Mahoh 31, 1881.] 



FOREST AND STKEAM. 



165 



"A TRIP THROUGH TOE PROVINCES.' 1 



concluded. 

 '• WUODi Hie gods would ilestroy they tlrst nuke mad.-" 



I TAKE up my pen for the last time I hope in the discus- 

 sion of a muck hackneyed subject, by way of a parting 

 Shot at my. esteemed critic >' Mic Mac," toward whom I did 

 not intend to he " savage," hut only earnest. The"opiu- 

 ffll) " expressed iu my reply lo his article lhat 1 did not be- 

 lieve be ever took a salmon or knew anything of the fishing 

 qualities of the rivers named was based upon the tenor of his 

 article, which reflected the idea that cither he must have en- 

 joyed good sport on the " debatable ground," and desired to 

 keep others away, or he knew little of it. In my review I 

 determined to bring this information to the surface if possi- 

 ble. I surmised if I assumed the former proposition to he 

 the fact and so charged it I should provoke no denial of iny 

 charge, whereas if I assumed the latter to he true then he, true 

 to the instinct of sportsmen in general, wound* d iu his pride, 

 •would "give himself away " if the former were true, and it 

 -would seem my guess was not a bad one. I have, therefore, 

 accomplished what I sought to prove by uiy adversary, viz , 

 that s-dmon may he taken in goodly numbers oft tile rivers 

 under discussion, and the question of "expenses" every 

 reader can pass upon for himself from what follows. Hav- 

 ing said this much I most cheerfully withdraw any seeming 

 "savageness" toward my critic whom certainly I did not in- 

 tend to offend, and I humbly crave pardon for having as- 

 sumed for a moment that he lacked knowledge and informa- 

 tion regarding salmon fishing, with which he seems to be au 

 jail (O-Fay). 



Now, a word as to whether "Mic Mae" is dealing fairly 

 with our fraternity in advising them that my " statement of 

 the possibility of getting good salmon and trout fishing * 

 * * in the space of two or three weeks at very moderate 

 cost" is an " exaggerated account of the chances of salmon 

 fishing" (see his article Feb. 24, 1881). 



Now, confessedly, you went there in the fall, which is not 

 the season of salmon, but June and J uly is. Secondly, you 

 " devoted each year the first part of our vacation— i, e., from 

 six days to a fortnight— to salmon fishing, and the rest to 

 shooting" (F. & S., Feb. 24, '81). 



"In 1878 a friend aud myself were in camp fourteen days 

 on the Nepissiquit River, part of the time on 'Rough 

 Waters,' when we paid the Government license of $1 a rod 

 per diem. * * * During this trip we killed thirty-two 

 fish, salmon and grilse." 



The next fall you fished but two days and took but two 

 salmon, while last year iu tcu days you "killed eight salmon 

 that averaged nearly 19 lbs." 



This, however, was at Gaspe, 'where you under-leased a 

 river from a friend, and you f urther say that your friend, 

 at tbe close of your first trip, after yon "had enough fishing 

 for that season * * * went, up the little southwest branch 

 of the Mirlmachi * * * and killed six or seven fish;" 

 and yet you say later in your article that "I returned there 

 because I liked the country * * * and had sport that 

 satisfied me, although it has been by no'means phenomenal." 



Shades of Isaac Walton I "Mic Mac," your modesty is 

 truly shocking 1 



In two weeks' time you and your friend killed "thirty-two 

 fish, salmon and grilse," and that was nothing to emphasize, 

 while you say later, "These scores are not very large ones, 

 hut still they show that we did have a certain amount of sal- 

 mon fishing." Well, I should so remark 1 Yes! yesl So 

 you did, "Mic Mac." My shaft hit hard, friend, and you 

 s Id out. 



Now, on neither of your trips did you devote over "six- 

 days to a fortnight to salmon-fishing*" Now, will you ex- 

 plain the following, contained in your last article: "But I 

 do say r , and know, that His not to be got (I, <?., salmon-fishing) 

 by anybody who happens" to get two or three weeks' spare 

 tiuie and has a hundred dollars iu his pocket, and any- 

 body who starts off with any such idea will come back sold?" 



