FOREST AND STREAM, 



461 



howling for breakfast, which we always had ready, nfcVirig 

 left a man io camp for that purpose. 



After breakfast we smoked our pipes and loafed aruuoil 

 camp for two or three hours ; then, taking a bite, would for 

 the remainder of the day harass the ducks which were tiot in 

 such a hurry south as their larger brethren. For about a week 

 each year this seems to be their favorite haunt, affording 

 them rest and food ou their journey southward. Wl 

 disturbed they stay a day or two, but as they are coming and 

 going by independent Hocks there are lots always, "and, 

 although driven away in the morning, others will come at 

 night, and on quiet nights their incessant equailkings are 

 almost deafening. We spent four days after this fashion, and 

 my chum and I bagged 137 brace of geese and twice as many 

 ducks, when, a good north breeze rising, we packed up and 

 started south, doing the seventy-five miles in eight hours. We 

 gave our French Canadians some good feeds of game, dished 

 up " a la. Shaidie?;" which was a welcome relief to the 

 monotony of salt pork. 



After lounging around the shanty for a day or two I ex- 

 pressed a wish to have a shot at a moose, which I understood 

 was plentiful in that vicinity. So the shanty boss engaged to 

 pilot me to a small lake about seven miles inland and cover- 

 ing about twenty acres, where, he said, th re wire moose. So 

 I shouldered my Ballard and followed the heels of my guide. 

 We tramped around the lake for some time, but without suc- 

 cess, although the shore was tracked like a cattle-yai d. The 

 lake at one point becomes quite narrow, and from the well- 

 beaten path leading from the water we concluded it was a 

 fording place for them. So, at a short distance from bere, we 

 constructed a rude camp and returned to the shanty. The 

 next day 1 packed up my blankets and some provisions and 

 started alone for my hunting-ground. 1 tramped around 

 until dark with no success, when I rolled myself up in my 

 blankets and went to sleep to dream of moose. 



At the first peep of dawn I was on my feet and took up the 

 most favorable position on the runway, thinking that if any 

 were moving Uiey would come my way, as it was a well- 

 trodden runway and the running season had commenced. 



After keeping quiet for about half an hour, 1 began to 

 think that moose hunting wasn't what if is cracked up to be, 

 ■when my ears were saluted with the sound of a tremendous 

 splashing in the lake and at the narrows; so I made for that 

 point as fast as I could quietly, and there, swimming straight 

 for me, were three moose — an old cow leading, a young cow 

 calf next, and an old bull bringing up the rear, I was about 

 twenty paces from the leading cow, when I sent a ball through 

 her head, leaving her splashing up the water with her death 

 kicks. I had reloaded belore the astonished calf thought of 

 retreating, and it became an easy victim to my second shot. 

 By the time 1 had again reloaded, the bull had reached the 

 opposite side, about sixty paces off, and as he showed a good 

 length of back in ascending the bank, 1 took a good aim and 

 pulled, but seemingly without effect. 1, however, had two 

 moose that I was sure of, but 1 was wanting a pair of horns 

 as trophies of my sport ; so I went around the lake to see if 

 the bull would grant me a second interview, and upon exam- 

 ining the tracks leading out ol the water, I saw by the blood 

 that my last shot had taken effect, and upon following the 

 track for about half a mile I bund him lying dead. The 

 bail had entered midway down the back, and passing through 

 with a forward inclination, had touched a vital part. The 

 horns Were very large, being tilt. Sin. at the widest and 4ft. 

 lOin. apart at the tips. 



My chum received news from home that imposed his imme- 

 diate departure, and 1 was unable to have any more sport of 

 this kiud, of which I am sure there is abundance. We Blurt- 

 ed down in a small bark canoe that was barely large enough 

 to hold us and our valises, and which led me to think that tue 

 Yankee's description of a bark canoe was very appropriate, 

 When ho says : "They are made of a little bit of bark and a 

 few chips stuck together with gum, and when you git in 

 you must have your hair parted in the very middle and be 

 careful in passing your quirt from one cheek to the other." 



