davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-04-19
~FIsHERMEN's LUCK.
EARLY Catches OF Trout In New England
aud on Long Island.

The warm weather of the last few DAYS has
started the anglers a fishing as nothing else
could have done. not even stories of large
catches of big trout. The first few days Of
the season were not especially delightful from
the trout fisherman's point Of view, the air
being n little too raw and the water altogether
too cold, but still there was a gOodly number
of fish taken on tho opening day. and ever in
creasing sizes and messes have been the rule
since. Trout fishing was legal sport in Con
n~ecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Long
Island, and New Jersey on April l..
f. j. Brown took n fine mess OF trout near
sandwich, Mass, from private waters. His
largest fish weighed 2la pounds. Mr.. Brown
got 1t by pure luck, AS the gut parted at
tine hook shank just as he got the net under IL.
Joshua ;. Duncklee of the Boston Board OF
Assessors got nine good sized fish on the OPEN
ing day In Massachqsett; waters. William G,
ior got hny-thrce f%air-si2cl trout In waters
near Worcester, Mass, il, suite Of The cold.
hoy GOV. Morton received twenty front OF
one pound AID a quarter To one and u half
lie friend by asking him II lie meant 10 tell tho
Gnvcrnur that those hsh were taken on artil-
in small,boy style, ON angle worms; but trout
are trout. no,,.
various club houses ON l0ng Island on the hrst
DAY Tor trout hshlng, and the Attendance
especially on saturdays and sundays, has been
high and Increasing since. II is now "A common
ssiSLt on late afternoons and evenings to see
men with rods and Creels In the bridge cars.
IL would take an early, riser to see them start.
ing In the morning. These men, az a rule, use
iSS rods aud artificial lures exclusively. hut
s0rno Of them cannot get I'VE" the OH banker,
ing Tor the sport as thcy enjoyed II In their
l0yhood. The wrig0llhg worms are fascinating
to them;
tina EDTest and stream. says that Cape Cod fish,
ermen have had poor luck, more than one en-
thusiast coming home with no trout" the
fshing, but a few of them have got a few. Pun.
Eapog Brook. in Canton, on the Blue Hills,
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-04-19

And IL Does Other Things Calculated to
Make Its Prey Iremble.

OF all the insects the beetles are the most
Interesting. There Is one that carries n cam
non. which n naval man would call n stern
chaser. ard IL loaded with a fluid. When pur-
sued the beetle fires II, and the other insect,
usually n carniyerous beetle, is blinded by the
DISCHARGE of fine, acid spray. Hence its name
of bombardier. The latest thing that has
been learned about beetles is that DyttSchs mar
gindlis cuts its way through the shells of snails
and mollusks and eats the inhabitants.
w. b. 1eGetmeier writes to the London Fed
and tells about the curiosity OF naturalists ut
finding shells manifestly gnawed by some in
sect or other. and the final discovery Of DW!is-
Gus mdrgindlis at work on the shell. Then he
tells some things about the Dytiscus family.
Says he:
Il know of no more interesting animal in an
aquarium than II Dytiscus, who soon acquires
the haiti of following the fingers for food, and
amuses himself at night. II the aquarium Is
open, hy flying round md round the room, and
occasionally misses the way. and being unable
to return Is found on the floor in the morning.
There is one drawback. TO the habits of this
creature. He is n bloodthirsty tyrant of the
aquarium. requiring the whole place TO HIM
self. for II kent will tadpoles, frogs, fish. or
any other animals he quickly destroys them.
even il many score times his own size
What hawks are to the other birds, cats are
to other mammals. sharks are to other fish, the
DytisCus is to other insects.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-04-19

a crack fisherman getting thirteen. good on es
and Henry Savage taking four Of sufficient
size 70 brag about.
DR.. g.. 3. Hartman Of Boston got fifteen
pounds OF meat in twenty. four trout from
preserve brook in South Wellneet, In Cape Cod.
In Maine there will be no fishing before May
| TO spenk Of, and even then the chances OF hay
ing 10 poke Ice away from the boat Will be
good. fhe mIudle Of Ma Is early enough for
a fishing trip to Maine, Now HAMPSHIRE, Yer.
mont, New York tAdirondacksl, and 1t Is only
Ions island, Rhode Island. Massachusetts,
and Connecticut are Mt all satisfactory before
May l.. To the minds OF riff fishermen, who
wade In hlp-decp water for fly fishing, the first
Of June Is the time of year Of al. Others for
streams that come tumbling out Of the noun
tains. The season ia ut its height then, be-
ginning to dwindle away in early July. About
the middle of that month the nsh are
mostly in tho cold beds.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-04-19
BULLETS AND ALLIGITORS.
Did Native Yarns Lead Richard Harding
Davis Astrsy = Remarkable Bears.

