744 
FOREST AND STREAM 
till you fired your gun. I knew the sound of it then, for 
Tom Sellers told me that the Indians always carried 
rifles." 
" Well, but where are you going ?” 
‘ ‘ To camp,” replied he. 
“ Frank, my boy, do you know you’re lost? The camp 
is back there, said I, pointing in the direction. 
•• No," he replied, I’m not lost: I’m like the Indian: 
" I’m here—camp lost." 
“ It seems to me that you have Indian on the brain. 
That is a fine yearling buck, Frank; but why didn’t you 
out off his head, and take out his entrails, and not pack 
him on your shoulders like a sack of meal, with twenty- 
five pounds of offal which had better been left behind ? " 
“ I was t hink ing of it,” said ho, ’• but just then I heard 
you shoot, and then I began to think of Indians. By the 
way, that's a nice turkey : why didn’t you get more V ” 
“More!” I replied. “Because there were no more, 
What an Oliver Twist j’ou are !” 
“Well, you’d be all of a twist, too, carrying that buck 
on the double-quick, as I did.” 
" Frank, these Florida deer are quite small—not more 
than two-thirds the size of Northern deer." 
•‘They're big enough forme,” said he, “and I shan’t 
kill another out of sight of camp, unless we have an ox¬ 
cart along.” 
Wo trussed up the little buck, cut off his herd, took out 
the entrails, skinned up the legs to the knees and hocks, 
where we cut them off and tied the loose skins of the legs 
together in pairs. We thou slung him and the gobbler 
over a pole, shouldered it, and started for camp, where 
we arrived at sundown. 
Our entrance into camp was in the nature of a trium¬ 
phal procession. When within a hundred yards Frank 
insisted on carrying the buck in alone, and swung it over 
his shoulders in orthodox style, with his arms through 
the leg loops. He strode in with his face beaming and 
bloody, while I followed as arm-bearer to the hero, carry¬ 
ing both guns and—what Benjamin Franklin said should 
have been the emblamatic bird of America—the turkey ! 
The boys received the pageant with an or ation of shouts 
and cheers, and relieved Frank of the victory perched 
upon his shoulders. 
“ He was bound to go to the bottom of that gall bysi- 
ness, you see !” said 1, as I hung the gobbler by tire side 
of tv, o sand hill cranes that the boys had brought in. 
“Well, how was it, Frank?” asked Ed. 
“ Not any gall in mine, if you please,” replied Frank. 
While smoking our pipes after supper, in the ruddy 
glare of blazing pine knots, Frank related his experience 
as follows :— 
“After I left Doc and had got to .the end of a large 
pond, I climbed a small tree to look for him on the burn 
beyond, but seeing nothing oF him I looked over the pond 
and saw a deer feeding on the lilly-pads near the edge of 
the water. I slid down and crept along until I came in 
sight of him . Then 1 straightened up, kept my eye on 
his tail, and walked towards him without moving my 
arms or head. When he shook his tail—as he did every 
few minutes—I stopped perfectly still, for then you know 
he would lift up his head and look around. I was to the 
leeward of him, so he could not wind me. As soon as he 
went to feeding again I started and kept moving up to 
him until he winked his tail again, when I would stoja 
for you know a deer always shakes his tail before he 
raises his head." 
“How did you know that, Frank ?" asked Ed. 
“O, Tom Sellers told me. Well, I got up to within 
seventy-five yards of him when he shook his tail, raised 
his head, turned around, and saw me. I kept perfectly 
still, hardly breathing. After staring awhile he started 
on a trot right towards me and came up sniffing, until 
he was but twenty yards from me. I thought that was 
close enough, and raised my gun—then you ought to 
have seen him jump ! I blazed away and down he came; 
he tried to get up again, but I rushed in, caught him 
by the head, and had hard work to hold him. Ho threw 
me once on my head and made my nose bleed, and that’s 
how my face happened to be so bloody when Doc met 
me," 
At this the boys made a movement as if to get up, but 
I stopped them by saying:— 
“ It s all right,’boys : I ‘bloodied’ him when 1 found 
him.” 
Go on Frank. 
“Weil," continued he, “I got his head to the ground 
and held him down like a home by sittiug on it til) I got 
out my knife and cut his throat. I found that I had 
bored him through the neck with three buckshot, though 
I aimed at his head.” 
