“Help, masters, help; here's a fish hangs in the net, like a poor
Man's right in the law.”
--Pericles of Tyre.
The advance of the season now became as rapid as its first approach
had been tedious and lingering. The days were uniformly mild, while
the nights, though cool, were no longer chilled by frosts. The
whip-poor-will was heard whistling his melancholy notes along the margin
of the lake, and the ponds and meadows were sending forth the music of
their thousand tenants. The leaf of the native poplar was seen quivering
in the woods; the sides of the mountains began to lose their hue of
brown, as the lively green of the different members of the forest
blended their shades with the permanent colors of the pine and hemlock;
and even the buds of the tardy oak were swelling with the promise of the
coming summer. The gay and fluttering blue-bird, the social robin, and
the industrious little wren were all to be seen enlivening the fields
with their presence and their songs; while the soaring fish-hawk was
already hovering over the waters of the Otsego, watching with native
voracity for the appearance of his prey.
The tenants of the lake were far-famed for both their quantities and
their quality, and the ice had hardly disappeared before numberless
little boats were launched from the shores, and the lines of the
fishermen were dropped into the inmost recesses of its deepest caverns,
tempting the unwary animals with every variety of bait that the
ingenuity or the art of man had invented. But the slow though certain
adventures with hook and line were ill suited to the profusion and
impatience of the settlers. More destructive means were resorted to;
and, as the season had now arrived when the bass fisheries were allowed
by the provisions of the law that Judge Temple had procured, the sheriff
declared his intention, by availing himself of the first dark night, to
enjoy the sport in person.
“And you shall be present, Cousin Bess,” he added, when he announced
this design, “and Miss Grant, and Mr. Edwards; and I will show you what
I call fishing not nibble, nibble, nibble, as 'Duke does when he goes
after the salmon-trout. There he will sit for hours, in a broiling sun
or, perhaps, over a hole in the lee, in the coldest days in winter,
under the lee of a few bushes, and not a fish will he catch, after all
this mortification of the flesh. No, no--give me a good seine that's
fifty or sixty fathoms in length, with a jolly parcel of boatmen to
crack their jokes the while, with Benjamin to steer, and let us haul
them in by thousands; I call that fishing.”
“Ah! Dickon,” cried Marmaduke, “thou knowest but little of the pleasure
there is in playing with the hook and line, or thou wouldst be more
saving of the game. I have known thee to leave fragments enough behind
thee, when thou hast headed a night party on the lake, to feed a dozen
famishing families.”
“I shall not dispute the matter, Judge Temple; this night will I go; and
I invite the company to attend, and then let them decide between us.”
Richard was busy during most of the afternoon, making his preparations
for the important occasion. Just as the light of the settling sun had
disappeared, and a new moon had begun to throw its shadows on the earth,
the fisher-men took their departure, in a boat, for a point that was
situated on the western shore of the lake, at the distance of rather
more than half a mile from the village. The ground had become settled,
and the walking was good and dry. Marmaduke, with his daughter, her
friend, and young Edwards, continued on the high grassy banks at the
outlet of the placid sheet of water, watching the dark object that was
moving across the lake, until it entered the shade of the western hills,
and was lost to the eye. The distance round by land to the point of
destination was a mile, and he observed:
“It is time for us to be moving; the moon will be down ere we reach the
point, and then the miraculous hauls of Dickon will commence.”
The evening was warm, and, after the long and dreary winter from which
they had just escaped, delightfully invigorating. Inspirited by the
scene and their anticipated amusement, the youthful companions of the
Judge followed his steps, as he led them along the shores of the Otsego,
and through the skirts of the village.
“See!” said young Edwards, “they are building their fire already; it
glimmers for a moment, and dies again like the light of a firefly.”
“Now it blazes,” cried Elizabeth; “you can perceive figures moving
around the light. Oh! I would bet my jewels against the gold beads of
Remarkable, that my impatient Cousin Dickon had an agency in raising
that bright flame; and see! it fades again, like most of his brilliant
schemes.”