Richard Harding Davis, according to f. l..
Peritara of TeguchlGalpa, Honduras, in Recre-
dtiOn, was the victim of the native jokers in
Ladino land. or perhaps it. was their excessive
politeness. Mr.. Davis and two other gringos
tried to shoot sundry things with modern RI
fes down in Central America. and among them
was the alligator. Instead of rolling over dead,
the alligators slid Off into the water Unwound-
ed. and then the natives applied soothing salve
to the wounded feelings of the gringos, saying:
THE bullets Of your rifles cannot penetrate
the scales OF the alligators or crocodiles. You
must shoot just behind the should srs or in the
spinal cord at the root of the tall" 1t would
take an expert rifeman to do that. so the grin
gos satisfied themselves by shooting into the
horny scales"
Mr.. Peritara says that the natives were too
good -natured for their own good, because the
story they told was apt to keep sportsmen who
them. Mr.. pcritara SAYS that no has shot into
the brain of an alligator with n i4.4o rifle.
one that Mr. Davis said was inefecIuai.
The London Field said the other day. in an
modern rifles would not penetrate crocodile
skins was u myth of the old days, when bullets
S %sre P Do ba aRa ''s sia RSsu of ~ crocod 1es SO skins asl,
without penetrating that the incident Is worth
mentioning In = .%portsmen,s paper when II does
cake Of Others he felt that he ought to let Mr..
Davis down from the idea that he had even
hit the alligators. air. Peritara says further
that Mr.. Davis and his two grinGo companions
were singnIarly fortunate. Mr.. Davis said
that the three gringo. saw two bears in
Central America near large towns In thickly
Inhabited districts. The singularity OF Mr..
Devis's OH eryation may he realized when one
learns that nobody else ever saw bears In that
part of Central America. or anywhere near
where Mr.. Davis saw them. 1t Is a great pity
that he did not photograph them with II camera.,
because some naturalisls may be sKepticai.
Sauicr. the great naturalist. says that there
are no bears In Central America. and natural
lists stand by one another. MIR. Davis has one
way out OF this. II no will submit to the y
ray for u while, the impression the bears made
on his brain. "a shown by an %-ray photo
graph. might cause the natural histories re-
lating TO Central America To he revised as re-
uap1s lpurs
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-04-19
SPRING DUCK HUNTING.
Three Western Sportsmen Get Two Hun
dred Birds ON One Trim.

Spring duck shooting is not regarded favor.
ably by most sportsmen, but there is n grist
OF II going on. X. b. Morgan and his boy. Dan,
Got more than 100 ducks In four days shooting
near Gibson Wells. Tenn, ond some snipe, a
few days ago. r.. b. Organ, Will Mussey, and
Ed Bingham Of Chicago killed more than 200
ducks on Lake Koshkonong,W Wis, In early April.
The ponds and lakes throughout the Northwest
are very dry, and In consequence there is more
water In the Mississippi than elsewhere. This
has caused the ducks to 20 up the valley prin-
~cipallv. and the slaughter has been ten times
greater this spring than last falls kill" accord
Cordinv to a Forest ana stream writer.
Sixty-nine ducks were killed by two Niilwau-
kee gunncrs a few DAYS ago at Fox Lake, Wis.
CAUTIOUSLY enough, the h~fty-five which were
bluebills were nearly all males. The ducks
were shot over decoys, and the chances are the
males were young and were looking for sweet
hearts. Bluebills were killed In greater num-
bers at Fox Lake during this springs. shoot.
Ing. although other deep-waterd ducks. like red
heads and canynstacks, came in numbers.
The birds seem to have arrived all at once at
koshkononu. where Ed Bingham and his
friends got their 200 birds.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-04-19
REFUaE UNDER THE Il
The Dance n Particularly Crafty Hare Led
n Pack of Nine Dogs.

