Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-03-06
a FISH STORY
NOT SE OF THOSE TOLD ny CITY
FoHxs WHO DON'T CATCH ANY.
The Hlbfts and Modes of Life of vir-
to tic River With seines-Love-
Knott and sIip-KnOts.

I Not p-day-because this is Sunday
but yesterday and all last week, fair an,
rosy naidens set before the fires in man!
homes along the shores OF the Kappa
hannott, the Chickahominy the Pamun
key, 6d the Mattaponi. and while theil
dark, bright eyes saw beautiful picture.
in thu glowing Goals, and their red lip.
smiled at the sight their slender finger.
were plying with needle and thread. They
wereiSnltting seine.
| TINS In a simple story, no state secret.
are revealed in It to make people stare
no deep-laid plot Is unfolded like scroll
slowly, that the reader may the better
understand, there is but little music In
IL to touch the romantic soul--it is only a
homely story of how brave people, love
live. and pass away
On the banks Of these rivers, christened
In the tongue of Indian royalty, are a
! thousand homes, the habitations Of a
pure and honest people. They live simply,
easily, happily For them there are two
tides in day, not tides Of fortunes.
good and i'll, but flood and ebb, and good
| fishing on both. From the waters Of
these streams are drawn the food and
| raiment of the people on their shores. In
sunny weather they run bright and rip
| ping. dancing away toward the ocean
home, to the gentle music of the waves
beating among the cypress knees on the
! shores. but when the day ia dark, or
| me night stormy. they roll sullenly along,
murmuring dissatisfaction as they 60
| But In good mood or i'm bad they are the
! best friends Of the fishermen. giving
| them all they need for life, while living
| and a neat little sum for burial when they
| die
THIS Is FISHING TIME, NOW.
Just now the men are getting ready TO
| fish for shad and herring, and while they
are tarring and thinking their last years
boats, hoping they WIFI last another
season, or experimenting the building of
others, their wives and daughters and
sweethearts are busy from dawn to dark
knitting the long seines. The mothers
knit away when the household duties are
done with a steady and solemn gaze
day dreaming is past to them, and life
has sunk 70 the level Of reality-but
the girls smile and knit and knit and
smile as their visions pass through the
hickory Goals from one picture gallery to
another. Each knot they tie Is a love-
knot and 1t is drawn fast so that II will
bad as slipknots in life. II is a bad omen
among them for n young girl TO
make slipknot in the seine she is knit
ting for her sweetheart. Each knot is
drawn tight with a jerk, which seems TO
say, "this mesh must catch a fish in my
name"
Each fisherman has his own little farm.
which, by working during the midday
and early afternoon, he keeps in a high
state of cultivation. Early i'm the year
he begins to get the land ready for plant
ing. that now, when the shading season
Is here, he is ready TO turn the rest of
the work over to the boys from now until
harvest time. 1t is rare that one of this
craft raises, or cares TO raise, more than
Is enough for his own use. And why
should he? The benign river furnishes
him all else that he needs. His life-the
years long-is one of those happygo-
lucky existences, which the careworn
businessman Of the city or the weather.
worn farmer, never knows. Truly, in
deed he can look the whole world in the
face, for he owes not any man.
HIS LIFE AS IT IS.
1t would be an easy thing to picture
the life of a fisherman as thoroughly
romantic and delightful, but this is really
not altogether true. He has a share or
the ills which all flesh is heir TO, but
when the pleasures and destinations OF
the Independent, gambling yet honest life.
are put over against the work and wor-
ries and the efforts TO stem the tide, tho
ills are overbalanced, and rising in the
air upon their songs upon the rlver-shore.
they disappear for time at least from
sight.
Soon the weather will be warm and
pleasant, and every evening an hour be-
SUM-" as they say you can see them
coming to the shore. where their boats
land, each man with a paddle on his
shoulder and bucket, with his supper.
on his arm. When four or five are al
ready there, every succeeding one is
greeted with a jest or shout and so they |
gather. The first thing to be done IS to |
take back" the senes-that is, to I'M |
wind them from the rocks, disentangling |
the meshes, and removing whatever OF |
leaves ana twigs which may have gotten |
in during the night before. This is soon |
done, and they all collect at some favored |
spot ANY old clothes are good enough |
to go fishing in" is an accepted truth in |
these parts, and the big men are boys /
again. for they lie prone upon the ground
i'm ono great circle. This is King Arthur's |
round table, for around 1t the most Won
derful and thrilling tales of love and
daring are told and sworn to.
THE REBEL FISHERMAN.
The Confederate soldier is yet among
.hem--a white-haired man now, but with
4 face which looks like crimpled iron IN
It's white setting, and whose eyes have
he color and depth Of the sky, and
smile as kindly as the heavens on a sum-
mer day. lie is loved and respected by
he young men, and all of them call him
Uncle" Uncle kit is q favorite. He
followed Lee four years, and even fol-
owed close behind him, when he came
rom AppomattoX to Richmond, to see
hat no harm befell him The great
eader, perhaps, never knew Of this grand
oxen OF affection, little dreaming, when
lis great heart almost burst on that
solitary ride, and when the sun forgot
o shine on his way and the birds 10
ng, and every one Of his kind was 50
ar away, that this devoted man, with
life in hand followed him yet, that no
larm betide. Some evening they VIII
orm themselves into a wall around
Uncle Kit and Will not let him off
III he tells them a new story Of the war.
a. 4