34S 



FOREST AND STREAM 



Fly Fishing in Ye Olden Time — Fly-fishing was evi- 

 dently kuown in very early times. Martial asks: — 

 Wtm liatli not seen the scares rise, 

 Dceoyed and caught by fraudful Hies. 

 And iEiian gives most interesting evidence as to the antiquity 

 of fly-fishing. Tie says:— "The Macedonians who live on 

 the banks of the river Astreus are in the habit of catching a 

 particular fish in that river by means of a fly called hippurus. 

 , . . These flies are the" prey of certain speckled fish, 

 ■which no sooner see them settling in the water than they 

 glide gently beneath, and before the hippurus is aware, snap 

 at and carry him suddenly under the stream, as an eagle will 

 seize and bear aloft a goose from a farm-yard, or a wolf take 

 a sheep from the fold." It appears that the fly was, however, 

 very delicate, and, like our May fly, difficult to fish with in 

 propria persona. Therefore, says zKlian, "Adepts in the 

 sport, have contrived a taking device to circumvent them," 

 and then he goes on to describe the mode of tile artificial fly, 

 which consisted chiefly of purple wool and wings of a waxy 

 color. 



Clearly, therefore, these ancient anglers were no idiots, and 

 in some sort knew what fly-fishing for trout was, for who can 

 doubt that the "speckled fish" belonged to the Salmonidw ? 

 Did they not live in a river ? Were they not speckled and 

 voracious ? and did they not take the fly! 



The inference is, however, that these piscatorial gentry— the 

 Macedonians — were far behind our times in the pursuance of 

 the gentle craft. In Homer's time anglers most decidely were, 

 at any rate, for we read— 



01 beetling rocks that overhang the itnod, 



Where hilent anelers cas f Invidious fo d, 



With f-audful care await the fitny prize, 



And sudden lift it quivering to trie skies. 



The last line describes a method of landing fish deliriously 



funny, and I imagine that not a few have, in their "salad 



days,™ deemed the throwing of the fish ever one's head the 



proper method of securing the unfortunate quarry. — London 



Finking Gazette. 



MICHIGAN FISHING NOTES. 



Petoskby, Mich., May 88, 1S7'1. 

 Editor Forest and Stream : 



The iront season In northern Michigan has fairy opened, and the 

 little beauties are biting more freely than ever before. Bear River, 

 which empties into Little Traverse Bay at this place, has brer, i «jed 

 and fished so much for the past Cve years, and ao few trout have been 

 taken In the last two seasons, that it has been looked upon as a "played 

 out" stream; but since the opening of this season there have been 

 many good catches, and the numerous anglers now quartered hers 

 proaoh Us shaded banks with confidence. I saw this evening a very 

 handsome string, weighing 10J4 lbs., brought in by Mr. Persons, pro- 

 prietor of the Occidental Hotel, and a gentleman from Cadillac. Tlu'y 

 were gone bnt three hours from the hotel, and Ashed from a boat 

 which they poled up stream. There are quite a uumber of gentlemen 

 trying their luck at different points along the Grand Kaptds and Indi- 

 ana read. I heard a day or two since from Mr. S. S. Cobb and Mr. 

 Woodbury, of Kalamazoo, who are spending a few days on the Board- 

 man near Ka'kaska, aud on the South Boardman, which cresset 

 railroad at a si ai Ion named for the stream. The? were Having remark- 

 able success, and report, the fish more plenty and biting more readily 

 than on any of their former visits, which they have made every yi 

 since the streams were accessible. 



A gentleman who got off the train at South Boardman yesterday with 

 rod and creel, told me of hla catch on Monday evening and Tuesday 

 morning last. He scored 133, and boarded the train at S:15 A.M. 



Yutir friend, A. B. Turner, of Grand Rapids, was here last Sunday 

 on his way to Webster, " up the Jordan." Turner, you know, Is " very 

 By " at this business, hut when he's through there will be plenty and 

 to spare. 



