108 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[8eptekbbk9, 1880. 



last fall went from liprc to the Chiloat country upon the 

 occasion of tVin Bhooting in a drunken row of the CliJloat 

 Cliief, Klofz Klotz. Ami on the 30th an expedition, con- 

 siatiji.i; of Ih'p lioats, viz., the Chilcat Chief. Capt. Edmund 

 Bean": the JI;jv Flower, Capt. Robt. Duggan. the In- 

 duslrv, Capl. Wiu. Zohle: the .Sitka Jack, Capt. McCluskie. 

 and thf launch of this phip. thp wholp party under the 

 comn.aud otLieut. E. P. JlrClflhrn, a volnuleer tor the 

 duty, started for Iho Chdrat country, and five days after 

 wei-e sijoken within forty niilc^j 'of their de^itiuution 

 With them went, as interpreter, -'Dick," a nepliew ol 

 the Chief, a man who is. for an Indian, reliable, and 

 who brought down from Ids uncle the invitation to the 

 miners to oome. Dick's influence will be useful, inas- 

 much as he is the presumptive heir to the chieftainshiii 

 through his blood, and he baa further strengthened Idi 

 flaira by marrying, on hia la.st visit, his aunt. 



If this expedition proves a success, and tlie Clriloat.s 

 yield 1^3 the advance of tlie wldtes, a terra incognito will 

 be thrown open, and if, as is reported, there exists ui that 

 country valuable "placer" prospects, the results will lie 

 of gi'eat Importaitce to Alaska. I am not verj' sanguine ; 

 Bolt-interest teaches tVie Chilcats to retain in their own 

 bands tlie trade with the interior tribes, and it will be 

 only liy ■"■'"'wing them plainly that the coming of the 

 ■whitps nill be to their advautage that their consent can 

 be obtained. I\'miii iwrronH. 



Mr. Marcus Baker, of (he Uoa.st Survey, who arrived 

 hero by last sleanior, and who. until the dep,arture of 

 the exiVdition. was engaged in magnetic work, accom- 

 panied the expedition. 



The last two weeks have been very lively in Sitka ; 

 hardly liad the sensation produced by the starting of 

 the expedition died down than the town became again 

 ft.Kcited by (lie arrival of tlie schooner R. L. Handy, 19 

 days I'roui .San Francisco, with goods for a. storekeeper, 

 wlio, having seen tlie errors of his ways, has rejiented and 

 promises to sell to us goods and groceries at something 

 less tlinn the exorbitant prices heretofore ilcmandeil. 

 which have forced us to resort to Portland and San Fran- 

 cisco for our supplies. The arrival of a schooner may not 

 .seem to you much of an event, but five tlioiisaiid arriv- 

 ing in one day at New York would not jiroduce tlie son- 

 sation that tile Hand V has. We Iiave been here a year, 

 and the arrivals have been, the California nine times', and 

 one little schooner last fall with lumber. Hardly h.ad the 

 Handy got fairly out of sight when another schooner, 

 this time the Yukon, Gapt. Herrenden, of the Coast Sur- 

 Tey, came in, 15 days from San Francisco, and to-day 

 the little steamer Favorite, owned by VanderbUt, came 

 in from a trading voyage in Chatham Str-aits, and it is 

 she that spoke our boats. 



On board the Yukon I found my friend Dr. Tarleton H. 

 Bean, and, of course, iie and I iiave been deep in the 

 BUli.iect of Alaska fish ever since. AVe have studied out 

 and classified my collection, and tor the henefit of your 

 ichthyological readers 1 give you the list a.s willingly as 

 I did Bean the bottles— a Avillingness as regards the lat- 

 ter more than shared by niy better hair, whose devotion 

 to science is not such as to cause lier to enjoy the occupa- 

 tion of the store-room shol\-cs Ijv pickled fish and reptiles, 

 Partial list of salt water fish obtained in Sitka harbor :— 



Ko. 1— Rathvma-ster signatus. 



No. 2.— Sebasticidhys mellauops. 



No. 3.— Chirus constellatus. 



No. 4. — \spidecottus bison. 



No. 5 — llemilepidotus gibbsii. 



