The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1898-09-23
UNDOING OF THE TOMCOD.
An Aminble Trait That Frequently
Lands the Fish, Especially
Along the Thames.

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''The toothsome little tomcod is the
most confding and credulous of fishes,"
said a Connecticut man, "and a good
many scores of my compatriots, espe-
cially along the Thames river, habitu-
ally take advantage of its trustful-
ness and jig it from its chilly but con-
genial home by the bushel. Never
jigged for tomcods? Then it is plain
that you are so unfortunate as never
to have lived in Connecticut, anyway
never in any of those parts of that
Incompatible state where tomcods are
jigged. Not to Jig for tomcods over
there, especially along the Thames
river, is to be eccentric.
Like all fish, the tomcod has habits.
Unlike many fish, none of the tomcod's
habits is bad. Yet the most innocent
and touching of them leads the tom
cod to its undoing over in Connecticut.
IT might better be vicious, thieving,
rollicking dogfsh, the tomcod might,
ten times over, than its own highly
reputable and innocent self. 1t would
live many times as long and have
heap more fun. 1t is good thing that
virtue is its own reward. That is a bout
all the recompense it ever gets, even
in Connecticut.
The fatal habit of the tomcod is to
be caressing. If you never noticed
this popularity in the tomcod, make a
point of doing 1t the very first chance
you get. A good place to detect it is
on the end of some pier that extends
into the water it frequents. You will
see tomcods come up in schools around
the supporting piles of the pier and
rub themselves insinuatingly against
them, passing all around them, always
touching them, turning first this side
and then that side to the pile, then
rubbing their noses against it, and
fondling 1t in many ways, as pet cat
rugs against your leg.
"But piers are not the only object of
the tomcod's fondness. 1t caresses all
sorts of jetsam, and even ventures to
the surface and pays fondling ad
dresses to cold and unconscious fot-
sam. 1t puts Its trust In everything.
Its credulity Is boundless; its conf
dence, sublime. And the jigger plays
it for all it is worth.
"People in Connecticut are very OBJ
servant folk, especially along the
Thames river. One day long ago one
of my fellow citizens sat on the bank
of the Thames river. He had in his
hand small oak bough, on which
were thick clusters of leaves. Without
any object whatever, he finally tossed
the bough into the stream. 1t fell near
the shore, and the leaf clusters sank
foot or SO beneath the surface. Pres
emily tomcods came swimming up to
the leaves, which the water was agi-
tating.
'IScores of them surrounded the oak
leaves, swan in a fondling way in
among them and about them, mani
Testing much the same delight that
cat. does as 1t rolls and wriggles in
bunch of catnip. This strange affinity
between the tomcods and the oak
leaves gave my fellow citizen an idea.
He went home and tied some sharp
hooks to the end of stick. Then he
returned to the river, and, manipulat-
ing the oak leaves beneath the water
within reach, he lifted the infatuated
tomcods out with the hooks on the end
of the stick until the shore was strewn
thick with the fish and he was surfeited
with the sport.
$50 long as he kept the bunch of oak
leaves in the water the tomcods
swarmed about it, unmindful of the
play of the destructive gaff among
them. Now and then my fellow citi
zen would remove the oak bough from
the water and then the tomcods would
instantly disappear. The oak leaves
being put back again into the water,
back came the tomcods, and were ap-
parently aware of no other presence.
OF course this interesting discovery
in piscatorial biology, so to speak,
soon absorbed attention in those parts,
and experimenters lined the banks of
periments became known as jigging,
and tomcod jigging became popular
recreation in Connecticut, and Is yet.
San expert with a bunch of oak
leaves and q jig can fill wagon with
tomcods in an hour if he wants to, and
If every tomcod that swims was in a
school around one bunch of leaves and
the jigger at that bunch could stay
and jig long enough, he could make the
race of tomcods extinct, for every tom
cod would come right up to that bunch
of leaves as soon as it could and be
everlastingly jigged." Y. Sun.