The Lake Charles echo., 1893-09-15
NO 49,
DEC0YING FISH.
sklLLFuL INDIANS or THE NORTH
HAVE QUEER METHODS,

xhsy Cut Hole In the lee. Ruild Hut
over the Hole ana Let Dewn Decoy
Through the Iee-- -Fooling Innocent tssas
lures Of the Deep LalSes.
'rYou 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
tiie decoy was not used for bait. Inever
saw 1t done myself till Twisted Geor-
gian bay, part of Lake Huron, in Cam
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 a queer decoy,
''In order to facilitate matters, of
| them had little stoves ii their huts to
| keen them warm while they dshed. 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 1t 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 10 prevent
chill, Now comes the deeoy business.
"The half breed takes out Of his Kit
queer looking stick, painted and shaped
| roughly to look like O fish, he AYERS,
| though ii would hardly be breaking the
second commandment to worship II, for
| it is the likeness Of nothing in the heav-
ems above, or on the earth beneath, ON in
the water under the earths but If the ish
think It Ia the main object is accom-
plished, This wooden counterfeit Of q
ash is loaded with lead, 50 that II sinks
and lies in the water the right way when
suspended from the middle Of the back
by string attached to q short fishing
pole. The Indian let's this deeoy down
into the water and by means Of the string
gives 1t series of short, sharp jerks,
which make it q dart hither and thither
in remarkably ifelike lsisaner, al
though, OF course, its range is exceeding
ly limited, about yard in any direction.
"The thing Is provided with tin fns
and tail and III weighted with lead most
heavily at the head, The string Ia att
, tached nearer the head than the tail,
upon the back, and the skin with which
these fishermen make the queer thing
shoot about in triangle under their
feet, through q hole In the Ice, Ia truly
remarkable. did not succeed in ae-
uuiring the art myself. / should say
from trying it that 1t is rather more diff
fcult to learn than fly casting,
presently few fish, noticing this
decoy darting about as If in active pur
suit Of his food, swim that way to see IL
there ia 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 deooy, 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 q big
: white bone button without any hook,
The fish swallowed it greedily, and he
| would jerk them out of the water before
, they could getit out of their throats, BY
} and by pike or dogash, seeing the
shoal of fish around the pole, darts after
them, They scatter in q hurry, and the
. fisherman let's down his decoy again to
attract the pike, .............
: "Now all the skin at his command
|, must be employed to make the decoy
. work we'll, for II II lags in the water
long enough for the pike to suspect it's
I genuineness he will turn away in dis
\ gust. If the decoy deceives the willy
0 pike he dashes at 1t, and the fisherman
jerks 1t away before the pike can grab it
Q In his strong jaws, The pike turns to-
0 pursue, and as he halts to turn the fisher
a man drives at him with long forSed
T spear. If his aim is accurate, the pike ia
d trausfxed and Is brought bleeding to the
surface in jiffy, .-..sr.
y "These men are skilled hunters and
J, 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
Is Taking long breath, the muskrat dives
n from his pursuer and swiIns as far as he
a can. When he can go no longer without
ID fresh breath, he comes up under tho
l. ice, and pressing his nose against Il
o hreathes out all the air in his lungs,
a This forms big bubble under the ice,
/. and the Indians say that the ice has the
n power Of making that bubble Of air fresh
K again, oXygInizes II In fact, and that the
Y little fellow then hraathas ii Ia nagain and
j dives once more. This he can do half q
q dozen times, the Indians say, before the
Y air he took with him becomes SO foul
. that the ice cannot freshen 1t again,
It "Whether this property Of tho ioe Il
a true on not cannot cay, but the Indians
firmly believe it, and know that musk
rats can travel @ long way under the ice
and have seen them come up under tn
d leo, press their noses to 1t awhile anl
K then dive again, Perhaps some scientis
v might explain the case, RsW Yorl
It Tribune.