HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS AND PLEASURE RESORTS. 3h 
stout line two very sharp peints about 
half an inch long, which slip off the ends 
of the wire when the fish is struck, and 
have a tendency from the peculiar form- 
ation of the points, to cross themselves 
in the fish, making it next to impossible 
to pull out, as it only requires a very 
gentle shove to strike deep enough to 
make it secure. No fish, however large, 
can get off, unless the lines which are 
attached to the points and connected 
with the handle should break. The In- 
dians post themselves near the spawning 
beds and only kill the male trout, which 
always accompanies the female during 
this operation. The Indians take ad- 
vantage of this fact, and never disturbs 
the female, but as soon as the largest 
male is killed the next will take his 
place, and the Indian will wait patiently 
by those beds and pick off all the male 
fish as fast as they appear. To anyone 
not experienced in the art, it would al- 
most be impossible to see the fish. The 
spearing is all done during the day time, 
and a novice might stand near the bed 
and not see a fish all day. They resem- 
ble a dark yellow cloud in the water, 
and the spear is allowed to float down 
the current until opposite the object, 
when a very gentle stroke makes the fish 
secure. 
Minnow and spawn are the principal 
baits used by those using the rod and 
line. The fish weigh from four to nine 
pounds, and are darker than the Eastern 
salmon trout. These-come mostly from 
Pyramid Lake, but another species call- 
ed the silver trout, come from Winne- 
mucca Lake. Both kinds are taken 
freely during the season in the Truckee 
River; one hundred pounds per day to 
the rod being of frequent occurrence. No 
other fish are known to inhabit these 
waters, except the black mullet, or coy- 
ies, as the Indians call them. They come 
up the river later than the trout, but are 
not molested by the whites. The In- 
dians take and dry them for their Win- 
ter food, which, with the pine nuts, form 
their principal source of subsistance. 
Humboldt Lake, the sink of the Hum- 
boldt, as it is usually called, is about 
forty miles from ‘Wadsworth, in close 
proximity to the railroad, and abounds 
with all kinds of water fowl, ducks, geese, 
swans, curlew, snipe, &c. The shooting, 
however, is very difficult, owing to the 
absence of cover, as no flag or tule grows 
near the lake. Very few fish are taken 
there, and of a small size. The water is 
strongly impregnated with alkali, and 
hardly fit to use. About eight miles 
west of Wadsworth, the country be- 
comes mountainous. Here a few moun- 
tain quail, grouse, and sage hens can be 
found, but not in plentiful quantities. A 
few black tail deer and occasionally 
mountain sheep are found, but more an 
exception than the rule.. Jack rabbits 
abound in every direction, and any quan- 
tity can be killed—twenty or twenty-five 
per day would be an average day’s work 
forone gun. They are usually in good 
condition, and weigh from six to seven 
pounds when full grown. Still the shoot- 
ing in the vicinity of Wadsworth is poor, 
but the fishing during the season is ex- 
cellent; in fact, the best found on the 
coast. Lake Tahoe, situated on the 
summit of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, 
about eighty miles from Wadsworth, is a 
great resort for plea_ure seekers during 
the heated term, and affords very good 
trout fishing, the fish being usually taken 
with the spoon or minnow. ‘These fish 
will frequently weigh thirty-five or forty 
pounds, and do not resemble the Truckee 
Independence Lake, about fifteen 
from Truckee, abounds with a 
trout, 
miles 
