FOREST AND STREAM 
J jmlupmthe \voorl« upon tlio Dm Moines River. Not 
many are lelt of the jovial set wiio had their shanty in 
lilie bag about 1841, and tew of them are active enough to 
| carry si. gun. Old ngu or rheumatism Jins closed them in 
their clutch. 
■ fds .° ' vd h Ashing. Who would think that fish ever 
■ existed in that Stygian pool known as the Chicago River? 
^ i et 1 have sat anchored in my boat at the forks of the 
rriver, and taken fine strings of black and rock bass and 
[pickerel, while from the pier we often used to catch lake 
I trout, and sometimes muskalongo. Iu 181.0 the Cal am el 
Ifiowed through a dreary wilderness of marshes, with a 
tew fishermen’s huts at the mouth, and a tavern four miles 
up, where the stago road crossed the river, as its only hall- 
hlaLious—bnt what fishing it had I My companion and I 
[paddled our boat one day in October up from the mouth 
to the bridge, and killed 250 pounds of pickerel and bass 
hvith the rod. Now the place is called South Chicago the 
h-iver front is covered with packing boxes and lumber 
-aids, and the land sells for $100 the front foot. About 
lie same year we fished Crystal Lake, in McHenry county 
i beam iful sheet of water that never before had a white 
■man s boat upon it. Our sport was superb; we killed in 
BBB e da y loO pounds of line bass, besides some pickerel 
■Knit Jake is now the centre of a village, has a border of 
■ce-1 louses, and would probably be as promising a fishing 
Wane as the reservoir in Central Park. S 
Li 1845 I passed a week fishing at. the Sault St. 
Uaue. the trout fishing then was almost equal to the 
fhpigon at present. Rut I tried it a few years ago, and 
Clipped the rapids for three days in July wiLhout raising 
■ 1 So it will be with the Nepigon iu a few years, un- 
fiss protection is given it. B. c. C. 
2(>9 
_ Jn#* Forest ana Stream. 
I — MOUNTAIN LAKE, VIRGINIA. 
SRND you an account of a trip to Mountain Lake in 
this btato, winch 1 trust will prove interesting to vour 
leaders. Our way thither, though sumewhTtotte 
iv< i the ridges, was enlivened by many pleasant sights ami 
IHtmls. Many species of birds filled the forest with mu- 
‘A and then biilliant plumage contrasted pleasingly with 
he myriads ot flowers that strew the mountain sides Tire 
plenum ot a/,alms and rhododendrons cannot be imagined 
t such as have not seer, them, Nothing to surpass U em 
Wis ever seen m the most ornate gardens of orieiS lands 
nil it would occupy too much of your space to describe 
vciything of interest we observed on our journey- but T 
nisi pause to mention a hybrid hcLwean the hooded mer- 
anser and the common mallard, observed wiLii a flock nf 
tme ducks on Sinking Creek, i’roiutlir Z . r ,- 
mb blue green bead streamed forth a^magmiieent nine 
tbite plume, winch he wore as proudly as ftfurat ever d d 
is. this contrasting splendidly With his bright o ange bi 1 
ie rest ot Ins body mini, like the mallard. I have seldom 
ien a more splendid bird, or one with a more princel v ai , 
evenly years ago there was no lake here—merely a tnoun- 
in gorge, some four hundred feet below the sun,” ? of 
as east a huge mass of ooselv-mled s™,i Hi . ,V 
hich the streamlet found its wav re anlcm-rah b ? neatU 
£ ^ of Little Stony 
S ot Ihe halt-wild cattle on the mountain ranges to salt 
etr animals, and when, little by little, the outlet beneath 
c rocks became choked, and the water bSto foim a 
na l pond above, it was known as the “salting nond ' or 
salt pond. i be subterranean passage is now ncariv or 
me closed, ami Mountain Lake is atVesent a bSfn 
esec-ntric sheet of water, some 1,500 yards long bv 4(H) 
oad, and 75 feet deep in the deepest pHce Bold J,ills 
.aweeiimg outline form its banks, cohered wilh gnarled 
k twisted cliestnlit, sombre hemlock, and graceful while 
ue, Masses of rhododendron sweep down to toe wi 
!l1 mmied. who.se wealth of bloom is siupnssinlly 
(tmlid. 1 say again no man can conceive of it who i™ 
t seen u. Beneath the water still ‘’stands 1 he fores ml 
pva ; as the boat glides over the crystal surface vou 
te Idihefm ™ ri ” "' ’/T l l ,e to P s of tlm trees. In this 
ce hitlicito were no fish. Last winter twenty thousand 
m trout and three thousand California satoion were 
teed herein, besides the land locked salmon first dsAfe 
d The naiives of the lake are millions of water ll- 
ds (I ntons), more than millions of crawfish, many wa- 
»S’2, tel) ? , i elC ''. a,Kl the whole surface is 3 now 
Wdeied white with ephemera. Gravelly shoals where 
•nig leads come in afford beautiful spawning ground 
11 suspect those crawfish, and the salamanders, whose 
ne is legion, (Hie multitude of them being astonishine) 
y eat up the said spawn as fast as one million of fish 
ud deposit it. I hope not. If so, however a dozen or 
PI , 1 ,' l l |. O .i f m ) 1 | P0ncl t ;! iab Wry* 1 ™ nigricans) will eat thorn 
at least the crawhsh—in short order. The outlet of 
Jfeg" a 0WS , over U ,*° surface - a “ d ^ protected by a 
l screen. As i rowed round the lake I discovered a 
ltmous mass tangled in some brush, which I took to bo 
J spawn, but found on inspection that each egg coil¬ 
ed a salamander about half an inch long, which wrig- 
Limr i l L m | 1 ' 10 i'^st manner When set aL liberty, by 
h gopenh.s native cell. After lea, cigars were pro 
i,! ® S ° me I ,leasaut conversation with Mrs. 
ipt and l ei son, we went to bed, Jiopiug it would be 
« Wb ° M Ifc IJoetor and 1 got up our horses 
ft™ 111 011 Little Stoll y. three aud a 
r ^ . , Th f Jr ' ys we,lt 10 li, C billiard room. 