No. 6. — Lepidopselta biloneta. 



No. 7 — Le|>idopsetta (to be studied.) 



No. 8.— Chirus deccagramous. 



No. 9. — Colluspolyaoanthocephalous. 

 Fresh water : — 



Salmo irideus. 



Salmo clarkii. 



Salmo speotabilis. 



Salino bairdii. 



Salmo quinnat. 



My Bathymnster signahis. it seems, is my most valu- 

 able addition to the national collection ; but two speci- 

 mens of this have hitherto been obtained, one of which is 

 in the possesion of Prof. Cope, who originally described 

 it in b'<7.".. and the other is owned by tlie Alaska Com- 

 mercial Company ; both were obtained in .Alaska. Bean's 

 description of the fisli is as follow^s : — 



"It resembles the rock cod, except that the dorsal fin 

 is continuous and extends alongthe whole length of back. 

 On the head there are numerous prominent mucons pores. 

 Our specimen is ten inches long ajid was caught over the 

 ship's stern in March." 



Examining my collection by the aid of the light of 

 science 1 find myself compelled to own up that I didn't 

 know half as much about trout as I thought I did. Fll 

 correct a few of the mistakes which have occurred iumy 

 letters : First, as you will see by my list, I have no't 

 caught any fontinalis, which is rather mortifying, as I 

 thought that my Adirondack experience had qualified me 

 to bean authority on the subject. 1 knew they had square 

 tails and crimison spots and various other peculiarities, 

 but I didn't know that they were destitute of " hyoid " 

 teeth, nor that the trout described by me as a fontvnalis. 

 but rather light for its length, and tail not quite so square 

 as that of our eastern trout, /oJifmaZfs, was the owner of 

 a set of the same sufficiently developed as to show him 

 to be a Salmo speotabilis, of whom I never before had 

 heard. 



Next, the large trout described in my letter of May 11th 

 as comiiit.' from a lake near Mount Edgecomh. and to me 

 unknown,' I find to be precisely identical with a trout 

 described in my letter of Sept. 8th as a mountain trout, 

 and that the species is Saiino iridevs, that is. as far as 

 can be iudged from my collection of its charac- 

 teristics, la everything but size Bean assures me that I 

 describe an iriflmts, and my ten-inch bottle specimen 

 confirms 1dm. but thirty to thirty-six inches is a devel- 

 opment beyond his expectations. The Edgecomh fisli 

 (we had Imtli sexes) were outtilled with ripe ova and 

 milt, and no otlier trout or salmon procured thus .far 

 this spring is so far advanced. 



I would like, through your paper, to inform Hi. Nichols 

 and Hank Ruder that if this summer they catch in the 

 originiil Piseco Lake or its tributaries a trout with hyoid 

 teeth they had better send it, in whiskey, to the Smith- 

 sonian. 



"We have not yet got hold of any of the salmon trout, 

 they not having run into the streams, Several have 

 been taken by the Indians in their^nets in salt water, •* 



but they were eaten and none have been caught since 

 Bean's anival. 



About the 30th of May a very beautiful trout was taken 

 in large numbers from a little "lake just liack of the town, 

 which on our chart is christened " Piseco Luke." 



The habits of this trout are peculiar. Every .spring, for 

 .about ten days, tliey are plentiful close to'^ the shore, 

 among the lily pads, and will bite on anything except a. 

 fly. Before and .after this short season none are ob- 

 tained. 



My description of this trout is as follows : Specimen 

 caught .Afay 37th ; length, 9< inches : deptli, ^f inches ; 

 \yeight, a ounces ; colors : bacli:. dark brown, growing 

 lighter toward median line, at which tliere is a. longitudi- 

 nal purple stripe extending from opercle nearly to tail, 

 below the median line olive green, ligiitening to silver 

 white on bellv. The entire tinted |)orlion of the fish has 

 a beautiful gofien irride.sceuce, s.. much so that when 

 looked on from the roar, licing held in sunlight, the fish 

 seems to be gilded. Excepting the helly, the surface is 

 profusely sprinkled with ovafblack By/ots, which mark 

 also the'dorsal, adipose and caudal tins ; the pectoral, 

 ventral and anal fins are yellowish -tipped with crimson. 

