308 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[May 17, 188b 



KINDERHOOK LAKE. 



HAl.p an hour of bri«k travel eastward on one of the 

 swift trains of the B. & A. R. ft., through pleasant 



farm lands and villages d V ou leave I lie cars ;it cool. 



shady hmderhook depot. You catch a hasty glimpse of a 

 considerable body of water, pier m.-s. , lu-'K situated, a 

 moment or two before the train slops, and voi i rightly eon- 

 jeoture it to be the justly famous Kinderhook Lake, the 

 richest gem in Knstei n New York. 



The three rival magnates of the three rival establishments 

 for fishermen, tourists and excursion pn.rt.iP8j will meet you 

 BS soon as you leave your train, eon fusing vou with tiowerv 

 accounts of the conflicting rharms of their several places. 

 Joking aside, you ean safely go with either of tin se. for 

 "whichever" you choose will see to it that you are splen- 

 didly entertained and eared for. 



onvenience sake, and for the purpose of thoroughly 

 •'doing" the lake, it will be wise on this especial occasion lo 

 put yourself in charge of ",Iorrv" Clapper, the gentlemanly 

 proprietor of "The outlet." A Uo-minuto walk from the 

 depot and you are ill starlit of his comfortable cottage, cosily 

 nestled down upon the left bank of the handsome stream 

 that empties the lake, (lowing from its southwestern ex- 

 tremity, 



Once in sight of the dock, with its gaily painted boats and 

 multitudinous fishing paraphernalia, vou imickenyour steps, 

 hasten across the bridge, and, aided by the ever genial 

 J orry. select your '■kit" and push out into the stream. A 

 few -troiigpulls and you are Hirough the railroad culvert, 

 gliding up the creek in eager expectancy of entering the 

 lake with every oar-stroke. The birds in the overhanging 

 branches along the shore are unheeded and their songs un- 

 heard; the lake is the one consideration of the day. to'which 

 everything else must be subjected. Aha! the 'provoking 

 willow-copse is passed and vou see the lake. Now. once 

 again— a long pull, a strong pull, a pull altogether and ■•"> 

 leave the stream with its narrow bounds ami glide into 'the 

 lovely lake, delighted, transported, enraptured. 



Resf On your oars and glance about vou. Stretching far 

 to I he north is the extreme limit of the Main Lake; let 

 the eye wander along down the eastern -shore, taking in the 

 wooded point that shelters Milham's Cove, and still further 

 down, admiring the rough, indented shore skiitiug Mil 

 bams Woods, until the long, high promontory with which 

 Lake House Point terminates cuts off the view. Between 

 you and Luke House Point is another long, narrow petdn- 

 sitln, reaching away to the northward from the mainland 

 that bounds the southern limits of the lake. This is Boed- 

 er's Point, and a few w. 11-dirceted .strokes send your light 

 craft skimming around it toward Lake House Point. Sud- 

 denly you glance to the southward, and there. cOJ ly .secreted 

 between the two extended points, a scene of surpassing iove- 

 ;-■■-' its you, in that beautiful portion nf this irregular 

 water, the Pound Lake: 



-'The eoaseerutfun, and the poet's dream. " 



i.usl your v to the northwest, and here Packrnau's Cove, 



i -m-prise, awaits you; a grove on the left and 



another on the right, add to its beauty. This arm of the 

 lake lies parallel with the upper end of the .Main Lake, but 

 is mm h narrower, ami of far less value as a fishing ground. 

 The section of land dividing the cove from the lake pri « r 

 is somewhat singularly styled Packman's Point, though it 

 bean little n ambiance to a point. The .solitary stream 



hat feeds Dhe l.'die. flows cireuibmsly past the quiet villages 

 of Nassau and Noith Chatham, through grassy pastures; and 

 among sloping hills, entering the Main Lake a little north- 

 west of .Milham's Cove. Above this inlet the creek, just 

 described, is joined by a smaller one, a mere rill, that flows 

 from a small pond to the north, bearing the distinguished 

 '.hat misleading name of Lake Knickerbocker; 

 being a mere breeding place for frogs, mosquitoes and 

 malaria, it hardly deserves so "dignified a distinction." 



