(Copyright, 1902, by Blsscll Brlce.)
m
IHEN winter seals the streams and
lakes tho follower ot old liaak
Walton puts away his tackle and
sighs regretfully because his
season of sport Is over. But
tor tho lako fishermen, who follow
angling not as a sport but as a livelihood,
tho period ot bitter labor and hardshlu
sets In when tho Ico forms thick from shoro
to shore. Peoplo must havo their fish in
winter ns in summer,' and so tho winter
fishermen of Lake Krle, hardy Dcdoulns of
tho white desert, face constant suffering
nnd the Imminent peril of llfo and limb
to fill their ltttlo dog sleds for tho market.
Tho lako porta nro full ot men who lack
ntj ear, a fow fingers or a foot. Tho ex
planation Is slmplo: "Lost on tho Ice
over night." Somotlmcs It is a more grisly
fate nnd tho victim Is not discovered until
tho Ico breaks up In tho spring and some
floating island touches tho shoro with Its
ghastly freight. Thoy must nocds bo
bravo men as welt as hardy who hnndlo
tho frozen lino on Lako Erie's surface.
It is 5 o'clock of a still January morn
ing. Tho thermometer marks 7 bolow
zero. Oft on tho edgo ot Huffalo a clustor
of unpalntcd framo houses, deep in tho
drifts piled up by tho flcrco l.iko winds,
show signs of lite. A door opons In ono of
them nnd in tho broad swato of lamplight
appears a man, followed by two shivering
dogs. You might think that tho man was
a member of ono of tho lawless organi
zations that wreak vongcanco by night
on persons Incurring their dislike, for ho
wears over his faco a whlto mask with
holes for tho eyes. This Is not for con
cealment, however, but for protection.
Tho slinking dogs havo no such protec
tion. They must rely on their own fur nnd
on cxerclso for tholr warmth, aud ot oxor
clso thoy will presently got plenty. Draw
ing forward a rough box sled tho man
twists it around and gives his sharp or
ders: "Come, Sharkey! Oct around, Mcdov
ern!" and tho dogs, stepping to their
places, nro quickly harnessed,
Their ewner tosses n bundle of fish llnus
nnd n polo terminating In a steel blade into
tho sled-box, places his bait carefully In a
corner, Btnrts tho dogs until the outfit Is
WATCHINO THE LINES TIP
golug fairly: then, with n "Hl-yah!" to
speed them on, Jumps Into tho box and sets
his faco townrd tho blood-chilling black
ness of the lako. After him como other
dog tennis, somo stringing out over tho ice,
others racing sldo by side, whllo tho en
couraging whoops of their drivers answer
ench other across tho spaces of tho night.
By the time tho sun rises ono could see,
If ho could tako in the whole breadth and
length of tho icefield, a squadron of from
COO to 1,000 of theso outfits. Ho would also
see many men patiently trudging on foot,
but theso nro mere "pot-tuckers," who con
tent thmselves with tho fishing threo or
four miles from land. Your truo fisher
man considers ten miles a moderate Journey
and sometimes makes a round trip to
thirty.
If ho has had good luck at tho spot where
ho last fished ho returns there. First bo
puts up a squaro of sailcloth which he has
brought along, fastening it to two poles set
In tho ice. This is his camp. In tho lee
ot it the dogs crouch, nestling close to
gether. Their work is over for the tlmo;
tho man's has Just begun. With his steel
clad polo ho chops a row ot holes In itho
Ico and lets a line attached to tho end of
ono of two crossed sticks down through
each hole. This devlco Is known as a "tip
up," tho term appropriately describing Its
action when a fish is caught. The induce
ment to tho fish is a minnow frozen
i perhaps but food is scarco In winter and
there Is conatdorablo competition nmong tho
plko at breakfast time. Beforo ho gets tho
third lino down tho first stick waggles and
then stands upright.
"Yp, yip, yap!" bark tho dogs, that bo
ing tlclr way of announcing, "You've got a
fish." Thoy aro interested becauso an oc
casional bit falls to tbelr lot.
