The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1930-05-30
Continuation OF
CHAPTER VIII

AS we were one morning al
preaching Tentholm, we were al
tracted by a most curious pher
omenon. The waters out at SCI
appeared agitated by some I'm
seen movement, and as the.
heaved and boiled, their surface
struck by the beams OF the morn
ing sun, seemed Illuminated BY
flashes of fire. Over the water
where this disturbance was taking
place lowered hundreds of birds
screaming loudly, which ever and
anon would dart downward, some
plunging beneath the water, some
skimming the surface. Then again
they would rise and resume their
harsh cries. The shining, spark
ling mass then rolled onward, and
approached in a direct line our
bay, followed by the feathered
flock above. We hurried down to
the shore to further examine this
strange sight.
| was convinced as we APP
preached that it was a shoal or
bank of herrings.
No sooner did l give u~tterance
to my conjecture than l was as
sailed by a host of questions
concerning this herring-bank, what
it was, and what occasioned it.
"A herring-bank," / said. SIS
composed of an immense number
of herrings swimming together. 1
can scarcely express to you the
huge size of this living Nbank,
which extends over a great area
many fathoms deep. 1t is follow
ed by numbers of great ravenous
fish, who devour quantities of the
behring's, while above hover birds,
as you have just seen, ready TO
pounce down on stragglers near
the top. To escape these enemies,
the shoal makes for the nearest
shore, and seeks safety in those
shadows where the large fish can
not follow. But here it meets with
a third great enemy. 1t may es-
cape from the fish. and elude the
vigilance of sharp-sighted birds,
but from the ingenuity of mar it
can find no escape. In one year
millions of these fish are caught,
and yet the roes Of only a small
number would be sufficient to sup
ply as many fish again"
Soon our fishery was in oper-
alton. Jack and Fritz stood in
the water with baskets, and baled t
out the fish, as one bales water l
with a bucket, throwing them to q
US on the shore. AS quickly as
possible we cleaned them, and
and placed them in casks with '
salt, first a layer of salt, and then :
layer Of behring's, and so on, !
until we had ready many casks $
of picked fish. 5
AS the barrels were filled, we
closed them carefully, and rolled c
them away to the cool vaults at =
the back of our cave. Il
Our good fortune, however, was ;
not to end here. A day after the y
herring fishery was over, and the Il
shoal had left our bay, a great .
number of seals appeared, attract u
I'd by the refuse of the behring's u
which we had thrown into the 81
iea. Though I feared they would u
lot be suitable for our table, we 81
ret secured a score or two for g
he sake of their skins and fat. u
Nhe skins we drew carefully off pl
or harness and clothing, and the IN
at we boiled down for oil, which ~
We put aside in casks for tan
ing, soapmaking, and burning in bl
sc
These occupations interfered for 81
ONE time with our work at Xxi
,ock House; but as soon as pos tn
ible we again returned to our OF
lbor with renewed vigor. CT
l had noticed that the salt te
had for their base a st
pecies Of gypsum, which / knew ov
light be made of great service be
} us in u building operations te
8 plaster. tn
AS an experiment, l broke off 1t
pieces, and, after subjecting la,
to great heat, reduced them tn
powder. The plaster this form tn
I with water was smooth and TT;
hite, and as I had then no par Sc
cular use to which l might put fol
, / plastered over some OF the
casks, that l might be eli
erfectly certain that all air was ne
The remainder of the tn,
Lsks | left as they were, for isl
'esently intended to preserve sill
cir contents by smoking. To do SCI
is, the boys and l built a small VIII
1t of reeds and branches, and sex
en- we strung our behring's on cul
across the roof. On the ott
,or we lit a great fire of brush TIL
BOD and moss, which threw out Te.
dense smoke, curling in vol tbs
1es round the fish, and they hun
a few days seemed perfectly mo
red. spC
a month after the appear 4
ce OF the behring's, we were VIII.
,ored by a visit from other we
pals Of fish. Jack espied them VIZ,
st, and called to US that a lot /
young whales we're off the mel
st. We ran down and discover :"
the bay apparently swarming spr,
b great sturgeon. salmon. and q