The Durham daily globe. (Durham, N.C.) 1889-1894, 1893-11-06
DECOYlNG FISH.
sKILLFUL INDIANS OF THE NORTH
HAVE QUEER METHODS.

They Cut q Hole In the Ice, Build a Hut
Over the Hole and Let Down a Decoy
Through the Ice-Fooling Innocent Crea-
tures 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 a decoy fish, where
the decoy was not used for bait. Inever
saw it done myself till I visited Geor-
gian bay, a part of Lake Huron, in Can
ada, one winter. There l found that the
frozen bay and fshed through holes cut
in the ice by means Of a queer decoy.
"In order to facilitate matters, some of
hem had little stoves in their huts to
keep them warm while they fshed. The
huts had only n opening, a 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 a chair or bench to sit upon, food
and drink to keep life in him during his
long watch and a little stove to prevent
chill. Now comes the decoy business.
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
i is the likeness of nothing in the heav-
ems above, OF on the earth beneath, on in
the water under the earth; but if the fish
think it is the main object is accom-
p.ished. This wooden counterfeit of a
fish is loaded with lead, so that it sinks
and les in the water the right way when
suspended from the middle Of the back
by a string attached to a short fishing
pole. The Indian lets this decOy down
into the water and by means Of the string
gives it a series Of short, sharp jerks,
which make it a dart hither and thither
in a remarkably lifelike manner, al
though, of course, its range is exceeding
ly limited, about ayard in any direction.
The thing is provided with tin fms
| dIIO Id11 III IL "ClSulSu WILL lcdl lllOSG
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 a hole in the ice, is truly
remarkable. I did not succeed in ac-
| curing the art myself. I should say
from trying it that it is rather more diff
fcult to learn than fly casting.
"Presently q few fish, noticing this
decoy darting about as if in active pur
suit of his food, swim that way to see il
there is not something there for them
also. They may be fresh water herring,
salmon, trout, whitefish 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 n man make a splendid
haul L day, using for bait only a big
white bone button without any hook.
l. 1AoA1 " l SICCN11S, dIltl III
would jerk them out of the water before
they could geti it out of their threats. By
and by a pike Or dogfsh, seeing the
shOal of fish around the pole, darts after
them. They scatter II a hurry, and the
fisherman lets 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
genuineness he will turn away in dis
| gust. If the decoy d~eceives the willy
pike he dasheS at it, and the fisherman
jerks it away before the pike can grab it
in his strong jaws. The pike turns to
pursue, and as he halts to turn the fisher
man drives at him with a long forked
spear. If his aim is accurate, the pike is
transfxed a i is brought bleeding to the
surface in a jify.
These men are skilled hunters and
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 a lOrg breath, the muskrat dives
AASAA AAAo a SNNA G%IO = v Ills as 1dI DIS lS
can. When he can 60 no longer without
q fresh breath, he comes up under the
ice, and pressing his nose against it
breathes out all the air in his lungs.
This forms a 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 and
dives once more. Tris hC can do half a
dozen times, the In ~. before the
air lie took with / comes so foul
that the ice Il II f. .en it again.
Whether this property Of tie ice is
true or not l cannoy say. but the Indians
firmly bel; we It, and | know that musk
rats can travel a long wa under the ice.
and l have seen them come up under the
ice, press their noses 10 il awhile and
then dive again. Perhaps some scientist
might explain the ca<e,-Nsw York
Tribune.