The sun., 1901-05-05
SMELTS TURNED TO TROUT.
AT LEAST IN APPEARANCE. SAY SOME
HACKENSACK FOLk.
Dyes From . Paper Mill Said to be
Erecting the Transforma;ion-A Certain
Degree Of Dlstrust Of Billy Sehmuus
on the Part OF Game warden Ricordo'


on the Part Of Game warden Ricordo'
HAcKHSsACK, y. j, My bergen county
Is wrought up over the disastrous coniluohs
which have overtaken the HlcSensack RIVER
this season and threaten To mike II a. orh-
cry" stream soon, unless something Is dohe
about the matter. ns the Passaic River whlch
has been a source Of dread In north Jersey
for years Tho trouble and exctemeht
have been acute since tho opening OF the
fishing season last month Not ohly thc
people OF the banks Of the liackcnsack RIVER
bur those from distance. who have cher-
ished tho privilege of fishing In the liic@eh-
sack. with just hopes OF good returns are "p
In arms. If so martial term may be appll'u
to a people 80 placid by nature aS th' noruh
Jerseymen. az tho threatened mct1m prpho-
sis Of smelts and the destruction or Shld
and perch which con ront thsm lhcre
was a warning of what was ahead las; winter
when tho news came that that factory was
to be estabh shed up the stream ways, ana
the "I-told.you-sr" man Is getting IN ma
6ine now But limits small matter COM
pared 70 the sea-chlnGc that has como over
the UacNensack smclt Folks don't pay
any more attention to tho "told-you-so
man than they do to the sur e-cnough Jersey
ows a bit later in the year But they are
worried to a degree that tells any one that
something is stirring over the Kaleidoscope
ateratio n Of the smelt
For years Hackrnsack smclts have been
no,ed They aren't the overgrown variety
TINT need 10 be boned Ike chicken and bad
debtors, but those it,le trig fellows,
trine longer than your middle finger that
the tr.c sr1clt-lovCr eats bones and AL
Cheyenne way, They've bcrn toothsomo
morscl 20 inn,mcrablc Jcrseymer and count
Ices New Workers who knew where TO come
or scnd for good tang for this long time"
and Hackcnsack and Bergen county were
nroud of them. Last winter the CampOell
paper Company bGilt u wall paper mn on
the river in the upper part ot the town. ana
the trouble that has come 90 trgllion IN the
las, few weeks began The waste dyc-Ehs
from the mill are run on into the river, and
ss soon rs the ice went out Of the river carly
in the spriuc Quantities of dead FISH were
fornd inst down the river below the inlli
Their d-col rod caTcH~~c7 showed too "I'-
ouently tho cause Of death So the lNAk
Waltons said
But that wasn't all II was the end OF
the FISH. but the beginning Of woe Tor B'r'
epnites There wern a good many more
live fish i'm tho river than ther" were d"ad
ones on the banks Cr floating down the stream
es the fishermen quickly found odt Whcn
the season opened in April But such smelts
as have been caught, There isn't any more
enthusiastic fisherman among the amateurs
than William SChmults-- Billy SChmults, IN"
inland shellDaCkS here call him who mas
rne place on the river. with a boathou-e all
his own, a most useful boat ousc there are
those who say. and who In New ORR has
charge Of n branch Of tho Western Union
Telegraph Company's business Bhly wen
out one Sunda", when he got an early start
and had great luck catching smells when
10 hi, a,touishment appeared upon eNamlhA-
tion 70 Eava all the marks of trout FHoly
formed lite iellow- they were, graceiu'
and sleek but with the COlors ana markings
Of Spcchlad trout H. moss was "a biS 'h'
and no was proud 20 show II, and the Curl-
oslty # nis nrighDore and friend. wa aroused
as mach "a hi, own 20 account Tor ia" trout
specified smat~ i wa, na y hgre"u,
when som" # III" ii-A hnd been ea,ri' ann aI
colorsi by the dyes from the pap|r ia'lIiy,
what mysterious process 81 nature had
ordered tie spo'1 ANA IN tGe ne tlrcy oe eysn .SovGf
milf 49,, ,.-,..
fry by the million at HI place Lorc ana dumps
them into the rNcr higher up Tor jhc Eth'4 ~
deectatlOn of spOrt~mcn, was tahed 10
schmuits = /" look AZ ltr hIoh'n"u7 -.n'I,>,
but he could oAly point ou' iudt IA" ngd drh"
hl- best To Ert Z hIl through the I"gl-lh, A''
last winter lo.oiddug tlrrunnlnS ol TIE dye
stun into TN hacE"r,a,k' ana had h"el
beaten by tne Board oi irud", WI" 'o"krd
only al the co nmcrC.dl sIdc 81 th' I'"ll'I
and wanted t.c factory p'hrr peop'" DE,
gan To report peculiarly ,c".orrd 'lg'l,- ana
ofi-CO.oled pcrcu taken nom inr rlNer, h-h
with oplle~Cent fms and VA cSHlrd Shl~
The nc-n of the FISH inside was eid not 10
snov the Coloring,. but IT," hucs OF tn" ur~
and gIlls would not rub Of they appeared Il"
be identification marks oi new lhmI-o oI
the plSc ttOrli Inhabitants or ~" dose
Grated stream and the ii-hrrs would not eat
them until oligll aUtnpritr should pro-
nouncc them harmless and good ~
The Bergen County Farmers ii~h ana
Game Protective Association has taken ~"
matter up and called upon Warden Ricardo
TO a.c hrtdIn what tacse rtIunat,H!ly altered
hSh are and TO explain thor appearance and
condition. Members ut ~" d--pcIa'tun nc-
liaye that tho paper mil !, causing to de-
struCtlou among the fishes and mat, H. II -
predicted, the HackrnsaDk RIVER VII IN
hvc yea become ps bad a- the Passa'c, that
prrenmll, o. rather neycT-iaIliiE, cause OF
disease and compliant, If things are allowed
To go on a. they are going.
Every few davs men hor~ Of the association
go at Mr. RlCarlo to know what tie trout
ppcckled smelts mean md what hc i going
u do about It /" To" UIssati.laotnn Of
some Of the ardent ones. the warden IL VOW
deny ag that therc ar" any such fish In tho
river lie refers his critics to Mr. :, hmUlt,
and has begun to declare ul0t nobody bGt
SChmults ever caught any such FISH When
tho warden i a-.sed why he didn't seize the
Ash and prosecute the nnnuirCtNr"r~ who
are turning the HaCk"u sack smc, into brook
trout, he aVers that he couldD't prove that
tho color Of IN" fsh 50 m0Uv mon have
gone nftor him about the matter now. how
clare that Billy schmu.ts mus. hty" spent ali
dav that SUNDAY down IN that b,nfhou~r ~