182 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Apnn, 5, ! 



Cfltpel of rich color, soft unci noiseless to the tread, and on 

 this hillside ro slippery that one may go down it inuch easier 

 than climb ii. II' one were hauling only for game that he 

 migW kill, lie would likely enough overlook the rare pine 

 that grow here, so like the l:i\nn mat of needles out 

 of which they rise. 



Htrc lire goodly trees, yet thej do not reach fur the unnt- 

 . innble Sky as their ancestor did. Their topmost shoots 



ii ii |j nvci!(M.k the surrounding growth, and they stretch 

 their long liinhs out into the twilight of the woods so low 

 rti.ii the green leaves on tie nuttier branches bmsh the fallen 



; hv.l 1 hey all -in"; lie- old pintfe "Id sung of thi 

 far-away sea, and liny hrood such silence and solemnity of 

 shades and sepulchral coolness, that one feels a kind pi 

 dread creeping over him. The atmosphere is panthery. 

 This quality is inherited, for jnsl below wdierethe las!, pines 

 blotch the pasture with their dark shade, the Catamount 

 Spring bubbles out at the foot of a great rock, and there, 

 eighty years ago, a girl bleaching her web of homespun 

 linen, was beset by S panther, and only saved hy tier faith- 

 ful dog 



Why should not. a panther come here now? The woods 

 are dark aud wild enough, and not a sound of civilization 

 to be heard. As the daylight dies the shadow- creep up 

 Uko panthers stealing on theU prey, and no more silently 

 than the great cat might tread this soft footing. A twig 

 snaps mysteriously, the pines heave a mournful sigh, and 

 as the shadows deepen, a bit of phosphorescent wood glares 

 at you like eyes aflame with baleful light. 



As now you almost hold your breath to hear a devilish 

 yell tear the heavy stillness, if your hand could but feel 

 the comfortable chill of the good brown barrels of your 

 helpful gun, your back would 110I suffer that uncomfortable 

 and unaocountable chill which reminds you that it is not 

 always pleasant to go hunting without a gun. V. K. Ii. 



§he g^ortsttian gouriii 



A SONNET. 



scoiSESTGU IiV A emu: in MRU .-cioi'c 



? r pjs sweet to tune a quiet mind. 



J- Upon a penlal A)>ril daj , 

 To see the wood-paths euierald-liued 



Forerunners of the Bowers of May. 



To see the buds confidingly 

 Untold their treasures to the sua, 



And purling brooks unchidingly 

 In Their old channels ran. 



To watch ttte clouds sail far above 

 This waking earth, it Ice peaceful dreams 



Ut our lost youth, of j oath's lost love. 

 L mii our better being seems 



Rising, like earth, I toni frosts or lun.: 

 Into a life of suinmer prime. O. V 



HAUNTS OF THE SALMON 

 In Canada and New Brunswick. 



IiV CIIAHJ.US I.ANMA-V 



rpHE writei of this papei claims to have been the first 

 .1. citizen of the United States who ever visited Canada to 

 take Mih. ion with the My. 'l ban-vent, took place thirty-five 

 years ago, aud his experiences since then would lillan ample 

 volume; but in the following paragraphs he proposes lo give 

 cunning account of the favorite wvers of the Do- 

 minion, together with some of their personal associations. 