Rabbits and hares are not particularly we'll
known as crafty animals to hunt. but the Lon
don Field tells of a hare that showed consid.
cradle skill in outwittinG the dogs. 1t was u
good sized hare and the nine dogs had n lively
race after her. She circlcd, as rabbits usu.
ally do when run by dogs, and then led Off.
she went over a high stone fence. and bothered
the hunters some. Scared by some women.
she turned square to one side. and the dogs
cverran and lost the trail for II little bit. Then
the beast was jumped again. She was very
tired and stir, but got limhcred up and ran
we'll for n time. Then. she got to a farmvurd,
where she disappeared and was not found BY
the dogs again.
One OF the sportsmen got n letter n couple of
days later from the farmer, saving that his
wife, hearing something in the bedroom. went
into II to find out the cause. II was the hare.
1t took refuge under the bed, but was carried
out to the lawn and liberated. After sitting
still awhile, the animal went hopping away.
waiting for another chase. 1t IL only when
hard pressed that animals take refuge in hu-
man hubilutiOQs.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-04-19

The Old time Yukoners who stayed in juneau
so long that tho first Of the incoming rush
reached tho Alaskan METROPOLIS before they
started for their ummer' work in the interior
got an unusual, url to them unweicome, evil
dence Of Eastern civilization through the intro
ductiun into Juncau's fractional currency Of
what the NtntuJ Rrr,rI sourufully calls tho
'Lumh,e penny piece me fuS"IrrS regard
axe. They dv-pI~' hImrs Hiri thinks the Hlckch
an outrage uu humanity. For The penny "a, a
coin thry have uu satisfactory Vocabulary ut de-
nunCiatiOn. They prefer rather 10 dcnOuuCe
the persons who use II, and such dsnuHclatiOn
usually Includes the entire genealogical tree Of
the unfortunate offender. The only possible
use q Ygkoner has for a penny Is TO treasure 1t
As a curiosity.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-04-19
IGNORANCE THAT KILLED..
Groat Might BE living Had He Recn
Taught How to Handle n Gun Properly.

An accident which shows tho danger Of not
teaching boys how to use firearms is reported
In the American Field. Seventeen year-old
James Groat of Omaha, Neb,. with three com
rades. was hunting ducks on the river. Not
finding the birds plentiful. boy fashion. they
thought they would play about in the willow
blind. They laid their guns down and began
to skylark. All of a sudden n flock of ducks
was seen coming. and there was a rush to get
the guns.
II young Groat had been brought up right he
would not have left his gun cooked and loaded,
he would not have grasped it by the muzzle
and pulled II toward himself, the trigger would
not have caught in a wig. and the lad would
not have been killed. The top Of his head was
blown to pieces by the whole charge of shot
entering just above the nose.
When a boy wants a gun and is In a place
about which game Is to be found, and there are
hunters to hunt 1t. the boy is going to have it by
hook or crook; 30 the best way to do when u
lad shows the symptoms Is to put him into the
hands OF n good hunter and have him taught
what TO do and what not to do. especially what
not to do; and If a good gun, built by u trust
worthy manufacturer, is given to the would be
hunter. there Is no danger whatever. IL this
was done In every instance with boys there
would be no accidental killings: 1t Is the self
cor fdent. self-taught man who kills others
and himself.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-04-19
o spoRr IN CENrRAb PARK.
Lots or Black Bass In thc Reservoir, Were
Fishing There Only Permitted.

II the city.sick fisherman could only go fish.
ing IN the reservoir In Central Park, he could
get enough sport In an afternoon to satisfy any
one. There are fish in the reservoir, black
bass and porch. in such numbers that on warm
evenings. when numerous flies are lowering
over the water. the splashing OF tho fish re-
minds one of a preserved trout pond.
with o bass fly, n leader, n light fly rod, and
the use OF the old scow there for two or three
hours, the creel would he filled to overlooking.
BASS Of over four pounds in weight have heen
seen to roll IN for q natural fly, Just MS they do
way Of big ones arc enough to make II man
want to try them. The black. bass feed IL ost-
feed on the young bnss. Tho many lizards in
the reservoir furnish food for both. If per.
mits were granted TO fly fishermen once IN n
while. no harm would bo done. although some
people might not fancy drinking the water
after seeing n man fishing there with II bunch
of fat anglewOrms on n big hook. Fish.
hawks frequently 20 fishing In the reservoir.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-04-19
F0OD rnar VAS DEADLY.
The Fate OF Some Animals Thnt Bit DE
More than They Gould Chew.

