120 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



iouTney for the first twenty miles was slow and monotonous 

 for the road runs through a desolate sage brush prairie which 

 offers nothing to interest one, save when, occasionally, a flock 

 of sage grouse would rise from the roadside, or a frightened 

 jackass rabbit, startled by the rattle of the wagon, -would 

 spring from his form beneath the sage and skurry away over 

 the prairie. Then, too, our mules were young and only half 

 broken, and often in trying to surmount some steep rise in the 

 pTairie they would stop and let the wagon back down the hill 

 to the level. On such occasions all hands wquld spring from 

 their Beats and, putting their shoulders to the wheel, would 

 assist the wretched mules to drag the load to the top of the 

 hill. Six or eight miles beyond the Twelve Mile crossing or 

 the' Medicine Bow Eiver we turned sharply to the right and 

 proceeded up a canyon.on either side of which rose high walls , 

 those on the right were of bare brick-red Triassic clay, while 

 to the left the yellow Cretaceous sandstones, dotted here and 

 there with dark green junipers, attained an altitude of six or 

 eight hundred feet and were almost vertical. The contrast 

 was fine. . 



A few miles brought us to a high prairie, encircled on 

 all sides by mountains, and over this we continued our way 

 in a north-westerly direction, and about four o'clock in the 

 afternoon reached a little brook rising from some beautiful 

 springs, near which we determined to camp. The location 

 was a charming one. The almost omnipresent sage had here 

 given place to a rich growth of grass in which our mules 

 revelled • the mountains were on all sides and, though without 

 snow, were rugged and very grand. Some of them were 

 thickly clothed with living pine, spruce and fir, while others 

 had been burned over and fairly bristled with dead timber. 

 Just before reaching camp we came upon a little valley scarce- 

 ly three hundred yards across, in which several antelope were 

 lying down. As we are without fresh meat it is important 

 that one of them should be killed, but the noise of the wagon 

 startles them, and before we can leap to the ground they are 

 off like the wind. Half a dozen shots, fired at long range, 

 fail to stop them, and in a moment they are out of sight. 



On reaching our camping ground the tent is pitched and 

 supper prepared, and then we set off to explore the country for 

 " sign " About the little spring from which flows the clear, 

 cold water which forms our brook are numerous tracks of 

 deer elk and antelope, some of them fresh, but the greater 

 number old. It is evident that there has been plenty of game 

 here but whether it still remains in the country is doubtful. 

 We separate and take different paths into the mountains, first 

 aareeing, for fear that we should frighten the game, not to 

 shoot at anything hut bull elk, or bighorn. On meeting again 

 after dark Reed reports having seen two mule-deer fawns and 

 a, cow elk with calves ; Mr. Phillips saw a cow elk, while my 

 only discovery was an old buck antelope. Some game there 

 is in the neighborhood, but we determiae to push on still fur- 

 ther into the hills where it is more abundant. Still we must 

 have some meat and so next morning we all start out on foot 

 again leaving Tom, our teamster, with orders to be ready to 

 move'at ten o'clock. Sunrise finds Mr. Phillips and myself, 

 classes in hand, seated on a lofty peak of the hills scrutiniz- 

 ing with the utmost care the surrounding country, especially 

 the creek valleys and timber ravines, and we have not been 

 watching long before we are rewarded by seeing three deer 

 emerge from a ravine ahout a mile distant and commence to 

 feed among the underbrush in the valley below. After ob- 

 serving them for some time and feeling sure from their actions 

 that they would not move from that spot we made a wide cir- 

 cuit passing over the mountain, and reaching the head of the 

 valley in which the deer were feeding. Here we found a 

 precipice from which we could obtain a view of the whole 

 brook The face of the bluff was vertical, or overhanging and 

 irom two Utile horseshoe bends in it fell cascades of the 

 nurest cold water. The rivulets which supplied these faUs 

 aroLoSy a few feet from the edge of the bluffs and the 

 fringe flowing fresh and clear from the Triassic rock were 

 beautified by great masses of dark green moss and overhung 

 r 1^1 willows. The narrow valleys into which these 

 sLms fell united almost at once and their commingled cur- 

 rents flowed through a deep canyon bounded on the west by a 

 ver tieal wall of deep red rock, and on the east by a steep bluff 

 Sy with sage brush. The valley itself was of the softest 

 Seen and the grass stood waist high. Every few yards there 

 we utile copses of willows which would afford admirable 

 r-nvpT for deer and elk. 