1 ask now de the question of time. Let the reader answer. 



Now, as to expenses, my statement was $150 for two 

 weeks, in the first article, and in my second that I actually- 

 made a twenty-day trip for $100. Now, let us look at this 

 question just a moment. You say yourself: " Guides and 

 canoes are cheaper and the cost, of hoard at the taverns and inns 

 is less " than in the Adirondacks or Maine, Let us " rigger" 

 together, brother : 

 Fare, Boston to Restigouche and return, either via 



Quebec or backsame way .' 830.00 



Eight days' fishing, two guides and canoe, board self 



aud guides, .$0,50 per day 52.00 



Seven days' board for self 14.00 



Total $96.00 



Now, where is the error, if one ? There is not one single 

 hotel in New Brunswick, to my knowledge, which charges 

 in excess of $2 per day, and most of them are less by the 

 single day. The estimate of $0.50 per day while salmon- 

 fishing was based upon experience, and we boarded at Era- 

 ser's Hotel, guides included, while camping reduces expenses 

 in this direction. 



The fishing grouuds of the Mirimachi are within easy ap- 

 proach from Newcastle, on the Intercolonial Railroad. The 

 Northwest Branch— "Big Hole"- is twenty three miles 

 from Newcastle and easily accessible by private team. John 

 Hare will keep you, though the fare will be very plain and 

 prices very modest. "Southwest" Branch, at Indiantowm, 

 seventeen miles from Newcastle, is the other place, reached 

 by small steamer or teams ; small inn kept by Frank Jardin. 



The fishing grounds of the Nepissiquit are reached from 

 Bathurst ou the railroad. "Rough Waters" are about ten 

 miles up river and Grand Falls about twenty miles further 

 up, reached by canoes or team. What Qshing is now to be 

 had on the Restigouche is reached from Campbellton on the 

 railroad. Trout-fishing near at hand, with possible chances 

 of salmon below the New York Club pool. Since their ad- 

 vent, however, the main chance is gone here. 



Now, it will be seen all of the fishing, whether good or bad, 

 is of easy access and at moderate expense. From Campbell- 

 ton to Gaspe a steamer runs every week; fare down and 

 back last year, if my memory serves me right, S7 (we did 

 not take the trip). 



Now, a single word with regard to " peaching," "spong- 

 ing " and that sort of thing. Every trout-fisherman is anx- 

 ious to try for salmon. In going to New Brunswick he is 

 sure of finding plenty of trout, for "Mic Mac " says so and I 

 agree. He can make the trip here as cheaply as to New York 

 woods or Maine and take his chance for salmon. If the sea- 

 son should prove favorable the chances are promising of his 

 ■Worthy ambition being gratified ; for, first, there are several 

 places where, upon the payment of the small fee of $1 license 

 per day, he can try. Failing here, if he wishes to plunge 



into the wilderness, as "Mic Mac " did, there is •'sea-room " 

 there that is not leased, or at all events may he fished with 

 impunity by anybody without being called " poachers.'" 



A very largo per cent, of the salmon rivers in Canada and 

 New Brunswick arc leased, aud yet it. is not an uncommon 

 thing for a few days' fishing to be granted to strangers, nor 

 is it called "sponging." I agivc with "Mic Mac" if there 

 were no fishing ground for trout or salmon but what was 

 leased I should not care to go there relying upon chances, 

 but with the honorable arrangements that can generally Be 

 made, if your own ground fails, which is not likely in a fair 

 season, I should not hesitate to try aud get. a chance with 

 some one who had a whole river to himself. 



"Mic Mac'' says " that to hire a river * * is beyond 

 the limit of our purses." Well, this is also encouraging T 

 was fearful heretofore, that he was one of those purse proud 

 " fellers" of Boston; but as lie is poor like the rest of us, 

 and as he has done some pretty talliishing without "leasing" 

 or "sponging," ami asl have been content also with my suc- 

 cess there, under like treatment, why may not another trv 

 his chances there? 



