HUNTING AND FISHING GROUNDS AND PLEASURE RESORTS. 79 
ten thousand feet above the sea level, stands 
an excellent hotel, surrounded by cliffs and 
valleys, waterfalls, and clear cold streams 
coursing down to the ocean, in whose eddies 
and little holes are the most luscious of moun- 
tain or brook trout; and all through the moun- 
tain ranges, black bears, deer, grouse and 
quail. 
OJAT VALLEY. 
One of the prettiest little nooks in all Cali- 
fornia is the Ojai Valley—or valleys, rather, 
for there are two of them—commencing about 
a dozen miles directly east of San Buena Ven- 
tura, on the Pacific coast. It is of the lower 
valley that we speak. It is about six miles 
long and two wide. Through it run two 
streams that never fail even in the driest sea- 
son, while during ihe rains they are increased 
to two or three times the number. A portion 
of the valley, almost one mile wide by two in 
length, is almost as levelas a floor, and is 
filled with grand old live and white oak trees, 
giving the appearance of some old and well 
eared-for park. The whole valley is a Colo- 
rado park on a very small scale. On all sides 
rise the mountains like the sides of a Roman 
amphitheatre. With every hour’s motion of 
the sun, with every passing cloud, these moun- 
tains have a different color, tone, and shade. 
Sometimes they are covered with heavy, 
threatening storm clouds, and sometimes they 
are bathed in the most tender and delicate 
shades of green. But itis at sunset that they 
are most strikingly beautiful. While the whole 
west is filled with living, liquid, golden light, 
the mountains at the western end are in dark 
shade, but those at the easiern end are covered 
with a brilliant amethyst. Game abounds in 
plenty at the proper season. In the Ventura 
River some fine trout are caught. When the 
water grows low, as it does by August, the 
fish retreat far up the streams to the shades of 
the narrow canyons to enjoy the cooler waters 
nearer their source. But the quails—the pret- 
ty, lively, active little quails—how they do 
abound! In the morning or evening they are 
found in immense numbers almost anywhere 
along the base of the foothills, or at mid-day 
by the streams, to which they go with the ut- 
most regularity. Rabbits are abundant, and 
English snipe plenty in season. Deer are 
found in considerable numbers in November. 
There is 3 hotel and a boarding-house in the 
little village of Nordhoff, about the middle o 
the valley, at either of which one can be com- 
|. fortably entertained. 
SINNEMAHONING COUSTRY. 
From the St. Lawrence to the Rio Grande 
within those bounds, there is no better re. 
gion for brook trout and ruffed grouse than 
that about the Sinnemahoning River in Potter 
Co., Pa., the trout making up in flavor, num- 
bers and game qualities what they may lack in 
size, and being nearly at the head even in 
the later particular, and the grouse being in 
all respects unexcelled. Deer, bears, wild 
eats and panthers are also moderately abun- 
dant; wolves and the various fur bearing 
animals are also in moderate abundance. 
Ducks and geese are rare, wild turkeys un- 
known, and quail scarce. There are plenty 
of woodcock in season; as to wild pigeons, 
hey once nested there, and darkened the air 
with their flight. 
The Sinnemahoning, at a small hamlet, put 
down on the county maps as Wharton Mills 
P. O., it divides; or, rather, the Hast and 
First Forks of the stream here unite. Tire 
village consists of a few seattering houses, 
but does not boast of either hotel, store or 
shop. The waters of the creek are crysta] 
clear, and, as yet are unpolluted by tannery 
or factory, and the East Fork is even free 
from saw mills. Here, unquestionably is to 
be found to-day decidedly the best trout fish- 
ing in the State. About a mile below the 
forks is an old mill, and under the dam a dark, 
deep pool, where you can always depend on 
taking a string of fish. During the day, deep 
bait fishing is unusually successful, but at 
sunset the surface of the pool and of the 
rapids below is broken in every direction by 
swarms of brook trout; and there the fly, in 
skillful hands, does its work. Both the First 
and East Forks are beautiful streams, and 
afford excellent fly fishing, with plenty of 
room to cast, while for those who prefer to 
use the bait, Nelson and Freeman Runs, 
Birch Creek and the headwaters of Kast Fork, 
all within an hour’s drive from headquarters, 
cannot be excelled). Trout are unusually 
plenty in these streams in the Spring, and a 
week of warm weather is all that is needed to 
insure glorious sport. The fish range from 
