The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1911-09-21
CAPT. WILLIAM cRINDLE
Tells Of the Great Goldfish Catch of the
Widow Wadman.

Tells of the Great Goldfish Catch of the
Widow Wadman.
Capt. William Grindle of Bucksport
famous Grand Bank skipper. hunter.
trapper and widely known for his truth
full tales of the sea, furnishes more en-
teftainment at the Sailors Snug Harbor
home than three ringed circus. When
things are getting slow Cap'n Bill starts
something with tale of the sea that
makes even the toughest old sea-dog,
hauled up there, sit up and listen. The
Cap'n never departs from the path of
truth although some folks who never
went to sea, might doubt some of his
rather startling tales of the mighty deep.
Capt. Prentiss Bugbee is a great ad-
mirer of Cap'n Bills vast fund of sea
lore. He writes the News:
Capt. Billy Grindle, as we call him,
has at last told US the secret of the won
derful fare of the Grand Banker Widow
Wadman, the schooner that brought in
the biggest Goldfish that ever were land
ed at Bucksport-mosto of them from FIVE
to six feet long, after being split.
Where Capt. Billy and Capt. Sparrow
got such fish was the talk of the town,
but no one would tell and it has never
been told until now. According to Cap'n
Billy, the Widow Wadman sailed from
Bucksport and went on her way all right
until becalmed off Sable Island, they saw
quite near them floating cask that was
full of something. They quickly lowered
their foresail and with the halliards
hooked on to the cask and soon had it on
deck. To find out what it contained took
q oil hoI f,vy
at 1t. 1t was unanimously agreed that
it was the very best of West India rum.
But to make sure they kept trying and
OF course they were all ready for bust
ness when the wind breezed up whica
was in short time.
About this time there was great eX-
SO they all concluded as the wind was
fair, they would try to find the North
Pole instead of going fishing. Cap'n
Sparrow said he knew way through
the Straits and they would make short
cut and save time.
AS 1t was very large cask, the rum
held out well. They sailed on toward
the north and soon began to fall in with
ice. They tried the rum some more and
had more ice, finally they got so much
ice that they could get no further. They
rested awhile tried the rum some more
and found themselves hopelessly frozen
in
Cap'n Billy thought he would sound
and see how much water there was. He
balted a cod line, several "shots"
put together, so as to be sure and have
enough and went about half mile or
the ice from the vessel. He cut a hole
in the ice, so he says, and dropped the
bait in it, but it did not go far, for the
Goldfish were so thick that the sinker
could not get through them. Cap'n Billy
commenced pulling them out and there
was not fish less than four feet and some
six feet long. They went to work and
soon had fish piled high on the ice around
them.
In the mean time some one who had
not tried the rum so much glued hair
across the field glass of the telescope
they had with them. Capt. Sparrow
tried the rum again and took a look and
sure enough he saw the pole. The rest
took look, too, and sure enough they
all decided it was the pole and there was
no use of trying to get any furthur.
Some Esquimaux came to them on the
ice and they hired them to carry the
fish to the vessel for biscuit barrel.
All hands went to dressing down and
soon had the Widow Wadman full.
About this time many serious problems
were coming up before them. The cask
of rum was getting low, and how to get
back home again for there was no GER
tainty of finding another cask to help
them out. But there was good fortune
after them. A seventy foot sperm whale
hit the hole they had made in the ice and
he was going so fast that he ran clear
out on the ice. All they had to do was
to shoot few red hot spikes in him and
he was theirs. He served them good
turn in many ways. They sold the car
cass to the Esquimaux for large sum
and in coming through the hole he broke
the ice so that it gave them way to get
out and get safe home again.
The Widow Wadman was loaded
'scuppers under" and they sold the fish
for large sum, but they never told the
secret of how and where they got such
fare of such big fish and today it is as
much of a secret in Bucksport as ever
Bangor News. Il
MAINE TEACHERS.