The watchman and southron. (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, August 30, 1899, Image 7
A PARSON CATCHES THE
DEVIL.
An Up to Date Fish Story by Bev
C. C. Brown.
Wheo oae wishes to go fishing in
these waters, he should start the day
before. By doing this, he will be
able to get off the next day. Two
oat of four tourists who visit the
\y \oh want to go fishing, and are
possessed with the idea that a pole
and line are all that one can need in
the way of preparation After trot
ting op and down the plank walks
until bathed in perspiration, they fiod
the pole and line, and theo make the
discovery that tbe btats are in use
Bat they can wait for the boats
Thia they do, only to find that the
boatman bas no "swimps." Can't
they be gotten ? No, sir ; only at low
tide. At low tide, all things are
ready, and theo the boatman informs
the piscatorial tourist that the fish
will not bite till the tide turns to
come io. By that time, the dinner
or supper hour has come, and the
excursion must be deferred till the
next day.
I went fishing on Saturday last by
starting the day before. Our objec
tive point was an old wreck about
300 yards from shore in the open sea
Of these "wrecks there are two They
were blockade runners-so tradition
says-in the time of the war between
the States. Two of them met in the
ocean at night. Each thought the
other was an enemy, and both ran
ashore. All the wood work has long
ago been consumed by the barnacles,
and the brine of the sea is still at
work on the boilers and iron stays,
some of which appear above the
water at low tide
Two gentlemen, two oarsmen and
two clergymen made up our party
Making our way to the wreck, we
made fast tb it with a rope. The
wind was blowing from the shore,
and oar rafe was by no means steady
A man given to mal de mer would
surely have been inclined to cast op
accounts, along with anything he
bad eaten daring the day or two pre
T OQ8. Oar party proved to be sea
worthy, however, and no casualties
were recorded. One of oar party
who left the boat and stood on the
boiler, dome of the old wreck, made
the first catch of black fish and trout.
The next notable catch was annonnc-j
ed by a yell from a partner at my
aide. After some effort he landed a
sea eel about 28 inches long. He
was a stoutly built beast, and weigh
ed at least six pounds Next came
my turn. My first idea was that I
. bad hooked the rodder or wheel house
or gable end of the wreck beneath
us' Palling on the line seemed to
produce bat little result. I surely
was fastened to the bottom of the sea.
But when the tine shot out seaward,
and the pole bent double, it was man
ifest that I was fasteaed tc* something
moveable, and. since the world began,
no man has discovered a sea with a
moveable bottom. However, the
thing I had hooked was moving I
threw myself back, braced my feet,
hat my teeth together and deter
mined to hold on till something torn
.ed up or the boat sunk. The line
was wbizzing through the water and
made music as if Aeolus had swept
bis fingers over the taut string. But
sign of fish, there was none. What
ever exploits the beast was perform
ing were ali under water. Even the
Dame and nature of roy prey were a
mystery. AH made guesses, as they
eat watching the struggle. 'It's a
shark !" "It's a turtle !" "No, it's
ac eel !" I didn't guess. Fact is,
I had no time for any mental exer
eise I was exercising all my fonc
tions in holding to the pole, and
leading my catch about from side to
side, with the hope of outwinding
him I was a little set back, how
ever, when I recalled the fact that
these, sea monsters, as a rule, do not
make mach ase of wind. To sit and
hold while the thing on the hook did
the squirming was my manifest doty,
and this I did After five minutes
or more, I found that opposition was
diminishing, and with an extra ex
penditare o m sele, I drew the
beast towards the surface of the
water We caught sight of two
great eyee as large as a marble
which is a very vague comparison
and a pair of flabby wings of flesh
It then came my torn to guess, and I
meekly remarked that I bad caught
and overgrown leather wing bat, that
waa surely out of place in water 20
feet deep. This guess was based
opon first impressions and a very
brief appearance on the otage of
action Ten min tes having elapsed,
my wrists having grown weary, I
said to one of the boatmen that this
prolonged struggle must be brought
to an end because too much of a
thing is enough. "Fetch 'em roun*
dis way, sir," be suggested. After
various aod sundry hauls in circuits,
I brought the line near to the boat,
and the negro seized it. The fight
was thus taken out of my hands.
