Amador ledger., 1902-02-21
A FISHING FICTION.
THE "MAGIC EYE" OF THE SAULT
STE. MARIE INDIANS.

An Old Guides Explanation of the
Indian Whitefish Hunters Method
of Getting His GIisteninS Catch
From Under the Rapids.
"The first time l fished in the Suult
Ste. Marie rapids" said well known
Lake Keuka sportsman, "T landed In
an hour twenty-one brook trout that
weighed forty-flve pounds; SO 1 was
ready and willing to believe anything
l heard or read about the possibilities
of those waters or the astounding
things that men who fished In them
were able to do.
Consequently believed what they
told me about the marvellous feats the
Indian fishermen of the Sault Ste.
Marie could perform in the way of
netting whitefish. Few who have tour
ed the great lakes have not heard Of
those same feats, witnessed them and,
of course, could do nothing but go
away believing that they were all they
seemed to be.
Particularly will they marvel, as 1
did, at the Indian whitefish fisherman's
magic eye with which he seems to
look down through ten feet or more of
foaming, rushing water and see white
fish that to the white mans eye would
be invisible five inches beneath the
surface. 1t would have been strange
if 1 had not marveled at 1t, having
witnessed more than once manifesto
tions of its alleged power. That was
before l 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 steamboatmen insist
On telling tourists about are performed
by two Indians In a canoe. One occu-
pies the stern and manlpulates the
paddle to keep the canoes head point
ed up stream. The Indian In the bow.
standing upright, uses pole to aid in
propelling the canoe or in keeping 1t
steady.
Lying ready to his hand Is dip net
four feet in diameter, fastened to the
end of pole perhaps fifteen feet long,
The fishing is 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
ly into the water, which is often ten
feet or more deep.
Suddenly the Indian In the bow will
hnn IN
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
in his hand before he has plunged it
perhaps ten feet distant from the boat,
thrusting it at the same instant to the
bottom. Then he gives it a peculiar
twist, draws it up and, surrendering
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 dozen glistening white
fish 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
and deXterous plunging and drawing
up of the net with it's invariable load
of whitefsh, can do nothing but ac
knowledge to himself the necromancy
of the Indians piscatorial art. l know
that l did, and for two seasons gave
myself away to the fascination of that
mysterious fishing. Then one day
marveled at it greatly to Guide Garron
the shrewd and cunning old French
man who knows every rock and eddy
and 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.
"'Ahp he chuckled. Eat mageeck
hye. He Won gr-r-rand homboagp
'Then he explained in his voluble
and picturesque patois the apparent
mystery of the Indian whitefish fisher
mans magic eye. Whitefish are natu-
raj denizens Of the still, silent wate-i
of the great lakes. To get from Lake
Huron. to Lake Superior these fish
way up thC hCASC ohN
stubborn Sault Ste. Marie rapids. In
doing this they travel by easy stages
They can brave the rapids but short
distance at 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 II
were, to overcome another stage OF
their journey, the whitefish, II the wa
ter is not too deep. can be lifted Out
by the hand Of the fisherman, they are
so nearly exhausted. The Indians al
we'll as the white fishermen know thif
and, knowing well the location of these
sheltering 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
depths of the rapids with his gaze and
discover the whitefish on the bottom
The wonder of it spread, and it has
been one of the fondest and best pay
ing 6ctions of Susan Mary as the ma
tives give you the pronunciation of the
Sault Ste. Marie."-New York Times.
An AnecdOte of Genius.