I have cast a line but once this year. In company with a gentleman 

 frum Grand Rapids, I tried Blctner's Poud, near. Traverse City, two 

 weeks ago to-day. The day was cold and bright, and the fldi very Hiy 

 hut we managed to bring In eighteen ot very fair B:ze, enough for a 

 supper for a party of half a dozen. 



The bnsa season Is not yet open, but the pickerel, perch and rock 

 bass are being taken on Bear, Ciooked and Burt lakes ia large numbers. 

 The Indiana are busy with their spears, taking seekers from the 

 slreamsby the " cart load," and I am told that the red men are not 

 particular as to the kind of game they bag. A party of Item came la 

 from Bear Kiver a few days ago wirh three grain sacks flUed with 

 nice, large black bass— about 400 lbs. A white man would be arrested 

 aud punished for such vandalism as this, bnt trie white man, it appeore 

 has no rights here which the noble red man is bound to respect. 



Capt. Dave Smith, of Indian Liver (foot of Burt Lake), cow in com- 

 mand of the tteamer Valley queen, just arrived by "inland route" and 

 stage. He says six nice babswere caught at hia place last evening. 

 He is putting up" a good-s'zed house near his old one, and will soon be 

 prepared to accommodate all who come, with good, comforiable guar. 

 ters, show them just where to drop their hooks, und seed them heme 

 happy. 



The track is now being laid from Petoskey to Crooked Lake, and street 

 cars l»y sf-am will be running to connect with the boats for Cheboygan 

 and Mackinaw and intermediate flshing-grouuds within the nest three 

 weeks. ^^^_____ ^ ^* ^-* 



'km, 



JUNE IS A CLOSE MONTH FOR GAME, 



— Mt Ira A. Paine, now at the Coliseum, Detroit, Mich., 

 has joined ToDy Pastor's troupe, going to the Pacific Coast. 

 Mr Paine appears in his " original" shooting act and is meet- 

 ing wilh much favor. 



—Mr. Robt. O. Fulton, proprietor of the International Ho- 

 tel at Niagara Palls, is one of those sportsmen who believe 

 that societies organized for the proteclion of game should 

 make that their principal end. Iu the course of a friendly 

 call at our office the other day, he took occasion to cm ir-e 

 ■what we have said editorially aa to the manifest inconsistency 

 of such associations postponing their conventions 

 pigeons could not be obtained for the BiOOttng touras 

 Moreover, in view of the increasing skill in the u?e of the shot- 

 gun, end the scarcity of the birds ot most all times, he recom- 

 mends the use of the rifle at the traps ; besides, it would be 

 more humane, as there could be fewer crippled birds. 



The Dri'ONT's Powdees.— Tho Dupont powder is manu- 

 factured at Wilmington, Del., The mills were established 



therein 1801, since which time, increased effectiveness of the 

 powder has been the constant aim of the manufacturers. 

 The various brands are used with much satisfaction by 

 sportsmen for glass ball anu field shooting and rifle work. 

 It was the Dupont's powder that sped the bullets into the 

 bull's-eyes from the rifles of the American Team in the inter- 

 national contest. The manufactures send circulars descriptive 

 of the various brands upon application to the firm of E, J, 

 Dupont de„Nemours& Co., Wilmington, Delaware. 



Bogaedcs' Glass Ball Decision. — Capt. Bogardns has 

 just received from the Patent Office at Washington the de- 

 cision in bis favor of tho long-pending suit, Newman vs. 

 Butterwofth, vs. Bogardus. This gives to Capt. Bogardus 

 the sole right to manufacture rough glass balls for targets, 

 and he proposes to immediately prosecute all infringments 

 upon this patent. The Captain has also patented a pyrotech- 

 nic device which promises to revolutionize Fourth of July. 



Something New for the Camp.— The proper thing to 

 live upon in the woods is, of course, game and fish ; but it is 

 not always that the locusts and wild honey are abundant 

 enough to satisfy the voracious appetite aroused by the fresh 

 air and the fatigue of roughing it. Sportsmen, who have 

 pined under incipient starvation in the camp, profit by their 

 experience and fit out before leaving civilisation behind 

 them. Almost every necessary article is put up in compact 

 form nowadays — canned vegetables, desiccated meats, coffee, 

 tea, condensed milk, and other articles of consumption are 

 put into such shape that they may be used with as little 

 trouble in the wiids of Maine as in a metropolitan kitchen. 

