The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1915-05-01
TRIBUTE TO THE ANCLEW0RM
The Joys of Fishing in the Old Way
"A Challenge to All Corners.

L
the markets of pleasure that stands ont
IN such signal fashion as does the
angleworm. / recall no one thing thar
has meant so much to me.
L regard a baitbox full of these
Wrlggling, slippery prophets of pleas
ant hours with nothing short of rev.
erenee. 1t is keen regret to me that
can only extend my appreciation in
TINS entirely inadequate manner in
stead OF being able to take one of
those just the right size' bows to
one side and expressing my heartfelt
gratitude to him and his tribe for
playing such an important part in nv
otherwise uneventful life
With all the modesty that the oc.
easlon demands, l admit that I'm a
good fisherman, good in every sense of
the word; excel in the art for one
th1ng, and when fishing, Lady Godiva
herself, could ride safely past with
out causing me so much as the flicker
of an eyelash,
While fishing m a good man.
otherwise no admissions will be made
pending advice of counsel
FISHING IS one of the few things I
do well; in this one thing I'm an
egotlst. To be sure, l couldn t cast n
lily more than 10 feet, except possibly
with weight attached and | would
scarcely recognize a dry fly from one
whose thirst had been assuaged. | inst
fish, and these aforementioned worms
are middlemen between me and han
piness.
They like me, these worms Many a
worm has seemed to say as he returned
to me, margled by the fish | didn t
catch, q only regret that | have but
one life to give Cor the man who APP
pceciates me-
The hog, as a type, is beautiful. so
IS the Venus de Milo, so, | contend, is
the angleworm.
To be sure, there is no transcend
ency Of soul shining out from the an
gleworm s eyes; at least I've never
noticed it, but there is a dumb faith
fulness, glowing patriotism, pur-
pose to do or die, as he sinks beneath
the watery depths, that, to by mind
at least, Is nothing short CT sublime.
Without him the day would be
spoiled, he is the magnetic. the point
of contact, to send the thrill up the
line, and no man ever waited tele-
phone call from his favorite Genevieve
with more pitpattings in the regions
cardiac, than have 1, in waiting for
the signal twitch which portends the
Turing Of nibbling victim by my sub
marine Loreli.
In company with the animate worm
and the inanimate requisites such as
pole, line and hook, I can build up
health, improve a busiuess-rack ed dis
position and develop really lovable
character. To my mind, nervous break
downs could be avoided if one realized
the significance of worm. There
would be no wars if rulers We're more
copyersant with fat-bottomed row
boats; the. thrill of the approach to the
lily pads, or that bend in the brook
where the water noses its way under
the bank and comes out laughing and
gurgling and ge1umping on the other
side of the alders
Fishermen are substantial peaee-lov-
ing citizens, inveterate boosters, to be
sure, but only on the one subject Of
course, If the call to arms should come.
they would enlist en- masse and fight
like fiends in order. to bring the war to
speedy close so that they might get
back with a clear conscience to their
favorite streams. Did you ever hear of
an ardent fisherman being in Jail? No
indeed you haven t; he can t afford the
time. Did you ever hear of one beating
his wife? Certainly not; he II take a
beating first He can seek consolation
with the angleworms, but he can t af-
ford to cripple the dear one who puts
up his lunch
Few of us have stopped to consider
the tremendous economic influence OF
the worms. Being of statistical turn
of mind, | have figured out that, grant
ed my time worth SO an hour.
which it ism t, my penchant for angle
worms has cost me in the neighborhood
of $350,000, and I don t begrudge
cent of it. / have figured out that if
all the worms that have done me ser
vice were left in the sun to spoil and
then the oil extracted there would be
sufficient lubricant to ward off every
incipient attack of Group from now ad
lnfnitum. / reckon that l have dug
up $50 acres of ground in chasing the
elusive wiggler to it's, lair, no mean
sport in itself, by the way
1 might add, too, in connection with
temporary residences. for these worms, |
that Mr.. William Goat and a few other
men of equal keenness of PERCEPTION
are the only ones who appreciate a dis
carded tomato can.
Fond as / am of fishing, in this par
tlcular treatise, i wish to avoid the
usual descriptive passages as found in
any of the best-selling angling stories. |
Let rs avoid the shrieking reeI;'' the |
reel I have used for Is years doesn't |
shrek; it s too feeble I lust use it to |
larry my line, it s so convenient. j |
won t mention the taut line; I never
'ould teach a line, limiting my efforts
o the worms. I we never Hkilled'
almon by means of a horse-hair line