The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1894-04-25
BILL APPS LETTER.
Bill Goes Fishing In Florida.
atlanta Constitution.

Bill Goes Fishing In Florida.
atlanta Constitution.
My head is swimming now-every-
thing is swimming. We have been on
the gulf to-day, anchored far out on
the coral reefs, and while we fshed
the boat was gently heaving and rock
ing On the restless waves, and now
that we are at home the same motion
has followed US. The room is swing
ing like pendulum. Sandford Bell;
the old veteran conductor on the state
road, told me that he could tell where
the train was in the darkest night by
the swing of the cars around the
curves, and just so the old sailors and
fishermen can tell how deep the water
is by the breathing of the pillows.
Major Shaw is an old sailor. He lives
down the bay few miles and came up
this morning in his own boat to take
the family to the grouper bank. My
wife was afraid to venture, but the
girls and I and Joe took passage on
the fast little craft, and with good
wind we crossed the harbor and
through the pass and were soon away
out couple Of miles into the dark
green waters of the gulf. The old ma
jor knows the haunts of all the fish
the tarpons and grunts and groupers
and red snappers and sharks. He has
passed his three score years and ten,
but is as lively and cheerful as a
school boy. The girls sang some Of
their seafaring songs as we scudded
along and the major Joined in the
chorus and led the heavy bass like
true chorister. He took his bearings
from objects on the shore and when
the two lines met he gave Joe his or
ders to let down sail and cast anchor.
"We are now in the center of the
grouper bank" he said, "and if the
groupers are not at home they ought
to be.
CHOW, if you girls get seasick you
must brave it off. Feed the fishes but
don't stop fishing, I had some Bos-
ton ladies out here last week and one
of them fed the fishes every ten min
utes, but she never stopped fishing
and caught more grouper than any of
us" 3sWhat did she feed them
with 2" said I very innocently. They
all laughed at me as he replied II
can tell you, for she did not take
breakfast at my house." He had soon
rugged up six lines of ten fathoms and
each mounted with large hook and
small hook and double loaded with
minnie balls. We cast out into six
fathoms water and then began the
sport. There was no time to say
''have you gotta bite p no watching
cork, no pole to swing round, no limbs
overhead, no nothing but to let the
lead drop and the cord slip through
your hand and then vigorous twinge
at the bait and pull upwards as. the
grunt or the grouper struggled against
his sudden elevation. In three hours
time we caught forty-fve groupers
and $50 grunts. The first bait was
live meat from small conchs, but as
soon as we caught fish We cut them
into bait, using the heads on the large
hooks. The groupers weigh from two
to twenty pounds and are without
scales. They are baked or roasted
like chickens and taste like channel
cats. The grunts are a species of
large Dream, averaging about pound
apiece. They are known as the sal
lor's joy, and are the best pan fish.
When taken from the hook they grunt,
making a croaking noise just like little
pigs when sucking.
We were out about five hours, and
our catch half filled a dry goods box
that was three feet square. I never
had such fishing before. One of the
girls caught two large groupers and
seventy-one grunts. Another caught
seven groupers, but her grunts were
not counted. Joe sometimes brought
up two at time-one on each hook.
We fished until the cords wore tender
hands to the quick and we were actu-
ally tired Of catching fish. [ thought
about Murphy and Theodore Smith,
and wished that they had been there.
Poor Murphy, who, when the dogwood
is in bloom, goes down to the river
and watches his cork all the day long
and comes home swinging two or three
cats and an eel and redhorse and is
happy.
We were not after tarpon this time,
but we saw a school Of them, with
their silvery sides shining to the sun
as they sported on top of the water.
The old major caught balloon fish.
It was about eighteen inches long, and
had as an attachment a balloon fla
ment on his breast, and this was ex-
panded or contracted with its breath.
It was pure white and velvety, with
beautiful lace points in regular rows
all over it and when distended would
hold hatful of air. The major said
he had been fishing here for eight
years and had never seen one before.
Even Joe, who had seen everything,
had never seen one. Its mouth was
small and full Of sharp teeth, and it
was puckered as if getting ready to
whistle. And Joe speared stingray,
a venomous creature with kind of
whalebone tail about three feet long
and sting at the base-a sting that
looks like large thorn from black To-
Gust tree, but it is barbed instead Of
smooth. The barbs Of the grain or
or spear sank into his body and off he
went for life and liberty, carrying the
boat with him, until he was exhausted.
The girls brought home its tail and
sting as trophies, but left the horrible
creature in the sea.
What did we do with the fish we
caught !? Why the old major walked
up town after We landed and told the
people there was a box of fish down
there and they could go down and help
themselves. Our girls are supplying
our table with fish now-fresh fish
that cost nothing but sport. In fact,
it is sport all the time, for it is bath
ing or fishing or shelling or grabbing
nearly every day in the week. They