Fishing through the Ice 385 



rattled the spearman and he made a fierce random 

 jab. A yell, a splash, some sultry talk, and he pulled 

 his soaked leg out of the hole and limped grunt- 

 ing about on the ice, while I secured the spear and 

 remarked, " Well, you are a clever duck ! " 



" I druv the blank thing into me foot," he howled ; 

 and, sure enough, he had punched a hole through 

 boot and skin. When I got the spear and tried to 

 see below, I found matters had changed. The erst- 

 while transparent water seemed whitish, and soon I 

 could see naught but the soapy-looking surface. 



A thump at the door and a voice outside saying, 

 " Vataire got milky ; dere no more feesh to-day ! " 

 warned us that the fun was over. As we snapped 

 on our skates, the unlucky one whispered : " You 

 tell about my foot an' I'll make it hot for you ! " 

 This is the first I've said about it. 



The fishing with hook and line is sportsmanlike 

 enough to qualify as a legitimate amusement, and is 

 by far the most popular with the good souls and 

 true who love an outing for its own sake, and would 

 take fish, or take cold, with pleasure, providing a 

 certain amount of fun was attached to the business. 



In this method of winter fishing, baited hooks, 

 attached to lines of suitable length, are passed 

 through small holes cut in the ice, the upper ends 

 of the lines being either held in the hands of the 

 fisherman, or affixed to what are termed " tip-ups." 

 When these tip-ups are used, they allow one man to 

 attend to as many lines as he pleases, and to skate 

 or slide about, or watch the indicators from beside a 

 bonfire or from a warm shanty, as may be preferred. 



There are various styles of tip-ups. Some are so 



2C 



