The weekly tribune., 1893-08-25
SOME CROPPY CAUGHT.
Several Specimens of the Fish Taken
from the Missouri River
at Cascade.
Capt. Taylor Put the Young Ones
i'm the River Three Years
Ago.

George Heldt received some fish from
friend at Cascade few days ago which
looked and tasted differently from any
of the finny tribe caught in these parts
Some people said they we're carp, while
others claimed they were croppy. A
TRIBUNE reporter, feeling in mood for
fish stories, started out to learn some
thing about these particular fish. Ira
Myers was encountered first. He had
been presented with one of the fish and
having partaken of the same at dinner
knew whereof he spoke. He said they
were carp-German carp-he called
them. The reporter had heard of Ger
man carp, but how the dickens did they
get into the Missouri river?
Not long ago the papers told of mi
raculous rain storm in Kansas. When
the storm was at the height of its fury
the residents of that particular section
of the Suntlower state we're amazed to
see fish dropping from the clouds. The
dispatch stated that the visitors from
the clouds were from three to five inches
in length and looked as though
they had just been taken from the
stream, being remarkably active. 1t
was supposed that the little fellows had
been caught up from lake or river by
some passing cyclone and carried along
in the clouds until precipitation set in
when they descended to the earth with
the rain.
The newspaper man was thinking OF
the Kansas fish story and wondering
whether it did not apply to the presence
of German carp in the Upper Missouri
when he stumbled on to plan to solve
the problem, and consulted Captain
Taylor. The captain is fish commission
er for this section of Montana and
eught to know all about these particular
fish, their antece1 dents, etc. The cap.
tain, by the way, is said to possess a very
| fertile imagination whenever the con
versation turns to the subject of fish
But as he is in the fish business and has
several books devoted to the subject, nc
one can complain if he occasionally adds d
tinge of interest to his dissertation on fish
so the scribe hunted up the captain and
explained the nature of lis business.
Are there any carp in the Missouri
asked the pencil pusher tentatively.
why, of course there are, put 'en
in the river, myself. three years ago.
: was the answer "Wcl, they are being
caught at Cascade, and Geo. Heldt haG
some
"I 1t amt possible they're catchin' EN-
SO soon; you must be mistaken, young
fellow"
To convince the captain he was takei
to Geo. lIeldt's office and shown some o
the strange fish. But he turned the tables
on the reporter. He said they were NO
carp but "croppy' species Of fish com
mon in eastern waters belonging to th'
same class as the common sucker. Three
years ago he obtailed some young
carp and croppy from the iisi
commission at Washington and placed
them in the Sun and Missouri rivers IA
this point. So far as he knows thes
are the first that have been taken from
the river in this state. They we're no
caught with a hook but were taker
from slough on the edge Of the rive
near Cascade They got into the slougl
during high water and as the river fel
were left captives in the smaller body 0
water, which is fast drying up. Tn
croppy are said TO be fine eating and il
time will probably rival the famou
mountain trout OF Montana.