Oct .",. 1S82.J 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



191 



size seven pounds, the four-pound one being the only small 

 one in the lot. 1 was three hours landing these fish, thus 

 allowing half an hour to the flab, from two o'clock to fire. 

 afternoon. The "flexors" of inyann were Bnre for several 

 tlaj h, and the generalship that j displayed with this delicate 

 tackle on those monstrous bass should have been praise- 

 worthy had some one been there to have witnessed il besides 

 myself. I WnS us sorry for the pom little rod at times as 

 though it was ;i human 'being. 



The Doetor used il Imaviet' roil Ihswi I did autl of course 

 itiffer, aud be lied less i rouble in landing his fish; but then 



had as much spoi'l as 1 had, for Jrtie i i I 



line-poituder.or the like, I had all Iwaati > 



(1 tackle I'rom [edpjirdj Bui in all tin- bass 



dd'a villi thai little elglu onbee rod and a Httle 



size of three horse hairs, 1 never lost 'a (ish, 



or broke a hook but onee, when 1 had an old 



■n or nine pound bass, strode jUSl as the 



reel and snapped it 



a again T wawl a to 



t no hea 



I doubt il he 

 "tackled" 



silk fineth 

 parted « 



ball' t 



1 



!d li 

 itki iked on l.h 



Win-,, I go to Florid 

 half i-aditcr for buss, or, 

 not much, for 



e-tbird or 

 all events 



in weight, < 

 :ll tell ony 



Kiting the minnowahalf day "rt .la Heushail," the wbieh 

 retired T think above aU the n-hte fa ftr rrtom of angling. 

 el the Doctor's "Hook of the Bass" and take lesions on 

 iSti minnow, and you will iisb no other way alter 



ai'd. It is worth ibe price of the book ten times to learn 

 lis one lessbn, Set a good reel and pui it before the hand. 

 lie rod thai I tmvi has the rc< I seal behind Hie hand, and 

 te Br i ] ith i i took in Florida— a five-pound owe- oaw< 

 ear Cflttillg mj Sugar oil withtue line. V then took the 

 M] oil. placed u above the hand, and laslied il on with a 

 a-ina;. I bad no more trouble afterward. ' don't fiee the 

 t where the idea ever rame 

 finger in the first attempt, 

 -.-I advocate^ s reel behind 



,'itli me as that red-hot line 

 aid I couldn't turn loose. 1 

 e him ibe bull of my rod 



('. L. JORDAN. 



the f'< 



ny ring 



from. It 

 aud I heli 



tin- h ml bad been 

 was; SizZmg through 

 would have been tempted to gi 

 instead of the retreating bass, 

 Wii.ias, Texas, yepi , S-l. 



MAINE NOTES. 



r l A HE present season, now so near at a close, has been a 

 1. successful one in this region for trout, anil salmon fish- 



KOVO anglerS- and tourists have visited Moosehead Lake 



ihaii ever before. A uew aud eleirant house, "Lake 



Hebron Hotel," is hoina erected al this place, which will 



ii li. the smnmer travel a specialty. 



Ship Pond, or Luke Oooway, Long Pond, -Greenwood, 



Be ir Benson, Specta -le, Jfonson, the Twin, or two Do igbty 



|ionds, Grindstone and twenty other beautiful sheets Of 

 water, are accessible from Ibis village besides our own, 

 I hi, ion, three aud one-half miles iu length, upon the shore 

 Of Which ifl the new hotel 



Bveryone of these abound with spotted and lake trout, 

 while Onoway aud Long Pond have land-locked salmon. 



influx of visitor* from the eiiy and mart if they sustain the 

 enforcement of our wholesome prolcetivo laws. 

 The greatest evil that we now have to contend with is the 



shipment and transportation of trout out of the [stale in the 

 months of A-pril, May and June, which can easily be done 

 since the iron .lior.se has penetrated these forest? and came 

 info close proximity to these resorts 



i [h estimated thai more than ten tons of trout Were -thip 

 ii i in Bos ton i root Stooseties i L dec I :1 pring by poacfoars 



many readers of your valuable journal in the Pine Tree 

 Stale will each consider himself bound to labor with hisowu 

 me.mher of that body iu the interest of this and similar mat- 

 ters. ,T. F. s. 