However, let us rest here awhile. I will Teel up my line 

 aud unjoint. I will not refer to the defence on the inaccura- 

 cies of my " bill of costs." If I did not tax" it correctly I 

 would have amended if asked to do so. Neither will I dis- 

 cuss with my fiiend the " dog" question. 1 am not much of 

 a shot anyhow, yet I think I can beat hi in on "misses" 

 out of a possible hundred. I have no doubt his judg- 

 ment is superior to mine ou the hunting question in New 

 Brunswick, and 1 cheerfully yield to his opinions and experi- 

 ence. I also cheerfully forgive bis crushing remark, brist ling 

 all over with sarcasm, that he does not, "on the strength of' 

 a few weeks annually spent in the woods, feel competent to 

 give advice to anybody on airy subject." 



Yet I am sorry he has made this announcement, for if we 

 cannot hear from those who have ripened with information 

 by such experience as " Mic Mac" has had from whom shall 

 we expect it. ? 



But let this suffice for a reply to "Mic Mac." Our words 

 have been many, but I trust not venomous, and withal they 

 have provoked a little information, which I tru t will lie 

 relished by those who contemplate visiting the Provinces. 

 And let us hope that neither you nor I have lost anything — 

 not even onr tempers— thereby. May you live to kill many 

 salmon, aud may your gun never miss fire, is the heartiest, 

 wish of your Reviewer. 



I would be glad if my article might stop here, but I do not 

 feel willing to suffer misrepresentation, nor am I willing that 

 the readers of Fokest ano Stbea.m should be misled by any 

 misinterpretation of previous articles ftom my pen, hence 

 I am led to inquire why does " Manhattan" persist in mis- 

 representing the tenor Of -my articles? 



In an article published in the Fokest and Stream under 

 date of March 10,1881, the list named gentleman retires 

 from I he field of discussion as to the question of there being 

 "good salmon fishing" iu New Brunswick, but differs with 

 me on the question of expenses. 



That, I confess, is legitimate warfare, if he deals with my 

 previous articles as 1 wrote them, aud does not by innuendoes 

 lead the reader to believe I wrote something entirely different 

 from what in fact I did write. I will not say that he does 

 this purposely, but the effect is perfectly apparent T quote: 



"To fly fish for salmon properly also each angler requires 

 a canoe managed by two canoemen. This costs money. I 

 cannot comprehend any enjoyment or success in having two 

 anglers in one cauoe, as must be done if the trip is to cost 

 within or r.ear Mr. Fay's figures. Fancy two hues, each with 

 a twenty-pound salmon on, from the same canoe ! Or fancy 

 a man traveling '1,757' miles and then taking turns with 

 three friends in fishing from the same cauoe I " 



Now r , really, "Manhattan," your insinuation is unworthy 

 of you. You know if 1 ever saw a salmon taken I could 

 never have "figgered" "two anglers in oue canoe." My 

 arithmetic may be bad, but I uever could have blundered on 

 the propriety— aye, necessity— of having two guides for each 

 angler. Nor did I write so ; nor did you understand me to 

 have written so ; nor have you any right to insinuate I did 

 write so. And here is just what I did write in Fokest axd 

 Stream in the issue of At arch 10, 18S0 : 



Expenses of Fishing at Sestigum:he. per Bay. 



Board (self; $2 00 



Board of two guides (per day) 1.50 



Permit to fisli. 1.00 



Canoe 50 



Two guides per day (wages) 1 50 



Total expenses per day $0.50 



"As the water is very ' quick,' two guides are indispensa- 

 ble per man. Estimated expenses for two weeks' trip from 

 Boston to Restigouche, $150." 



Now the. above is exactly what I did say, aud I here repeat 

 it with this addenda: that a two week's trip to that region 

 can be made for $100, even money. 



"Arithmetic" is my stronghold. You may chase the salmon 

 back to the sea, or into the New York Club pool, but I'll sur- 

 render my " Aggers " never — no, never ! " 

 Reeapii/ulation, 



Ticket— Boston to Restigouche and return $31.50 



Six days after salmon fe $6.50 per day 3U.00 



Eight days remaining of two weeks' trip iO.OO 



Incidentals.... 13.50 



Total $100.00 



In my estimate of $150 for'the trip, as before remarked, 1 

 allowed a very wide latitude for all sorts of extravagances. 

