The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1893-08-11
TALKING ABOUT FISH,
nero's n Story that Knocks Out all 9th,
Efforts.

tIcrp's u story tNut KNOCKS Out al OtllCr
Efforts.
The knack Of narrating facts seems to
be a lost art The good fish historians
are disappearing with the fish. Some
catches have been made this summer
that seemed reasonably good, but the
following story shows what FISH were
in the Ohio Valley in the last genera.
ton. The narrative has an air Of veri.
similitude, and was written by John +.
RatcliG, OF Portsmouth, O., aud printed
IN the Cincinnati Commercial Of August
2, 1870:
"Fhe destruction of fish at the city OF
Portsmouth in 1882 was q crime against
society,"" So says the Ohio Geological
Survey for 1868, on page 50. in alludlng
to this great slaughter. The history OF
that NEST notable event l have carefully
gathered from our best citizens, many
Of whom were interested in the enter.
prise, and to-day are found at the head
of u mercantile and manufacturing
interests.
In the fall Of 1881 the ScIoto Fish
Company was organized, the object Of
which was to put q fish gate at the
mouth of Lawson's run, in Wayne
township-now in tho city Of Ports.
mouth. Lawson's run, or "Funk's gut"
as it is sometimes called, at that time
had q very narrow entrance into the
Ohio river-not exceeding twenty feet
in wldth-the banks being %perpendicu-
lar, and held by q luxuriant growth OF
willows. Above the mouth the run
widened out in u basin OF some two
acres, and contracted its banks again,
further up, to about the same width as
at its mouth, The theory was that the
fish would leave the river whom 1t was
| high and seek food and shelter In the
run. So the fab gate was completed in
1881, and when the flood OF 1889 was at
lie highest the gate was closed, and
| much anxiety was telt by those inter-
| osted for the river to fall, and to learn
whether they had caught any fish os
not. Tho river fell slowly, but 1t soon
became evident that there were plenty
Of fan in the basin. Suffice 1t to say it
was the most marvellous catch over
known. Our best citizens claim that
the entire two acres was q solid mass
VI len teu leet ucep' HHeIy DOuy VNIlo
and hauled fish away at will. Country
people for thirty miles around came
with wagons and loaded them down
with fish, and the town folks sailed
them down by hundreds OF barrels.
The demand for salt was so great that
merchants advanced the price three
dollars per barrel. II is a well anthen.
| ticated fact that one catfish was hauled
away that weighed 1900 pounds. and
that William Giddings, now OF Mari.
eta, Ohio, carried OF q speCkled brook
trout Weighing liz pounds. But all
the fish carried and hauled away were
as a drop in tho bucket to the immense
mass left behind to decay. 1t Is said
tho stencil arising from the dead Gsh
was simply horrible. When the fish
had decayed the bones covered the
ground like ricks Of hay, and well may
our eminent biologists say it was u
crime, when in 1868 they visited tho
place and dug down through four feet
OF solid fish bones. The Scioto Fish
Company was ~enjoined in our courts,
and IN 1883 the injunction was made
perpetual, as such Wholesale slaughter
Of flsh was a%diudged to DO detrimental
to public welfare.
Mr.. &. F. Faris cut this out of the
Commercial when 1t appeared, and has
preserved it ever since as q rare speci-
men.