MOSSOS, Me., ISejiL. 35, 



THE MENHADEN QUESTION. 



r IMIE subject of the menhaden fisheries, though more than 

 i- once ire: ted in these columns, is of too great import- 

 ance, bulb commercially aud economically, to be permitted 

 to drop Out of notice, The plain facts are that during' Ihe 

 I .1 lev- years the menhaden fisheries have been gradually 



bandftengaged from 5,000 to 0,000, 'whj'le it employes some 

 00 steamships and 300 nailing vessels, lis product: in oil 



and guano amount to millions annually, and these produets 

 the country cannot afford to. and will not, if possible, Want, 

 Bin concurrently with lite development of this industry 

 there ha-- been a falling oil ab alongtbceoaslsfreciueufed !,■ 

 fte menhaden fishers, ol ourvaluabh fOodfisherii .nee 



he iiien.e. ,'• .- e, ,11 el Hi line t ha t. tiiC COtll'iuUcd pi'ugrCSS of lIlC 



one Industry, as at present pursued, appears incompatible 

 With the profitable prosecution of the other. It is. tuerc- 

 fore. scarcely too much to say ihat, unless some modification 

 in the mode of prosecuting the new enterprise can be de- 

 vised, our coast lood fisheries are in danger of collapse, 

 While on important, or ra tiier we may say an essential, ele- 

 ment of our daily food will pass out of the reach of persons 



There is another aspect of this question not unworthy of 

 notice. Til) this new industry Waft SO extensively followed, 

 our bays and sounds along i be Nee; .lee-ee coast Were stored 



wilh biuetisb, weakiisb, an other food fishes, affording ex- 

 cellent sport to the amateur fisherman. Many a toiLand 

 desk- worn disciple of Izuak SVaJ i ■ .-,. thus allured from 

 the city to spend an occasional day On our health-giving 

 toast, greatly to his own hem-tit, menially and physically; 



ing accordingly. Thus a good round sum of money 

 threatens to he iosl annually to mo coast. 



We are nol oblivious to the fact that the menhaden fishery 

 has stimulated industry and circulated money in localities — 

 Tuckertou. for example — where such stimulation was much 

 needed, and in recognition of this fact we are not prepared 

 to join our voice 10 those which call for absolute repression 

 of the industry. We think if a ease for thoughtful legisla- 

 tive regulation, based on a careful collection and collation 

 ii' rai i Els ■ ■ re— an Loch Fyai . Scollan I, w i i i uple 



it has ' 11 found posfdhle in such legislation to i u ill the 



ini sresi ) & " fisheries quite ascfinfliotiugasthose ui hand, 

 and we have perfect faith that whatever has been effected 

 ele.iuie, Americans are competent to aeeomplish here. 

 One thing appears clear: the Senate committee, to whom 

 the subject has been referred, should give the New Jersey 

 fishermen a better opportunity to be beard than they have 



yel been afforded. The investigation Was prompted by a 

 bill introduced by Senator Sew ell, and the constituents of 

 that gentleman should have abundant, Opportunity to present 

 their case.— Tfo Count Pilot. 



THE COLUMBIA SALMON WHEEL. 



UtpARBELS are plenty this morning, captain. This is 

 O the Ihird we have met during the last twenty min- 

 utes Where do they come from?" 



It v.as t'aptaiu John H. Wolf, the veteran master of the 

 Columbia itiver steamer Wide Wesl, Which affords a much 

 plea iter journey than the cars for Bonneville to the Dalles 

 [Oregon]! 



"Well, sir." said Ibe caplaiu in reply, "they come from 

 the Cascades. If you should examine any one. of them you 

 might be surprised. You wouldn't imagine, would you, 

 th.it those haiTci-. though empty, carry a more valuable 

 cargo under than most casks do in them? Those barrels s 

 buoys. Tiie-, sustain each about 200 pounds, weight 

 .salmon, alivp, strung through the eyes, on their way to t 

 canneries down the river. There they hnve little ste; 

 launches which pick up every one and tow tbeui in." 



