9 
28 ' THE SPORTSMAN'’S AND TOURIST’S GUIDE. 
The river flows out to the west, and 
there is a narrow space of level ground 
and open pine woods on that side. Else- 
where the mountains rise abruptly from 
the water’s edge. In this level space 
there are three or four rude cabins, and 
one man has lived a kind of hermit life 
here for ten or twelve years. In Sum- 
mer he follows fishing, generally having 
a partner or two and plenty of company. 
Some seasons there are other regular 
fishermen, but the great majority are 
transient visitors. ‘To carry on the busi- 
ness of fishing for market requires three 
or four men operating together. The 
fish are caught from boats or rafts and 
kept alive in ponds until three or four 
hundred weight are collected, when they 
are hastily dressed, packed with green 
grass in baskets or open boxes, and ear- 
ried on donkeys to market at George- 
town, Central City, and other mining 
camps, with an occasional cargo to Den- 
ver. One or two men accompany the 
animals, sell the fish, and return with 
loads of flour and other supplies. Three 
or four men will, from the middle of July 
to the middle of September, catch from 
three thousand to four thousand pounds 
of trout. The trout of the lake are most- 
ly small, weighing from four to eight 
ounces when dressed. The fishing ground 
is from three hundrod feet to five hun- 
dred feet off shore, where the water is 
from twenty to thirty feet deep. Itis on 
the brink of a ledge, beyond which the 
bottom drops off to an unknown depth. 
At times the schools of fish visit other 
places. Several streams enter from the 
mountain side, and late in the season 
there are certain hours of certain days 
when the water about these rivulets are 
fairly alive with fish. There are also 
spots in which at certain times quite large 
by still-fishing with bait. Nearly all the 
fish taken are with bait, grasshoppers 
being the best, and from ten to twenty 
feet beneath the surface. Those who 
fish for a business will handle three or 
four lines, each with a short rod, and 
take them in as fast as possible. 
Half a mile above the lake, on the 
main stream, there is a waterfall and the 
head of trout navigation. The stream 
comes down through an impassable can- 
yon, which, looked down into from above, 
is a chain of lakelets and cascades. The 
roar of the lower fall can be heard from 
the west side of the lake; but what is very 
strange, its location or direction cannot 
be determined from the sound. One day 
it may seem to be steadily at one point 
of the shore, the next day at another; or 
it may change with the hours or minutes. 
Sudden gusts of wind are common and 
very dangerous. From a dead calm the 
surface of the water is often churned iuto 
foam in a few moments, the gale seeming 
to blow from all quarters as well as 
straight downward. Persons drowned 
in the deep portion of the lake sink to 
rise no more, ; 
There is generally the very best of fish- © 
ing in the outlet from the lake. The 
river for a considerable distance is wide 
and shallow, with an uneven bed of stones, 
sprinkled here and there with immense 
boulders that rise above the water. Then 
it changes to a succession of rapids, with 
deep, glassy pools between. The neigh- 
boring country is alternate open meadow 
elades and billowy hills covered with 
pines. Immediately north of Grand 
Lake is an extensive area of forest, so 
dense and choked with fallen trees and 
brush as to be almost impenetrable. In 
it are several other lakes, visible from 
the high mountains above, which are 
trout can be taken, generally after dark, | doubtless equally well stocked with fish. 