“ Why didn't you give Tiim the other barrel?” asked 
Strobhar. 
I never thought of that," said Frank, and added : 
1 * And then I didn't want to shoot him all to pieces.” 
On the next day we all returned to our camp at the 
mouth of the North Prong. J. A. Henshall. 
Spawn in off Season, — Santa Barbara, Gal., Tuesday, 
Sept, 2 3d. —We hunting folks are greatly puzzled over a 
question in. natural history, and come to you in hope 
that you can solve it. Until the last two years our trout 
always ascended the streams during the heavy spring 
freshets, and laid their spawn about the time the water 
began to subside., say in Marcli or April, Last year and 
also this, I have seen trout caught in August and Sep¬ 
tember that were full of spawn ; a thing that was never 
known to happen before. I have talked with old fisher¬ 
men, and one in particular says he has caught fish every 
year for twenty veal's and ho never saw such a thing 
before last year. The Fish Commissioners have been stock¬ 
ing some of our Northern streams with Eastern trout 
lately. Can it be that they have mixed with our trout so 
muon as to change the time of spawning ? 
E. C, Tai.xa.NT. 
Reply.— Embryo eggs and ova in various stages of 
growth, are found in all fishes nearly all the year round. 
We have specimens of immature ova taken from black 
basB in October and February ; from Eastern trout in the 
spring : and from salmon peel or payr Qrdy a year old. J 
One writer in London Land and Water states that parr- 
marked fish have been taken with ova,, roe actually ex¬ 
uding from the fish on and previous to the fish being 
handled to remove the hook. He says: “ Some were 
sent me by Mr. England, fishing on the Exe, some four 
years since, preserved in glycerine, most certainly as a 
novelty, since which many such cases have come before 
me. But with regard to the ova or milt of such young 
fish being productive, that I cannot vouch for,'and if 
asked the question pointedly should certainly say ' No’; 
in fact, 1 do not believe in breeding salmon until they 
are in their thirdyear. It may be a trifle of time either 
way, probably soon after their second year has expired, 
but not before.” It would be well to determine whether 
the spawn of ’your trout (which, differently from ours, 
spawn in the spring) are mature and fruitful. Varia¬ 
tions in nature are phenomonal, but not marvellous. 
Eastern salmon spawn in the fall, yet there is late run 
which spawn in January and February, and return to the 
sea as kelts in June. 
INTRODUCTION OF NATURAL FISH 
T HE following paper was read by Mr. B. F. Shaw, of 
Anamosa, la., before the Central Fish Cultural 
Association at Chicago, October 2d :— 
—Mr. President and Gentlemen op the Central 
Fish Association : At the request of some of those who 
were foremost in inaugurating this convention. 1 agreed 
to write a few word about ray experiences in stocking 
Iowa waters with native fish, I shall attempt to be as 
brief as possible. 
Along the Mississippi bottoms there are innumerable 
sloughs, ponds, and lakes. During the spring months 
ami high water, they are connected with each other, and 
with the main river. As this is the spawning time of 
many of our native fish, they find their way into and de¬ 
posit their spawn in these waters. Many 'of them, but 
more especially the bass family, stay by and watch their 
nests and young until tire receding’and clearing waters 
warn them to return to the main river. In this way a 
large supply of the young of these fish is insured. The 
large fish return to the river, lea ving their young to care 
for themselves from this time. The waters begin to dry 
up and recede, the sloughs are cut off from the main river, 
the shallow portions dry up, the deeper parts become 
ponds, and ail, including’Jakes, sometimes of hundreds of 
acres extent, during the summer months, gradually, by 
ercolation and evaporation, become entirely dry ; the 
Igher and shallower ones first, and the deeper and those 
on lower ground later in the season. And all the untold 
millons of young fish they contained are lost. More than 
twenty years ago my duties brought me very frequently 
to these prison-pools of dying young fish, and I have seen 
them frequently since. 
To save a small portion of this loss, and place the fish 
where they could liveand thrive, would it has long seemed 
to me, be a very valuable work. In accord with tins 
thought I have made for the Iowa fish commission two 
trips down the Mississippi river, whero it bounds the east¬ 
ern border of our State, one in the fall of 1870, and another 
aud more successful one in the fall of 1878. I will give 
you a very brief account of this last trip. 