 We have just examined the canned meats of the Boston Beef 

 Packing Co., of 187 Congress street, Boston, and No. 15 

 Front street, New York, and we find them adapted to supply 

 the wants of campers-oat. These meats are not corned, but 

 are fresh, cooked, free from bone and grisile, and concentrat- 

 ed by the removal of more water than is removed by ordinary 

 cooking. 



New Hampshire — , Nashua, May 30. — Our crack shots had 

 a half day's sport Decoration Day shooting glass balls, dis- 

 tance eighteen yards, number of balls eighteen. H. B, Payne 

 took the persimmons by breaking fifteen, Lovejoy and Blodget 

 getting fourteen each, Burnham thirteen, Wh'itmarsh nine. 



Webb. 



iXkiv Soros— Good Ground, L. I., May 30.— One of the 



guests at Lane's shot a Wilson's plover here. Lane sin a it is a 

 great rarity. It was ia very poor condition and had evidently 

 come a great distance. 



Nutelets FROM the Chesapeakb Region — Washington,!). 

 . Hay 17. — 1 lie S| I Og has been somewhat lare, but we are 

 now getting summn- as rapidly as the most ardent desire. 

 While 'lore is something doing, of course, in the way of 

 bay birds, fowling pb ces for the most part &re now shelved 

 for the season, While passing through Baltimore last week 

 i called io procure a ime out-of-the-way technical information 

 of Mr. Bniider, of Clark & Sneider, and was gratified at a 

 pleasant and cordial , ton. Their gun was inspected in 

 ihe various stages of "rawness," and it is gratifying to note 

 lltui l heir faithful construction of it has produced the happi- 

 est results among those who love an arm of the very first 

 grade. Fishing is now on the carpet, and BTcOomaa, Mel- 

 Chioi and others in that town, as well as our various stores 

 here, are selling quantities of tackle. Much ''gudgeon" 

 fishing is done by ladies aud amateurs. It. E. Ducaigne. 



KBsropmf— -Mil Springs, May 24 —The protracted cold 

 and snow of last winter but hardened Robert White and he 

 whistles on meadow Mnd grain-field fences in greater numbers 

 than ever before. A prosperous nesting season and escape 

 from the dangers attending quail infancy will insure the 

 largest crop of which sporting statistics make record. Bquir 

 rels, partridges, and luikeys are scared, but hares are thick 

 as fleas on a f Ox-hound. Their abundance is attributable to 

 the almost complete extermination of foxes by hunters and 

 trappers. Kentuceia;:. 



A Five Da\-s Camp— 3/4. Airy, N. O., May 2(5.— A party 

 out for sport, about twenty miles from here the oilier day, 

 returned with one turkey, ninety six trout, forty si 

 rels, a few partridges, rabbits, etc., to say nothing of rattle 

 snakes, which are very plentiful in these mountains. Trout 

 fishing here, is very laborous. The streams are very swift 

 with fall and cataracts from twenty to three hundred feet. 

 Trout are plenty and of good size, squirrels and partridges 

 are by the thousand, with some turkeys, deer and a few wild 

 hogs and sheep. Two of our party during the trip killed two 

 squirrels at one shot, not seeing but one at the time of shoot- 

 ing. T. Itl. B. 



The Auxiliary Rrt-i.E.— Whistler, Ala., May Z%.—Bftitor 



Forest ami Stream: We the undersigned who have used the 

 Shelton's auxiliary rifle barrel iu combination with our breech 

 loading shot-gun take pleasure in announcing to tho sports- 

 men and public generally that we fully agree and happily 

 testify as to the merits of the arm. Knowing from personal 

 use its superiority we heartily recommend the Shelton Auxili- 

 ary Rifle Barrel to all lovers of the shot-gun. It certainly is 

 all" that the manufacturers claim for it. 



