FOREST AND STREAM* 



291 



wild rugged passes, and under cliffs and peaks towering 

 800 feet or more in sharp outlines against the clear blue. 

 sky, to Floyd HiU. The distance is seventeen miles, the 

 rise about 2,000 feet, and after ridinti I he whole distant!!.' on 

 the rear platform of the lust cat', I eolteliide that almost no 

 place iii these United SUite? i* inaccessible to the little liar 

 row gairge engine, wrtxieli puffed itself ahead "'id aboul and 

 up ;.nd down in :i surprising way to make one think Untight 

 on provocation twist around or climb up a big U'OC. 



We took, at Floyd Hdl, the old fits!) I id 

 stage, on thorough braces, for Idaho Springs, 8v rriileR, to 

 find rest from travel and excellent accomodat on a! I he 

 Bcebee House, with Ciapaeity l'<u Kin guests and tilled every 

 Summer, inflexibly eseliewtng loafers and bummers, lur- 

 nishiii"' clean room's, good beds and setting before you, in 

 addition to the. ordinary fare of our better Eastern hotels, 

 8ti.cH gatnety luxuries ns Iroot, mountain sheep, antelope and 

 elk. The native butter on its ttd.de is in no particular in- 

 ferior to our best Orange comity. The cooking is simple 

 andsini] . rfect, and ; ftftle attendance by the tidiest and 

 handiest cirls i ever saw in a dining room. 



The open secret that underlies and accounts for nil these 

 satisfactions is that Mr. and Mrs. liecbee uuder-tand Iheit 

 business and attend to it. The famous hot and cold Mineral 

 Spring, a few minutes walk from the hotel, make Idaho 

 Spiings the most desirable bathing resort Wesi, of the Mis- 

 sissippi. The bather can disport ill a swimming bath, 

 40x20, into which Hows, from the spring a few feet distant, 

 a constant stream of water at a temperature of about 90 , 

 wdiich yields in 107 grains, thirty-one curb, soda, l« cut v- 

 uine sulph. so. la and nineteen sulph. magnesia. The a(.- 

 i.iiudc above Ihcsea is 7,800 feel. Toward night of the 

 next day Bcebee and I started on horse back for the Middle 

 Parky riding that evening ten miles to Empire, a deserted 

 milling town on-Clear creek where the South Fork joins 

 t lie main stream. Seven miles above in an open valley 

 watered by this fork, Georgetown is picturesquely located 

 in the ■heart of a rich silver mining district. Its enterpris- 

 ing citizens are building a wagon road over the range, 

 through the Berthond Pass, into and aecross the Middle 

 Park to the hot Sulphur Springs on the Grand River. AVc 

 rode over the Pass the next day and found nearly 100 men 

 at work on the road, which is about twelve feet wide, of 

 ten feet uniform gr.ide to the 100, and thoroughly con- 

 st rucled. it is nine miles from Empire to the summit and 

 eleven from there down tbe Western slope, through heavy 

 i uu tier, to ihe entrance of the Park. The attitude of Em- 

 pire is 8,600 feet, and of the lop of tbe Pass neat ly 11,000. 

 The road is very tortuous, affording a great variety of most 

 striking mountain views, will soon be as smooth and hard 

 as the the approaches to our Catskill and White Mountain 

 hotels, and become in my opinion, the most famous and 

 frequented mountain drive in the United States. The Road 

 Co. are building on an open plateau, at the very summit of 

 the Pass, a large station house, the germ of the future On- 

 topolis, as the place has been already happily named. Tee 

 Park is one of Natures' marvels, forty by sixty 

 miles in extent, made up of meadows, prairies, undulating 

 html, hills and mountains, which are dotted with pine, 

 spruce, and aspen groves. It is plentifully watered by 

 rivers and creeks and environed by rugged andlofty moun- 

 tains pushing their snowy peaks above timber line. Some 

 of tbe mountain sides "presented a gorgeous appearance 

 with the various shades of yellow, from lemon to 

 bright orange, of the aspen foliage interspersed among the 

 dark evergreens. The soil in many place looked black and 

 strong and rich, and I. have Beebee's authority for thinking 

 it might grow potatoes wdiich it would requite a caul-hook 

 to roll over. A very interesting feature among the attrac- 

 tions for visitors are the Hot Springs on the Grand River, 

 Hie principal affluent of the Great Colorado of the West. 