UomoT'ng a squirming fish from an Ice
oncrustef. hook when tho fingers are so
numb that they couldn't pick up a twenty-
dollar gold pleco, Is no pleasant sport, but sprang up suddenly hero nnd there, spin
It must be accomplished. Hardly Is this nlng about llko whirling dervishes and thon
ono flopping In tho box sled when another dnrttng off In blinding columns before tho
tip-up performs after its kind. If tho
angler has had the luck to strike a school
of fish, ho will bo kept warm all but hl3
hands hustling from ono lino to another.
The gulls will give him somo occupation,
also. Emboldened by hunger, thoy swoop
down upon tho llttlo encampment and
snatch fish almost from the hand of tho
Perils of Winter Fishing
''V "T'' L" W'iglJP , , Jm
fisherman, unless they nro closely watched.
Cases havo been known where tho draught
dogs havo caught and killed theso grnccful
robbers. A hundred fish In hnlf n day's
work Is considered good luck, and the man
who makes tho catch mny pack up and go
homo In high spirits. Then how the
plucky dogs speed over tho smooth
stretches! Unless checked they will tnko
hummocks of Ico and snow drifts In their
engerncss to get homo, nnd tho hard-won
lond will bo scattered for tho gulls to
pick up.
Not always has tho fisherman a load to
bring home. Sometimes ho mny fish all
day nnd tnko nothing but a wriggling red
lizard, cdiblo only for tho winged thieves.
Or ho mny hnvo Just begun his catch when
n bluo gray hnzo nppenrs far away toward
tho horizon and ho must upstnkes nnd flee
beforo the blizzard thnt, at ono swoop,
may wipe nwny tho trail and lenvo him
lost In tho Sahara ot snow aud Ice. If
the storm bo wind nlonc, It mny bo a boon
instead of n danger to tho outfit, for tho
shelter cloth Is converted into n sail and
tho sled, now become an Iceboat, scuds
swiftly along, whlto tho dogs rush, barking
- UPS IN THE FOHEGBOUND.
wlth the Joy of freedom, beside. It.
Blizzards aro tho terror of fishermen,
who will tell you stories ot terrlblo suffer
ing nnd hopeless wanderings through tho
blinding storm, stories of wonderful res
cues and tales of men who went out and
nover camo back, of how tho Instinct of tho
dogs has been resorted to as tho last means
of finding tho way home, of how this, too,
tins sometimes proved unavailing and tho
dogs hnvo crouched, whining and shivering,
In tho drifts, refusing to move. You will
hardly find an old fiahermnn but has somo
such talo to tell, usually about ono of his
own family.
"You mind my nephew, Cbarloy7 Flno.
big, strong feller ho wns, but ho wns
young nn' ho thought ho know It nil.
Wouldn't put back Inst year when tho big
Feboonry blizzard como up. Luck was too
good, ho said. Ho stayed, but his dogs
knew better. They ran away and got homo
alive. Wo didn't find Charley that win
tor, but when tho ico broko up two of tho
boys found a man an' a sled frozen in a
big pleco. From tho clothes we thought it
was Charley. You couldn't tell by tho
fnco 'count of tho gulls. Ho must hnvo
got muddled and wnndered 'way out beyond
tho furthest fishing posts."
Tho wlso man always carries a com
pass In his pockot, but thcro aro mnnv
careless and improvident ones who do
not think ot It until tho ttmo when they
would exchango everything thoy possess
for a wobbly, nervous ltttlo needle in a
brass box. Tbero was a March night last
year when the wcatbor-wlso among tho
Buffalo fishermen looked out over tho
wind-swept Ice, shook their heads, pulled
tholr caps down tight and then sought shel
ter Indoors. Thoso who did go out kept
close to tho brenkwater. At various points
along tho south coast, some, more ventur-
somo or toss experienced, braved the storm
and wont out among tho whlto swirls that
whip of tho wind. Ero night ono ot these
partlcn was caught llko fish in n not. A
streak of water, a black deadline, opened
between them and tho shoro and tho wind
pounded their brittle Ico raft to frag
ments. Somo of tho bodies wero found,
others wero nover discovered.
