Blackfoot news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1891-1902, 1896-12-05
4 SCIENTIFIC LINE.

learning a foreign language. Inc HWY
brains : .=an has the more difhcuh "
is for him TO catch fish or to learn
languages.
You take a child and put him In
French school, and In six months ne
will speak French like native; where
as, the brainiest man in England m'sni
work at French. for six years, and even
then he would not speak II well.
AS for fishing. the best fisherman
ever knew was a half-witted darSey
boy. He could catch more fish IN an
hour than any six Of the leading ci,l'
gems or New Reriinoposyille eohid
catch In day.
There was my old friend and neigh
Dor, Prof Van WAGNER. He was 10
some RI spec;s tile ahl,st scientific man
l ever met; but he never caught a iish
In his life except an occasional MN
now. Sx
Speaking OF fishing, reminds me oi
the electrical fishing line Prof. van
WAGNER inverted. lie ana had been
fishing one day, and neither OF US had
caught anything worth speaking ~.
ON our way home Van Wagner SAID;
The reason why we don't eaten any
fish Is the grossly unscientitic way IN
which we 20 about IL. When nsh
gets ON my hook always lose him De
fore / can get him out of the water.
Now. if / had metallic line connected
with a small battery and could give
the fish a shock the moment he took
the hook In his mouth, ! could iana
him without the least trouble.
Very likely you could, said ! But
where would be the s9ort OF playing
the fish,"
II don't care anything for sport, r.
marked the professor. when ! 20
| fishing i want 10 catch something,
and | tell you right here that ! an,
going to lavept an apparatus that VIII
catch fish every time. II was
betting man, | wouldn't mind betting
you that the first time | go fishing
With my scientific apparatus Ill make
The biggest catch that has ever been
known In the State OF Illinois.
| And 81 he did, though II wasn't Just
1.-THE sort OF catch be wanted 10 make.
About a week later Van Wagner
called me over 10 his house, which
was next door 70 mine. and show ed ne
| what he had done lie had q Fishing
rod, with a long line fastened TO 10
made OF thin, flexible. braided wire
Instead OF n reel. he had snail bat
terry attached to the rod. and by press
Ing a button with his thumb he could
send n current through the line tina
would astonlsh any iish that II nigh
happen to hit.
He had about half n dozen hook
fastened to his line, and he explained
TO me that II these hooks were baitet
properly lie would be sure of catching
half dozen trout at once.
The line was as flexible as sill
line, but II was about rs strong as
ships cable. Van WAGNER showe'
me that you couldn't break II eithe
by pulling or twisting, and that
would turn the edge Of any knife tia
you might try to cut IL with.
Van WAGNER wanted me 10 20 I
the nearsct trout stream with him an
i | try the new apparatus. But | ds
clined. I knew he couldn't succeed !
catching any fish. and that he woul
naturally be disappointed and expires
himself In scientific language tina
might not be so easy TO bear.
, lie was q good man; but whe
things went wrong with him he woul
use scientific terms In such way tina
was about four hundred times MS irr
tating as any ordinary unscientitl
, cursing would have been.
The nearest place for trout.fishin
was a pool about two miles fruI
| where the professor lived and about
!. mile from any house.
: I had told Van WAGNER about TIL
/, pool, for II was the place where hn
/ once lost the biggest trout | had eve
I hooked, and hadn't told him this
Q the pool vas tbs property OF Dcacd
L Sammis, ard that the Deacon wouldn
!, allow any man TO fish the.C withot
4 paying for the privilege.
J, II so happened that Deacon Samm
a was away from home that day, mn
: the professor went to the trout po
i and baited his hooks--for he new,
tried to fish with fiies-and sat dow
: on the bank and started In to fis
0 without being interfeed with.
: Mrs. Sammis, however. had sec
8 him crossing the field with his rod mr.
y basket, and being n woman wi
s looked sharply aftir the family int
). ests. she resolved to go down to d
d pool and tell the professor that |
h must either pay or leave.
; Mrs. Sammis was n young woma
n being the deacon's third wife, and
r remarkably good-looRing woman.
When she came behind the profes
. or and said, mo trespassing allow,
. here, sir You can't fish In this 20
Q unless You pay So tirstr' he looked
It ut her. and exclaimed: "I.less II
! soul! What pretty WOMAN
], He didn't mean anything by IL. ha
u ing sort Of habit Of talking out Iol
s. to himself; but II had its effect M.
z Mrs. Sammis, all The saline. She kne
{, who the professor was, and W
= mighty pleased TO be compllmcnted
II so distinguished mau.
rs So she said: II didn't know Il W
v you, professor. or course, you're W
come TO fish here MS much ms v
s please. My husband says there's
o danger Of your catching anything.
,e Mrs. Sammis was an intelligent v
"a man, and she was good deal intere
" ed In the electric fishing line, \
v drew pretty close to the profess
y while he was explaining the bate