The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1893-06-18

,nougb all the rivers length, just
sbounded in the hill country. Sometimes
ne set deadfalls for them. made q pallsade
of sticks about his bait, which was made
fast TO trigger that upheld weighted
log. s pull at the titbit, whether it were
q fish bread. an apple or an ear of corn,
sent the weight crushing down upon the
would-be thief
But for the most part Dumb Oliver de-
pended or steel traps. He had ut least
hundred, great and small-each with its
long chain to be anchored cut of sight. Ia
use they were set under shoal water; then
the Dait, a big mussel, was hung tempt
ingly on q stick driven into the bottom
so as TO stand just beyond the trap.
Lured bv sight or scent OF it, Zip Coon or
Master Otter waded along on hind feet.
meaning to seize the prey with his fore
ones. Then all at once something cold
and hard and cruelty sharp gripped his
ankle under water and held him fast,
struggle and splash as he might.
Among Dumb Divers warInest ad-
1nirers were the little Wilten boys, whose
father kept store at the mouth OF Harpeth,
q river flowing into the Cumberland.
From the time they were in short irocks
they had made friends with the dumb
4rapper Other little children ran scream
ing away from the tall weather beaten
man, who could only make little queer
noises in his throat, but these two small
lads always went up to him, fingered his
long knife-sheath and tail of his coonskin
cap or his powder gourd.
The dumb man always laughed at
them, the small, rosy rogues, and made
signs TO the storekeeper for candy. He
rarely came ashore without something
for the little Wilten boys, big pearl-lined
muscle shells or fresh water pearls. or
strange flowers, or now and again q
,..r11-
When Jack and Frankly had grown into
knickerboci1ers, Dumb Oliver gave them
tish-hooks, floats and lines innumerable,
and often took them out for half day
river fishing. They were manly lads
both-too manly TO be foolhardy- BY
time they were respectively and 10 years
old, what with Dumb divers friendship
and the rivers nearness they could either
together or alone paddle a canoe as skill
fully rs Dumb Oliver himself.
SO judge OF their pleasure when one
fine, spring morning they SAW Dumb
Oliver push into the landing with beau
tiful, brand new small canoe towing in
the wake OF his even bigger craft.
..Oh. he's brought that for as to row
iu.'' Frankly cried ecstatically 10 his
brother.
They raced down the bank and each
caught hand OF the trapper, who was
inst stepping ashore. They had learned
his sign-language and greeted him warm
" in It. His eyes glistened, his hand lay
for minute on each yellow head. Then.
holding q hand of each. he paced his
boats length, drew the canoe alongside
it. set Jack at one end, Frank at the
other. gave each paddle and made a
sweeping gesture of the arm to indicate
that they might row in it, up or down or
across the river-in fact, that henceforth
The canoe was their own property.
Tie sun never shown on two happier
lads than were Jack and Frankly for the
next fortnight. Though the March rise
had run out, both rivers were still bank
full, running blue and bold betwixt
banks, were dogwocd and hawthorne
made blotcbes of blossomy snow on the
Dinky-gray OF budded boughs and the
light green of little leaves.
Fish Of all sorts bit freely-so freely that
Dumb Oliver. though he kept only the
i bigger ones, had TO clear out his fish box
whenever a steamboat passed up.
Drum, bass, buffalo, salmon, trout.
silver, sun and black perch, all were
readily taken with hook and iine-often,
indeed. the fisherman and his boy friends
gave over the sport in sheer WEAKNESS.
1t was the trot lines, though, which
made the largest yield. Thence came the