406 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



IJttkk 21, 1883. 



^0H and Oliver <0ishing. 



To insure prompt attention, communications should be ad- 

 dressed to the Forest and Stream Publishing Co., and ■»»(_ to 

 individuals, iii whose absence from the office matters of im- 

 portonoe ore liable to delay. 



ANGZWG RESORTS.— We shall be glad to have for publi- 

 ates Of good faking localities. Will not our uorre- 

 spandcnls furor us will, votes of desirable points for angling 

 aversions.* 



AN AQUATIC TRAGEDY. 



an. I fearlessly dedicated to the Cuvier Club of Cin- 



iie most apocryphal vagrant tales find a safe refuge 



IResttectfullj ,i 



i-lMMJlli. %. , 



A ND eaiiy, saitb old Izaak, "lo me it seemetb meet, 

 ■**■ I wend unto tbe river, and rroin its depths, replete 

 With I'mn.v tribes unnumbered, l from iln-ir ranks seduce 



Both large and smaller specimens, 'till surfeit urge a truce. 



This April morn exhilarates, I teal pay spirit strong-, 



Nor is there fish within the creek which can resist raelong." 



Ah, well had (bis sraltUig speech remained tor aye unsaid, 



lis taunting feacae8 one lish far down within his oozy bed, 



A brutal, leathery Catfish Of a most gigantic mould, 



Whose mouth seemed almost cavernous, his corpulence untold— 



Rearing, a smile sardonic stole slowly down his jaw, 



An.i be twirled his nil with savage joy, for quick revenge he saw. 



But Izaak, all Unconscious, assuming spade and can, 

 Behind the barn assiduously a search for bait began : 

 And having exhumed enough of worms lo list the day 's sport through, 

 He forthwith ceased his labors and shouldered his huge bamboo — 

 A pole it was of extravagant size, with it butt just like a tree. 

 Veil viewing its length from butt to rip, theend you'd hardly see. 



Ills line was stout and matched the pole, hishookof 



a ash that 



rodroi 



; size. 



mglit on to" thi 



So Izaak hurried to the brook, hutiii 



And as he reached the willov, tree t 



Hi heavy line he slow uncoiled am 



I'!, .'ii iii.nl i he cans entanglement 



i ..ii rvorm by rente circuitous is dextrous)? 



Nor has his victims writhing wo* with hi< col 



h bell chimed for 

 3 ready hook, 

 if bait he took; 



npaled. 

 heart availed. 



PLANS OF THE KINGFISHERS. 



BRO. "NORMAN" you arc quite right; you struck the 

 truth til least once 'in your checkered career, in Fotiest 

 \ni> Stukam t)F May 81. "Old Hickory" (Kiiitrtisher), 



Knots" (the Scribe),' "Jim" (the Editor), mid "Old Pelican" 

 (Uncle Dan Bloari), besides four other kingfishers yet. in pin 

 feather, are ''overhatiliitg their tackle and preparing the 

 weapons for anotlicv camping trip." not. however, on Inter 

 mediate Lake, but further north and east. The fish in In- 

 termediate, ran rather small last, year, not a buss over five 

 and one-quarter pounds, nor a rnoscalODgC of more than 

 thirty-one inches in length, so we are going this season to a 

 newer and wilder locality in "sarch" of bigger game (fish), 

 "sieh" as liiusealoiU'e of six feet, iu length, and bass of 

 thirty-one inches. I haven letter from the solitary settler 

 near the lake where we are going to build our camp-fire, in- 

 closing the measure of a black bass taken in the lake this 

 spring, w hieh sizes up just thirty one inches in length, with 

 a girth of twenty-four inches in front of the dorsnl. 



How does thai strike you for the champion— ? I won't 

 retort in kind your utile pleasantry about the big ma 

 lougethatis ■ Vailing for the champion to come up and 

 tackle him to give them a run around the lake," but will 

 assure you that the oarration of the battle with the four feet 

 four and one-half inch lnasealonge in Fokkst asd Stkeam 

 of June 22, 1882, is true in every particular, (he. only thing 

 lacking, perhaps, being my ability to wield the ready and 

 facile pen of a ".Norman," to portray the true glories of that 

 tight. 



