Max 3, 1883.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



268 



whi. 1) the lumberman was well supplied Community of 

 interests and ( ougenial tastes bro'ughl the two classes in cod 

 tn<.i.:iiii! ilnv ponlesced. And each furnishing to the com 

 moil stock dia store, they lived happily together in the 

 wilderness, 



The sportsman furnished the sinews of war, (Hid the lum- 

 berman those of pi ace, 



Beside the lmnb< rmen thereTvas fCflOthor class from whom 

 sprung the ven best of guides; these wore the men of the 

 leather Blocking type, of whom my friends "Nessmnk," 

 A!v:ih Duuning, and SdbaUis areexampli -. men who went 

 frjto the Woods and spent their lives there, because they 

 lpved iIi'.mii. and found more real happiness it) pursuit of the 

 mooBe, deer, liear beayer, mink, otter and martin, than the 

 bntside world eould give them These men. in snrnnior., 

 whan garni eason, would foi' Companionship, 



their occupation being gone Joifl with kindred spirits* and 

 unpaid contribute their skilj 



After :i time the moose i 

 driven in unknown localitii v 

 angels' visits; the deei becan 

 the lumberman^ combined \ 

 denuded of forest va$t Bpact 



ficeclss, and polluted these with Bawdust, Their sport, to 

 was lor them gone forever, and as ihey must live, 

 uuwllHuglj begautoaecepl a moderate pay for Iheil 



fated, 



jr fur- 



in died 



Their 



VIC' 3, 1111.1 



fr( 



n: 



New So 



■1, lo Canada. 



and e 



ill and 



west 



from Lak 



. ( 



ha 



m plain ti 



the si Law 



rence, 



tliroug 



the 



entire brei 



■ HI 



nj 



Essex, i. 



inton, Wane 



i. Ham 



iiton. l-'rank- 



lin, ll.rki 



ii<t 



:o 



d St. Law 



rence couatii 



H, thai 



grent w 



ilder- 



ness whirl 



lo 



us 



of the \< 



ilhcin States. 



and . 



1 New 



York 



especially-, 



is 



vo 



■a. as in 



u-!i as is the 



Nati. 



nal Pa 



•k of 



Montana i 



1 tl 



c c 



ii in-.- counlrv. they liai 



.ped i 



nd ea. 



ipeel, 



dependent 



"1 



oil 



nature 1 



or their sup] 



lies, a 



id thai 



• own 



erafl to ol 



tail 



tl 



em. 











l.el me. 



Igr 



jS 



right hen 



, and for my? 



•If— an 



i r hop 



: and 



believe all 



oil, 



•!'- 



fond of 



the woods— e 



! press 



nv thai 



lis to 



State Bena, 



!or 



Fi 



ed Lansi 



ig, whom I ai 



i prow 



. coda 



nu as 



a friend ni 



d a 



■ll 



lolmate, f 



ir the earni -t 



•llorls 



in- has 



made 



and i- no 



W 



n a 



dog to l 



■reserve to us forev 



er this 



wild 



country; tor, 



unless successful in his efforts, theehan 



res of 



erda 



xpi 



Ironi 



verything connected 

 re, and left tomy own 

 nid.-i of plenty, and 

 •amp: nol lo go into 



.-id- River, to 



vice. John : 



i good guid 



At I hat lime I was utterly \ 

 with woods life, bavinghad 

 resources, would have starved i 

 have lost myself a hundred rod 

 particulars, i was worse than a 

 John Leonard, a guide on tb< 

 ol in-, and devoted himsi If to i 



EurniBh good originols for pict 



n man who needed the utmost of a good gui 

 was nol a large man but very wiry, and 

 river eould send his hoal up the setting pol 



sivle. nor tire him but on a tramp. 



lie began his duties at once by overhauling my kit and 

 reducing it to about one-third dimensions, thus saving 

 double carries, and himself furnished many things I lacked. 