The negro hauied the varmint to the
ganwale, and lo ! we made the dis
covery that I had hooked a veritable
bona fide devil fish, weighing 15
pounds or more The boatman haol
ed him in, and then a quantity
remarked, 1 Oe preacher done ketch
de devil for true.'' I have, in my
time, ruo up with his emissaries on
shore, bat this was the first one I had j
ever hauled one from tbe deep
After another drop or too, I did]
actually book fast to the wreck, and
broke my line This ended the ex
ploits of tte day. I went ashore
with my game, and was soon sur
rounded with a multitude who looked
i for the first time up.-u a devil fi h.
Capt Mayo-a tar of the blockade
days-carried the fish to bis restau
rant, saying he would eat the wings
and the liver. I did not dine with
him. I don't think devil fish would
make good eating I am not epicu
rean enough in my taste I lack
culture. Alas ! what a costly luxury
ignorance is
C. C Brown
Ocean View Hotei,
Wrightsvil e, N. C.
A WEEK DAY SERMON BY
EEV. C C. BROWN
Mr. Editor : While frvie Rytten
berg is looking after and reporting
concerning things on the other side
of the world, PH try to keep you
posted concerning the current issues
on this side.
Here by the seashore many things
happen. It is here that people are a
study full of curious interest You
see we are an aggregation of strang
ers from all sections of the country
Some are willing to remain strangers,
but others have a vain ambition to
make themselves known Mr A
wishes to create the impression that
he is wealthy, and so talks as to get
the report started to that effect. That
he is wealthy, no one knows-he
himself mav not know it, but if be
can get the rumor afloat, he is happy.
Mr. D is anxious to make it known
that he is doing a very large busi
ness ; ne is none of your common
trash. He succeeded in making
some believe all he said ; but his
wife played havoc a few nights ago,
when she said a glass of beer always
made her feel better after a day's bard
work at the ironing table. Here and
there you will find a man who keeps
on band a pet ten dollar bill, and if
be wants to buy a cigar, he always
first pulls ont his bili, and then ends
by fishing np a nickle from the doubt
ful depths of bia trouser pocket To
live in a vain show is a ruling pas
sion with some. Their life is all a
thin veneering When this is torn
off not much remains, and they de
scend to take their place among the
masses to which they belong These
are the sad cases, which cause us to
become disgusted with our kind.
The mirth-provoking folk who
come here are those from the interior,
who have never before seen the
neran. The comments of the dolt
from the rural recesses are ludicrous
Some of them carry away with them
bottles of water from the ocean for
the people at home to taste and know
that it is sall One of them had a
beer Dottie filled to the stopper, but
was arrested by a wag who told him
the sea water rose and sunk every
six boars and would do the same in
the bottle. The result, he said,
would be that the bottle would burst
unless some of the water was poured
ont. The ruralist accepted the state
ment in good faith, and poured ont
about a third of the water, and so
left room for the tide to rise in the
bottle
On the train to Wilmington, while
crossing the sound, I beard a rank
raralist exclaim, "Why look here
doctor, when, we came over here this
I morning, all this place was covered
with water and now it ain't nothin7
but mud " 'Yes, the tide was in
then, and now it is out." " Well, sir,
does the tide come away back here
too ?" And he was not a half mile
from the ocean.
Sitting on the front piazza, two
nights ago, a couple went walking
down in front of the hotel-the man's
arm around the woman and the wo \
man's arm around the man A bevy
of girls were looking on One of them
said, "That's nobly." "Humph !"
said another, "that's nothing, they
are married ; but 0, if this old beach
could talk, what stories it would
have to tell !" From what I had
seen, 1 inwardly applauded the silence
of the beach. I hope it may con
tinne to keep its mouth shut.
On Sunday, a few of the demi
mondes are here. They march
through the pavilion to the beer shop,
and disappear until the train is ready
to return They seem to come down
for the ride and for the glass of beer.