JoU.1 & Pi ' 



LoAnrKQ Bhotouns — Editor Forest and Stream: The 

 hot for a 10 and 12-gauge gun seeme generally set- 

 tled on es 14 "Z and l{ oz Taking the middle sizes 



lount he amount 



in the smaller sizes. In a 10 gauge Fox goo 

 load s oil iws, two wads over powd i 



.-. ; No.! i -!, '.' v . No. oandC, I -)-../.; No. 7 ..: 

 No. 9 and 10, 1 QZ. in a J -gauge gun), putting 



behind it | ) cause a smart recoil. Ofcourae, 



rani i o . used will be found only by actual 



trial, but it will likely range in the 10-gauge from r,[ to •!; 

 drains. My reasons for this method must be plain to those 

 lone much shooting— to get penetration in small and 

 ; >m I era in large sized shot — and I have not been able to attain 

 01 her way. Bet one who always loads 4 drams pow- 

 der and" 1} oz. shot in a 10-gauge guu try this plan and com- 

 pare it with previous targets, and on game he will find a great 

 Improvement in the killing effect of his arm. P. 



ton, Tex„ Moy'iS, 1816, 



THREE 'WEEKS WITH THE BEARS. 



Mb. Editoe : 1 had put iu my time from May till August, 

 187S, fishing iu York County, New 'Brunswick. Base of 

 operations, Canterbury Station, on the line of N. B. & C. R. 

 R,, finding a pleassnt home with the family of C. H. Fowler, 

 the courteous station agent. As this sketch is intended 

 primarily for Ursus amsricanus, I will only say en passant 

 that I had my fill of sport with trout aud salmon in waters 

 near by, having, a large share of the time, the companionship 

 of those accomplished sportsmen, J. Stewart, Esq., St. 

 Stephen ; Supl. N. B. «fc C. R. R.; Dr. F. F. Innis, of Houl- 

 ton, Me.; N. S. Dicky and W. W. Curtis, of Boston, with 

 John Nicholson, of Canturbury, for guide, and was desirous 

 Of rounding out the season on the bear grounds, The country 

 between Canterbury and McAdam Junction— twenty-two 

 miles— is a dreary, monotonous wilderness, a continued sue- 

 oession of rocks, swamps and bogs, wholly uninhabited by 

 people, except the few "section hands," and in the early 

 summer the gangs of hands at the two saw-mills at Deer 

 Lake and Shogomal. 



Most of the region is good bear ground, particularly so near 

 Sugar Brook section. Here, for miles along the track, blue- 

 berries grow ia profusion, which in the season attract the 

 bsars. Sugar Brook is a water station, and here in a snug 

 little cottage, embowered in a flower and vegetable garden— 

 an oases— dwells section-boss Wm. Glen and family, with 

 whom I tarried a few weeks ; and verily my lines were cast 

 in a pleasant place. After three months camping and rough- 

 ing it iu the woods, though fully enjoyed, it was nevertheless 

 pleasant for a change to find one's self beneath a shingled 

 roof, partaking of open-hearted English hospitality. With 

 the sons, George and Bob — two rugged, honest lads — for 

 guides, a share ot the first week was spent in seeking fresh 

 trails and camping-places of the bears, who were now work- 

 ing toward the blueberry grounds. Plenty of their sign and 

 works were found, and during the succeeding week I had set 

 a few steel traps and dead-falls, and soon the fun began. Up 

 the line to Shogomal, eight miles, -is an old logging trail, 

 Following it three miles north, it strikes across a bear path, 

 and in the vicinity of a yarding or camping-place, and where 

 last seasou I caught several bears. Here I planted, directly 

 iu the path, two steel traps, putting up a card in a cleft stick, 

 on which was written this legend : "Beware of trap!" This 

 in case a lumber hunter, or others, should chance that way. 

 To visit these traps, George and Bob would sometimes run me 

 up to Shogomal after the up "regular;" at others, took the 

 "regular," when the boys would come up to fetch me after 

 their day's work. The fun soon began ; it was the second 

 visit, the boys being with me. On striking the bear-path, it 

 was plain to see one had gone along dragging the sapling log. 

