FOEEST AND STREAM. 



a pound, a few salmon, or pickerel, and a great many silver 

 perch. The common sluggish fish of all kinds are abund- 

 ant. Up near the head of the river, abreast the 'Three 

 Forks," the bass are larger and the pike abundant. In 

 nearly all the tributaries the hard mouth fish are to be 

 found in greater numbers and better size. In Red River, 

 a short stream which reaches the Kentucky about fifty 

 miles above Frankfort, any quantity of fine pike are to be 

 found. I have taken several weighing from sixteen to 

 eighteen pounds, and pome have been taken exceeding 

 twent3?-five pounds. They require very strong tackle — a 

 No. 4 or 5 reel, a heavy line and long wire snooding. We 

 bait with what is known here as the sucker, a small striped 

 fish from eight to ten inches long. Our bass, or black 

 perch, in the upper streams take the same bait. Salcnon(?) 

 weighing from five to fifteen pounds are also taken there. 

 Nearly all these streams are filled with mill dams, and I 

 feel like damning eve^r time I see one. We have no law, 

 as yet, requiring fish ladders, but I hope, as the Legisla- 

 ture progresses in public spirit and intelligence, it will 

 provide in every way for the preservation of the finny 

 tribe. To my mind, the best stream for regular fishing 

 anywhere in Kentucky, is Elkhorn, a small tributary of 

 the Kentucky, entering it a few miles below this city. For 

 many years it has been a favorite resort for our most ac- 

 complished rodsmen. It has but one fish— the black perch, 

 or bass, as it is commonly called— and that in great abund- 

 ance. The stream is shallow and narrow, seldom exceed- 

 ing three or four feet in depth, very rocky and hill-bound 

 everywhere. It requires constant wading and faithful 

 work, but the true fisherman is always handsomely re- 

 warded. The fish range from half a pound to five pounds, 

 a large number weighing two and three pounds being taken 

 every season. It is a little singular that, though hundreds 

 of persons visit this stream every day during the season, 

 no abatement of the sport is noticeable. I have gone to 

 one locality in an afternoon and taken fish until I thought 

 the last one was in my basket, and on the next morning 

 have been equally as successful. 



Some day when I have leisure I will write up the inci- 

 dents of an excursion or two, making the accounts as 

 graphic as possible, and as agreeable as I can. Meanwhile 

 I wish you the fullest success with your paper. Trout. 



Frankfort, Ky. t July 20th, 1875. 



-♦♦♦« 



For Forest and Stream.. 

 TWO WEEKS ON THE BLACKWATER. 



ON the morning of the 6th of June, Mr. F., Mr. W., 

 and your humble servant started in a light farm 

 wagon for the Blackwatcr. Our provisions, blankets, &c, 

 were packed in sacks and a large waterproof tent was put in 

 the wagon in case of rain. The road which we chose was 

 a good one, but very hilly, so much of the way we walked. 

 For the first ten miles the scenery was not remarkable 

 for its beauty, with the exception of one or two mountain 

 views. About noon we reached a grist-mill owned by a 

 man named Chisholm; here we ate our dinners, and if 

 anyone on his way to Blackwater gets to Chishojjtn's mill 

 near dinner time I advise him to take advantage of the fact. 

 The hostess is a kind and intelligent woman and an excel- 

 lent cook. 



After leaving the turnpike, we traveled an execrable road 

 through a drenching rain — the worst road I ever saw — once 

 or twice losing our way, and at last came to the house of a 

 Mr. Conway, who volunteered to act as our guide. He 

 went nearly a mile with us. He told us that he was the son 

 of Porte Crayon's guide, and that he knew all about the 

 Blackwater. He also said that he was employed by Mr. 

 Alexander Kent, of Baltimore, to fish for him two years 

 ago. Mr. Kent got large numbers of trout and shipped 

 some of them to his ponds near Baltimore and some to the 

 ponds of Mr. G-. W. Delawder, of Oakland, Md., who has 

 had considerable success in fish culture. We reached Mr. 

 Kitzmiller's about dark, where we were kindly and hospit- 

 ably treated. 



Before proceeding I will say a few words about the way 

 to get to Blackwater during the Summer and Fall. Mr. 