A curious tragedy In natures life was told
about In the DeutShe FISchsrCt ZtitmnG re-
Gently. A twenty five pound pike was found
dead near the villa Scholz, at Horn. On ex-
animation a trout weighing four and a half
pounds was found stuck In the pixies mouth
in such n way as to choke 1t to death.
Various animals have died OF sufiocation In
this manner. Especially is this true of herons,
grebes, bItterns. and other FISH eaters, which
haze been found dead with fish In their throats'
A gull, up In n Massachusetts bay, was seen
acting in n way that caused two boys TO take
"a rOwboat and go out and see what the matter
was. The gun would fly away. then tumble
into the water. struggle a while, then fly again.
each iiifl.t being shorter than tho one be-
fore, and ut last the bird merely skinned the
surface heavily. When the boys got To II tho
birds head was under water ana me WIDE;
were tapping slightly, They tuIeu the nnndd
into the boat, and 1t was seen that ~ we end
Of the I'LL was "A clam she'll. The gun had ttleI
TO get the clam; the clam had closed, US shen
uDGL the bill. and the scared bird hal lTleu W
fly uff over the water, hut, Dreaming bo'"S
hard. II was soCn exhausted In ,bs
a Wild turkey was found ono time ~ me
Tennessee bottom lands. Tie TURKEY, lm iI"iis
ing up Ia get some berries, came u"WIa N'hrS
neck through a fork 81 tho bush ihe pI"
being unable to pull It's head thronsh ned ~
or 4 the ground with feathers Tor 'eN s'' va
some Of the birds that uso strings or LARS
I'm ths construction Of their nests sHaa" M
tsTiai eyery sprinE and ara choked TO DEATH
A man named Allard was coMihs ~" Or
Columbia River years ago from AssoilS az
70 GIoher Hudson Bay Fur company p"S' ~
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-04-19
cARNIvoRoU US PLANTS.
One IL q Good Fisherman md the Other n
FIrst-clnss Trnpper.

First-ciass Trnpper.
Something new about the bladder wort has
been learned recently, according to the rushing
Gazette. The bladder wort Is n small floating
weed found in tho fresh waters of the British
Islands, and until recently was regarded ms an
innocent bunch of vegetation: but now IL Is
known that It is destructive to game fishes.
This subtle poacher IL armed with almost mi.
crosCopic Jaws along its little branches. land the
incautious little fish that rubs UP against these
gets grasped, and before long dies and Is de-
voured by the plant.
A good many plants are known to subsist on
flesh, and one of these, at least. lures its
prey into a trap. Every visitor to the Adj
rondacks knows the hunters pitcher; some
RENE .nber 1t with pain. The pitcher is. open
at the top. and the rain keeps It half full Of
water. The thirsty insects zee the water, and
they go down into IT and drink. Having had
their NIL, the flies try to climb out again, but
no trap Is surer than the hunters pitcher. The
inside of the pitcher is lined with short, stiff
down. The insects feet catch in these. and
after n while II gets into the water and browns;
The Adirondack woodsmaa likes q Joke, and
that is why the memory Of these pitchers brings
pain to tho tenderfout. The woodsrnan. act
ing as guide, goes, trampinR into. the woods,
leading tho tenderfoot to some fishing waters:
The trail. If on u hot day. is dry as II bone, and
Mt each step the tendcrfoot gets dryer and
dryer. and begins. to want to know how far II
as % the the hSNf sHFlTS' feq hse sure cons tGc 70 Il m a%Sm be-
water thereabOut, but the wOodsman say there
Is not n bit. Then he picks up one of the nu-
then throws it to the ground. Water, flies ont
and the thirsty one sees It, He breaks one or
and without examination takes q couple OF big
soup" and rolls over ON the moss bed Of the
swamp. The victim shrieks, too. And for
years after the mention of hunters pitchers
makes him gag-it is two or thr.e days before
he cares for fish or food.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-04-19
TRAPPING MOTHER BIRDS.
I'he Dlmculty or Identifying tho Eggs
FOuad Sometimes In Nests.

biologists frequently have trouble In Identify
ing the eggs which they find in nests. The Nd
olo0tst tells how TO get Il nesting bird that Is
too shy 20 show itself for identification. A. d,
Henderson found II number OF nests in the reeds
about Little Lake, near Barrie, Ontario, but
was unable TO determine the species, as he
could not catch sight of the parent birds. lie
took the eggs, trusting to identify them later.
One DAY he was meditating' lie had tried
snares. watching. and a lot of other ways I'M
successfully. Hanging in his boat house were
a lot of muskrat steel traps. and these gave
him an idea. lie took several OF them, set
them In the nests, and on his return next morn.
ing found two grebes, and was able 10 identif"
them. Oue Of the Rrebes had plunged OF the
nest into the water, and the weight 81 the trap
pulled II under the water and drowned IL. The
other one he took out uf the trap and threw IL
into the air, expecting 20 ace IL fly away, hut
II dropped and went under the water. and, so
far as the maa could see, did not come up
again, That explained why the birds were so
hard 70 see. They kept under water St.h only
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-04-19
Killed by u Heron.

