328 
THE FISHING GAZETTE 
[May 6, 1893 
DEATH OF OUR OLD CONTRIBU¬ 
TOR, “STORMY PETREL.” 
It is with great regret that we have to record 
the death of Mr. Samuel Joseph Harris, late 
President of the Isle of Man Angling Association, 
and for many years past our Isle of Man corre¬ 
spondent, under the nom de 'plume of “ Stormy 
Petrel.” After a long and most friendly corre¬ 
spondence with him,wehadthe pleasureof making 
his personal acquaintance two or three years ago, 
and found that the genial charm of his letters 
was simply part of himself. His was one of those 
magnetic natures, which, apparently without 
effort, makes itself understood and beloved ; one 
of those transparently honest natures which com¬ 
bine the simplicity of the child with the most 
complete manliness—gentle as a child and bold 
as a lion. We had occasion often to refer corre¬ 
spondents who wanted information about the fish¬ 
ing to be obtained in the Isle of Man to Mr. 
Harris, and it was so common a thing to hear 
afterwards from them of the great kindness they 
had received at his hands, that one forgot to 
some extent its significance. Certainly 
the Fishing Gazette never had more true 
or loyal friend; not one penny would 
he ever accept for any contributions 
or service rendered. W^e give his 
portrait with this notice, and also some 
extracts from Isle of Man newspapers 
to show the esteem in which he was 
held. For some long time past he had 
been struggling against that fell disease, 
consumption, and many cheery but 
pathetic letters we had from him. And 
if we, who only hud a brief personal 
acquaintance with him, feel that we 
have lost a dear friend, what must they 
feel who were intimate with him. On 
the loss sustained by his widow and 
young family, of whom he always wrote 
so proudly and hopefully, we must not 
dwell. 
the late MR. S. J. HARRIS. 
From the Manx Sun, April 29, 1893. 
The generation of Manxmen now grow¬ 
ing old will recognise, more fully than 
the younger residents, the loss which 
has fallen upon the community in the 
death of Mr. Samuel Joseph Harris, 
which took place on Thursday evening 
at his residence, Clifton House, Douglas. 
Mr. Harris, who was in his 49Dh year, 
had been ill for many months, and it 
was recognised long ago that his malady 
could only have one ending, but only 
increasing bodily weakness could depress 
his mental energies. For a week or two 
past his condition had been really critical, 
and on Wednesday he became uncon¬ 
scious, remaining so until he died on 
Thursday evening at half-nast eight. 
Mr. Harris, who was the eldest son of 
our High-Bailiff and Yicar-General, was 
born in 184-f), and received his early 
education from 1856 to 1858 at Dr. 
Foresters school on the Crescent, ’ Douglas, 
where he had for his most familiar associates 
the present High Bailiff of Ram.sey, Mr J C 
Lamothe, and Mr. ,1. B. Collister. From 
that school he "n'ent to Cheltenham College, 
where he remained several years. His intended 
profession was that of an advocate, but the dry 
bones of legal study had no attractions for Mr. 
Harris, and he made no serious attempt to 
enter the profession. His natural bent was 
towards outdoor sports, and for many years 
there was no more active supporter of cricket, 
coursing,^ football, and athletics generally than 
Bussey Harris, as he was called by his inti¬ 
mates, but for what reason has always remained 
a mystery. He had a passionate love for the sea, 
and was never more at home than when sailing 
his little “greenback” canoe and sharing the 
work of the sailors on larger craft. At regattas 
and aquatic sports the programme was not com¬ 
plete wiihouc his name as commodore or vice i 
and we may say no one was more widely known 
or more deeply revered among the seafaring i 
people of this Island. Mr. Harris was the first I 
1 resident of the Isle of Man Anglers’ Associa- 
tion, and both by the river side and at sea he ' 
was thoroughly versed in all the cunning wiles 
of the fisherman, the habits and haunts of fish, 
and the finer branches of the gentle art. He 
was an enthusiastic yachtsman, and had a 
marvellous memory for names and dates in con¬ 
nection with yacht racing. Besides circum¬ 
navigating the Island and making trips to the 
adjacent shores, Mr. Harris made longer voyages, 
having sailed twice in 1868 and 1871 to St. 
Michael’s in the schooner “ Bessy” with Captain 
W. Corlett, and visited all the other islands on 
both occasions — Terceria, St. George, Fayal, 
Graciqsia, St. Mary, Pico, and Madeira. On the 
first visit Mr. Harris was the means of saving from 
drowning a Captain Cole, who had been swimming 
in the lake at St. Michael’s. In 1876 he married 
the widow of Mr Hewson, and there have been 
three children—Frederick, Beatrice, and Mary, 
who are left with Mrs. Harris to share her grief. 
In the April of 1869 Mr. Harris was appointed 
Deputy Registrar of Deeds for the Island, which 
post he held until his death. He was an old 
member of the Masonic Order, having passed 
through the chair of the Athole Lodge in 1876, 
and joined the Athole R.A. Chapter in 1874. 
son of our worthy High-Bailiff. Educated, in 
his early days, at Forester’s School, on the Cres¬ 
cent, Douglas—an educational institution which 
has turned out a number of the leading men in 
Douglas of to-day—he afterwards went to Chel¬ 
tenham College. On returning to Douglas he 
entered, as a law student, the office of Messrs. 
