148 UPLAND AND MEADOW. 



the lower, weighted cord is kept upon the bottom. The 

 net becomes a great bag in tlie water, and this now 

 slowly emerges. The water, that, as tangled drops, had 

 been held by the weeds now rudely dragged ashore, is 

 again free, and hurries to the pond, wearing threadlike 

 channels in the sand. With one mighty lift the net, 

 fairly quivering with the splashing, struggling, sobbing 

 mass of terror-stricken creatures within its folds, is borne 

 to the dry land and laid upon the trampled grass and 

 muddy beach. 



The prosaic matter of assorting and gathering the 

 valued portion of the catch commences. Pike, perch, 

 bass, catfish, and a few great land-locked gizzard-shad 

 are picked from the weeds and thrown into a basket ; 

 the net is gathered, freed from sticks, and placed in a 

 wagon. The fishermen's work is done, and mine be- 

 gins. 



As I bend over the refuse, what a wealth of small fry 

 is visible, from which to pick and choose ! The ill-man- 

 nered fishermen laugh in derision as I wash a soiled 

 minnow, rescued from the weeds. This is an experience 

 a naturalist soon becomes accustomed to, and a judicious 

 show of fight will sometimes prove desirable; but it is 

 well to take such matters with reasonable good-nature, 

 for these same men are often good observers in their 

 way, and may prove the means of securing rare objects 

 that otherwise would be lost. I do not profess to be 

 very patient, but self-control has often worked well, and 

 secured me friends where I least expected to find them. 

 A bully that once was too troublesome for endurance, 

 and was thrashed, a month later broutjlit me the first 