I, however, arrived safely home, after spending the most 

 enjoyable month of rny existence. 



OsfiAWA. 



For Forest and Stream and Mod and Gun. 

 NOTES OF AN OLD-TIME TRAMP. 



* 



r AM not prepared to state off-hand what my grandmother's 

 -■- grandfather knew about fishing, but in loolting over 

 what he entitled " Journal of My Proceedings in My Excur- 

 sion in the Country, " I find here and there remarks which 

 show that he was as fond of fishing as of fish, and I will 

 quote one or two extracts from the worthy old gentleman's 

 diary. He begins thus i 



" July 20, 1763— In the morning took my departure from 

 Philadelphia. Breakfasted at Copeland's, in Chester, where I 

 could not help remarking the luxury of the country— six or 

 eight lubberly country laborers sitting down to tea and bread 

 and butter." 



What would the farm hands of to-day say about such lux- 

 ury '. Not a word said as to the toothsome pig or the stiff 

 though warm-hearted fried potato. Mr. Benjamin Mifflin 

 seems to have been an early riser or he would hardly have 

 thought of riding horseback from Philadelphia to Chester be- 

 fore breakfast. I do not intend to follow him on bis journey, 

 except to pick out an occasional sentence that may interest 

 you. He no doubt kuev. how to ride, for be "baled at 

 Grubb's and dined at Wilmington," " bated and refreshed at 

 Newport," and from thence reached Oglestown, where he 

 writes; "I thought to have pushed on to the head of Elk, 

 but the sun being rtown, myself and horse fatigued, and be- 

 ing a stranger to the road, and Ogle telling me he still enter- 

 tamed travelers, concluded to lodge there, bm Mill 

 neither punch nor wine, but good oats and hay fur my horse, 

 which maile amends, as I look on it the moat material affair 

 in traveling to lake gsod care of one's horse." There is 

 traveling for you-neither puuch nor wine ! Think of that ' 

 Good oats and bay, though ; take good care of your horse: 

 "bate end ret'.:«n Thus refresh Bounds vcmfortaUb 

 Fancy our worthy traveler spinning along in the limited ex- 

 press" Wilmington— ten minutes for refreshments ! Sand- 

 wich, glass Of beer, and back to the smoking car. Where are 

 we now . Baltimcne towu ! Our manuscript sa - vs Baltimore 

 had one grist mill and another a. Building, and contained about 

 1511 houses, With thirty or forty going up. "It seems to in- 

 crease very fast." 



Let us get hack to our journey. The journal says ; 



"37^'— Set off early, and breakfasted at Hollingworth's, 

 the head of Elk, called so because the tide comes no higher , 

 a pleasant, cool, agreeable situation, the house but mean, but 

 good entertainment. Here I fell in with Mr. Keyes, Clerk of 

 the County, who resides :il Obarlestown, and accompanied 

 me thither. Refreshed on our way at Currey's, the head of 

 N. E., where we had a prospect of Charlestowu ; distance, 

 about four miles. Here I understood that, one Hank Kudolph 

 put Up about 400 bbls. of herrings last season, which he sold 

 at twenty shillings u barrel, and expects to put up 500 bbls. 

 next season. They say they are. little inferior to mackerel, 

 and fetch in the West Indies almost as much." 



