A Defense of Fishermen 



Their self-asserted relationship is nev- 

 ertheless sometimes seized upon by 

 malicious or ignorant critics as per- 

 mitting the assumption that the weak- 

 nesses and sins of these pretenders are 

 the weaknesses and sins of genuine 

 fishermen; but in truth these pre- 

 tenders are only interlopers who have 

 learned a little fish language, who 

 love to fish only "when they bite," 

 who whine at bad luck, who betray 

 incredulity when they hear a rous- 

 ing fish story, and who do or leave 

 undone many other things fatal to 

 good and regular standing. They 

 are like certain whites called squaw- 

 men, who hang about Indian reser- 

 vations, and gain certain advan- 

 tages in the tribes by marrying full- 

 blooded Indian women. Surely no 

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