THE AMERICAN SPORTSMAN'S JOURNAL. 



[Entered According to Act or Congress, in the Tew 1879, by the Forest & Stream Publishing Company, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington;] 



iVnriR, Fi.ur Hollars a Veur l 



• p.i t e«i» ii Copv. V 



Cmnnih-. 83; 3 mon.h«, Si. ) 



NEW YORK, THURSDAY, JULY 10, 1879 



For Forest and Stream and Rod and Gun 

 A SONG OF THE CRIMEA. 



TN 1855 H-r Gracious Majesty, Queen Victoria, caused a 

 ' proclamation to issue, calling upon her suhjects to unite 

 in forming a fund to provide for the widows and orphans of 

 those who nobly fell in the Crimean War. A soiree was ac- 

 cordingly held in the Scotch settlement of New Richmond, 

 County of Bonaventure, under the presidency of the late 

 lamented William Cuthhert, Esq., M. P. P. for the county— 

 the worthy founder of that prosperous settlement, and a noble 

 specimen of Scotia's sons. The writer was chosen to deliver 

 a lecture, which he concluded with the following lines, little 

 dreaming that he would live to see one of the noble line of 

 Campbells Givernor-General of Canada and united in marriage 

 to a daughter of England's Queen : 



Air : Scots wha hoe. 



8oots who were by Campbell led, 



Scota who ne'er the foemanWed, 



Welcome to your gory bed, 

 And to victory. 



Well may Scotia vaunt that hour 



When the Czar'a o'erwuelmiug pow'r 



Like a storm was seen to lower — 

 Bat ye did not flee. 



Well ye stood the deadly fray, 



Man and horse in proud array ; 



Dearly did the foeman pay 

 Hia temerity. 



Inkerman, thy battle field 



Taught the Czar'a proud host to yield 



When the Scotsmen— whom God shield 



Bid them turn and flee. 



Honor to them, all who fought, 



All who deeda of valor wrought, 



On that glorious but dear bought 



Field of viotory. 



Here's to Sdxon, Celt or Scot, 

 Alma'a deeia are not forgot ; 

 Widows, orphans, ye ahall not 

 Pine in penury. 



Here's to England's Queen and laws, 

 Here'a to whom in freedom's oauae, 

 From its sheath the bright steel drawB, 

 Doath or liberty I 

 Philip Vibebt. 



For Fo*est and Stream and Hod and Gun. 



V W*M $ishing in ^gtnter. 



IN Canada we have a weather prophet, who pretends to 

 know more about the times and the seasons than the rest 

 of the Dominion. He sometimes slrikeB offthe weather cor- 

 rectly, and such proof of omniscience counterbalances a 

 hundred false alarms. I know not what his prophecy for 

 last March was, but as a safe one it would have been thai 

 great quantities of snow would fall, and that snow-Btorms 

 would prevail; it would probably be something of that nature. 

 Had he done so he would have been correct, for I do not re- 

 nt inber of ever seeing so much snow as during the month 

 of March of this year. I have good reason to be certain of 

 thiB fact, for I was caught in a snow-storm when on a ash- 

 ing excursion about twenty miles north of Quebec. When 

 driving out o;i the excursion and looking at the road over 

 which we passed, whose track —hardly wide enough for the 

 passage of our berlise (a sort of box on runners) -was 

 marked out by balizet (small fir trees stuck in the snow), for 

 the fences were far beneath the dazzling white surface ol 

 diiftland mound, I deemed that it would be impossible to 

 heap more snow on this heavily-burdened country, where 

 but tree-lops were visible and houses were buried to their 

 roofs; and I could not help doubting that mouths of burn- 

 ing Sahara suns could melt the awful piles of ice aud snow. 

 I thought that the whole summer must pass befo;e the grass 

 could be seen and the river3 run again, and believed it im- 

 possible for any more snow to fall without defrauding the 

 Arctic regions of their just due; but oueof my companions, 

 Odilon Dejhene, pretended to be a judge, and predicted a' 

 storm. However, I must not recount this siory irregularly. 

