Jahuabt 13, 1881.] 



FOEEST AND STREAM. 



467 



The opision of the Attorney-General ia reference to the 

 constitutionality of the Fish way law: 



AnniTOB's OrrioE, Otttimwa, Iowa, ) 

 October 20, 1880. / 



Hon. B. P. Shaw, FUh Commmioiur State of lowi: 



Dear Sir— In the matter of coiistrucling a fish ladder to the 

 dam at this place, I wish to say to you that on the 7lh day of 

 August last past I issued a notice' to the Ottumwa Wa"ter- 

 Power Company, in accordance witli the law, to construct a 

 fish ladder to their dam and placed (lie same in the hands of 

 Sim Ohaney, sheriii of the counly, fiM- scfvice. On the 9lh 

 day of the same month it was retuined servril. The said 

 Water-Power Co. have euiployed courisnl, and their attoniey, 

 Mr. Wm. McNatt, informs mo vcrbiill}- l,hat tliey refuse to 

 comply with the law and that tbo said fish law is uncoiislitu- 

 tional. I am instructed by the President of our Jioard of 

 Supervisors to ask you to procure the opinion of the Attor- 

 ney-General of the State and transmit it to us in time for the 

 November meeting of the Board, with any suggestions or in- 

 structions you may desire to give us in the premises. 



Respectfully yo'urs, 



M. L. GoDLBT, Auditor Wapello Co., Ia. 



The above was submitted to the Attorney-Oeneral and the 

 following is his opinion in reply thereto. 



E. K. SiiAW, Fish Oom'r. 

 Washington, Iowa, .Xov. 34, 1880. 

 Hon. B. F. Sh.vw, Aimm<mt. hma : 



Dear Sir— In answer to your letter of the 12th inst., I will 

 say that in my opinion Chapter 123 of acts of 17th General 

 Assembly is not unconstitutional A .statute is never by the 

 courts held to be in conflict with the Federal or State Con- 

 stitution imless such conflict is clear and certain. One branch 

 of the State Government, to wit, the General Assembly, has 

 passed on its oonstitntionalily hy eiijicting it. The question 

 is not a ucw one. While oin- courts tiave not passed on it, 

 other courts of last resort have, and held similar statutes not 

 liable to the objection of unoonstitutionality. With these 

 decisions you are f amUiar. 



Yours very truly, J. F. MoJTrwKtN, Att'y-Gen'l. 



Mb. Bali.ou: "The fish way law should be constitutional. 

 I believe in protecting the rights of the people. The State 

 constructs roadways, why not flshways?" 



Mb. Shaw: "I have here a printed protest against flsh- 

 ways by an Iowa miller and my own reply to it, which seems 

 to cover the grouud of the objectors very thoroughly. I dis- 

 like to ask sir. Mather to publish this in Forest and Stkbam, 

 because he very kindly published it for me when it first ap- 

 peared, and yet I would like to have it on record in our re- 

 ports." 



Mb. Mather : "The paper so fully .states both sides of ibe 

 case tliat it may be of interest to many, and the agreement to 

 pubhsh aU the proceedings certainly would oblige mc to 

 print it even if it was of no interest." The protest' is as fol- 

 lows : 



Oxi-OBD Mnxs, September 20, 1880. 



Editor Eureka— You will oblige me if you will give 

 me space in your valuable paper to express my view? in re- 

 lation to a law passed by the Eighteenth Glencral Asscniljly 

 of the State of Iowa. 



Chapter ]2;i, Section .3, of said law reads: -'If, within 

 sixty days after the service of a notice by the sherilf of the 

 county, the owner, agent, or party in charge .shall fail to con- 

 struct and attach a fishway to such dam, as re(iuned by tbe 

 Comminsioner, then the county Board of Supervisois slia'U im- 

 mediately proceed to construct and attach the same- and 

 when so constructed, the original cost and twenty per eeut. 

 thereon, as it penalty, shall be entered upon the ta.K book of 

 the county, and shall be a lieu on said propert}', to be collect- 

 ed in the same luanner as provided b}' law for the collection 

 of other taxes. 



Section 4 reads : "To carry out any of the provisions of 

 this act, the comity Board of Supervisors m;iy issue counly 

 warrants for the pajnuent of such expeusc-s, and when the 

 taxes are paid, the warrants and all accrued iiilejcst tbereon 

 shall be refunded to the county, and tbe bahmee, after pay- 

 ing the Clerk and the St.ate Ciommissioner and Board of Su- 

 pervisors for their services, etc., the proceeds to be paid over 

 to the county treasmer, and will become a pari of the school 

 fund." 