 The sum seems a low one, I confess, but the solution is this : 



Aside frpm St. John City I now recall ten different hotels 

 we stopped at, and at none of them was the charge in excess 

 of two dollars per day, and from that down, andby the week, 

 rates at $2 ; homes are about $10. Guides can be obtained 

 readily from 75 to $1.50 per day, otber things in pro- 

 portion. There is no place in lliis country where expen- 

 ses are low T er than in N. S. and N. B. In the matter of 

 guides, for instance, at the Adirondacks I rind $3 per day; at 

 the Raugeley's, $2.50 ; at Mooschead, $3 and $3 50. 



Salmon and trout are as plentiful at New Brunswick as 

 anywhere, and having said this I am quite prepared to agree 

 with my critic, "Manhattan," that "salmon ace. proverbially 

 fickle,"' and ditto trout I could add— and this 1 said before— 

 go where you will, and you are liable to disappointment, and 

 you may wish you had g3ne somewhere else. " A rolliug 

 stone gaihers — no salmon," says " Manhattan." True. 

 Neither does a selfish or jealous sportsmen gather any friends. 



Since writing the article which has provoked these discus- 

 sions I have received several letters of approval from brother 

 sportsmen who "have been there," notably Charles Hallock, 



formerly of the Fokest asb Stream. So it would seem that 

 my views are not entirely unsupported. 



In conclusion, let me say that, 1 presume all anglers do not. 

 go for fish simply, but to see the country, to stuily its re- 

 sources ami products, ami gel, mi outside view of l his micro- 

 cosru of theirs. To those would I say, Gohertce. The United 

 States is not the whole World. Von will fiud a new people 

 and a new laud, and feel kindlier from Contact with the 

 "Blue Noses." 



Your curiosity will readily fee awakened by the high tides 

 —best seen at Mouetou, N. V, ■ n pleasaut coHfitry (yvnfe 

 along the St. Lawrence Bay will greet the eye. and you will 

 realize that you breathe a different; atmosphere than at home. 

 Suppose you catch no tish you will not be "swindled out of 

 a good holiday." Kind reader, in conclus'ou I commend to 

 your careful purusal the introductory in W. O. Prime's "1 

 go a Fishing," he is a type I would imitate, for he breathes 

 the true sentiment of every loyal sportsman. 



" B\;t be warned in time. The best of anglers does not 

 always find fish, and the most skillful casting of a liy docs 

 not always bring up trout. * * * II, however, you have the 

 true angler's spirit, and will go a fishing prepared to have a. 

 good day of it, even though the weather tnrn but vile and 

 the sport wretched, then turn over the leaf and let. us be start- 

 ing." 



My very, very, amiable brother sportsman, " Manhattan," 

 I cordially give yoj my right baud in full faith and fellow- 

 ship. 



Jfcridi'n, Conn., March 14. Geouge A, Fav. 

 _ ,^,_, 



WISCONSIN SHOOTING GROUNDS. 



WISCONSIN abounds in small lakes, rivers and ponds, 

 made attractive to water fowl by the generous 

 supply of wild rice, and in some U; f ees celery, which they 

 |Wi duce. The happy hunting-ground toward which Ihc 

 sportsmen of that portion of the Male included in Winnebago 

 aud Waushara counties journey includes portions of the Wolf 

 and Fox rivers, aud lakes fjpygati and Butte desMortcs, with, 

 their great expanse of adjoining marsh, ponds, sloughs, etc. 

 Lake Poygan is a body of water of some pretensions as to 

 size, being ten or two ve miles iu length and three or four 

 wide. At its northwest, corner is situated the little village of 

 Tusten, comprising a hotel, two or three stores, a sawmill 

 and a few dwellings. Nearly the entire western and southern 

 shore of the lake is of a marshy character, a portion being 

 used as hay marsh, but all overflowed in spring aud fall and 

 producing iu abundance the food which delights the palates 

 of the duck family. At Tusten is a hotel, the Le Fevre 

 House, where good fare, clean beds and reasonable rates arc 

 at aiuable — the latter being a dollar day, which included, in 

 our case, the use of a boat. Starting from Tusten one has 

 hut a short paddle ol a mile or two before a favorable spot to 

 locate may be found; in fact., a gunner [Day establish himself 

 almost anywhere along the edge of the lake on a favorable 

 diy and not go amiss. Back on the marshes, accessible for 

 light boats and wadeable for hipboots, are many holes in 

 which mallards love to congregate for their night's rest. 