z. Lycett of Atlanta, Ga, on reading an arti-
Gle In THE Sun headed "A Dangerous Bird. +"
tell ing how some careless hunter would some
day get hit in the eve by a woundcd heron's
bill, writes that he has in his possession q
Greek cameo showing how n hunter was IA
tally mutilated by II Captured heron 1, 1000 years
ago. a tracing of the cameo which he sent
shows a Greek carrying n heron which must
have measured over six feet in height, by one
leg over his shoulder.
The bird lad probably been stunned ny the
culgei which the man carried. On recover
ing the bird found itself being carried. and
craftily waiting until it got over being dizzy,
struck the man with such vigor AZ to Kill him
ut the first blow. The bird probably escaped.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-04-19
Brooklyn RrIdge Spnrrows.

Near tho Brooklyn tower of the big bridge
several sparrows have taken up their summer
residence. They seldom venture UP to the
level OF the promenade, but COntinc themselves
strictly to the iron work and roadway. Pas
sengers on the ferryboats see more of them than
people on the bridge. These birds have prob
ably begun nests thercauouts. and the young
will be reared in safety. unless they become 20
numerous. AS to be IA nuisance, which is not
likely to happen. The pOliCcnIen's lunCheons
furnish them many n savory crumb. and they
Will live high in more than one sense.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-04-19

their bills and one eye out till the man went
away, the bill being concealed by the hotsam
or grasses. This was proved by finding n bird
in a trap only three-quarters OF an hour after no
II Is curious to note that the pied billed
grebe refuses TO fly during the nesting season.
does not betray its presence, and so Its young
nrc comparatively safe.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-04-19

Vancouver. lie had q crew OF Indians for bis
canoe. and all were pretty hungry, having been
living on dried salmon and hard bread, IA
they rounded a point ono day they put up n
flock OF. swans, which flew past them. nh
Indians had mover seen a man shoot n bird
flying, and the trader had no ammunition to
spare, although they Offered a splendid shot.
especially the leader. which was a bird OF I'M.
usual eige. IL was so fine a mark that the
trader lifted up his paddle and, taking imauin.
airy aim, said "Bangl' In a loud voice, What
followe ed made the Indians gasp. The big
swan at the word went tumbline head over
heels 10 the water, struck with a loud splash,
and by the time the canoe was alongside had
ceased It's struggles and wac dead. There was
not u mark on the bird, and as the Indians
looked II over they mold cd toward the trader
with looks OF amazemcnt and fear on their
faces. The trader calmly loaded his Pipe and
pufYed away as unconcernedly as IL he was not
wondering how II had happened.
That night. while tho Indians were pulling
out the canoes, the trader had a private nu.
topsy OF the swan, and he found q large bulb
of the evans favorite food, the "warpato," or
Sd0ittGrid Cdrtdbilp, as IL Is known to botanists,
stuck in. the. swans throat In such n way that
the bird had choked to death. The man re-
moved the bulb, and on the return Of the
lndians said nothing OF II. That night tho
party Toasted on the swan, but not until the
trader had made weird sounds over the carcass
and had impressed the Indians wonderfully.
Thereafter that trader was the most respected,
-worshtpped mnn among tho Indians.
who ever after called. him. ''The.m man who
shoots. lying swans. with a paddle"
Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1896-12-24
American Horses in ENGLAND

During jhe pas year no less .han TO-
NOO American horses have been sold IN
London alone. A large number are
used for the omn.huse, and street cars.
The cabmaSttr and smaller dealer pro
feSs not 70 touch them. the former be
lieving. and possibly rightly. tia, the
majority 81 foreign horses are some
what SOFT. while. as a rule. he declares
hat at his price be can ct plenty IL
Well bred English horses. and thu. they
do his work very well. The fact Is.
however, THAI there are almost az many
American horses drawing cal1 as
American subjects r.l!n- Ii them AT
or American and Catalan horses have
changed hands under the hammer they
are reso!d wtthou: anything being sad
about the.r nationality. They get into
the country ani add 10 n" difficulties
and perple1.Lts Q: tie b-eeder.-Lou-
don Field.