After a short rest and a draught of these living waters we 



proceeded to look for a place to descend to the bed of the 



stream Just beyond the springs we walked upto afine brood 



of^ge grouse, and on passing over the little ridge from whmh 



the swings rose, wo came upon three small coyotes about 



wo S grown, trotting unconcernedly along a the sun 



tLir tongues lolling out of their mouths, and looking forafl 



XSSTlta so many cur puppies. A ^^""S 



them to spring wildly into the air, glance hurriedly from sde 



o sTd °and then start off toward the hills, anxiously looking 



haTover their shoulders every two or three jumps. The* 



iTngkTd surprise, terror and curiosity were very comical 



XtagfomTd a place where the bluffs could he descended, 



Z preceded dow'n the valley untfl wereached the spot where 



^Eeft the deer feeding. I was ahead and was walking 



^efully along, when 1 saw the head of a large buck through 



a maS mass of undergrowth, by which the bottom washere 



olmted I could not shoot through this with any hope of 



Sg my game, and feeling sure that the deer would run to 



« K »g up on to the prairio on the other ride of 



rounding level, I caught sight of the game about 150 yarda 

 distant, running toward the hills, and saw that it was a mule- 

 deer. Now, a mule-deer, buck or doe, will almost always 

 stop on hearing an imitation of the cry of a fawn ; so I 

 bleated loudly, and in a moment the buck stopped, and turned 

 round so as to face me. At the first shot I must have drawn 

 my sight too coarse, for I saw the ball strike the rocks behind 

 and above him ; the second was better aimed, and, striking 

 the point of the left shoulder, pierced the heart. He bounded 

 high in the air, and fell dead. Like all bucks at this season 

 he was very fat, and the labor of packing his hams into camp 

 was no light one. It was finally accomplished, however, and 

 finding the wagon ready to pull out, we took our seats, and 

 were soon traveling further into the mountains. After pro- 

 ceeding but a few miles, we picked up Mr. Reed, who had 

 been exploring the mountains to the westward. He had seen 

 no game except antelope, but to my astonishment had found 

 these animals not only high up on the bare mountains, but 

 actually feeding amid the undergrowth in the dead timber. 

 My experience-and it has been an extended one-has led me 

 to believe that antelope always avoided the timber, but my 

 observations in these mountains have upset all my precon- 

 ceived ideas on the subject. 



We traveled for several hours in a northwesterly direction, 

 and entered at length a valley, perhaps thirty miles in diam- 

 eter, well supplied with grass and water, and abounding with 

 antelope. A good hunter could have loaded a wagon with 

 these animals in a day, but, as we were well supplied with 

 meat, we contented ourselves with admiring their beauty and 

 grace, and the swiftness with which they made off on our too 

 near approach. ., 



A camp was at length selected at the very foot of the 

 mountains which towered 1,500 or 2,000 feet above us, and 

 near a murmuring stream, which, flowing from the granite 

 rocks of old Freeze Out, affords an abundant supply of cold 

 and delicious water. Feeding unconcernedly on the bluffs 

 within 500 yards of camp are numerous bands of antelope, and 

 on the sides of the mountains we can see more than one well- 

 defined game trail. The country certainly promises well and 

 it shall receive a searching investigation before we leave it. 

 In Vamp Among the Freeze Out Ml*., Wyoming. Yo. 



[FROM OUK OWN CORKESrONTJKNT.] 



FISHING IN FINLAND. 



St. Petersburg, Aug. 6, 1878. 



You may remember that in my letter last autumn from Fin- 1 

 land 1 spoke of an immense trout, " as large as a donkey," that 

 had snapped innumerable lines, broken innumerable rods and 

 devoured innumerable artificial minnows, and I told you that 

 I was " going for that fish next summer." Well, I went for 

 him and if I did not get him I got his younger brother, evi- 

 dently a chip of the same block. He weighed twenty pounds. 