At Dunkirk, fifty mlloe west ot Buffalo,
HOMEWAHD IlOUND-imiNQINO IN THE
oloven men wore slmlllnrly caught. A man
residing on the shora sighted them and
after a number of trips with a boat all
wero brought snfely to land.
At Silver Creek, n village between Buf
falo nnd Dunkirk, thirty fishermen were n
mllo from shore when they suddenly made
tho discovery that they wero atloat and
wero being driven out into tho lake. They,
too, wero discovered by persons on shore.
A rescuing party wns formed, but after
thirteen of tho men had been snfoly lauded,
tho boat met an accident In tho floating
Ico. Beforo tho repairs could bo made
tho darkness of a cloudy winter night bad
settled upon tho water. Thirteen morn
men reached shoro In tho early evening
without nid.
Word was sent In nil directions nnd bon
fires wero lighted at different points to
guide tho lost In their efforts to mnku
land. At midnight tho remaining four, by
Jumping from enko to enke, reached the
shore, where they foil exhausted. When
able to spenk, they told a story of suf
fering seldom equaled. After hours of cx
tremo exertion ono became so weak that
ho lay down nnd told his companions to
leave him to die. They dragged him to
his feet and forced him to keep going.
Another, In attempting to leap n stretch
of open water, fell In, nnd wns pulled out
by tho others. His clothes soon became
so stiff that thoy cracked nnd rattled as he
walked. A third wns wearing felt bootB,
which becamo so saturated with water that
ho wns forced to abandon them, nnd pro
ceed In his Btocklng feet. At length all
found themselves completely Isolnled on a
pleco of Ico not moro than fifteen feet
square. As they watched tho widening of
tho wntcry barriers around them, hopo fled
nnd tho men looked Into encli other's faces
as they waited for death. Whllo they
waited tho wind veered around nnd set in
moro townrd land, tho open Bpnco was
closed up, and by ono Inst, almost super
human effort tho sick, stlft nnd shivering
group stnggcred to shore. Two died from
tho effects of tho exposure nnd suffering.
And what Is tho compensation for such
hardship?
It varies from a few cents to as high ns
$0 and even $7 per day. Or, mayhnp, It Is
nothing but a bad cold and n frozen enr.
Thcro nro two fish companies In Buffalo
which hnndlo tho hulk of tho cntch. Each
concern handles about a ton of fish every
day. They pay 6 cents per pound nnd tnko
alt that Is offered. Somo of tho men havo
customers In tho city from whom they got
tho retail rato of 12 and 14 cents, but tho
tlmo spent In peddling them nbout offsets
tho difference In prlco, so thnt most of tho
catch Is turned over to tho dealers.
Theso compnnles also furnish bnlt, con
sisting of minnows, nt 10 cents per pint.
Tho bnlt question is somotlmcs a problem,
especially on Sundays and holidays,
when over 1,000 men go out. Tho com
panies get tho minnows In hushot baskets
and tho source of supply Is, as far as
possible, kept a secret.
Tho most Important pnrt of tho flshor
man's outfit Is his dog team. Dogs of ovory
size, stylo and description aro used; somo
nro flno fellows and well mated. Tho great
majority, however, aro Just dogs. Thcro are
no adjectives to descrlbo them technically,
for tho clairvoyant does not llvo who could
traco tho pedigree or namo tho breed.
Shaggy, dlsroputablo looking brutes those
nro. Thero Is llttlo stylo or attempt at
matching of yoke-follows, cither as to size
or color. Anything with hair on that can
bark nnd pull Is acceptable.
As tho mercury falls tho dog market rises
and In February shows a strong, bullish
tendency. A dog salo Is a romnrkabto eight.
Tho merchants nro sharp fellows and clever
Jockeycrs nnd their remarks regard
ing tho pulling qualities and sprinting
propensities of somo hulking, homely brute
of uncertain extraction and ownorshlp, which
thoy aro frying to sell to tho fishermen,
would mako a horso trader foci llko a
klndorgartner. BISSELL BIUCE.