 'I'h ■ s-iarkling, healing waters, at a temperature of 110', 

 pour, 'at the rate of sixty gallons a, minute, over a rocky 

 shelf eight feet huh, into a circular basiu hollowed out 

 of tbe earth and rock and paved with gravel. The Indians 

 are very indignant, because tiie enclosure prevents them 

 from forcing their sore-backed ponies under- the soothing, 

 wholesome "Hood. We visited Grand Lake, wbich is 

 twenty-five miles above tbe Springs, and one of the sources 

 of the Grand River. It is about two miles in length, one 

 in breadth, of depth not yet fathomed by the tisl.enneu we 

 found encamped on its shores, and begin on all sides ex- 

 cept one, by high peaks. Wc were Ihe welcomed guests fur 

 two nights of three fishermen, who took out of its waters, 

 in the Summer of 1873, thirty-two hundred pounds ol sat mo 

 Omtimdi.-i. Others caught at least one thousand eight 

 'hundred pounds more. They would average say six to the 

 pound, making thirty thousand trout in all. At least 

 Sweaty thousand have been caught this season. We rowed 

 to the head Of the lake and let the boat, float back before 

 the wind, and although if was a cold, dark, blustering day, 

 we lound t lie trout rising to Mir flies wherever we east. 

 Here and at the mouth of ihcFiazicr, wnich joins the Grand 

 about half way between the llol Springs and Grand Lake, 

 were tbe only places where we paid our respects to the 

 trout. The first one I caught at the latter place weighed 

 1J lbs Two men arrived at t lie lake the same evening we 

 did witli the meat of an elk they had shot within sight of 

 Uu road from the bead of the park, which is a day's ride 

 from Grand Lake. Our hosts nad, among other peltry in 

 their camp, nearly one hundred beaver skins. During our 

 ilde we saw several habited beaver dams, some ot which 

 bad quite large stones on the top of the brush and sticks. 

 A trapper told us that he had seen stones of fifty pounds 

 wei'-ht on their dams. "We rode on the last day of our trip 

 from the head of the park through to Idaho Springs, about 

 thirty miles. I feel quite confident that the narrow gauge 

 engine will yet work its way over Kerthoud Pass and across 

 the'Middle Park to Salt Lake. 



1 spent two da\ s among the mines and reduction works 

 of Central Oily 'ami Georgetown, whose enterprising cit- 

 izens cannot be mistaken in their anticipations of a bright 

 failure for Colorado, lie unsettled period of marvellous 

 discoveries, of capitalizing bogus mines, of heavy invest- 

 ments in dams, nulls and machinery in advance of any 

 thorough exploration of the rock tuppoted to be veined 

 with gold and silver, of experimental pscudo-seitnttlic pro- 

 cesses, good tor nothing except the rapid depletion of the 

 purses of distant proprietors, has been succeeded by intel- 

 ligent, patient work, of able, practical men, in business-like 

 methods that insure success in the gradual development of 

 her mineral wealth. The salubrity of the climate, the 

 abundance of water lor irrigating and manufacturing pur- 

 poses, the wild, rich, pasture lands and immense areas of 

 soil, easy of irrigation, that can be made fertile as the 

 banks of the Nile, the inestimable mineral wealth of her 

 mountains, hor admirable railroad system, and the pluck 



and energy of her sturdy peoplc,jnstify the glowing predic- 

 tions of her most sanguine friends. 



I saw and heard enough to convince me that Colorado is 

 a paradise tor the sportsman, who, should he find the cap- 

 lure Of antelope, mountain sheep, elk and cinnamon bear 

 too Mime amusement, can treat, himself to all the excite- 

 ment he has stomach for, by ofiering battle to a eelaio 

 monstrous, grizzly brute, who comes to close quarters 00 

 short. provocation and makes hot and lively work tor his 

 cjlaoi 11. II. T. 



For Fort"' and K'rmni. 

 RETROSPECTION. — A MORNING'S IN- 

 SPIRATION AND WHAT CAME OF IT. 



The laughing, joyous, rippling mountain brooks of 

 Wester!) New York! How many oi them in the early days 

 of June, in years long gone, have I whipped for trout, and 

 bow mv heart wouhi'swell with satisfaction and pride, as 

 plodding home at the close of the day, with a few pounds 

 of them in mv basket, tired, wet, and with ravenous appe- 

 tite, 1 could recall to mind the fine bit ol sport I had at 

 various pools, mulct projecting banks, and letting the cur- 

 rent carry a llv under some sunken moss-covered bole or 

 branch of a tree. Ah, those were days to be long clieiished 

 ard remembered, when all other sporting reminiscences 

 have been tiled awav in dustv pigeon holes of tbe nniiil. 