, f 01 ' lr0lltln s was passed; however, it bc- 
cloudy and cool, we concluded, to try, and fished down 
he cataract tbree-tourlhs of a mile, some very pretty 
Ik They were not much inclined to ’rise. I caught the 
a ml bodied fly wiili canvas-back’s feathers for 
pa. 1 bis cataract is a veiy beautiful siglil : the water 
is a leap ol some ninety feet, and falls into a splendid 
We wW PP cd this pool faith fully 
both fly and bait, never a rise had we. Fishing down 
" l rn,le » and throwing back tho fiugorliugs, we 
re L WU i ,y tr01lL leaving the lake on 
i(tnin at noar five o’clock, with some tbreatening 
fls debouching from the valley of Doc Creek, wc-ar- 
1 at home without mishap. On the banks of this Due 
, dwelt the notorious Lucas family of murderers. Old 
sold gmger cakes beneath the gallows whereon bis 
T gin mws wnereou uis 
Whs bunging, and was afterwards Imaged thereon him- 
I bit' old wretch first, introduced the celebrated 
n " W",, 10 the “ nUcp of «>e farmers of Southwest 
Vngmia. It is the meadow fescue (Ft‘Maca pvotennis) Al- 
thmmhso possessed of the devil, old Ran seems Io have 
been a man of some intelligence. I have no doubt these 
wretched people were lunatics, I hough lunatics of such a 
S ’ 1 ' Bht heyhUd question to he pul to death when they 
vim i " U ', W pr - t f ™y of you* readers arc inclined to 
oo°f ln aU f , J f akc 1 r ° r ll0ULin K and shooting they need 
have no fear of the demons of Doe Creek. They are ex- 
? lc ga,low , 9 lo «'g since- 1 believe there is no 
moie delightful summer headquarters in the United Slates 
tnan this same Mountain Lake, iu Giles couniy, Va, 
__ _ ’ ' E. 
^ TROUT FISHING IN OHIO, 
Editou Forest and Stream:— 
“Angling Recollections” in vour nnmber of May 18th 
by C, O., brought to my mind a bit of experience wliicll 
was mine when, some three years ago, I was a resident of 
one of the chics of the northwest. From my boyhood I 
havo had an intense passion for my rod and gun, which of 
late years I have been obliged to curb somewhat, owing to 
circumstances which I need not mention here; but at times 
the longing becomes overpowering, and I am almost forced 
to get away to the woods or streams for a few days, and 
let the savage elements, said to linger in the nature of the 
most civilized of us, have full freedom and play for a time 
ere I can settle myself contentedly down to the routine of 
my occupation. On such occasions one of my favorite 
resorts was a beautiful valley of some five miles m length 
and one m width lying between two lines of two bluffs 
and through the lengths of which ran a fine brook which 
seldom ever failed to furnish me a handsome lining to mv 
frem f- f . 10n ? te , n t0 bfleeu . of lhe speckled befuties of 
frona six to twelve ounces in weight during a morning’s 
stroll along its banks. 8everal smaller streams made info 
the main ones from side valleys. Along its courses iust 
before the door, down through tho Imrn-yard and acmss 
the meadow and pasture land belonging to ihe friend with 
!/!r yS sl "PP pd w *?en on my excursions, ran the 
large, t of these, and after leaving the borders of his do¬ 
main it stole through a thick covert for about, forty tods 
to its entrance into the mam stream. In all, the distance 
from the house to tis mouth, in a straight line, was not 
over one hundred and fi fty rods. I bad come intendtog to 
sjicnd an extra day, and had made up my mind lowest 
some of these smaller streams, although Iliad been rcmmi 