What does the Fokest and Stiibam know about the her- 

 ring fishery at Charlestown ? Our traveler, who reached this 

 town— of which, by the way, he seems to have formed a poor 

 opinion— at 11 a. m , says i " 1 set off from thence about 5 

 o'clock e. m., and arrived at Susquehanna a little before sun- 

 set; but seeing a, fine dish of the largest old wives, and best 

 that I ever eat, did not choose to pass by such a delicious re- 

 past, but made a hearty meal on them, with Indian Johnny 

 cake. The people bere call them sun perch, and catch what 

 quantities they please in a very short time. But we were 

 badly off for drink, the bouse affording nothing but mm, of 

 which 1 ordered a bowl of toddy, but could not drink butvery 

 little." Crossing the Susquehanna after dark, he went two 

 miles on. reaching the " Three Turns " about 8 p. wl " The 

 house afforded wine, of which I had a lullaby, and went to 

 bed." This constant reference to wine, or the want of it — 

 for the ingenious narrator seems to have thought the water 

 sufficiently taxed to support the " delicious " sun perch, with- 

 out man's taking any of it— sounds odd nowadays ; but that 

 was much more of a wine drinking age than this. The rum 

 hiuts at the West India trade. You would be amused at the 

 descriptions of Baltimore town and Annapolis, but they have 

 nothing to do with either the forest or the stream. 



While at Annapolis, however, on his way home, Aug. 2, 

 he went " with Jonas Green Io view his printing office," and 

 afterwards "took a walk in his garden, where, among other 

 things, observed a tree which be calls a catolpest tree, plant- 

 ed about ten years ago, and is now about nine inches thick, 

 about twenty-live feet high, the leaves as large as the water 

 beech, and grows in regular, beautiful order, much like the 

 English elm." I wonder where Green's tree is now. It 

 sounds to me more like an ailantbus tree. The method of 

 leaving Annapolis may interest some of your boating readers. 



"Aug. 3 — Got up very early ; had my horse bated and 

 taken down lo the boat, but to my disappointment was 

 obliged to stay till one side of her was graved, and about 9 

 o'clock a. m. set off, the wind blowing hard at N. W. About 

 two mdes down the river the fore sheet tore away the bolt 

 tope Fri m i he sail, which obliged us to comeback, unbend 

 and take it to a sailmakor's— perhaps for the best, as thewind 

 was very high find a great sea would have run in crossing the 

 bay, which might have endangered our lives in an open boat. 

 About 3 i'. m, set off again with intent to land across the bay, 

 at Hutchinson, on Kent Island, but the wind being right 

 down the bay, and our boat turning badly to windward, was 

 till dusk before we could reach a ferry, three miles below, 

 kept by one Cu.pt. Thomas Himtner, an old skipper of mine, 

 where I look up my lodging. From Annapolis across the bay 

 is computed about fourteen miles, four of which is the river 

 to the entrance of the bay. The price of ferriage for man 

 and beast is 12s. fid. There are several persons who keep 

 boats on both sides, so that a traveler need not wait long at 

 Eor a passage." We must remember this. Twelve 

 and six will take a man and horse by boat from Annapolis to 

 Kent Island. On the 4th, passing through " Queenstown, the 

 county town of Queen Anns, about half-past ten," our trav- 

 eler says " there are about five or six dwelling houses in it, 

 besides the prison and court-house, built, as appears by the 

 date in the gable end, in 1703. The only good dwelling- 

 house in it is the tavern where I put up, a new and large 

 building, brick." What sort of a place is Queen Ann's Court 

 House now? Is the building of 1708 in existence yet? 

 Only five or six dwellings besides the prison! Nice place 

 thai last, no doubt. Still, he prefers the tavern. 



He got to Elowers', " said to be the best house on the road, 

 at 4 p. m., and, seeing they bad no hay, turned my horse out 

 in the pasture, and had hardly got in the house before an im- 

 pudent planter demanded my name ; but, not choosing to 

 satisfy his impertinence, belaid hold of me to take me up, and 

 but for the landlord, whoslepped in, would have had the butt- 

 end of my whip, which I had lifted up to give him. This is 

 the first insult I have had since I left Philadelphia." 



Tibs last I quote to show that people who travel after 

 sim perch should either have a whip with a heavy end, or 

 should understand how to make their hands keep their heads. 

 On the 0th, at Dover, I find this entry : " Toward the middle 

 of the afternoon went back to Dover with V. L., and from 

 thence went a fishing in Dover River in company with The. 