 Kitzmiller will send a team and light wagon to Oakland 

 twice a week and all persons who desire to go will do well 

 to go with him, for they will be well treated and the charges 

 will be moderate. If the parties wish to go on horseback 

 he will charge them four dollars each way. The house 

 called the "Dobbin Hotel" is under his charge, and he in- 

 tends to keep it open for guests; he will give them good 

 plain food and nice beds for $1.50 per day, which is very 

 cheap, as he has to pack all his provisions on horseback. 

 The Dobbin Hotel was built by Judge Dobbin, of Balti- 

 more, who was an enthusiastic sportsman who wished to- 

 have a place that was entirely out of the reach of ordin- 

 ary pleasure seekers. The building is two stories high, 

 containing eight rooms which are very large and comfort- 

 able. The frame is of hewn logs and covered with shingles 

 for weather boarding. All through the clearing in which 

 the house stands there are vast numbers of blackberry 

 bushes and the crop in the Fall is enormous. Mr. Kitz- 

 miller makes some wine from these berries which is much 

 praised by his visitors. The shingles that are within reach 

 are literally covered with the records ot the various par- 

 ties who have been there. I can without hesitation re- 

 commend Mr. Wm, Kitzmiller as a guide, as a host, and as 

 an honest man. 



The day after our arrival it rained very hard, so hard we 

 deferred our start until next day. Wednesday morning 

 was cloudy, but it did not rain, so we started, or rather 

 we "went in." Our things were packed in sacks and put 

 on two of Mr. K's horses, while we walked. We reached 

 Dobbin's about an hour before dark, and after admiring the 

 view from the mountain on which the house is situated 

 we made a fire, and after eating our suppers, started for 

 what our guide called "Point Lookout." After going down 

 a very steep hill for a couple of hundred yards, we started 

 out on to a rock which projected for nearly twenty feet 

 from the side of the mountain. Three good sized hem- 

 locks grow on the extreme outer edge, and leaning against 

 one of these we can look without danger at the view. 

 About three hundred feet below us the North Fork of 

 Cheat is dashing over its rocky bed, while the roaring of 

 its numerous falls is entirely in keeping with the wild 

 beauty of the scene. Directly opposite is a mountain that 

 looks higher than the one we are on, and the two together 

 form an almost perfect V. To the right we can see noth- 

 ing but the dense woods which clothe the two mountains. 

 To the left is the same V shaped ravine, but at the end of 

 it, not a mile away, another mountain rises very abruptly 

 and here it is that the North and South Forks unite. Not 

 far above us is the largest fall on the North Fork. I have 



forgotten the exact height of it, but think it thirty-four feet. 

 We threw some stones into the stream, and in exactly seven 

 seconds we heard them hit the water. To anyone who 

 goes to Dobbin's and who love the beautiful in Nature, I 

 would give this advice: go to "Point Lookout" just before 

 sunset and wait there until the shadows begin to steal up 

 the mouutain top. On our return we piled plenty of wood 

 on the fire and bringing some straw beds from upstairs, re- 

 tired to rest. 



Next morning after breakfast we started for "Kent's 

 Camp," (as it is called from the fact of its having been 

 built by Mr. Alexander Kent) with about twenty-five 

 pounds apiece, in packs which were strapped to our backs. 

 The camp was in a very dilapidated state, and after fishing 

 for a short time without any success we went to work on 

 it. Before long a party of five, headed by young Conway, 

 arrived at the camp. They were all neighbors of his. As 

 soon as they saw the river they said it was at least three 

 feet too high for good fishing, so after a short stay we re- 

 turned to bobbin's. The next day we fished in the North 

 Fork from directly opposite the house to its junction with 

 the South Fork, and up the latter for about half a mile, 

 but we did not get a bite during all the time we were gone. 

 We felt somewhat compensated, however, by the extreme 

 beauty of the stream. At one place where we were fish- 

 ing we suddenly and without warning found ourselves on 

 the edge of a fall some twenty-five feet high. We felt con- 

 fident that we would find trout in the large and black look- 

 ing pool just below, but we were much mistaken. About 

 dusk we reached the foot of the path which leads to the 

 house from the stream. We wished heartily for an elevator 

 to take us up the thousand or more feet of "almost perpen- 

 dicular mountain which is densely covered with that curse 

 of all this region — laurel. The following day we started 

 for "Kent's Camp," but took the wrong trail and came out 

 a quarter of a mile above the falls on the South Fork. 

