The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1899-08-30
A PARsoN CATCHES THE
DEVIL.
An up to Date Fish Story by Rev
C. c. Brown.

When oae wishes TO go fishing in
these waters, he should start the day
before. By doing this, he will be
able to get off the next day. Two
out of four tourists who visit the
beaeh want to go fishing, and are
possessed with the idea that pole
and line are all that one can need in
the way of preparation After trot-
ting up and down the plank walks
until bsthed in perspiration, they find
the pole and line, aud then make the
discovery that the beats are in use
But they can wais for the boats
This they do, only to fnd that the
boatman has no "swimps." Can't
they be gotten? No. sir; only at low
tide. At low tide, all things are
ready, and then the boatman informs
the piscatorial tourist that the fish
will NOT bite till the tide turns to
ceme in By that time, the dinner
or supper hour has come. and the
excursion must be deferred till the
next day.
went fishing on Saturday last by
starting the day before. Our objec
tive point was an old wreck about
500 yards from shore in the open sea
OF these wrecks there are two They
were blockade runners-so tradition
says-in the time of the war between
tie States. Two of taem met in the
ocean a. night. Each thought the
other was an enemy, and both rap
ashore. All the wood work has long
ago been consumed by the barnacles,
ard the brine of the sea is still at
work on the boilers and iron stays.
some of which appear above the
water at low tide
Two gentlemen. two oarsmen and
two elergynen made ap our party
Making our way to the wreck, we
made fast to it with rope. The
wind was blowing from the shore,
and our rafs was by no means steady
"A man given to NAL de mser would
surely have been inclined TO cast up
accounts, along with anything be
had eaten during the day or two pre-
Yions. Our party proved to be sea-
worthy, however, and no casualties
were recorded. One of our party
who left the boat and stood on the
boiler. dome of the old wreck, MADE
the first catch of black fish and trout
The next notable catch was announc.
ed by yell from partner at my
side. After some effort he landed a
sea eel about % inches long He
was steusly built beast, and weigh
ed at least Blk pounds Next came
ny turn. My first idea was that |
had hooked the rudder or wheel house
or gable end Of the wreck beneath
us Pulling on the line seemed to
produce but little result. / surely
was fastened to the bottom Of the sea.
But when the line shot ous seaward,
and the pole bent double, it was nan.
ifest that I was fastened to something
moyeabIe, and. since the world began.
no man has discovered sea with a
moyeable bottom. However, the
thing / had hooked was moving l
threw myself back, braced my feet.
shus my teeth together and deter
mined to hold on till something turn
ed mp or the boat sunk. TIE line
was whizzing through the water and
made music as if Aeolus had swept
his fingers over the taus string. But
sign Of fish, there was none. What
ever exploits the beast was perform
ing were sll under water. Even the
name and nature Of my prey were a
mystery. All made guesses, as they
sa. watching the struggle. Its a
sba,k.p .It.s turtle !" ono, it's
an eel I" / didn't guess. Fact ;s,
/ had no time for any mental exer
else / was exercising ali my func-
tions IN holding to the pole. and
leading my catch about from side to
side, with the hope of outwinding
him I was little set back, how
ever. when I recalled the fact that
these sea monsters, as rule, do not
make much use of wind. To sit and
hold while the thing on the hook did
the squirming was my manifest duty,
and this | did After FIVE minutes
or more. / found chat opposition was
diminishing, and with an extra ex
penditu.e OF muscle, I drew the
beast towards the surface of the
water We caught sight of two
great eyes as large as a marble
which is very vague comparison
and pair of fsbby wings of flesh
It then came my turn to guess, and |
meekly remarked that / had caught
and overgrown leather wing bat, thst
was surely out Of place in water 20
feet deep. This guess was based
Cat :-.,a..:~.. IL -..-