The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1899-04-27
FISHING WITH PICKAXFS.
From tie New York SUM-

Il have had some remarkable adven-
lures with big game in Africa" said a
returned traveller, "but the experience
which impressed me most was a fishing
trip had an old college mate en- one
of the rivers branching from the Niger,
and hearing that ? was in the country, he
sent some of his people for me. A week
later | was ut his plantation, in the very
heart of the game region. One evening
my host said to me:
" John, the larder is pretty low. How
would you like days fshings
Nothing BETTER / replied. It's a
long time since I've whipped stream
with rod.
I" oh. said my friend, we don't use
rods here. especially at this time of the
year. There are the tools, and he pointed
to number Of the natives armed with
picks and shovels.
II said nothing as I supposed 1t was
joke. and joined the procession that
wound away through the woods 1t was
"a wonderful country, splendid forests,
with trees centuries old. so thick and in
terwoven with vines that you would
think night had come on. then suddenly
you came out into little glade, an oasis
among the trees. with tall grass, where
the gorilla was said to sun himself and
country. that l did not feel happy as long
as we were in 1t. But nothing was seen,
and finally we came to an open county,
covered here and there with low brush,
and the men halted on the edge of a Pc
ouliar and irregular saucer-like depression
about 100 yarus across. 1t looked like
the dry bed of lake, and such 1t was, an
odd place to go fishing, but 1t was the
place selected by my friend, and present.
Iy the men were hard at work with pick
and shovel.
"The earth was baked very dry, and
the dust flew in clouds. Finally one of
the men gave a shout ana threw some
thing out that he had struck abo1t two
feet down. 1t looked like a brick with
the edges worn off. My friend picked it
up and handed 1t to me, saying: There's
the tirst fish; 10 is yours as guest of the
trip. took 1t, and still thinking that /
was being fooled. dropped it into my
pocket. But my friend insisted that l
investigate so with n stone l broke the
DriCk -llhe ODJtCb lutU pItueSs Wueu Out
rolled a fish almost a foot long, alive and
opening its gills as though it had been
awakened from l0-ysars' sleep. The
fish had been packed away in casa as
deftly as though made by some skilled
worker. The inside was as smooth as
grass and the color of mahogany, and, SO
far as could see, air-tight; in this the
fish had been Theoretically sealei.
The men We're now tossing oat fish
every few minutes. Some Of the cases
broke as they fell and the fishes soon died
in the hot sun, but In most cases they
were Kept intact and piled in heap I'm.
til 20 or more had Teen found. They lay
at depth of from one to l.2 feet, and
1t was not accidental. The fish at the
approach of the dry season left the sur
face and wriggled its way down through
the mud, then. by the aid of the mucus
on its. scales, formed q smooth, hard case
In which 1t lay until the rain came
again.
"These dry lakes l learned had been
the cause of reputed miracles. People
had been camping in them possibly
when the first rain came, and where an
hour CT two before was earth baked to a
brick-like consistence, was now small
pond alive with fishee. The moment the
water penetrated to them the soil melted
away and the fishes worked their way
up through the soft mud. When the ma
tives had dug up enough fish We returned
to camp. where they were piled up like
cordwOod. When one was required for
the table the cook simply put the case in
water as he would a potato, soaked out
the fish, and there it was, alive and ready
for the broiler. The fish was long, eel
shaped creature, with head like snake
and four fins placed as though they
were legs. 1t was very good to0theltaste,
despite the fact that IL was preserved fish.