NEWPORT DAILY INDEPENDENT
PIRCY H. VAN DYKE, Publisher snd Edlter.
NEWPORT, - - A RKAN8A3.
GIANT SOUTHERN BASS.
Immenme Flmli of Thin Specie* In thr
St. John'* River, Florida, That
I)o Not FiKht.
The northern bass, even of the large
mouthed green variety, is generally
gamer than its southern brother. It
lives in colder water and has not to
endure the weakening heats of sum
mer. In size, however, it is markedly
inferior, says the New York Sun.
A northern bass weighing three
pounds is a good bass; one of 3%
pounds is a very good bass; one of
four pounds is a beauty or a daisy; one
over that weight is a whopper. In a
season’s cntcli on any bass lake the
number of individuals weighing more
than four pounds will be few.
In the far south bass of eight and
nine pounds are so common as to ex
cite litHle remark. In the St. John
river of Florida they run frequently
to ten and 11 pounds; they go more
than 12 pounds in limited numbers;
they have been taken weighing 14
pounds. If a northern man on a north
ern lake should hook and land a bass
weighing 14 pounds he would go out of
the boat as the bass came into it.
These enormous southern fish are in
every respect identical with the green
Oswego bass of the north. The only
explanation of their phenomenal
growth is that they get more to eat, of
I Iv-111 1 Ijuamj UI1U KllltlJ auu iiiwjv
time to eat it in.
They have no ice frozen over them
for four months in the year and do not
spend those four months in a state of
semihibernation, living, as the cattle
men out west say, on their tallow.
Feeding industriously 365 days in the
year has doubtless its effect, but there
are anglers and naturalists who say
that, despite their appearance and
structure, they must belong to a dif
ferent species.
They are not game. They oppose
weight to the line. Of course the an
gler who has the ordinary bass rod
and tackle and hooks a fish of 12
pounds has a time ahead of him. Its
heft is such that every movement has
a violent effect upon the reel and
wrist.. If it merely swims about it ex
ercises a considerable drag.
The southern bass, however, will not
continue to oppose even its weight for
any length of time. Generally after a
minute or so it swims toward the boat,
to get rid of the cruel pulling of the
hook and so may be landed with a dip
net even when not half tired.
Despite its size, it is a notably good
table fish, the flesh being well flavored,
hard, white and flaky. Some idea of
the size of the St. John's river bass
may be gained from the fact that a
man’s doubled knee may be thrust into
the month of one of them.
The waters of the St. John’s river are
warm, the edges lined with lily-pads
anu flags and rushes growing thickly.
In the eddies where the bass lie the
current is sluggish and food drops
down in plenty.
There are great creeks that traverse
the pine woods of Florida and Lousi
ana in which some of the great bass lie.
and in them the fish are of higher
courage. The waters are cold for
southern waters, very clear and bright,
very swift. The bass do not run to
quite the St. John size, seldom going
beyond ten pounds, but that is big
enough, and one of them fairly hooked
churns up a lot of water before being
landed.
They are fished for with stout linen
lines tied to eane poles that a mule
could not break. The hooks are large
and thick to prevent them from tear
ing through the flesh. The angler has
a spoon on the end of his line and he
trolls this backward and forward with
sidelong sweeps, meanwhile standing
upon a bank.
When snared and barbed the bass is
yanked out by main strength and awk
wardness. If the hook holds it is a
goner and it gets no chance at all to
fight its way to freedom.
It is interesting to conjecture what
would happen if a ten-pound creek
bass should be hooked by a skillful an
gler having an ordinary rod of split
bamboo, a quadruple multiplying reel,
which has little power in the crunk,
and a No. 6 silk line. The light would
be worth watching and the odds would
be legitimately on the bass.
So far as the records extend, no com
pletely outfitted angler has ever gone
up into the far pine woods in search
of these fresh-water monsters. The
difficulty of taking one of them fairly
would be enhanced by the narrowness
of the stream, the number of roots and
stumps in it and the overhanging
branches, which are in places so thick
and long that they meet above the
water, forming a solid arch of green,
and forcing the man to use only the
low sidecast in order to get his bait
out. '
Difficult Part.
‘‘What is the most difficult feature
of your art?” asked the inquisitive
person.
“Finding a victim who is willing to
give un real money for a picture,” re
plied the undiscovered artist.—Chi
cago Daily News.
%
SCAIt II., king of Sweden and
Norway, is at work on a vol
ume of memoirs that will be
of unusual interest to the
world at large when pub
lished, because of the part
he has played in the settlement of
many international disputes, arid be
cause of the peculiar position which he
holds in European politics. Nor will
such a volume be lacking in interest
because of a lack of literary merit.