 What do you think of that for a brook trout ? 



The happy event took place at midnight on the 27th ultimo. 



I had been fishing on and off all day with indifferent suc- 

 cess We tried it again at 9 e. »., with no great luck. At 



II we returned to the club-house to see some friends off who 

 meant to post all night to catch the morning train at Wiborg 

 for Petersburg. As soon as they had gone we went upon the 

 lake again. I had hardly got my totness fairly into the water 

 when it was struck by a fish. He made so little fuss that I 

 thought it must be a small one, and announced to my Finnish 

 boatman that he was " rnola," which is choice Russian for 

 "small." After a while, however, he began to Bhow more 

 life and soon he made my reel hum. It was not till I had 

 him alongside of the boat, however, that I realized what a 

 whale he was. When my boatman gaffed him he had to sit 

 down in the boat and seize the gaff with both hands to hoist 



him in. 



But truth compels me to say, that as far as my experience 

 goes, thesebig fish do not give the play of smaller ones. 1 

 caught several ten-pounders. They were much more gamey 

 than my " donkey." One little fellow, it seemed to me, was 

 as much out of the water as init. He made at least a dozen 

 leaps and continued them until he was gafled. Every time 

 he leaped 1 lowered the point of my rod. This proceeding 

 did not meet with the approval of my Finnish boatman, who 

 signified his disapproval by a number of guttural sounds, of 

 which the principal was "met," "niet," w-hich is Russ.an f or 

 « no " but I replied with an equally emphatic da, da, 

 which is good Russian for "yes," for I had read in that very 

 JraScX useful book of yours, the " Sportsman's Gazet- 

 teer " that if a fish has the spirit to leap you should show 

 your respect for his pluck by lowering the point of your rod 

 lohim This is sound advice, and based upon good sense. 

 His aim is evidently by the suddeness of the blow to tear the 

 hook from his mouth. Slack up everything and there is no 

 SonTnd your gentleman's well-designed plan is defeated. 

 My Wgfish'was thought worthy of immortality, so he was 

 laid upon the hack piazza, which is the museum of the club 

 IndXportrait outlined upon the floor in the honoredc m- 

 Ly of the other hero fishes of the club-only two of wh ch 

 bv the way were heavier-a 21 and a' 22-pounder. Ihen 1 

 toCka red ead pencil and gave him mouth and eyes and Una 

 of beautiful cLniac. My work evidently excited the ad- 

 mire of the natives, for they crowded round m numbers to 

 Z the progress of the picture, and their remarks as trans- 

 ited to me were complimentary to my artistic stall. The 

 fish I brought to town, and General Grant and a party ot dis- 

 rituistied judges and lawyers from New York eat htm and 



the lonely shores of Lake Saima, carved in imperishable 

 wood, Perenniwa awe, a proud witness to the skill of Yankee 

 fishermen. 



There has been remarkable fishing at Naroka this summer, 

 showing that the prohibition of net fishing, and the close sea- 

 son from September 15 to January 1, have already done much 

 to increase the number of fish, although the law is but two 

 years old. The gentlemen who were at the club from July 1 

 to 15 caught so many and such large ones that they stopped 

 from mere satiety. In the early part of July there is no 

 night in these high latitudes— 61 deg.— and when I was there 

 there was not more than an hour or two of darkness, from 11J 

 to 1J. I fished one night till two o'clock, and at that hour 

 the East was quite bright with the coming dawn. The night 

 is the best time for fishing, as long as the fish feed, but I do 

 not think they feed much after midnight ; then they rest, to 

 begin feeding again very early in the morning. At night tho 

 bait deceives them more readily, and they probably do not 

 see the boat and rod very distinctly. 



I spent a Sunday at Naraka. The Fins are a church-going 

 people— all Protestants. The people who live on the shores 

 of the lake have several immense church-going barges. It is 

 a very pretty sight to see them returning, men and women 

 rowing, the women in their best dresses, the men with their 

 coats off ; and the white sleeves of the shirts and the high 

 colors of the dresses contrast very beautifully with the wild 

 wooded shore and dark water of the lake. They f requently 

 break into song, and sing their church hymns, which are very 

 plaintive. It seems to me that all Northern music is plaiu- 

 tive, perhaps from the hard lives the poor people lead. But, 

 plaintive as it is, the effect is pleasing and interesting. 



