130 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



kettle of boiling -water, when we quietly had a bowl of good 

 whiBky punch— a reward for our long tramp. We had, 

 however, to keep a good look-out after our cellar supply, for 

 both our guides were well known as famous liquor consumers, 

 Sioui, on our arrival, had placed a couple of lines in the lake, 

 and by the time tea was being prepared, had caught a fine 

 trout of over three pounds weight, which, with the pork and 

 other adjuncts, formed a most hunger satisfying meal ; after 

 which a quiet smoke and a voyage of discovery concluded the 

 day's experience, and, like quaint old Samuel Pepys, " so to 

 bed." 



It was about daybreak when I felt myself pushed by the 

 Bhoulder, and Sioui, my special assistant, whispered iu my 

 ear the magical word "Caribou!" In his hand he had my 

 rifle. I quickly got up and followed him out of the hut, 

 taking my rifle from him, he bringing his own. Gros Louis 

 and Edward were still asleep. Sioui stepped rapidly onward to- 

 ward the lake, and when we reached a large birch tree, point- 

 ed out to the lake. At the distance of about forty feet were 

 two caribou. In a twinkling I had my rifle to my shoulder, 

 sighted my victim, and fired. With a bound in the air he 

 fell on the ice. Sioui immediately handed me his rifle and I 

 ilred at the other caribou, which, on the fall of the first, had 

 started off to the opposite shore at a rapid pace. He stumbled, 

 but immediately arose and continued his course. I was about 

 to follow, but Sioui said it was useless, that it would bo im- 

 possible to overtake him, that he was wounded, and we would 

 track him after breakfast. The report of the rifles had awak- 

 ened Edward and Gros Louis, who came running toward us 

 to find out what was the cause. Of course, there was a little 

 disappointment and recrimination, but this was soon forgot- 

 ten in the excitement of going for the dead caribou. He was a 

 splendid buck, with heavy antlers. Very artistically was he 

 skinned and cut up and brought to the camping ground and 

 hung up, and very delicious was his cooked flesh at break- 

 fast, with the addition of some fresh trout, taken by our night 

 lines. We began to feel the fascination of forest life, an un- 

 accustomed elasticity of spirits, an unaccountable vigor in 

 our nerves and muscles. 



It was a new life, and our breakfast would have astonished 

 the denizens of the city. There seemed to be no end of the 

 quantity which was required to satisfy our hunger, and yet 

 there was no sensation of surfeit. After finishing breakfast, 

 and leaving Gros Louis to look after the camp, Edward and 

 I, with our guide, Sioui, started off on snow-nhoes after the 

 wounded caribou. We very quickly found his track, which 

 was marked with blood, ratifying the assertion of Sioui that 

 I had wounded him. We crossed the lake and reached tho 

 other shore, but had not proceeded far when we found the 

 poor animal lying exhausted on the snow. Sioui gave him 

 the coup de grace, and afterward skinned and quartered him. 

 We then returned to the camp, and Sioui recrossed the lake 

 with a traineau and brought back our game. By the time it 

 waa properly hung dinner time had arrived, and we had so 

 congratulated ourselves on our success that we decided not to 

 seek for further slaughter that day, but rather to reserve our 

 strength for the following. After dinner and a lazy smoke as 

 a concomitant, Wilks and myself, leaving the two Indians idly 

 enjoying their pipes in the camp, strolled off with fowling- 

 pieces, for we had been told that ptarmigans might be found. 

 Our hut was erected in the midst of a wood containing birch, 

 beech, maple and such trees, and there were clumps of those 

 trees in different places. 



