Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-05-29


little old tug wheezes by on its way to a
gang of nets farther out A great silver
eel, or 'lawver," as the fishermen have
dubbed it because of its thieving propensi-
ties, slaps and threshes about on the wet
deck aft, making as much noise in its way
as some other lawyers in a bad case. Pres
emily it will be skinned and sold as catfish.
The sun is among broken clouds. With
coquettish uncertainty it shines one mo-
ment and the water glows with green's and
azures and is hidden the next, leaving the
lake brooding and gray, with the horizon
drawing near on every hand in rising mist.
The great gulls circle about US, now rush
ing down to rest for q moment on the sur
face, again rising with swift, strong strokes
to lose themselves in the dim air. Like
true spirits of The chameleon lake their
brownish backs glow almost ruddy in the
sunshine, and breasts and inner wings shine
ghastly white in the shadow.
The Fishermen 4 cad to Poetry.
The men see only the fish in the nets be-
fore them, joking in sardonic way at times
over the light catch. In come the slender
meshes, with now a golden perch, now a
family of blue pike or a beautiful silver
herring, and occasionally great whitefsh
tangled in them, all to be coiled in the
faring boxes together until each one is
heaped high with nets and fish, when
it is removed to the stern and the
fish taken from the nets. The yellow
scales of the perch shine like gold of diff
fering degrees of fneness in the sunlight,
the darker marking of back and sides coming
out in fine relief Fins and tail grow
golden too. and one might almost imagine
so gaudy fish to be selt-conscious. Here
is a whitefish that has threshed in the tolls
in agony tor hours. The pearl-like opaque
fins and tail shine red with the blood that
has been driven into them by mad efforts to
escape. That other is as bright as if Just
from a bath of silver. He has not known
the meshes long. The spring catch Of
whitefish is usually not large. In July and
August considerable numbers are taken in
deep water at the eastern end of the lake,
but the bulk of the catch off this port and
west of here is in November, when the
whitefsh [Coregonus clupeiformis1 seek the
spawning grounds about the Bass Islands.
No sturgeon (Acipense rubicundus) are
taken in gill-nets, too small q mesh being
used They are the largest of lake fish and
are taken in the greatest numbers at the
eastern end of the lake, their favorite
spawning grounds being rocky ledges near
the shore. Thirty years ago this fish was
held in small esteem; now smoked sturgeon
finds good sale in all the principal markets
of the country. 1t is not unusual for 1000
tons of sturgeon to be handled at Sandusky
in single year, while the roes, which some
times weigh as much as 60 pounds, are
spiced and picked there in great quantities,
large part of the caviare being exported.
A considerable quantity of Using glass is also
manufactured annually from the air blad-
ders. '-' rs
Treasures of the Blue Waters.
The annual catch of Lake Erie approx
mates 25, 900 tons, about three-ffths of
which is sold in a fresh condition, being
shipped on ice to the principal cities of the
country. Five thousand tons are salted,
4, 900 frozen and fully 1900 tons smoked,
while some herring is canned and put on the
market as Salmon"
The sun is yeritable magician to-day
and the wind works the cloud curtains for
him to perfection. Where in all nature can
such rare surprises in color be found as on
the water, when conditions are at their best?
The varying densities of mist and cloud to-
day produce wonderful effects There are
more colors in air and sky than painter would
ever dare to put into a picture, even if with
transcendant genius he were able to catch
them all They shift like the turnings of a
kaleidoscope; blue that is almost intense
enough for a black hangs under yon dark
cloud-island; the yellow of beaten gold floats
and glows beyond; to the left are rose and
violet deepening to tints of Tyrian purple
and waxing and waning in intensity in a
wonderful way; to the right silver, with
patches of rare shades of shifting evanescent
intangible greens, such lights as glow and
die away in the eyes OF great cat.
Catching a School of Pike.
Further and further from the land we CO.
drift 1 had almost said, for it seems like
drifting. The nets still come up; tramp,
tramp echoes the dull tread of the men on
the water-soaked deck. The tug rocks
gently as she pushes along. The wash of
the water comes family from her sides.
The net brings up score of fine blue pike,
Is and 20 inches long, all caught within
dozen feet A school of them had run their
unsuspecting noses into the subtle deadly
meshes together, and their frolics are over.
Their color is the blue of fine biued steel,
the sides darkening into black above. Tail
and fms are of the same beautiful metallic
blue. In certain positions, the scales show
green as well, intensilying the beauty OF
the fish fresh from their native depths.
exclaim in admiration and point out the
magic changes of sky and water to the Cap
tain. He looks blankly at them:
zone person sees lots O. things another
feller'd never notice." he observes senten-
tiously, and turns to watch through his
glasses the smoke column that marks the
passage of big freight steamer down the
lake.
The net is all in, and we steam farther