324 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



For Forest and Stream. 

 TROUT FISHING. 



BY MRS. EUNICE B. LAMBERTON. 



GIVE me a rod of the split bamboo, 

 A rainy day and a fly or two, 

 A mountain stream where the eddies play, 

 And mists hang low o'er the winding way. 



Give me a haunt by the purling brook, 

 A hidden spot in a mossy nook, 

 No sound save hum of„the drowsy bee, 

 Or lone bird's tap on the hollow tree. 



The world may roll with its busy throng 

 And phantom scenes, on its way along; 

 It's stocks may rise, or it's stocks may fall— 

 Ah! what care. I for its baubles all? 



I cast my fly o'er the troubled rill, 

 Luring the beauties by magic skill, 

 With mind at rest and a heart at ease, 

 And drink delight from the balmy breeze . 



As lusty trout to my glad surprise, 

 Speckled and bright, on the crest arise, 

 Then pla3h and plunge in a dazzling whirl, 

 Hope springs anew as the wavelets curl. . 



Gracefully swinging from left to right, 

 Action so gentle, motion so slight, 

 Tempting, enticing, on craft intent, 

 Till yielding tip by the game is bent. 



Drawing in slowly, then letting go 

 Under the ripples where mosses grow, 

 Doubting my fortune, lost in a dream, 

 Blessing the land of Forest and Stream. 

 Bocheeter. N. T., Dec. 15, 1873. 



^»»» 



From the Evening Post, 1872. 



NEW YEAR'S CALLS. 



» 



jlpter marco bozarrib.— A long time. 

 ?rTWAS New Year's, near the hour of noon 



i As through Fifth avenue there passed 

 Two youths, with hearts in sweet atune, 

 Through snow-wreaths trudging fast; 

 And all along the street they glanced, 

 With eager eyes that fairly danced, 

 At every door-plate's gleam; 

 Then up the mansion's steep ascent, 

 A nervoug knock, and in they went, 

 With hat in hand and body bent, 

 To maidens' dazzling beam. 



An hour passed on— yet still intent, 



These gallant youths on conquests rare! 



From house to house they madly went. 



To seek the treasures hidden there. 



But now no more with blithesome tread, 



No more, alas! with steady head, 



As in the early morn ; 



For many cups they'd fully drained, 



Not once from brandy punch refrained, 



And now with stomachs overstrained, 



Their wits were nearly gone. 



With reckless gait and hats awry, 

 Another house they soon essayed, 

 Yet paused to ask a passer by 

 If here was where Miss {hie)— — son staid. 

 Then up the steps they wildly reeled, 

 Jerked off the bell and in they wheeled- 

 Wheeled and gave the maid a hug, 

 Tripped their toes against the rug; 

 Sat on their hats, and with a smile, 

 Drank to their hostess' health the while, 1 ; 

 In muddled undertone : 

 "Drink, ye beauteous (hie) lasses all; 

 Drink, to our nier (hie) New Year's call; 

 Drink, until we stand or fall. 

 Or else we drink alone." 



They drank like topers, long and well, 

 They drained their goblets to the brim. 

 They drank, until at length they fell, 

 Trembling in every limb- 

 Yet once again upon their pins,; 

 They shuffled on their toilsome way,1 

 While brandy punches, wines and gins 

 Poured down their throats till close of day. 

 Long scrambled they from door to door, 

 By helping hand or friendly push, 

 And when their strength could do no more, 

 Sat down among the slush! 

 Their few surviving comrades saw 

 Their plight, when rang their last hurrah 

 At midnight's silent hour; 

 Then saw their heavy eyelids close, 

 Then helpless sink in calm repose, 

 Safe in policeman's nower. Charles Hallook. 



ASPIRATION. 



I'VE seen a bird, while its way upward making, 

 Struck by the hunter in some vital part, 

 Gather and spread its wings, still higher dart 

 With last fond breath, 

 As if the slender thread of life in breaking, 

 But gave fresh impetus to strong desire, 

 Impelling it toward where it would aspire, 

 'Mid throes of death. 



