New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1900-01-22
DR.. HOUGHT0N's FISH STORY.
IT WINS HIM A STEIN AT UNION LEAGUE
CLUB DINNER

II WINS HIM STEIN AT A UNION LEAGUE
CLUB DINNER.
For wit and merriment and comradery and for
the wild soarings OF imagination Of the post
prandial orators. the 'ichthyophagous" dinner
given last Saturday night by the Union League
Club viii have take front rank among the
famous dinners given at that club handsome
beer stein was to be awarded to the member who
outshone his fellows In the audacity Of his fish
story, and the consequence was that each speaker
We'd with the others make his tale as heroicaily
impossible as it could be
There were one hundred members present at the
dinner which was under the management Of the
Members Night Committee, composed Of Henry A.
Powell. William F. Fuller and EIihu Dwight In
the dining hall was exhibition Of lines reels
baskets and flies. Among the speakers whose pis-
catoral yarns the feature Of the evening were
ex-Congressman Israel F. Fischer William F. Full
Ter, Herbert s. Ogden. DR.. Thomas F Wells How
ard N. Smith. William Ten Eyck Hardenbrook
DR.. owen f. Houghton and Assemblyman Gales
Of Queens.
At the close OF the dinner it was decided BY vote
that DR.. Houghton had INDUCED in the most as
tonishing pipe dream" of the evening The beer
stem was accordingly presented to him. with ap
You see said DR.. Houghton in beginning bis
Prize tale, once ! was out fishing with a man by
SIlneF IN a roar, ana nnaIly had rowed TO a spot
where We thought the fish plentiful I threw
The hot noon sun beat down upon me. and soon I
was holding in sweet slumber. I forgot all about
my hook. All OF a sudden. however there was a
jerk, and I was startled from my dreams be-
gan 10 wind my reel when the line jerked again.
Five times this performance repea ted. There
was a fearful Dull on the line and hsh or
monster on my hook was running away with the
nook at a great rate l scarcely could hold
line. and called William Jones TO my assistance.
We both held the line and wrapped II around
our bodies for greater leverage You might have
thought the line would have broken but truth is
stranger than fiction, and the lire did break
Our boat, drawn by the fish, se1dded through the
water at a rate that fond recollection tells me
was easlly q mile q minute. Pretty we had
tired out our gamey enemy ana gradually with
our united effort We pulled In the line. Slowly
surely We came to the end, and, beholdi we had
caught the hugest shark that mortal eye had seen
we hailed passing tug and the great shark was
placed on board, while stood around and bossed
the job 1 had some OF the men cut the shark in
order 70 preserve the hook that had done the
narkable trick. Judge my establishment nv
was stU the shrimp on the hook and that a
spearing had swallowed the shrimp and a porgie
had swallowed the sTeGring. and a weakfsh had
swallowed the porgie. and a twenty-pound bass
mad swallowed the weekdsh. and that the shark
had swallowed the bass and that ali were captured
on my etght-ounce line. There indeed a
catch! would that could bring you tonight tes-
4nonlals OF the truth CT tale but my friend
William Jones by name IS dead"
some member suggested that the lie killed Jones,
which increased the merriment.
Al the dinner a handsome split bamboo rod and
nSh basket were presented DR.. Thomas l.
Wells by Granville w. Hartman in memory OF
pleasant fishing trips together.