"How are so many- fish caught? I haven't noticed any 



tets tod8 



at that p 

 [list whe 



fag eddv 

 ou their way i. 

 feet deep. Tl 

 below the surf 

 width of the " 

 this an 



re of no account now. Go and see the Snail." 

 iptaiu, as he bent over and strung the slowing bell 



me after 1 saw the "Snail," and a most ingenious. 



, detestable engine of destruction if. was. The 



I admirably planted it just above the Upper Cas- 



fhe north bank of the river, the south bank being 



iut almost impassable to the fish. It was placed 



- the. swift edge of the current makes a most luvit- 



throuth which the salmon must naturally "run" 



■av UD-sfrcam. Here the current was about eight 



Imon never swim lower than four feet 



Erected over what would be the entire 



the "run" was a huge frame. Suspended within 



umense wheel rev., Ived. so adjusted on pulleys as 



id fall witlHhe Changing dcplh of wafer. Upon 



! the adi it ig i 

 uy others, Bui Ou 

 their tinny tenants, and our 

 ucaryoj- "fisliing iu tenant Je- 



iel -hi 



id 



epleted 



ginning 



i aegreatseoop-netaspreadhusuythrouubtiii-w at. -r. one after 

 .11. el I., r, al just the depth wheiv they are Ulosl fatal. Their 

 eel- llmost pane and lloat motionless through the stream. 

 Bui. thQUgh sh.wh . tile ijreatwheel, called Erom this motion 

 Ihe --Snail." does move and Willi [xffit the right tardiness, 

 for as the nets emerge" from the water they are so tilled with 

 the struggling prey that Mr, W illiams, owner of one of the 

 wheels, pronounned 800 an average amount At the proper 

 angle above, ibe ItQl is; turned upskle down. Its contents 

 are ,honi,ed along the arm of Ihe wheel to what might be 

 tor i fts ieii. Btriking which they rebound along a froin/h 



In Ihe bent;. Ii. is :, sliniim' but cruel sight, for there are 

 i.eie,, .neiiland unmarketable fish in every '-haul.*' Tbe 

 tbeoi-y is that these are returned to the water and live, but 

 it is like the •'returns of the killed and wounded" after a 

 battle— so stunned and maimed are they that but few sur- 

 vive. The wheel presents a busy scene, and the profits 

 must he enormous, for the simple contrivance costs but. 

 about $400, ami r.ajnires but, hatf-a.-do/.eii attendants. There 

 arc four of these wheels on the river, and a gentleman en- 

 gaged iu the Bsking business informed me that the calcula- 

 fcion was they caught about half the salmon that go up. 

 There is a wheel oif Bradford's Island, above Bonneville, the 

 .veil; of v.hich has become so notorious (not merely killing 

 merchantable Iisb, but iu so doing destroying a dozen limes 

 as many of ■< size as vet too small for commerce) that the 

 public "press has demanded ins suppression. But all these 

 Wheal?, .is has been said, are -'the production of a, brain 

 v. hiei sun:- fco live without work." Probably from 3,500 to 

 S oi.o salmon (for proprietors of the wheels are very chary 

 ahout ".'eg actual figures), large, and small, are'eaught 

 . ■ , night and day, of the week, save from Saturday 



to Sunday night. Compute the amount, 1 know r of one 



for the canneries. An experienced fisherman stated il: as the 

 result of his observation that about one in ten of those 



- , : tk)Wn in barrels, one wheel kept the large cannery at 

 . i, eiele husvall through the season, aud then the can- 

 nery couldn't lake care of all. 



i ■■-, ,.t the descending stream of half-dead fish liter- 

 ally 'broken ou the wheel," I could nol but regard the ques- 

 tion tor e inmnent in the light of an angler and an econo- 

 mist. I remembered the half-remorseful tone (as if the 

 Speate thought of the many laden baskets he bad brought 

 from 1he Silver Bow) with which, .0 fori: .Missoula three 

 months ;mii, I ,iei|lenant b'remoui. eid, '■Thai's .. killing 

 riv."as heuanded ruealinle. hairy, I u/zy. artificial colop- 

 teron with frown folded wings, I remembered, too, the 

 rime when, a month after. Captain George J. Ainsworth 

 and I were floating for a summer afternoon over one of the 

 transparent lakes 'that half surround his beautiful retreat 

 near Tacoma. The I rout had responded lazily to our troll- 

 ing lines, ami something lik-« a dozen, lay in the bow of the 

 boat as we stopped for a moment in the shadow of some 

 giant firs where the water lay dark and deep and still be- 

 neath the long, floating lilies." 