cdly told that it would be a sure wasteof me, oiling 
bUL a few fingerlings bad been caught in them' for yea,s^ 
Bua 1 could not be satisfied until I had experimented for 
myself; and so, at breakfast the first day I informed mv 
friend ami bis assembled family that I proposed to tad 
the brook before the door, that morning, from thence to 
,U mouth. The only response I got wiw\a bca. ty muKir 
and when they saw that that was not enough to deter me’ 
they urged that 1 should go up the stream, for there, they 
said I might possibly get a few very small ones. Rut none 
of these tilings moved me from my purpose and liavine 
arranged my tackle mid shouldered my basket, (I had^prm 
vious to break last and while the dew was on, cati'dil, a box 
oi grasshoppers lor bail), I started out, tlm laify of he 
bouse calling out to me just as I was disappear^behind 
the barn, ill send tlm boys down with the team when 
they come in for dinner to help you bring home your trout " 
T eu rods below the barn I dropped my first "hoimer” into 
wPI?on y ^ JUt , T ,5un h ,| ug 1 y done, yet notXgeli e? 
W T , e , ffuct - 1 for J / aw a swm form dart acioss the si,ah 
low at the edge of the pool, and I knew then that the 
stream was not entirely empty. Two or three more ti-hik? 
and my first trophy was lauded in the shape of a bon iti- 
iully-oolored tallow about six inches long. Splendid pools 
appeared at nearly every turn of the brook, aud in an hour 
1 was willnn ten rods of the borders of my friend’s farm 
wub seven beautiful trout in my basket, having lost thre? 
that rose to my hook. At the next turn of the brook a 
deep poo appeared, overhung by the roots and stum ns of 
a heavy dump of alders the tops of wbieb tZ teeT cut 
.Way. I made a careful cast, sure that this must be the 
home Of a chief of the finny’tribes that inhibited' {lta 
stream, suddenly there was a rush, my hook was seized 
and I struck but alas! too hard, and the line parted at its 
muon with Ihe lasher, and the finest trout that ever rose to 
my cast ... that val ey was gone. I sat down up on th? 
grass aud sadly and slowly adjusted another sued. A 
moment before I was elated with my success, and was en 
,loymg,u, anticipation, the good joke I should have on 
my ii lends when 1 should return, and their astonishment 
at seeing the results o my morning’s work. But now all 
|' s | ad vanished Nothiiig now would console ino for 
tlie loss ol that fish. What wan paled into notliimrnoss 
before what might have been. I rose at last, and willflliat 
sor oi hope-in-despair feeling that one sometimes has on 
such occasions I dropped another fly on the pool. Slowly 
be water swelled about a foot away from the hook and a 
tb? m’nbX k fm^ S !u e was . tur "^ d U1> 10 lUe surface, catching 
thePUU d!mv^ It the wate? 
rounded it when she opened the lid of the basket,' and held 
reXl’n, 0 /? ,bL ™ Wl ! h my ? reat I ,, iKe 'ytoff Ijent over the 
icsf at the lop My triumph was complete, and the rest of 
the time of that meal I was kept busy recounting the 
moments of my morning’s tramp. Anti, "Who would 
i™ Relieved it, was the oft repeated exclamation of 
those who had lived for years beside tlial brook without 
a,im; ” t0 sen if any of its finny beauties were 
Jf." A f tcr dl ” nar we weiglied my prize. He turned 
tlie scales at precisely one pound and a half, and the ten 
m ,'l efll u 0ncS f WC) gbcd unitedly seven pounds aud a half. 
