142 PRIVATE DOUGHERTY AND THE BASS. 



mess and rations, when to my astonishment I found the 

 sides of the mess room all covered over with bass split 

 down on the back, and as large as codfish, besides the 

 mess tables for sixty men were smoking with hot fish. 

 What ! thought I, am I on the coast of Newfoundland, 

 among the cod fisheries of New England, or am I in 

 Florida ? I will inquire, perhaps I am in a dream. 

 &quot;Sergeant,&quot; said I, &quot;you seem to have plenty of fish 

 here ; where did you get them ? &quot; He replied : &quot; Dough 

 erty is a fisherman, and he goes up the river every few 

 days and catches what fish the men can eat.&quot; &quot;Tell 

 him I wish to see him.&quot; &quot;Yes, Lieutenant,&quot; replied 

 the sergeant, touching his cap. (Enter Dougherty) 

 &quot; Dougherty, where do you catch all these fish, and how 

 do you do it?&quot; &quot;I catch them,&quot; said he, &quot;up the 

 river, with a line and hook ; I troll for them. I first 

 use a piece of white fat pork rind, cut thin, for a bait, 

 and after this I use a white strip cut out of the belly of 

 the fish, and about three inches long ; these last longer 

 and save the pork, and are just as good, if not better, I 

 think.&quot; This was good news, as well as economy in 

 pork rind. I decided to try them. The next day 

 Dougherty and myself, armed with hook and line only 

 sixty feet long, and a piece of pork rind sliced from the 

 pork barrel, started off for the fishing grounds. Soon 

 after passing a long line of lily pads on the right, we 

 came to the mouth of the river above described, and took 

 up a place in the centre of it. &quot; Now, hold on,&quot; said I, 

 &quot; while I cut off a piece of this rind and bait my hook.&quot; 

 Tliis done, by hooking it at one end so it would play in 

 the water, &quot; Now,&quot; said I, &quot; you row across,&quot; and away 

 went my line by a cast at the same time, no sooner strik 

 ing the water than splash ! up you go ! about two feet 