Aside from Carmen Sylva, queen of
Roumania, there is not another
crowned head of Europe who is so
able a scholar as King Oscar. He is
a scientist of no mean ability, and a
member of many of the more im
portant scientific societies of Europe,
and is privileged to attah to his
name several degrees conferred upon
him for merit shown in scientific in
vestigations rather than because of
his position. As a poet he has
given to the world some bits of verse
recently remarked: “If the Swede*
were to proclaim a republic to-mor
row, the king would at once be elect
ed president.”
King Oscar, who, by the way, is
an honorary member of the Berlin
academy, is perhaps the most idyllic
of northern poets. He has sung the
beauties of his native land in a
manner which reveals in him the na
ture of a real poet. His best known
production in this line is his enthu
siastic poem dedicated to Gounod, foi
whom the king had the most pas
sionate admiration.
Impartiality and a keen sense of
justice are among King Oscar’s most,
conspicuous traits of character. II
was, in fact, owing to his well-known
impartiality that the king was se
lected as arbitrator in the Venezue
lan dispute six years ago.
A typical instance of the king’s im
partiality was shown some time age
in his treatment of the Norwegian
OSCAR II. KING OF.SWEDEN AND NORWAY.
that are on the classic order of
Swedish poetry. To these two ac
complishments must be added those
of a careful historian, charming es
sayist and competent critic. Witn
such a standing in the world of let
ters it is small wonder that the gen
eral public, interested in old world
affairs, will wait eagerly for the ap
pearance of King Oscar’s memoirs.
King Oscar’s grandfather was one
of the soldiers of France who proved
the truth of Napoleon’s saying that
“there is a marshall’s baton in every
French knapsack.” Not. only did
Sergeant Bernadotte become a mar
shall of France, but he became king
of Sweden through the will of Na
poleon. King Oscar’s father, Oscar
1., died in 1859, and was succeeded
by h is eldest son, Carl, who met with
a premature death and left no male
heirs, so it was that the crowns of
Sweden and Norway passed to Oscar
11., and a more popular monarch
among his subjects, even though he
is of foreign descent, cannot be
found in all Europe.
King Oscar never loses an oppor
tunity of displaying his love for art
and letters, as the delegates to the
International Congress of Journal
ists, held in Stockholm in 1897, well
know. On that occasion the journal
ists assembled from the various
countries of Europe and America
were completely won over by the
king’s great charm of manner, dem
ocratic wajrs and affability.
At. the several banquets given in
honor of the press representatives
King Oscar and the prince royal re
mained throughout the evening,
chatting in a familiar manner with
the newspaper delegates. Such a
democratic attitude on the part of
royalty is totully without precedent
Ib Europe. As a Swedish journalist
writer Bjornsen. Owing to the king's
well-known ability as a poet and
critic, Bjornsen was led into the be
lief that Oscar II. was responsible
for the merciless criticisms showered
on one of his plays, and considering
this more in the light of jealousy
from a rival than fair criticism, he
challenged the king to fight a duel.
Though King Oscar is thoroughly
democratic, Bjornsen’s action was
considered as being rather beyond
the bounds of loyalty, and the
famous Norwegian playwright was
forced to exile himself from his na
tive land to escape arrest for lese
majeste.” This occurred in 1879, and
13 years later the king conferred on
Bjornsen, whose ultra-republicanism
is a secret to no one, the grand cor
don and star of the Order of St. Olaf,
in reward for his services to Scan
dinavian literature.
Of French ancestry. King Oscar
shows his descent by his esprit,
which is decidedly Gallic. Finally, to
his other accomplishments, he adds
that of being a good linguist, speak
ing German, English, French and
Italian fluently.
Like most of his royal confreres,
King Oscar has been decorated with
nearly every order in Europe—that
goes without saying—-but the honor
he cherishes the most is the medal
of the French Humane society, pre
sented to his majesty 36 years ago,
when he was still crown prince. As
he whs walking along the Corniche
road one afternoon, a runaway car
riage and a pair dashed towards hirn,
whereupon the prince, with his usual
presence of mind, ran to the
horses’ heads and, after being drag
ged several yards, succeeded in stop
ping them. For this act of courage
he received the medal.
MAX OWEN.
DRS. B. A. & W. R. WASHBURN 1
Physicians and Surgeons.
Special attention given to diseases
of Ear, Nose and Throat. Also Dis
eases of Women.
-:o:
Offices: New Watson Building,
Rooms 12, 14 and 15.
l
Newport, Arkansas.
DR. H. O. WALKER,
Physician and Surgeon.
Office: Redman’s Diug Store.
Newport, - Arkansas.
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