The main purpose was to take the fish from these 
sloughs, distribute as many as possible in the inland 
waters of the State, and put the balance into the Mississ¬ 
ippi. To aid in accomplishing this purpose, I first, saw 
the superintendents or general managers of the various 
railways running across the State from the river west, 
and procured their consent to assist in the work by mov¬ 
ing an aquarium car, giving us water from their water- 
tanks, stopping trains to distribute fish, etc. which neces¬ 
sary assistance was cheerfully given. The C. B. & Q. 
railroad furnished a car to be used over all roads during 
the trip. The arrangement of the car was simple, but 
but quite effective. In one end of the car, as high as they 
could be raised from the floor, and firmly fixed in position, 
were placed two large casks holding about- thirty barrels 
of water. A tin conductor running the whole length of 
the car was connected with the above by a rubber hose. 
In each side of this conductor, about eighteen inches 
apart, were inserted faucets, under these faucets tbo cans 
for carrying the fish were placed in such a manner that 
the water ran into them in a constant stream at one end 
and out at the other through a wire screen. The cans 
were four feet long, one and a half wide, and one foot 
high. An opening in the top of one car admitted water 
from water tanks along thelme of railroads directly into 
the casks. 
To insure against lack, the water after being used was 
gathered in a reservoir beneath the car, and with a pump 
could he thrown hack into the casks for use as many 
times as necessary. 
1 arranged with Capt. T, G. Belton, of Clinton, Iowa, 
for the use of his little propellers Dart and Flatto accom¬ 
pany the expedition, both of which were put in condition 
for tlie services required of them. We left Clinton, Iowa 
for the north line of Iowa on the third day of September. 
Our method of procedure was to take the fish from the 
before described sloughs with minnow nets. Select such 
as we desired (varieties and sizes) for distribution, which 
we put iuto live boxes, and turn those left into the run- 
nins; waters of the Mississippi. Our live boxes were 
made twelve feet long, one and a half feet wide, and 
one foot high, ends sloped to run easily through the 
water, openings covered with wire cloth and slides to 
open or close, as the motion of the boat or current might 
require. These were fastened side by side in couples, for 
convenience in handling, aud we hatl twelve of them. 
Our seines werelike ordinary minnow seine web, and were 
from sixteen to sixty feet in’length, and three to four feet 
in depth. When the live boxes were full of suitable fish, 
we would meet the car at some station on the river, 
transfer fish'from boxes to cans in the oar and arrange to 
meet again at some tijne and station below. The attend¬ 
ants and car proceeded to distribute the car of fish, and 
the boat and fishermen continued theiv work down the 
river. 
Wc sent car-loads west from North McGregor, Buena 
Vista, Dubuque, Sabula, Clinton, Davenport, Muscatine 
and Burlington, distributing along the lines of road over 
which we traveled, from 640,000 to 650,000 fish. Black 
and stripped bass, wall-eyed pike, croppies, sunfish, chan¬ 
nel cat, drum fish and striped perch, neither the. largest 
nor the smallest, but good healthy fish, used to finding 
their own food, natives’ of our own waters, and beyond 
most of the dangers of young fish. The distribution was 
as general ns the magnitude of the work would admit, 
and they went into every stream of any size crossed by all 
east nncl west railroads in the State. The larger propor¬ 
tion of fish caught during the trip were of the varieties 
named before, for the reason that we fished but little 
except in ponds nearly dried up, and most of the soft 
rayed fish, buffalo, suckers, minnows, &c., had already 
died, leaving only the hardier varieties, and in some of 
the more stagnant pools all but the bass and wall-eyed 
like were gone, and from some of the larger ponds that 
lad dried into stagnant pools I have seen, four bushels of 
oung fish, principally young bass, taken with one haul 
of the m inno w seine. As many of the ponds had dried 
up before we made our trip, and as many more were yet 
too deep and large to fish with our small seines, it follows 
that as successful work could have been done after and 
before us during the time we were at work, and that, 
although we took from the sloughs along the Iowa line 
of the river 1044bushels,estimated at 20,000 to the bushel, 
in round numbers, 3,200,000 fish, yet we saved hut a very 
small portion of the fish hatched there that season. Iii 
the fall of 1876 we took from the sloughs 1,574,000: depos¬ 
ited in the inland streams of the State 319,000, and in the 
Mississippi 1,255,000, and in the Two trips took a total of 
4,864,000 ; deposited in the inland waters 960,000, and in 
the Mississippi 3,914,000. 