With vety few exceptions the haunts of the salmon are ao 

 far removed from the settled portions Of the country that 

 the Sport of fly-fishing cannot be enjoyed without camping 

 out or living in the rudest of cabins. Indeed, the Only stream 

 that 1 have visited where thi.- was unnecessary was the 

 Jacques Curlier. This stream empties into the St. Law- 

 rence about thirty miles west of Quebec. On the score of 

 m. re beauty it is certainly unsurpassed. Forty years ago i 1 

 abounded in salmon; then came a time when, because of nets 

 beau-fishing, it was a barren stream; but it siibse- 

 ummi h reaped some benefit from the protective laws, and 

 the best localities for sport having passed into the possession 

 Of private parties, it was again blessed with the presence of 

 the roval salmon. Or late years the. central locality for 

 sport has been at a place called Dery's Bridge, about six 

 miles from the mouth of the river. At this point, and within 

 the space of I wo miles, I once took t w< -nl.v sketches, and 

 these were BO entirely unlike each other in character that a 

 Stranger COllld hardly believe them to have been taken on 

 ..tie river. Here i here were only two houses where anglers 

 u-commodatcd: they Were owned by Frenchmen 

 named Dery and Trepanier, the latter a farmer ami a splen- 

 did fish, riiiiin. and the former Hie keeper of a regular little 

 inn; very much SUCH an affair 11s would have made Walton 



bap] " quiet, So picturesque, so comfortable, and fre- 

 qinii'ted by such a charming brotherhood of men— English 

 army officers ami French gentlemen, 



Dery's iun occupied a spot immediately on the hank of 



the stream, at the western end of the bridge; and while 



a splendid walerlall just above the bridge, there 



was a gorge below, and directly under the bridge a very 



large and deep pool, where hundreds of salmon could be 

 Often seen bajancing themselves and resting in their amber 

 in ,1 nioi to resuming Iheii journey from the St, Law- 

 rence to their spawning pools, a hundred miles in the wilder- 

 ness. At ihe foot of the gorge just mentioned there is a 

 pool called the "Hospital," which was the Very perfection 

 Of a spot for By-fishing, An Englishman once caught (en 

 salmon there, between the hours of lour and eight. in the 

 morning; but lie was not the individual who fought with a 

 salmon at the same spot for nearly two hours, anil then had 

 to mourn over the untimely departure of his game. Although 

 the landlord Dery was not himself very much of 11 flsjier- 

 man, he bad a son who excelled all of the tribe, When the 



ii ,b would not rise lo his fly, the visiting anglers knew there 

 WAS nouse in trying; and when that was the case, and a fish 

 was really needed for the pot, he was wont to descend a rope 

 ladder, suspended over the pool under the bridge, and take 

 out with his gaff a few salmon bolder than himself. He 

 was Ihe only man, moreover, who had the hardihood or 

 courage to throw the fly directly under Dery's bridge, for 

 where he secured one after hooking him, he lost a dozen that 

 rushed down the gorge to the Hospital pool, carrying all be- 

 fore them. That the excitement of salmon fishing — to quote 

 from myself — is sometimes contagious, the following inci- 

 dent will prove: 1 had hooked a large salmon at a spot 

 1 1 the Black Hook, when Trepanier gave his accus- 



tomed shout, which caused a person on the other side of the 

 river lo run down and witness the fun. After my salmon 

 had mad,- his third magnificent leap, and I was keeping him 



awa\ from a dangerous rock, my spectator became quite 

 frantic, and, to my astonishment, plunged into the stream, 

 and, just as Trepanier had gulfed my fish, up came, the 

 strnng'ei In my side out of ihe water — panting like a "spent 

 ' Itamer," as'he was. lie had crossed the river -kicking a 

 few fish under the chin, perhaps, as he passed along— sim- 

 ply for the purpose of having a look at my prize. 



Although Trepauier's exploits were not 'as daring as those 

 Of young Dery, he used to kill quite as many fish in a 

 season, and upon the whole was better acquainted with the 

 river. 1 once saw him hooka salmon at a famous place 

 called the Sehulc; he followed it to the foot of an island, 

 played it half an hour in a poo! below the island, when the 

 li-r.li started up stream again, soon seeming ready to give up 

 the battle, when it broke away, and Trepanier, making a 

 rush, caught the salmon in his arms. 



At the present time Ihe fishing pools on this river ate 

 owned and protected hy gentlemen residing in Montreal 

 and Quebec, from whicii places it is now reached by rail- 

 way. Not so, however, when it was in its prime; for then 

 it had to be readied by private conveyances, and tne luxu- 

 rious anglers often took their servants as well as private 

 si ores. 



