Page:History of Goodhue County, Minnesota.djvu/180

 132 HISTOEY OF GOODHUE COUNTY as to the criminality in the case, with a very slight alteration : That the accusing spirit which flew up to Heaven's chancery with the fault blushed as he gave it in; and the recording angel, as he wrote it down, dropped a tear upon the word, blotting it out forever. "In the fall of 1852, having a fishing-seine in our possession, we organized a fishing party, and built the necessary craft for running a fishery. "We began the enterprise for the purpose of supplying our own wants. Meeting with great success, and having nothing else to do, salt and barrels were procured, and in a short time we supplied St. Paul with forty barrels of good fish, at the remarkably low price of $6 per barrel. Our fishing ground was the 'Bay.' on the Wisconsin side, about a mile above Bay City. Large quantities were caught, of all the kinds inhabiting the river, but we only preserved the best fish, rejecting pike, pickerel, bass, sturgeon, dog-fish, sheep-head and gars, while the rich, fat and luscious cat, buffalo and carp were carefully cleaned and salted, well repaying us for our labor. At one haul of our seine, in the lake referred to, we took out over eight barrels of fish, when cleaned and packed, besides an innumerable quantity of the 'baser sort' as before indicated. 'These remarks may provoke satirical comments from the members of that class of fisherman who think that the mantle of old Izaak Walton has fallen on them individually, and that their palates and peculiar notions should form the standard of true sport and gustatory excellence. But to these I would say, we only wanted such fish as would repay us in nutriment and feed for the animal economy, when the mercury ranged from zero to forty below. This was supplied by our selection, some of the fish yielding over a pint of good oil. Pike, pickerel, bass and trout, as salted fish, are about as nutrient as floating islands, puffs, pastry and gimeracks. and all are measurably worthless as food to strong, hearty working men. "A short description of three or four of the Indian celebrities of the village may not be out of place. I will commence with 'Waeoota' — literally the 'Shooter.' chief of the band. "Wacoota stood about six feet in his moccasins, was well pro- portioned, and, I judge, about sixty-five years of age when I knew him. He was the most intelligent man in the band, with the exception of Wa-kon-toppy. He was friendly to the whites, and much disposed to adopt the habits and customs of civilized life, and consequently without much authority among the reckless young men of the village. His schemes for promoting the well- being of his people were thwarted by Mahpiya-maza, or Iron Cloud, second in rank, but first in real power. Mahpiya-maza was a crafty, intriguing politician, favoring