The Washington herald., 1910-04-10
Stranded!
That's What Happend to Hank
DeWheTTy---He Felt Like a Cast
away on a Desert lie 6 Might
Of PeTiSht, but Didn't Horrible
PaTtiCkIeTS Below!

Hank Dewberry, one of our most
respected. and also most shiftless citi-
zens, had a heart rendering experience
the first Of this week, the memory Of
which will probably haunt Hank for
many nights to come, and We persoom
what Hank went through has stamped
itself on his recollecshion like indellible
ink on a white tablecloth.
For the last couple OF weeks Hank
has been suffering from a attack of
fshin fever. He has been sorting over
his hooks and lines and wondering il
the FISH over in Gootchic Pond wouldn't
bite if they had a chanel. Last Tues
day morning Hank riz up about day
light, which is the first time he has
been up that early for several months,
and after a hearty breakfast he dug
about a quart of big fat worms and
struck out for Gootchic Pond. six
miles west Of Bingville, to see if he
couldn't ketch a mess of fish If pos
sible
Hank. he arroye at the pond about
9 a m and cut hisself a long willer
pole, tied his line to the end of same,
put a COB of worms on the hook. spit
on it for luck and cast it into the
water Then he lit his pipe and set on
the bank waiting for the fish to take
holt, but none did
Hank hshed up and down the shore
of the pond. trying one place and then
another, until il was most noon, when
he stopped fshin in disgust and ct the
lunch which he had brung along with
him, with a hearty appetite.
Hank had idee that the reason he
didn't ketch no FISH was because he
couldn't swing his bait out far enough
into the lake-he thort if he could only
drop his bait way out in deep water
he would probably be able to ketch
fish as fast as he could take them often
the hook, but there wasn't no boat on
Gootchic Pond, so it didn't seem like
as If Hanks ambishion would be
realized, until he ketched sight of a
big spruce log about 25 feet long and
about 3 foot through, which had prob
ably got loose from log boom earlier
in the spring and had drifted in to
shore not far from where Hank had
ct his lunch.
One end Of this log was resting on
the shore, but Hank managed to DIV
it loose He got on the log and pushed
it out into the lake, then he baited I'd
again and lit his pipe and begin to
fish. By and by his cork bobber began
to bob and Hank give a jerk and pulled
a great big he-pickerel up to the TOP
of the water, but he couldn't lift it out
for fear of breaking his fshin pole.
Hank saws he will bet that pickerel
weighed six pounds if it weighed an
ounce, and the way it thrashed and
tore around was scanderlous. It run
under the log and come up on tother
side and hit the water slap with its
tail and splashed about a quart into
Hanks face and Hank made a grab
for it, but his foot slipped and the pole
broke, and into the water he went
clean over his head.
Hank says he never was so surprised
in his life, being as the water was
powerful cold. He came up right under
the log and hit it a bump with his
head hard enuf to nearly split II
lengthwise, which stunned him for a
minute, and when he come 70 he was
Just going down for the last time and
the log was Is feet away, but Hank
SWIM for II and finally reached It all
outen breath.