Education is compulsory in Finland, but is confined, a3 far 

 as compulsion goes, to the simplest elements. It is in the 

 hands of the clergy, and the power is not abused, for here 

 they have no political objects in view. The clergy appear to 

 me to be the most suitable teachers, provided you can be sure 

 of their not interfering in politics. In Franco the priests un- 

 fortunately cannot be trusted with the education of the 

 young, for any priest would have instructions from his eccle- 

 siastical superiors to teach the doctrine of divine right, pus- 

 sive obedience, and hatred of the Republic, and would have 

 to obey. General Grant tells me that he was delighted with 

 the Fin3. He had formed the same idea of thorn that most 

 of us have had— of an honest and hospitable, but uueducalod 

 and ignorant people; very much as we think of the, Laps. 

 He found them intelligent, educated, accomplished, hospita- 

 ble and enthusiastic. They gave him a very warm reception 

 I at Helsingfors, though impromptu, aud wanted him to stay 

 ' several days with them and go to their great falls of Imatra. 

 He would like to have Btayed, but had made his appoint- 

 ments to be at St. Petersburg on the 30th July, and could not 

 spare the time. 



Finland is now in its beauty. The crop3 are green, the 

 country is covered with the loveliest wild-tlowers, and with 

 the strawberries in profusion by the roadside. The roads are 

 excellent. But the great drawback seems to be the want of 

 public conveyances. To go from place to place you must 

 post. Though this is not expensive— only three cents a mile 

 for cart, horse and driver— it is a slow mode of traveling, for 

 the horses are generally at work in the fields, or grazing in 

 the woods, and have to be sent for aud harnessed. AU this 

 takes time. They travel well-from eight to ten miles an 

 hour— but the delay at the stations makes your journey, after 

 all, very slow. 



The total result of my five days' fishing was as follows : 

 One fish of 201bs.; one lSlbs.; three lOilbs.; one 811>b ; one 

 SJlbs.; one 31bs., and a multitude of a quarter and halt- 

 pound trout, of which we take no note in Finland, but call it 

 " fishing for the pot." W. H. 



[feom oub regular oobbbspondbht] 



THE OLD DOMINION AND HER 



WEALTH. 



Orkney Spbinos, Shenandoah Go,, Va., Sept. 0, 187S. 

 It is the sportsman who enjoys the most beautiful portions 

 of God's great work, and his keen appreciation of wild and 

 picturesque scenery, rugged cliffs and quiet streams are 

 Qualities which add to his sociability and make him the more 

 interesting as a companion. There are men who can break 

 every glass ball thrown from a trap or bag nearly every bird 

 rising before them, but an expert marksman is not always 

 a sportsman in the true character of the term. The mission 

 of the Forest and Steeam and Rod asd Gun ia to inculcate 

 a love for nature and proper enjoyment of the sports found in 

 fishing and shooting, all tending to the mental, physical and 

 moral advancement of man. Tho intelligent sportsman with 

 some knowledge of ornithology, ichthyology, botany and 

 taxidermy, although it may be limited, certainly enjoys the 

 pleasures afforded by rod and gun more than the pot hunter. 

 To some it is in springtime that nature appears in her most 

 bewitching attire, but the sportsman loves the golden tints of 

 autumn. Even now the sear and yellow leaf begins to appear, 

 and ere the wane of the next moon the hazel nuts and aCOTHB 

 will be ripened, and the sturdy oaks all m russet clad. It is 

 then the exhilarating atmosphere of the country can be taoBt 

 enjoyed. It is then the crisp taseaair sends the blood cours- 

 ing through the veins with renewed mid quickeued life. - 



S tau uj < pun the summit of North Mountain some 3,000 

 feet above tide water, With the great Shenandoah Valley on 

 one side and the lofty peaks ot the Alleghewcs looming up in 

 KttoBa^Utlnibafar.Weeton the other the: e w a 

 2 velf calculated to hold one entranced in adauratlon 

 ire m tootle* 



