Chapter 100 Lake in winter - 2

When I strode round the lake in foggy weather, I was sometimes amused to see the primitive way of life adopted by some of the fishermen.Perhaps he dug a number of small holes in the ice at equal distances from the shore, four or five rods apart, laid the aspen branches across them, tied the twigs with ropes so that it would not be drawn into the water, and then lay a foot or more above the ice. They hung the line loose on a branch of a poplar and tied a dry oak leaf so that when the line was drawn down it would show that the fish had taken the bait.These aspen branches show through the mist at equal distances, and you can see them when you're halfway around the lake.

O Barracuda of Walden!When I lie on the ice and look at them, or, when I look into the wells that fishermen dig in the ice, the little holes that lead to the water, I am often amazed at their rare beauty, as if they were The mysterious fish was no more seen in the streets, nor in the woods, than Arabia was in the life of Concord.They have a blazing, unnatural beauty which sets them apart in heaven from the gray cod and haddock, whose fame spreads through the streets.They are not as green as pine trees, nor as gray as stones, nor as blue as the sky; yet, I think they are more rare, like flowers, like gems, like beads, from the water of Walden Pond. Animalized nuclei or crystals.They are, of course, Waldens through and through; in the animal kingdom, they are little Waldens themselves, so many Waldens!It is astonishing that they are caught here,--in this deep and wide water, far from the horses, buggies, and jingling sleighs that travel the Walden Road, the great golden emerald colored fish swimming.I have never seen such a fish in the market place; there it must have been the center of attention.Very easily, with just a few jerky turns, they cast off the dewy ghost, like a mortal who has ascended to the sky before his time.

Desiring to restore the long-lost floor of Walden Pond, I surveyed it carefully, in the beginning of 1846, before the ice melted, with compasses, chains, and plumbs.There have been many stories about the bottom of this lake, or about the bottomlessness of this lake, and those many stories are naturally unfounded. It is strange that people, without examining the bottom of a lake, immediately believe that it is bottomless.I have come upon two such bottomless lakes in one of my walks in this part of the country.Many people are so convinced that Walden leads all the way to the other side of the earth.Some people lie on the ice for a long time, looking down through the hallucinatory medium, and perhaps see the water in their eyes, but they are afraid of catching a cold, so they quickly conclude that they have seen many things. Great caverns, if one would go down and fill them with hay, "how much hay could be stuffed in them", are undoubtedly the entrances to the river Styx, and from these entrances lead to the realm of hell.Others came from the village, and drove a horse No. 56, and filled the cart with rope, but could not find any bottom; It is in vain to measure its miraculous immeasurability.I can, however, assure the reader that Walden has a bottom of a reasonably dense lake, and though the depth is rare, it is not unreasonable.I measured it with a cod-hook line, which was easy enough, by attaching a stone weighing a pound and a half to one end, and it told me exactly when it left the bottom, for It took a lot of effort to lift it up until there was water under it again.Exactly one hundred and two feet at the deepest point; adding five feet to the subsequent rise of the lake, the total is one hundred and seven feet.It is amazing how small the lake is, and how deep it is, and yet, with all your imagination, you cannot reduce it an inch.What if all lakes are shallow?Wouldn't it be reflected in the human mind?What I am grateful for is this lake, deep and pure, which can be used as a symbol.When people still believed in infinity, some lakes and marshes were considered bottomless.