 The leaping beauties! How they would tangle a line, and 

 that, too, quicker than thought. Seemingly, as with time 

 for one motion, an hundred violent manifestations, as of 

 great power, in the eddy of a boulder, or as the current ex- 

 tended toward some friendly pool or overhanging sod, ant 

 your line for a moment in unutterable contusion, would 

 straighten with the clear spaces below, and then com- 

 menced Ihe sport. Every nerve would be strung to its 

 highest tension, and tbe joyous excitement continued thro 

 the day. No weariness, "no longing for food or rest, or 

 escape from the myriad ot dies infesting such localities. 

 The endurance of ihe true sportsman is beyond compre- 

 hension. It goes not out with the selling sun. I recall 

 to mind a bright Spring day in Sardinia, Erie county, N. 

 Y. The sun rose clear, after quite a heavy rain over night, 

 flowers were in bloom everywhere, vegetation was at its 

 biiglitest green, and its iuspiratiug perfume pervaded every- 

 thing; nature smiled, laughed joyously, and the physical 

 bein"-' more than sustained under the influence, aroused the 

 tunic 'to renewed and stronger efforts of appreciation" and 

 enjoyment. Thus acted upon, pocketing tackle without 

 any well-defined idea as to where it was to he used, and 

 with gun on mv shoulder, I started across the meadows to 

 the i'nviliue- forests beyond. The birds sounded their 

 sweetest notes, and mclo'dv was the order of the morning. 

 One oi two bubbling brooks greeted me, the waters spark- 

 ling like ruoies in the bright sunlight. Dace and shiners 

 bad no chance; tbe woods beyond were the chief attrac- 

 tion Soon after entering the woods 1 went down into a 

 ravine dropping from the level fields a short distance to 

 the left. Here was the bed of a brook, a tiny stream at 

 any time, and now, in places filtering through the gravel, 

 leaving here and.there small pools that one could jump 

 adviss" In springing across one of them I noticed a commo- 

 tion "cf "iK -poet and slopping for closer inspection dis- 

 covered an eight-ounce mountain-brook trout. A thrill of 

 pleasure passed through my mind, and as it passed away, 

 out came I lie tackle. Here was revelation I Grasshoppers 

 were plenty, and the first one that struck the water went 

 out of sight in the instant, and out came the trout, a 

 splendid silver-sided fellow, fully eight, inches in length. 

 I caught three cut of this pool, that contained hardly a 

 tub full of water. Three, or four other pools above this 

 One furnished tlteir quota. Going down the stream, and 

 every few steps taking out my trout, I soon came to the 

 livin'n- stream, and so on down to its junction with Bigelow 

 Creek— a distance of half a mile. Here I found myself 

 possessor of sixty-four trout, averaging about four ounces, 

 and a prettier, brighter mess I have never caught. All 

 this in an old settfed section, and where the "oldest in- 

 habitant" had not dreamed of trout. Bedford. 



THE SPORTS OF MICHIGAN. 



Monroe, Mich., December 1, 1874. 

 Stream:— 



some information about Monroe find vicinity, auj 

 e region affords facilities for flutilug nnd hunting, 

 a tax upon muscle and parser" 



the rail. sinnc: of numerous inquiries dnring the past 

 ,y be supposes that alt such inquirers lake the FoftBS'l' 

 through tliis medium 1 sliould lie happy to give a brief 



i-.-ilia 



uf'thh 



cibe'if 



.j the 





n Bh( 



a little 



■d upon the Ri 



ab'..Vei[»™iiam-e into Lake Bile' It is on the line of the Lake Shure 

 ftnd Michigan Senilism Ruilroad, and t tie Canadian Southern, and is also 

 tbe terminus Ot theFiint. and Fere Marquette it. R., doutb, making its 

 norlliern terminus at, Lurtington, on ihe eastern banks of Lake Michigan, 

 a link Bomb of Orand Traverse, the. culd, clear streams ot which region 

 abound In trout. 



Discoveries in the region of Lakes Eric and Huron were initiated n 9 

 early as Lilt, bv ths Jesuits, in hopes of converting I lie aborigines to 

 their religious faith. Louis Heuuipen, of historic memory, followed at 

 a later date. In 172.1, Charlevoix, under the auspices of the French Gov- 

 ernment, made Ihe tour of tbe principal lakes, except Superior. About. 

 forty years later, some bold adventurers, with knapsack and rill.:, at- 

 tempted the navigation of the Raisin, and having escaped the tomahawk 

 of the savage, and penetrated a region where the footprints of the pale 

 race hud never been seen before, gave glowing descriptions of tbe stream, 

 filled to plethora with fish, and the glorious old forests, the home of mil- 

 lions of the uv.tlercd tribe, "whoso taroeuess was shocking to man." 



