458 



RECREATION. 



him. They are to place him in some park. 

 F. O. Walker, Rumford Falls, Me. 



No doubt if a vote could be taken among 

 butcher Horbury's neighbors 9-ioths of 

 them would condemn him as roundly as 

 this writer does. — Editor. 



HOW FISH HOOKS ARE MADE. 



It may not be generally known, but it 

 is nevertheless a fact, that fully 00 per cent, 

 of the world's fishing hooks are made at 

 Redditch, England. In making fish hooks 

 few tools are used, dependence being 

 placed more on* the skill of the workman 

 than on expensive machinery. Nothing 

 but the best steel wire is used. This is cut 

 off from 20 or more coils at once, into 

 lengths of about 4 inches, care being taken 

 to have all of one length. Several hun- 

 dreds of these lengths are placed on top 

 of one another through 2 rings, or wash- 

 ers, the end projecting about Y\ of an inch. 

 They are put into a furnace and heated a 

 dull red; then taken out of the fire and 

 rolled backward and forward, while in the 

 rings, with a heavy iron bar, about 1^2 

 inches square. This softens and straight- 

 ens the wire. After cooling they are cut 

 into lengths sufficient for 2 hooks, and a 

 barb is cut in each end. The workman 

 rests the end of the wire against a block 

 of wood and brings the knife in position. 

 The point of the knife is hinged to the 

 bench, and the blade is beveled on one 

 side. With a short, cautious movement 

 the barb is cut, care being taken to have 

 it the correct depth. The wire is then cut 

 in 2, the point filed and then bent around 

 a metal shape driven in the end of a bit 

 of wood. The barb is hooked around the 

 end of the shape and a turn of the wrist 

 and a pull with the finger complete the 

 bend. The shanks are then flattened, 

 ringer marked or reduced as desired, and 

 the hooks are ready to be hardened. They 

 are placed in a pan and heated to a dull 

 red, then dumped into a cask of oil. taken 

 out again, allowed to drain and are ready 

 for tempering. That is the most im- 

 portant part of the whole business. If 

 tempered too much they will straighten 

 out and if left too brittle they break; so 

 they have to be just right or the work 

 must be done over. The surplus oil that 

 clings to the hooks after tempering is re- 

 moved by shaking the hooks on a tray in 

 sawdust. The hooks are then put in re- 

 volving barrels to polish, and afterward 

 blued, bronzed or Japanned. They are 

 then ready to be put on the market. 



S. Howarth, Florissant, Colo. 



land, to take formal possession of that 

 speck for Uncle Sam. We anchored off 

 the island at daylight on the 4th of 

 July. A few hours later a boat left for 

 shore with a landing party, composed of 

 General Greene and staff. The transport 

 China was packed with soldiers. While 

 they were awaiting the return of the land- 

 ing party 3 great man-eating sharks came 

 swimming about the ship. The boys 

 watched them awhile. Then someone 

 threw overboard a large iron hook, baited 

 with a hunk of beef, and made fast to an 

 inch rope. No one expected the sharks 

 to notice the clumsy lure, but to our sur- 

 prise one of the monsters took the bait 

 with a rush and started back East with 

 it. The chap holding the rope let the 

 shark run a few feet, and then brought 

 him up with a round turn. The crowd 

 went wild and showered advice and con- 

 gratulations on the fisherman. Mean- 

 while the shark was thrashing back and 

 forth along the ship's side, occasionally 

 leaping out of the water. I could see he 

 was splendidly hooked, the point coming 

 out near his eye. Everyone rushed to that 

 side of the ship to see the fun; at least 

 50 men seized the rope and soon had the 

 shark on deck. Then the crowd gathered 

 around, and those in the rear pushed those 

 in front close to the captive. There was 

 where the big fish got good and even. He 

 started by giving a few flops with his tail, 

 and then began working both ends from 

 the center, like the walking beam of a 

 steamer. The old fellow knocked the saw- 

 dust out of the front rank of spectators. 

 You should have seen the scramble to get 

 out of range. He was finally killed with 

 an ax. Shortly after this the landing 

 party returned, bringing with them some 

 of the strangest looking birds and fish I 

 have ever seen. Then we started in on 

 our 4th of July celebration, and the ship 

 resumed her course for the Philippines. 

 Lieut. C. T. O'Keefe, Manila, P. I. 



A CAPTURE BY OUR TROOPS. 

 While en route to the Philippines the 

 second expedition stopped at Wake's is- 



A CORD OF FISH. 



F. J. L/s letter in February Recreation 

 about cords of fish reminds me of a similar 

 experience. I was living on a wheat ranch 

 in La Moure county, N. D., along the 

 banks of the James river, which was full of 

 bass, pickerel and yellow perch, in the 

 early '8o's. The winter of '82 was exceed- 

 ingly cold, and the stream froze solid in 

 many places, being shallow and narrow, 

 with a tortuous course. This compelled 

 the fish to seek refuge in the deeper pools, 

 where they swarmed in countless num- 

 bers. Holes were chopped through the 

 ice and the fish were speared by hundreds. 

 They froze stiff in a few minutes, and in 

 several instances the settlers piled them 

 up out of doors, like so much wood, and 