 Tail nearly square, but not as square as that of the fon 

 tinalin. 



It has hyoid teeth, and we make it out to b.. tt.e ^nlmo- 

 C?a»7m, anon-migratory trout from the ti. I ... of 

 British Columbia, Oregon and Washiii, i ,i ...v. 



None of those taken contained eggs, while il,; , ir,;,,,se(i 

 irideus from Edgecomb Lake contained both eggs and 

 milt, ripe. 



Bean, who is indefatigable, has obtained several fish 

 which i had not hitherto known existed here, among 

 which is a genuine codfisli and some skates, all of which 

 he has dulv numbered and described. 



The steamer Favorite _ brought over from the Hoo- 

 tze-noo banks, near Admiralty Island, quite a quantity 

 .jt genuine cod, both fresh and salted, which we find to 

 be quite as good as are the cod on our Atlantic bank.s. 



liean brought me the FOREST AND STttEAM of April 

 2'3d and 2yth, in which ajipear the letters from Henry 

 EUiott and myself. 



After this letter of E.'s, I conclude that my best plan 

 is to give up, not my views, but the attempt to make 

 with them any impression upon his preconceived opin- 

 ions. 



I will, however, in terminating my share of the discus- 

 sion, simply protest against his endeavor to array Capt. 

 Bailey — who is dead— against me, by quoting his honest 

 and I have no doubt correct views as to " Alaska north 

 and west of Sitka " as disproving my assertions in regard 

 to Sitka and vicinity, and also to state, without any reser- 

 vation, that Elliott's statement that " one succe.ssful 

 planting in iVmr years is the ride at Sitka." is not true. 



Year after year good cn.yis are raised from seed fur- 

 nished by (lieir predecessors, and an '■ unsuccessful plant- 

 ing" is a rare exception. 



And finally, I must piotest against his statement that 

 " Pisecu agrees with him in the main." I decline to be 

 placed on record as indorsing his views, which I most 

 distinctly do not. '■ Tht; war of potatoes is ended." 



Strolling, to-day, along the beach, 1 saw. moored near 

 a Baw-mill which lias lieeii patched up and set to work, 

 two immense spruce logs---one wa.s Hi feet and the other 

 79 feet long, and very clear from knots. The lumbermen 

 told me that they contained, one a little over and the 

 other a little under 4,000 feet of lumber, and that such 

 logs were plentiful within four or five miles, near the 

 water, and that, delivered at the miU, the two cost him 

 $■10. 



Some of the miners who have been hybernating here 

 this winter have employed their time in "cutting luinbor, 

 and there is on the beach a pile of spruce phiiiks, gotten 

 out by hand, with whip-saws and axes, many of which 

 are from 40 to 50 feet long, 4 inches thick, and with very 

 few knots, 



June 9tli. — The steamer is in. and I, of coiu-se, busy 

 enough to justify my cutting short tliis letter, Unex- 

 pectedly to us she was " on time," an unusual event. 



The launoJi sent with the expedition to Chilcat re- 

 turned on the 5th inst,, having perfectly accomplished its 

 mission. 



The gate has been opened, and a crowd of American 

 miners are now prospecting this unknown land with the 

 full consent of llie Indians, who have furnished to them 

 all required facilities, and tlie tribes who have been mak- 

 ing war at Wrangel have promised to ceaso hostilities. 



Dr. IJall arrived on the steamer, and soon after her de- 

 parture, he, in the Yukon, will proceed on his voyage 

 to the Northwest. 



The steamer brought me a jar of " oulachons "' and 

 some notes regarding tliem, which I will work up in my 

 next. 



Ua^ih va dania—\\Uibi\ is Russian for au revoir. 