Thus to a worthy goal may I be tending, 

 With single purpose and unerring aim, 

 Toiling and striving upward to the same 

 With all my might. 



And when Death's, the great archer's, shaft ascending, 

 Pierces my vitals, and my task is o'er, 

 With powers increased, may I still higher soar, 

 As fades my sight. 

 ■ New Orleans. James JRunnega. 



-#*♦- 



The collie dog, which in the control of flocks and herds 



displays an instinct more eflicacious than human reason, is 

 admirably described by Burns: 



-a gash an' faithful tyke, 



As ever lap a sheugh or dyke 

 His honest, sonie, baws'nt face, 

 Aye gat him friends in like place. 

 His breast was white, his towzie back 





Jung 



HADDOCK FISHERIES OF NORDERNEY. 



Editor Forest and Stream:— 



What the cod is to the inhabitants of North America and 

 the dorsch to the Scandinavian populations, the haddock is 

 to* the nations bordering on the northern waters of Europe, 

 and is, next to the herring, the most important and valu- 

 able sea fish. It is true the haddock has not yet reached 

 an equal point of importance in national economy, owing 

 to the fact that it never appears in as large schools as the 

 cod or herring. The Scotch, however, some years since, 

 h?ve introduced the haddock as a permanent article of 

 food by bringing into the market their "smoked haddock," 

 and the day is not distant when in that form the haddock 

 will become a permanent and welcome addition to the food 

 of northern Europe. 



The most prolific region for this sea-fish on the north 

 German coast is off the Island of Norderney, one of those 

 islands extending in a long chain on that coast. These 

 islands form a land-locked channel with the main, safe for 

 the smallest craft, and allow that local traffic along the 

 borders which has given rise to the developement of a 

 great many industries, the principal one of which is the 

 haddock fishery of Norderney. In this sketch we shall 

 frequently make use of the important material found in 

 Dr. Kohl's "Nordwest Deutche Skizzen," published in 

 Bremen in 1878. 



The haddock is ever seeking the cold water; hence we 

 find it on the coasts of Norway throughout the entire year. 

 In the German sea, neat Helgoland and Norderney, as well 

 as on the Scottish coasts, the haddock generally appear as 

 late as the end of September, and off the German coast, 

 from that time to Christmas the fishermen go out; about 

 this time it ceases, owing to the cold, ice and storms, and 

 begins again at the end of February or the beginning of 

 March. On the Scotch coast, where the ice cannot heap 

 up, as on the north German sand banks and fiats, the fish- 

 eries are prosecuted throughout the entire winter. In May 

 and June the haddock leave the German coast for the colder 

 regions to the north. 



Norderney being, with the exception or Helgoland, the 

 most populous of this series of islands, possesses the strong- 

 est fishing squadron; but its preeminence is mainly due to 

 the presence of a peculiar worm, abundantly found in the 

 sandbanks; and which has proved the most enticing bait 

 to the haddock. This worm is called the "pierer," and is 

 as long and thick as the little finger. It lives and delves 

 unceasingly in the sands, from one half to one foot below 

 the surface. It swallows the sand grains, and its stomach 

 is always filled with them; but after having by this means 

 assimilated the digestible vegetable and animal substances, 

 the sand grains are discharged. This worm is too perish- 

 able to be transported to other islands. In Helgoland, the 

 fishermen use the intestines of the seal brought from Green- 

 land by the whale fishers ; also certain parts of the intes- 

 tines of the whale itself. In default of either, ox-liver is 

 used, but only of necessity. The "pierer," however, is 

 unsurpassed as a bait, as has been proven by numerous 

 trials. 