To tjiis the Pish Commissioner adds, on his own responsi- 

 bility, with ab the dignity tbat lielongs to hie olliee. ia his 

 notice to mill owners : " No temporizing or temporary work 

 will do, as it will beat tlu! mill owner's e.vpeiise. as ilie law 

 requires him to keep it in constant repair." 



Mr. Blditor, I am a citiz(ai of those L'nite<l Slati-s and de- 

 sirous of showing willing obedience to the laws thereof. I 

 derived my title to my land from tbe Uniled St :,. , n:n!!ii- 

 nient, cleiu- of any and all eneiimljrance, vvitb^n! ; -; ;i 



tion of ereeting or u|)bolding rishways for tlie b' ,,, , i ,i ,,]■ 

 parlies. Tlierefore I claim protection from the (_ i,ii.:a >>L.ti.j:s 

 from imposition and unjust laws. Keitber tlie Stale of Iowa 

 nor any other Slate lias any right to [iiiss any law that will 

 annoy, hamper, endanger, ordepreeiatetlie value of any man's 

 property, without paying him in full for aU damages be may 

 sustain. If the people of the State of Iowa want To preserve 

 tlie flah, what claims have they on the mill owners to compel 

 them to be at all the expense? Does it benefit the miller 

 more Ihau the farmer, or any one else ? Do they consider 

 the mill owner an intruder? Do they prefer cat-tisli and 

 wall-eyed pike to the manufacturing interests of the Slate? 

 If so," why don't they pass a law lli:il will givt: them tbe 

 power to destroy all the mill dams in the Slate, and give tbe 

 fish a chance? They have just as much riglit to pass a law 

 of this kind, as they have to pass the other. 



Wliat benefit does the miller derive from this heavy ex- 

 penditure of money ? You rarely findthe miller with a fi.sh- 

 pole in his hand. "It is not this class of men who reap tbe 

 benefits of the fish law. For my own \,v:\ 1 wi add L'ive e m- 

 siderable money if there were not a fish in our rivers. Tlipv 

 are the cause of bringing a parcel of lazy loafers lo out risli- 

 ing grounds, from ibe, emmtr}? and the towns, who deslroy 

 the smTOunding liiciierly, I earing down fences .and desecrat- 

 ing the S.ahbntb .lav, t'j tie/ annoyance of quiet, peaceable 

 !iiii' liiv-;i'e>lM e ■ iii'-ris. ijf courst there are a few except- 



' •- ' ' - il for a clii-s of men and boys like this 



.! I "■ e , I luiiaai to heat from .'^.Snn to .■S.5t)0 e.v- 



peu.-Lji. Ill eiee.iiig a ii.-jhway to viroteet the lisb and contribute 

 to their pleasure; not alone this expendiUire, Init ibey are re- 

 quired to keep tlua annoyance and eMcumbrauce in perpetual 

 repair, no matter whether it is can led out by any flow of ice 

 and logs that passes over the dam — which will be the case 

 nine times out of ten — or whether it carries out the dam as 

 well. 



Heretofore the mill owners of the State of Iowa have been 

 well protected in their right, by the enactment of good, 

 sound laws on water privileges ; and for this reason Iowa 

 stands second to no groin manufacturing State in our Union 



— as the reports from the late Miller's Convention at Cincin- 

 nati will show. Is it possible that all the protection we have 

 heretofore enjoyed is to be destroyed by some wild fish fanatic 

 who cares more for a wall-eyed pike or a smi-lisli than he 

 does for all the manufacturing interests of the State ? Let 

 the millers of the State rise in their might and defend them- 

 selves against such unjust and arbitrary laws, as they have 

 done heretofore in such cases of imposition, and they will 

 midoubtedljr come out victorious. 



If this fish law is enforced, then the next law I expect to 

 see enacted will be one requiring every farmer wiio owns 160 

 acres of laud on the line of any i"tiilroad throughout the 

 Suite of Iowa to build, grade and lay a track the entire 

 length of his farm at his own expense. Not only this, but 

 tbe la\»will require him to kee|) it in constant repair, at the 

 risk of losing the rest of bis farm if he does not comply wilh 

 all the requirements of the law, whether from unwillingness 

 or inability. All these benefits be is expected to donal;e to 

 the travel of the general public. Why not enact and enforce 

 a law of this land ? One can be as easily enforce as another. 