“Thou hast guessed the truth, Bess,” said her father; “he has thrown an
armful of brush on the pile, which has burnt out as soon as lighted.
But it has enabled them to find a better fuel, for their fire begins to
blaze with a more steady flame. It is the true fisherman's beacon now;
observe how beautifully it throw s its little circle of light on the
water!”
The appearance of the fire urged the pedestrians on, for even the ladies
had become eager to witness the miraculous draught. By the time they
reached the bank, which rose above the low point where the fishermen had
landed, the moon had sunk behind the top of the western pines, and, as
most of the stars were obscured by clouds, there was but little other
light than that which proceeded from the fire. At the suggestion of
Marmaduke, his companions paused to listen to the conversation of those
below them, and examine the party for a moment before they descended to
the shore.
The whole group were seated around the fire, with the exception of
Richard and Benjamin; the former of whom occupied the root of a decayed
stump, that had been drawn to the spot as part of their fuel, and the
latter was standing, with his arms akimbo, so near to the flame that the
smoke occasionally obscured his solemn visage, as it waved around the
pile in obedience to the night airs that swept gently over the water.
“Why, look you, squire, said the major-domo. You may call a lake-fish
that will weigh twenty or thirty pounds a serious matter, but to a man
who has hauled in a shovel-nosed shirk, d'ye see, it's but a poor kind
of fishing after all.”
“I don't know, Benjamin,” returned the sheriff; “a haul of one thousand
Otsego bass, without counting pike, pickerel, perch, bull-pouts,
salmon-trouts, and suckers, is no bad fishing, let me tell you. There
may he sport in sticking a shark, but what is he good for after you have
got him? Now, any one of the fish that I have named is fit to set before
a king.”
“Well, squire,” returned Benjamin, “just listen to the philosophy of
the thing. Would it stand to reason, that such a fish should live and be
catched in this here little pond of water, where it's hardly deep enough
to drown a man, as you'll find in the wide ocean, where, as every
body knows that is, everybody that has followed the seas, whales and
grampuses are to be seen, that are as long as one of the pine-trees on
yonder mountain?”
“Softly, softly, Benjamin,” said the sheriff, as if he wished to save
the credit of his favorite; “why, some of the pines will measure two
hundred feet, and even more.”
“Two hundred or two thousand, it's all the same thing,” cried Benjamin,
with an air which manifested that he was not easily to be bullied out of
his opinion, on a subject like the present. “Haven't I been there, and
haven't I seen? I have said that you fall in with whales as long as one
of them there pines: and what I have once said I'll stand to!”
During this dialogue, which was evidently but the close of much longer
discussion, the huge frame of Billy Kirby was seen extended on one side
of the fire, where he was picking his teeth with splinters of the chips
near him, and occasionally shaking his head with distrust of Benjamin's
assertions.
“I've a notion,” said the wood-chopper, “that there's water in this lake
to swim the biggest whale that ever was invented; and, as to the pines,
I think I ought to know so'thing consarning them; I have chopped many
a one that was sixty times the length of my helve, without counting
the eye; and I believe, Benny, that if the old pine that stands in the
hollow of the Vision Mountain just over the village--you may see the
tree itself by looking up, for the moon is on its top yet--well, now I
believe, if that same tree was planted out in the deepest part of the
lake, there would be water enough for the biggest ship that ever was
built to float over it, without touching its upper branches, I do.”
“Did'ee ever see a ship, Master Kirby?” roared the steward, “did'ee ever
see a ship, man? or any craft bigger than a lime-scow, or a wood-boat,
on this here small bit of fresh water?”
“Yes, I have,” said the wood-chopper stoutly; “I can say that I have,
and tell no lie.”
“Did'ee ever see a British ship, Master Kirby? an English line-of-battle
ship, boy? Where did'ee ever fall in with a regular built vessel, with
starn-post and cutwater, gar board-streak and plank-shear, gangways,
and hatchways, and waterways, quarter-deck, and forecastle, ay, and
flush-deck?--tell me that, man, if you can; where away did'ee ever fall
in with a full-rigged, regular-built, necked vessel?”
