The sun., 1895-04-28
FISHED IN THE STREETS.
HARTFORD CITIzENs HAD SOME
FUN IN THE RECENT FLOOD.
w. +. Smith Caught Big Pike In His
Back Yard and Had Enough 20 send
Some or the Fish to His NeiEhborr-In-
cidents in the Great Rush of Waters.

w. e Smith Caught n big Pike In HIS
Some or the Fish to His NeiEhborr-In-
| cidents in the Great Rush of Waters.
HARTFORD. April 21.-1n the phenomenal
freshet Of the past ten days, with yellow flood
roaring and curling about some of the princi-
| pal business streets of the town, many Hartford
citizens enjoyed the rare and novel sport of TAX
ing fish in their kitchen gardens, in city lots and
sometimes In the public highways. The hand
soonest catch, probably. was taken by w. E.
Smith of Wethersfeld avenue. who bagged a
splendid seven-pound river pike in his back
| yard near a line of currant bushes.
Although tho place Is mile and half from
the river. ordinarily, still there was water
| enough there even for n craft OF tre pixies
draught, since It was two feet deep; but what
the big fellow lacked in Smiths kitchen garden
was seaway. So he splashcd about among
tho brush tangled himself amid various
garden impedimenta, and finally rolled
over on his back in the muddy flood. gasping.
Then Mr.. Smith waded through his garden
estuary to tho side OF the pike. suddenly flung
his arms about him, and after n gallant finish
fight bagged him. With tho big fellow In his
arms, rasping and spluttering and struggling
like wildcat. the fisherman, streaming with
mud and water, dashed into his kitchen and
planked his prey on It's floor.
"Therc," said Smith. after he had regained
breath enough. "Drat ye! Fight 1t out there
now, II you want to-"
Yet Smith was not exactly angry, nor yet pre-
cisely pleased, all things considered. Many
people in his neighborhood had "planked W pike
for dinner that day.
On another day several Hartford people made
largo hauls Of alewives in business thorough
fares of the town that are more than q mile
from the great rivers bank. except in freshet
. tip,oS tn ,hn 81, r,,;I,
fishing net and dragged n street near his homo
MI the forenoon one day, and made several large
swollen river. miles and miles wide together
with the river side OF the town and score or
ty @ tho in aas M the
immediately after the Noah deluge broke loose.
All sorts Of household goods and human be-
hay, logs: cribs. furniture, came. streaming
along on the billowing torrent all the time and
small boats, gathering what they might of the
tiotsam as Y was shot onward. by the current.
freshet. himself a dweller by the river side: ''"
J." CnIuestionably 1t was the severest freshet
since the extraordinary one n,s Of lS2s Hundreds
and for more than a week it was impossible to
reach them except by swimming or in boats. 1t
small boats plying through popuous avenues,
ferrying people hither and thither. as IL
And in what a terribly hlthy condition
tho houses are left by the receding waters!
Win q cellar ana every room or the frSt story
of dwellings saturated with river mud, the
premises cannot be cleaned except with great
toll and expense. while the probability is that
these drenched rooms will retain an unwhole-
some dnmpueos far into the latter part of the
summer. 1t is likely there will be many deaths
directly on account of the after effects of the
inundation."
1t is said that Col Sam Holt once offered to
dyke the whole city front. just rs the people Of
Holland have done with their low-lying towns,
at a cost of only $4,000. 1t only day or
two ago that the flood began to retire. and Com
m 81 ia ali ybnutE and
light-dranCht sloops.
There were many amusing incidents due to
the overwhelming rise of water far to the north.
In the midst of acres of debris that went rush
ing down the river half mile from shore. one
day big fine coop sailed on. topping, tum-
bling. and cavortinH, and spectators along
shore plainly disCcrned a handsome rooster and
a pair OF hens perched in the ark. The hens took
now and then, reared himself and crowed a
clarion defiance to things in general 1t was
thought tho birds bad migrated from some hill
town in Vermont And were heading straight on
stream q sudden DETECTION of its current drove
the floating coop ashore at Essex, and Boatman
Edwin Beckwith captured the derelict in Ayers
Bay, little below the river hamlet.
A provoking and bothersome incident 1t was
that bcfell Il woman who dwells in one of the
short streets that enter Windsor street. Early
one morning Just before the torrent lcaped upon
the town she had hung out her weeks wash in
her back yard: an hour later she heard rip.
ping and swashing sound about her house.
From her back window she behed her yard in
undated. and the flood. which had come mile
and half across the great North Meadow.
quickly cncompassed her dwelling and went
swelling down the avenue. In vain the woman
sought to borrow or hire a boat. so all the week
her wash ilGpped in the gale just above tie vex-
atious HOOD, ana slie WAS poWerlesS