The Indian name of Italian Hiver was Surnma-Sepee, from the vast 

 numbers of Murgeon which amended the river at uu appointed time in 

 the cm ly Spring. There Is euongli ror all practical purposes at this llmo. 

 gome ol the older inhabitants have told me that in days of yore, when in 

 full force uu their river tour, could they all have been brought to a stand 

 atlll, or lie Still m one and ihe same moment, you could have walked 

 acrolSn it..- i ivi-rou their backs. 1 hope no one will he curious to test if in 

 truth of this declaration, by testimony under oath, for most of those 

 oldc-i • inhabitants baYempvl^j away, or gone to tbe Better Laud, and de- 

 cay is creeulng over the memory or the few that remain. 



About the time ot the American Revolution a colony from Canada 

 ratide something like a permanent settlement on the grounds where the 

 city now stands, and here [for many years was the rude depot for lire fur 

 trade of the Northwestern Company. The River Raisin still runs along 

 its ancient channel, over its rocky bottom, and pours lis waters into Ihe 

 great, basin of Erie. River and lake still abound In fish, large forests 

 still remain, interspersed «ith well tilled and luxuriant fields. Those 

 forests nave some deer remaining, as out markets are well supplied with 

 venlnon. But to those who wish to make deer Uupting a specialty. 1 would 



recommend to go further North, Still within the limits of the Lower Pe- 

 ninsula, and accessible by rail. 



• Ruffed gronsr, quail, tnipe. ivoodcoclc and plover abound in this re- 

 gion, and under ihe Influence of nnr game laws— respected, aui rigidly 

 on forc.d iii case of violation— their numbers are increasing. A good 

 shot, with a well trained (fog— setter preferred, and must retrieve- will 

 bagof quail or snipe rrom Iwviiiy In Ill'iy per day. The rmtVd grouse^- 

 die proudest nnd handsomest game bird on the continent— la p'omlfnl 

 Within from live to ten miles of tile city. They are but little burned by 

 professed sportsmen, for the reason, possibly, that more labor la required 

 of them than ehnplj I . ullo. ■ .. til ovei n dog in an open fleld. A young 

 friend of mine sttffted a few ■.:■.■ ! liw With gWuse in view, and by the 

 aid .d a young dog six months ..It. during puts of two days' binning, 

 shot nine grouse, one wild turkey, two coons, and a number of quail, 

 that came in bis way along the borders of ttie forest. 



Our bays' and channels made by different stream? ns they verge toward 

 this common centre, cntiiuv. their water paths through boundless fields 

 i.f wild rice, have long made this t favorite spot for ih.ck llnulhlg. Their 

 fro lias grounds are Immense, while the variety In greet, the moat torn - 

 mmi rrre the mallard, leal, red head ami canvas, back. 



Nowforflshiu-. This Ub pastime In Which Ml may cgare, thoneh 

 all cannot en,joy troutiug: and unless experts in the art, an art requiring 

 much study and practice, would not. if you uboiill rurnish them with tna 

 be.-f tackle and sit Ihein down on the hanks of the bee! stream that ever 

 caressed Tie vpeckled rogue. There is no sport in "toiling nil night," or 

 day, and ib.n ai selling sun, homeward bound, leg weary, head full of 

 doi.du: lellectiom-ttiiis wise: Sawibem, as shadowy lights tl'iey sped 

 to their I. 'Mine- pim-.-s; provoking! Caught nothing. Sorely it is more 

 sport to oaten, the pike, pickerel, bass and perch, and on these ashing 

 grounds, wiih little practice and skill, you m iy bo almost certain of a 

 good basket every time. The bis! months for trolling upon the lake are 

 Ihe last half of May and June and the three Autumn months. A good 

 catch of hass, weighing from two to five pounds each, will be from twen- 

 ty to sixty in number. 



Ladles may wish lo p trticlpnte in this sport, bnt are too timid to von- 

 tnre upon the like. It is nol necessary, The channels, from live to len 

 Teet deep, have waters just as clear and netful if il as those In mid 

 sea. Here, too, the fish are found, and may be taken in nil the months 

 from May till December. Only a few days since Mr. C. called at my door 

 at 13:15 P. M., saying that a young friend was spending' a few days wt'h 

 htm, nnd that they were going to the lake, and desired. If nerceubte, that 

 f shoiill report myself at the boa! house as soon as convenient. Having 

 readied (here— a very short mile walk— wc selected a light boat, with 

 two pairs of oars, rowed down Ihe ship canal about one mile, and from 

 (hence into one of the numernns channels, nnd cast out, our anchor. This 

 may be called "still ti-l.lng," but for the two bonis that followed there 

 was nothing like stillness or rest in or immediately about that "frail 

 bark." I do not say 11 CiMght the most fish; it is not my favorite moile 

 of fishing; but 1 do say that, beside other lish, I captured ten pickerel, 

 the largest weighing about eight pounds. "Paddling our own canoe," 

 catching a half bundled of the. finny tribe, and home again id early toa. 