 He selected camping grounds, felled trees and peeled hark 

 I'm our shanties, tilled up bale 

 kept the camp-fires and -mud 



pared and conked the meals. 

 early morning, left mi slei pin: 

 venison or ttslr. 



When through re.-tl.ssiics- I wearied of one spot and 

 proposed change lo some other. little (feeding the labor 

 involved for him, he cheerfully acquiesced, broke Cinnp, 

 shouldered his hoal. to which hung on the start ahoul nine 

 tenths of our load, and lo he soon increased by pail of the 

 other tenth, would start on a long carry, often liv a hlind 

 his axecanie fi ■< ■■|iie'ntly into service,' 1 slrug- 

 with perhaps my lod and creel only, growdiug 



1 1 will 

 and of 

 ti. He 

 . man on the 

 lipids in better 



hi and day, pre 

 IS and, nights 01 

 and return will: 



whieh'l will speak as having already gODO too far w i 

 further unto the end. 



These changes are but natural re-nits. Civilization i- 

 following up the pioneer, and the- hot and pent-up cities 

 Overflow into the wilderness. 



l-'nr on- real hunter or angler who comes iuto the Woods 

 tlierc are lloStS who can- little for eith-r pursuit, and tin 

 Business of guiding ha- a>sunied large proportions, and 



Stem! of, as in oldi 

 pendent man. now ueai !v 



There are Blue Mduntaii 

 Lake guides, Fulton Ch 

 and I don't know how 

 sportsman finds thai hi 



ceplion tiling gi 



each : 



ruid. 

 guidi 



ember 

 Sara 



of , 



can 



the I 



bcr, am 

 utterly 



the lioh 



fer 



I- eh. 

 1 as a 



t-d by 

 - la 



l body 



nde- 

 ssdeiations. 

 ae guides, Long 

 Regis, Raquette, 

 there, and a migratory 

 ■t depend upon a cordial re- 

 guide if he takes him into 



f which he is not a mom 

 lortiou oi the employers ail 

 h raft, and depending unoi 

 1 very little of their guides, a very'in 

 u have intruded themselves into 



bodies of guides, claiming the title and demanding the 

 pay. 



livery season thousands migrate to the woods— invalids 



in s,.;uvli , it' health, eniiuied Saratoga habitues in search () f 



change, clergymen, lawyers, editors, and other brain-work- 

 ers, of rest, and with them hosts of ladies and children. At 

 nearly every available point public houses, ranging from the 

 Simple "hunter's camp. '•' when' under a shingled roof rise 

 nearly to the ceiling unpapered pine hoard partitions, 

 through and over which every cough of every consumptive 

 racks painfully upon the ears of every other would-be 

 sleeper, to the palatial structures at Blue Mountain and St. 

 Regis, Sehroon Lake and the Saranaes, have been erected 

 to house these people, Railroads stretch into tl: 



I the 



the wilderues 

 their Pulluia 



Concord sla-j 



four horses i 

 welcomes tc 

 with gaily dressed U 

 ing the girls playing 



swallow lailed-coated 



rooms, barrooms, bed 

 shaking off the dust 

 lor and listen lo piai 

 well-arranged w*iw ft 

 live and bye they 



lie. 



th. 



and oil 

 Iravelei 

 bowling over 

 heart of the i 

 > (whose verni 

 i, all tuning, f; 

 pict or lawn t 

 iters, and she 

 rwisl 



jected. From 

 transferred to L 



ds behind 

 i, and 

 e .ov-rci 

 nd watch- 

 front) by 



ailing 

 afte 



:ood i-.i 

 lounlaii 

 dabs a 

 nning 

 amis ii 

 wn into 

 [dictate, 



njusllv, never once getting 



(Vhiins. 