It is a clear day in September, and the sun's disc is 

 slowly rising from the eastern waters, gradually dissipating 

 the mist which hangs along the horizon. The evening be- 

 fore the last touch has been put to the fishing tackle. The 

 boats are bright and smart, ready for work ; every one in 

 the coast village is eager in the expectation. In the minds 

 of all, men, women and children, a certain restlessness Is 

 mingled with the sense of there being nothing to do just 

 then but to wait. A few fine fellows as an advance guard 

 are pushing with their craft out to sea, ready for the work 

 which is to provide the islanders with food and raiment 

 for one whole year. They drift out Jo sea; cast their lines; 

 bait for a couple of hours. Not a line stirs; the shoal of ex- 

 pected fish has not come yet. On shore everybody eagerly 

 watches their return. A week may have gone by, when 

 suddenly the cry will resound on shore throughout the 

 the fisher-huts, "the haddock have come!" 



The scene now changes to immediate and stirring bustle. 

 It is the province of the women to procure the now 

 necessary bait, the "pierer;" while the men and older boys 

 are getting the boats ready for sea. Armed with a fork 

 not unlike the American forked spade, and very like Nep 

 tune's trident, and provided with shallow vessels, the 

 women and girls scatter along the flats and begin digging 

 for worms. This work must be done quickly; must be 

 accomplished during the shortest period of the lowest ebb. 

 when the flat is clear of water. And since, oftentimes, a 

 flotilla of from forty to fifty sail is waiting to be thus sup- 

 plied, and each boat will need about three thousand worms 

 for one trip, one hundred and fifty thousand worms have 

 to be procured in all. 



The fishing tackle of the Norderneyers is, in their local 

 idiom, termed "want." It consists of, first and principal- 

 ly, a strong and thick rope, to which are fastened at cer- 

 tain distances thin lines, on which are attached their fish- 

 ing hooks, plated with tin. The principal rope is called 

 the "lienne," the line; and the smaller lines the "schnor." 

 These attached lines are each about six fathoms long, this 

 being the depth at which the haddock will bite, namely, 

 close to the bottom of the sea. The divisions 6n the prin- 

 cipal line are marked by the fishermen with great exactness; 

 they are one fathom apart from each other; the principal 

 lines being eighty fathoms in length ; hence, provided with 

 eighty hooks each, four lines with three hundred and 

 twenty hooks, make a "back," or a pack of lines. Every 

 vessel will take ten "backs" on board. During their sum- 

 mer and winter rests, the fishermen carefully mend, renew 



nd make additional fishing tackle. The most delicate part 

 of the operation is the fastening of the hooks. Each hook 

 is tied with a tarred thread to the lines. To keep each piece 

 from being entangled in the numerous hooks, the books 

 are strung upon a piece of wood until the line is to be 

 used. Finally,, buoys are iastened to each principal line to 

 indicate the spot where the lesser lines have entered the 

 water. 



The German ocean's bottom being everywhere level 

 sandy and without natural obstructions, the fishing tackle 

 is less exposed to destruction than on the rocky coasts of 

 Norderney or of Scotland. Still, they are exposed ho 

 various accidents, such as of sunken vessels, and the fishing 

 tackle is not unfrequently seriously injured. Sometimes 

 an enormous ray will have to be hauled up; and a few years 

 ago, what rarely happens in these waters, a shark measur- 

 ing seventeen feet in length was thus captured. 



The same kind of fishing tackle is used on the north Ger- 

 man coast, but the Dutch fishermen throw out nets to take 

 the haddock. This fish is, however, taken in but very 

 small numbers in Dutch waters. The Scotch declare that 

 they would be unable to catch a single haddock with the 

 German fishing tackle. Thus every nation concerned has 

 its peculiar customs, and it is a curious question whether 

 the haddock, having been taken in a manner peculiar to a 

 coast from time immemorial, might not refuse to be taken 

 in any other manner. It is evident that the German 

 method is the better one. In the German way the fish 

 dies rapidly; in the other the death is made slower and not 

 conducive to the preservation of its flavor. 