The whole company were a good deal astounded with this overwhelming
question, and even Richard afterward remarked that it “was a thousand
pities that Benjamin could not read, or he must have made a valuable
officer to the British marine. It is no wonder that they overcame the
French so easily on the water, when even the lowest sailor so well
understood the different parts of a vessel.” But Billy Kirby was a
fearless wight, and had great jealousy of foreign dictation; he had
risen on his feet, and turned his back to the fire, during the voluble
delivery of this interrogatory; and when the steward ended, contrary to
all expectation, he gave the following spirited reply:
“Where! why, on the North River, and maybe on Champlain. There's sloops
on the river, boy, that would give a hard time on't to the stoutest
vessel King George owns. They carry masts of ninety feet in the clear of
good solid pine, for I've been at the chopping of many a one in
Varmount State. I wish I was captain in one of them, and you was in
that Board-dish that you talk so much about, and we'd soon see what good
Yankee stuff is made on, and whether a Varmounter's hide ain't as thick
as an Englishman's.” The echoes from the opposite hills, which were more
than half a mile from the fishing point, sent back the discordant laugh
that Benjamin gave forth at this challenge; and the woods that covered
their sides seemed, by the noise that issued from their shades, to be
full of mocking demons.
“Let us descend to the shore,” whispered Marmaduke, “or there will soon
be ill-blood between them. Benjamin is a fearless boaster; and Kirby,
though good-natured, is a careless son of the forest, who thinks one
American more than a match for six Englishmen. I marvel that Dickon is
silent, where there is such a trial of skill in the superlative!”
The appearance of Judge Temple and the ladies produced, if not a
pacification, at least a cessation of hostilities. Obedient to the
directions of Mr. Jones the fishermen prepared to launch their boat,
which had been seen in the background of the view, with the net
carefully disposed on a little platform in its stern, ready for service.
Richard gave vent to his reproaches at the tardiness of the pedestrians,
when all the turbulent passions of the party were succeeded by a calm,
as mild and as placid as that which prevailed over the beautiful sheet
of water that they were about to rifle of its best treasures.
The night had now become so dark as to render objects, without the
reach of the light of the fire, not only indistinct, but in most cases
invisible. For a little distance the water was discernible, glistening,
as the glare from the fire danced over its surface, touching it here and
there with red quivering streaks; but, at a hundred feet from the
shore, there lay a boundary of impenetrable gloom. One or two stars were
shining through the openings of the clouds, and the lights were seen in
the village, glimmering faintly, as if at an immeasurable distance. At
times, as the fire lowered, or as the horizon cleared, the outline of
the mountain, on the other side of the lake, might be traced by its
undulations; but its shadow was cast, wide and dense, on the bosom of
the water, rendering the darkness in that direction trebly deep.
Benjamin Pump was invariably the coxswain and net caster of Richard's
boat, unless the sheriff saw fit to preside in person: and, on the
present occasion, Billy Kirby, and a youth of about half his strength,
were assigned to the oars. The remainder of the assistants were
stationed at the drag-ropes. The arrangements were speedily made, and
Richard gave the signal to “shove off.”
Elizabeth watched the motion of the batteau as it pulled from the
shore, letting loose its rope as it went, but it soon disappeared in the
darkness, when the ear was her only guide to its evolutions. There was
great affectation of stillness during all these manoeuvers, in order, as
Richard assured them, “not to frighten the bass, who were running into
the shoal waters, and who would approach the light if not disturbed by
the sounds from the fishermen.”
The hoarse voice of Benjamin was alone heard issuing out of the gloom,
as he uttered, in authoritative tones, “Pull larboard oar,” “Pull
starboard,” “Give way together, boys,” and such other indicative
mandates as were necessary for the right disposition of his seine. A
long time was passed in this necessary part of the process, for Benjamin
prided himself greatly on his skill in throwing the net, and, in
fact, most of the success of the sport depended on its being done with
judgment. At length a loud splash in the water, as he threw away the
“staff,” or “stretcher,” with a hoarse call from the steward of “Clear,”
announced that the boat was returning; when Richard seized a brand
from the fire, and ran to a point as far above the centre of the
fishing-ground, as the one from which the batteau had started was below
it.