We had not proceeded far when we came across a covey of 

 ptarmigans, and on our discharging our four barrels among 

 them we found fifteen birds to be bagged. There was no dis- 

 puting that so far we were lucky in our hunt, and even our 

 return to camp was not without its trophy, for we shot five 

 hares, whose white bodies almost escaped our notice till we 

 were within almost striking distance. They were large and 

 fat and weighed heavily in our game-bags with the ptarmigans, 

 but we brought them safely toour hut among the fir and birch 

 branches, and Sioui and Gros Louis, aided by our scientific 

 knowledge as regards cooking and a personal acquaintance 

 with Soyer in the Crimea, soon produced a supper worthy a 

 king. Let Atheneus talk as he please of the suppers of the 

 ancient Greeks, but what could he better have than the bro led 

 steak of caribou, glorious hare soup, the freshest of boiled 

 trout, the rarest of ptarmigan, with all the et cetera, includ- 

 ing real Lord Lieutenant's whisky with white sugar and 

 lemon, and all these served up by the wild Indian, mid the 

 primeval forests of Canada and on the shores of a lake whose 

 beauties in summer are unrivaled. Horace, even in the Pal- 

 ace of Majcenas, delicately nibbling peacock pie and sipping 

 the choicest Chian or Falernian wine could not have more 

 enjoyed himself than did we on the shore of the nameless 

 lake in the parish of Valeartier. 



It. might have been that success had intoxicated us, or it 

 might have been that the unusual exercise had overtaxed us, 

 or that the famous Lord Lieutenant's liquid had induced pro- 

 longed somnolency; but n'importu, we found next morning 

 that early rising was a mistaken idea, and that bed even of 

 fir branches was a luxury. Our Indian friends were, how- 

 ever, on the qui vive, and breakfast was ready ere we were 

 awake. 



We felt like pashas when the representatives of the forest, 

 the descendants of Donnacona, the great chief of Stadacona, 

 brought us fish, flesh and fowl— trout, caribou and ptarmigan 

 — taken from their hunting-grounds, and cooked in chasseur 

 style, and waited on us with more respect than they would 

 have shown to their illustrious predecessor. 



But breakfast cannot last forever, and, putting everything 

 in order, we started off on snow-shoes, accompanied by Sioui 

 and Gros Louis, to try our luck again. We crossed the lake 

 to the other side and struck up the mountain-side, now and 

 then coming upon a small clearing ; but it was dreadful work 

 climbing up themountain steeps, chrabering over fallen trees, 

 avoiding hanging branches, stepping over mountain rivulets, 

 and passing over deep gorges and ravines. Steadily onward 

 and upward we proceeded, surmounting difficulties to en- 

 counter fresh ones, but without any reward for our toil. We 

 gained the summit of the mountain and descended on the 

 other side, and the descent seemed as difficult as the ascent, 

 and sometimes even more dangerous, for a slip might give 

 one an impetus which might hurl him to destruction. No 

 tracks were found on the mountain, so we proceeded further 

 on till we reached the base of a second, and walked round it 

 without meeting with success. 



The caribou had retired, leaving behind them no trace or 

 mark ; the death of their fellows had banished them from the 

 country and they retreated before us. So the Indians had de- 

 cided ; and as it was well on m the day, and we were many 

 miles from camp, we made up our minds to abandon the 

 chase to avoid being caught in the woods without food and 

 shelter. So, somewhat disappointed, we commenced our re- 

 turn, but by no means up the sides of the almost inaccessible 

 mountain. The longest way round was in this case, without 



doubt, the shortest way home, and even that shortest way 

 was filled with difficulties. Huge fallen trees continually 

 barred our way, immense drifts of snow buried us in their 

 depths, and low branches and thick bushes impeded our path. 

 But we had no mountain to climb, and that wi.s something to 

 be thankful for, as, laden with our rifles and ammunition, it 

 was extremely difficult on snow-shoes to overcome a declivity 

 far sleeper than forty-five degrees ; in fact sometimes so much 

 so that we were obliged to haul ourselves up by the bushes 

 and branches. On reaching camp wo gladly threw ourselves 

 on the grateful couch of fir branches, and lazily watched our 

 Hurons preparing supper. It was a repetition of the breakfast, 

 and was done full justice to. On the morrow we started 

 early before breakfast, which we procured at a farmer's house 

 in Valeartier, where we settled with Sioui and Gros Louis, 

 and relieved them of the laden traineaiix, laden with a suf- 

 ficiently satisfactory spoil— two caribou, eight and a half brace 

 of ptarmigan, six dozen of trout and seven hareB— the Indians 

 having increased our bag of ptarmigan. 



