Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1892-07-14
UNIQUE SPORT.

s.iIuddIng,' Fish and Gathering Alligator
Eggs In Mississippi Bayous-
They have queer way of catching
fish in the inland lakes and bayous that
are so numerous in the low swamp
lands of Mississippi and other southern
states" said a travelling man recently.
1.-THE waters are inhabited by many
varieties of excellent fish, among them
a large fish of good game qualities,
which the natives call trout, although
have my doubts about its being of
that family of fishes There are perch
in some of the waters that grow larger
than any ever saw caught elsewhere,
and sunf1sh that often grows to weigh
a pound-a fish as broad as it is large
They call this fish a Dream in the south.
There is also species of sucker, and a
three-pounder is not an uncommon
catch Softshen turtles, novelty to
me, and which the epicures OF these
dreamy localities declare are as great q
delicacy as terrapin, are abundant
During the spring season the
swamps around the lakes are inundated
and their waters are merged into the
lakes, making of the country one vast,
unbroken area Of watery waste This
water recedes as summer approaches.
and by the 1st Of July the swamp bot
toms are dry enough to permit persons
to walk safely upon them The swamp
waters deposit in the lakes a dark mud
of considerable depth and density,
which settles on the lake bottoms
did not learn who discovered that by
agitating this mud a condition of the
water would result which would make
its depths unbearable to the fish in the
lakes, and drive them to the surface,
but somebody discovered it, and the dis
covery Is annually utilized by the sport
loving natives from the lime the
swsmps become dry until they are
again inundated This mode OF fishing
is called 'mudding,' and to go mudding
in the swamp lakes is the height Of
pleasure to the inhabitants of those
queer districts
mo line, hook or rod is needed by
the sportsman who goes mudding. He
takes along a darby, who carries an
article of tackle which is called a
splunge. The splunge is a piece OF
board two feet long by eight or ten
inches wide, with hole bored through
the middle. Into the hole handle six
feet long Is fitted And this darby, OF
two OF them If you like, carry baskets
70 nOtO the Qs5h J0ab are caught Il ne
real scientific sportsman who goes a
mudding is armed with a spear, which
is single sharp pointed spike fastened
to one eod Of a ten-foot pole. Less ex-
pert fishermen use three-tined spears
with barbs on the ends The way.
down, luSberly or chump fisherman
does not even trust to his skill with q
three-tined and bsrbed spear, but car
res dipnet or corn basket tied to the
end of pole
Arrived at the fishing ground the
fishermen wade out into the water un
til they are waist deep. The darky
with the sp1unge thrusts his imple-
ment down to the bottom and stirs VI
the mud with it. In very short tins
the water becomes thick and roily from
the agitation, and then the fish begin
coming to the Surface The perch ap
pears first, jumping its entire length
from the water, as if trying to eScap<
from something. Next the trout ap
pear. and they make the lake lively with
their maneuvers As the fish appear the
fisherman launches his pike or barb
at them, and so slzillfully are some O,
the singie-tine pikers that they can inn.
pale perch or trout while 1t Is still IL
the ar. The fisherman with the nei