“Stick her in dead for the squire, boys,” said the steward, “and we'll
have a look at what grows in this here pond.”
In place of the falling net were now to be heard the quick strokes of
the oars, and the noise of the rope running out of the boat. Presently
the batteau shot into the circle of light, and in an instant she was
pulled to the shore. Several eager hands were extended to receive the
line, and, both ropes being equally well manned, the fishermen commenced
hauling in with slow, and steady drags, Richard standing to the centre,
giving orders, first to one party, and then to the other, to increase
or slacken their efforts, as occasion required. The visitors were posted
near him, and enjoyed a fair view of the whole operation, which was
slowly advancing to an end.
Opinions as to the result of their adventure were now freely hazarded by
all the men, some declaring that the net came in as light as a feather,
and others affirming that it seemed to be full of logs. As the ropes
were many hundred feet in length, these opposing sentiments were thought
to be of little moment by the sheriff, who would go first to one line,
and then to the other, giving each small pull, in order to enable him to
form an opinion for himself.
“Why, Benjamin,” he cried, as he made his first effort in this way, “you
did not throw the net clear. I can move it with my little finger. The
rope slackens in my hand.”
“Did you ever see a whale, squire?” responded the steward: “I say that,
if that there net is foul, the devil is in the lake in the shape of
a fish, for I cast it as far as ever rigging was rove over the
quarter-deck of a flag-ship.”
But Richard discovered his mistake, when he saw Billy Kirby before him,
standing with his feet in the water, at an angle of forty-five degrees,
inclining southward, and expending his gigantic strength in sustaining
himself in that posture. He ceased his remonstrances, and proceeded to
the party at the other line.
“I see the 'staffs,'” shouted Mr. Jones--“gather in boys, and away
with it; to shore with her!--to shore with her!”
At this cheerful sound, Elizabeth strained her eyes and saw the ends of
the two sticks on the seine emerging from the darkness, while the men
closed near to each other, and formed a deep bag of their net. The
exertions of the fishermen sensibly increased, and the voice of Richard
was heard encouraging them to make their greatest efforts at the present
moment.
“Now's the time, my lads,” he cried; “let us get the ends to land, and
all we have will be our own--away with her!”
“Away with her, it is,” echoed Benjamin!--“hurrah! ho-a-hay, ho-a-hoy,
ho-a!”
“In with her,” shouted Kirby, exerting himself in a manner that left
nothing for those in his rear to do, but to gather up the slack of the
rope which passed through his hands.
“Staff, ho!” shouted the steward.
“Staff, ho!” echoed Kirby, from the other rope. The men rushed to the
water's edge, some seizing the upper rope, and some the lower or
lead rope, and began to haul with great activity and zeal, A deep
semicircular sweep of the little balls that supported the seine in its
perpendicular position was plainly visible to the spectators, and, as
it rapidly lessened in size, the bag of the net appeared, while
an occasional flutter on the water announced the uneasiness of the
prisoners it contained.
“Haul in, my lads,” shouted Richard--“I can see the dogs kicking to get
free. Haul in, and here's a cast that will pay for the labor.” Fishes of
various sorts were now to be seen, entangled in the meshes of the net,
as it was passed through the hands of the laborers; and the water, at
a little distance from the shore, was alive with the movements of the
alarmed victims. Hundreds of white sides were glancing up to the surface
of the water, and glistening in the fire light, when, frightened at
the uproar and the change, the fish would again dart to the bottom, in
fruitless efforts for freedom. “Hurrah!” shouted Richard: “one or two
more heavy drags, boys, and we are safe.”
“Cheerily, boys, cheerily!” cried Benjamin; “I see a salmon-trout that
is big enough for a chowder.”
“Away with you, you varmint!” said Billy Kirby, plucking a bullpout from
the meshes, and casting the animal back into the lake with contempt.
“Pull, boys, pull; here's all kinds, and the Lord condemn me for a liar,
if there ain't a thousand bass!”
