The Savannah morning news., 1903-07-05
FINNY MONSTER
Sawed Hole Through a Boat and
BattIed With Fishermen,

Minneapolis CMinn.) Cor. Pittsburg
Gazette.
While Fosston does not boast of
possessing the largest or most beauti-
full lakes in the northern part of the
states, there are several pretty bodies
of water adjacent to the town and a
lot of the gamest fishermen to be
found in Minnesota. The truth of the
latter statement has been proved on
divers and sundry occasions, and
recent experience only tends to clinch
the fact
Some four or five years ago the lakes
hereabouts had an abundance of the
finny tribe, mostly perch and a pick
erel, but during the last few years
and until the summer it has been the
opinion that the waters had been fished
out. Many of the places which were
formerly favorite fishing grounds had
become entirely deserted until a few
weeks ago, when it was discovered
that they has been an influx of pike,
pickerel and perch, and fine strings
of these varieties have been caught.
One of the lakes which has not been
visited for several years is Cross Lake,
ABOUT IlN6 U1ll6S east Oh II OSSlOI. "A
party composed of A. Kaiser, vice
president of Fosston and late chair
man of the Republican County Com
mittee of Polk county: L. G. Han
cock of the firm of Larson, Carpenter
& Co., and M. T. Bolton, owner of the
Plainview News-Gleaner, made a trip
to Cross Lake several days ago and
discovered that the lake was literally
swarming with pickerel and perch.
L. NJ
caught a fine string. They also sue
ceeded in landing, after a hard strug
gle, a fish, the like of which had never
been seen in this part of the state.
With a stone for an anchor they were
in the middle of the lake, when Kaiser
noticed that the boat was very slowly
filling with water at one end. He had
also observed that for half an hour a
fish, which could be clearly seen in the
water, sped madly away whenever the
boat approached. Something had been
scraping the bottom of the boat at the
rear end. Closer examination disclosed
something sticking through the bottom
of the boat and gently moving back
and forth, like a saw at work The
something was hit with one of the
oars, when there was a commotion
and it was seen that it was a fish,
which had become entangled in the
IOpc IdSlSleu 10 In6 stone. dDCnOr In
the boat. The rope had been dragging
behind. and the fish in writhing to
loosen itself had cut d hole in the boat
with its fin.
Bolton began to bail out the water
from the boat, while Kaiser and Han
cock got busy with the fish. They
prodded it with the oars, and it bit a
large piece out of one of them. but
refused to bulge from the boat. Be-
coming desperate, as the boat was
rapidly filling with water, Kaiser seiz-
ed the stone anchor and giving it a
mighty swing, hurled it at the fish.
There was a splash. followed by a
stream of water and blood, and the
lake for a distance of 10 feet from the
boat was dashed into foam, drenching
the anglers. This lasted but a mo-
ment, when there was a calm, and the
body of peculiarly shaped fish APP
peared on the surface of the water A
landing hook was brought into play,
and the fish gated and hauled into the
boat. Bolton kept bailing out the wa
ter and the party rowed to shore to
hold an inspection on their catch.
The fish was laid on the sand. where
It was found it had a dorsal fin four