The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1901-12-13
"A FISHING FICTION.
( ThE-ssMAGlc EYE"' OF THE sAuLr
STE. MARIE INDIANS.

N OAo Gutoe's Explanation OF the
Indian whitehsh Hunters Method
Of Getting His Glistenins Catch
From Under the Rapids.
:, 'The first time I fished in the sault
Ste. Marie rapids" said a well known
Lake Keuka sportsman, 'T landed In
nm hour twenty -one brook trout that
weighed forty-five pounds; so 1 was
: ready and willing to believe anything
heard or read about the possibilities
OF those, waters or, the. astounding
things that men who fshed in them
were able to do.
consequently I believed what they
told me about the marvellous feats the
Indian fishermen of! the Sault Ste.
Marie could perform; In the way of
netting whitefsh. Few who have tour
- ed the great lakes have not heard of
those same feats, witnessed them and,
Sof course, could do nothing but 90
away believing that they were all they,
seemed to be. -
Particularly will they marvel, as
did. at the Indian whitefish fisherman's
magic eye with which he seems to
look down through ten feet or more of
feoaming, rushing water and see white
dsh that to the white mans eye would
be Invisible five inches beneath the
surface. 1t would have been strange
. i had not marveled at 1t, having
witnessed more than once manifesto
lions Of its alleged power. That was
bsfore talked with old Guide Garron.
The astounding feats Of the Indian
whitefish netters Of the Sault Ste.
Marie that the guidebooks and the
hotel keepers and stealnboatmcn insist
ON telling tourists about are performed
by two Indians In a canoe. One occu-
pies the stern and manipulates the
paddle to keep the canoes head point.
ed mp stream. The Indian in the bow,
standing upright. uses pole to aid in
lpropelling the canoe or in keeping 1t
steady. 49,
Lying ready to his hand Is q dip net
sfout feet in diameter. fastened to the
end OF pole perhaps fifteen feet long
The nshing 10 done at the foot Of the
rapids. where the water boils and tum-
bles furiously. With his pole the In
dian in the bow keeps the boat moving
about In the rapids and gazes constant
~ into the water. which is often ten
fest or more deep.
Suddenly the Indian in the bow will
seize the net handle with one hand
never ceasing to manipulate the canoe
With his pole In the other nor for IN
instant removing his staring gaze from
The water. The net Is not more than
"a bis hand before he has plunged it
perhaps ten feet distant from the boat.
thrusting 1t at the same instant to the
bottom. Then he gives 1t n peculiar
twist. draws 1t up and. su:rendering
the care Of the canoe for the moment
to the Indian with the paddle, he
draws the net up. never without from
three to half d dozen glistening white
fsh In It. frequently weighing five
pounds each.
"The wondering spectator, seeing
nothing but the boiling water. the, sud
Den start of the Indian and his quick
. snds dexterous plunging and drawing
up OF the net with it's invariable load
Of whitefsh, can do nothing but &C.
knowledge to himself the necromancy
OF the Indians piscatorial art know
that did, nnd for two seasons gave
. myself away to :ie fascination OF that
mysterious fishing. Then one day
marvsied at 1t greatly to Guide Garron.
the shrewd and cunning old French.
man who knows every rock and eddy
Z ana whirlpool of the rapids and all the
( wiles and tricks that any other guide
knows and a whole lot that no other
one does know, and Garron's little
black eyes twinkled. t
"'Ahr he chuckled. Eat mageeck
hye. He Won gr-r-rand homboagv
Then he explained I'm his vOluble
sand picturesque ~patois the apparent
uystery OF the Indian whitefish fisher
mans magic eye. Whitefish are natu-
raj denixens Of the still. silent waters
ofstlis great lakes. To get from Lake
Hafon TO Lake Superior these fish
must light their way up the fierce and
stubborn Sault Ste. Marie rapids. In
Going this they travel by easy stages.
They can brave the rapids but short
distanSe et o time. when. almost ex-
hausted, they drop into the shelter of
the friendly rocks that pile the bottom
Of the rapids.
"Huddled sometimes by the score be-
hind these rocks. getting wind, as Il
were 10 xovercome another stage Of
their Journey. the whitefish, II the wa
ter 70 not too deep. can be lifted out
by the hand Of the fisherman, they are
80 nearly exhausted. The Indians as
well an the white fishermen know this
and, knowing well the locr ton of these
sheitering rocks. have only to thrust
their nets down behind them and draw
them up filed with fish.
"The cunning of the Indian led him
long ago to give visitors the impression
that he could penetrate the troubled