Having crossed the upper end of the Round Lake, you 

 sail to the lower side of the two small islands, sweep around 

 Lake House Point, and drift down (he Main Lake toward 

 Trimper's Dock. Hen-, also, is a new revelation. You are 

 now about half way down the Main Lake, the two oxtrem- 

 ities each a mile distant. Above, circling around the head 

 of the lake, a succession of sloping hills undulate, unevenly, 

 lo the north and west. To the south the low country grad- 

 ually slants off, low and fiat, into the Hudson Valley.' An 

 orchard anil meadow bound the waters on the south^ merg- 

 ing into other farming lands, up the eastern shore, past the 

 Lake' Shore House, joining Milham's Grove just across from 

 Lake House Point. 



Your boat grates, on the beach, you jump out and secure 

 it just in time to enjoy a hearty' welcome and handshake 

 from "Bob" Trimper, the genial proprietor of the Lake 

 1 louse. It is now the magic hour of noon, and with an ac- 

 commodating smile, Bob leads you to the dining-room. 

 Here you are! Fresh fish, choice steaks, perfectly broiled 

 and siuokiug hot, sweet milk, pure and unadulterated, and 

 an endless variety of delicacies from Bob's eztensj regard a, 

 It is a dinner for a king, but sufficient "regality' to enjoy it 



with a keen relish i-, easily as.-uined. 



After dinner you of course go a -fishing. Bob provides 

 you with that prince of guides. John Lown. who rows your 

 craft with steady stroke to all the choice fishing grounds; 

 mitigating the wild excitement your sport occasions with 

 timely Suggestions, he aids JoU to capture a. reasonable 

 "mess" of the glorious bass ami pickerel so abundant in 

 Kinderhook Lake. At length, after a most enjoyable half- 

 day's fishing, the sun goes ruddfly down in the 'west, and, to 

 complete the various enjoyments." John rows you ower to the 

 Luke Shore House for supper. Landlord Allen is all atten- 

 tion, and you bid him "good-nteht" brimful of that "solid 

 satisfaction" that always follows a fine day's sport with a 

 n"'" meal for an epilogue, John is awaiting you in the 

 boat, and rows you silently back to Trimper's in the dim 

 starlight. You take leave of him here, and pull lazily for 

 the head of the lake, to while away the two hours remaining 

 before the train leaves for Albany. Then you float lazily 

 back down the lake. In Milham's Grove flickers the camp- 

 fire of a party of Bost onions; directly opposite, on Pack- 

 man's Point, hang the colored lanterns- 'of n camping party 

 from the Capital City. 



Just as you stand out between the two camps off Lake 

 House Point, the full moon rises suddenly, brilliantly illu- 

 minating the western shores, and leaving tie eastern shores 

 in dark shadow. Lovely as was the .scene by daj light, it is 

 in finitely lovelier now; something about it recalls, momen- 

 tarily, that one lino of Scott's on Melrose Abbey: 

 "Never was scene more sadly lair!". 



A party of dancers are on the grounds at Trimper's— one 

 of the many excursion parties who haunt the lake all sum- 



mer long. There is something weird about it ; I be line from 

 Scott awaken- another train of thought; the camps, the 

 dancers flitting about indistinctly ic the uncertain liiriii, 

 snatches of song from boats all around you. all mingle to' 

 get her to strengthen your fancy; it is wonderfully 'Tike a 

 mustering in the Scottish Highlands. Then, too, Lake 

 House Point, in the sofl moonlight, looks, for all the world, 

 like Ellen's Isle, in Loch Katrine. A shadowy glimpse of 

 the CatsKills, to the southwest, adds lo Ihe 'resemblance, 

 and, to complete the picture and perfect the scene, a dark 

 boat floats swiftly past, containing a partvof musicians. 

 As they disappear in the shade lo the left of Lake- House 

 Point, they strike up Roderick Dim's famous muster song, 

 "Hail, to the Chief." Then, profane thought, you - . i . ! , I ■ ■ i , 1 - 

 remember that it is nearly train time. Away romance, 

 poetry, sentiment; pick up 'your oars and hurry along to 

 Clapper's. With a sigh of 'commendable regret, you row 

 Silently to the mouth of the creek. Near the stream you 

 rest a moment on your Oais, and let the boat drift One 

 more burst of music reaches your ears, faint and almost in- 

 audible; the musicians are 'playing the closing strains of 

 "Bonnie Dundee." The music stops; new! and" cricket sing 

 their discordant songs unheard. You continue dreamily 

 down the stream to Clapper's, wishing all sorts of impossible 

 wishes. 



