338 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



time the quail season doses the young hares and rabbits are 

 almost iuU grown. As an instance of the ease of huntiDg 

 hc-ie, I will give a caie within my personal knowledge. Three 



._b publishing 



something over 350 ducks, 300 haves and rabbits, ami woks 



of plover and doves. The gentleman had never hefoie 

 touched a gun. shot at nothing in motion, was n 

 walk half a mile an hour, and rarely left his bugcry to shoot. 

 There are plenty of places where t hi l cat e by any one 



of gumption, though I believe El Caiou to he the best place 

 for nearly all kinds of small game, and Miner's is certainly 

 the best place there to find accommodations, a good host and 

 hostess, and plenty of home comforts. Such at leas; 1 found 

 it during a two jeare' residence with him. For sportsmen 

 not out of health, 1 cannot say that this county is as good a 

 place as the upper part of the State and many parts of the 

 Souti It is doubtful if there is any shooting as 

 good here as it may be found further north. The duck and 

 deer hunting certainly is not, and neither geese nor snipe are 

 so abundant. But. for the invalid this is just the place, and I 

 think any one who was well would enjoy a winter here. 



For Forest and Stream and Rod and Gvn. 

 THE ADIRONDACK^ UNVEILLED. 



"A nOWLISG WiLDElKESS." 



IT was autumn. 1 had always been wild togo to the prime- 

 val seclusion of the wilderness. When a boy I used to 

 speak whole chapters of Murray's Guide, at Sunday-school 

 exhibitions, and I read the accounts of those early surveyors 

 who could not plant their tripods without, danger of Striking 

 a bear's toe ; but never until tldsyear were the bright dreams 

 of my youth realized. An article in a Northern paper stating 

 that bears were so plentiful that it was almost impossible to 

 keep pumpkin-pies for a day, and that they were frequently 

 discovered up the grape vices before breakfast — I mean the 

 bears — so crazed me that the next day found Don Albani and 

 me in an Adirondack stago starting for ''the wilds -where 

 never man trod." My chum was dressed in a delicate maroon 

 velvet jacket with point-lace collar. Inside and out of his 

 coat were a hundred or more labelled pockets. Some held 

 catridges, others essence of pepermint and curiosities in gen- 

 eral, such as a whale's tooth, and the scalp of an Indian, 

 which he alleged he took. This latter he always showed to 

 the driver when the vehicle became excessively protracted in 

 its momentum. 



It was a wild ride. I do not maan that the speed was 

 great, except at one lime when an irate steer charged us and 

 stuck his horns through the back-board, pushing us up the 

 hill at a rate never equalled before or again by that stage. 

 Albani cut off the steer's head, and we preserved it as a 

 memento ; but you will hardly believe me, bis rage was so 

 great that for two miles he followed us without any head. 

 At the first bend of the road, however, in his blind fury he 

 kept straight on into the iron works and was melted up into 

 pig iron, horse nails and other useful articles. 



Our expectations of the woods were greatly disappointed 

 when we found the persistence with which rail fences and 

 houses clung to the side of the road. Then, too, the telegraph 

 poles never gave out, and the wires were in no place down. 

 The natives, who regarded us in the light of Arctic adven- 

 turers or religious fanatics, thronged the sides of the road and 

 exclaimed : " I reckon you'll git a leettlc spruced down afore 

 you come out," and other annoying words. The horses usual- 

 ly walked a mile or two and then paused to recover breath. 

 Sometimes our stop was at a prehistoric hotel or postofflce, 

 at others by the side of a pearly trout brook, where the water 

 literally boiled with— the horses. No trout seen there for 

 fifteen years. As 1 said before the crowds became so annoy- 

 ing at the hamlets that we were obliged to lecture on temper- 

 ance in order to rid ourselves. It is the only thing that makes 

 them move. 



We stopped for dinner at what was called a hotel, and were 

 regaled on what we at first supposed to be venison, but 

 which proved to be woodchuck. The proprietor said 

 there was "good shootin' off 'em," and tried to induce 

 us to stay, but woodchuck had no charms at four dol- 

 lars a day. It was with a sense of oppression that we en- 

 tered the "coach," and the driver commenced his afternoon 

 performance of breaking forty clothes poles on the horses 

 backs in two consecutive hours without sleep. For twenty 

 miles we sat silent, too full to speak — full of gloomy forebod- 

 ings, I mean— except the driver who had drank whisky with- 

 out a license at this temperance hotel. "We passed Catamount 

 Mountain and Panther Gorge, in which a herd of swine were 

 quietly feeding. In vain we looked for the wilderness. The 

 Tail fence still pursued us, and toward the latter part of the 

 ourney we were annoyed by peddlers selling lavender neck- 

 ties and gum. We saw no hand-organ grinders, however, and 

 took courage. At last we came to a place where there was 

 no fence, and a sigh of relief broke from our imprisoned souls, 

 Then a river, on its smooth surface myriads of water fowl- 

 all beknging to Bill Spooner. 