'Tn my country," said I energetically, "we would just 

 drop anchor here, whip out pole and line, and with grass 

 hopper or angle-worm catch half a boat land between now 



:uu,| ingle 



"So we could here,' replied the captain, "butthat Wouldn't 

 be fishing;" and the young but Vetera© dlsciplo of good 

 Tzuak rowed softly but hastily liwaj from the too templing 



precincts. I wondered what these gentlemen, devoted fish- 

 ermen, keen but just, would have said, coidd they have stood 

 by my side and 'witnessed this wholesale destruction of a 

 fish nobler tljan the trout. From a point of view less senti- 

 mental,' it seemed to me that not only to the sportsman's 

 instinct of fair play but even to the naturalist's foresight for 



the continuance of the species, that wheel was a spectacle 



alike revolting. In the contest between animal and man, it 

 is so inevitable that constant victory must be with the latter, 

 thai iu all civilized communities some safeguard .igie.tjst the 

 rapacity of lawless individuals has been provided. And yet, 

 for over two years these wheels have been permitted to dl 

 their work, until, mainly through its evil results, the price 

 of salmon in Ibis market 'ban been reduced more, than fifty 

 percent. Of what use is il to line a fisherman tweuty-flvc 

 dollars if he traps a Iisb or Used a bit Of drug on his bait or 

 berry ou bis hook, while such wholesale destruction as this 

 is allowed? I remember at Big Horn Tunnel, the first night 

 we were in camp, an officer oil the company of United States 

 troops stationed there torpedoed the Yellowstone and eauahl, 

 half a dozen stunned trout for our supper. The act is punish- 

 able with a fine of not less than $100 here, and yet the Col- 

 umbia 0B lire with exploding cartridges of giant powder or 

 dynamite all dav could nol equal B single hour's work with 

 the "snail." T'he fact, is. the Columbia River is gwetned 

 by a fish law. written before this mechanism was heard of 

 — a law made for nets. Belter ( hat immunity be granted 

 tbem all than that these machines, compared with which a 

 gillnet or seine, isbut an angling-line, should he permitted 

 toplv their trade year by year from April until August. 



Bad as all Ibis is. the worst result of the sabnon-wheels'is 

 found ill the ingenious imitations and wl olesale sla.ughtcr- 

 pens, more glaringly offensive to the spirit of the law, which 

 they have brought into existence. To understand these 

 properly the reader must be reminded that the habit and 

 habitsl 'of Ibe .salmon in these waters have been SOfhorOughly 



studied that they are now fully known. The salmon, like 



Ihe shad in Ihe East, is a creature of regular migrations, ac- 

 curately described in treatise*; so thai not only every angler 

 but every schoolboy knows bow the fish acts and lives, and 

 where he is at any 'month of the year. It is well understood 

 that, after the subsidence of the'bigh water during the last 

 week in July and the first week or two of August, the later- 

 C' lining fish, heavy with spawn, leave the sea and come up 

 into the river to batch. With every ascending tide num- 

 bers of sea fish follow for the egg.s. 'The time of the fish is 

 too far gone lo admit of a long ascent of the river, and the 

 spawn left, ..n the sands near I he mouth may he reckoned as 

 almost atotal lOSS. The earlier and stronger fish ascend 

 the Columbia to the Snake. River and the numberless in- 

 flowing streams in the greatest number during March aud 

 April. They keep close to the bank of the river ana turn 

 instinctively into its tributaries, ^ow, at Shearer's Bridge, 

 on the Deschutes River, beyond the Dalles, Ibe stream has 

 been dammed, and the fish are forced, having entered it. 

 into a canal; so thai till the Iisb that enter the outside shoot 

 of Ibe river are literally llumed. Again, across the entire 

 moulh of Spokane Itiver the Indians have built a salmon trap, 

 a solid network of willow twigs, which leaves literally no 

 chance- of escape. 



