[Entered According to Act of Congress, in the year 1879, by the Forest and Stream Publishing Company, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 
Terms, S4 a Year. 10 Cts. a Copy. I 
Six Mo’s, S3, Three Mo’s. *1. j 
NEW YORK, THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 1879. 
Volume 13-No. 2. 
Ill Fulton Street, New Yorlt* 
[Selected]. 
A CROWD OF BOYS. 
W E 1 i ve in a bit of a cottage, 
With rooms neither many nor wide t 
Yet we're rich in possessions—at table 
Our children count three on a side, 
There are brown eyes and blue eyes and hazel, 
And with various gifts they’re endowed ; 
But the school boys agree that our Bonny 
Is the jolliest boy in the crowd. 
My neighbor, who has only daughters, 
Came in with her sowing One day. 
And while we were pleasantly chatting, 
The children canto in from their play. 
She paused in the midst of a story. 
Unused to hear voices so loud. 
But smilingly added: Your “ Benny 
is the noisestboy in the crowd!" 
Their grandpa drops in of a morning, 
Aud is often invited to stop, 
To tell them some story or other. 
Or mend up a wagon or top. 
He is alwayes amused at their sayings. 
And seems of them all to be proud; 
But he says, aottq core, that Benny 
Is the smartest of all in the crowd. 
And grandma, who dwells in the quiet, 
Unmoved by earth’s clamor and noise, 
Comes in with her sweet, placid manners, 
For an afternoon’s talk with the hoys. 
She sets them at peace, if a quarrel 
Breaks over their Joys like a cloud, 
She is fond of them nib but thinks Benny 
Is the prettiest one in the crowd. 
Aunt Jane, from her stately old mansion, 
O'ershadowed by poplar and elm, 
Cauie down to the city last winter. 
To visit my turbulent realm., 
"I am glad,” she assured me, at parting. 
•’’Such blessings to you are allowed; 
But keep a tight reign on that Benny, 
He’s tbe sauciest boy in the crowd! 
Ah 1 me! what a mixed reputation 
For any one hoy to possess! 
As the others have talents unnumbered, 
We're a Babel, I frankly confess. 
A philosopher, asked to appraise them, 
At the task would he puzzled and cowed. 
Though at dinner might reason that Benny 
Is the hungriest boy in tbe crowd. 
At night, when they all have been settled 
In crib and in cradleandbed, 
I go on a tour of inspection 
And pillow each slumbering bead ; 
And, while l commend them to heaven, 
With spirit in reverence bowed, 
I am sure I eaft never determine 
The dearest or best in the crowd. 
Fbancis E. PoPe, in Independent. 
-- —m . i — - 
For Forest and Stream and Bod and Gun. 
PRACTICAL HINTS ON TROUT FISHING 
IN THE RANGELEY LAKES. 
H OW many fishers with an angle first learned of the 
Androscogin Lakes through the magazine articles 
which appeared early in the year 1877, and as a conse¬ 
quence found themselves, during the following summer 
beside the limpid waters of Rangeley, Moosqljicmaguntio, 
and Cupsuptic, I know not, but that there were four at 
least, I, for one, can vouch. Rangeley came- to us like an 
inspiration. We harkened to the tales of its wonders with 
astonishment, tinged with incredulity. But when at the 
shop of a Philadelphia taxidermist we mw a trout which 
had left its Rangeley home hut a few days before, and 
which must have weighed at least eight pounds when 
caught, our skepticism disappeared in growing wonder¬ 
ment. We looked upon the stuffed trout as the grandees 
of Spain gazed upon the Indians' marching in the train of 
Columbus, It gave us a realistic vision of Angler's Para¬ 
dise ; it was the bunch of grapes from the promised land. 
He who had experienced the inexpressible sensation of 
landing a pound trout on the gravelly banks of Tolbhan- 
na, Loyhlsock, or Sinnemahoning, tvansported-kimself in 
fancy to the Rangeley region, and multiplied these de¬ 
lights by ten. Ordinary tackle, whose compeers had done 
faithful service in days gone by, was discarded with a 
sneer, and stouter materials took its place. The hearts of 
dealers were made glad by a lavish purchase of heavier 
lines, doubled and twisted leaders, larger reels, and mam- ■ 
moth creels. Yet, arrived at the lakes, we found ourselves 
encumbered with much that was useless, and, alas ! with¬ 
out many items that were essontial to success. And 
while it is true that the Rangeley Lakes hold out possibly 
greater attractions to the angler than can be found in any 
other quarter of the country, while a skillful hand will in 
all likelihood he rewarded with a greater number of 
pounds of fish than he ever took in other waters, and 
while the sport of capturing them is unquestionably fine, 
yet it is a fact that the chrystal waters of these same 
lakes, in tire month of June, 1877, reflected the faces aud 
forms of four disappointed anglers. Now, why was this ? 