Darkness was coming on and we were starving. The 

 driver offered some spruce gum, unprotected, from the lower 

 abysses of his pocket, but wc thanked him, saying : " O kind 

 sir, dear sir, save yourself! You are of value to the com- 

 munity. You drive a stage ; carry the mail and help your 

 fellow creatures. Take the gum yourself and live! We are 

 nothing but bears from Wall street." lie only smiled as the 

 glow of the hotel lights broke upon us. We were sorry after- 

 ward that we did not take the gum, as several of the greatest 

 hunters in the woods had chewed on that piece, and it was of 

 historic interest. 



We were in the wilderness. It was a very civilized sort of 

 a place. From the grand piano were issuing BOf t symphonies, 

 and gentlemen, whom we were informed were guides, dressed 

 in swallow-tails, were entertaining the ladies with hunting 

 adventures It seemed hardly possible that those delicate 

 Creatures were guides and could row a man five miles a day. 



We asked the proprietor how many deer he had seen that 

 day and if the piano did not frighten them. Albani and I 

 fairly leaped for joy when he said the deer rather " liked the 

 pianoe?, and often puked their heads in the window of an 

 evenin'." lie also told us thai a bear was roosting up a tree 

 riot half a I id that they had a hook and line out 



for him. The method is this . A clothes-line, of from a mile 

 to a mile l length, has a shank hoc. 



baited with a freshly killed cur— the bears ere such curious 

 fellows— this is then carried its full length by a mu: 

 by another with a cane to keep panthers from seizi a 

 On their return all the boarders seize the unbaked end and 

 awaits bite. The bite of abeai is 

 L only more eo. At the ' 

 boarders nil twist tfieir limbs around the stove and 



bjects, and suspense reigna suprei A .: .. 

 announces that he has swallowed the pnp, and at a gi 

 r.al all pull in. Of course several trees always hang to the 

 bear and many ferns. The ladies then gather I.: i 

 leaves and press the ferns, and the bear is converted into 

 grease and other useful articles. 



If the bear is not dead by the time he reaches the hotel the 

 children slick pins into him and poke his tongue until he 

 faints. No bear bit before tea, and we repaired to the lable 

 to vindicate the reputation of our respective families. Hincc 

 the law prohibited trout, fishing then, we were served with 

 what were called " canned trout," so nicely preserved That 

 the man who caught them (the day before) would not have 

 believed them the same fish. They were a little dangerous, 

 however, as they had been shot on the runways, and the 

 sharp pellets of shot stuck in our throats, making it necessary 

 to swallow chestnut burrs and other articles of furniture in 

 order to scrape them down. 



That night the lake was convulsed by a terrible storm. The 

 hotel rocked like a light-house and many were sea sick. 

 Lemons could not be had for love or money, and the water 

 came into the parlors so suddenly that a party of two 

 young gentlemen and two ladies had to take refuge on the 

 piano. They were finally rescued in boats. By the pale glare 

 of the lamps large trout could be seen swimming around all 

 over the first floor, and it was confidently expected that there 

 would be good fishing in the dining room for a week. Im- 

 agine our surprise the next morning to find the l . 

 lishraent as dry as if there never had been a flood. Of course 

 the deluge was the prevailing subject of conversation, and it 

 was generally helicvd to be one of the faults of President 

 Hayes in not attending to the weather. 



After breakfast Albani look his eight ounce rod and pre- 

 pared to fish from the piazza. There whs a look of calm in- 

 difference on his face as he slowly drew out a quarter of a 

 mile of line and fastened a nice croton bug to the end of it. 

 The boarders en masse came out to see him and predicted his 

 utter failure. They did not know their man. A member of 

 the International Scientific Protective Benevolent Game As- 

 sociation advanced er.d warned Albani not to fish out of sea- 

 son, but on his promising to put the fish right, back he was al- 

 lowed to proceed. He looked noble as he surveyed the surg- 

 ing mass of spectators. I trembled for him and whispered, 

 " Do take in 200 yards, just for my sake, All" He only 

 smiled Slowly he untangled the line and threw straight up. 

 The delicate cord ascended, the croton bug kicking. No 

 sooner had it reached its apex than with the speed of lightning 

 Albani gave a switch and it sped over the house, chimney, 

 pastures and far away. Then the crowd cried, " It's coming 

 back, boys! Phew!" 



The loud whistle of the line, like an aerolite or seolian harp 

 announced its return. The friction with the air had set the 

 bug on fire, and only a flame of glaring light marked its place, 

 It came back and sped across the lake its full length amid the 

 cheers of the dumfounded crowd. But stay! what new 

 wonder awaits us ? Lo ! the hook has lit in a tree and 

 snatched the wary black duck from bis roost. Another cheer. 

