Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1902-01-03
FISHING WITH FrRH
Oae way Of Ailuring the Finny Creatures
in various Places.

10 Various fiacea.
Fire and lights now play an in.-
portsn part in the fisheries ofvarious
parts of the world In Florida boats
80 out On dark, moonless nights after
mullet. with braNers at the bows
filed With Blazing pine knots. As
tie hoaimen row slowly and quietly
along through the lagoons the fish
are attracted by the glare within
reach of thecssiret, which is thrown
overheard at intervals, to be drawn
IN again ndagain, flied with silvers
victims So eagerly co the mullet
seek the light that frequently they
leap into the boat, thus effectinc
tiger own espture
ION The cosS of Maine, says the
New YORK EefSi5, and in the waters
of the near-hx Canadian provinces, is
prscticed method Of fishing fer her
ring which is known as "torchirg."
II is Of Indian origin, and was un-
doubleday utilized by tie sborigineS
in thai part Ct tie world lorg befor,
the coming Of Columbus. In tbs
Lubec Nsrrows, vi.ca form the eest-
ern entrance Of PSsssnsquod6y lay,
this kind Of fshirg is specially Fopu-
lar, though forbidden in The ntish-
boring waters q New Brunswick, be-
-use Of belief tina; the hercscr,
me- italy emP,oyed (aocte::1g cI
the water has rs cGe,. r. driving
away the fish.
Formerly birch torches were used
in this nocturnal pursuit bnt since
the bark became scarce kerosene has
been substituted, tow or rags being
wrapped around a stick dipped into
the oil and set on fire. One of these
torches being attached to the bow Of
a boat, the latter is rowed by one or
two men, while another stands in
the bow with a seoop-net and scoops
up the FISH as they rise to the light.
Moonless nights are chosen always,
and the rowing is kept up constantly,
because the herring will rise only so
long as the light is kept in motion.
Sometimes squid-the small cut
fetish so largely used by fishermen
for bait, and whose bones serve to
sharpen canaries' bills are captured
in the same way. They are much at
tracted by light--so markedly, in
deed, that on a moonlight night tens
of thousands Of them will run ashore
and become stranded, thus perishing,
because they are SO interested in gas-
ing az the moon that they keep their
eyes upon that orb, propelling them
selves steadily IN one direction mean
while, until they find themselves on
- beach. Then, by the pumping of
their siphons, they push themselves
further up, until they are hopelessly
high and dry.
Along the coast Of Maine weirs Of
brush are used for catching herring,
and sometimes the fish are "toled"
into these traps by means of lights.
Large shoals Of herring being OBJ
served outside, but showing no dis
position to come and be caught, the
fishermen will go out in boats, with |
torches, and row quietly over the !
schools, attracting them in the direc-
tion of the weirs. Having returned
at length to the weirs, they extin-
guish the torches, 60 out again and
repeat the process
During the shad catching season
on the Potomac one may see numer-
Gus lanterns on the surface Of the
river, looking like so many great fire
files. These lanterns are attached
to the buoys of the shad nets, en-
Abling the fishermen to find them in
the dark
VERDI AND BISMARCK.
why the Former Refused 4 Title tnd
a.. -. Ano.r>oS NJ.