Once more vou land, and Lorry breaks the spell with a 

 bountiful supply of lemonade and' sandwiches. He cheer- 

 fully bids you "Go for 'em!" while he packs your fish and 

 other luggage for the journey home. Forgetting vour 

 Splendid dinner and supper, you imagine yourselves 'half 



famished and greedily devour Jorry's dainty refreshments. 

 Then, alas! you go to the depot and buy your ticket for 

 Albany; the train drives in and whirls vo'u regretfully back 

 again into the crowded city. 



Well, you've had one day's fishing on Ihe lake that en- 

 chanted N. P. Willis, Ihe luxurious day-dreamer, and where 

 Matty Van Buren and a host of ol her ' famous old "Vans" 

 frequently held high revels in days gone by. Yon goto bed 

 thinking of the day's events, everyone, except the departure 

 from the lake, being a pleasure." Somehow your slumbers 

 are troubled with visions that shift in a confusing sort of 

 way from Kinderhook Lake to the Scottish Highlands. You 

 are, in your dreams, once more members of a jolly fishing- 

 parly this tun it is Join Clapper stalwart Joni: Dec "lis. 

 Bob Trimper, Roderick l')hu. John Lown, Henry Allen arid 

 a host of other impossibilities, old Watty Scott tlie wondrous 

 Wizard oil,' North, among the rest. Black Koderick is just 

 proposing a toast lo Kinderhook Lake, when lo! the vision 

 fades; you open your eyes; you are snugly laid away in bed 

 and the morning sun is shining hmpon you. You rise, 

 deeply regrcltingthat it was "all a. dream.'" perform your 

 ablutions and breakfast on the delicious fish vou captured 

 yesterday on dearly-loved, never-to-be-forgotten Kinderhook 

 Lake. Oh | thai life was an endless holiday ! 



Albany. N. Y., May V. Ill HUTIIBK JATBA. 



DOES THE MASCALONGE LEAP? 



IN the issue of Foukst AMD Stkkaji for April 19, I notice 

 the rather surprising statement, made by Mr. Elihu 

 Phinny," that from one-half to two-thirds of over live hun- 

 dred masealonge caught by himself and friend, "threw them- 

 selves, the instant they were struck, either entirely or partly 

 out of water." 



1 have had some experience fishing in Canadian waters for 

 masealonge, especially i» the same region of which he 

 speaks. During (lie month of July, 1878. 1 spent almost 

 every day fishing for bass and masealonge, and my efforts 

 were handsomely rewarded. 



since reading the article above referred to, I have thought 

 the subject oyer, but cannot remember of a single instance 

 where the fish leaped from the water upon being struck. In- 

 deed, my experience was exactly opposite, for instead of 

 rising they would invariably go to the bottom, and when 

 they were taken from the water, it seemed as if they came 

 direct from the bottom. 



f remember that the difference between the actions of 

 bass and masealonge, when struck, was a subject of com- 

 ment between the guide and myself. 1 could tell almost 

 every time, without seeing the fish, whether I had a bass or 

 masealonge as soon as the bait was taken. A four-pound 

 bass would afford more sport than un eight-pound masea- 

 longe. 



Why is it I ha I the flesh of bass taken from Stony bake is 

 not SO solid as the flesh of those taken from the St. Liv rein; 

 River and Great Lakes? The water being considerably 

 warmer, may be one reason. During the coming summer 

 I intend to spend about a month in this region, 'and will 

 make close observations as to the habits of the masealonge. 

 8piungflej.ii, O., Jlay 7. Dr. K. 



PENNSYLVANIA NOTES. 



r IMlE Pennsylvania Angler's Association has stocked Ihe 

 X Perkimen Creek with rainbow trout, and we are glad to 

 learn that instead of making a promiscuous planting, tlie, head 

 waters, where black bass are not so plentiful, and, as some 

 say, do not exist at all. were chosen, and the lower portions 

 of' the stream nearer the Schuylkill were properly passed by. 