Except for the fact that they stand
unabashed with men at the beer
counter, there is no mark to distin
goish them from the fair sisters
whose feet have not taken bold upon
the pit. There is a path in which
womeu walk, only to find that a re
turn to better things and a purer life
is impossible We shall never reach
the climax of civilization until the
law that crushes the woman shall
also bind tbe fallen man To enact
and enforce the law belongs to
woman. There is no consistency in
her withdrawing her skirts lest she
touch ber fallen sister on the streets,
while she gives herself to the arms
of the fallen man in the mazes of the
dance and in the fellowship of the
ball room. If the unwritten laws of
the world are uujust to women, a
large part of the blame must rest on
the women themselves. Because
women are purer than men, they
abjure the fallen among their owu sex;
but, at the same time, they decline to
apply to fallen men the same law they
apply to women The explanation of
this must be the awful indictment
most men are fallen and the woman
who eschews the company of the
i fallen man most lire to herself apart
and know no sort of companionship
with men. The world is waiting for
its great reformer who will arise to
set in piace the things that are out of
joint
The yong widow is here, and am
sorry for her. She is the butt of
talk If she changes one drees for !
another-if she crimps her bair-if
she dresses a little outre' for the surf
-if she sits with a man on the porch
after dark-if 6he strolls on the beach
-if she does anything at all that a
woman has a right to do, she is j
charged with being "on the lookout
for a catch 99 I am sorry for the
young widow, and feel like goiog out
iu her defense ; but even this would
be counted against her, and I guess
I bad better not take up arms io her
behalf. But, just to spite the world
and grin in the gossipper's face, I
say right here, I hope the young
widow may "make* a catch" She
has just as much right to a husband
as any woman has If her married
experience bas taught her the tricks
of trade, and she knows better than
the unsophisticated maiden bow to
ensnare a mac, then let ber drive her
business for all it's worth, and when
she leads ber victim to the altar, PH
try to be on hand to rejoice with her
over her conquest. She has only
done what many others would- do if
they could. Ail hail to the young
widow !
Other persons are here also. The
demure man is here-the fellow with
nothing to say to any one-the man
who never smiles, who seems to be
dyspeptic and to have inflammation
of the disposition-the man who sits
in a corner alone-who answers all
questions in monosyllables, and who
seems to be incapable of any feeling
of anger or love, of pleasure or dis
pleasure This fellow, I imagine,
would be a tartar in the home I am
sorry for his wife. I don't know
why a woman is so blind to fate and
the future as to be willing to become
the wife of such a man I don't
want him here on the beach Ile is
the fly in the socia ointment How
a woman can live with the beast in a
house passes my knowing" I would
like to advise all my female friends
concerning the matter, and, here and
now, I beg them to give the mitten
to the demore image, to the glum
snarling cynic, to the snappish,
white faBged cur. To live with such
a mac year in and year out is some
thing to be avoided, and that woman
is a fool who thinks that by her
sweetness and gentleness she may
teach her lord to become likewise.
A home without the pleasures of per
fectly free and genial social inter
course is but a pugatory which never
expergates.
But I began to write about the
seashore, and now I scarcely know
"where I am at." I must lay aside
this desultory document, and resume
my moralizing at another time A
train load of fresh excursionists is
in eight, and the rule here is to stand
gaping on the porch to see them dis
embark. Pray let me go and gape
with the rest.
C. C Brown.
His Life Wa Saved.
Mr. J. E. Lilly, a prominent citizen of lian
nibal, Mo., lately hal a wonderful deliverance
from a frightful death. In telling or it he says:
' I was taken with typhoid fsver that ran into
pneumonia- My lung? became hardened. I
was . o weak I couldn't even sit up in bed
Nothing helped me. I expected to soon die of
Consumption, when I heard of Dr. King's New
Discovery. One bottle gave great relief. I
continued to use it, and now am well and
strong. I can't say too much in its praise."