Was unwearied in leaching 



ned when and how to pi ' 



trail, wl 

 gliogalt .. 



and grunting and blaming him i 

 put out nor failing lo humor niv 

 When opportunities served he 

 me woodcraft. From him 1 lea 

 bark, how to keep up a camp t'n 

 to look for balsam gum to dress a wound, to. cook trout, 

 skin, not pluck, a partridge, and in short he gave me a very 



good -tart, and during the time we were togemcr performed 

 nearly all of the labor required to support us both comfort- 

 ably:" I may say all, for undoing my blunders .sometimes 

 cos'l him as much as my efforts saved. When we parle.l, 

 this man, who had been guide, teacher, nurse and provider. 

 WftB Very contented with his guido's pay, $2.50 per day, and 



expressed gratitude for the little gifi of gear 1 made lum. 

 inn sin w , nlli altogether, anil of the provisions which he 

 had 'saved In the Substitutes of venison and trout. 



Now, i don't wish it to he un. lei siood that 1 think that 

 every guide should, to earn his money, perform for his 

 II that John Leonard did for me,' but the nearer they 



are willing and able i 

 the better guides theyi 

 to the real description, 



Cui.ie- should not 



they should not. as a 

 many liltle services . 

 they taTte offense, as 

 errors on the part of ii 



best L'.uides 1 



of emei 



and I 



?ncy to approach to it 



ore nearly do they come 



oughl; 



■ paii 

 just ■ 

 tin 



■d. Onci 



that I might i 



.here he drew 1 



and lackey- 



expected lo do menial work, but 

 e of them now do, class as such 

 e cheerfully rendered, nor should 

 ime 1 have' known have done, at 

 perieneed employers. One of the 

 ployed kepi my wading boots most 



tod him to black for 

 pear well at a <i, 



ine— I he tir-l was guidi 



And nowadays they ha 



I found 



iiiy 



3 il- 



i what are the duties of thc'lati. 

 ibout the hotels and fooli nu- wiih the co 



(Is. 



) 1 made another woods trip, and during 



-ed of the -pirit of discontent, [o which lids 



but stopping for dii 



ell - 



ptm. 



thre 



at Bennett's, "under the hemlocks," 

 villi the beauty of the surroundings, and 

 dinner, that 1 resolved lo stay for 



lied Willi 



! days. 



Thai evfening I Was quite content, after my rather 

 fatiguing day. to enjoy the verandah, listen to the singing 

 tome. Young people out, on the lake, and chat wilh the 

 very pleasant people 1 found there, and the next morning I 

 bad ho disposition to give up my comfortable bed before 

 breakfast time. Thafftayit was cool and shady in the 

 woods, and the "hunters' camps," with their balsam floors, 

 were very enticing; just far enough from the house lo seenl 

 a little lonely, bul not so far but that the dinner bell was 

 audible. Thai evening, though after tea. 1 thought 1 would 

 like lo spend a eouiile of hours c.istimr along the shore for 

 black bass, with which the lake is well stocked, and of 

 which many -mall and sometimes a larger one come in iv. ry 

 evening lo feed on insects under the projecting branches. 

 To my -urprise and disgust I could not hire a boal nor n 



dlhomrli pi. 



el plait, 



boatmat 



the bea 



grouped 



I had sp-„i ,-, p„,l,o 



out on the balsams in i 

 and had been treated 

 with great comfort t< 

 former, in W bid) 



,tv of the forn 

 m, and a dbz 



i hauled up on 



of the latter were 



I' travel, they can adjourn to the par- 

 is, or to the dining-room, and from a 

 ect tlK'irdiinier. 



