The Vinita weekly chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1902-1905, 1903-02-19
THEN THERE WERE FISH.
sreAt Catch Of musknilanEe De-
~eribed By aa Old wlacsnAIn
Lumbernaan.

James Bell Is lumberman who haa
been In the woods Of Minnesota and
Wisconsin for many yeara. Ithas been
his business for several decades 70 run
camp n the winter; which ID 70 say,
that he takes from 60 TO rs lumber
jacks into the forests from December
TO April and holds them down by
weight OF authority and muscle and
makes them do their work Of telling
and driving out timber. Hehns seen the
vast masses Of pine melt before the az
and just now is cuttiEg henlock be-
cause no pine grows, says the New
York Sun.
The lessening of the number Of
wild animals and the difference be-
tween the sport a man could have then
and can have now" Bell says, ''are as
great as the change in the forests.
There were hundred deer then where
there are ten deer now, there were .
thousand partridges where there are
ten now, and as for the fishes they may
be said, comparatively speaking, TO
have almost disappeared from the wa
ters.
''Afen come into our north woods Of
recent summers and fish induStriou1ly
with improved modern appliances for
two weeks. and II they catch two mus
kalionge day, averaging ten pounds
each, they 60 back home thinking that
they have had great luck. They have
some Of the ten-pounders stuffed and
hung up in their dining-rooms and
point TO them with pride.
"l've seen the time when a man
would get .5ritated II fish OF only ten
pounds got hooked and was caught.
He would either KILT In spite OF throw
II back with curse. Nothing less than
IS pounaF went then as a inuskallonee
catch, and there we're lots Of big fel-
lows brought to gan that ran above
20 pounds. I've seen them takeu .Aet
went over 50.
= remember being ome years ago
on the Flambcau river just below the
spot where the town Of Park Falls
stands now. A dam had been built
across the stream 10 back the waterup
80 that there would be full head on in
the spring when she lee broke and We
would want 70 float the legs out to&he
chjppeua
The dam was built in the fall with
massive wster-tight gates and TO see
bow Il would work when finished We
shut the gates down one DAY. That
had the effect Of stopping the water
from above and naturally the water
below ran away with great swiftness.
It went 50 fast in fact. that the fish
did not know what waS happening
and In little while they found them
selves IN the holes among the rocks Of
the bottom with mighty little fluid to
keep them alive.
You never saw the Ike Of The bass
and muskallonge. particularly the
muskies. Their backs were everywhere
showing above the water aud thex
hopped On the rocks and jumped two
feet high sometimes trying to escape
from the new enen,, that had them in
his grip. Maybe a thousand were in
sight.
I'VE wanted fish, 50 the bunch of n
sailed IN. some of us had peavlea and
some canthooks and some clubs and
some nothing but their Hands and we
hoisted the great fish out Of their holes
b the hundredweight. The pursuit
lasted some ten minutes; then the
gates were raised and the lower level
Hooded and such hsh a. were left eof
sway all right
4 don't know how many We caught.
but not less than 500 anyhow, and
shiie We did not stop 70 separate the
'ig ones from the little ones thex
Fonid average easily ten poands CT
o. Five thousand pounds of muskal.
enge meat i stable pile and sup-
'ose that and The men who were with
ne are The only human beings who
'feF saw thnt much Of II together ws
~ not lake any Of the nass. taey were
90 small game