 Parks and Theo. Maurice, caught fourteen fine perch, and in 

 the evening bargained with V. L, for fifty pounds tea." I 

 should like to know what sort of tackle my ancestors used 

 to ensnare the fine perch! I have no doubt if you had been 

 about at that time you would have been asked whether the 

 helgramite was not useful as a bait. 



llh—K sudden fit having taken V. L. to go to Philadelphia, 

 after breakfast borrowed T. Parkes' chair, and went with my 

 tea to Little Creek Landing, and put it on board Lock ! s 

 shallop. Here 1 came across a hnwk's-bill turtle which I 

 bought and likewise put on board of Lock. ' Having enjoyed 

 hiB hsh while traveling, it would not do to come home empty- 

 handed to talk of these delightful messes, but tea and turtle 

 must go by shallop to the city home. No express in those 

 days To those who are fond of horseback travel the last 

 day's record of the home journey will be interesting; and, by 

 the way, let me here ask something : Why do not some of 

 the tuauy people who are always seeking new ways of amus- 

 ing themselves, take to the old-fashioned horseback riding ? 

 I mean to take horse, saddle bags and gun, if the latter is 

 wanted, and take a good long journey, enjoying the thing 

 much in the same way that one doeB a' pedestrian excursion. 

 1 travel huudreds of miles yearly in the saddle, and find it 

 very pleasant. Let us see how our old friend traveled and 

 took care of his horse. 



"14t/t— Intending to rise very early" [he was at Jacquet's, 

 formerly Wilherspoon's, tweuiy-eigbf miles from Dover] 

 "this morning, the moon shining bright mistook it for daylight. 

 Arose Mini dressed, but after rousing the family and getting a 

 light found it was not two o'clock. Bated and set off at three. 

 Bated and refreshed seven miles from Jacquet's, and break- 

 fasted at the Red Lyon, eight iniles further; arrived at 

 Christeen about 10 a. it. ; bated and lefreshed, it being eleven 

 miles frorn the Red Lyou." This was doing very well lor a 

 quiet middle-aged traveler— twenty-six miles horseback by 10 

 a. m. "Set off at twelve, bated and refreshed at Grubb's and 

 got to Chester about three ; dined at Copeland's, and at five 



setoff. Bated and refreshed at Darby, and about nine o'clock' 

 [did what I wish ail readers of Foricst and Stiikam who 

 fish, sail or ride may do] "arrived at my wished-for (jorl 

 where, through mercy, I found my family well, myself en- 

 joying a better state of health than when 1 set off." Lat u, 

 hope he did not mar this by too much turtle. C. (.'. 



Philadelphia, Nov. 25, 187S. 



For Forest and Stream and Rod and 'Jim. 

 THE OJAI VALLEY, CAL. 



SOME six or more weeks ago my wanderings carried me 

 into one of the prettiest little nooks in all California. 

 The Ojai Valley — or valleys rather, for there are two of them 

 —commences about a dozen miles directly east of San Buena 

 Ventura, on the Pacific coast. It is of the lower valley that 

 I wish to speak. It is about six miles long and two wide. 

 Through it run two streams that never fail even in the driest 

 reason, while during the 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 level as a floor, and 

 is tilled with grand old live and white oak trees, giving the 

 appearance of some old and well carcd-for park. The whole 

 valley is a Colorado park on a very small scale. ( >n 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 mountains have a different color, tone and s.iade. 

 Sometimes they are covered with heavy, threatening storm 

 clouds, and sometimes they are bathed in the most lender and 

 delicate shades of green. But it is at sunset that they are 

 most strikingly beautiful. While the whole west is "tilled 

 with living, liquid, golden light, the mountains at the western 

 end are in dark shade, but those at the eastern end are covered 

 with a brilliant amethyst. Often have I watched the sunsets, 

 and thought them unequaled by any I had seen elsewhere. 