 It was toward the end of last month when we— that is 



Odilon, jus 1 , named, Alfred DSchene and myself — made ar- 

 raneements for a few days' fishing among the lakes north of 

 Quebec. At eight o'clock on a Tuesday morning our berlise, 

 well packed wilh provisions, consisting of canned meats, 

 biscuits, tea, coffee, and some refreshments of a more 

 exhilarating nature, and furnished with buffalo robes, 

 drawn by a wiry Canadian pony, started with its load 

 of hardy fiBhermen. Our jehu was a young boy, who 

 required no whip to put the pony to a trot, but with 

 a single " Marche done!" got all the speed required from 

 him. The sun shone briebtly as we rushed through the 

 quaint and narrow slreets, left behind us the old battlements 

 and walls, and took the road running by the St. Charles 

 River, called by Jacques Cartier the Cabir Coubat, on ac- 

 count of its interminable windings, down whose valley the 

 wind swept with a bitterness easily imagined when the tem- 

 perature showed fifteen below zero. And although the buf- 

 falo robes were thick and comfortable, and our pipes threw 

 clouds of smoke freely enough, we were glad to make a 

 stoppage at l he American House, in the village of Indian 

 Lorelte, where we rested the pony, and warmed ourselves in 

 the cozy parlor, and refreshed Hie inner man. Not then, as 

 is the wont in summer, when hundreds of visitors go to this 

 delightful village, where charms and attractions would take 

 pages to recount, did the Indian youth come out and offer 

 us to shoot for coppers, or forest maidens insist on selling 

 thi ir m >cc .sins, bead and straw work. These Indian boys 

 and girls have still the straight, black hair and dark eyes, 

 but most of them have mixed their Huron blood with that 

 of the white man, and the dusky belles are as keen after the 

 last fashions as their city rivals. But in this village are to 

 be found the hunters of bear, moose and caribou, and he who 

 wishes to indulge in sueh sports must go to Lorette to hire 

 the Indian nun eis Si^ui and Gros-Louis, and many others, 

 whose deeds in the chase are chronicled in the village 

 records. 



Leaving this village the road became very narrow, and it 

 was impossible to meet or pass another vehicle without the 

 t'ouudering "f both horses to their bellies, aud on one of 

 these rencontres we wholly came to grief, for our pony got 

 entirely beyond her depth aud fell over, dragging the berlise 

 and ourselves with him. The upset in a snow-bank is not 

 dangerous so long as the horse is not vicious, and even then 

 he is almost powerless in the soft and smothering snow. 

 Untackling our poor brute, righting the btrlise, replacing the 

 impedimenta, reharnessiog and shaking off the snow, we 

 Were soon again on the road, aud shortly commeuced to 

 cross Lake St. Charles, which presented a peculiar sight, for 

 i he surface, being level, the shores, which on this lake are 

 not high, appear at a great distance, and one seems to be 

 traveling on a desert of snow. This lake is one greatly re- 

 sorted to in summer, not only by fishermen, but those wUh- 

 ing to pass the warm months away from the dust and heat 

 of the city The fishing in it is excellent, and some very 

 large trout'have been taken there. Leaving the lake, we en- 

 gaged a man named Pierre Verret to follow us and assist in 

 the cutting of the ice-holes and to bring with him the 

 gudgeon for bait. Verret was not then at home, he having 

 'aken advautage of one of the many holidays with which the 

 Province of Quebec relieves her people from over-work, aud 

 while attending to his spiritual duties was amusing himself 

 by a round of visits to distant friends 



After driviug a few miles we arrived at the camp, but, to 

 our disapp intnieut, it was locked, aud no one to be seen in 

 the vicinity. However, a sort of stable was near at hand, 

 aud of this we took possession, and prepared a fire and sup- 

 per, to which, it is needless to say, we diil justice, for Odi- 

 lon and myself were paramount in the preparation of dishes, 

 which, thanks to the invention of canned edibles, were as- 

 tonishingly varied Here we parted with our pony and the 

 jehu. who had instructions to return for us iu four days. 

 vlaking ourselves as comfortable, as possible in the stable, 

 we enj >\ed a smoke and cards till about midcight, when the 

 man in possession of the camp came back, and we turned in 

 for the nitiht, sleeping on fir branch beds, over which we 

 threw our wraps. The camp wasa log hut, small but snugly 

 built, an. I without cracks or crevices to let in tlie cold; but 

 this certainly had also a disadvantage, for it shut out all 

 ventilation, and tobacco fumes and smoke from the stove 

 did not add to our comfort. Notwithstanding this we slept 

 well, and it was late when we awoke the next morning to 

 prepare for breakfast. The pure fresh i-ir was more reviving 

 than Jean Marie Farina's best eau de cologtie to our ? evered 

 brows and heavy heads, and a running stream near by sup- 

 plied us with pure ice-cold water for our ablutions, af.er 

 which we felt like new men We were in the midst of a 

 forest, and high mountains hid from view the rest of the 

 woild. aud not a sound wa< heard in this solitude; for there 

 seemed not a thing of life there but ourselves, aud our voices 

 echoed hick from the mountains with a ghostly ring, and 

 there was mi motion far or near but the floating by of the 

 fleecy clouds above our heads. Not even the wind could 

 reach os in this seclusion in the hermitage in the wilds; even 

 the running stream, which supplied us with the clear cold 

 waier, was bidden beneath a snow-bank, which hushed its 

 gentle murmurs. Fastening on his snow-shoes, De :hene went 

 to the bush lo cut some firewood, in order that our supply 

 might not run out. I rem lined to assist in the cooking. We 

 took this leisurely, as we would do nothing till Verret arrived 

 with the gudgeon, and, having so much time on our hands, 



the result was a marvelous display of the culinary art. I 

 might make my readers' mouths water with a recital of the 

 bill of fare in French, but I will simply say that to us, with 

 appetites sharpened by the exertions of the previous day, 

 the cold morning air and the fast caused by the delay in 

 preparation, that breakfast was luxurious, and fit for the 

 most fastidious gourmand. A smoke of course followed, 

 and we then put on our snow-shoes, and, striking north, wo 

 went in search of the lakes, which we came upon at two 

 miles distance ; both small lakes, and in close proximity, 

 one called Sac Blane, and the further one Sac Lud Ouest. 