 We entered the stream here, waded down to the falls and 

 fished in the pool below. The falls are 63 feet high, and 

 although the bed of the stream is over 100 feet wide, yet the 

 falls themselves are not half of it. for they are separated 

 in the middle by a promontory of rock which shows by its 

 smooth surface that it is sometimes covered with water. 

 We caught but eleven fish that day, as the water was still 

 very high. On Saturday it rained, and on Monday Messrs. 

 F. and W. started up stream, while I staid at camp, and 

 as it turned out, I was glad I aid, for the others took a trail 

 which they thought cut across a bend in the river, but 

 after walking for two hours through a laurel thicket of the 

 most diabolical description, they turned and came back to 

 camp completely tired out, and without a fish. In the 

 afternoon I went up stream alone and caught 44 small 

 trout. 



Mr. D. S. Green, in a letter to the Forest and Stream, 

 attributes the deep salmon color of the Blackwater trout to 

 the great number of crawfish which they feed upon, but I 

 do not agree with him, for in the Soughiogheny River 

 there are just as many crawfish as in the Blackwater, but 

 the trout are very light colored. I think that the peculiar 

 color of the water is what causes it, for I know of two 

 small streams that are as dark as the Blackwater and in 

 each of them the trout are of the same deep salmon hue 

 that those in the South Fork of Cheat are. All three of 

 the streams I mention flow through dense forests of hem- 

 lock, spruce and pine, and I think their color is undoubt- 

 edly owing to that fact. On Thursday the 17th, Mr. W. 

 and myself went about two miles and a half up stream and 

 had the only good fishing that we had while we were there; 

 we got 170 in half a day — our total catch for the trip did 

 not exceed 300. Our poor luck need not discourage any- 

 one who wants to go there, for everything was against us; 

 the water was too high — it rained a great portion of the 

 time, and we did not know where to fish. Of one thing 

 the angler may be certain, he wi.ll catch a large number of 

 fish, but they will be very small, the average being about 

 six or seven inches in length. 



On Saturday, June 19, we walked from Dobbins' to Mr. 

 Kitzmiller's, a distance of about fourteen miles, and on 

 Sunday morning we started in our wagon for home. The 

 road runs through one of the most beautiful forests that I 

 ever saw; it is very dense and is an excellent place for deer. 

 About five miles from Kitzmiller's there is the loveliest 

 view I ever saw in these mountains; it is on the left hand 

 side as we went out, Just where the "National Pike" inter- 

 sects with the road to Kitzmiller's. Some three or four 

 miles further on we pass the old "Pendleton" house, and 

 just below it on the crown of the hill which commands the 

 bridge over the North Branch of the Potomac is Fort Pen- 

 dleton, which was built during the late war and was occu- 

 pied by what is known here as the "Bloody Sixth" Virginia 

 Infantry. 1 asked one of the natives if the troops ever 

 did any fighting. "Oh, yes!" said he, "there was scarcely 

 a man in the regiment who did not have a black eye, or 

 carry his nose in a sling!" 



At the foot of this hill the North Branch flows, looking 

 very different from what it did when we crossed it on the 

 rode from Dobbin's, within five miles of its head. About 

 six o'clock that night we reached home, three of the wild- 

 est looking men that were ever seen. When I looked at 

 myself in a mirror for the first time in two weeks, I said, 



"can this distressed looking object be Alleghany. 

 1 ■#»». 



SOUTHWEST FLORIDA AS 

 COUNTRY. 



GAME 



Editor Forest and Stream:— 



It has been my good fortune to be favored with several interviews with 

 M. A. Williams, Esq.., Surveyor General of the State of Florida. This 

 gentleman has been personally engaged in surveying in various portions 

 of the State for over a quarter of a century, and possesses a personal 

 knowledge of each section thereof. In compliance with my request he 

 favored me with his views, which you will oblige by publishing. I may 

 remark that Mr. Williams has been engaged for the last six months in 

 surveying the region between the Caloosahatchie, Big Cypress, and the 

 gulf, and is personally familiar with the region referred to. 



Al Fresco. 



Fernandina, July 29th, 1875. 



