The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-04-19

you to hunt the higher flats first and the deeper places later, as the tide falls away. If there is wind to ripple the surface, you cannot see; and if there is moon shining, no eel will be out until it has set. Eels do not like the moon. It is not because of the light, for they are day, as well as night-rovers; but push up a stream when the moon is setting and you will see none, push down an hour later and they will be plentiful.
 When the tide is about half down, you light your lamps, stand up close behind the lantern, and set out. You propel the boat by pushing with the spear and you will go very slowly and quietly. After a while and some accl- dents, you will learn better than to push the spear too deep in the mud and be pulled overheard off your balance before you can think to let go; and you will learn not to let the boat run over the spear while one end is fixed in the ! bottom and you are braced upon the other. You will learn, whether your weapon is in the air, in the bottom, pe- fore or behind you, to be always i'll po- sition for quick action You won't, at- ter a while, strike at sunken tree bran- l ches and deep shadows; and 1t is better not to jump nor to kick the lantern l when a scared musk-rat Hops or bat flies into your face.
 If your light is good and the water clear, you will have under your control three or four square yards of hunting ground. It is as if one tioated over the forest at night Illuminating the space directly beneath him, All the busy night life is arrested, dazed by the sud den over-shed brilliance Fish lie mo- tionless for a moment in the bewilder- I ing light, and if you can get into strik- ing position, judge of the depth of ob- jeets, and allow for refraction, the rest is easy.
 The eel usually lies on the bottom the tail is always a. little curved for leverage against sudden start. He wastes no time getting under way and when he moves, he goes lively and looks like a ziz-zag line of continuous per formance.
 One lies out there now, in the lighted | field. He is on the bottom, quiet sur | prised. A quick, snappy thrust a some what cautious recovery so that he may not draw off, and you remove him by scraping the spear over the middle thwart of the sliff. Not very sports man-like, possibly not very exciting; but the best of the chase is not always
 the quarry nor yet the killing. It is | hard to communicate the excitement,
 the interest, in words The water Is well tenanted with night-rovers and each instant is psychological crisis when some staring-eyed, broad-tailed
 creature may stray into your area of searching light.
 Near the mouth of the creek the striped-bass hunts the shadows for
 minnows and shedder-crabs, and occa- sional huge dog-fsh prowl around. The timid weak-fish sometimes come to look at you, and crabs are plentiful if the season is right. In the daytime an ex- pert hand is needed to net crab when he is on the bottom and ready to run,
 but at night he lies in the light like a . l SlOIlts DULL CldpS tllC StlNtOAli Ndd6h' after dark; but you may find any num- ber of those that have shed during the
 day. A terrapin may float up to your light, t,--the real diamond-baek, when
 caught, has vicious temper-and ghostly herons stand in the rushes fixed in hypnotic seepiessness, an al
 turing target for ar-throwing, not tc be resisted by boy with a thirst for
 destruction.
 Of course, neither at night nor in the
 day can fish see anything that is
 above the water surface The silver
 mirror one sees when looking upwart into glass of water cuts off all view beyond 1t The fish live beneath a sky
 like polished metal but upon the mir row every object is shadowed clearly and any unfamiliar movement is start ling to wild things. l suppose that
 fish swimming about in that twiligh which attends all night-seeing eyes | suddenly finds himself floating in
 fluid radiance, underNa level gleanlins , canopy. His eyes, fascinated towart the source of the unknown illumination fail to see the black, trident-like objec l that pierces his shining heaven, hang over him menacng instant and - Perhaps you are scarce out of sigh ] of the village or city lights; but the, s appear infinitely remote and star-like r All that, now, is some other world , yours is this invading column of ligh
 slowly pushing into the domain people, I bV the night -rOVers of the sea Vott
 interest is focused there so sharply tha
 there are no straying rays of thought
 There, for the while, are the limits o your minds activity; oblivious of tn
 body, alert, eXpectant, hopeful. Is no
 that akin to happiness?
 If your river have a tide-mill some,
 where back from the salt water, ther [ is good hunting in the quiet mill-pon,
 and near the banks of the tributar strtam. Leaving the boat at the foot o ? the old stone dam where all sorts c f fish assemble in the spring but that
 another story-you carry spear an f lantern to skiffff waiting above, an l push along close to the bank. Tn , light, shining into the marglning rush
 es, eweet-flags and cat-tails, invest f them with radiant fabric, tenuou , mist of gold.
 a Of course there are eels, but despit a migration, the fresh-water eel is no
 like his sen-run cousin. In the coVeS
 the perch lie, heads to the light an al turing, but elusive target Great snap . ping turtles swim off, their extende N |