 I can see no difference. 



If the people of the State of Iowa want to stock their 

 rivers wilh fish, why not levy a general State tax for the pm-- 

 pose of erecting these fislnvays and keeping IIumii in repair, at 

 the same time giving tbe mill owner a guarantee that any 

 damage he may sustain from the erection of such fishway will 

 be promptly paid by the State, or the county in which the 

 mill dam is located. The Stale has no more claim on the mill 

 owner in this respect than it has on the farmer, mechanic, or 

 any other class of men. I think it ia the duty of the press 

 throughout the State to come out boldly and denounce all 

 such unjust laws. Jbstior. 



[Mr, Shaw's reply will appear in our next issue, and the 

 other discussions and papers wUl follow as fast as we can 

 publish them.l 



TPvOUT PISHING m THE CAiSTADIAlSr WILDS. 



AT ten o'clock on a bright moonlit Saturday night, in the 

 end of last month, a buckboard— bearing a flat boat 

 filled with provisions, fi.sliing tackle and a couple of fowling 

 pieces with their concomitants, for the use and enjoyment 

 of the young sportsmen, who after experiencing tbe many 

 advantages of the diffci-ent locidities in the near and distant 

 neighborhood of the city had carefully chosen their fi^ibiug 

 ground— left the ancient cily of (iuebec by the norebesiLT 

 bridge, crossing the river St. Cluirles, where in the past 

 century Jacques Cartier and his hardy followers wintered, 

 worn out by disease and harassed by the' warlike redmen of the 

 forest under their chief Sladacona, for the far off lake, 

 Jacques Cartier, situated in the distant wilds^of the Lauren- 

 lean ranges, whither it needed the strong Canadian pony, 

 whose sires had bounded over the fields" of Normandy, to 



d 

 steep 



tbe s 

 abilii 



tbe 



eavy load over the almost impassable roads and 

 mlaiu paths. 



1 arranged that the work should be apportioned to 

 d members of the partv iiccording to their adapt- 

 id expeditiunarv talenls, Alfred'Deebine had to 

 accept I he oiil side work and Alexander Fraser and myself had 

 to fulfill tbe inside worli. Ttie provisions eonststed of ham, 

 corned beef and a iiroporlionale supply of drinkaljles. 



We traveled under the bright moonlight through the vil- 

 lages of Charlesbourg, whose chnrcb spires tower so proudly 

 from its mountain site; St. Pierre, the inmates of whose 

 peaceful convent lay in unconscious slumber; Stonehane and 

 Tewkesbury, p(_'0i)[ed by the hardworking farmers from 

 Ireland, and ai daylight arrived at the post, as it is called. 

 This post, a species of log hut, is situated at the extreme end 

 of the macadamized road which is about twenty-one mUes 

 from tbe city, and thene'.e i-ommenees the government road, 

 recently eonalructed, to Lake St. John, and which was some 

 time since represented as the best of highways, but whioh 

 our bn.sbnien and farmers from Lake St. John have de- 

 scribed as almost wholly impraeticable, a fact which is also 

 proved by the man)' amalenr fishermen who have passed 

 over that route. 



The first camp on tbe government road is situated at the 

 distance of five miles, where we breakfasted and fed our 

 horse, also providing ourselves with fodder, which could not 

 be procm-ed elsewliere on our joume,v, or at the various 

 camps, although wotid and provisions were kept on hand for 

 I he use of travelers. Mr. Liachauce kept this camp, and was 

 most obliging in bis endeavors to please us. We could not 

 but feel for his forlorn position, as he told us that but few 

 travelers passed bis camp, excepting lbo.se who desired to fish 

 in the higher waters around the Lanrcntidea. 



After resting at Laehance's post for a short time we left 

 at about eight e.'clock and in a couple of hours reached the 

 Puiver Caeb.-, a beautiful stream, filled with trout, and whose 

 banks are fringed with the fir, the spruce and the cedar 

 tree. 



