Evening journal., 1916-08-07
Oldest Joke Still Played
Tales of Rocking Chair
Brigade
SIX ORIGINAL
STORIES RETOLD

preceding classifications.
The most widely circulated and
universally believed fish story from
time immemorial is that related in the
Biblical story Of Jonah.
The Lord sent Jonah to Ninevah. |
He fled TO Tarshish. Betrayed by a !
tempest he was thrown into the sea.
The story goes Now the Lord had
prepared a great fish to swallow up
Jonah and Jonah was in the belly of
the fish three days and three nights.
"And the Lord spake unto the fish
and it vomited out Jonah upon the
dry land"
No true angler will dispute the
story Of Jonah and the great fish.
Next to Jonah probably the oldest
fish story in the world is that Of An
tony and Cleopatra. Antony boasted
about his skill. Cleopatra had a diver
go down and fastened a dried red
herring upon the hook. Then he jerk
ed the line.
Doubtless while Antony was play
ing" the fish he remarked: Here
comes the prize fish," as all good
fishermen do when all are angling in
competition.
Cleopatra laughed
We'll" replied Antony looking at
Cleopatra, 1T is not much of a catch,
perhaps, but It is the oldest fish ever
taken on hook and line"
The most popular fishing stories
centre around the big fish How
many times writer's have done over
Clause Magnus' story of the big fish
that was SO huge the sailors took il
tor an island. landed, and finally only
discovered their mistake by building
a hre on the back Of the animal, no
one can enumerate.
rmt for those who would like TO
rcaS n IL the original here II is:
"The Whale hath upon its Skin a
Euperfcies like the gravel that is by
the searide; so that ofttimes when he
raiseth HE back above the water
Sailors tabe il 10 be nothing else bus
an island. and sayl unto it, and go
down upon g. and they strike in piles
upon n and fasten them to their
ships: the kind fires TO biyl their
meat: until ~ length the Whale
feeling the fire dives down to the
bottome; and such as are upon his
back. unless they can save them
selves by ropes thrown forth Of the
ship. are drown'd."
OF queer fish doubtless the sea ser
pent yarn is most familiar. Stories OF
mermaids and man fish and queer
looking monsters that mariners tolc
about to land folk interested our fore
fathers. but in modern days these
stories have been cast upon the
scrap-heap.
BIG Fish Ynrns.
An innumerable number OF times
has been told the story OF the nsf
that jerked the man overheard an6
in order to save himself, the angler
had TO draw his knife. cut the lin'
and climb up on the boat or the bank
depending on where the is located.
One Of the best twists given to th'
story is having the angler kick th'
big fish in the jaw.
Charles Dudley Warner in "Thei
Pilgrimage" writes the story II
another amusing way. He place.
the scene in the Thousand Islands
where there are big maskinonge. HI
has his hero king accosting an oil
fisherman who sat in his boat at tn
wharf awaiting a customer.
az suppose there is fishing here Il
the season.
"The man glanced up. but deigne
no reply to such impertinence.
"'Could you take us where W
would be likely to get any mask
nonge?
'Likelyg asked the man. 'Wha
do YOU suppose I am here for|
"'Beg your pardon. I'm strange
here. I'd like to try my hand at
maskinonge. About how do they ru
here as 10 sizo?'
"'Well.' said the fisherman, relent
ing a little. that depends upon VIII
takes YOU out If you want littl
snort. I can take you TO 1t. They ar
running pretty we'll this season, o
we're week ago.
"'It is too later
"'Well. they are scarcer than the
were. unless you know where to go.
call forty pounds light for a mask
nonge: fifty to seventy is about m
figure If you amt used to this kin
of fishing. and go with me. you'd bel
ter &c yourself in the boat. They ar
p -,~v-erful fish. You see that littl
island yonder? A maskinonge dral
sed me in this boa> -sour times aroun
that island one day. and just as
thought / was tiring him, out b
iumINd clean over island, and / ha
20 cut the line,'"
Another version of the big fish th'
always raises laugh is on the ma
in the crowd who bites when III
story Of the gigantic fish is told.
Then il is where the story tellt
gets in his punch after the symp'
thetic listener inquiries, Maybe It we
a whale?"
"A whale! A whalel Why, ma
we were using whales for baitl" II
story .eller replies
Another story that goes the round
which is attached to every prominel
man II he is an angler, is that
tho newly arrived baby weighed {
the anglers scales The weigh is
ways preposterous. and the kick
the story is that the angler alwa,