Hie other four together weiglied but fifu-en ounces. In 
the S'°r. 1 took ,blr ^ een more from the upper end of 
festiR V°e e , ° tllpm VC, T ,ar S e - Such was the 
result of my Jay s fishing -where there were no trout. 
Oo’ttmbus, Ohio , May 23 a. Scott. 
S >4 §ttliuf 
t. 
ABSTRACT OF THE TENTH ANNUAL 
REPORT OF THE FISH COMMISSION¬ 
ERS OF THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT. 
Y°. — ”• wu aiowiv affain tlie 
resumed its wonted smoothness. It was aggravating lt 
only made me realize more fully what 1 had lost The 
I'll n ) 1 'f. m , e , L< t r , 5 of f eehug sunk lower than ever. Nothing 
tlmt 1 couid do would bring him to the surface again aiul 
I was forced to move on. Rut while my feet tended down 
the stream my thoughts were back at that deep, still plol 
l wont down the stream to its mouth aud my efforts 
were rewarded with three more very fine addition! lo the 
1 cam « hack I Could not pass 
Hit. scene of my disappointment without oue more effort 
to retrieve my loss so 1 once more dropped a large "W 
pm temptingly above Ihe haughty monarch who held 
3 Wlory! Up he came with a 
dash. I bad him, and iu a moment more lie was flounder- 
mg on the meadow grass. I held him up to the- fight I 
said lie is the finest one ever caught iu this brook » 
Justthen the dinner bell rang. “NowflVhu.ds, will ?onie 
mytuin to laugh, thought I as I started for the house. 
Occasionally as 1 walked hurriedly along I touclied the 
surface oi the water with my hook, And before I reached 
me house three more were taken, swelling mv number to 
foilrtecn m all, which nearly filled my k reef I walked 
m Hlnm.r 101 ! 180 'v 1 " 101 * 1 a word. Thu family were 
T| l ' 1 sa i ,'," y Uilsket d,,wa tlie kilehou floor. 
. us l.q]v y ’ 1 “it IU f, sa n V U ' Tb,i la **y asl£ud what was 
o tad ^n ba y ’ wnB rc Ply. “But I’m going 
o Hid out said she, her womanish curiosity getting the 
I? 1 ' y 1 " 1 ' 11 ' 1 have seen bow quickly iliat 
fable was abaudtmed by the eight or nine persons that sur- 
A S this year completes the first decade of labors for the 
restoration of fish to the depleted waters of tho State 
Ihe Commissioners have deemed it a fitting occasion before 
entering upon a detailed statement of the past year’s work 
to make a brief review of wlmt has been accomplished Loin 
the beginning, under State patronage. It is believed that 
such a retrospect will be found instructive and valuable in 
shaping legislation for the future. With this view the Re¬ 
port before us contains a brief rename ot the operations of 
the Commissioners for each year since 1805. In 1 8(17 tlie 
Commissioners of the New England States met in Boston, 
and organized as “The New England Commissioners of In¬ 
land Fisheries,” to co-operate iu the re-stocking of the Con¬ 
necticut with salmon and shad, under tlie following arrange¬ 
ment: Now Hampshire was to procure and distribute im¬ 
pregnated ova of salmon aud shad in the headwaters of the 
river. Vermont and Massachusetts were to build suitable 
fishways for Urn passage of fish over the dams to their 
■spawning grounds; and Connecticut was to abolish trill- 
nets, stake-nets, aud pounds, iu the river and on the Sound. 
From this it will be seen that three things were then eou- 
stdered essential to success; a supply of ova, a free passage 
over the dams, and Lhe abolition of destructive methods of 
fishing. 
The Connecticut Commissioners, Messrs. Frederick W. 
Russell and Heary C, Robinson, made the first annual re¬ 
port in May, 1867, and they recommeuded. among other 
things: 1 st, that gill nets aud slake nets be strictly prohib¬ 
ited alter 1807; 2d, that Lhe taking of salmon be prohibited 
for a certain number of years; aud 3d, Rial Commissioners 
bo appointed by tho Governor, to hold office one or more 
years. 