But the most productive salmon rivers of Canada all lie 

 eastward of Quebec, and on the northern shores of the River 

 and Gulf of St. Lawrence. Of these the total number of 

 satisfactory .streams is twelve, viz.: the Musquarro, Trinity, 

 Nipimewc'nw. Portneuf. Baint Anne. Mingan. Romain'e, 

 Natushqnam, St. Margaret. Kseoumain, Goodbout aud 

 Moisi. ; l.ul in the present paper 1 shall speak only of the 

 four last named. The stalling place fur visiting ail these 

 streams is Quebec, and the most approved method is to 

 charter an appropriate three-masted French smack, supply- 

 ing her with all the tent, equipage and the good things of 

 life, suitable for camping in the wilderness. The time for 

 starling, alter having arranged with the Dominion authori- 

 ties for the necessary privileges, is in the early part of June. 

 That storms will occasionally retard the impatient anglers 

 and cause them to seek shelt« at Bom< of the, ports on the 

 great river is more than probable, but as these are generally 

 charming habitdii villages the detentions are not irksome. 



There "are many funny people to be. seen in these French 

 villages, hunters with red caps, colonies of Romish priests 

 perambulating along the streets, as sombre aud full of the 

 old Harry as a flock of crows. But lo! the wind is now fair 

 and we must continue down the Lower St. Lawrence. 



Before us is a panorama of superb mount .ins. anon we 

 reach Ihe mouth of ihe Saguenay; we enter, and pass up 

 that magnificent river, which this pen first described for 

 American readers, in 1848; and reaching the St. Margaret 

 tributary, get our canoes and fishtug rods in order, and 

 passing upward soon begin to throw the fly. The fishing 

 pool* on this river are few in number, but tne fish are large 

 aud Ihe scenery very wild and interesting. But its fame has 

 been especially enhanced by the fact that it was here the 

 Prince of Wales caught his"first salmon in Canadian waters 

 in I860, having been escorted to the river by Mr. David 

 Price, of Quebec, My own success in the Saint Margaret 

 was never very good, but I once attended a fandango in a 

 cabin on this river, which 1 remember with rare pleasure. 

 The guests were French Canadians and educated Indians; 

 and while the solitary fiddle did not eclipse that of Ole Bull. 

 the dancing of two or thrte, of the French girls, while one 

 of them was playing on a banjo, was simply rich and rare. 

 As to Ihe Saguenay, into which the Saint Margaret enters, 

 it is indeed "grand, gloomy and peculiar." When a man 

 has seen this fiord-like river, (from Lake St. John to the 

 St. Lawrence) Ihe cataract of Niagara, the great cave of 

 Kentucky, the chasm of Tallulah, and the .Mississippi River, 

 he has enjoyed the five great natural wonders of the Atlantic 

 slope of North America. 



And now for a glimpse of the Escoumain, which empties 

 into the St. Lawrence about twenty miles from lie- Sague 

 nay. It is a smallish stream, but. picturesque, and is the an- 

 cestral home of all the musquitoes and black flics in the 

 world. Its best poo! for salmon is only about half a mile 

 from It- mouth, but this one is superb. It was here that 

 deponent captured his first salmon, and to which river 

 he was introduced by Mr. David Price, twelve years before 

 I tie hitter I brew the fly with the Prince of W T ales at the St. 

 Margaret. Prior to that time the said deponent hatl chiefly 

 devoted himself to the black hass and trout. On the mem- 

 orable day in question, and just before marching up lo the 

 pool, his net yes were as calm as a summer's day. The fish 

 wers very abundant and hungry, and the first cast he made 

 was responded to by a savage tug, and away went the, fly. 

 Five mote flics in succession were added to the line, the 



hole of them sharing the fate of their predecessor. By 

 thi- time the gentleman was somewhat excited as well as dis- 

 gusted. It had not then occurred to him that salmon weigh- 

 ing From ten to fifteen pounds could not be jerked out of 

 the walcr like half-pound mini, Turning aside to select a 

 new lly his feet slipped aud away went his hat upon die 

 laughing waters. 



