The Washington weekly post. (Washington, D.C.) 1878-1916, 1899-08-08
Mr.. Bowser's fluctuations.

AaHsaaa -NH.a.taf.l az SIC Afa'
slightest entHus.a m on the subject Of
fishing ~ ha.f-heared. uncertain way
Es bad once GsaaI t1r sea bass and
caught al excelsior natures wh.cI bad
been tI-.ng overheard from some coal
se"1aaer but that was about The e1,ou,
Of his sy7sr.earcs With nook aud line
The Bow. rs we're wishing a relative n
Boston. and s. was tHe man mex, DOR WAC
got bold ~ Mr. Bows p one day ami talk
81 taa,og 90 him tll bis eyes cls% large
and his ears began GO ;w8.ea. lie Was
going after tau,og himself Re had pun
Dgse.y missed "a circus cog ishf, box
Ing contest Fourth Of July. and a r-Ur-
der .ra. lu order 90 save o.. ali L.- exc
cHgmeEt Tor a fishing TIP lie sand be
had been married three times. jailed
twice. attended fifteen funerals. s,N we'd
..uss, and "a .yreh.aE. bl, had found no
comparison 90 hauling Ia "a twalve-pound
taItgg Tie was r. good ts.keT ana O slick
liar. and Mr.. Bowser was putting for
breath and sweating his collar as he
ssou- before Mrs. BoWser and exclaimed:
"l'u Do 'Ho event IL my life, ItU heat
seventeen Care. .. ses rolled into one,
J 70 going a-ashiHg "
"Elr sou never nsh." she answered
Ntt''fF HHH htA Z va EIIal4E ~ DNE44l AAlN 70
The Lord must have had a hand m our
coming 10 Boston just al this time. ? N
going 90 pack a few traps into = sItchel
and be OF This afternoon"
Are YOU going after whales or sharks?'
'No, 7 don't think so. We are after a
fish called the tor,at0E. or torturetog. or
some such thing, and we don't even have
90 go out f. boat after them. You Just
gl FT4 ~
seeker weighing thirty pounds, aU1 YOU
keep right al Il tll you've got a carload
and have the backgche"
Mrs. EOWser hadn't seen Mr. BoWsor
so excited and enthusiastic since he Loan
cd stranger $50 on a gold brick which
turned out 20 be- solid brass, and though
she knew that something unr3W5rd would
happen there was no use Of asking him TO
give up the trip. lie got away for FAN
River on time. and there two other men
Joined the party, and they took rail 10
TiyertOn and from thence drD.e 10 Little
Compton by wagon. That night NJ. Bow
ser didn't sleep TWO hours. lie mad night
mares ia which whales, sharks, IOlplins,
PROPOSES. and tautogs were all mixed Up.
and he was abroad AZ daylight TO see If
any skates or founders had come ashore
and left tracks An hour after breakfast
when the fishing crowd mad assembled on
the rocks, il was explained 70 him by
illustration how the taut0g Was 20 he
captured.
You coil this 50-foot line az your feet
thus" said his instructor 1T has two
hooks. One YOU bait with Holsters claw
and the other with a piece Of lobster
meat. You notice the heavy sinker on
the line. You lift that with the hooks.
give 'em a few whirls around your head
and make "a east into the surf. Along
comes a tautog, he makes a rush for the
bait, and all you've got to do IS TO pull
him in. Go ahead now and beat the
crowd"
Mr. Bowser followed instructions. That
is he picked up sinker and hooks and
Whirled EN- round and round and finally
made his cast. The heavy sinker struck
the Jaw OF an ole man who was sitting 80
feet behind him to get a sun bath and the
morning breeze. and he fell over and kick
ed two or three times and appeared 10
gasp his last They had sent for the coro-
ucr. when the dead man returned 10 life.
The first thing he did was 10 call Mr..
Bowser all the names he could handily
think Of; the next was to offer 10 fight
him in or out Of the ring-up a tree or
down a cellar: the third to demand $50
damages and threaten to carry the lump
on his jaw clear to the Supreme Court at
Washington. Mr. BoWser finally settled
with him for an ample apology and SIS in
cash. and all hands again made ready to
lure the tautog from his lair. Fresh in
structions as TO casting the line were |
given. but Mr.. ROwser was mad about /
that apology and he didn't do quite as /
well this time. That Is, the sinker miss |
ed his nose by a hairs breadth and struck |
one of his party in the back. 1t was one /
of the FAN River men-a man who never |
let any one tread on his coat tails-and F.
the row lasted Is minutes. When the /
chasm had been bridged Mr.. Bowser tried |
II again. Everybody moved out of his /
way and melted him 10 renewed effort, |
and at length his eyes beheld the baited /
hooks flying out to sea That is. they /
thought they did, but il was an optical /
While he was watching 10 see |
where the hooks fell that sinker sneakei /
in on him and chugged him under the /
chin and tried 10 knock his head of all (
At once. The crowd had sized Mr. Bow /
ser up as an evangelist, temporarily rest /
ing from his struggles with Satan. but /
they had been deceived He hadn't jump /
Cd up and down and uttered 20 cuss words 1
before they knew that he was a personal /
friend Of Satan and wouldn't stand by 1
and hear the old fellow abused. II was .
well that no one attempted 10 console /
him, and II was also well for the man 1
with the lump on his jaw and the Sl5 In 1
his pocket that he was a mile away. Nj I
Bowser had just made up his mind 10
head for home and make Mrs. Rowser
responsible, when the taUtOgs began 10
bite When three or four Of them had .
been hauled in the pain began TO ease M.
something like enthusiasm returned 10
his soul, and he made ready 10 try IL
again. At Mr.. Bowser's third attempt
word Was quickly passed all over Rhode
sland 20 look out for that big chunk Of
lead on his line, but before all the popu-
'atiOn had got under shelter the danger
had passed. The line was landed in the
sea, and after a whOOp OF eXultatiOu Nj
BoWser tied the free end under his arms
and stood on tip-toes with his eyes hang
ing Out.
II might have been a ten-pound tautog
which suddenly seized one II the hooks
and started out 10 sea or IL might have
been q whale whose tlukes had got tam
c.Cl mp and scared him into q runaway .
Whatever il was. fl turned out badly for
Ny E0Wser. He was OF mis- balance and
on the edge Of the rocks and q yell Of
terror and q great splash iu the water
called the attention 10 the ssct that he
MAS overheard Ty good fortune TWO fish
-rncu happened 10 be near by with q beat
They got hold ~ the man, who was being
tossed and tuuhlei about as soon as they
-0ull locate enough hair on hts head %
grab ar and they didn't get MIN out
minute TOO soon. The line around lis
aalet had parted. and thus uoyEing but
bic heels followed him as b. was dumped
iowu ora dry land and brutal'y advised 10
-o home and fish ga a teacgp with a Din
hook. lie didn't so right away He had
o seq the ssawe-d and sand out a what
1air be- had left and 10 explain 70 about
ftE people ia; De was 10 mermaid and
neither had hr az accusing conscience 10
.r,ys him 90 suicide Christian hands
rrrea 60 and uuEg him out Ike an old
Vet bed quilt and doctor advised him 70
BOZ 90 bed and keep quiet Ter q day or two.
FIR did nothing of the sort. however. HIS
fIa idea MAS 20 Stand f4.a y.fsN AZ. /