 Albani grasps the reel and the duck comes skipping across. 

 He has wrung his neck. Amid the applause the piazza fell, 

 which increased our bill materially. Again Albani steps forth 

 and draws the line. This time he used a short cord. Whizz 

 it goes back; but alas! the falling of the piazza had made 

 Albani nervous, and the cruel line went, swooping into one of 

 the rooms and returned bearing on its point a ladies' switch. 

 " Another misplaced switch," the crowd cried, and screams 

 came from the apartment, "It's all I had in this world" (Adi- 

 rondacks) ; but the switch had sunk never to rise again. To 

 make a long story short, a horse had to be killed that day for 

 his tail, and with this temporary substitute she rel 

 New York for repairs. The horse's hide was then made into 

 buckskin gloves and other useful articles for us. 



Wc remained just two days more. On the first wo ascended 

 a mountain called Marcy, fr. m which the guide said wc could 

 see the Mississippi River We examined it carefully with a 

 glass, however, and pronounced the water too clear for that 

 river, it was more likely some c ae of the many streams which 

 flow from the Rocky Mountains. We saw the tired workmen 

 return at night with their dinner pails across the East River 

 Bridge, and then we came back to the lower regions ennobled 

 and refreshed. The next day Albani and I each killed one- 

 fifth of a deer. The way it happened was this: The whole 

 Adirondack region was out afterthat deer, and five men fired 

 at once, there being no reason to suspect that one man killed 

 the deer any more than the other four. She was a doe. Does 

 have no horns ; they " take after " their mothers. For lack 

 of other relics we brought the steer's horns away with us, and 

 as bad luck would have it, met the owner on our return trip. 

 He fired two shots. Twenty-seven lodged in Albani and 

 seventeen in your humble servant, odd numbers both of 

 them— they felt odd. We are now busy picking them out. 



" Ain't 1 glad I'm out of the wilderness." 



Chablbs H. O.ow. 



For Ftreat and Stream and Hod and G'un, 

 THE HILLS OF BIG EAGLE. 



Til E Big Eagle is a stream in Northeastern Kentucky, 

 which, after a long and a tortuous course, debouches 

 into the Ohio Eiver. Precipitous hills, rising in some places 

 almost to the dignity of mountains, overshadow its sparkling 

 waters and dip their feet in its cooling waves. 



Years ago the writer of this sketch, then a boy at school, 

 spent a week among theso hills, perhaps the happiest week of 

 his life. 



There were just six of us, loaving out of the Count, Pete 

 and Bill, two stalwart negro boys, who were cooks and bottle- 

 washers in general. Added to the full amount of deviltry, 

 which is the chief characteristic of all the negro boys that I 

 ever saw, they had a reserve fund which enabled them to 

 excel all or any that I ever met. The Doctor, c French 

 savant, two Kentucky farmers, a lawyer and your humble 

 servant made up the party, amove incongruous one it Would. 

 he scarcely possible to find. 



Yet it was harmonious from its incongruity. For, you may 



lay it down as ft maxim, that aftieitiea < co ' on a 



lint, Yourafllnily, surrounded ements 



tized life, dressed daily in purple o.isa 



)f the 



river, who, in Hi 



could have 



one crisp, frosty morning in October— 

 the " Count," the two farmers ani 'agon, 



the Doctor, the lawyer, BUI ami 1 started 



lintof 70 miles to the bj l£l6. All hud 



Kentucky rifles, and tdl knew how to use them. All had rods 

 IS, but all did not know how to use them, for (he 

 French gentleman and the lawyer had never caught a 

 bass in their lives, but were willing to learn. 



'.I'ln. first day's journey was almost uneventful, except for a 

 little incident that occurred near its close. 



We were driving through a dark, sombre forest of oak and 

 hickory when an exclamation from the Doctor, who was in 

 the wagon just ahead of us, caused us all to look at him. He 

 was frantically tugging at the cover of his rifle, which re- 

 sisted all bis efforts. 



Looking some 00 or 70 yards off to the right of the road I 

 saw a magnificent cock pheasant standing on a log. To 

 throw the rifle to my face and cut him down was the work of 

 seconds only. When, rather proud of my bird, 1 returned lo 

 the wagon and showed where the bullet had hit, square in the 

 middle of the breast, I was informed by the Doctor that I had 

 committed an unpardonable sin, for I should have shot his 

 head off! How I was to shoot his head off at that distance, 

 say 70 yards, be did not deign to inform me. Devolving in 

 my mind the many snares that are laid for unsuspecting youth 

 in this wicked old world, I sank into obscurity. All uniti d 

 in the assertion that it was a good shot, but that I ought to be 

 spanked for not, shooting his head off ! 



