily carried up them, would be merely
development of the first idea. We there
fore 1--WE hope not rashly) believe in the
Welsh legend of the antiquity of the cora
Gle, not going further back. however, at
present, than Roman times. But the pres
ent coracle is, as might be expected, de-
velopment, but BY no means a very ad
vanced one; the wicker has given place to
ashen laths and the skins to tarpauln.
Coracles vary in shape slightly and also
in size. There are single and double ones
i. e. to hold one person or two. The largest
size of double coracle weighs about 60
pounds; the smallest single one, perhaps, 30
pounds. The nearest thing to it in shape
that wNcan think of is one of those large
walnut shells into which Limerick gloves
used to be slowed, and which in bygone
ages were considered suitable presents Tor
ladies. There is a considerable bilge, the
bottom of the coracle being much wider than
the top; the largest and heaviest draw only
two or three inches of water; narrow plank
is fixed across the center for seat.
A CRANKY CRAFT.
The extreme crankness of the craft may be
inferred from the method of getting into it;
you put one leg in, sitting down with the
same action, and then draw the other in
carefully after. To people of some tempera-
ments it is somewhat exciting to know that
there is only piece of tarred canvas be-
tween them and the raging food, and that
there are rocks and fallen trees under the
discolored water; but good coracleman
manages his boat very skillfully with his
single paddle held in one hand, and just as
you are in the middle of the turmoil OF
fearful rapid, with rocks ahead and
on each side, on which shipwreck seems
inevitable, dexterous sweep of the paddle
takes you between the breakers, and, before
you can wink comfortably, you find your
self in the pool below, gliding along in per-
feet serenity. Coracles are used in many
Welsh streams and on the Severn; but, we
believe, little elsewhere in England. The
most systematic use OF them, and the longest
voyages made, are on the Dee. in the Vale
of Llangollen, the wizard stream" of Mil
ton; the "holy Dee" "the dear brother of
Severn" of Drayton; the sacred Dee" of
Tennyson; and verify the scenes through
which the coracle fishermen on the Dee
passes are ever-recurring scenes of enchant-
ment.
From no position can river scenery be 30
we'll seen as from the. middle of the stream;
and when one pictures to oneself voyage
of dozen miles along the windings of a
river in such vale as that Of Llangollen,
it is easy to conceive that lovely bits of
scenery are repeated at every turn. Now
the frail craft dashes down rapid, the
waves boiling on either side of it; now it
glides on the surface Of long, deep, silent
pool, buried in the woods, over the tops of
which the purple hills appear. The foliage
is rich beyond belief, and in the spring and
autumn its varied colors give the most
charming effect. Cool MOSES deep" clothe
the banks, wild flowers peep forth. Ami
mails are not very shy of the coracle, trout
take the fly close to it, sandpipers fit about
with the most transparent pretense of being
there only for amusement and of having no
nest anywhere in the neighborhood, water
ouzels show their white throats and little
round bodies on the rocks for a moment and
are gone, an occasional kingfsher flashes
past, his splendid colors glowing in the SUM-
light, willow-wrens hop jerkily about on
the banks, and bright-eyed water-voles eye
you curiously before they take their plunge.
GET OUT AND WALK.
Accidents rarely happen in a coracle.
Where the river is very difficult the man
who paddles makes the fisherman get out,
and sometimes the ship itself is landed and
carried past dangerous place. Formerly
coracles used to be carried for long distances
on the mems backs; now the railway has
come to the fsherman's assistance, and his
boat goes with him to the station nearest to
his starting point, and from thence is car
red to the river. If hole is knocked in
the bottom of the boat by a rock or the
branch of sunken tree, the coracle man
paddles to the bank, lifts out his coracle,
lights a piece of taper he always carries
with him, melts the tar on patch of tar
paulin he produces from somewhere, and
sticks it over the hole, like large piece of
sticking. plaster; in few minutes it dries,
and you are off again.
But it is time to say something about the