imized, harmless fish, and
"yank" him clean and clear out of his watery element. But, "lordy,"
wasn't he mistaken and surprised! The moment the hook touched the inside
of the sturgeon's mouth, the creature backed water so sudden and
forcibly as to near jerk the holder of the hook's head from its socket.
The poor fellow was forty rods under water, and going down stream,
before he mustered presence of mind enough to induce him to let go the
hook!

However, the lookers-on of this curious man[oe]uvre took a boat and
fished out their half-drowned comrade, who concluded that he had paid
pretty dearly for his whistle.

The sturgeon-catching did not end here. After the laugh of the
above-mentioned adventure had ceased, some one offered to bet a hat that
he could hold a sturgeon and snake him clean out of the water; and as
the man who _had_ tried the experiment felt altogether dubious about it,
he at once bet that the sturgeon would be more than a match for any man
in the crowd.

The wager was duly staked, a rod crooked, the operator tucked up his
sleeves and trowsers, and wades out to where a sturgeon or two were
lying off in the shallow water. Of course the operation now became a
matter of considerable interest; and as the man was a stout, hearty
fellow, able to hold a bull by the horns, few entertained doubts of his
bringing out _his_ sturgeon.

After a long time the operator gets his hook under the sturgeon, and
leans forward to stick it close into the jaws of the victim; and no
sooner was that part of the feat accomplished, than Mr. Sturgeon "backs
out" with the velocity of chain lightning, carrying his assailant under
water and down stream! The man held on; and there they went, foaming and
pitching, until the fellow, finding his breath nearly out of his body;
his neck, arms, and legs just about dislocated, concluded to lose the
hat and let the hook and sturgeon go!

Pretty well used up, the poor fellow succeeded in getting out of the
river, a convert to the first experimental idea of the strength and
velocity of fish, especially a big sturgeon.

Beginning to imagine that fish could swim, or had some muscular power,
several of the bystanders were rife for experimenting on the sturgeons.

Another iron rod was converted into a hook, and two burly-built Paddys
volunteered to hook the fish. An opportunity was not long waited for,
ere a jolly good elastic nosed genus sturgeon came smelling up close to
where the Paddys h