I plead guilty to letting the lish "die at lite stake." instead 

 of knocking him on the bead, and the only excuse to offer is 

 that we wanted very much to keep him alive until we 

 broke camp for home. On behalf of the "Kingfishers," 1 

 (bank you sincerely for your Kindly invitation to "drop in" 

 and see you al your camp at the mouth of Torch River the 

 coming summer, and assure you that nothing would afford 

 us more pleasure I ban to pay our respects to your ladies 

 (bless 'cm) and yourself, and should we find that we can 

 spare the time on our way home to do so, you may look out 



for Kingfisher and that "irrepressible youngster"' to have a 



' ill write 



Now has he reached t.hc Rubicon— alas he will not sUiy! 

 t omplacenl views the waters which him will soon betray; 

 And with serenest confidence, line to the wave he throws. 

 Over the halt lor gourmand fish tho waters rippling close. 

 Upon a gnarled sycamore, whose upturned roots invite. 

 He now takes up position and awaits intent— A bite I 



The hook, a seeming Challenge, had sunk the cat so near, 

 The act to his inllamed mind, gross insult did appear; 

 lie ground his keen Incisors, his spacious gills flapped he. 



!Tbe expression of his monstei ' ' . ,.i ■ i.i ii, hi-, v.. -if. - 

 And the sediment surrounding he lashed go with his tail, 

 That it floated m the water like dust in a summer's gale. 



With motion of a 



nightmare as slow but [ 



ure as fate, 



11.- moves to end 



his history we painfully 



elate— 



'thai hook, despi 



e heroic size, when grasp 



Id Ehoa'e iaws bet 



Seems lost, lis 1. 



Id a moment, and then n 



. more Is seen, 



The line he also , 



nick consumes, and start! 





As urchin boys m 



unch sugar cane he 1 he to 



ugh bamboo! 



Meanwhile our ancient firmly stood with most pugnacious air. 



And thanked the happy tot tune which had kindly brought him there: 



Bethought him what a barbecue this giant fish would make. 



Which he. from out, iff elements, eventually would take. 



Nor dreamed he Of a danger, but strove with stubborn might 



His mighty catch to overcome and him tn land aright. 



Hut now the end is [tearing, few inches intervene, 



•ii'. iiiiiiiL lie man and fish between— 

 M, . bo i in.- sandy margin of the wave-resisting shore. 

 1 . .; ... our staunch old angler, whose rashness we deplore— 

 Oh would he. hut relenting, forsake and tlee the strife, 

 He could with spotiess honor long years prolong his life, 



With quick convulsive efforts the fiend still nearer draws, 

 And with malign expression down drags him to his jaws- 

 Then did the old man realte the fate which was in store, 

 And the waves upon their journey his death-wail sadly bore; 

 Then laughed the horrid monster as well as mouthful able, 

 And sampled Izaak carefully as epicure at table! 



His long arms quick are telescoped, his head, his shoulders next, 



Nor does lie- monster lie„it;tt<-. nor ■ :. al all perplexed- 

 Inch after inch of angler man within himself bestows. 



Rut more of this sad history we wUl the reader spare. 

 And for the just denouement bid him his tears prepare. 



The cutlish in his eagerness 

 And how, without embellisl 

 Our rural friend, whose Ha 

 Had feet so large, tle-y pub 

 To trundle 'hem round dail. 

 But then our rustic was a re 



did but invite his fate, 



relate. 



ly been ground, 



connti-y round ; 



ii of I 



e than av 'rage might. 



d romp and a "rastle." 1 'promise you that 1 1 

 up for Fokkst and Stheam the "net" results of our coming 

 tripr trusting to put it, in a shape lo please the brethren of 

 the rod a little, and afford Brother "Norman" an opportu- 



nity to "jest bust hisself a laffl: 

 time, point your cut -water in a noriiu 

 follow il for a matter of eighty miles as 

 will find us any time alter July 20 

 located in a camp that you will wish t 

 Or, better, come to Cheboygan and 



If 



dire 



die crow tiie 

 and up to I 

 . lake home 

 ik Mr. Wm 



spa 



the 



. and 



i. and you 

 ugust. 15, 

 with you. 

