a little time on it with you.
A long time ago the timber people had no roads or any way of hauling the large logs to the mills.
They cut the logs and dragged them by mule teams to the river's edge. There, they would dump them into the river, crib them together to make a raft of a sort. They put plates, with the owner's name and address on them. They turned the raft of logs loose down the river
It was fifty miles or so down the river to Shreveport, La. to the mill. They had crews working down there that would catch the logs, pull them in, mill them up, and mail the money to the owner
Thousands of these logs did not reach their destination. They would hang up and sink for some reason or other In the bottom of Sulphur River these logs are bedded up in clusters and some are scattered out by themselves.
The catfish wallow out holes under these logs and den up under them. Some of the holes are big enough for a man to actually go under the logs himself. Some of the holes are only big enough to get your arm or leg under them. When I first started catching fish with my hands, was to live.
Things were very serious and I had to figure out ways of outdoing the fish. Practice and experience will payoff. You will never catch a catfish like that until you gather some experience and knowledge.
First of all you need to know the habits of the catfish.
The catfish will not let anything but his own kind live under the log that he's claiming for his home.
When you find his home you can forget sticking your hand in a turtle's mouth when you are feeling around. There will not be one with the catfish.
Turtles and catfish live in two entirely different kinds of places. The catfish will not live in a place that a turtle likes to bed up and the turtle does not prefer the places where a catfish will live.
The bad turtles that can ruin a man's hand or leg are usually living in shallow water, where trash and debris has settled and filled in places.
They have a built-in worm-like tongue. He will bed himself down in the trash, disguising himself. He holds his mouth open and only moves the worm like tongue. When the small fish or crawfish come in close trying to get the worm for his own food, he is in trouble. The snapping turtle is very fast, and he snaps out catching the food he has lured to his location.
The catfish will be in a hole wallowed out under a log in the deepest part of the river The ground around and under the log will be as smooth and slick as glass. Most of the time you can tell how big he is or if there is more than one living there by the size of the hole and the condition around the log. Check to see if there is another hole where he can come out, before you feel under the log. You might need someone at that hole. Don't disturb the fish until you plan your strategy There will be only one successful trip under there, at least until they come back. They will come back a time or two within ten minutes or so, then they stay away for hours. If you think there is a fish too large for you to handle, you can tie a strong line to something on the bank. Secure a large hook on the other end, ease down there, hook the hook into him and you can go back to the bank and handle him from there.
Once you go down under the log you must not be afraid. This is very important. If you touch a catfish and jump or flinch, he is gone. When you touch him, keep moving very slowly You can't stop and start again, it scares the fish away Keep moving, you can handle him all over You can, at times, turn him completely over, or turn him around where his head is where you want it.
You can ease your fingers around his mouth very slow and easy He will open his mouth and squirt water on your hand, as if he is trying to wash your hand away from him.
When he does this you can ease your fingers or your arm, depending on the size of the fish, into his mouth. Once your hand is in his mouth far enough to clamp down, you will have a good chance of landing him.
A scale fish is different. They don't live under logs. You will find them on the bottom in deep and shallow water both. They will try to get by a limb, a small log, or between two limbs. Sometimes there will be a group of them, often side by side. You can pick out the one you want. Go easy and don't jump back when you touch them, keep moving. Spread out one hand as wide as you can. Turn your finger down and ease your hand down in front of his nose and head. He can't swim backward so well, that will block him from going forward. Bring this hand in on him first, keeping him from swinging his head and turning to the side. As this hand is closing in, bring your other hand in on his tail. Clinch his tail, this forces him into your hand in front. All in the same instant, crimp the fish, try to make his head touch his tail. When you bend the fish, it will paralyze him, to a certain extent, and he will not move. You can carry him to the bank, and as a rule, there will be no struggle out of him at all.
This is one of the ways we caught our food, so T am talking from experience, not hearsay I have often told people that if they had never dived down in the bottom of the river, went under a log and put their arms around a big catfish they have never really lived.
Life went on, we would gather bullfrogs at night, during the time of the year they were out.
We had no way of securing a store bought light. We selected pieces of lightered pine from the woods. This is pine trees that have died and decayed, leaving only the heart. This part has lots of rosin in it and burns well.
We would make long splinters, three feet long or longer by splitting it with an ax. Some of the pine will split straight. We selected splinters about one inch in diameter and long enough to last a good while, They would stay lit and burn better by putting three or four of these together They also gave more light. You light one end of the torch and hold the lit end in an upward position making them burn slower and last longer.
Rosin drips from the torch while it is burning. It is like hot tar or rubber, it keeps burning. It is mighty rough. on a boy's bare arms and legs. You must pay attention and look out for that. This was our light .to blind the frogs. We still had to out do them.
This was done by one of us staying in front of the frog with the light. We kept the light moving around slowly to keep the frog watching the light. Another one of us would ease up on the blind side of the frog and grab him with our hands, using the same quick action of the snapping turtle.
This was a· struggle for survival. A minute never passed that our lives were not at stake on these hunts.
The torch was the only light we had. You cannot see very well with a torch, even if you have perfect eyesight. You can take my word for it. Where there are frogs, there are snakes. The bottom land is infested with them.
The Cottonmouths are very deadly They are vicious and aren't afraid of man or beast. At times they actually attack you. They will not move from your path like other snakes. They stay ready for trouble. They are always hiding, trying to catch the frogs for their own food. At times you could see twice as many snakes as frogs.
My sisters would help with catching the frogs. It would take about four of us to make it all work. It took one holding the torch, one to carry the extra splinters, one to watch for snakes, and one to catch the frog.
I think the only pair of shoes in the family was girl's shoes., My sisters took turns wearing them. We were all barefooted and barelegged. It was seven miles on foot, one way, to the doctor and twenty-six miles to the nearest hospital. We had no way to get there. We knew if one of those bad snakes bit us the game would be over for the one that had been bitten.
Keen eyesight, good coordination and determination is what kept our family alive.
We