Is it not Thoreau who writes what might be called the 

 elegy of the shad— how be ascends the Connecticut year by 

 year with watery dreams of his impending doom?' Some 

 such pathetic persistence marks the annual hegira of the 

 salmon at its propagating season, though in the ease of the 



latter I bete is not the wise legislation of the East by which 



the fish's greatcsi natural enemy protects him against him- 

 self, t do not mean to saj that there is no thought given io 



this subject, no agitation of it. There is much talk in the 

 newspapers and among Ihe more intelligent tisbenneu about 

 hatcheries and needed alterations in the existing laws. It is 

 seen that more of the heavier and stronger fish must be al- 

 lowed to go up the river or the salmon '"product will inevi- 

 tably decline. But Ibis is a (lend me; to th.fi spigot merely. 

 The legislation is uoi judicious. Its execiil ion is not firm. 

 A tramp is forbidden to cast .; bail alter Augmst,. A fisher- 

 man may not drift bis net on Sunday. Meanwhile, day 

 and night, the "barbarous and murderous" (I amusing an 

 intelligent fisherman's phrase) "snail" wheel is kept going 

 and the salmon are literally corralled by millions in the very 

 haunts where they go to bring forth their kind. Meanwhile, 

 too, all along the Sound I., Alaska, the larger part of the 

 fish so plentifully caught is wasted, just as the buffalo were 

 in Montana, and' the tendency is to the same result— extinc- 

 tion. What will become of an industry which supports 10.- 

 000 men when the price of iv, product has fallen three- 

 fourths during the pasl few years? Tt is just so with tim- 

 ber-cutting and burning. W hole areas are denuded as if the 

 supply was illimitable. So prodigal is this rich country iu 

 its best resources. — Golmnb%g. Bie&r Con esptmclt nee, »f the 

 EKninijPost. _ " 



A Ctriiious Fish. — Assumption, La. — I, to-day, send by 

 express one small package containing a few fishes preserved 

 in alcohol, and hope that you will be kind enough to let me 

 know what thej r are, as nobody around here knows them. 

 For the last five years these fishes run up Bayou Lafourche 

 during low water and can be caught by millions. They ap- 

 parently come from the Gulf of Mexico, and go into the 

 Mississippi River, and never come down stream again. I 

 live on the Bayou seven miles from the Mississippi. Said 

 Bayou is 'an outlet of the river, as you know, aud empties 

 into the Gulf. The fish sent you run up stream during 

 three or four days (night and day), and then disappear to 

 reappear at about the same time the following year, always 

 during low water.— T. E. D. [These singular flat-headed 

 little 'fish are called by Prof. .Ionian DormitatoP maCuWlUi 

 (Bloeh), Jordan and Giil, fain. Gobiidm, They seem to have 

 BO Common name. They arc a common brackish Water feh 



BoAT-lTsiiiNO wEusfs Wadixg. — In trout-fishing there 

 is no sport like wading the stream and casting your fly into 

 the pools, it is so far ahead of sitting in a. boat .-okI whip- 

 ping the shores or spring holes for trout, that they are not 

 lobe spoken of in the same day. Even in lishiiig for black 

 buss it is more enjoyment to 'walk along the bank of a, 

 stream than to be cramped up iu a boat until one's legs are 

 stiff and numb. These thoughts occurred to me after a 

 day's black bass fishing on Greenwood Lake, where mosi all 

 the fishing is done from boats. Three days of it. w as enough 

 for me, and the dead feeling did not leave my legs for nearly 

 two days afterward, I was surprised tt note that Mr. 

 Mather,' in one of bis "Adirondack Survey Notes," prefers 

 boid.-fishing to tiny other, and yet he calls shooting deer from 



ii,,;:i lazy sport,."— Wadrtc. 