 Located iu a convenient cluster of willows with boat drawn 

 well in and a good retriever, the sportsman is certainly exact- 

 ing who cannot get his money's worth in the hour preceding 

 darkness. I never have felt the need of nor the ability to 

 pay for that expensive luxury called a "punter," which I 

 take to be man to do the hard work of such a trip, but have 

 no doubt a small sum per day could secure the services of 

 any of the several qualified persons who have their home at 

 Tusten. 

 Within a distance of three miles from Tusten along the 



western shore of l he lake three streams empty (heir witters 

 into Poygan. Pine River for some distance from its mouth 

 runs throutrh marshv ground, and ou citler side wild rice is 

 abundant." There "is a Stiff current, lec.dcring shooting up 

 Stream almost impossible for a single canoeist ; butal certain 

 seasons fine .sport may be had by paddling up to the timber 

 and then floating down siream, " jumping"' ducks. Pumpkin 

 Seed Creek is very similar at its mouth" to Pine River. I 

 have never followed it any distance up, but presume it affords 

 equally good facilities for sport. Willow Creek, the larger 

 of the' three, threads its way for many miles through a regu- 

 lar paradise for ducks. The writer has followed it from 

 AuroraviUe— some twenty miles above its mouth — to the 

 lake, and for nearly the entire distance ou both sides are 

 marshes abounding in ponds, sloughs, etc., and produi ' 



But 



ducks one 



istanee and 



lcIi, and 



and. get 



rice in profusion in which game galore may be foi 

 in traversing this creek in hopes of "jumping" 

 needs a gim which will "reach out" a goodly dis 

 hit hard, for there is little shelter to hide the appro 

 the birds seem to be competent judges of distance 

 up just a little out of range of an trdinary twelvi „ 

 At about six miles from the mouth of this creek, and almost 

 the only available spot, is a bridge crossing the stream. On 

 one side of the creek is the farm residence of John Ihldiue 

 and on the other, built upon land leased from Dildine, the 

 clubhouse of the Onero Guu Club. The spot is famous 

 hereabouts as one of the best points for shooting in this s c- 

 tion ; aud at certain seasons this bridge affords fine shelter 

 from which gunnel's may hang away at lloek after Hock of 

 ducks leaving the creek above and flying across this point to 



l wl: 



the lake or returning from the lajjo f 



Both above and belt 



afford good stands fro 



find moderate accommo 



he "don't keep a hotel. 



of him, but the surest a 



vide your own outfit. 



Creek between Dildi 



morning meal, 

 bridge the bends in the creek 

 :h to shoot . The sportsman can 

 Uions at Dildine's, though he says 

 A boat can generally be procured 

 1 most satisfaetorv way is to pro- 

 All in all, that portion of Willow 

 and the lake may be considered the 



best ground for shooting- -availability and everything con- 

 sidered. 



To the north of Tusten a. short distance, Norwegian Point 

 offers attractions to the sportsman in Ihc form of canvas- 

 backs, which arc said to congregate there late in the fall. I 

 have never had the fortune to investigate its merits and can 

 only speak by hearsay. It is a faun, us spot for summer 

 camping parties. 



The Wolf lliver eaters Poygaji about its centre on the 



id i 



at at II c 



r-t < 



id be 



icn it 



sLaki 



op. 



Ba- 



iters 

 Butte 



flows 

 >:i the 

 J little 



the! 



des Mortes. again assumes the pr 

 through Lake Winnebago and on to t 

 Wolfrbctween Lake Poygan and the Fo 

 village, of Wiuneeomic — a sleepy, country town, possi 

 however, all the requisites for an enjoyable hunting t. 

 hotel, boats, boundless marshes and plenty of game 

 the mouth of the Wolf in reality, but seemingly at the mouth 

 of the Fox— for the positions of the streams are such that the 

 latter seems to enter into the former— and slong tho adjoin- 

 ing marBhes ducks are abundant, aud he who cannot get as 



rip— a 