After mounting an extremely steep hill we, at half past 

 eleven, arrived at the camp S Noel, which is without a guar- 

 dian and is sixteen miles from the post settlements Near 

 this post are two lakes, one on each side of the road, both 

 pretty large and alii>umJiQg with trout : one called .'«<; 

 e Ai;// and the other liic a li,-;/!.-.. ;\t this eamp wo rested 

 ourselves and our Canadian jiony, who appeared to be im- 

 possible of fatigue. While in Ibe vicinit\- we saw twelve 

 men fishing, who seemed to be having gr,od sport, as tbev 

 were eontinually making catclies of lair sized trout. Of 

 eonrse it must be admitted that the fishing in tJiese lakes ha.s 

 lieen carried on for a long lime, and that the waters are com- 

 paratively depleted. The same fact is the case wilh the 

 two lakes which we reached a little fin-tber (m—Om/ul lar 

 a Vepanle and F^ti.tlana.Pe'panlt;. Both these lakes herelof (ire 

 were fimious for their trout, and unless the government inter- 

 fei-es the water in the entire difitrict mustr become entirely 

 unproductive. 



On tlie twenty-fifth mile we arrived at l<ic Derndus, where 

 we remained f'"- ,-."„.„- ..„j\ ^ night's rest in the hut pro- 

 vided by the 'e Mint. IJere wefoimd no guar- 

 dian liut then lupply of food, and had we had 

 scythes we m-L;!. ued any amount of fodder for 

 our horse, providentially otherwise provided. A stove, wth 

 any amoimt of firewood, was in the estidilishment, and we lost 

 no time in making oiu'selves comfortable. One can hardly 

 over-estimate, especially those accustomed to forest ftii. .",' 

 and who have now and then been driven to extrcnii;i 

 advantages to be found in these solitary camps, wb- 

 weary may find rest and the himgry found. 



At five o'clock on Monday morning, after a good brealrfast, 

 we were ready for a atari, and continued the route till about 

 two in the afternoon we reached Im a La Marre, near which 

 we touched the Montmorency River, along whose bank we 

 drove for three miles and during the time shot three ducks. 

 The upper waters of the Jacques Cartier are not so wild and 

 furous as when most frequently seen by tourists near its 

 mouth, at what is called Natural Steps, although even 

 there are fierce rapids and whirling pools from which three 

 and four pounders in the way of trout are taken by hundreds. 

 At a place called the " Meadenvs." sportsmen from the city 

 are wont to spend the holidays and never return without a 

 satisfactory basketful. Prom Uu:. "v, Iia Marre" weentered the 

 bush, and on our route shot nnn\ partridges before arriving at 

 the camp, situated on the borders of'frw J:ku\ which we 

 passed, not without a lingering look at itsbeantlf ul waters and 

 dark nooks, suggestive of nnmljerlesa catches. At midday we 

 reached the .laccines Bridge, our final destination being thirty- 

 nine miles from theflrst post and over .sixty miles from Quebec. 

 Here we stabled our brave little horse, n'bo had so dauntless- 

 ly carried us over the ditHculties of the reiad, and put up om' 

 tent, as in the camp we found four horses and the impedimfin- 

 tnoi an absent party. Anxiously and quickly we dispo.sed 

 of oiiriselves to hurry our movemenls in order to commence 

 fishing operations; one to attend to culinary arrangements 

 and the others to manage the flshing-taeklo "and launch the 

 flat: all which was rapidly executed. After dinner we pad- 

 dled up the river for about t\vo miles, and whipped down the 

 stream with red and brown haelsle, and before arriving at 

 camp liad taken over tlu-ee hundred speckled beauties of a 

 large size, frcciucntly capturing two at ;i lime. h\ the camp 

 we found a parly of eight, who had been fishing on tbe lake 

 for a couple of days and had been very successful. In fact, 

 « «« sans dire, for this lake is at such a distance, and the ap- 

 proaches so difficult, that few attempt the ventine; but the 

 happy few are always richly rewarded, and the only cha.grin 

 felt by them is tbe impossibility of transporting to the city 

 their complete capture. 



It is almost unnecf:ssary to state that in the depths of the 

 wilds, "the forest primeval," separated from ci^^dUzation, wo 

 did not fail of making a jolly time of it wilh our new-fomid 

 friends, and that with the fish, so loved by the ancients, and 

 just wliipped from the limpid waters, not to speak of par- 

 tridge, of duck and corned beef, and the whole catalogue 

 ^\'o contrived to make the hours of night pass quickly, and 

 tbat when we sought om couches of branches plucked from 

 the sweet-smelling pine and sapin, om- senses soon found re- 

 pose in what Shelley characterizes as "the other rosy tis the 

 morning " sleep. 



