208 STUIPED BASS. 
rible stories whispered with bated breath, of men in 
bathing drawn down by even the smaller of the monsters. 
Though there must be something in it, I doubt if this is all 
true, notwithstanding the squid is ugly enough for any- 
thing. With us the squid or cuttle-fish is harmless except 
to the sight, and in his native element is glad to hide him- 
self in the obscurity of a dark liquid that he has the power 
of emitting, when pursued. The only bone in his body is 
in the middle of his stomach, and what it is put there 
for unless to give him an accurate idea of indigestion, no 
one knows. For the present it is enough to say he is 
good bait, although not handsome, and may be used 
either in trollin(y or still fishino^. 
Another excellent bait early in the Fall, although no- 
where mentioned in the books, and, I believe, my own 
discovery, is the scollop. My attention was first called to 
it by some men opening them for the table and throwing 
the many-eyed skins into the water. The bass collected 
at once and rushed eagerly to the very dock, almost 
springing out of water to seize the coveted morsel. 
Upon this hint I acted, and by great care, for the scol- 
lop is extremely tender, and by passing the hook several 
times through the skin, I succeeded in keeping the bait 
on while I cast very gently. My success was astonish- 
ing, and then and afterward I took the largest fish 
under the most unfavorable circumstances with it, when 
they would not touch the most tempting crab. The 
heart of the scollop is pearly white, and is attractive and 
so good that no wonder the bass should be crazy for it. 
It is diflicult to manage and easily washed off the hook, 
but if any fisherman shall see bass, as I have often, lying 
