I think the most successful way was shooting them, at least I preferred
it. If the fish lay near the surface of the water, I held the gun nearly
on it, and if it was six inches deep I held the gun six inches under it,
and fired. In this way, for the distance of two or three rods, I was
sure to kill them or stun them so that they turned belly up and lay till
they were easily picked up with a spear. In this way I frequently caught
a nice string. I have caught some that would weigh eight pounds apiece.
Sometimes I stood on a log that lay across the creek and watched for them
when they were running up. I recollect one cloudy afternoon I fished with
a spear and I caught as many as I wanted to carry to the house. Sometimes
they would be in a group of three, four or more together. I have seen
them, with a big fish below, and four or five smaller ones above him,
swimming along together as nicely as though they had been strung on an
invisible string, and drawn along quietly through the water. I could see
their wake as they were coming slowly up the creek keeping along one side
of it. When I first saw them in the water they looked dark, I saw it was
a group of fishes.
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