On tlie following morning (Tuesday) we started for the 

 rapids after breakfast, a breakfast partaken of as only wood- 

 nien can do on the wealth of the fewest, stream and field ; of, 

 in fact, the results of forest and stream, rod and gun up 

 the rapids which intervene between the camp and Lake Jac- 

 ques Cajtier, at which water we arrived in about half an 

 liom-. 



The lake is about fifteen miles in length and five In 

 breadtli, bounded on one side by high mountains, garnered 

 by forest trees to the water's edge, and on the other side by 

 woods, from which are wafted the delightful aroma of ttie 

 cedar and pine. Near by is a sort of' open gi-ound, filled 

 with boulders, wreathed in ferns, twiniug plants and mosses, 

 fostered by the moist earth which surrounds Ihera. In the 

 lake are two islands, delightfully situated at a short distance 

 from the shore, and to one of these we paddled our boat after 

 fishing, and revelled in a real <il frrxm repast, which was in 

 all respects truly bucolic : fresh trout from the surrounding' 

 waters, berries from the neighboring bushes and the vintage 

 of Bacchus. In llie aftemoon the weather was unpropitious, 

 and after trying our skill went down tbe lake and descended 

 the rapids to the camp, which we reached at about eight 

 o'clock in tlio evening, where we had a right royal Robin 

 Hood supper of fish and game. 



On the following day we again moimted the rapids, and at 

 twelve o'clock encountered a violent snow-storm, which last- 

 ed for about im hoiu", and therefore returned to campi, where 

 we found that the other part)' had left and had been replaced 

 by smother of three gentlemen from the cit}'. 



In the distance we saw a bear satisfying himself with n 

 leisurely raetd of blueberries, lie was al a safe distance for 

 om- fowling-pieces, but eoidd easily have been brought to 

 earth by a rifle. On sicbt of us he "quietly rclTeated to his 

 home in the woods. While smoking in front of our camp 

 door an immense eagle performed several gyrations over our 

 heads, and finally made a swoop upon the waters where were 

 congreerate't large numbers of loon. 



On Thursday morning we started for home, bearing with 

 U.S as trophies of our biioly over fifteen hundred speckled 

 tronl, measm-ing from eight to fifteen inches in length, aa 

 also delicious memories of the sweet aroma of the woods and 

 the vales which enhance the scenery of Lake Jacques Cartier. 

 Quebec, September, 1880. F. B. Robbroe. 



RANGE OP BLACK BASS. 



Bedford,©., Jan. 1. 



WILL you please allow me a little space in your paper, 

 in reply to Dr. E. Sterling's letter in the'last number 

 of PoBEST AND STREAM in relation to taking black bass at the 

 Saidt de Ste. Marie ? In his review of my corainnnication of 

 Nov. l.'i, I did not say, as Dr. Sterling states, that I had 

 fished the waters of the Sault de Ste. Marie rapids and their 

 "surroundings" for many years wUi Judge Potter, of 

 Toledo, and had never caught any black bass there. But I 

 did say we never caught any black ba.sg at the Snidt de Sto. 

 Marie, and I repeal that wo never did, nor did we ever hear 

 of any being caught in those rapids. 



In my communication I did not use the word " surround- 

 ings," but ihstinetly stated the Sault Ste. Marie, and referred 

 to no other place. 



One need not go twenty miles from the Sault to the Sailors' 

 Encampment to catch "bl.ack bass. This fish abounds in 

 many of the bays and rivers of Lake Superior. They ai'e 

 found in the Ontonagon River, one of its hr.anchea being the 

 outlet of Lake Agogebik, a distance of thirty miles south- 

 west from the town of Ontomigon. That lake lil.erally 

 swarms witli black ba.ss. A the Portage mentioned by Dr. 

 Sterling I have hauled in fish with a hand line and squid as 

 fast as I could cast my squid by hand. T. Gaklioit. 



ToHPEDOES ANT) FlSH.— A Newport correspondent tells of 



a torpedo station at that place which fires salutes, and asks 



about their effect upon the fish in the harbor He says such 



lie was tired on July 21 in honor of the French frigate 



1 une, when each torpedo sent huge colun ns of water 



he air several hundred feet high. There can be no 



uiiuut alioui its effect upon the fish being instant death to 