 Here we set to work 10 cut holes through the ice with long 

 iron chisels, not an easy operation, when it is considered 

 that the ice was from two to three feet thick, having a cover- 

 ing of the same thickness of snow. We worked steadily at 

 this not very exciting employment for some hours, and 

 managed to pierce four holes, two in each lake, and were 

 on the point of returning to the camp when Verret arrived 

 with the bucket, of gudgeons and our lines. This was most 

 fonunate, as we were enabled to set lines immediately, after 

 which we returned to camp and again made preparations for 

 another feed. I must confess that this style of fi-hing is not 

 very exciting, that the setting of lines to be hauled up in the 

 morning is a kind of fi3h murder; but when one considers 

 all i he surroundings of such an excursion, the camp life, the 

 long drive, the mountain air, the rig-out which is supposed 

 to be according to Boyle (?) in such matter, viz., a blanket, 

 coat, moccasins, and close fitting fur cap, the immense fish 

 usually taken, and the countless other incidents so different 

 from every-day life, one cannot help being fascinated by the 

 tout ensemble, and coming back, hoping soon to participate 

 aaain in such diversions. The evening was spent in the 

 usual way, playing cards, singing and conversation, with 

 the concomitants of hot Scotch and a pipe. At times we 

 would venture out of the hut to escape the heated atmos- 

 phere and enjoy the pure ozone of the mountains, and at 

 such Urn. sou such a night, when the full moon shone brightly 

 down on the snow-clad hills, and the leafless trees cast their 

 ghostly shadows across untrodden fields, there came over 

 one a feeling of solitude and weirdness which was almost 

 akin to fear. In the morning it was a subject of discussion 

 whether we should breakfast before visiting our lines, and I 

 know not if a love of sport or a desire to taste fish, gained the 

 day, but we decided on the visit. Over two miles on snow- 

 shoes was quickly done, for we were anxious as 10 our 

 catch. From the four holes we took nine trout, the lar^e-t 

 being over two pounds. Againsettingour lines, we return, d 

 to camp, and added the item of fish trout to our bill of far . 

 t know not, but it certainly seems undoubted, that in the 

 country, especially in winter, one either requires a vast deal 

 more to sustain nature, or ths indolence forced on one causes 

 him to eat a great deal more than in town. 



After breakfast the whole day was before us, so again put- 

 ting on our snow-shoes and shouldering shovels and chisels, 

 we made for the lakes, and lustily turned to and cut three 

 more holes in the ice, so as to give more play to our lines. 

 While we were thus engaged the wind had arisen and the 

 sky looked threatening, and angry drifts whistled by us, and 

 by the lime we had baited our fisu-lines and looked at the 

 others captuiiug three more t> out, the storm had fully de- 

 clared itself. Before leaving we marked the ice-holes with 

 balizes, so that in the event of a heavy fall we could find 

 them in the morning. The gale blew furiously, and we were 

 almost blinded by the snow, but as we approached the camp 

 we found that its secluded position was hardly affected by 

 the gale, but that the snow fell heavily, quickly obliterating 

 our footmarks. The evening was spent as heretofore, except 

 that there was no moonlight wandering, lor the snow was 

 too deep, and we were speculating on the possibility of being 

 entirely snowed-up aud beiug unable to reach town. But 

 these evil imaginings did not have any effect on our appej 

 tites; iu fact our cook almost outdid himself in catering for 

 the party, so that as the hours wore on we became satisfied 

 that even a week's blockade would not be after all such a 

 melancholy or unfortunate occurrence. The first who opened 

 the door in the morning was nearly smothered under an 

 avalanche of snow, aud all had to turn out and assist in 

 shoveling a road from the hut. Outside it had the appeai- 

 ance of a mound of snow, with but the newly-shoveled en- 

 trance visible. It was still snowing, but around us all was 

 calm, yet we knew not whether outside of our little spot the 

 tempest raged. 



A visit to the lakes after breakfast was a heavy undertak- 

 ing, for the snow was very deep, and each step was a labor. 

 As expected, the gale was still blowiig, but was evidently 

 on the decrease. Our ice holes were covered, but we found 

 them by the balizes, and were fortunate enough to make a 

 haul of two dozen, one being five pounds. Agaiu we set 

 our lines and returned to the camp, where we were obliged 

 lo remain the rest of the day inactive. As the snow was loo 

 deep for walking forth, this was absolutely necessary. This 

 imprisonment was certainly becoming monotonous, "and the 

 sole amusement of eating, drinking and smoking began to 

 pall. However, there was nothing for it but to face the 

 emergency, and we lived through the day and night. We 

 tTeakfasted next morning belore visiting the lines, as this 

 wa3 our last day. The gale had subsided, btil the walking 

 was terribly fatiguing. Again we made a good catch, taking 

 two dozen and three, most of them over two pounds, one 

 touching six. We returned to camp with our booty and 