 Spencer, 

 of the Spencer House, to put you on our trail, and then, as 

 old Dave Edwards would say, "Jest bile ahead lei ye smell 

 hlucl." Come over and sec' u.s, and I will guarantee you 

 some sport that would have made blessed old "Saint Izaak" 

 feel discouraged- sport that will set you back at least ten 

 years, and f promise you, too, that you will not find a 

 heartier Welcome in t ho" .North Woods I ban will be accorded 

 you in the "Camp of the Kingfishers." Kingfisher. 



incomparahle volume, and be may read therein far more 

 than 



"Words. i\ ords, words." 

 The love and the study of nature is it subtle pleasure— a 

 precious privilege— and at every .step we stumble over some 

 stupendous fact, coming down' to us from the foregone ages. 

 In every familiar haunt we see something new and so old 

 that the mind stays its Calculation in wonder aud adoration 

 of its source. 



Not in heavy creels or plethoric gamebags is the sports- 

 man's pleasure bidden, nor by them is bis success to be com- 

 puted. He goes forth with rod. with gun and dog. and be 

 may return "laden with spoils" wor, by the one or the other, 

 but he must returu a better, a more satisfied man after his 

 tryst wit.fi nature, even if be has neither a "rise." or a "shot," 

 Of course it. is different if his dinner or supper hangs upou 

 his .success with rod or gun. Such easts are, fortunately, 

 rare, however. 



1 always look kindly upon callow anglers, and especially 

 upon sue'h tts take kindly to the craft. In boys, as in men, 

 there are anglers and— anglers. With half a glance the 

 practiced eye cm tell the true from the false, iu this as in 

 oilier and, perchance, "weightier matters." Happy is the 

 boy, born an angler, to have an angler's thorough pains- 

 taking evidence in all things pertaining to the craft. This 

 it is that makes the youth win (not in "his own eyes," how- 

 ever), and the old man young again. Hope and experience 

 here are met together, and a right pleasant sight tbe twain 

 nake to an interested onlooker. 



In this paper I had thought to give a reminiscence of 

 'childhood's days" relative to a. first, essay at bottom-fishing, 

 but my thoughts and pen have "run riot," and I must ab- 

 ruptly sound' "recall." 



It is notable how a sport, once loved and pursued with 

 zest, becomes part and parcel of life's declining years. 



White hairs but give additional lustre to Ihe sparkling 

 •ye as the octogenarian tells the "rising generation" of his 

 piscatorial doings, and not only tells but gives the youth a 

 pleasant "object lesson" in "splicing," "wrapping," fly-mak- 

 ing, or in an honest cast upon a bit of rippling water. There 

 are men who never grow old, and through the mask which 

 the years and woes of this life over them throw, there leaps 

 forth the spirit and the' loves of youth. To know such men 

 is a boon— what rare blessing it is to lish, or to shoot with 

 such ! 

 Blessings on them who can truly sing: 



"Old Father time has play'd his pranks, 



My hair is silver-grey, 

 Tet still along the verdant banks 



Of streams T fondly stray. 

 The gentle craft I still pursue, 



While wandering to and fro. 

 And angle as I used to do, 



A long time ago." 



SOME FUTILE EXPERIMENTS. 



WITH HACKLES AND GENTLES. 



XI. — A "HARK BACK." 

 "In childhood's days, when Bummer came, 



It was my earnest wish. 

 To leave each noisy, boist'rous game, 



To rove about aud Ash. 

 I sought each little pond and stream, . 



Where reeds and rushes grow, 

 And stickle-baeks prime fish did seem, 



Along time ago." 



AS the true sportsman, be iieaugler, shooter or huntsman, 

 has the "whip-hand" of all mankind iu the pursuit of 

 manly pleasure, so Iris memory is stored from year to year 

 with "incidents and advent ores that he can recall with zest 

 and pleasure. 