From the farmer, in whose house we breakfasted, we learned 

 that two bears had been shot in the vicinity on the previous 

 day, and had been taken into town for sale. We engaged a 

 man with his herlin, an open wooden box on runners, to take 

 us to town. Into this berli.n we stowed our game and packed 

 our firearms and ammunition and what was left of our stock, 

 and on the top of all placed ourselves, well wrapped up in 

 buffalo robes. Our driver was a young lad who seemed to be 

 of no conversational turn, for his sole utterances were, " Get 

 up, Bess," and certainly Bess did her best to " get," for we 

 arrived in Quebec in an incredible short space of time, and 

 surprised our friends and disappointed our enemies by our 

 success. It was the first time we had been out caribou hunt- 

 ing, but it shall not be the last. T. J. O. 



Quebec, September 10, 1878. 



For Forest and Stream, and Rod and Own, 

 A POEM BY FRANK FORESTER. 



AS the years pass away over the sad grave at tho Cedars, 

 the love for Prank Forester and the admiration of the 

 sporting world for his genius seems to increase, and his 

 writings are more and more sought for, treasured up and 

 quoted as the very highest authority in all matters of the rod 

 ami gun. As he wrote only in prose it is not generally known 

 that he had any claims to be considered a poet, and indeed we 

 have never met with any poem from his pen, with the single 

 exception of the very pretty poem that we now send you. We 

 have lately received it from our relative, Mrs. Col. H., who 

 was cousin to Miss Sarah Barker, the first and dearly loved 

 wife of Herbert. The lines were written by him at Portland, 

 Me., in one of his shooting excursions, and where he first 

 made the acqmintanca of Miss Barker. Our friend in- 

 forms us that at that time— In tho fall of 1839— a little party 

 of young ladies and gentlemen made an excursion to Cape 

 Cottage at Cape Elizabeth, near Portland, where the hours 

 were pleasantly passed in song and dance. It was then that 

 Herbert became deeply fascinated by Miss B., who was a 

 young lady of great personal attractions, and on the return of 

 the party to Portland he wrote and presented to her these 

 verses. He soou afterward made her an offer of marriage, 

 which was not then accepted. On her return to Bangor, of 

 which city her father, a wealthy merchant, was mayor, he 

 followed her and renewed his suit, which was favorably en- 

 tertained, and the couple were united and proceeded to his home 

 in New York, where, and subsequently in Philadelphia, ihey 

 passed several happy years. In due time a son was born to 

 them, who was sent to his friends in England to be educated. 

 On their return to Philadelphia a little girl was born, but did 

 not long survive. 



Our lady relative, from whom we have received these verses, 

 renewed at New York her intimacy with her cousin Sarah and 

 Herbert, and was in constant intercourse with them, and she 

 thinks that their married life was most happy. Soon after 

 the birth of the girl Sarah became dangerously ill with hemor- 

 rhage of the lungs, and did ni)t long survive the attack. 

 After her death Herbert sent everything to her mother save a 

 curl of her hair and a pair of slippers, and this lock of hair 

 was found upon Herbert's heart after his death. Herbert's 

 family kindly invited her to come to England, and our friend 

 has seen affectionate letters from his mother to Sarah and also 

 old family jewels sent to her. Herbert was proud of his beau- 

 tiful American wife, and loved her sincerely for her many 

 good qualities. Though Herbert wrote not in verse, his fasci- 

 nating pages bloom with the sweetest flowers of poesy, and 

 his Spirit takes us kindly by the hand to lead us onward into 

 the fair precincts of the natural world. We remember his po- 

 etic descriptions as we pass into the shades of the primeval 

 forest, over the rustling grass of wind-swept prairies, deep in 

 the heart of embowered dells and copses, along breezy hill- 

 sides, by borders of the tumbling brook, or the hoarse re- 

 sounding ocean. The light of his pen falls upon all places 

 beautiful or majestic and illuminates them with fresh glory. 