Partially because deprived of some of the conveniences 
of tackle, but mainly because they had expected one thing 
and got another, flic fact that the thing received was 
quite as good as that which they had gone in quest of, 
was of no avail. The heart had been set on one particu¬ 
lar kind of sport, and nothing of a different kind could 
take its place, or prove a salve to wounded anticipations. 
If Jones orders mutton chops at the eating house, and 
the waiter brings him steak, lie feels personally injured, 
and berates the waiter, and warns the proprietor that 
such treatment will result in the transfer of his patron¬ 
age to a rival. If he eats the steak at all he does it mechan- 
ieallv, without relish or zest. Let the waiter beware how 
he stands behind Jones and extols the merits of the dish 
lie has served, its tenderness, its flavor, its unparalleled 
cookery, all that is but an aggravation of the trouble. As 
Jones walked up from his office he had settled his mind 
on chops, and that he did not get them is the one tiling 
impressed on his mind to the absolute exclusion of all else. 
Now, if our four disciples of the gentle art could find them¬ 
selves once more beneath the hospitable shelter of Camp 
Kenebago, tlieir former experiences would teach them 
better what to expect, and how to obtain it, resulting in 
the elimination of their disappointments and the vast in¬ 
crease of the pleasures of Rangeley angling. Can a por¬ 
tion at least of that experience be imparted to others by 
the pen? Can the tourist angler, who turns his steps 
northward beftauglit in advance to check too ardent an¬ 
ticipation, and therefore to realize more perfectly the 
pleasures this region holds out to him with bountiful 
liand? To accomplish somewhat of this is the hope of 
the writer, for every true hearted follower of. Isaak Wal¬ 
ton joys in the success of a brother of the angle. 
Now. one thing must be impressed on the mind of a 
frequenter of the mountain streams of Pennsylvania and 
New York ; do not expect merely an exaggerated form of 
your favorite style of fishing ; you wont get it. The 
streams thereabout do contain trout, even in the summer 
months, but though move plentiful, they are hardly larger 
thau the product of streams further south, and perhaps 
not so gamy. Do not, therefore, go to Rangeley in the 
summer mouths to fish the streams ; you will find waters 
more accesible which will furnish yon with sport equally 
good. The natives to be sure vouchsafed the information 
that in September the large trout ascended the streams, 
and were captured with the fly in the pools and riffles, but 
in the summer months they certainly only yielded tbe 
smallest fish, with chub in abundance. To capture the. 
six and ton pounders you must have a guide, a boat, and 
infinite patience. Our experience was gleaned about the 
middle of the month of June, and the surface water of the 
lakes was already thoroughly warmed, and through it the 
large trout would not rise to sieze the most tempting fly 
cast by the most skillful hand. A few small trout were 
the rewards of hours of casting. But here again rumor 
stepped ui with the information that huge trout were to 
be capturtjfl with the fly on the lakes during some indefi¬ 
nite periods before and after the time of our sojourn in 
the region. An examination of the camp records, how¬ 
ever, showed the most successful anglers to be inveterate 
bait-fishermen, who rarely used the fly at all. Follow 
their example if you seek for like results, and fish iu some 
selected spot from an anchored boat, or troll along the 
most promising shores, with a bait of minnow or worm. 
The latter is the least desirable, capturing more chub than 
trout. But the tackle 1 Well, take your fly-rod with you, 
you’ll want to try it any way. Supply your fly-book with 
larger and more gaudily colored flies than you have per¬ 
haps ordinarily used, tied on about a No. 6 nook (that is a 
hook measuring about fifteen sixteenths of an inch from 
the shank to the extremity of the bend). An addition of 
a few of the most successful salinon flies, reduced to the 
same size, ma.y not come amiss. Your greatest success, 
however, as before implied, will, in all probability, be 
achieved with the minnow. It is essential, therefore, 
that you should have with you a rod suitable for bait fish¬ 
ing and trolling ; long—fifteen feet will do—stiff, power¬ 
ful. Your lines, water proof silk, letter G, is stout 
enougli; your leaders, what you ordiuarily use, for re¬ 
member tfie fish you have struck, though large aud strong, 
is in big waters. There is no need for checking his rushes 
suddenly, for there are no falls for him to dash over, and 
no roots or bush in which he can entangle your line. Yet 
let the line be of good length, fifty yards may at times be 
useful, though seldom will you need more than twenty- 
five. The truth is, let it be written boldly, the Rangeley 
trout is logy. He is broad and fat, beyond comparison 
with Ids cousins of other waters. The lakes are full, 
swarming with minnows, and his troutship is at ail times 
gorged with food. When a twelve inch trout is captured, 
if hit sharply on the head three or four minnows will 
often pop out of hiB mouth. When struck, he ordinarily 
comes like a lamb towards you as you reel in-.not, indeed, 
until he has caught sight of the angler or the boat does 
he seem to realize his danger or make any effort to escape. 
