Northern Wisconsin Advertiser

November 3, 1922

“EASY FOR SNAKES.”

Fisherman Was a Benefactor, Though He Didn’t Know It.

But for Chance Encounter, Mystery of Missing Catfish Might Never Have Been Solved.

The fisherman had put nine catfish in what he called his “preserve” on Saturday night, and when he searched for them early Monday morning, with a view of a succulent breakfast, he could not find one. The fisherman’s home stood close to the shores of North Spectacle lake, on Kent mountain in Connecticut, and about fifty feet from his rough pine porch a spring bubbled with a constant supply of fresh water. A little way from the heart of the spring a gully had been dug which was kept filled with ever-changing water, in which the fisherman kept his fish alive.

The disappearance of the catfish was followed by an eager examination of the ground near by, and then cautious fingers groped beneath the water, without being rewarded by any discovery that would explain the mystery. There were only two explanations, so far as the fisherman could see, the New York Times states. One was that thieves had rifled his preserve and the other was that the “darned thing had sprung a leak and the catfish had got back to the lake.” But the latter proved to be groundless, and so the conviction was lodged securely in the fisherman’s breast that his fish supply had been stolen.

He prepared to catch more of the fish, and just after sundown, when the shadows of the night were beginning to creep over the lake like a great blanket, he set forth in his flat-bottomed skiff, tied it to a stake driven deep in the mud, and then baited several hooks with fat, appetizing earthworms. An hour later he came back with twenty fine catfish and deposited them, still alive and flopping, in the preserve.

The next morning there were only ten, and the fisherman swore vengeance. In the afternoon he refreshed himself with a long nap and then, with a shotgun loaded with No. 6 shot, stood watch over the preserve from the shelter of his porch. Nothing happened during the night, so far as the fisherman could see, but when morning came and he again counted his fish there were only five. These five were cooked and eaten for breakfast, and then, with his pipe aglow, the fisherman swung lazily in his hammock under the trees and tried to fathom the mystery. He caught 15 catfish that night, placed them in the preserve, and in the morning there were only two left.

The fisherman sat on a stump and tried to figure the thing out. While he thought, he observed that a thrush was scolding dreadfully from a nearby bush, with the occasional flutterings here and there, but with many signs that flight was not dreamed of. What troubled the bird was plain enough. Some creature had ventured too near her nest and she was expostulating as vehemently as she knew how. Bent on ridding the bird of the annoyance, whatever it was, the fisherman strolled toward her and suddenly jumped back with a startled expression. He had almost stepped upon a blacksnake five feet long and bigger in the middle than a fat man’s wrist.

Blacksnakes are harmless and helpful in the garden because they keep down many living things that prey upon garden truck. And this snake would not have been hurt if he had moved out of the way. But he was listless and disclosed anger at being disturbed. Thereupon the fisherman struck him sharply with a heavy stick and the snake squirmed for a time and died. The fisherman gazed at him remorsefully until he noticed a dead catfish lying near by, and then his remorse turned to amazement. Running to his woodpile, he got an ax and with it chopped the dead snake in two. Several catfish flopped out.

Searching around, the fisherman found three other big snakes which he instantly sentenced to death and then executed the sentence. All had partaken of catfish.

“Kin ye beat it?” asked the fisherman of his neighbors, and they replied": “We kin not.”

“Historic Oddity Headlines” showcases actual articles written about truly odd occurrences that took place and were published within United States newspapers back in the 1800s-1900s. The articles posted here are written exactly as they appeared during their original publishing date.

-The Pine Barrens Institute

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