-ill want io make a little trip on the 

 lake", "go sailing" they generally call it, hut the sails are of 

 wliitc ash; an. I will :.-k for a "guide," and will he- aston- 

 ished, perhaps, when instead of the bronzed and ijnrly 

 -ho they had learned, through many lettcrsfroiii 

 enerally filled lhai position, lo he referred !•) a 

 uih in faultless sailor atlire who, but they were 

 • "..,:-, ihey would recognize as one Of the 

 ii met lounging on the pier at Narragau- 



wood.-in 

 the woods, j 

 beardless yc 

 really tn th 

 amateur vac 

 sett or Long 



Or if disp 

 Kteamboat. i 

 they W 

 "lure 



Wai 

 of plar 

 ling Ot 

 and -.. 

 lion- o 



irtsi 



opporti 



while lou 



and chain 



Two v, 

 I became 

 letter owi 



1 had been delayed BO that July was well advanced when 

 1 dismounted at the door of the Forge House. :,t the foot 

 Fulton Chain, from a "trusty steed" that had one day- 

 given me a glorious gallop across the clearing between 

 the woods. The house I had been in correspondence and ex- 

 changing messages with, Mr. Perry, the landlord of a very 

 pleasant camp on Third Lake, and with "Bam Dunnekiii. ' 

 a man reputed; and I have no doubt justly so, to he a most 

 excellent guide, and presumed that I had completed all 

 arrangements and would be furnished with "a lir-t-elass. 

 e\peiicnced guidi'," Duiinekiu. whom 1 had hied io en 

 gage, having "an engagement. Unfortunately I had written 

 thiil I was a stranger to the locality, and 'as such I was 

 Healed and taken in. 



The •ex|.ri-i. need gnide" furnished me. turned out to be a 

 wilh bul the slightest know). due of the ordinary 

 duties of a guide. He was a youth of perhaps twentj years, 

 strong, intelligent, good-tempered and obliging, but exc.-pl 

 that, lie could row a boal belter and further, his < 

 a "guide" were but little better than mv own 



I did not expect much, I knew that Perry, hi- 

 chambermaid, would attend to most of my waul- 

 think that a.- by this lime the trout were'gather 

 spring holes, niv "guide'' would be able lo ; 

 those in the vicinity. In this he failed utterly; 

 i day's work, rowing, paddling, poling. 



id to 



id for ii 



i Ii!,. 



longer trip will take passage in a little 

 tried in her past many places, where 



' 'here deer used lo come every night," 

 ■at place for trout. " 



. costume, style, everything out 

 it throngs on the pioraa, or perl 



lie, 



ysell on 

 selected 



after twi 



aps sil- 

 ls pipe 

 evolu 



n lucky 



.Week's 



of the 



l thii 



i I have nothing 

 it deal of pleasui 

 k it quite tills th 

 b or better, ncoQT 



Bg il in is to 1 



e mill 

 i require! 

 fling to hi 



-. Thou 

 ! life dead 



A I 



a question. & 



rlio row these ladies and children ueces: 

 •ed as "guides" and paid as such? Are 



g for mill 



We didn't lind 



the spring holes 



The next day 



win-re the l.llv 



of the North Bra 

 i trout, and 1 doubt 



if we did, my "guic 

 was devoted lo the li 



old he taken, lo 

 .id at last 1 e 



But we rowed in 



and tried that last resort, buoy fishing, for 1 washu 

 a fish. The result, was the same; and 1 afterward 

 that my "guide" didn't know the likely- spots f () 

 and further thai his buoy had not been bailed. 

 I have no doubt but that by this time that young 



slaimsto be 



cook and 

 ; but I did 

 ing on the 

 ruifle me to 

 ■n.d a long, 

 mping and 



-lilted in nothing. 



wc found either of 



lidn't know it. 

 Then- w, re place.- 



hers oaugfcl them. 



in to his suggestion. 



or 1 was hungry for 



afterward learned 

 lakers, 



nf shanlying on 

 woods. 



Agai„-I all of 

 of people do get 

 and lie who don 

 further and fan 

 that induces in. 

 the young men 

 rilv to be consiti 

 they guides! 



I will answer my own questions, and say, by no means; 

 then, when I shall'liavc tini-ii.-d this letter, will "pause for 

 replies'' from others. 



