The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1889-02-13
HENRY L. BIOSSAT, Business Manager

eastern SKY was fcu Will tio W lhiliS
of the sun. There was dull roar
along the sands beyond the dunes
where the Atlantic waters ceaselessly
beat. AS we drove rapidly, dogs came
out on the road to bark at us, and see
ing Sam in the wagon their loud banks
of disapproval or of anger changed into
friendly, joyful banks of greeting, and
they wagged their tails as he spoke to
them, saying: Hello, Ned!' What's
the matter, Jim, old boy9" eli, Pete,
what are you barking at?n
'Look at the coots!' he exclaimed,
as he called my attention, with out
stretched arm, to a string of coots that
flew over the ocean, which was heav-
ing redly in the rays of the rising sun.
We watched the flying coots, and at
short intervals saw puffs OF smoke
shoot out of small boats that were we'll
off shore, and saw coots fall into the
water. The child's eyes kindled as
with fire. His hunting instinct was
aroused, and he was 10th to go after
mummies. He suggested that we seize
a row-boat and row across the half
frozen bay to the seashore, and there
| watch the hunters kill cOOts.
That would never do, so | set up the
fallacious argument that it was piracy
to steal a boat, and l dangled the
figure of Captain Kidd with a rope
around his neck before Sans eyes.
But he brushed the sophistlcal
argument away as with broom.
Said he: ut is not piracy to
borrow rowboat. Somebody Is eter-
nally borrowing mine and leaving II
on the other side of the pond. 1t
makes no difference which side Of tn e
pond | 60 to, the boat is always on the
other side. walked as much as two
hundred miles after that boat last
summer. If | ever catch the person
or persons who take my boat l am
going to be a pirate in earnest, and
make them walk the plank-if they
are not too big" and he was lost in
moody wonderment relative to the
identity of the boys who always left
his boat on the wrong side of the
pond.
We tied the horse to a post that
stood near to the bay and walked to
the drain. Arrived there, the close
meshed net was spread across, and !
was directed to cut bush and to go
up the stream for fifty yards and to
thrash it down to brighten the mum
mics and cause them to swim into the
net, where they could be dipped out,
So cut bush and with it thrashed
the stream, and as | worked | watched
the bright-faced boy dip out the
frightened mummies with a tiny scoop
net and put them in the pail. III
caught about 100, and, of course, he
was not satisfied and wanted more
but I headed him off by care
lessly remarking that broiled beef
steak and bacon and potatoes, hashe'
with cream, and Observation-Disclosures anc
honey were better hot than cold. In
tsantly the net was withdrawn frou
the drain and we walked briskly to tn
wagon and clambered in, to sit for
few minutes to look at the glistenin
ocean and the distant gunners in thei
little boats, and then enjoy the rid
home, which was necessarily slow t
avoid splitting the mummies.
l Breakfast eaten, was given a bundl
of sticks, to which lines and hook
q were attached, and an axe. Samue
: had similar bundle of sticks and tn
pail of mummies. We walked brisk
y to Kelly's pond. Arrived there, We
s set to chopping holes in the ice, Will
r Sam baited the hooks and set the line
To fish for pickerel through ice tn
d lines are tied to short, thin and lath
d like stick. About nine inches froI
d one end of the stick hole is bore
IS through it. A round stick abol
o eighteen inches long and half a
d inch thick is thrust throue
1t this hole The round stick is laid {
3 the ice and the short end OF the lath
G which the fish line is fastened ham,
"a over the hole that has been chopped
10 the ice. A live mummy is fastened
At the hook and the line dropped into t
s. water. When q pickerel seizes t.
Mt mummy the short end of the lath {
T. scends into the water and the long e
lie rises in the air to signal that fish h
" been caught.
:" The pickerel soon began to BIZ
H. Here a stick jumped upright, the
no one rose slowly, and yonder one re
to to fall again, then the stocks that fl
en- rose fell, and presently others wo'
es rise.
he Samuel clamped on his skates a
nd skated from hole to hole, and whe
GU ever there was fish he dragged
DIV from the water, unlocked it, threw
lot on the ice, and reset the line.
to gathered the fish in a little pile on
am shore. When fishing was slack S
ne. told stories of fish, ''boss fish,
called them, that he had seen in
~, pond, and he told of turtle of 81
'rd size and extreme age, whose head
av- as large as a mans fist and VIII
back was moss-grown-a real,
lug equatical Bourbon-and the G
'"' tales would be interrupted
'o STICKS which signaled him to come.
~. ne caught fish. together we admi
ait it. IL 1t was large, we agreed
AK broiled pickerel, if well basted v
ign butter, were most excellent eating.
it was small. why, then ST