Inflamed beyond the bounds of discretion at the sight, and forgetful of
the season, the wood-chopper rushed to his middle into the water,
and began to drive the reluctant animals before him from their native
element.
“Pull heartily, boys,” cried Marmaduke, yielding to the excitement of
the moment, and laying his hands to the net, with no trifling addition
to the force. Edwards had preceded him; for the sight of the immense
piles of fish, that were slowly rolling over on the gravelly beach, had
impelled him also to leave the ladies and join the fishermen.
Great care was observed in bringing the net to land, and, after much
toil, the whole shoal of victims was safely deposited in a hollow of the
bank, where they were left to flutter away their brief existence in the
new and fatal element.
Even Elizabeth and Louisa were greatly excited and highly gratified by
seeing two thousand captives thus drawn from the bosom of the lake, and
laid prisoners at their feet. But when the feelings of the moment
were passing away, Marmaduke took in his hands a bass, that might have
weighed two pounds, and after viewing it a moment, in melancholy musing,
he turned to his daughter, and observed:
“This is a fearful expenditure of the choicest gifts of Providence.
These fish, Bess, which thou seest lying in such piles before thee, and
which by to-morrow evening will be rejected food on the meanest table in
Templeton, are of a quality and flavor that, in other countries, would
make them esteemed a luxury on the tables of princes or epicures. The
world has no better fish than the bass of Otsego; it unites the richness
of the shad* to the firmness of the salmon.”
* Of all the fish the writer has ever tasted, he thinks the one in
question the best.
“But surely, dear sir,” cried Elizabeth, “they must prove a great
blessing to the country, and a powerful friend to the poor.”
“The poor are always prodigal, my child, where there is plenty, and
seldom think of a provision against the morrow. But, if there can be any
excuse for destroying animals in this manner, it is in taking the
bass. During the winter, you know, they are entirely protected from our
assaults by the ice, for they refuse the hook; and during the hot months
they are not seen. It is supposed they retreat to the deep and cool
waters of the lake, at that season; and it is only in the spring and
autumn that, for a few days, they are to be found around the points
where they are within the reach of a seine. But, like all the other
treasures of the wilderness, they already begin to disappear before the
wasteful extravagance of man.”
“Disappear, Duke! disappear!” exclaimed the sheriff “if you don't call
this appearing, I know not what you will. Here are a good thousand of
the shiners, some hundreds of suckers, and a powerful quantity of other
fry. But this is always the way with you, Marmaduke: first it's the
trees, then it's the deer; after that it's the maple sugar, and so on
to the end of the chapter. One day you talk of canals through a country
where there's a river or a lake every half-mile, just because the water
won't run the way you wish it to go; and, the next, you say some thing
about mines of coal, though any man who has good eyes like myself--I
say, with good eyes--can see more wood than would keep the city of
London in fuel for fifty years; wouldn't it, Benjamin?”
“Why, for that, squire,” said the steward, “Lon'on is no small place.
If it was stretched an end, all the same as a town on one side of the
river, it would cover some such matter as this here lake. Thof I dar'st
to say, that the wood in sight might sarve them a good turn, seeing that
the Lon'oners mainly burn coal.”
“Now we are on the subject of coal, Judge Temple,” interrupted the
sheriff, “I have a thing of much importance to communicate to you; but
I will defer it--until tomorrow. I know that you intend riding into the
eastern part of the Patent, and I will accompany you, and conduct you to
a spot where some of your projects may be realized. We will say no
more now, for there are listeners; but a secret has this evening been
revealed to me, 'Duke, that is of more consequence to your welfare than
all your estate united.”
Marmaduke laughed at the important intelligence, to which in a variety
of shapes he was accustomed, and the sheriff, with an air of great
dignity, as if pitying his want of faith, proceeded in the business more
immediately Before them. As the labor of drawing the net had been very
great, he directed one party of his men to commence throwing the fish
into piles, preparatory to the usual division, while another, under the
superintendence of Benjamin, prepared the seine for a second haul.