A true sportsman should be a lover of nature ; but in this 

 happy valley he is not confined to nature in her inanimate 

 forms. Game abounds in plenty at the proper seaaou. In 

 the Ventura Kiver some fine trout are caught. Unfortunately 

 my visit was made just before the close of the seasou. 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 en- 

 joy the cooler waters nearer their source. Owing "to this fact 

 I took but few fish. But the quails— the pretty, lively, ac- 

 tive little quails— how they did abound! In the morning or 

 evening they might be 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 utmost regularity. 

 The middle of the d-iy was usually too hot (or walking, and 

 so my friend D. (one of the best companions oa a hunt or 

 anywhere else that I have ever had the good fortune to meet) 

 anil myself used to go out about half-past three in the after- 

 noon and return about half-past five with well lilled bags. 

 One day we each had twenty ; another day I had twi- nlv-two 

 and D. not quite so many. We had quail to our heart's con- 

 tent. Just as I was going away English snipe began to make 

 their appearance on the lagunas. Rabbits were abundant 

 enough. 



I am not a good shot with a rifle, but bad I allowed my.-elf 

 a week more in the valley I would have tried my hand ou 

 deer. Just as I was packing up word came to me that the 

 deer were beginning to come into the valley in considerable 

 numbers. One young man killed two in one morning within 

 two miles of where I stayed. As I drove away, "Nick," an 

 Italian, a good hunter, called to me as I passed him on the 

 road, " Oh, yon make mistake ; you go too soon ; deer come 

 plenty now." There is a hotel and a boarding-house In the 

 little village of Nordhoff, about the middle ot the valley, at 

 either of which one will be comfortably entertain 



It was with a real reluctance that 1 packed my trunk, put 

 up my gun and turned my face from the Ojai. Pleasant 

 hunts with my good friend; pleasant soci-d evenings and 

 amusements with the ladles and other guests at McKie's 

 boarding house, and a new measure of vigor, all combine to 

 give the valley a place among my happy remembrances. 



Los Angelas, Oat, Nov. 22, 1878. < |. b. 



Pish Breeding in Canada.— In his report on Pish Breed- 

 ing in the Dominion of Canada, 1877, Mr. Samuel Wilmot, 

 Esq., has prepared a very elaborate document which mav 

 well serve as a model of such reports. The particular charac- 

 ter of the Canadian reports is found in I he extended and cir- 

 cumstantial statistics gathered from every part of the broad 

 field and so systematically arranged as to afford a clear and 

 comprehensive exhibit of the condition of affairs. If the sev- 

 eral reports of our own States do not show the work of the 

 commissioners with the same exactness of figures, they are 

 nevertheless scientifically valuable because of their discussion 

 of the various fish cultural methods in use, the natural history 

 of the subject and its scientific bearings. 



The report now before us shows the work of the previous 

 year to have been quite in advance of that of former years, 

 both in plants and distributions. The total numbers of fry dis- 

 tributed in the spring of 1877, from the seven establishments of 

 Bedford, Miramichi, Restigouche, Gaspe. Tadoussac, Sand- 

 wich and Newcastle, were : salmon, 5,451,000 ; speckled irout, 

 99,000 ; California salmon, 7,000 ; whitefish, 7,950,000, or a 

 total of over 13,500,000. The eggs laid down in the full of 

 the same year were : Salmon, 0,004,000; salmon trout, 1,00ft,- 

 000; speckled trout, 150,000; California .salmon, 40,000 

 whitefish, 23,500,000, or a total of 30,004,000. 



The educational value of the report is much enhanced by o 

 series of pictorial illustrations, comprising eleven drawings, 

 representing different views of the Newcastle Government 

 fish breeding institution and of the apparatus there in use, the 

 whole deliuiating as minutely as possible the entire process of 

 the work. There are also accurate drawings of the salmon 

 from the first development of the head in the ovum to fully 

 grown fish as it appears at the spawning Beason. TheMirami 