 He was the most brilliant and copious of all writers ou sport- 

 ing topics, sketching in faithful prose, yet with all the en- 

 chanting fancy of the poet, the varied scenery where all forest 

 game have their haunt. Thinking that these pretty verses, 

 the only poetic tribute we have from his pen, would be valued 

 by his admirers, we venture to offer them. 

 Shelter Island, Sept. 12, 1878. Isaac MoLellan. 



A minstrel stood upon a foreign strand, 

 Forced by tyrannic power abroad to roam. 

 Nor visit more his old ancestral borne, 

 Tilt, from the maidens of that stranger land, 

 A wreath were called of beanies, tnoh as ne'er 

 Of king or kaiaer graced die courtly sphere. 

 Far, far, he roamed ; doubt, p jrll and dismay 

 Lowered dark and dismal o'er hla toilsome way. 

 When hope was fled, when naught remained behind 

 But aspirations high and fearless mind, 

 He reached this oity, where Old Ooean smiles. 

 In dazzling splendor, round three hundred isles. 

 lie saw the glories of that gorgeous acenc— 

 Earth's emerald tintaand ocean's sapphire sheen. 

 lie saw aud paused. Where skies ao brightly shine ; 

 Where all of earth, air, water, la divine, 

 Moat, lovely there, of all created things, 

 Must woman be ! He toned nis humble slrlugs, 

 And forth they tripped, a origin, celestial throng. 

 To the poor magic of a stranger's song : 

 • i 'Tie done," be cried ; " 'tis done ; the toil Is o'er ; 

 The prize is won, here on this eastern shore ; 

 For who can mark tuq blest expressions rise, 



Foil fraught with sonl in Minna's glorious eyes ? 

 Who look upon the clear and sparkling grace 

 That crowns the young Fraueesca's fairy face? 

 Who catch the genu tint tall, so careless cast. 

 From Anna's lips, so flnout and so fast, 

 Ho free and fearless; she for whom one breast, 

 In the far forests of the boundless West, 

 Beats worthily ? Who see, ao young ami fair, 

 Sarah beside her sweet and kindred pair ; 

 Fit sisterhood, who marvel at the state 

 Of queenly Julia, mon'iiy sedate, 

 Serenely courteous and superbly bright? 

 Who look npon the quick and flashing light 

 That leaps from Oeorgiana's every feature, 

 Most artless, Innocent, Bewitching creature? 

 Who gaze on Sarah's soul-entrancing face. 

 All woman mlrthfulneas and woman grace ? 

 Her self-ourlcd looks and eyes of azuri: line, 

 Mocks the most lovely heaven's most lovely blue? 

 Who can behold ami dream that soven like these 

 Bloom on the softer shores of Bontoern seas? 

 Tlsdonc! 'TIs done! The high empirels gained ; 

 The minstrel's task is o'er, his end attained. 

 Francescit, Minna, Sarah, Jolia, Ann, 

 Georgians, Sarah : Mat.;h them if tou can ! 

 rortland. Sept, 1?, 1839. Henhy William Herui 



4m &Um> 



ALL ABOUT EELS. 



A letter published in the Augsberger Abend Zietung having 

 made the statement that sacs had betn found in eels containing 

 live young ones, Mr. A F. Clapp, of the Sunburg Amcrimn., 

 wrote in regard to this to Professor Baird, and received Horn 

 him the following reply: 



U. 8. Com. Fish add Fmhkjubb, I 

 Gloucester, Muss, Aug. 27, 1878. ) 



Dear Sir : I am much obliged to you for the continued trans- 

 mission of your journal, which I always receive and read with 

 much pleasure. 



I notice in the number of the 23d of August an article upon 

 the propagation of eels, in which you reproduce from a Ger- 

 man journal an account of an eel, which, on being opened, 

 was found to contain living young. It may be of interest to 

 know that this was no eel at all, but a marine fish known sis 

 Zoorees viviparous, not in any way related to the eel, but which 

 has long been known as hatching its eggs inside its own body 

 and discharging them alive. 



