Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1891-06-13
q line across the river. Then he floats

q ltIc dSIc1S A~ aOoe1
along behind in his skif.
When a channel cat catches sight Oh
the tempting morsel drifting By he darts
at it, strikes as viciousiy as. a salmon,
and plunges violently off with the hook
fast in his mouth and the big block tag
ging on behind and exhausting his
strength. If it is a six or eight pound
ferociously than a forty FOUNDER. The
block goes under with a sudden plunge
that throws the spray ten feet in the air
and produces q Conclusion that can be
Heard a quarter OF a mile on the water.
1t reappears in a N a hundred feet
from where it went down, and its com
ing up is as vigorous as its going down.
AS il the fish were suddenly loosenel.
the released block shoots clear Of the
water, aud when it falls back lies ger
haps as idly as though the game were
gone. If the first wild flight has not
released him-that is, If the hook has Il
firm hold in the bones and muscles Of the
mouth, then the fish is only resting, and
presently ne starts of again, towing
the big block around the river. aud now
and a4ain e%arrying it under with a con
vulsivc plunge. The fisherman follows
as fast as he can until he OveItakes the
| block, can draw the now tired fish to the
surface, and striking the GAIT into him
can transfer the suffering creature to the
boat or to a line to tow astcrn like a
captive in a Roman triumph. When
there are half a dozen blocks down. at
once On a .'crossing,' and the whole
feet is going away among the currents,
Juggling is very lively work, and has an
exhilaration only comparable to the
whipping of a fresh trout stream.
Very often a fisherman at Vicksburgh
or Matches will nave himself and outfit
taken to Memphis or Cairo by steamer
and then ''block the river" all the way
down, spending a month in the little out
ing, and because most of them have been
over the river a number of times they
know it Intimately. They know, too,
their professional fellows. 1t is no un-
common thing to find one who has ac-
Q%uaintances scattered over a thousand
mlles OF river, VINO can tell the owners
Of the fish docks at all the river towns,
knows the value Of each crossing and
bend, and has a phenomenal memory for
the fish he has caught at certain points.
This acquaintance comes from the rowing
spirit which ali have.
The river imbues those who live near
or upon it With the desire to ''move on. y
It IS SO easy to move, and there is such
seduction in the moving which requires
no effort, that tits not astonishing that
men are loath to be still. The owner of
a home on land, however humble, is de-
barred from the temptation of seeking a
new field for his activities when the
mood seizes him. But the man who has
merely to unite g rope or pull up a stake
and at once move house and all is not tc
be considered as anchored TO any locality
His means OF transportation are always al
hand, and he has a pass which ~entitle.
him to travel when he will. 1t is, too, E;
pass with stop-over privileges, and j
never expires, nor does it have to b.
paid for, even in advertising.
But of course there is an end to al
things, to the Mississippi, and q
Johnny boatacannot float on forever. I,
dares not, in the case of the fisherman
often venture below Bayou Sara, for tht
river becomes too deep for his tackle an6
the fishing is not to be relied upon. How
ever, the Johnny boat or the skiff is {
legal tender on the river, can ALWAYS be
sold, and SO when its owner reaches the
end of his Journey he disposes of it, add
the result to the savings which he has
accumulated, pays his deck passage back
on some steamer to St. Louis, Cairo, Of
Memphis, buys or builds another Johnn,
boat, and is soon afioat Chicaq
I'riIuHe.