Los Angeles herald., 1907-08-04
CHIEF KERN
GETS MEDAL
ANANIAS CLUB CERTAINLY HAS
ONE STAR
TRAINED FLYING FISH MAY BE
SEEN HERE
Police Official Gets Medal for Best
Story Ever Told to Fishing
Enthusiasts In Local
Organization

The police branch of the Ananias
division Of the Southern California Rod
and Reel club is now fully organized
along the lines of the Tuna club OF
Catalina and designs for medals OF
three classes have been accepted.
So far but thirty members of the de-
partment have entered into the com
petition. but as the vacation days
lengthen out and officers who are no"
walking beats and doing inside WORK
go on their vacations the list VIII IN
crease and the crop of stories promises
to be a most prolific one
A medal of the first class was
awarded last week to Chief EdWaru
kern for as unique and truthtul
narrative as was ever told by a nsher-
man. ,,,ode
ssneciaIIv to fit the case and he is very
nroud of 1t indeed and it is sald' ina
at home he hangs it up alongsioe VI
the bis diamond star which is the
badge of his office and gazes toruis
first on one and then the other. II
a hard matter to tell OF Whlcn he
the most proud The medal is oeauly
i
handsome than either the one captureu
bv CAPTAIN Thomas Broadhead OF py
Sergeant Harry White, and 1t is so Iat
superior in pleasing ensemole 10 tiIa'
of Patrolman E. H. Sanders that com
PARSONS are odious.
Chief Kern's Story
Tho tale as told by Chief Kern ana
as taken down by the official recoruei
of the Ananias division runs IKE this
"Talking of fishing" remarked Chiel
Kern in one of his ruminative moous'
II had a more pleasing and mover e
perience in fishing when L was Nfs pa
east attending the convention ol .,a on Iot
of police than usually falls 10 the lo'
of any man. o.. ra-
.This story which l am about 10 re-
late Is not one of the common nshlhS
tales such as Broadhead and w Whlte I ailI
that bunch of fellows tell. IL Is RED
UNIQUE thing in its way, and consiuel
ing the material facts contained II oe
serves to be preserved III the
of the AnaniaS club.
"First I want to say, however, tnat IL
is absolutely true and can readily De
verified by any one who may oe li0o
eiderate enough to cast aspersions on
its truthfulness by simply dropping d
note to ex-President Grover CleVelaHu
at his Princeton, N. j., nome MI
cleveland Will CeTllly Una" az 'N
reason to doubt the story In any par
ticular whatever.
Now, pardoning this digression'
which was necessary to proper un-
derstanding of what is about to follow
will go on with the story.
"As I was saying, when 1 was down
ca st attending the convention of chiefs
of police l enjoyed tnlS hoNel
perience.
During one of the afternoon sessions or
the convention Marshal Farnan of Balti-
more, Maj. Sylvester, chief at Washlns-
ton: Inspector William B. Watts of Bos-
ton and myself were standing in the
lobby when former Superintendent Leslie
of Pittsburg came along, and after greet
ing us invited us all to go hshlng OH
Newport News breakwater early the next
morning OF course I accepted, though l
didn't care much for fishing.
Talk About Names
Say. did any of you fellows ever fish
with trained Dactylopterus Nolltans' |
Well, that is what they ran us up against
the next morning. And talk about your
sport. Catching 1SOO-pound tuna on "a
strand line is tame in comparison. It's
the greatest sport you ever saw.
Don't know what Dactylopterus Voll- |
tans is? Well, 1 am ashamed of you. It's
flying fish. We haven't any of them on
this coast, but we have the Exocaetus
Californiensis which is similar The dlf"
ference between a Dactylopterus Volitans
and a Exocaetus Californiensis is this;
The former has a broad fanlike fin on
each side and tail shaped much like the
rudder of a ship. Now the California
hying fish has a tail like a mackerel and
its fins or wings are sharp pointed.
'Those Dactylopterus Volitans are the
real thing though, 1 want to tell you.
They catch them when they are young
and treat them kindly until they begin 10
love you. Then they teach them how to
understand directions given them, and
finally they perforate the placiferous fold
of the wings or side fins with eyelets' and
the fish is ready for work
'It Is a new and modern variation OF
the sport of falconry. Through the eye
let's bored in the placiferous folds of the
fins line is tied and leader and hooks
attached. Then whoever owns the hsh
lifts it out of it's box and tosses 1t in the
air and away 1t goes over the water,
trailing the hooks beneath the surface.
Fishing Great Sport
''Bluefshing is the great sport down
there. and that is what we went out for.
Marshal Farnan loaned me pair OF MS
trained fish, and after he had showed me
how to handle them 1 found that l could
get along as wen dS any VI eiiNiii' 80
fish. YOU know, are most intelligent, and
If YOU treat them kindly they will do any
thing for you.
"Well,-I started my pair out and pretty
soon 1 saw one sink into the water like
wounded bird falls from the air. Up 1t
came pretty soon, however, and turning
made it's way back to the breakwater
dragging along after it 6O-pound blue
fish. WELL 1 gated the fish and landed
IL and then the Dactylopterus flew into
NV hand and looked up as If to say, That
was a pretty tough job, old man, but put
ON more bait and I'll go out again Well,
/ baited the hook again and away 1t flew,
"In the meantime the other one had
landed bluefish-only a little old twenty
pounder though-and came flying in
with it. l landed that one also. and then
the first fellow was coming back again.
He seemed to be having an awful time,
and 1 began to get distressed for fear
something would happen to him, and, as
he was a borrowed fish, it would make
1t kind of awkward you know.
HE struggled along, however, and
finally got up to the wharf. This time
he had a seventy-pounder on. Say, that