This marvellous medicine is the surest and
quickest cure in the world for all throat and
lung trouble llegulnr sizes 50 cts and $1.00
Trial bottle free at J. F. W. DeLorme's Drug
Store, every bottle guaranteed. 2
The mileage acquired by the
Southern during the past twelve
months by tbe addition of new roads
is over 700 miles, raising the total to
5 958. On an average of 5,377
miles in 1898 '99, as against 4,937
miles in 1897 '98, gross earnings
increased over $4,250,000 and net
earnings $1:403,000 A table is pre
sented, however, showing what the
addition would be on the same basis
of mileage, from which it appears
that even on this basis there is an
increase of $2,620,588 gross and of
$595,899 net The improvement is
nearly evenly divided between the
passenger and the freight depart
ments
To Catch Tobacco Flies.
Mr W. H Baker, of Southwest j
township, showed us Saturday a can
full of flies that he bad caught in his
tobacco crop Mr. Baker says be
takes a tin can about 24 x 30, several
inches deep, puts three pints of mo
lasses, mixed with gallons of
water, into it. This he sets in the
tobacco patch, and the odor arising
from this preparation attracts the
tobacco flies, which generate the to
bacco worm One can of this simple
preparation is said to protect several
acres. Mr Baker says by using this
his tobacco has not been bothered at
ali by worm .-Kinston, N C.. Free
Press
CASTOR IA
For Infants and Children.
The Kind You Haye Always Bought
Signature of
The Drug Store Ki n
but price the same as ordinary brands. Druggist*
buy Anvil Soda in bulk and sell it at five cents an
ounce. Grocers sell it in packages at 10c. a pound
or 3 pounds for 25c.
it is Exactly the Same Soda*
To get the best you must insist on packages pu
hp by the manufacturer with the
* ANVIL BRAND TRADEMARK.
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BOARDING.
HAVING TAKEN the Boase on Main
Street second door south of tb Nixon
House, I am prepared to accommodate a few
jegular boarders, and also lodging and meals
to transient customers.
Terms reason. v?le.
Mas. W. B. SMITH.
Sept. 8_
NEW MAN IN TOWN.
Blacksmith and
Wheelwright.
IHAVE OPENED ON LIBERTY Street
near corner of Harvio Street, and solicit
any work in my line and guarantee satisfac
tion.
Horses Shod for SOc. all round, if
Horse is in good condition-Cash or
Equivalent.
General repair work of all kinds done at
correspondingly low prices.
I have references from beat people of Mayes
vi le where I worked the past year and from
Camden, where I did business for 17 years.
Special promptness given to work for
physicians and cases of urgency.
W. T. HALL,
Wheelwright and Blacksmith.
Ftb 21-0
Anyone sending a sketch and description may
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MUNN & Co.3616" ""'- New York
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ARE YOU NEEDING AN IRON
SAFE?
HAVING BEEN APPOINTED GEN
ERAL AGENT for the Alpine Fire
and Burglar Proof Safe Company. I am
prepared to offer liberal terms to those who
are in need of a good safe.
For prices and terms address
J, A. RENNO,
M h 24 Sumter, S. C
Probably you use ii
Nearly everyone docs, and if so y OL
know all about how far superior it is to
either baking soda or baking powder,
Leav
is thc latest advance in baking prepara
tions, and if yon don't usc it you should.
It Is Better Titan Soda
because it will make biscuit just right
every time. No more yellow spots or
soda taste.
It Is Better Than Baking Powdci
because it is half as strong again aud
<>:.c heaping teaspoonful will do thc
\vo:k 01 two rounded teaspoonfuls of
the b- >r baking powder over made
It Don't Spoil
bat b so prepared that with ordinary
are it will retain its full strength for
rears. Ve do not have to pack it in
tin Cans like baking powder, aud this
sa ing enables us to give you better
va te !'-r your money than you ever
r.a.! bi fore.
. ; .-aven leavenslh thc lehole U'vip."
? :. i r cen cont i.- -Sounces or fivt cen. ta
(richman mw .Southron
SUMTES WATCHMAN, Established April, 1850.
'Be Just and Fear not-Let all the Ends thou Aims't at, be thy Country's, thy God's and Truth's.'
THE TRUE SOUTHRON, Established Jnoe, JSftS
Consolidated Aug. % ISSI.
SUMTER S. C., WEDNESDAY, MAY 17.1899.
New Series-ToL XTIII. No. 42