Eels, when opened, are frequently found to contain small, 

 thread-like bodies, generally supp'ossd to be their young. 

 These, however, are in all cases intestinal worms, and are 

 found in the stomach and intestines, and not in the ovary. At 

 the present time there is not the slightest uncertainty in regard 

 to the character of the eel. It is well known to be bisexual, 

 males and females like other fish, and reproduces its kind 

 from very minute eggs, which are discharged in the water. 



You will find iu my last report, of which 1 have the pleas- 

 use of Bending you a copy, a lull account with illustrations of 

 this eel, as prepared by Dr. Syrski, of Auslria. I, myself, 

 received from the coast of Massachusetts, lust autumn, a sup- 

 ply ot eels in full spawn, of which preparations were nmilr, 

 and are now exhibited at the National Museum, Washington. 



Yours truly, sn F Baikd 



A F. Gr,Arp, Esq. Commissioner. 



Some month or more ago Bobert B. Roosevelt, Esq , to 

 whom this German statement was referred, wrote to us that 

 the living forms in these eels were nothing but intestinal 

 worms. We are just in receipt of the following letter from a 

 correspondent : 



Salem, Mass., Sept. 13. — Editor Forest and Stl 

 reference to spawn in eels, I would state that nn the 3d ol 

 June last I accepted the invitation of Mr. E. B. Damon, of 

 Bowly, to fish Parker River for striped bass, and being snort 

 of bait 1 fished for and caught an eel. The same being too 

 large and life too short to try for another, we concluded to 

 trim down the one we had, and upon opening it we found it 

 quite full of spawn. Mr. D. remarked at the time that it wus 

 the first time he had ever noticed the like, and was quite ex- 

 cited over the circumstance. As for myself, not taking much 

 stock in eels, I did not care whether ihey spawned or folded 

 their young ; but such is the fact, as Mr. Damon ami his son , 

 who was also in the boat, can testify. C. T. J. 



Further and to us conclusive testimony is furnished En toe 

 following : 



U. S. Com. Fisjt and Fisbieriks, / 

 Bucksport, Maine, September 14, 1878. ) 

 Editob Forest and Stream • 



I have read with much interest the discussion going on in 

 your columns in relation to the natural history of the eel, and 

 I think it is now time for me to contribute my mite. While 

 engaged in taking schoodic salmon at Grand Lake Stream Lst 

 autumn thirty-two eels ran into our inclosures and were cap- 

 tured and eighteen of them examined. They were running 

 down the stream ; we are certain of that, because our inclos- 

 ures were so constructed as to take the fish that were descend- 

 ing the stream and no others. These eels were nearly all of 

 large size. My note book shows four of them to haw been 

 29, 33^, 35, and 3(5 inches long, and to have weighed "4, 52, 

 63 and 64 ouuees respectively. They were all very plump 

 and fat, and their abdomens somewhat distended. Gnjd-mect- 

 iug them I found their stomachs etnpiy, but their abdomens 

 were filled with what at first appeared to he two masses of 

 glistening white fat. More careful examination revealed the 

 fact ibat the supposed masses of fat were constructed iu folds 

 as are the ovaries of fishes generally, and after catching this 

 idea it was not difficult to perceive with the naked eye that 

 the whole masB had the appearance of being composed of very 

 small globular bodies, embedded in or Connected by tissues. 

 1 placed a very thin piece under a microscope and could then 

 see plainly that it consisted mainly of globular bodies of vari- 

 ous sixes, the largest being about 1-125 inch in diami 

 previous and subsequent studies on the ovaries of other fishes 

 leave nie no chance to doubt that the globular bodies were the 

 eggs, and the eulire masses were the ovaries of a female eel. 



I sent specimens of these eels to l_. s. Commission 

 and he reported thai there Soemed lobe 00 question that the 

 ovaries were filled with eggs. My opinion 

 of the organs 1 examined is furthei 

 researches of Dr. Syrski, of Trieste, who made pretty exiea- 