If it is true that a few bass can in a few years stock 
plentifully a great river like the Potomac or Connecticut, 
here is a supply of fish that, if properly economized, 
would soon make them abundant in every water upon the 
continent in which it would be desirable to have them 
placed. No expensive trips for eggs ; no hatching-houses, 
boxes, troughs or screens ; no egg-picking or manipula¬ 
tion of young fish; no vexatious questions of fungus or 
disease, salt or no salt; but ready at hand for distribution 
near the stations of many of our best railroads. We find 
au abundance of our most desired fishes, and those that 
no fish-culturists have yet been able to successfully raise 
artificially, and of varieties best suited to a great majority 
of our Western waters. With our primitive arrangements 
for carrying the fish, we. had excellent success, losing hut 
few in transportation, and with arrangements such as an 
extensive experience could design, large numbers 
could be moved to any part of the country. This work, 
as it is of common interest to all the States along the 
Mississippi, should be oarried on by the united effort of 
the interested States, on a small appropriation by the 
general Government for thepurpose. 
It will naturally be asked, What is the result of this 
work? I have not space to give evidences or testimonials, 
hut will say that in all the inland waters of the State 
where the laws are enforced there has been a very mani¬ 
fest increase in the numbers of fish, especially of bass, 
and in many waters where they were unknown they have 
made their homes. But I am sorry to know, and h'ave to 
report, that the great numbers deposited in the Mississippi 
hive not been enough to keep good the destructive losses 
caused liv fishing out of season. During the months of 
April, May and June our Mississippi fishermen go upon 
the spawning grounds and reap their greatest harvests of 
percoids, They have studied their habits until they know 
their spawning haunts, aud their peculiar labors at this 
particular time make them comparatively an easy prey. 
One market in the town in which I live, nearly eighty 
miles from the river, sold 300 pounds of native fish from 
the Mississippi River per week during April, May and 
June, or 3,600 pounds in that time. The members of the 
bass family in this lot of fish contained not less than 
5,000,000 eggs. Consider the number of markets along 
the river and the various lines of railroads furnished with 
fish from the same source, and you will have some idea 
of the terrible destruction from this one cause alone. 
These fishermen think roe their enemy, and denounce me 
in round terms for calling their attention and the atten¬ 
tion of the public- to these facts. My great desire is to 
increase the fish, hut a continuation of this practice means 
their utter annihilation, and the annihilation of the fish¬ 
erman’s business as well. These same fish caught after 
spawning, in much finer condition, would give to the 
river au abundant future prospect of good fishing. Shall 
this destruction go on, or will the good sense of our people 
demand that our law-makers give to the fish the much- 
needed protection ? I conclude, therefore, gentlemen, 
that in streams depleted of any of the basses by excessive 
fishing and improvidence, where a few remain in the 
stream, that in view of thoir peculiar habit of caring for 
their eggs and young, the best method of insuring plen¬ 
tifulness is to protect them for a time before and during 
then breeding season, and prevent a wasteful destruction 
at all times, and in waters barren of these favorite fish, 
utilize the million of fish that would otherwise die, as I 
have heretofore explained in this paper. As kin g a care¬ 
ful consideration of these matters at your hands, I thank 
you for your attention. 
Maine —Indian Bode, Oct. pith .—Fishing closed up 
rather poor with us this season, the trout not making 
their appearance on their beds until after the close time, 
The Commissioners are busy at work, and the house that 
holds one million is already half full. Fred. 
—The Maine Fish Commissioners have brought a libel 
against the Sprague Company to enfore the law for 
neglecting to construct a fishway at the dam in Bangor 
City. The liEefstates that the company is liable to pay 
to the State no less than $2,440, nor more than $12,200, 
that is, not less than $20 nor more than $100 for eaah of 
the 122 days that the negleot has continued betwee n May 
1st, and Nov. 1st, 1879. 
Michigan, — Bscanaba, Delta Co., Oct. 12th.— I had 
but few trout to sell this year. I have a fine lot of fry 
which are doing well, hut I have no hopes of there gr ow¬ 
ing like those in Iowa. I have a good lot of breeders and 
expect to get all the spawn I can take care of and bake 
my own bread, A> F, Yoxrh’e. 
