New-York tribune., 1920-11-11
Harding Lands
A Tarpon, Wife
Hooks One, Too
(Cdntlnucd from page ene)

| the acclaim that always goes to great
men. do they we'll or indifferently we'll
Senator Harding got his tarpon.
This, perhaps, is the news of the
story, If news there must be- But the
real tale of the sunlit sea off Point
Isabel is of Mrs. Harding herself, of
the tarpon that tried to abduct her.
quite reversing the legends and the
traditions of stolen mermaids. and Of
the gallant Senator from the great
State of Maine, the Honorable Fred
erick Hale no less, who sprang to her
rescue and batfled the wiles Of the
wilful fish.
The hour of this drama was II in
the morning, as time is reckoned
along this meridian. The place was
the beach of the Coast Guard station
at the South Hook Of the pass, which
connects the Gulf Of Mexico with the
shallow "Mother Bay" and the gray
green waters that softly wash the
beach.
Up on the white sand, sand that is as
hard and firm as a ballroom floor, were
most Of the eminent fishing party. The
Senator himself. easy and happy in an
outing shirt open at his sunburned
neck, pair of yellow dungarees, a
straw sombrcro and white tennis sneak
ers, Gazed fondly and with pride upon
the victim Of his skill, the four and a
half footcr.
Mrs. Harding Hooks Whale
Senator Davis Elkins. of West Vir
ginia, who can get more strikes and
fewer fish than any statesman in the
known world and whose plump, good
naturcd face was already beginnifg to
peel from the smite of q sun that has
no more respect for United States SEN
ators than it has for Mexican shrimp
fisherman, made jokes for the laughter
OF Mrs. Malcom Jennings, of Columbus.
and Mrs. c. f. Sawyer. wife of the
medico who is to step into Cary Gray
sons boots. Upon the veranda of the
Coast Guard station Harry NJ. Daugh-
erty, possibly to be member of the
Cabinet, but always Senator Hardings
close adviser sat with Jennings, COM
fortably smoking in the shade and
wondering why people will work so
hard to get their fun.
Then came yell. We beg the par
don of the universe. Women such as
Mrs. Harding do not "yell." Then
came Eve correct oursclves) an excla
nation. Out possibly 100 feet from
the beach Mrs. Harding and her fish
ing companion of the morning (these
obviously agitated. Mrs. Harding had
acquired new experience and was
wondering what to do with it. The Hon.
Hale hopping up and down in the
bobblng rowboat, was seeking to do
something that man never has success
fully done with women, give advice
1t sounded like "Stck to it, Duchess" >"
Folks on shore saw Mrs. Harding's rod
whirllng like merrygo round as the
tarpon she had hooked decided that
part Of the sea was no place for him.
Senator Harding, abandoning the
blissful contemplation of the tarpon
he had won. a mnnow compared to
what the god of angling had in store
for Mrs. Harding, ran up and down the
beach singing out, "Be careful; don't
lose him. Don't hurry! Take your
time, Florencel"
Even in her excitement the lady
found composurc, turned about in the
boat and replied, somewhat coolly it
seemed: "If you had hold of this
whale, Warren Harding, you wouldn't
what to do"
Mrs. Harding Drafts Substitute
Seconds roared into time and the
tarpon fought as only giants of his
brave race know how to fight He
lunged east, west north and south
great, desperate lunges that snatchcd
out fifty or sixty feet Of line before
the big multiplying reel could inter
pose the slightest check He lcaped
free of the sea, whirlng his beautiful
struggle to shake out Of his mouth the
hook that had caught him. He bore
down to the sea floor and lay there
cunninGly for moments, only to renew
his fierce sallies. 1t was too much for
Mrs. Harding. She debated the matter
calmly, as Is her wont. She made up
her mind that the choice was between
the tarpon getting her and her getting
the tarpon. The odds were against
her slender power, SO she handed over
rod and reel to the Senator from
Maine, saying, "You do it, Fred, and
don't you dare lose him; don't you
dare!"
Mas mans standing with new
this savag9crcature, now plunging out
slim, too delicate for the holding Of
leviathans? The fate of the nation
and of the Republican party was
staked. 1t was r tremulous hour, shot
through with thrills for Ill ashore or
afoat. The group upon the beach stood
rooted in concentrated excitement, and
scoffers upon the veranda leaned for
ward in their easy chairs. But Hale
played the great fish with excellent
Judgment and the right strength. In
half an hour from the second that Mrs
Harding wished upon him the greatest
esponsibilty Of his public career the
tarpon raised the white flag. He
turned over on his side, saying, tarpon-
wise: Folks. you win"
Thereupon they towed him to the
beach, and Mexican person named
Marin Jose Andalostura Carrillo iabbed
Him with gaN where it would do the
most good. The fish was feet 91a
inches long and weighed 200 pounds.
There are clouds of witnesses and mo-
tion pictures to prove this statement.
Senator Harding viii interrupt his
vacation tomorrow to 60 to Browns
Vile to make an address before 10000
people gathered by the American Le-