Harris and Adams. It is hardly necessary to say 
that the first-named partner in the firm was his 
father, the present chief magistrate, and the 
latter-named, the late Clerk of the Rolls. In 
1869 Mr. S. J. Harris received the appointment 
of Deputy Registrar, which he has held to the 
time of his decease. Being of a genial disposi¬ 
tion, and most lively and affable temper, Mr. 
S. J. Harris was extremely popular in the 
island. He was passionately fond of all kinds 
of manly sport, and especially of aquatic 
pursuits. As a yachtsman and an authority 
on all that pertains to yachting he had no 
equal. His information on the subject was 
profound and various, and his judgment was 
seldom at fault. He brought several famous 
yachts up to the winning point, both in English 
and Manx waters, and held a master’s certificate 
of competency. He often officiated as 
commodore in the Manx regattas, and 
joyed in relating stirring tales of the 
days when these events were much more 
attractive and important than at present. 
But it was not only on the water that 
Mr. Harris’s hearty enjoyment of out¬ 
door life found a suitable outlet. He 
took a keen interest in sport, and was 
for years judge at the coursing ma,tches 
on Douglas Head. He was an adept 
with the rod and line, and a valued con¬ 
tributor to the Fishing Gazette, and to 
our own columns on piscatorial matters. 
He frequently wrote also for the Yachts¬ 
man. He was president of the Isle of 
Man Anglers’ Society from its start, 
and presented several valuable prizes to 
that institution. No man had a more 
thorough knowledge of our Manx streams 
than Mr. Harris, and it was only last 
year that he wrote up to date the fishing 
articles in “ Brown’s Popular Guide,” 
and which articles have had a large cir¬ 
culation in pamphlet form. 
The late Mr. S. J. Harrls. 
(“ Stormy Petrel.”) 
When the Douglas Steam Navigation was formed 
in 1882, Mr. Harris became a large shareholder, 
I and was elected a member of the board. He was 
also a director of the Mona Steamship Company 
I from its creation in 1888 down to his decease, 
j Mr. Harris was a firm friend, if a keen critic, and 
his charity and generosity are too well known to j 
need reference here. A smart and facile writer, | 
he frequently contributed to the columns of the 
I Manx Sun and other Insular journals, and his ' 
I letters signed “ Stormy Petrel ” were familiar to 
I readers of the Fishing Gazette, Field, the Yachts- I 
j man. Land and Water, and other periodicals. It I 
I is expected that the funeral, which takes place on I 
Monday morning at 9.30, will be very largely ' 
attended. The members of the Athole Lodge ' 
i are being summoned by circular to be present, j 
and no doubt other Masonic bodies will follow ' 
this example. 
From the Isle of Man Times, April 29, 1893. 
Mr. S. J. Harris, whose long illness has been | 
a theme of general sympathy, died at his resi¬ 
dence, Clifton, on Thursday evening. He was 
born in March, 1844, and was, therefore, forty- 
nine years of age. He was the only surviving 
Death of an Old Fishing-Tackle 
Maker. —It is with regret we announce 
the death of Mr. John Whitesmith, which 
took place at his residence in North 
Bendgate, Bishop Auckland, on Satur¬ 
day morning last. Deceased had long 
been resident in the town, and was 
foreman fly-tyer to Mr. W. J. Cummins, 
fishing-tackle maker. He was a native 
of Carlisle, and served his apprentice¬ 
ship with the late Mr. Rowell, a noted 
fishing-tackle manufacturer of Carlisle, 
with whom he was afterwards foreman 
for a number of years. He subsequently 
entered the employment of Messrs. P. 
Hutchinson and Son, of Kendal, and 
then transferred his services to Mr. 
Cummins, of the North of England Works, in 
whose employment he remained. Deceased was 
very skilful in the manufacture of flies, and was 
well known among all anglers in the North. He 
was also a great friend of the late Dicky Routledge. 
of Eden notoriety. Deceased was much respected 
in the town. For the last few years, owing to 
failing health, he took no active part in his 
business. 
Whale Found off Shetland. —A large whale 
of the bottlenose species has been picked up and 
towed into North Roe, on the west side of Shet¬ 
land. It was found by a fishing boat, floating not 
very far from land, and measured 28 feet in 
length and 10 feet in girth. 
Captai.v Wickam Jones, attended by the cele¬ 
brated Jim Hearns, on April 26, killed on 
Lough Conn, two salmon weighing 121b. and 
271b. respectively. Not within the recollection 
of man has such a splendid fi.sh been captured on 
the lake. The fish was taken on a newly invented 
fly of Jim’s named in honour of the gallant Cap¬ 
tain’s regiment, “ The Royal Sussex Fancy.” The 
smaller fish was taken on “ Skin the Goat.”— 
Ballina Jourtial. 
