456 
HAD A FISH STORY OF HIS OWN. 
HARMON W. MARSH. 
There once was a lad with the gift of gab, 
a wonderful gift had he, 
And he told more tales of big fish caught 
than if he had drained the sea; 
There came a time when he had to leave 
and cross to the beautiful shore, 
But the habits acquired on this mundane 
sphere, they all of them followed him 
o’er. 
Whenever he saw an angel band, grouped 
on the golden street, 
He’d butt his way to the center, sure, and 
one of his tales repeat. 
There was one little saint with a shriveled 
form, of quiet and weary mein, 
Who, whenever one of these tales was 
sprung, looked as if it gave him a 
pain. 
He’d stand on the edge of the angel throng, 
till the story was told complete, 
Then rustle his wings with a grunt of dis- 
gust, and silently cross the street. 
The guy with the stories was piking around 
to learn the impression made, 
And he saw that all of the angel band ex- 
cepting this little one stayed. 
It grated his nerves that this one old boy, 
Couldn’t stomach the tales the rest would 
enjoy, 
And the more he pondered, the more he 
got sore, 
He had never been treated like that before; 
So he hiked him along down the golden 
street till he came to the golden gate, 
And he roused up the saint who tended the 
door, his tale of woe to relate. 
And when he had finished he asked the 
saint, “Who is that egregious brute?” 
And the saint replied with a kindly smile, 
“That ’s Jonah, you blamed galoot.”’ 

The Fulton County Rod and Gun Club, 
a chartered organization now 2 years old, 
holds 6,000 acres of fine hunting and fishing 
ground in the Blue Ridge mountains. Game 
is plentiful and consists of rabbits, grouse, 
quail, turkeys and deer, with an occasional 
bear. We are working hard to save the 
game in this region from foxes, wildcats, 
game hogs and forest fires. We are grad- 
ually thinning out the animals named, but 
can find no defense against the fires that 
every spring sweep over these mountains. 
We should be glad to receive suggestions 
from experienced fire fighters as to the best 
way of preventing or limiting forest fires. 
G. M. Sproul, McKeesport, Pa. 
- abiding in Oklahoma. 
RECREATION. 
ON THE BATTENKILL. 
Since the opening of the season, Mav 1, 
many good catches of trout have been made 
in the Battenkill and its tributary, Green 
river. My friend, Charles Hawley, and I 
could hardly wait for the day to arrive, and 
we planned to be the first on the river. 
When I was called at 3 am.,. 1 tumbled 
sleepily out of bed, and going to the win- 
dow, found it was pitch dark, cold, and the 
wind blowing a gale. It was still dark 
when we reached the river, and growing 
colder every minute. 
Someone had been before’ us, for we 
found the dying embers of a fire at the 
bridge. We afterward learned that a party 
had been fishing since midnight and had 
left just before our arrival. We stayed an 
hour until, discouraged by ill luck and the 
cold, we moved farther up the river. There 
Charley succeeded in enticing a sucker to 
land, and that revived our falling spirits. 
When presently I pulled in my line to see 
if my bait was frozen hard, a half pound 
trout came with it. After that the luck 
changed, and we returned at 6 o'clock with 
a good catch of trout. € 
Fishing has been better with the fly than 
with bait. Everyone thought fish would be 
scarce this year, as so many were taken 
last season, but the supply seems inexhausti- 
ble. I have heard some talk of nets and 
Noman and fear both are used. occasion- 
ally. Se 
C. H. Crofut, Arlington, Vt. 

IS IT UP TO- CUNNINGHAM? 
I am warden of Comanche county and 
though I try to work with as little hurrah 
as possible, my district is the most law- 
The farmer boys are 
coming over to my side, and there is little 
doing that they do not hear of. They put 
me on the track of a man named Horn, who 
had been dynamiting trout. I took out a 
warrant and found him just an hour after 
he had burst his last bomb. It tore off both 
his arms, broke 5 ribs, and blew out an 
eye. Rather than appear to be crowding the 
mourners, I omitted reading the warrant. 
It looked to me like a plain case of God 
and the little fishes. 
But it is not all plain sailing. Newton 
Onwiler, owner of a restaurant here, served 
quail to his guests on Christmas,” I dined 
with them. Then I took my ihformation 
and the names of 6 witnesses to County At- 
torney S. M. Cunningham. He flatly re- 
fused to prosecute. If there is any way to 
bump him into doing his duty, I wish you 
would start the bumper. You may mention 
that you learned the facts from 
Marion Miller, Lawton, Okla. 

