The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1893-09-15
DECOYING FISH.
SKILLFUL. INDIANS OF THE NORTH
HAVE QUEER METHODS.

They Cut a Hole In the Ice, Build a Hut
Over the Hole and Let Down Decoy
Through the Ice-Fooling Innocent Crea-
lures of the Deep Lakes.
"You have heard of shooting game by
means of decoy birds often enough no
doubt" said an old sportman the other
day, 'but doubt if you ever heard of
fishing by means of decoy fish, where
the decoy was not used for bait. I never
saw it done myself till l visited Geor-
gian bay, a part of Lake Huron, in Can
ada. one winter. There found that the
half breed Indians erected huts on the
frozen bay and fished through holes cut
in the ice by means of queer decoy.
"In order to facilitate matters, some of
them had little stoves in their huts to
keep them warm while they fished. The
huts had only one opening, door, and
when the fisherman had entered and
closed the door no light entered the hut
except what came up through the floor,
reflected through the ice outside and the
water underneath it. This made it pos
sible for the fisherman to see deep down
into the water and difficult for fish to
see him in his dark hut. The fisherman
has chair or bench to sit upon, food
and drink to keep life in him during his
long watch and little stove to prevent
chill. Now comes the decoy business.
1.-THE half breed takes out of his kit a
queer looking stick, painted and shaped
roughly to look like a fish, he AYERS,
though it would hardly be breaking the
| second commandment to worship it, for
it is the likeness of nothing in the heav-
ems above, or on the earth beneath, on in
| the water under the earth; but if the fish
think it is the main object is accom-
plished. This wooden counterfeit of
| fish is loaded with lead, SO that it sinks
and lies in the water the right way when
suspended from the middle of the back
| by string, attached to a short fishing
pole. The Indian lets this decoy down
into the water and by means of the string
I gives it a series of short, sharp jerks,
which make it dart hither and thither
in a remarkably lifelike manner, al
though, of course, its range is exceeding
ly limited, about yard in any direction.
''The thing is provided with tin fins
and tail and is weighted with lead most
) heavily at the head. The string is at
tached nearer the head than the tail,
upon the back, and the skill with which
these fishermen make the queer thing
shoot about in a triangle under their
feet, through hole in the ice, is truly
remarkable. l did not succeed in &C.
curing the art myself. | should say
from trying it that it is rather more diff
ficult to learn than fly casting.
presently few fish, noticing this
decoy darling about as if in active pur
suit of his food, swim that way to see if
there is not something there for them
also. They may be fresh water herring,
salmon, trout, whitefsh or less valuable
game; but none of them, big or little, is
refused by the half breed. Fine fish he
sells; the coarse ones he or his dogs or his
children or his squaw eat readily.
pulling up his decoy, the fisherman
let's down a baited hook and tries his
luck on the newcomers, seldom in vain
These men fish with all sorts of queer
bait. saw one man make splendid
haul one day, using for bait only big
white bone button without any hook
The fish swallowed it greedily, and hl
would jerk them out of the water before
they could get it out of their throats BY
and by a pike or dogfsh, seeing the
shoal of fish around the pole, darts after
them. They scatter in hurry, and the
fisherman let's down his decoy again to
attract the pike.
"Now all the skill at his command
must be employed to make the decoy
work well, for if it lags in the water
long enough for the pike to suspect its
commences he will turn away in dis
gust. If tire decoy deceives the willy
pike he dashes at it, and the fisherman
jerks it away before the pike can grab ii
in his strong jaws. The pike turns tc
pursue, and as he halts to turn the fisher.
man drives at him with long forked
spear. If his aim is accurate, the pike il
transfxed and is brought bleeding to The
surface in jiffy.
"These men are skilled hunters an6
know many curious habits of the crea
lures they pursue. They say that musk
rats, for instance, are able to swim long
distances under the ice in this manner
Taking long breath, the muskrat dives
from his pursuer and swins as far as he
can. When he can go no longer without
fresh breath, he comes up under tbs
ice, and pressing his nose against il
breathes out all the air in his lungs
This forms big bubble under the ice
and the Indians say that the ice has the
power of making that bubble of air fresh
again, oxygenizes it in fact, and that the
little fellow then breathes it in again anG
dives once more. This he can do half &
dozen times, the Indians say, before the
air he took with him becomes so fou
that the ice cannot freshen it again.
whether this property of the ice il
true or not cannot say, but the Indians
firmly believe it, and l know that musk
} rats can travel long way under the ice
and have seen them come up under tn,
ice, press their noses to it awhile ant
then dive again. Perhaps some scientis
might explain the case. New Yorl
!, Trihnno