The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-09-15


miles by road, but by water il IS less
than two. told Mr. Goddard TO cruise
in as close to Gray Gables landing as il
Is customary for strangers, for / did not
care TO be offensive. As we approached
the landing, Bud Wright was seen busily
engaged IN placing the supplies for the
days expedition in the dOry which serves
as tender for the Ruth. He is a tall
blonde, sunburned fellow, with that IN
rnlstakable stamp Of a Cape Cod fisher
man BY which he could be recognized IL
seen IN T1mbuctoo. We tackled back and
iorth, perhaps two hundred yards off the
landing, and watched Bud row lazily out
TO the Ruth and put the stores on board.
Ihere seemed to be an extraordinary lot
OF tackle even for a presidential fisher
man. 1 thought of Jeffersonian simplici-
" and wondered If il would not be more
in accord with its tenets for Mr.. Cleve-
land 10 nsh with a pole cut in the brush
and with string and bent pin.
Bud had no more than returned to the
landing where he was eargerly examfn-
ing the sky when the presidential fish
erman himself. accompanied by DR.. Bry-
ant, emerged from the shore entrance of
the big implanted house now famous the
country over as Gray Gables. l should
have thought from the dress of the two
that they We're employees about the place
had ii not been for my familiarity with
Mr.. Cleveland's rotound figure. He wears
a brown suit that looks as if it had orig
inally been black, a soft felt hat that
would cost him an election in any moth
ern state or would endear him to the
heart of a Tennessee mountaineer. Dr.
Bryant wore a navy blue jucket suit and
yacht cap both of much better appear
ance than those worn by Mr.. Cleveland,
but of course a mere doctor is not ex-
pected to indulge in so much latitude in
dress even for fishing as is permitted to
hn fv~a Of T,aff Ton,
Looks hearty ez a roach" remarked
Abe Goddard, laconically Don't he?"
That sums it up in nutshell
Mr.. Cleveland was first taken out to
the Ruth. The tender Bud Wright uses
is not very large and Mr. Cleveland IS
With Mr.. Cleveland in the stern it ex-
hlbited yearning desire to stand up out
of the water toward the bow
Mr. Cleveland climbed upon the Ruth
with more display of agility than is usual
with a man of his weight, and busted
himself in arranging the tackle and sup
plies while Bud returned for DR.. Bryant
Before the others came aboard Mr.. Cleve-
land discovered that the peak halyards
were fouled in running the block and had
them running free in a minute with two
or three judicious shakes. l know little
more about sailing a boat than / do about
catching squeeague and tautog, but what
/ saw Mr.. Clevelands handling of the
Ruth, and he was at the wheel all the
way down the bay and most of the way
beating back, I judge him to be a yachts
man of no mean ability. Mr.. Goddard adj
mitted that he was above the average, and
that is great deal for Cape Cod fisher
man, practically born with his hands on
tiller. ir sr'
The Hattie Tuthrl lowered about the
more aristocratic Ruth until the moor
ings were cast loose. Then 1 kept to
the west of the course chosen by the
presidential craft, as / did not care that
Mr.. Cleveland should suspect me of any
further interest in his movements than
that prompted by the curiosity of the usual
sightseer. The Ruth is not a handsome
nor a particularly speedy craft Before
the wind she is not at all fast. but she
nevertheless showed us her heels very
cleverly in the eight-mile run to Abials
ledge, which, from the Ruth's course Abe
Goddard speedily determined was the
presidential destination. AbiaFs Lodge.
Is a famous spot for squeetague. and ii
probably has the distinction of having
furnished more squeetague for Cleveland's
hook than any similar ledge in Buzzard's
Bay. They'll bite there if they'll bite at
all, remarked my skipper. He let me take
the tiller and too steered for AbiaFs
ledge.
felt much as l fancy a pirate captain
must have felt when overhauling a mer-
chant vessel, the only difference being that
l did not overhaul the Ruth. The Ruth
selected the upper end of the ledge and
came to anchor fully ten minutes ahead of
us. We, or at least. Skipper Goddard Sc
lected the lower end of the ledge, though
he regretfully admitted that the Ruth had
the advantage of position as far as the
fish were concerned. That was of little
moment to me for was far more anxious
to see Mr.. Cleveland catch fish than to
catch them myself.
When the Hattie Huthill came to an
Choir the presidential rod was in posi-
ton and the presidential eye was eagerly
bent upon its utmost extremity besr
DIR. Bryant was also holding his rod.
eXpectantly and had that care worn deNr
preston that is never seen except = upon
the faces of fishermen and bicyclists.; Mr..
Cleveland looked as solemn as if he had
just heard that there had been another
massacre of missionaries at Foo Choo
His expression of countenance was a com
bination of sad tension, eagerness and
expectation. l was not near enough to
hear conversation and should not have
listened If l had been, but l confess that
as hve, ten, fifteen and then twenty min
utes passed without a sign of activity on
the part of the fish, wondered whether
the talk was about the unfortunate ex-
Consul Waller and the attitude of the
French government in that affair, or about
the failure of the fish to establish more
th'i'iANtS ACidtioiAS Win the presidential
hook and line.
1t is just as we'll to say here that
squeetague is species of Weakfish that
while not so ''gamey' as a black bass or
brook trout, possesses as much Ingenuity
in stealing bait as does a congressman in
securing favors for his constituents. It
also possesses the temerity and tenacity
of life of an Office seeker long ignored. The
rod that had used was of the sort ordi-
narily used for bass fishing and like those
used by the president and Dr. Bryant, ex-
cept that it was more simply mounted.
Like theirs, should think it weighed
about % ounces.
had, of course, shuddered the usual
feminine shudder, and said, Poor thing"
when Mr.. Goddard baited my hook, cast.
and then presented me with the but of
the rod to hold.
1 was so intent on seeing President
Cleveland catch fish that when at last
he did jump up and reel in hurriedly
dropped my own pole. and it would have
gone overheard had it not been for the
quick move of my skipper, who caught it
in the nick of time.
The President surely had a good one as
was indicated by his taut line His face
fairly beamed with satisfaction Those
who have seen the President only in
arEaf inc Ton 4