I will give ini-iiy my views a- to the qualifications a guide 

 should possess, and the duties which he owes to hi- employer. 

 But perhaps I cannot do better than to describe instead of 

 an Ideal guide, a real one, and selecting from my o... ., exper- 

 ience . -elect two strongly contrasting eiiwcs. 



Many year.-, ago, beins 'in miserable health, feeble, fretful 

 and helpless. 1 was ordered to the woods by my plo. 



developed iuto quite a good guid. 

 absorbed eagerly such woodcraft 



instance, getting into the boat, he 



ferrule. That ended it, according 

 no gimlet, and there was no way 

 prisoned I" ragmen I. When 1 mad 

 out, and produced from my kit 

 dressed down the joint, he wag 

 Well, I wasted' two of 



has 



had ii in hiin, and 



IS I taught him. For 



mashed my rod at the 



> his id. as'; for we had 

 of getting out the nu- 

 ll liltle lire, framed il 



bit of broken -la.-s, unt 



o,,;-h..i. 



live daj -. add paid ihi 



boatman full guide's wages and his board bill— Jum as mill h 

 as il would have, cost me to have had the services of any of 

 the first-class guides, Who would havogn.n me ihewonh 

 of my money in spoil. Tired of thissorl of fun I resolved 

 to emigrate; so proceeded leisurely up I he lakes and through 

 the outlets into the Raquette. 



In passing 1 must express myself as in accord with "N'.-s- 

 muk in his comments upon the devastation produced by 

 the backing up of the waters of Sixth Lake by a dam*. 

 Acres of forest are submerged, and the boat route lies 

 through lines of blazed, dying trees. 



My objective point wa- Blue Mountain Lake, at which 

 place I hoped to find an express package of costume more 

 appropriate for that off -shoot of Saratoga in the wilderness; 



of I he preceding evening stretched 

 io guides' camp, an enormous shanty, 

 with perfect civility, and listened 

 the songs and yarns. One of the 

 A hah" "details some experience of 

 his own wilh -Ned ISunlline," you should, if possible, 

 secure. 1 had then and there. I presume, expressed my in- 

 lention of making but a short slay, and when 1 approached 

 this group, and endeavored to engage n boatman for a few 

 hours. 1 could see plainly that all hands were much inter' 

 ested in the proposed transaction, also Unit my chances of 

 success were very limited. The spokesman informed im<, 

 civilly enough, thai it 1 wanted to be rowed I must engage 

 a guide by the day. Representing that. I had no intention 

 of so doing, but would willingly pay a fair price for a 

 -holier s,i vice. 1 was told that "they didn't do business in 

 that way," and there could be no mistaking the contemptu- 

 ou> feeling entertained by most of them for me as a "tran- 

 sient," which was manifested by derisive grins while 1 

 was negotiating, and sardonic chuckles as I turned away 

 discomfited and uncomfortable. 



1 sought the landlord, and 1 am sure that he would have 

 very gladly accommodated me if he could. He was shrewd 

 enough to'apprcciale that, as landlord, his interests would 

 be injured by any failuie upon his part to do his utmost to 

 in.-urea pleasant time to his gue.-ls, bul il was evident Hull 



he did not like to take any position antagonistic to the 



guides, of which guild lie hini-.il' had been, and still was. 

 upon occasions, one of the best, 



As a compromise, finding that 1 could row myself, he. 