Piseco, 



m 



Black Bass in the DjSbAWAEE. — This fish was un- 

 known in the Delaware previous to bS75, when several 

 thousand were placed in the river at dilferent places be 

 tween tlie Delaware Water Cap and Trenton by the Fish 

 Commissioners of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. They 

 grew very rapidly iu their new home, as they have done 

 ia every other instance upon record, and two jears later 

 "myriads' of young fish could be seen all along the river 

 between the points named. The season for catching them 

 opens June 1st, and closes in December, and all bass un- 

 der six inches in length are prohibited Ijy law from being 

 taken at any time uuder a iienalty of ten <iollars for each 

 lish. This law is constantly violated both in respect to 

 the size of tlie fish and the season for catching. They 

 are said to bo "off their feed" in June, for the reason that 

 during that month they do not bite freely, but from the 

 middle of July to the 1st of September they take the 

 bait freely, and often do so far into October, although the 

 ckiHi: of September brings the close of good angling for 

 black baas on this river. Probably tlie best fishing 

 KrjuiuJa are at Lackawaxen, Shohola^ Pond Eddy, Port 

 Jervis. Mifford, Dingman's Feriy, Bushkill and the 

 AVater Cap. The lirsl; n.anied place is the extreme point 

 which tJiey can reaoli going up on accomit of the dam of 

 the Delaware and Hud.son Canal Co.. which was bulltand 

 is used as a feeder to the canal. Here tlie fish seem to be 

 larger than below, and a fisbway should be provided for 

 their ascent, as they seem to be crowding here to get up 

 further, i"'ew email ones are taken here, and iu fact not 

 so many in number as at other points lower down, but 

 they are of a larger size, 



THE MAINE PONDS, 



Hyde Park, Mass., Sept. M. 

 Editor Forest and Stream : — 



[X Although it seems almost useleas to attempt to write 

 about the Maine woods, after reading the many and 

 glorying accotmts of the hunting and fishing in Maine 

 wdiieh have appeared in your valuable paper since its 

 first publication, yet T wish to make known to the reail- 

 ers of Forest a.n'i') Stream a part of Alaine known to but 

 few, because heretofme difficult of access. This is the 

 region about Enstis, a town about lifty miles nortli of 

 Farniington. "Within about twelve or" fifteen miles of 

 Eustis hills are situilted many ponds, of w hieh Tim Pond, 

 advertised in your columns, is one, and the only one 

 wliicli has had any good accomodationsforspertsmen, ex- 

 cept Alder Streaiii Pond. The nearest [)ond to the nulls 

 is Jim Pond, distance about three and om.' halt miles, 

 which is reached by boat on the North Branch of Dead 

 River, two miles, and a carry of a mile and a half over a 

 .good lumber road. At this pond Mr. O. A. Hucchins, c>f 

 Eustis, under whose guidance I, with a genial compan- 

 ion, spent two happy weeks this sumnier. lias just com- 

 pleted a fine new log canqi eighteen feet square, for tlie 

 benefit of sportsmen, fitting it up with a sli've and many 

 other conveniences. This pond .abounds in lake trout, 

 Satmo nam aycush, speckled trout, Suhno/oiiiinaUH, and 

 a fish which I took to be landdockcd hening, but am 

 not sure. 



By taking a team to haul the baggage to Ledge I'alls, 

 three mOes, where one will find anotlier camp just Ijiiilf. 

 he can reach the chain of ponds, distance twelve mile.-, by 

 North Branch, which can be reacherl iiy l>oat with a few 

 short cariies. Here one can hnd a good canqi. good fisli- 

 ing for lake or speckled trout, while tliere is no better 

 spot for deer, moose or cariboo, and from here several 

 other ponds can b,' readied, which literally swarm with 

 trout, while the scenery of the who'e region is wild and 

 beautiful, always clian'ging as one moves from j.oiut to 

 point. 



If one does not wish to go to the chain of ponds, he can 

 go up three miles from Hedge P'alls to Alder Stream, 

 famous for its trout, up Alder Stream one and one-fuurtJi 

 mdes, then a carry of live miles, and he will come to Al- 

 der Stream Pond, "a sportsman's paradise. Here one will 

 find a new and well equipped camp, built under the di- 

 rections of Mr. iliifcliins. A pond so clear that one can 

 see trout fifteen or twenty feet below Uii' surface, and full 

 of the handsomest silvery-sided speckled beauties t ever 

 saw, and enough to last for years if only true sportsiueu 

 go there. The scenery is delightful, and the woods fiUi 

 of deer, carilioo and riiffed grouse. 



