March, 1920 
FOREST AND STREAM 
119 
Dr. Henshall’s residence at Oconomowoc, Wis. 
his great desire was to catch the 
“big ones,” and on this occasion his 
wish was gratified, for after a long and 
vigorous battle he landed a pike that 
weighed nineteen pounds on my pocket 
scale. It was the largest “pickerel” I 
had seen in that locality. But the Gen- 
eral was not satisfied to let it go at that, 
and after luncheon he searched the shore 
and found four smooth, white bowlders 
weighing about a pound each. These 
he inserted in the capacious maw of the 
pike, which increased its weight to 
twenty-three pounds, which seemed to 
satisfy him, and closing the mouth of 
the fish with a strong string, he swore 
me to secrecy. . . , 
We returned to Milwaukee in the late 
afternoon, and when we reached the city 
it was quite dark. The General insisted 
on carrying the fish himself, which he 
delivered to the clerk of the Plankington 
House, and ordered it cooked whole for 
a dinner to his friends the next day. He 
was so elated with his big fish that he 
forgot all about the four bowlders. After 
he retired to his room, I interviewed the 
chef, and gave him some suggestions as 
to the best way of cooking and serving 
the fish. 
The next day while seated at a table 
in the dining room, the General, who 
was a prominent member of the Missis- 
sippi bar, proceeded to regale his friends 
with the story of the capture, of the big 
pike in a graphic and convincing man- 
ner, while we sipped our cocktails and 
listened. Then the waiter brought on a 
large covered platter, which he placed 
before the General at the head of the 
table. 
“Now, gentlemen,” said the General, 
proudly, “prepare to feast the eyes, and 
then the palate; and may “good diges- 
tion wait on appetite!” Then the waiter 
lifted the cover, and Mirabile dictu, there 
were disclosed four round, shining, white 
bowlders, neatly garnished with parsley 
and slices of lemon ! The General aghast, 
started a,s though he saw a ghost, four 
of them, in fact, but recovering quickly, 
and with a reproachful glance at me, 
said: 
“Gentlemen and brothers of the angle, 
■“you have heard me descant feelingly 
and enthusiastically on the glories of the 
great pike that it was my good fortune 
to capture; but the half has not been 
told. All that I have said is incompe- 
tent, irrelevant and immaterial to prop- 
erly describe it. No doubt you have all 
carried in your pockets, when boys, the 
lucky stones, or ear-bones, of the lake 
sheepshead, drum, or as we call it in my 
state, gaspergou. They were translucent, 
smooth and beautiful specimens of 
■‘brain-ivory.’ Now the stones on the 
platter before me are not, as one might 
suppose, specimens of glacial drift, but 
they are the ear-bones of the great pike 
which I had the honor to subdue. You 
can judge for yourselves what a mon- 
ster he must have been to carry those 
lovely dornicks in his head!” 
At a wink from me the waiter took 
away the platter, while the head-waiter 
placed the pike, neatly scored and lard- 
ed, with a savory dressing, and tomato 
sauce, on the table before the General. 
O N the Fourth of July two friends 
and myself went to Pewaukee 
Lake for a day’s fishing. This 
lake is situated about half way between 
Milwaukee and Oconomowoc, and at that 
time was a favorite resold; for the people 
of Milwaukee and Waukesha. We found 
quite an assemblage of lovers of the sport 
from many localities ; among others 
were General and Mrs. Phil Sheridan, 
both of whom were fond of fishing. In 
the village at the foot of the lake was 
a small but well-appointed hotel near 
enough to the fishing to allow those 
guests who wished to do so to return to 
the noon dinner. My companions and I 
took a luncheon with us and were gone 
all day. 
After supper the guests were assem- 
bled on the veranda with pipes and ci- 
gars talking over the events of the day. 
A gentleman from Cincinnati .sitting 
near us remarked on the great variety 
of fishes to be caught in the lake, say- 
ing that he had taken black bass, pike, 
rock bass, croppie, yellow perch and 
salmon. 
“I beg your pardon,” said a gentleman 
nearby, “but I don’t think there are any 
salmon in the lake.” 
“Our friend means the pike-perch,” 
said I. “which is known as salmon or 
jack-salmon on the Ohio River.” 
“O, yes,” chimed in another, “and 
we call it wall-eye and glass-eye.” 
Pewaukee wa,s the only lake inhabited 
by the pike-perch in that vicinity. I 
happened to remark, while we were dis- 
cussing the matter, that the pike-perch 
was rather more nocturnal in its habits 
than its congeners, which might be in- 
ferred from its large and prominent 
“wall-eye.” Then one of our immediate 
party suggested that we have a try for 
pike-perch that night. Fishing at night 
did not appeal to me, as my only experi- 
ence in that kind of sport was bobbing for 
eels one night when a boy. Nevertheless, 
as the others were eager for the experi- 
ence, I readily consented, inasmuch as it 
was Independence Day, which included 
the night also. 
Before starting it was mutually agreed 
that the one catching the least number 
of pike-perch should regale the party on 
its return with a quart bottle of Veuve 
Cliquot, while the next lowest man should 
furnish the cigars. Furthermore, it was 
agreed that not more than six fish of any 
kind should be caught, and that the 
party return to the hotel within two 
hours. I thought it no more than fair 
to advise the others to look for rocky 
bottom, where they would be more likely 
to find the fish in question. 
We each secured a boat and boatman 
and departed, I going at once to the 
head of the lake where the shore was 
rocky, and the others going to points 
where they had found good fishing dur- 
ing the day. There was a continual dis- 
play of fireworks at the lower end of 
the lake, illuminating the hotel and vil- 
lage. The guests of a summer cottage 
on the shore near where I was fishing 
were adding to the pyrotechnic display 
by doing their bit. I had taken five pike- 
perch, and just as I hooked a black bass 
there was a burst of red fire from the 
cottage shore, throwing a ruddy glow far 
out on the still water. As the bass 
leaped repeatedly above the surface, 
shaking himself violently like a wet 
dog, he was enveloped with a shower of 
crimson rain rivaling the reflection of 
the brilliant sparks and scintillations 
from bursting sky-rockets and Roman 
candles. It was a unique, novel and en- 
trancing sight. It was the only time 
I had ever seen the black bass exhibit- 
ing his abrial gymnastics in the spot 
light. 
Our party returned to the hotel when 
the allotted time had elapsed, and pro- 
ceed to show the results of the adventure. 
One, who had fished a weedy shore 
where he had had good success dur- 
ing the day, showed four pike and 
two black bass. Another, who took his 
chances on a gravelly shore with a fringe 
of bull-rushes, had four black bass and 
two pike-perch. My score as stated 
before was five pike-perch and one black 
bass. As the chances had evidently not 
been equal, owing to the differences of 
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