 This society will do a good" work for our portion of the 

 State, and is a live and active organization. It is said that 

 one great cause of the depletion of the Schuylkill River 

 waters of its bass, especially the portion which rims through 

 Fairmount Park, is the netting of the .fish at all seasons of 

 the year by the factory people of Manayunk Falls of Schuyl- 

 kill and others who have been violating the law unmolested 

 for several years, and if is proposed to appoint a warden 

 whose business it will be to patrol the river and arrest of- 

 fenders. Would it not be an economical plan to interest 

 some of the railroad "track walkers" and offer them a fee 

 for every case of netting they discover. The railroad track 

 runs close to the Schuylkill River, many miles above Phila- 

 delphia, and if the proper officers of the Reading Railroad 

 were seen 1 have no doubt l heir consent could be procured 

 to have the employes interested. Gov. Paltison of our State 

 has signed the bill which will allow the Pennsylvania Fish 

 Commission to sell the Marietta Hatchery property and to 

 select: waters better adapted, and we hope to soon "hear of a 

 new site chosen. Our trout fishermen are now all off on 

 their delayed trips. Your correspondent received a des- 

 patch yesterday from Lehigh Valley, reading, "Come up, 

 trout are ripe. "'hut unfortunately 1 must slay in Philadel- 

 phia this week, and perhaps lose the best of thesport, which 

 is only had in the Lehigh Valley streams the first week or so 

 .on, and the pleasant weather coming upon us this 

 spring all at once we may expect but a very short season. 

 Philadelphia, May 11. HOMO. 



loan of an old work, 

 Endicoff, the title of 

 ca : Describing at large 



;, etc. on that extensive 

 1h Reflect h 



.Juan and Don An 



iNavy, Mends: 

 ■iliie s, i Corn 

 Paris. Trnnslat 

 to ( topper Plate 

 son, at Meeamas' 



SOME SOUTH AMERICAN FISHES. 



WE were recently favored with 

 the property of Mr. Francis 

 which is "A Voyage lo South Aine,,.,. 

 the Spanish Cities, Tow ns. Provinces, 

 Continent, Interspersed throughout w 

 Genius. Customs, Manners, ami' Trade of the fnfiabi 

 together with the Natural History of tin' Country And an 

 Account of the Gold and Silver Mines Undertaken by 

 Command of His Majesty the King of Spain by Don George 

 do de Ulloa, both Captain's in the Sjian- 

 >( Ihe Royal Societies id' Londou and 

 nding Members of the Royal Academy 

 from the original Spanish. Illustrated 

 Dublin. Printed for William William- 

 Head in Bride street, 1758," in two 

 volumes; from which we quote-: 



Of fish there is a great variety daily brought from the 

 neighboring ports of Chorillos, Callao, and Aneon, the In- 

 dian inhabitants of which make fishing their whole business. 