Db. Kenwortht— Dear Sir: I promised to give you what informa- 

 tion I had with regard to South Florida as a game country. 



If there is in the United States a district of country that can excel the 

 Caloosahatchie and the country south and east from it to the Big Cypress 

 and Everglades, in its attractions to the sportsman, it must indeed be 

 a. wonderful country for game. The quail, wild ducks, wild turkey and 

 deer are as plentiful in this region as the most ardent sportsman could 

 desire; and then the Caloosahatchie and Charlotte Harbor abound in 

 fish— in fact it can't be excelled in the quantity, quality, and variety of 

 the fishes. During Winter the climate is unsurpassed, cool enough for 

 healthful exercise, and nevex cold enough for discomfort. The country 



is open and the land firm. A horse at full speed can be ridden almost 

 anywhere without roads or paths. Nowhere else that I know of can the 

 sportsman have such variety. Upon the water there is good fishinsr, 

 unsurpassed in any country; numerous water bird.* with i are plumage, 

 and sea shells of great variety and beauty. Upon the land, if I were to 

 attempt to describe the quantity of wild turkeys and deer, I should 

 hardly be believed. I will give one fact: Three Indians who were 

 hunting upon the borders of the Big Cypress, and in a short distance of 

 my camp, killed, in fifteen days, ninety-seven deer, and as they killed 

 these deer for the hides, they killed only such a were large, and the 

 skins of which were saleable. 



The sportsman, to enjoy fully a few months' sojourn in this region, 

 should go prepared to take care of himself. It would be best that sev- 

 eral gentlemen should unite, get a good boat, good tents, the necessary 

 provisions, and a good cook; and for exploring and hunting in the 

 country south of the Caloosahatchie, it would be necessary to have a 

 light wagon and two mules for transportation. Nowhere else on the 

 American continent could a party, supplied as I have indicated, fi..d a 

 better field for hunting, or a climate more pleasant, and greater attrac- 

 tions upon land and water. 



With regard to poisonous snakes and insects, let me say that during 

 the Winter months mosquitoes are not at all troublesome, and poison- 

 ous snakes are rare. During last Spring and Summer I traveled one 

 thousand miles, and my entire party saw and killed only four rattle- 

 snakes. Yours respectfully, M. A. Williams. 

 — .— . 



SOME RULES FOR SAFETY IN SAILING. 



In our last issue we printed some suggestions with re- 

 gard to boat sailing and the care necessary to prevent ac- 

 cident. We now give some practical rules for the manage- 

 ment of sail boats and small yachts which we commend to 

 the attention of our nautical readers. A close observance 

 of them will prevent accident and add much to the com- 

 fort of sailing. They will be invaluable to the tyro at 

 boat sailing and fill a want in this direction which has long 

 been felt. They have been contributed by a valued cor- 

 respondent: — 



i. Know, before you leave your anchorage, or wharf, that everything 

 is in order, especially your tack and pennant for reefing. 



2. Always carry a compass. A whaleboat's compass answers nicely 

 in a small sailboat 



3. Boats of any considerable draft— one and a half foot and more — 

 should carry a lead line, the first fathom marked off legibly in feet. This 

 will prove to be very valuable in finding channels in the night, and fogs. 



4. Never make your halliards nor sheets fast by hitching or knotting; 

 They should be made fast either by sufficient turns around the cleat, or 

 by a simple draw-knot, which any boatman can show you. 



5. When the wind is very strong and puffy, pass the sheet once aro und 

 the cleat and hold the end in your hand. 



6. Always keep the halliards and sheets in order, by carefully coiling 

 them so that they will render from the ton of the coil. 



7. Never sit to the leeward of your helm, nor allow anyone else to sit 

 where their position will interfere with the free play of your tiller. 



8. Never jibe a sail when the wind is blowing freshly, unless it be a 

 necessity. If you must jihe, do so with your peak settled. 



9. Never jibe a sail with the sheet wide off. Trim in your sheet rap- 

 idly as you press up your helm, take a turn around the char, and ease 

 the strain when the sail passes over, by letting go your sheet as your di- 

 rection from the wind may require. As a rule, it is better to go about. 



1(1. When, from a heavy sea, a boat refuses to mind her helm, and 

 misses stays, to get her on the other tack you mu.-t perform what is 

 called wearing. This is done by settling the pi j ak of your sail, and fol- 

 lowing tiie directions above for "jibing. Once jibed, haul up your peak, 

 trim in your sheet, and bring her on her course. 