 loaned me' a boat. I say loaned advisedly, for he would not 

 lake pay for its use. and i bus infringe one of the rules-, 

 which was against hiring boats out. He did not I ell me 

 this, and it inav nol have been his reason for refusing, but 



1 was told by' good authority that this was the probable 

 reason 



Had I been rich enough, in- fooli-h enough to pay a guide's- 

 day's wages and board, viz. four dollars, for the frilling 

 -erviee which 1 ui-hed, which any bov could have rendered, 

 and which 1 got along very nicely without, I found 

 that the sum would have been only one-third of 

 the total cost of the two hour's row, for through 

 a system of constructive mileage, peculiar to this 

 section. I would have to pay in addition two more days' 

 wages, it is assumed that when wanted, all of the disen- 

 gaged Blue Mountain Lake guides — as those who row upon 

 the Raquette are designated— are at their homes at Blue 

 Mountain, and that they are justly entitled to wages for the 

 two days spent in coming from and returning to their 

 homes, as indeed Ihey might he if the journey' lo and fro 

 necessarily preceded and succeeded each engagement, and 

 if they had lo in consequence "spoil two days;'' but in 

 reality some of these men (I am sure of two), Were at 15en 

 HCt'B Camp at Hie time, disengaged and ready for engage- 

 ment upon their own terms, and had Ihey been at 

 (heir homes, the long row through Blue Mountain, Eagle 

 and I'tawana lakes and ri 

 a. short tow by the little 

 daily I rips through Unit . 



fishermen, delighting the tourist, relieving the oarsmen, and 

 disgusting the sportsman, for since her whistle began, Unit, 

 of th. (leer has ceased, and her caudal tin has driven away 

 those of Qxefontmolw. 



Now, Mr. Editor, I am fond of woods life, accustomed 

 and rather like roughing it. was pleased with my surround- 

 ings on the beautiful Raquelrc, am not a stingy man, and 

 am very willing to pay fair prices f,,r fair service, but I 

 don't like extortion. 1 did not engage a guide, and 1 thiuk 

 it is the riist time that I have ever failed to do so. 1 could 

 not afford topay an oarsman tu elve dollars for half a day'? 

 -ei-v'ne, and there arc hundreds of people in moderate cir- 

 cumstances who thus are compelled to reduce their expenses 

 and pleasure, while in the woods; and among them many 

 who cannot, as I did, borrow a boat and do their own row- 

 ing. The rowing was a mere bagatelle. There is very li 1 1 It: 

 trolling on the lake. It simply involved a pull of perhaps a 

 mile to windward, and Ihen sieeiing ch.-ar of Bach logs and 

 snags as projected, while drifting down along the shore. 

 After the first, try I rather liked it, and finding I could do 

 very well without a •guide,'' il is highly probable thai mv 

 disbursements in future to the guide will he greatly re- 

 duced 



As a inatler of course, my louuging in the guides' camp 

 was at an end I was a marked man. a mere transient, vet 

 1 connived lo have a good time, for among these men there 

 were real guides— such as Alvah Dunning, Hill Dan. .lack 

 Shepherd, Gus Syphert. John Brinkhoff and others whose 

 names I do not remember, who are fully capable of per- 



uld have been reduccd'to 



I'tawana, which makes 



paradise for hunters and 



I'm -mil 

 can he 



guide 

 in th. 

 olt as 



ig every duty thai 



i guide can 



beaskedlodo. and Who 



trusted under all 

 ir best for any peri 



circuinstai 

 on forluua 



ces to, if fairly treated, 

 e enough to secure their 



-. 1!.,. these in, 



n are ban 



to get; their value is 



1, and from seas. 



1 to m-:i.-o 



1 they are engaged, and 



illy to the same pa 



lie-. 1 t.d 



Ced wiih some, of these 



. and Ihcv agreed 



with me th; 



t there were men living 



woods, owning or 



ii ring boats 



mid passing themselves 



guides upon inexp 



■lieiieed p. 



sons and strangers who 



wav were justi! 



ed in elai 



uiug to be more than 



en; men who coi 



ldn'i find 



their way in the woods, 



lo undertake something beyond a 

 ivould piove themselves miserable 

 about a camp beyond paring pota- 



row around the lake, 

 failures and be of no u 

 toes and chopping wood, 



To the real guide the life of hanging about a hotel is dis- 

 ta-teful, In- would far rather serve a party having some 