•ast and there seemed a prospect of success; but 

 when he fancied that his fish was on the opposite side of the 

 river, great was hi- amazement to find the fellow leaping 

 into the air almost under his nose. After awhile the salmon 

 made a plunge and started for the St. Lawrence, when 

 common sense told the angler that he must follow on. In 

 his first effort to pass a rock his coal was caught by the limb 

 of a tree, and partly separated from his body. He" was then 

 compelled b. cross a pool, and the moment his heavy boots 

 were tilled with walcr, one of them came off his foot aud 

 went floating down the stream. In the meantime the salmon 



' g about two hundred feet from the fisherman, and 



probably wondering as to the meaning of all this commotion; 

 but in process of time he was finally captured about five 

 hundred yards from the spot where he had been deceived, 

 and, although very happy, the angler presented the appear- 

 Min . la man who had reached the end of a misspent Ufa. 



That particular salmon weighed tbirtecu pounds, and the 

 thirty five years wluch have since passed away have not 

 been able to banish him from the angler's memory. What- 

 ever it may he now, it is certain that in former "years the 

 Eseournam was one of the most prolific salmon rivers in 

 Canada, and it is a matter of record, hut a doubtful one, 

 that Sir John Maedonald once killed four hundred salmon 

 there in a single week. 



And now for the Goodbout, According to the late Har- 

 rison Stephens of Montreal (of whom more anon) this is the 

 finest river for salmon in Canada. It is sixty miles long, 

 but the fly-fishing pools, of which there arc ioniteen, are 

 within a 'space of two miles; and for ihe most part, the 

 anglers are obliged to fish in their canoes, although there are 

 a few places where the fly can be cant from the shore or 

 from big boulders. During the ten years preceding 1874, 

 there were taken here with the fly alone not less than 3,68? 

 salmon, weighing 42,0110 pounds; and in that year the keeper 

 of the river, one Nicholas Coiueau, between the 8th and 17th 

 of July, killed 368 fish, weighing 3,873 pounds, which isun- 

 douljtedly the mpst successful fishine; ever recorded. This 

 river belongs to Ihe Hudson's Buy Company, and it is leased 

 by them to the anglers, five of whom alone can be accom- 

 modated on the river. Those who visit it should supply 

 themselves with everything that they may need, for during 

 their sojourn on the river they must expect to be entirely 

 excluded from the world until their return to Quebec, 



But further removed from civilization than the Goodbout 

 is the much more extensive stream called the Moisie. Here 

 there are only two good localities for fly-fishing, hut these 

 are both first-rate and within twelve miles of the mouth. It 

 is at this point that the mountain lauds begin, and where 

 the river lias a fall of about sixty feet within'a space of five 

 or six miles. These rapids cannot be ascended in canoes, 

 and those who would travel up the river have to make a 

 portage of nine miles. The table land where the river is 

 Supposed to have its rise is more than two thousand feet 

 above high water, but as the river has never boeu fully ex- 

 plored the knowledge of its character is limited. It has 

 been, however, for several centuries a. route of travel for 

 the Labrador Indians residing in the interior, who annually 

 visit the Gulf coast for the purpose of getting glimpses of 

 civilization and such necessaries as they can affoid to pur- 

 chase. The angler who leaves Quebec' lor the purpose of 

 killing salmon in the Moisie will have to travel about a 

 thousand miles before reaching his home again, and there 

 are not many who care to make that pilgrimage for any 

 purpose more than once or twice in his day and generation. 

 For the best account extant descriptive of' this river and of 

 other parts of this wild region the reader is referred to a 

 very interesting w-ord on "The Labrador Peninsula." by 

 Henry Youle Hind, published in 1883. As to the man who 

 has fished the Moisie most frequently and with the gieatest 

 success, his name is James St rachan," formerly of Toronto. 



