Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1917-02-15
with a knife. but that's too slow work
when the fish are running"
BRINGING THEM IN.


There was a lapse of several minutes.
during which l endeavored to initiate the
rhythmic movement of Alexis tackle as
lit was constantly raised and lowered
over the hole. before I had an opportunity
to demonstrate my ability as a smelt fish
erman. There was a sensation as though
some small body had lightly colided
with my sinker raising and falling thirty
feet below, and dropping the tackle I
hurriedly began to pull in the line.
Looking down through the water. I saw
n glimmer of white as the smelt whirled
in wide circles on its way to the surface.
In my eagerness I permitted the fish to
strike the side of the hole and it dropped
back into the water and quickly disap-
peared.
"You must pull steady and straight"
cautioned Aleck. ut don't make so much
difference how fast you haul them In"
he continued, but you've got to keep
em comm steady all the time. Not
many Of 'em are hard hooked and il the
line Stacks you lose your fish,"
On my second attempt 1 was more for
tunate and my smelt was considerably
larger than any one of the three Aleck
had caught while l was endeavoring to
acquire the rudiments of the game. I ap-
Ipropriated the throatlatch. but used a
| In spite of my efforts to follow instruc-
tions lost many more fish than Aleck.
| No matter how lightly his victim was
hooked he seemed to have the knack of
keeping it in such rapid and continuous
motion upward that 1t couldn't get away.
Time and again he would lift his catch
through the hole in the floor and drop
it into the soap box without touching
the fish with his hands. Occasionally a
flsh would have tho barbed point so Sc
curcly caught in its mouth that il would
be necessary to remove the hook. but in
the majority Of cases a little shake over
the box was all that -" reQuired,t TO COM
plete a capture.
| AS the sun dropped behinc the black
wall of tho Adirondacks ten uilas away
across foreground OF g,immering Ice.
Alecls produced coffee 20: from rude
cupboard behind the door and In ten
minutes the firm By mutual consent went
into executive session for decisive action
upon the contents OF the lunch basket.
When the star chamber proceedings had
been concluded took a look at the baJ-
set and realized that the problem of a
conveyance for the catcf: had been solved
For three hours after darkness settled
down over the lake the fish continued 10
bite. They apparently moved in schools.
for there would be periods when the sink
ers would hardly straighten the lines
before it would be necessary 10 start the
hooks toward the surface again and re-
move Il sulelt. Once AlecE caught q dOu
Bile.
| | have since had a suspicion that the
| trip and the pleasing excitment OF new
cxperience had put an extra edge on my
appetite and that l encased myself about
! a larger portion of Mrs Ducharrne' :
lunch than the demands Of nature re-
cureL Perhaps the tobacco smoke con-
fined within the limited space inside tho
walls oil tie box-like structure was par
TALLY rasponsible.
Aleck, like many o: his people. ruised
his own weed" in the garden back OF
the restaurant. 1t Is n peculiar variety.
this tobacco OF the descendants of tho
men who carved the empire OF New
France out OF the North American wild
crness and l never saw smoker with
Anglo Saxon blood in ms veins who
could burn a pipcful without taking the
count.
Be it too much smoke or too much
lunch, / remember that I was drowsily
losing some of my interest in the fnny
denizens under the ice when ] observed
a disguised expression fit across the face
of my companion. He frightened his hold
on the tackle and began to haul in his line
with vicious jerks. In another instant
there was "A commotion that splashetl
water all over the floor and he swunt,
into the shanty what looked like a small
alligator without that hard corrugated
skin when lends such Il distinguished
air to- travelling bag.