Though you may have been, trolling with twenty-five 
yards of line out behind the boat, yet you will be able to 
recover many yards before his rushes begin, and rarely 
will he capture more than the length of line first allowed 
him. Your leaders should be of good round single gut; 
neither double or twisted leaders are of any use. You 
can capture the largest trout in the lakes, with careful 
handling, on a single strand of gut. Wherever you may 
expect to fish, be careful in choosing your gut. Select 
only such as is perfectly round. Try it by turning it be¬ 
tween your forefinger and thumb ; if it does not turn 
freely reject it. A first-class article of gut when tried by 
the teetli is hard like wire. It should be stiff and elastic, 
and, before staining, colorless and transparent, free from 
unravelled fibers, knotted rouglmess, or flashing lights 
when seen in a slanting direction. Your reel should be 
the ordinary click, not a multiplier, and, if you are buy¬ 
ing new, large enough to hold sixty or seventy yards of 
(Mine. In trolling everything depends on the proper 
spinning of the bail,, and your lines should be, therefore, 
rigged with care. Fasten to the line a small box swivel, 
and to the other end of the swivel a section of gut four or 
five feet' tong. At the lower end of this leader fasten a 
swivel sinker, and to the sinker again another leader 
eighteen inches long. To this fasten the snalled hook, 
and you may. if you choose, put iu between them another 
box swivel. These swivels should be small, carefully 
made, and of brass, as being less liable to rust than steel. 
Examine them carefully when you buy, and still more 
carefully before rigging your line, rejecting every one 
that does not work with perfect smoothness, or appears 
defective in strength in the lightest particular. A drop 
of lubricating oil m the joints may be advantageously ap¬ 
plied when arranging the tackle. The sinkers should he 
always of the swivel pattern ;. they cost a trifle more per¬ 
haps, but, as before noted, whatever tends to perfect 
spinning of the bait may be advantageously employed. 
Have half a dozen sizes with you, some being heavy, for 
you may at times find it to your advantage to troll in 
deep water. Select three or lour sizes of hooks, say 
numbers 19, SO, SI, and 32, of the improved trout pattern. 
Leave behind your trolling spoons and all gangs of hooks, 
Tor the laws of Maine do not permit the use of other than 
natural baits, or allow you to use more than a single ^ook. 
Let a clearing ring of brass be among your traps, for 
your hook is liable to become fast upon some sunken 
ledge or water soaked log, and the possession of this little 
convenience will save you not a little time and annoy¬ 
ance, and perhaps more than its price in bottom tackle. 
You will need a landing net, but not a gaff. Let the ring 
of the net be sixteen or eighteen inches in diameter, with 
a handle at least five feet long, which may be jointed for 
convenience of carriage. The meshes of the net should 
not bo less than an inch and. a half , and two inches would 
probably be better, for thus made it creates less resistance 
in the water when used, and quick work is often desirable. 
Your meshes need not be small with the idea of using it 
for a bait net, as your guide will supply you with bait, 
and procure the apparatus necessary, both for catching 
and preserving the minnows. ‘ You may safely leave in 
the shops the drags, floats, and disgorgers. The latter, 
Mr. Roosevelt dryly observes, ‘-is of about as much use 
to the angler as a jack-plane.” It is always the part of 
prudence, however, to add to your store wax aud silk 
for repairing damages to rod or tackle. Your creel need 
not be transported to the lakes unless you expect to fish 
the streams. The guides carry with them, floating in the 
wake of the boat, a trap or cage, in which the trout are 
kept alive until you return to camp. A little vial of lub¬ 
ricating oil is often useful to coax up a refractory reel, 
or for keeping your snoods in good order. And another 
kind of oil is essential, that which is designed for the 
benefit of the black fly. 1 do not know what is best. 
There are dozens of varieties recommended by sportsmen 
and dealers, and, as far as my experience goes, they are 
all to about the same extent useful. You will do well to 
supplement your oil with a fine gauze head net. It 
will occupy but little room, and may be worn at night 
with comparative comfort, as a protection against mos¬ 
quitos. Some use a dose fitting havaloek during the 
day, the cape fastened underneath the coat, and leaving 
exposed only the eyes, nose, and mouth, It udll have to 
lie made to fit with great care to be of much service, 
for the ties will crawl through any possible opening. It 
will, however, be eminently useful from another point of 
view, as a protection from the burning rays of the sun 
reflected on the waters of the lake. To those who are in 
the least ha ble to sunburn it will be the part of wisdom 
for them to protect both face and hands from the sun. 
Muslin gloves, with gauntlets, with no opening at the 