The Reports of subsequent years form an interestin'' his¬ 
tory of the progress of fish culture. Experiments ofVari- 
I 10 be ' rk ' d ; l’tojudices to be overcome, and 
! iH ii “ be convinced ot the practicability and utility 
, ' 6b WTO, sbad appeared in unusual abumf- 
ance. bucli a run of shad in the river bad not been seen 
,° n ,S . umbly ’ Ulu 32d May, they an- 1 
pcaud in tlm bound, m immense shoals, near the surface 
ot the water, making tor-the Connecticut river On Mon¬ 
day morning over 28,000 shad of good size were taken from 
be pounds at or near Saybrook. The same day, at Lewis’ 
pouud beyond Nuneatesick Point, 3,500 were taken at one 
7oTw^ taken m f o!, d V 1C l 18 ? 1 . CfUcb ’ At Uadtlam Island, 
7 weie taken at one haul of the seine. At Wethersfield. 
take! We re I,?’ 3 , AtHolyoka dam 150 Were 
a ,d flvi! ° clnck 1,1 lll « afternoon. At 
ullUmotherli.Rnng pt (l ces on the Connecticut the catches 
Zi l ™i ll ) I lllli lisLiug ^ouUuucd Som- 
i , ,b ,° seaaon ’ The average quality 
ami size ol fJic iisii were also good. J 
h iretan? ?i 1 bcl!al . lhat Uli ‘ s was 'be result of artificial 
hatching, the Comimssmners continued I heir operations at 
7 1 ' W ln 1 !n n |m, 1 i n „ Sf T, 1,k ' ,;U , d "' yS bCtWe0n JllrlU 3 d HlUl July 
ofiomlgrry UUUed ml ° 'be 1 'iver fifty-four millions 
During tlm same year a thorough inspection of the nriu- 
^ ZfiBHiV?? SfS r Vi,1C “ J , "" tbunmissaionera*of 
urn possibibty ot introducing salmon, and ova from the 
Procured ami laid down in the hatching 
ommnu.n 1 ;, 1 .T rl0 i C ’ ,0 b °- alu ‘ rvvald s distiibuted in thl 
Quimitliaug, tlm iJousatonle, the Farmington, and the 
m,w'n S i , b0 Jllrtcl,iu fl oJ: ' ®bad and salmon has 
Ufl yuar ’ tegetberwith tbestoclc- 
ng of vauous ponds with black bass, all of which procced- 
eofumus 0 bu,litofore b(i0U chronicled and described m these 
te !- Ub ycar ’ B proceedings shows, 
om,.’,m?l l r ,0 c°i° U T i0 *' y °* 11)11 bind locked salmon were 
S ,cbcc Lake, and distributed in quantities of 
about 10.0U0 each in fourteen ponds ami lakes. Of 438 000 
l euobscot salnton eggs laid down in tlie Wesiport hatchmo- 
bouse t ie previous year, 310,000 were distributed, the priu°- 
C pal lot ol 20,000 going into Ric Farmington river at New 
Hartford. 480 ,000 California salmon eggs were received 
fi!wren be ^r Cl ; !l ? Ud riv ? r ' aud tl > 0 ta not lost were distributed, 
60,000 in Nalchong river at North Wimil.iun, UO.OOI) in 
1 lousal.omc uver at New Milford, and 500,000 iu Farm¬ 
ing ,m river at New Ilartlord. There are now at the West- 
poil balclung house, in good order, 430,000 young Penob¬ 
scot salmon almost ready for distribution. The ConnnTs- 
sumers give great credit to Mr. George Jelliffe, the effleient 
supermtemhret of the VVestport liatcldug cstabiiahmenl Mg 
tbeencip, fidelity, min great intelligence with which lie 
n s d'sciiarged bis duties. No hatching of shad was at- 
templed llie punt year owing to iffllfifetulo appropriation lmv- 
Ul ^ , D the Liiiu} when it would liave been. 
neenHuaiy to have eomniouccd, find when it was granted 
llio season hud passed, The UommiaaLoimra in reviowiLvo- 
iheLr aljors, claim’that lhe icsullia have lx 1 mi all l hat could 
have been expected It is believed lhat no expense has 
been lueurred.'vhich Inis not met with an equivalent return 
or indeed mucV mote. A store of practical information 