After so long a time I cannot recall everything very accu- 

 rately, but I am now of the impression— and that may have 

 been my impression then— that not one of the parly could 

 have done any better ; also, that much of the heated' discus- 

 sion which arose anent my shooting was largely due to a keg 

 of old, old whisky, which our henchmen, Pete and Bill, 

 handed rovnd at short intervals during the whole day. Be 

 that as it may, I still think it was a good shot, though Dr. 

 Carver, doubtless, would deny it. 



The close of our second day's journey found us in a small 

 "bottom," which, formed by the river, was shut off from the 

 outer world by o towering cluster of hills, whose summits, 

 clothed with lofty beech, oak and hickory, seemed to touch 

 the clouds. In a short time Pete and Bill had cleaned out, 

 swept and garnished a log hut, the legacy of some camp- 

 hunters in the long ago, and wc prepared ourselves fur a week 

 of unalloyed happiness. 



When, a short, time back, I said that all knew how to use 

 Ihe Kentucky rifle, I should have made soma exceptions, or 

 rather one, for the Count could not have hit a barn door at 

 ten steps with a rifle. 



Among the vine-clad hills of his native France he could, 

 doubtless, knock over a hare running or a partridge on the 

 wing, but the rifle was, to him, a dread mystery. How people 

 could look down those long dark lubes, and with a single ball 

 cut off a squirrel's bend in the top of the tallest tree was a 

 problem in gunnery which he could never solve. 



So the only shot-guu m the camp was voted to the Count, 

 a heavy "Weslley-liiclmrds duck gun, with which one could 

 kill ducks lo a certainty at seventy-five yards. 



Behold of us then, as the Count would say, in camp. Tired 

 and happy we sank to rest, soothed to sleep by the hoarse 

 murmur of the river chafing against its rocky hanks. 



The next morning, ere the rosy fingers of Aurora had pulled 

 the hair of drowsy old Sol, wc were awake and making prep- 

 arations for our day's sport. 



These consisted in disposing of a reasonable amount of 

 boiled ham, strong coffee and corn butter cakes. The arrange- 

 ments of the day were that the writer of this short history and 

 the Count should fish, while the rest of the party should de- 

 vote themselves to the nobler sport of hunting deer and 

 turkeys. The Count shouldered his.Westley-Richarda audi the 

 rods, "while, ."Bill, the "moon-eyed," toted the bucket ot 

 minnows. Our objective point was a. large mas- 

 timber, which, by the accumulation of years, had I 

 obstructed the river, and had formed a nat 



tream. Here, both above and below, tb< 

 perch, black bass, white drum and ■' I collected 



in countless numbers. Here was no opportunity for scientific 

 fishing, for you could not allow your fish a play of twenty- 

 yards in any direction without his finding a big ii 

 Which he was sure to run, then good-by to your tackle, if he 

 was a heavy one, and heavy ones were the rule, not the excep- 

 tion. No ; we locked our reels, using a line about a foot 

 shorter than the rod, and give our fisb the butt from the time 

 that he was hooked. Of course we lost many lino ones, but 

 that did not matter where there was such an abundance. In 

 a couple of hours we had an abun dance of fine fish of the varie- 

 ties named above, and we stopped fishing. 



And here, though I must digress to do so, let me enter an 

 energetic protest against the ungentlenianly end unsportman- 

 like habit into which some anglers— no, I will not profane that 

 name— made dear by Walton, Herbert, Sir Humphrey Davie, 

 Hallock, and thousands of high-toned accomplished gentle- 

 men. These men, Isay, have fallen into the habit of bragging; 

 nay, writing, about the great number of fish that thi 

 killed! 



If they but knew the withering scorn and contempt in 

 which they are held by all true anglers they would never peu 

 another line telling of their exploits with i 



It is positively sickening to hear a great big I luudering fel- 

 low tell how he and his party caught so many hundreds of 

 pounds of fish in a single afternoon! Well, ,: wot ot it?" 

 Have you added to the world's soimty stock of wit and wis- 

 dom? Have you penned a single line of interest, to the 

 naturalist or to the sportsman ? No ; you have sat. ; i 

 so many hours and you have pulled out so many fish. Co to, 

 go to. Quit pot-fishing ; write like a gentleman, if you eaji .- 

 and If not, do not torture men of Fi tmaaily by 



jotting down your big catches of Cud's crei 

 destiny is an idiotic tiling, and the man wlto writes about it 



And men who wear the garb of 

 in daily intercourse with refined 



,-ould any one expect of an uncul 

 that he would kill all 

 full of all the little fish that he could find 



he race explains that. Combined with 

 desire to do something by which he could bei 



