Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1892-11-15

NsA-t U tASt' tttS ts ~ Is&tY ~
''millionair~ Comstockers" who went
over 10 washcs lake On . piscatorial 81.
I..iiiion. The hsh there 10 10 caught
are principally that species Of catfish
known in the Atlantic states ~ boepssi
I,outs OF bullbcads.
knights of the angle" of the present.
day are apt to turn up their noes when
mention IL made Of bullhesd hshing.
Generally. however. when man goes
out after catfish he sinks all artistic
feeling he gos-s In for "meat."
Il u an easy matter to catch catfish.
you have only To procure tackle strong
enough to draw them out of the water.
u.ing . hook according 10 the expected
,ir. 10 your game. The sire Of the cat
hsh appears Ia be q god deal regulated
by the sire of the stream or lake In which
u is found. The larger the body Of water
the bigger the fish.
As AireA.iy stated. we were . small
party of Comstorker. and were at
wasl,o. lake moo for "meat" than
sport. % cour-. all fishing is to some
extent satisfying 90 mans inherent In.
,tinct for the capture and slaughter
Of all Wild creatures of land. water and
air.
We hal strcwei the shore with several
.corc u bullheaals when W. saw Ap
proaching us through the tules border
ing Oh. lake thr-s men. who by their
drc-. and lack of both coat and vest
appeared to b. ranch hands -mployed In
the neighborhoci. The men heernei to
b. merely strolling about In the enjoy.
meut of half holiday. as they carried
neither guns nor fishing tackle.
The THO had probably sighted our
,ent and wagon from afar. and knowing
from previous pleasant experiences that
all true fishermen fail not 10 30 forth
we'll provided with the wherewithal 10
coun,sract the bad effects u an acci-
dental wetting hal resolved 10 lay us .
friendly visit. In full confidence that the
night. % camp hospitality would not t-
neglected by our party. AZ all events.
the trio. moving la Indian file. marched
up 10 our temporary camp p'iohcd oo
the margin % the lake. AMI greeted m
with thr-e s,-n,orian "helio~s'-
Their greeting having b~en duly an.
swcrci In kind. II was nsri In order To
bear In mind the social amenities and
uncork th. "ho-Iitalities" u the camp
Il soon became evident that no one of
the trio had ever been whipp-i when
young Tor holding his breath. They
showed themselves 10 be willing aud ca
psble men.
All were stalwart fellows % 'iI feet
To six feet four inche. In height. AMI all
were biz joinie.i and rawboned-not an
ounce u superfinous nesh from head Ia
heels. All wore boards of the billy.
suat style. all were shaded by huge
sombreros. aud all were somewhat
above middle age: also were NJ much
alike ~ three candles cast In the same
mold.
Al first our visitors were somewhat
backward In speech AMI manner. but BY
the time they had made some progress
In the congenial task Of testing the ssv-
erai kinds Of liquid provender with
which tent aud wagon were stocked
their tongues were loosened: they felt
quite at home.
Presently the talle-t and apparently
the Oldest VI the trio said the sight of
catfish made him feel young again
but. fellers. . said be. II don't much
keer TO fool with sich ornery. wuthlcss
little tadpoies as you've been ketchin.
I'm frum ole Missouri. I am. Down
thar. when yer ketch . catfish. you're
a.layin In I-rvisions When you've
hooked yer cat You jist take yer line
over yer shoulder. hump yer back. march
inland and haul your meat ashore. It's
list ~ easy 10 ketch big catfish "A little
ones II thar. any big ones about; II al
depends on the size of the hook and the
bigness Of the halt. Why. back thar on
the old Mississippi could gauge the
size of the cat wanted To an ounce jist
by the proper regerlstion Of the hook
and halt. Now. fellers. jist you watch
me. Ef thar's = catfish In this lake - u
wuth . cuss I'll ketch him."
"Yaas, fellers," said the other Pixies.
Buck. he's . cuss at hshin; you just
watch his motion. He'll show yer how
to ketch cats"
With face ~ sober - that Of New
England deacon. Buck went mp the hill
q few PAGES above oar tent and got hold
Of about sixty feet Of heavy fencing
wire. This he dragged down to the
edge of ths lake. and turning mp one end
Of II made q hook about two feet across.
Going down the shore few rods hs 10
turned with about half Of an old red
flannel shirt, which he fastened upon hia
hook for halt. Next he got . piece of
plank about six feet long and fastened 10
upon his wire line for host. This done.
he took mp the plank and launched hook
and all out some two rods from shors
with tremendous plash.
"Never mind me skeerin away -
little ininners,- ssid Buck 20 our party
.you'ye treated ms like full grown whit'
men and now I'll soon ketch you suthir
wuth while-that Ia. s'posin thars sirJ
rale old Massissippi cat In this ere frOs
pond ,
Buck then seated himself upon littls
hiliock Of les and gased out ut hi'
Goat with comically serious look OF sx
pectation-
The other Pikes--for al three Of oul
visiting brethren hailed from the land
Of "Joe Bowen"-gased approvingiy q
what had been done. saying over and
ever: That's the racket Bucks go'
the true old Mississippi business!
Presently Duck began 10 show sign
Of nervousness. His eyes rolled. hii
face twitched and his arms shook. Hil
two pards crept near him and with theil
hands upon their knees stood casing In
tentiy at the hoat Buck laid . hngs'
On his lips warningly. Then handing
his line to ons Of the men hs sxtsnded
both hands ~ Gar - hs could reach
showing that hs had got uibbls frou
. Gsh ct least six feet In length. Tht
done hs again laid warning hngsr O
his lips and resumed his line. Not
word W. spoksa ssd ~ fsess q ~