Great care is required even after the fish is killed to pre- 

 serve this desirable quality. The fish must be handled as 

 little as possible. The German fishermen maintain that 

 the haddock must be brought to market with its natural 

 slimy coat on. Hence they do not clean the fishes on 

 board of the vessels, but leave this manipulation to the 

 Bremen or Hamburg cooks. 



In stormy weather the haddocks appear in greatest num- 

 ber on the Norderney and Helgoland coasts. The best 

 time for work is, therefore, shortly after a storm, when the 

 fish will bite most eagerly. Then a little sloop will bring 

 in probably two thousand fish, valued in market at two 

 hundred dollars. Sometimes, if wind and weather are ex- 

 traordinarily favorable, the sloop will sail out twice in 

 twenty-four hours, bringing in two harvest in a single day. 

 The trip does not usually extend farther than eight or ten 

 miles out to sea; sometimes the boats venture out to fifty 

 or sixty miles distance. The fishermen when questioned 

 will laugh at any supposed danger at first, but after closer 

 inquiry admit that now and then a mishap befalls them, 

 and some catastrophes are on record. Thus, some fifteen 

 years ago, the flotilla went merrily out to sea from Nor- 

 derney. It was a most delightful day; but a terrific storm 

 overtook the frail smacks on the high seas, and out of six- 

 ty, seventeen of these small vessels were swallowed up by 

 waves, making at one blow widows and orphans in thirty 

 familes. It is remarkable that although these islanders 

 live on the sea, but few of them know how to swim, and 

 have a very low opinion of the efficacy of that art, consid- 

 ering it perfectly useless. They believe that if God wills 

 that a fisherman must die by drowning no amount of swim- 

 ming could possibly avert this fate. 



When the sloops are filled with haddock they hasten 

 back to the village, in order to expedite the sloop's return 

 for another trip. Women and girls await the arrival of the 

 vessel to receive the tackle. Each sloop being the prop- 

 erty of one family, and no family counting more than four 

 grown women in the household at the utmost. Every 

 woman will be presently seen loaded with three "backs," 

 returning through the slippery flats to the village, carrying 

 some one hundred and eighty to two hundred pounds 

 weight, which gives us no mean idea of their power and 

 endurance. 



Sometimes the fish are sold to the Scotch buyers coming 

 to Norderney during the season, but generally the sloops 

 run into the mouths of the Ems, Ebbe, Werer, Jade, and 

 the Holstein rivers, to the market, the cities being at the 

 head of steam navigation. The precise harbor to be select- 

 ed is scarcely ever known beforehand, and is determined 

 on the trip, as it must depend upon various circumstances. 

 If many competitors turn into the Weser, one patroon will 

 go to Hamburg or somewhere else. Since the completion 

 of the Ems railway the harbor of Emden has become the 

 great haddock distributing mart for northwestern Germany. 

 The Ems river during adverse winds can be entered readi- 

 ly, and ere the fishing neighbor from Norderney has reach- 

 Hamburg or Bremen, he who has put his eye on Emden 

 first has often the satisfaction to be already on his home- 

 ward trip with the bright dollars in his pocket, the finest 

 of his cargo being on its way, well packed in ice, going to 

 Berlin or to Vienna to grace some patrician's dinner table. 

 Railways have brought about a very great revolution in the 

 haddock fisheries of the north German Islands. Every- 

 thing must be done promptly and quickly, owing to the 

 greatly increased consumption and consequent competition. 

 The great question at the opening of the season with the 

 haddock fishermen is who shall first get his cargo into Em- 

 den, Hamburg, Bremen or Husum, as it is with us here 

 who shall ship to the great markets of the North the first 

 strawberries or peaches. The native shrewdness in trade 

 of these fishermen of Norderney is thus put to the highest 

 test, and the most remarkable examples of statecraft and 

 duplicity will then occur. 



The perishable nature of the fish requiring prompt action, 

 as soon as the sloops heave to at Bremen or Emden, officials 

 especially appointed will cry out through the streets again, 



