Evening star., 1897-01-02
HELD UP BY A PICkEREL.

power pTOuuCClOn tlan dnytn1nR yet ac-
complished has been wrought, there is no
manner of doubt"
HELD UP BY A PICKEREL.
An Amazing Experience With n Mon
ster of the Allegheny Deeps.
| From the New York Sun
1t was the very first time I ever saw
Uncle Billy Ray. landlord of the Barley
| Run tavern, and before 1 was out of the
| wagon he took his pipe out of his mouth
and said:
Jim Morse has found his watch"
1 had moi been aware that Mr.. Morse had
lost his watch, but was glad to hear that
| he had found it. I sat down on the tavern
| bench.
Them Allegheny pickerl is terrible saw
| age said Uncle Billy. AN big, too, an
| allus hungry. Biggest an hungriest
pickerl that ever crowd. But 1 never
spectei em of bein' robbers They be,
though. They stole Jim Morses watch.
as reglar as could be, too, an took it right
OMEN him, chain an ALI But Jims found
| IT, L never spected he would. 1 s'pect
your re goin to try the Allegheny picker'l?''
That's what 1 came over here for" re-
| piled.
Well" said Uncle Billy, shaking his
mead; you want to look out. They'm
| actln bad 5fst now. Ye better leave your
watch to home, If you've got one Tain t
likely you'd be as lucky about gittin' it
back ag'in as Jim Morse was. When Jim
come In here an told me his watch had
been stole l felt terrible sorry for him,
| cause he'd ben savin' up for a considerable
time to git it. an twa'n't likely that he
| ever git another. But when he told me
VINO mad stole 1t jist billed over, fer twas
| only the week afore that the only pig that
| Jim mad was stole by a bar, an a hawk
| stole nine of his chickens, an now when II
| come to pickerl raisin' up an stealin' his
watch, 1t was moren could stand
| = Ding it: says l. 1t amt safe to be in
| this bailiwfck no more! says 1.
Course it amt says Jim, an he looked
SO durn down that 1 give him two good
snifters an half pint to take home with
him.
Jim wann't out after picker'l, nuther.
He was bass fishn'. Right down yonder
| by Eagle Rock is where 1t happened. Jim
| was standin jist above his knees in the
water, playin bass he had hooked, when
pink! came sumpin' agin his stomach that
knocked the wind, out of him an doubled
him up most like jackknife. Now, s'pose
you'd ben winded and doubled up by a
| PUNK In your STOMACH like that, an when
you looked down an. see that it was a tre-
| mendous big pickeE'l that done 1t, an the
pickerl had grabbed your watch chain, an
was tuggin' an yapkin' at 1t like mad,
wouldn't you ben s'prised? Funny If you
wouldn't! An 0. course, Jim was s'prised
when he see that-setch was just what was
happenin' to him, an fore he got all his
wind back and could straighten up the
picker'l had shipped the watch out O. Jim's
pocket, yanked the. chain loose an was
OWN back inter the water with his plum
der. An Jim said the pickerl was mean
enough to stop when it was half under
water an wiggle Its tail at him the aggra-
vatin'est kind! burned If it don't make me
bile to think Of it,!
But Yesterday Jim come In here list
yoopin' an yelin'. | thought for sure that
the losin' of his watch had druv him crazy
Billy says he, 1--WE found my watch
jim, says l. thinkin' yit that he was
crazy, don't let 1t work on we like that
Why. ding it! I'll buy ye another watch
myself! says I. ''s'
Buy me another un?' says Jim. What
do 1 want with another un when I've got
my own watch back?' says he, an he
pulled out the watch and chain the pick
er'l stole.
Jem.' says I, miracles?
Purity nigh to it, says he, an told me
all about 1t.
.Jims cousin. Bob Boyden, lives three
miles below Eagle Rock. 1t was two weeks
ago today that Jim was robbed by the
owdacious picker'l. Bob Boyden's the un-
commonest best pickerl ketcher on the
river cause he hain't Altered of 'em.
When feller hooks one O. these Allegheny
pickerl an hauls 1t In an gifts a sight of
1t a-comin', if he don't cut his line an let
the pickerl go, that's a fellow that ain
afeerd to tackle his weight in wildcats.
chaps, an he'll go right out all alone and
tackle them pickerI any time. Well, sir,
day afore Yesterday Bob thought he'd go
out an hev some fun with picker'l, an he
Went An | want to tell you. it's a good
thing for Jem Morse that he did. Bob
hadn't troIled long afore he got a strike
that was a strike.
'Belshazzar's ghost! says Bob There
hafn't no precedent for setch as thatv saws
he. -:There's fish on the end o. this line
this trip says he.
AN there was. you bet! 'Tain't worth
while for me to tell you how Bob had to
night an tussle an sweat an swear fore
he got his picker'l ashore, but he landed
em. There was two of em. But only one
OF EN- had Bobs hook in its jaw. Tother
one had come along. jst the same. cause
1t was fast to the hooked picker'l by a
watch chain. Bob said this was the most
s prism thing he ever see. One end o. the
chain was fast in one picker'rs jaw,
wedged there tightern wax an t'other end
was somers in t'other picker'rs innards.
Bob felt as If he ought to 'vestigate He
ripped tother pickerl open, an what do
ye think? He found a watch fast in ito
gullet!
Bob began to dance for joy over this
here prize he had took, but purity soon he
stopped an turned pale. He reco' nized the
watch an chain as Jim Morse's. Now. he
hadn't heerd O Jim havin' his watch stole
SO there want only one thing fer him to
think had happened.
This picker'l has waylaid Jim an COB
uico hiLl, says Dou, all all tnat s lett Is
this here watch an chain, says he.
Bob didn't lose no time, 1 can tell We
gettin' up to Eagle Rock to carry the orfri
news to Jim's folks. Well-but, O. course
you know what the upshot must a ben an
the lively time there was to Jim's. The
one pickerl had tried to steal the watch
from the first picker'l, an that's the wav
they both got in q scrape. But it was
edgin' purity close on to miracles, the wav
Jim found his watch. wasn't itY'
sorroy Tor Bicyelcrs.
From the st. James. budget