As in the puppy we forecast what the dog may be, so il 

 the boy are the germs of the man's estate and inclinations. 

 Of course "blood" (and "breeding") "will tell," and the 

 angling or hunting sire may look for his desired "points" in 

 ''progeny, and with grateful pleasure may watch and 

 '-- right direction. It is 



Kncused lie these extremities iu shoes wbi'-h spoiled a hide, 

 Whose heavy soles. Iron studded, the elements defied : 

 Kow 1'iiiniuitm co/as arrived these barriers at, 

 They astonished and disgusted this most bewildered cat; 

 Hard tried lie to involve them, the effort was in vain, 

 His mouth he opened widest, but out those feet remain. 



Then to eject his tenant attention now he turned, 

 But, Izaak, stubborn as in life, refused thus to be spurned; 

 llis captor one more struggle makes, stupendous, and his last. 

 And surely are the feet indrawn, the struggle must he past. 

 But no ! a mighty choiring disl urbs that monstrous length, 

 The throes winch mark the conllict, bespeak heroic strength. 

 The jaws are. propped asunder, by pedals, brojran eased. 

 Ho firmly placed in situ, they cannot be displaced. 

 Ills giant life ebbs slowly -at last his struggles cease, 

 I io. i stills its ripples aud over all is peace. 



The upturned old-gold belly of the monarch of the stream 

 Reflects I he sifted sunbeams n hich through the foliage gleam; 

 And towering from the surface, two leather obelisks high 

 Rise plaintive, Izaak's cloth-yard feet, which far we may descry. 

 And thus we end our history, our truthful labor done, 

 Which, but as urged historian, we ebse had not begun. 

 Cracow*** Cuafts, 



take Id 



vith tht 



rUy 

 mind 



the legiti- 

 book- 



uly. As an angler, I 



•ed it i 



band a Lati 

 yiceable fishiug- 



9 an expert in the use 



ver say "I wrote, him a 

 :e him a letter," never 

 ot down/' which shows 

 of so important an 



healthful education o 



believe that when the boy 

 grammar, in the other should 

 rod, and happy is the lad whose tutor 

 of both ! 



Bent pins and pack-thread are but straws, showing 

 whither the wind blows, aud these "indications" should be 

 supplemented by more appropriate rudimentary adjuncts of 

 the gentle art. 



As with mental culture, so with sportsman-like, physical 

 training, 1 he true and best way is the only way for proper 

 guidance, and deviation therefrom or little heed thereto, is 

 dangerous. 



A boy's eyes generally brightens at sight of a dog, a rod, 

 or a trim, and thin is a< methlDg lacking tn hie make-up" 

 if they do not. There is uol hing incompatible with mental, 

 or moral, culture in field sports, and bishop, priest or lay- 

 man may sacrifice neither dignity nor sanctity, by throwing 

 a fiv, drawing a cover, or riding to bounds. Tbe Wise Man 

 said. "There is a time for everything," and in every man's 

 life there should be a "lime" lor healthful recreation. As 

 always in these degenerate days, it is well, and our "bounden 

 duty." to have 



"Mens sana in corpore sano." 



ell as individuals, owe 

 vorld's history to their 



manly sports and exer- 

 . a case iu point, 

 ;es as naturally to field 



to mother's milk. The 

 tnd womeuthe like of 

 e face of the earth. As 

 r love and use anil prac- 

 s," and grow with the 



strength, of the body, 



Lome more or less of a 

 the habits and haunti 

 t tu)n to the successful 

 orite pastime. Hi 

 s on the most familiar 

 ipplemenled by he: 



Doubth 



their Stan 

 proper regi 

 rises. 



Ini 



races and people, as w 

 i and exaltation in I he ' 



rd for and practice of 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Our old-fashioned Yankee folk 

 letter," but, "1 sot down and w 

 neglecting to state first that they 

 that they enter upon the perform: 



act with becoming solemnity and proper deliberation. In 

 such a spirit only would it be fitting for me to communi- 

 cate a little, big, true fish story, concerning pike-perch fish- 

 ing, with no pike in it and but very little perch, and in such 

 a frame of mind, having duly taken thought of the probable 

 consequences, I "set, down and write you a letter." 