Mr. ilutchins.with his usual enterprise.is having aro.od 

 cut through to Spoctale Ponil.Kdiliy and Spenser Streams, 

 King and Bartlett Ponds, and Sjien.si-r Pond, on allot 

 which he intends Lo Imild camps and beiats f(..r the benelif 

 of sportsmen. Such forethought for the comtort of 

 sportsmen ought to be rewarded, and 1 lutpe that Air, 

 liutchins and the other g;uides of Eustis wlu. are assisting 

 him in this good work wiU receive thepatronage they de- 

 serve. This new road to the ponds just mentioned will 

 be completed by the 13th of September, just tlie time for 

 good fishing and hunting, and letters addressed lo Mr. 

 O. A. Hutchius, Eustis, FrankHn County, Maine, will re- 

 ceive prompt attention, and the writer will receive in re- 

 turn reliable information. 



The expense at Eustis will be found verj- light. I was 

 charged twenty cents a day for keeping a horse, and 

 eighteen cents for a dinner "or a nighfs lodging. Guides 

 with boat can be had for from .$1.50 to i*J per day, accord- 

 ing to jilace visited. 



The fare from Boston to Farniington and return, $9.50, 

 from Farniington to Kingfield by stage, twenty miles, 

 !jl.,50, from Kiugfieldto Eu.sti3, twontj'-eight mUes, SI. 50, 

 I think. So tliat the fare from Boston U> Eustis ami re- 

 turn will be about $1(j. This is the time of year when 

 they catch the most and largest trout, durmg September 

 and October. E. D, 



'Tin PohT).—Ihistis, Maine, Aug. Hth.—I am here 

 again, just arrived. This is my third annual visit. 

 Mr. Smith has made great improvemonts since first I 

 came here, in boats, cabins, road, horsia, etc. A\ lien I 

 reached here all the camps were full (except the new one 

 just being finished) with those here lor the second time. 

 They teU me fronting and livmting were never better here 

 or elsewhere than now. After a few hours with the rod 

 and gun I find they are quite right. Am told large game 

 is plenty, and the right sportsman are now coming here 

 to take such. It is now easy to reach here from Now 

 York or Boston. Come to Farmmgton by rail, then Dan 

 Clark's stage will take passengers direct to Kenny Smith's 

 Farm House, From his house he runs liucktioards seven 

 miles to the cabins. Parties can always be accommo- 

 datetJ by engaging "apartments" in advance. 



J, vVAKREN iTJClt. 



^- » 



The Hole is Left Yr/v.—Mangdley Lttfecs-, Camp 

 Kenehago, Avg. 23,1-Below you will lind a schedule of 

 the size and number of trout taken m the Mooselucme- 

 guntic Lake, Aug. 20th, l»y Mr. Kodgers, ot Alansfield, 

 Mass and his guide. Rtd'iis Crosby, of Kangeley, Maine. 

 This may sound a little fishy to some of your readers, 

 and I may as well state that I did not see them myself, 

 but copied the list from one who did, .and I have good 

 authority for giving this as correct. Tliey were taken in 

 from thii-ty to forty feet of water. 'iime, from 1 P M. 

 until 5 : One of 8i pounds, one of 5^ pounds, one ol 5 

 pounds, one of 4.^ pounds, two of 4 pounds, one of 3^ 

 pounds, three of 3 pomids, one of 2 pounds, six of 1 

 pound ; total, 53 pounds. Iked. 



Minnesota. Fishing.— A correspondent who has been 

 fishing some of the Minnesota lakes, kindly sends ua the 

 following notes : — 



On coming to Minnesota I went to "Waterville, where 

 there is said to be the best fishing in the State, Lake 

 Tetonkaisthebest place, and abounds %yith pike, black 

 bass and croppie. Rock bass are alsu ^ ery abundant. I 

 caught a tine string of them, large ones that would ave- 

 rage nearly a pound, but on opening them I tound that 

 their tleshVas filled with parasites. These seemed to be 

 black cysts, covered -Kith short hairs or fuzz. They were 

 about the size of fleas, and cracked like a (lea when 

 pressed with the thumb nad. I presume these are cysts 

 that inclose the animal, whatever it is. Black bass at 