11. In heavy winds and high waves a boat will sail better, and be safer 

 with the sheet started a little. Very few boats sail well at any time, 

 when the sheet is trimmed down fiat. 



12. Never luff a small boat in rough water aud high wind, so as to stop 

 her way. When a puff of wind is too strong for your safety, hold the 

 boat on her course and ease off the sheet. The danger of stopping a 

 boat under the above circumstances is, that they are liable to iipse t 

 win n you put up your helm and keep away to fill the sail again. If you 

 boat has lost way, slack off your sheet, put down your nelm, and let 

 her fall off. When she has fallen oil sufficiently to" get a good full on 

 the sail, up helm and trim in rapidly. 



13. Always keep an eye to windward, watching the surface of the 

 waier for the approach of puffs of wind. 



14. Being overtaken by a squall, settle your sail, and tie up snugly, 

 waiting to make sail, until you have felt the weight of the squall, aud 

 know how much sail to make. If the squall promises to be very severe 

 you had better come to an anchor. 



15. in reefing, take in all sail; trim in your sheet perfectly flat and 

 make, secure. Then haul out your clew with your pennant and make 

 fast. Next tie down your tack, then tie in your nettles or reef points 

 with square knots, commencing at either end In shaking out a reef, the 

 sail being down, reverse this process, commencing to untie your reef 

 points a t the middle and working to the end. Keep to the windward of 

 your sail. 



10. In running off dead before the wind be careful not to jibe. If the 

 wind is heavy it is safer to run with peak setiled. In rougu water, run- 

 ning off, look out that your boom, striking in the crest of a sea, doesn't 

 trail aft and jibe your sail. This is calLd tiiuping. To prevent this 

 bring her more on the wind by putting your helm down. If seas are 

 liable to comb over on your quarter or stern thev can be broken by trail- 

 ing a buoy or basket, or two oars lashed together, about five fathoms 

 astern. Tnis drag will also steady the motion of your boat. 



17. Never carry "sail for the sake of carrying it. 



18- Never sail strange waters without a chart, or what is better, with- 

 out a pilot. 



19. As a stranger to them, avoid tide-rips and whirls. 



20. Be cool in emergencies. If sailing with company, do not let them 

 distract your attention lrom the management of your boat. 



21. Remember that on the wind the starboard tacts has the right of 

 way over the port; and that a vessel sailing on the wind has the riyht of 

 way over one that has her sheet off. 



These rules applv to cat rigged boats especially. In the main they ap- 

 ply to sloop rigged boats also. 



SUGGESTIONS. 



1. If alone it is convenient to have the peak halliard led aft. 



2. The average of boats sail in moderate winds and smooth waters 

 within four points of the wind. 



3. A boat on the wind sails better with the gaff to the leeward of the 

 topping-Jilt. 



4. Keep your boom well set up, 



5. 1 he upper and outer half of your sail gives the most of vour speed 

 when yon are on the wind . 



6. If your boat carries a lee helm, watch her. 



7. In keeping your boat off from the wind, where your room is lim- 

 ited, pull up your board and flat your sheet. Settling the peak also hetps 

 this movement. 



8. Learn to work your boat by sitting down. 



9. Finally, if you don't know that you know how to manage a boat in 

 every particular, hire a competent man to go witn you and teach you 



C. J. K. J. 

 • ■*•*♦- -. 



The Illustrated Household Magazine. —The practi- 

 cal value and influence of a home magazine serving the 

 dual purpose of instruction and amusement is clearly 

 shown in the widely extended circulation of the Illustrated 

 Household Magazine— formerly Wood's Household Magazine. 

 It is essentially a magazine for the household. The selec- 

 tions are made with judgment and the original articles 

 (stories, &c.) written with taste and ability. The extremely 

 moderate price of $1.00 per annum places it within the 

 reach of all classes, to whom it judiciously and ably caters. 

 See advertisement. 



. : -*» *»- ■ : . , 



—The Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburgh Eailroad is 

 one of the best routes from Hew York to the Thousand 

 Islands, time only about 12 hours, and close connections 

 with the N. T. Central Railroad. 



