THE BLACK FOREST. 243 



taxing liis abilities to make himself understood in the former 

 tongue, and was not always successful. 



I made one or two expeditions to the higher mountains of 

 the Black Forest, in company with this gentleman, in pursuit 

 of capercailzie or auerhakn, and succeeded in killing several, 

 both young and old; the former, I need not say, is very 

 delicate eating, but the latter is coarse, hard, and has a strong 

 flavour of turpentine. The Grand Duke has an extensive 

 preserve of these birds some distance from Baden-Baden. 



The tributary streams that flow into the Rhine, and take 

 their rise in the mountains of the Black Forest, and of which 

 the Kinzig is the chief, are generally full of snow-water 

 until late in the spring, and are not in good order for fishing 

 much before June. Numerous impediments are also in the 

 way of the angler, amongst the chief of which are the long 

 rafts of timber that are continually floating, when the water 

 is sufficiently high, from the mountains to the Rhine, and 

 which extend many hundred yards in length in their course 

 through the rapid and tortuous channel. My object being, 

 however, simply to convey information relative to what I 

 have no doubt still is the best part of the river for fishing, I 

 shall simply relate my own experience of it in this and sub- 

 sequent years. 



The part of the river I was in the habit of fishing was 

 about twenty-five miles in extent, and commenced at Horn- 

 berg, three stages from Offenburg, on the Schaffliausen 

 road, and continued as far as the bridge at Offenburg, down 

 stream. I discovered that the Kinzig contained not only 

 trout and grayling, but pike, perch, and white fish of all 

 descriptions. The latter kinds were more abundant, and the 

 river was more netted in the comparatively deep water at 

 Offenburg than was the case higher up the stream, and I 

 consequently established my fishing quarters atBiberach,the 

 first post on the road, and about twelve miles distant, at a 



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