The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1894-10-27
SPEARING TIE SHOVEL CAT.

SPEAKING TIE SHOVEL CAT.
From the New YORK sun
mo queerer fish swims.'' exclaimed
the tall Missourian who was talking
fish and fishing in the Office of one o.
the downtown hotels the other even
ing, ''ard no fish that will give more
furious fun for an hour or SO than oul
homely old shovel cat of the west"
A number of well known anglers haC
I gathered in cosy corner and were
listening to the big mans stories, told
/ between vigorous puffs of his corn-cot
pipe.
In all the creeks and branches trib
utary to the Mississippi and Missouri
one may catch this awkward, heavy
| fish, and if one be only out for
! cats alone, he will give rare sport. But
/ to the crappie fisherman he is great
nuisance. stealing the bait as fast as il
can be put on the hook, and seldom
allowing 9himself to be hooked. De-
spite mis- clumsy shape he is agile to a
remarkable degree.
From side view the fish is not un-
graceful, its long broad nose showing
only an edge, and appearing as slender
as swordfish's weapon. His tail is
sharply forl1ed, and his fins are large
and of rakish cut. He often attains
a length of six feet, and weighs as
much as fifty pounds. A stranger whose
dug-out has drifted into shoal water
or up into one of the shallow bayous
where he is angling for crappie, will
suddenly be startled by loud splash
hard by. and if he is quick enough he
NAV turn and catch glimpse of n
shovel eat at work. The great fish
will throw its entire body out of water,
double over in mid air. and descend
headforemost like professional diver.
He is feeding, and as he lives mostly
upon the tiny animalculae and creeping
things hidden in the soft muddy bot
tom, this leap is necessary to give him
impetus enough TO make the deep
plunge. He drives his wide shovel far
into the mud. and, turning up a long
furrow, catches whatever food is
washed out in the process.
Our people do not care to eat these
eats, for the flesh il coarse and favored
with taste of black mud. but it is
sold in the large towns or cities under
various DISCUSSES with its tell-tale head
and tail cut off to prevent recognition.
Only few knowing folk, darkies for
the most part, understand how TO cook
shovel eats so as TO make palata BILE
dish. They dig hole in the ground,
line it with fat stones, and into this
tightly pack the slices OF fish wrapped
IN wet corn leaves and a lot OF sweet
potatoes. They roof over this oven
with one large stone, and on top build
a fire. The fish and potatoes are left
to bake slowly for an hour or two. and
when the smoking mass is removed the
strong. muddy taste seems TO have in
some way been baked out. and the
white flesh is delicious.
'-On a light rod one of the big fell
lows viii give lively tussel, but it re-
Iuires the patience of Job and the
enthusiasm Of an Ike Walton TO sit
whole afternoon and broil under hot
Mississippi sun in the dreary hope Of
hooking cat. The fish are too tickle
IN biting TO furnish reliable sport in
hat way and the market fishermen
generally resort 20 nets TO insure a
patch.
Blu, the real hair-raising line
stretching, tossing fun is spear
ing. We used TO always choose a gray
iay when the sky was overcast and no
breeze blowing to rufie the surface OF
the water. Two Of Us would set out
for the branch about Two hours before
sunset, armed with short homemade
harpoon consisting OF a steel barbed
head loosely set in hickory shaft. To
ring in the lance-heaa was made fast
about one hundred feet OF heavy line
Arriving a. the bank Of the creek we
would cut off cottonwood limb -
ash to the end OF orr line. 10 act a
Hoat If we had 70 let the whole busi-
nesS go overheard
Then one would paddle the dugoUt
while the other stood in the bow
watching for the shovellers- OF course
sc had 10 hunt oRly N the shadows.
1ot only because the fish were more
plentiful there. but because the spear
was uncertain IN more than foar or five
feet OF water. When we had located
5ur victim. who would L. turning
,plashing somersaults far ahead the
nan ~ the paddles would make for
the spot where the shoveilsr last went
Town The sportsman. peerlng ahead.
,ould dimIy make out the huge fellow
~ his nud-p!oving toll. and. waiting
til he was fairly over his prey would
send the steel swhirling
What a foam % yellow mud then.
ana II he had struck big one how onr
e2kv old dugo2t would roll and jump
g. we were dragged up creek Uy the
nsd >hovelier. The furry s short.