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Originally published in 1939
Some of this information may no longer be current and in that case is presented for historical interest only.
Edited by GET NJ, COPYRIGHT 2002
Many stories center around a character who actually lived, Jonas Cattell -- scout, guide, soldier, and sportsman extraordinary. He was born
near Woodbury in 1758, and during his 91 years he became southern
New Jersey's most eminent personality. Jonas first won renown early in
the Revolution, when he lured Count Donop's Hessians into a trap at
Red Bank. For 15 years after the war he was known as an unequaled
hunter and fisherman, and for 40 years thereafter he was whipper-in for the Gloucester County Fox-Hunting Club. Even at an advanced age he once covered 120 miles on foot in a little more than 24 hours.
During the last decade of his life the sturgeon episode occurred, and it
has never been doubted, because Jonas had a well-founded reputation for
strict integrity. One day his line jerked so hard that it nearly pulled him
overboard. Towed by a sturgeon whose tremendous size momentarily
dazed even this intrepid sportsman, his boat dashed madly upstream-
Recovering, Jonas shortened his line and finally jumped into the water,
grappled with his catch, and succeeded in heaving it into the boat. The
fish was so large that its tail drooped over the edge. It continued to struggle and the gyrations of the tail, acting as a propeller, drove the boat
forward at an unprecedented speed. Jonas finally had to release the monster, since by then he was far from home.
Although no one else ever saw the fish, Jonas continued to lure it with
fresh joints of meat, and the two soon became friends. One time the
sturgeon took him for another ride. As they flew upstream, Jonas saw that
they were going to strike a low bridge, over which a herd of cattle was
passing. He cut the line, but the fish went on and crashed into the
bridge, from which a cow and her calf fell into the water. The sturgeon
gorged himself on the fresh beef. Soon thereafter cattle began to disappear from pastures bordering on streams, but no trace of the thief was
left behind. Angry farmers set a careful watch. One finally saw the
sturgeon crawl from a stream, using his tail for propulsion, and carry off a cow. The cattle owners, however, could never capture the marauder.
They blamed Jonas as the patron of the fish, and he was kept in poverty
the rest of his life, doling out sums from his meager pension to pay the
huge meat claims.
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