 The most palatable are the eorbimis, and the pege reves. ta- 

 king's fish; but those in the greatest plenty, and at the s r ,nie 

 time very palatable, are the anchovies. The corbinns and 

 the king's fish infinitely excel those of Spain; the hitter is 

 also remarkable for its' size, being generally sis or seven 

 Paris inches in length; yet even these are thought to'be 

 surpassed by those caught in the Buenos Avres River. It is 

 a saltwater fish but very little different from that caught in 

 the rivers of Spain. The river of Lima affords a soil of 

 piawns, two or three inches in lenglh, but these should 

 rather be called crayfish. The whole coasts abound with 

 such shoals of anchovies as exceed all comparison, and be- 

 side the quantity caught by fishermen, they are Ihe chief 

 food of innumerable flights of birds, with which nil these 

 islands abound, and commonly called guanoes; many of 

 them are indeed alcatraces, a kind of irull, thourfi all com- 

 prehended tinder the generical name of guanoes, A little 

 after the appearance of the sun, they rise from these islands 

 in such large and thick flights as lo totally cover them, and 

 fly toward the sea for an hour or two, without any visible 

 decrease of their number. When at. some distance from the 

 land they divide themselves, and begin their fishing in a 

 very entertaining manner. They fly in a circle al a con- 

 siderable height above the water, and on sceinc a fish, they 

 dart down with their beak foremost and their wing i closed 

 witli such force that the agitation of the water is ieen*al 

 distance; after which they rise again into the air and devour 

 the fish. Sometimes they remain a considerable (ii 

 water, and rise at some distance from the place wl 

 fell, doubtless because the fish has endeavored k, 

 thus disputing celerity with (hem in their own elet 



The islands of Juan Fernandez abound greatly 

 various kinds, among which are two ,p - -i ■-■ no observed in 

 any other part of this vast sea. One is tlie cod, which, 

 though not absolutely in every particular like that of New- 

 foundland, the difference is very minute, either with regard 

 to color, form, taste, and even the small scales observable 

 on that fish. They are of different sizes, but the kergest 

 three or four feet in length. The other species is a . tish'" re- 

 sembling the folio in shape, but much more palatable, From 

 the fore part of each of the two tins on its back gn 

 kind of triangular spur, a little bent, but round near the 

 back, and terminating in a point. If has u fine gloss and the 

 hardness of a bone. A I flic root of it is a soft, spongy sub- 

 stance. This spur or bone, for it resembles both, is such a 

 present remedy for the toothache, that Ihe point of it being 

 applied to the part affected, it entirely removes the pain in 

 half an hour. The first account L had of this singular virtue 



s under 

 «e they 



in fish of 



tr« 



ny pilot 



sh- 



ed t 



but as 

 wilh- 

 oid of 

 d i .i 

 is, and 

 eate a dis- 

 ,-eral of my 

 etatiug pain, 

 happy effects 



i after the 



appli- 

 osible 



Frt 

 a reason would not permit me to 

 out experience, to a circumstance ne> 

 probability, the asservations of the man 

 of putting it to the proof, which I did sever 

 always with success. I did not fail to commu 

 eovery of such great benefit; and accordingly s 

 acquaintances, who labored under that exe'ru 

 made a trial of it, and found from it the 

 with this particular circumstance, that si 

 cation of the bone to the part affected, it beca 

 of pain, a drowsiness succeeded, and they awaked frt 

 the torture. I observed that the spongy substance at the 

 root, dining the operation, became greatly inflated, and 



softer than in its natural slate, which could not be aff 



solely by the moisture of the mouth, the pari put into it be 

 itig compact, hard, and smooth as ivory/. I am therefore 

 inclined to think that it has an attractive virtue, which ex- 

 tracts the morbific humor, and collects it in the root. Tlie 

 common length of these anodyne spurs is iwo inches and a 

 half, of w.ich one moiety, together with the root, is within 

 the body of the fish. Each face of the triangle is about four 

 lines in breadth. The fish is taken in the same plenty as 

 the others. * * * 



The seas on these coasts abound in excellent fish, though 

 not in near so great a degree as those near the island "of 

 Juan Fernandez. Here are seen, in particular, a great num- 

 ber of whales, which come even into the bay ; also a tunny 

 and sea wolves. Anions the amphibious creatures here is 

 one known all along ihe'se coasts, and even at Callao. It is 

 called I'tiim-o A-Wthe bird-child. If in some parts resem- 

 bles a goose, except that its neck nor its bill is not arched, 

 and is something larger. It has a thick neck, a large head, 

 and a strong, short bill; its legs very small, and in walking 

 its hotly is in an erect position. Its wings are small, car- 

 tilaginous, and nearly resemble the fins of the seal. Its tail 

 is so small as hardly to be distinguished; its wings and 

 whole body are covered with short brown hair, b'ke that of 

 ihe sen wolves, and generally full of white spots, though 

 some are of other colors; so that upon the whole the bird 

 makes no disagreeable appearance. It lives promiscuously, 

 either in the water or on the land; on the latter it is easily 

 taken, being very slow in its motions, but when attacked 

 bites severely, though it is observed never to be the first 

 aggressor. * * * 



These harbors or roads [Island of Fernando de Norona] 

 abound in fish of five or six different species; among these 

 are lampreys and morenos, the last of an enormous size, but 

 neither of them palatable. At the bottom of this haibor is 

 taken a fish called cope, from its triangular figure. It has a 

 snout not unlike that of a hog, and its whole body is inclosed 

 in one bone resembling horn, within which is the if b. ■ n 

 trails and other parts. On the two upper superflci : 

 covered with green scales, and underneath with white. It 

 hits two small fins like other fishes, and its tail, which is 

 horizontal, is also small. On being taken out of the water 

 it immediately emits from its mouth a greenish froth of Sn 

 insupportable smell, and which continues for a considerable 



