272 CRUISINGS IN THE CASCADES 



line being taut, when the fish arose to the fly he 

 would simply hook himself. Then he was ignomin- 

 iously "yanked," and either landed high and dry 

 on mother earth or in the ranchman- s gunny- 

 sack. 



Although devoid of sport and requiring little skill, 

 it was the most effective method of filling a "bag" 

 that I have ever seen practiced. I have seen him 

 take ten to twenty-five trout in an hour's fishing 

 and not miss a single rise. I had this man with me 

 on a hunting trip, and whenever we came within 

 two miles of a trout stream our table was sure to be 

 supplied with an abundance of fish. 



I visited Fort Maginnis in September, 1883, and 

 during my stay, Capt. F. H. Hathaway kindly 

 invited me to spend a day trouting with him on Big 

 Spring creek, a beautiful stream that flows out of 

 the Snowy Mountains about twenty-five miles from 

 the post. We left the captain's quarters at noon, 

 comfortably seated on his buckboard, while Sam, 

 Fishel, and Dick Thomas rode their horses and drove 

 a pack-mule, which carried a part of our provisions, 

 the remainder being carried on the buckboard. 



We covered the twenty-five miles by six o'clock, 

 camping at the base of the Snowies, within two miles 

 of the source of the creek, which source is a cluster 

 of large cold springs. We pitched our tent on the 

 bank of the creek, where it murmured sweet music 

 in its course over the rugged bottom and lulled us 

 into quiet and refreshing sleep with its rhythmical 

 sounds. When we awoke the next morning the 

 foot-hills all about us glistened with frost, and the 

 high peaks, three or four miles away, were draped 