 Now the boys were excited. All were feeling good, and 

 smiled. Then we took up the trail. Hither aud yon, up hill 

 and down It led us ; now and agaiu was a space within the 

 radius of the chain, where the clog had fouled, denuded of 

 vegetation, the ground dug up, brush and sapling reduced to 

 slivers. Again, bruin had essayed to free himself by climb- 

 ing trees, as the appearance of the same indicated, the hark 

 being lacerated and torn off high up. 



In all the tortuous windings the quarry had traveled half a 

 mile, yet was less than a hundred yards from the starting- 

 place when found — foul in the bushy top of a fallen spruce 

 tree. It requited three shots to dispatch her ; the first plumb 

 in centre of breast, passing out behind the ribs, tumbling her 

 over, with the blood spurting freely. On gaining the body of 

 Hie tree, I placed the next behind the ear. Down she went 

 again, but not for Ions ; and when on her perch again I placed 

 another a little, nearer "the brain, she gave in shortly. 



It was near sunset, so we hastened to pelt her. She proved 

 to be then giving suck to cubs, and as there was still another 

 trap in the path near this one, I told the Boys 

 it was likely there was a cub in it. Such 

 proved to be the case. I disdained to shoot him, 

 but grasped him by the ears and scalp, ^with a foot rest- 

 ing heavily on his forepaw, cut his jugular: but I soon repented 

 of the method, for the little fellow sent forth the most heart- 

 rending moans and cries, which were almost human. When 

 the- last trap was reset it was nearly dark. George shouldered 

 the cub, Bob the old one's pelt, while I fetched up the tear 

 with ax, gun, etc., aud when toward midnight we reached 

 home, a substantial supper awaited us. The two succeeding 

 days were spent near home, visiting other and nearer traps ; 

 taking a few trout from the Cranberry, which is close by, and 

 feasting on cub and the delicious blueberries. The next trip 

 but one to Shogomal yielded another large, fat bear. He got 

 foul directly after getting in, aud when free again, at once, if. 

 appeared, dug down in the wet, clayey earth, placed his foot 

 within the trap therein aud heaped up around it a large mound 

 completely enclosing himself. This is a habit of bears, as I 

 have long observed '; doubtless done with a view of relieving 

 pain. He died haid. The first shot, directly between aud a lit- 

 tie above the eyes, went through and downward out at the 

 neck, severing the jugular; another behind the ear failed, 

 then I broke in his skull with my ax. This laid him out for 

 a time, but before I got my knives sharpened he rose up and 

 :o the length of his tether, grasping in his jaws the 

 billot' my rifle in hia rage. With the ax I finally finished 

 him, aud right here 1 would remark, that the popular belief 

 that the wild bear is a natural boxer, that he will skillfully 

 parry either round-blows, upper-cuts, choppies or blows 

 straight from the shoulder, has no foundation in fact. In the 

 next two weeks 1 had three more bears in other traps, all 

 dead when found ; one in a steel trap, the others in deadfalls. 

 I got still another, a cub, and that brings me to the wind up. 

 Stewart, had made several "breaks" from his 

 us cares and labors to visit me, hoping to be in at 

 the death if possible; but was till now unsuccessful; either 

 just after or previous to coming I tumbled to the game. I 

 'was to leave on Monday, the 2Glh, as he knew, and he came 

 up on the regular, on the 24th. I was out taking up traps till 

 night, leaving out one near by where a cub, as I knew, was 

 prowling, but had not spoken of. The next day opened up 

 rainy, but I had promised on this, the last day, do show the 

 boys how to set steel traps for foxes, so all hands got on the 

 Land car and went up the line. It was noon when we re- 

 Mrs. Glen's nice dinners wa3 waiting us ; 

 b, the rain still pouring, and old rheumatic pains 

 warning me to tempt fate no more, I allowed the boys, ac- 

 comnanied by Stewart, to go down the line without me, the 

 former to take up the trap, S. to bag a few ducks ou the Cran- 

 berry. In due time the martial figure of the Supt. appeared; 

 giving the salute, he reported that one of the enemy was 

 found within the lines trying to escape with stolen property, 



