142 AMERICAN GAME FISHES. 



the darkness of Egypt as that which now encircled him. He 

 became nervous — almost frightened. There passed through 

 his mind thoughts of the river's dead — of ghastly, sheeted 

 forms which he had seen on the cold slabs of the morgue; 

 of the horrible semblance of humanity which he had once 

 seen floating in a ferry-slip, the features decomposed and 

 half eaten by fishes, while the rayless eyes seemed to look 

 up to his horrified gaze in mute appeal, that they might be 

 laid away far from the sight of man under the sod. He felt 

 for his bait-knife to cut the thing loose, but a feeling of pride 

 came to his assistance, and he laid it down again. Finally 

 summoning all his manhood, he turned the handle of the 

 reel slowly until he knew by the position of the line that it 

 was almost within his reach. Here was a moment of sus- 

 pense. He did not wish to touch it in the darkness, neither 

 did he wish to use the gaff-hook. He felt in his pocket for a 

 match, scratched it a number of times on the gunwale of the 

 boat, and waiting for the sulphur to burn off, held it over 

 the stern, and in the dim, flickering light which it afforded, 

 beheld — an empty pork-barrel dancing and courtesying to 

 him on the waves. He burst into a laugh which had nothing 

 of mirth in it, but pulled up his anchor — and then I went 

 home, and have never fished in Hell Gate at night since. 



There is a large class of anglers in the city of New York 

 and its vicinity, among them many experts, who can rarely 

 leave their business cares for more than a day at a time, and 

 whose trips are limited to such localities as can be reached 

 in an hour or two, so as to admit of their returning on the 

 same day. To these there is a charm about the very name 

 of Bass which is irresistible, and in the October days, when 

 the cheering word comes from any of the estuaries of New 

 York Bay, or Spuyten Duyvil, or Coney Island Creek, or at 

 Kingsbridge, or some of the upper docks of the city itself, 

 these anglers of a day may be seen at the fish-markets in the 

 early hours of the morning, with rods and weather-beaten 