Is the pike-perch a good fighter in the good fight of the 

 angle, does he comfort the palate or disappoint it when 

 brought to the platter, is he an "evil heart, a slow belly," 

 affording his captor no pleasure either of hand or stomach? 

 Being somewhat muddled between some recent Forest and 

 STREAM communications, and my own remoter recollec- 

 tions concerning these questions. "1 determined to refresh 

 my memory by "actual experience, and so got myself up one 

 morning not manv days ago at an hour when all honest 

 folk, myself of the number, should be abed, and hied away 

 with trolling gear, and bait gear and minnows, to the East 

 Slang, where iny boat was, then therein down that sluggish 

 bit of water to sluggish " Wonakakotukesc. Ihe Little Paver 

 of Otters," down which 1 trolled to the "wide mn'sh" with- 

 out getting a bite— or should I say a "rise," or a. "strike'?" 

 Well, 1 got these, for I struck weeds, and they "riz" when 

 I hauled" them in, all sorts of under-water growth, with latin 

 names as long as themselves, but I did not get a late, except 

 of early mosquitoes, several of whom got a tough morsel of 

 this meek aud lowly worm. (Worm and mosquitoes were 

 served right in their equal disappointment for going abroad 

 so unreasonably unseasonably.) Then I souuded with a 

 pole for the channel, bidden in this waste of waters, a sad 

 Waste too. of this sometimes scarce fluid, found the edge of 

 ,t, Stabbed it with my pole, to which 1 tied up and began 

 ,o get ready to fish w : ith bait. 



Just as Ihad got my rod together and my line rove, up 

 rowed Charley Thompson from the lake with a 31r. Shedri, 

 a member of ihe Jolly Club, from whose camp they had 

 fished unsuccessfully' all along shore aud up and down Sun- 

 gabneetuk, and being in pursuit of fish for breakfast, more 

 than sport, and taking me for a Canuck overhauling his 

 night line, they bore down, or up, upon me in hope of a 

 supply of bullpouts. "While I was endeavoring to disillusion 

 them on both points, talking pure Yankee aud suggesting 

 that pouts were not much to be, caught with the hook just- 

 now in spaw-ning time, 1 was getting out it gimp snell, and 

 supposing that, 1 had looped it into my line, hooked on a 

 minnow and dropped it overboard. The minnow sculled 

 himself into the depths with the sued trailing from his 

 dorsal, and "I saw no more of him" for a time. .My visitors 

 Were just rowing away, but, somehow, 1 forgot to tell them 

 of my blunder, and I would hardly do so now. if things had 

 not turned out so differently from what I expected. Well, 

 after addressing a few remarks to myself, which were as 



every 



ioy (a 



any i 



sports and to outdoor exert 

 result is obvious— a race ,. 

 which can nut be found i 

 with books so with field spo 

 lice must begin "in childhdc 

 growth, and strengthen wi 

 The sportsman unwittingly 

 naturalist, and his familiaril 

 bird and beast and fish are a 

 pursuit of and indulgence in 

 "Dame Nature" face to face 

 terms with her, His book-k 



..•ell received as, from their character, could be expected, I 

 looped on another snell before I baited the hook, and went 

 to Ashing for all the pike-perch in Lit lie Otter. In about a 

 quarter of an hour I got what 1 always called a bite, but what 

 1 believe is "good form" to term a "rise," or a "strike." I 

 struck, and the response was so business-like that I 

 thought the first vexed question, as to the gammess ot 

 the pike perch was about to be settled to my satisfaction, 

 and 1 felt strong hopes that the next might soon be. But 

 there was only a spurt of resistance, and then a complete ac- 

 quiesence into the decree of fate, and 1 lifted inboard a poor 

 little yellow perch. But behoid! Out of one corner of his 

 mouth was hanging my lost snell, and the minnow so fool 



