The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1900-03-30
A Fish and a Bear
Superior Truthfullness of the Man Who
Does Not Tell Fish Stories.

II tain guide, who knows the forest
Businesses of the Cascade range as no
other man knows them, 81 amt given
to tellin' what amt so and I'd jest as
soon as not take my affidavy to any
thing l have TO say as if was on the
witness stand. In fact I'd mite
ruther, fer no matter how honest
man is there is always somebody
around suspicionin' of him. What 1
tell is reliable and could be wrote right
into a history. But faint everybody is
willin' to go on record over a so-help-
me.
Fer instance, there was Sam Rog
ers, that used to be my pardner before
he got rich and killed himself Twin
too high in Frisco. Sam used to tell
how he was tishin' one day down in
Floridy. He had a niger Teller with
him and they pulled out in a sailboat
about a quarter of mile from shore
to ketch mess fer supper. They was
busy fishin' and didn't notice a squat
comm up till it had 'em, and before
they knowed what was happenin' they
was bein' blowed out to sea at the rate
of about 20 miles minute er so. They
tried to git the boat turned round and
go the other way, but the wind blowed
so they couldn't do a thing but let i.
go and they give up at last and put
themselves in the hands NV Providence.
The wind blowed gale till midnight
and wound up by blowing their mast
and sail away. leaving them on the
bosom Nv the deep as Sam used to say.
at the mercy CT the waves. They laid
down in the little cabin of the boat
and give up fer gone coon-skins, but
they was alive when mornin' come and
clean out of sight of land, they didn't
know how fer. They didn't have any
thing to eat either, ner to drink, not
countin' on a long voyage, and when
they got their senses in the mornin'
they was hungry and dry.
''To make things wuss, the sun come
out about six o'clock and got hotter'n
a red-hot stove lid. They drifted
around all day hopin' to see some YES
sci er other, but they didn't, and when
night come they was in powerful bad
Sam said he was going to kill the mig
ger and eat him, but he never did like
the dark meat, so he held off awhile
and the niger thought mebbe they
might ketch q fish. The boat was q
fishin' craft with all kinds of tackle
on board, and the niger rugged a big
hook and line and said mebbe he might
tnh ,lo4 I,
too, after long time, and he was big
one weighin' over hundred pound
1t was Job landin' him, but Sam said
desperite men could do anything when
they tried and Sam and the niger
didn't let that tarpon git away. There
was a little oil stove in the cabin, and
they went right at the fish to git
piece of him as soon as they could.
The niger held the fish on his back
and Sam ripped him open, and when
he did, by gravy, his knife hit some
thin hard and Sam give it another rip,
when out dropped black bottle"
The listeners were on the point of
making n demonstration.
mo, gents" said Caleb, holding up
his hand for quiet, ''It wasn't liquor.
1t was a quart bottle, though, tight
corked, and Sam had the cork out in
about two winks of cats eye, and il
was full up to the neck with nice min
eral water. IL was cold, too, as the
inside of a fish, and when Sam and
the niger seen it they forgot all about
the prejuGices of color and actually
Rugged each other. They took good
drink apiece, Sam and the niger, right
out of the same bottle, and ct some of
the fish that they cooked, then they
braced up to their situation, feelin' a
good deal more clipper. About noon
they took another nip, and that evenin'
when they was about to take their last
one, they sighted vessel that come
along aud saved their lives. Sam al
ways sal he reckoned that the fish had
picked the bottle up somewhere in his
travels and that it had likely been
drapped overheard frum some ship or
other sailin' in them waters, fer it
wasn't very likely that he'd come and
git it out of a barroom."
The listeners applauded.
Don't do it, gents" begged Caleb.
"'Tain't the truth, 1 don't believe, ner
never did, and you oughtn't to encour-
age lynn under no circumstances. Now
my story amt that kind at all. It's got