Passing by with reluctance the York and Dartmouth 

 rivers, at the eastern extremity of Gaspe, we now come to 

 the Cascapedia, which empties into the Bay of Chak-ur. It 

 rises in a small lake bearing the same name, which is about 

 seventy-five miles from the mouth of the river, and in the 

 vicinity of Chichac mountains. There are no falls of suf- 

 ficient luight to prevent the passage of birch canoes, by 

 which alone it is navigated. Its shores are lined with 

 forests of pine, cedar, tamarack, spruce and birch; it 

 abounds also in beautiful ishiuds, aud the scenery is 

 altogether very charming. Not only salmon, but large trout 

 are found in this river, which promises to be, if not ruined 

 by poachers, one of the best, streams on the continent for the 

 enjoyment of the angler. The hamlet from which it is most 

 easily visited is New Richmond. The fishing with the rod 

 begins about fourteen miles from the sea, at the foot of a 

 mountain called Picnpaco, and so continues for about thirty 

 miles to a tributary called the Salmon Branch. Among the 

 visitors to this river in 1874 was Mr. Chester A. Arthur. 

 While ascending the river with a parly of friends, they 

 found a party of Boston men encamped at one of the pools 

 there, and in' that camp the strangers were treated with great 

 hospitality. In 1882, after the said Arthur had oecome 

 President, the duty devolved upon him to appoint a new 

 Justice on the Supreme Bench, and, remembering the pleas- 

 ant days he had passed on the Cascapedia, he appointed to 

 the vacancy the man in gray who had so kindly entertained 

 him in his camp, which bit of history reflects great credit on 

 both the parties concerned. Other people of note have since 

 visited the Cascapedia, among them the Marquis of Lome, 

 who did well there as an angler, even as did his brother-in- 

 law, the Prince of Wales, on the St. Margaret. But this 

 was not the origin of the w T ell known saying that salmon 

 fithiugis a "royal sport." 



Passing westward from the Cascapedia, and after travel 

 ing about thirty miles in a vessel, or on wdieels along the 

 magnificent Bay of Chaleur, we come to the lordly Kesti- 

 goiiche. Four g«od rivers, all of them abounding in many 

 attractions, conspire to make it worthy of its fame — for 

 salmon, for beautiful scenery, and for the many worthy 

 residents from Scotland residing in its valley. As with the 

 rivers already mentioned, so with the Restigouehc — a whole 

 volume would not exhaust its manifold attractions. The 

 best fishing with the fly is at a particular bend of the river, 

 near the mouth of the Matapedia, but you have to fish from 

 a canoe, aud although 1 am no novice in the management of 

 that craft, i do not fancy it for fly-fishing. At the spot 

 designated I once had a tearful lime" with a drunken fndian; 

 and when, a few years ago, a party of New York anglers 

 purchased this portion of the river, I felt certain that, they 

 must have paid a much larger sum for it than 1 would have 

 done, although it was in that vicinity that 1 caught my 

 biggest salmon, a twenty-six pounder. Prior to the build- 

 ing* of the railroad which now connects Halifax with Quebec, 

 and crosses the Restigouche. the leading man of this region 

 wtis Adam Ferguson, whose home, called Athol House, 

 always reminded me of Daniel Webster's Marshfield farm. 

 His father lived on the place before bini, and while the 

 former used to export about two thousand barrels of salmon, 

 caught in front of his own domain, the latter was thankful 

 if he could export three hundred barrels: and it is a well- 

 known fact; that in other days salmon have been taken here 

 in nets which weighed sixty pounds. 



But as a fly-fishing .stream, pure and simple, the Nepistquii 

 bears Ihe bell, so far as New Brunswick is concerned. 

 About twenty miles from Bathurst there is a high fall, 

 above which" it is impossible for the salmon to go, and 

 within that limit there are five or six noted places lor fish- 

 ing, where, when the season is at all favorable, the grand- 

 est sport is to be enjoyed. Formerly the river coulti only 

 be. ascended in canoes, but now there is a passable road 

 along the river to the Grand Falls. So fascinating was the 

 port here in former years, that an Englishman named 