The Incurables
Chicago Tribune: "What ward Is thls7"
asked ono of tho visitors as they looked
through tho cross-barred doors nt a num
bor of wild-eyed, ill-groomed men who
wero quarreling among themselves.
"This," replied tho keeper, "Is the place
whero wo confine those men who thought
thoy had a message for mankind and
on Great Lakes
CATCH.
started a paper In order to deliver It,
Thoy
nro our most hopeless coses."
With n pitying sigh tho visitors pnsscd
on.
Friction Caused the Fire
Now York World: "I hopo thero will bo
no friction," snld Kepresentotlvo Wads
worth to Iloprcsontatlvo Sherman tho other
day.
"Friction?" snld Sherman. "Did you ever
hear of tho farmer up In tho Mohawk val
ley whoso bnrn burned down nnd who could
not collect from tho Insurance company?"
"I come from tho Oeneseo valley, whero
offor
"Outing"
Art
Calendar
1902.
ing and It will ho well to send In your ordors nn enrly os possible They will mako
very nttractlvo and IncxpetiRlvo gifts nnd nro most appropriate at this season
of tho year. You cannot sccuro such calendars nt the art stores for several times the
prlco at which these nro offered,
BjKii'' . IKi
friUVi above balf-tono gives but a faint
A first pago design ot tho now "Outing" Calendar
for 1902. Thero aro two other designs in Miss
Stamm's happiest mood, and rather than attempt a
description wo havo given each a name which will con
vey to you somo Idea of theso clover sketches:
"The Hunt for Happiness"
"Lauding a Speckled Beauty"
"Bruin's Fate."
The "Outing" calendar Is uniform In slzo and
style with the "Century Girl" and may ho had upon
tho same terms. Don't forgot tho coupon and don't
wait until all aro gone beforo you order. Address
ART DEPARTMENT
The Bee Publishing Co., Omaha, Neb.
such things do not hnppen," said Wads
worth, gravely.
"Hunt" retorted Sherman. "I'll tell It,
anyway. Tho farmer went to tho ofllco of
tho lnsurauco company nnd demanded his
money.
" 'Nothing doing,' snld tho manager. 'Tlio
flro was caused by friction, and friction
doesn't go.'
" 'Frlctlon7' expostulated tho farmer, 'no
such thing!'
" 'Oh yes,' and tho manager smiled
grimly. 'It wns tho friction rntised by
rubbing n $3,000 policy ngultmt a f:00o
bam.' "
A r.ood looktn jl
horniiil (nor look. 'iSk
lug humeri li tlis
nort kind if n rotu !TS A
Dilution. 43a
Eureka
Harness Oll
not only mnkMtliolmrncM nnd th I'M
tioriHt link t'IUT. tint imikM tti Ml
lintliiT nun nml illtil put It In nm.
mil J tl , union lo liwt-twlci' m lon nVm
'imUvfl 111 " onllnorlly woiiM. lw(k
Give
Your
Horse a
Chance!
this week tho second In our scries ot
beautiful nrt calendars for 1002. Tho first, our
"Century dlrl", may still bo lind, the second Is now
ready for distribution. For want of n better nnmo
wo hnvo divided to call this ono "Outing," bernuso
that tltlo seems most approprlato to tho dainty and
artistic drawings. Each plato Is from a water color
painting by Miss Maudo Slamm, and nil the dcllcnto
similes and artistic ntmosphoro of the orlglnnls havo
been faithfully reproduced, Thero Is no advertising
upon these calendars, nothing moro nor less than
shown In tho Illustration herewith except tho colorti,
which are of eourso Impossible of reproduction in
n half-tone. Wo havo secured n largo number of
these calendars, hut tho demand Is steadily Increas
Idea ot the
CUT OUT
THIS COUPON
Prosont at Bco Office
or mall with ISc and get
this boautttul Art Calen
dar. When ordorlng by
mail add 4c for postage.
AIIT IJICrAllTSIISNT,
UK 10 IMJIII.INIIINn
CO., OMAHA.