Now. if anyone feels that he must camp out and get thoroughly wet to 

 give z.-st, to ihe cnterlninmeiil, it is optional. He can do so, Jmnp into 

 the lake and camp on some island or puint, Jutting miles toward the 

 deep waters. Boats of every description nnd IL-hlng tackle of every 

 kind are ready at a moment's call, and at a trifling expense. Hotel ac- 

 commodations ample and cheap. Afiei twelve yens' residence, my 

 conviction is (here Is no healthier place to be found iu the laud. M. 

 ♦•♦ 



ALoon-atic os Ice. — Our correspondent Geo. A Board- 

 man, Esq*, of Calais, Maine, relates the followiug cireum-. 

 stance. It is strange enough; yet, we are sorry that. Peter 

 killed the loons. We always litco to hear their "hula-bcl- 

 loo" in the wilderness. 



"Near here, lust week, as Peter Mitchell (a well known. 

 Indian) was crossing the Big Lake, thai had but. just frozen, 

 on his way down lo Princeton, he discovered a large num- 

 ber of loons, or great northern divers, in a small hole 

 made by Ihe loons swimming about and beating tile water 

 with their wings. It appeared as if all the loons in tho 

 country had assembled iu one small hole in the ice. Peter 

 having* no tire arms, went for them with poles and ciuhs, and 

 when they came tip to breath he would strike thern. Many 

 of them would spring out on the ire, but could not fly away 

 or get, back to the water before Peter hud them. In about 

 an hour he had killed thirty, all full sized birds, two thirds 

 of litem in first season plumage, and quite a number went 

 off under Ihe ice. 1 Ihiuk next season there will be less 

 noise about the lakes. 



,««»■» 



—The life of Robert K. Lee, as we can now look upon It, 

 is a study tbnl can be undertaken from a higher point of 

 view than that, of popular enthusiasm on the one side, or 

 of political prejudice ou the Others Among the most re- 

 markable tigiuvs in a most remarkable period, he repre- 

 sents, as no other can, the possibility of a pure and earnest 

 Champion of ideas that have now been tried by higher tests 

 than individual judgment, and found their tale, as was inev- 

 itable; but that have formed a part in one of the greatest 

 problems ever solved by battle, and li.iv. invested their 

 ehief defenders with a lasting inieiest for every sindellt nf. 

 human history. Of lliese defenders, Lee was uot Hi. r? ft 

 end, but lather the ideal type. In bun the opinions lor 

 which he fought were divested of their worse features, and, 

 in the purity of his mind and his whole personality, were 

 reliiied into' a higher order of beliefs — a chivalrous devotion 

 to conviction; a soldierly strength and courage which com- 

 manded mih'e than Ihe ordinary rcsper!. ol enemies! and a 

 personal honor and standard of thought Which were ac- 

 knowledged in days of greatest hostilityjiu.l On which those 

 who fought against hint are least, ready to east ft shadow.— 

 AjijMun'x Journal. 



♦•♦ 



Why Not.— The following rather asinine tale wi'd be ac- 

 cepted with cauticn by readers: — 



Among the curiosities at a recent fair in Fredericlt, Md, , 

 none attracted more attention than an ass entered In A 

 man named O roves, from Rhepardslown, Weil \.:., 

 And why noiv Inasmuch as this ass could speak these 

 winds. At noon one day, writes a correspondent 6f the 



IVdliinorc Sua, ju-t as the guests at iln-iMy Hotel w.-ro 



assembling for dinner, the owner of the ass ironed him in 

 through the back yard of the- lu.iel, and before- tire specia- 

 tors were aware of the intention the jack stalked ilitfj tl 

 bar room, where he afforded mueh merriment to thos. as 

 serabledby his answer to all quest iotj Why not?" One 

 gentleman" asked hint to take i tl tffl a an ivercd I 



good English, "whv nntf" The animal does not ridl,' 

 materially from his species, «seept thai his ears an 

 quite so long. His owner caunnl account for the faculty 

 of speech developed in the animal, but considers it singu 

 |ar that il sliould be able to articulate only the words, why 

 m.i.? Mr. Groves was offered $500 for the curi ..silV, but 

 refused to accept. 



—The proposed tunnel under the Niagara River from 

 Buffalo to Canada will require 4,000 feel .i r cutliug and 

 tuuueling. The expense is estimated at $l,5t 0,000. 



