A DEFENSE OF THE HUMBLE DOGFISH 



By George W. Miles 



When the white man first came into the West, bringing 

 with him the pride of his modern civilization, he found the 

 lakes and streams swarming with splendid game fishes. Bass 

 there were in such great numbers that, though they were of 

 size and strength to make them respectable, the taking of 

 them was hardly considered proper sport, its accomplishment 

 was so easy. There were pike and pickerel of weights up 

 to twenty pounds and more, and sometimes muskellunge 

 still larger, to test his tackle and his skill, and these did he 

 prefer to pursue, their capture being more in keeping with 

 his estimate of his own dignity and prowess. All these were 

 admitted to his table and proudly offered to his guests, not 

 because of the superior excellence of their flavor (which was 

 excellent indeed) but because of the vanity of the master 

 of the household, whose sportsmanship was thus best 

 exploited. 



Bluegills, crappies, bullheads, perch and other humbler 

 fishes were there also in these lakes and streams in countless 

 numbers, created to be caught by the women and children 

 (and probably intended to be eaten that their joy in the 

 catching of them might not be marred), and these, too, were 

 admitted to the table on ordinary occasions, always to the 

 humbling of the pride of the master of the household, how- 

 ever, who never failed to apologize for the presence of them 

 if a guest was at the board. 



Now, as the early Hoosiers would have said, "betwixt 

 and between" these was another fish in which the waters also 

 abounded, and in which they abound even to this day, which, 

 although its size would have entitled it to respect, was so 

 utterly stupid that no man of the time with a drop of sports- 

 man's blood in his veins could feel any pride in pursuing it, 

 while, on account of its great strength, it was much in dis- 



