104 MEN I HAVE FISHED WITH. 



stenographer was present. When Ira came he found a 

 boat hired from old John Cassidy, who had a fleet to let, 

 and it was provided with long ropes and anchors at each 

 end one of those wide, flat-bottomed scows, built like 

 the Dutchman's wife, who said: "She vas so besser built 

 for sittin' down as for runnin' " and we rowed out of the 

 basin under the Hamilton Street Bridge, for there was a 

 bridge to the pier in those days, and out into the river 

 opposite the foot of Dallius Street, which bears another 

 name now. We dropped anchor just on the eastern edge 

 of the channel ; I knew the ranges well in those days, be- 

 fore bridges over the river were built, and their piers had 

 changed the currents and filled in the creek behind the 

 island opposite the city, where we boys fished and swam. 



After dropping one anchor, we brought the boat 

 across the current and dropped the other. There is a tide 

 at Albany except when the great freshets come down. The 

 water in those days at ordinary stages varied from one to 

 two feet at high and low tides, but even on flood tides 

 there was always a current down stream, weak or strong, 

 as the tide might be flood or ebb. Therefore we could 

 fish from the lower side of the boat, no matter how the tide 

 was. I opened a two-quart tin pail. "What's that stuff?" 

 asked Ira. 



"That's sturgeon spawn, for bait." He made no re- 

 ply, but watched the production of some linen thread, and 

 a lot of white mosquito netting, which was cut into four- 

 inch squares. Then I rigged him a hand line with sinker, 

 about two feet above which was a hook on a one-foot 

 snell. Above the hook was tied one foot of linen thread, 

 and, putting a quantity of sturgeon eggs in a square of 

 netting, it was fastened about the hook by the thread and 

 cast far out down stream. I had learned this mode of 

 fishing from my brother Harleigh, who, with Uncle John 



