Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1895-04-11
TOWED IN BY 4 PORPOISE.
The Story Told as He Told it to His
Friends, Who Didn't Believe Him.

The Story Told as He Told it to His
Friends, Who Didn't Believe Him.
\ number of the guests of the Pick
wick Hotel were seated before the
cOmfOrtab BILE CRATE fire in the reading
room of that institution last night,
talking of everything but the weather,
says the New Orlea MS TimeS-DemOcrat
At last the conversation got around to
a subject that always brings forth a
series Of interesting stories and re-
MISUNDERSTANDING and fishing. The
most wonderful tales that were ever
evolved in the mind of man were
passed about as if matter Of mere
every day occurrence, and the shades
of Wilton and the elder Nimrod must
have wilted had they been anywhere
about. One of the gentlemen had just
finished remarkable story of rescue,
in which a fisherman had ridden a
turtle for two miles off the Florida
coast and was finally rescued by a
passing vessel, a little the worse for
wear and anxiety.
The members of the party looked at
each other for few moments, when
a local sportsman, who had said moth
ing up to this time, concluded it was
time to uphold the reputation of the
locality.
"Well, that's all well and good" he
said, ''but a little experience of mine
some years ago may appear quite as
remarkable, and [ presume no one will
doubt the truth of the narrative when
| myself tell it. l was hunting and
fishing in Barataria bay, and for sew
eral days had enjoyed myself hugely
Fish of all sorts were plentiful, and
the marsh hens flew before my gun
in clouds. 1t was not an uncommon
thing for me to load by boat to the
gunWales with trout and reddish in a
single mornings outing. and I would
vary the monOtony of this sort of
sport by capturing few tarpOn. A
fayorite method employed by the fish
ermen in this section of the coast
waters is to catch the silver fish where
the waters eddy, and when the gleam-
ing fin would break the surface to
plunge a grain just abait the dorsal
and let 'er go. This was sport, and
when you consider the fact that they
the men, usually fished in small pirO-
CUES, the performance may well be
called dangerous. | became quite ex-
pert at this and would go at the tar
pCn with all the temerity and sang
f,.ni Of al T
ever. succeeded in gaining a silver fish
''This is not the story [ want to
tell, however. One morning, when I
was about two miles from the shore,
right out to sea, [ cast my lines and
the Spanish mackerel began biting like
mad. Ny hands were blistered, and
| could scarcely move in the boat
beauties which l had pulled in. I
rolled up my lines, settled myself for
a comfortable row back to shore, and
was knocked out to find that my oars
had dropped from the pins and fioated
off At first I felt amused at the pre-
dicament, but this feeling changed to
{ something like fear when | ascertained
that there was not a piece of wood
| in the boat with which I could make
paddle, ard l felt worse as I,noticed
drift seward and that the sun was
| falling. My quandary increased, and
| yelled vOciferously in hopes of my
voice reaching the shore. Foolish
hope. Time drew on with wonderful
rapidity until the sun went down
Twilight is not long on the coast, and
as the sun dipped the wind died away
| leaving the surface Of the gulf as
smooth as a pond. Suddenly / heard
snort, and then another, and the
water was broken into a heap of
swirls by the breaking of a great
school of porpoises. The fish ap
preached the boat, dangerously close
! thought, until at last bright thought
struck me- and without losing any
time, I grappled my largest line, and
quickly tying a slip moose, watched
my opportunity, and as a porpoise
broke within a few feet of the boat
| threw the moose, lasso fashion, ano
the loop landed square and fair over
J the huge dorsal fin Of the cetacean-
and slipped off My next cast was
more successful, the fin being CORFU
gated by age, and the line held.
at is a well-known fact that a por
poise when struck or injured makes
! for shore. My capture followed this
very plan, and, gratified at my sagacity
and knowledge, I fastened the line il
the PROV of the boat, and soon haG
the satisfaction of witnessing my
novel steed cavort toward the shore
growing already dim in the fading
light.
Il was in luck, for the trip was
! made without incident, the fish think
ing only Of getting away from the
line, and soon I saw the water fly
as he plunged over the first sandbar
l was near enough to wade, and cu
the line. thanking my stars and the
porpoise for a remarkable deliverance
A little while later I was on shore
telling the story to my friends. who
by the way, did not believe me-"
j 1t was very evident his listeners were
of the same opinion, as one byAont
they excused themselves, and soon the
!, narrator was left alone.