802 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



fNov. 10, 1882. 



ADIRONDACK SURVEY NOTES. 



XII. — MEACHAM LAKE. 



"OEFORE the echoes of the Angling Tournament had be- 

 J -* gun to vibrate with sufficient vigor to bring in letters 

 upou the subject, the rattle of elevated railroads and the 

 Ui under of the trucks and wagons was left behind, and with 

 a ticket in my pocket for Malone, Franklin county, N. Y., the 

 best point from which to strike into the northern part of 

 the Adirondaeks, I started for the woods again. Pictures 

 of Arctic cold, deep snows, snow shoes, and an almost 

 Siberian Winter were drawn by parting friends, but there 

 was, on the oilier side, a chance to find the "frostfish" 

 spawning; and so with heavy clothing the high temperature, 

 of the railway car was endured, knowiug that the time of 

 suffering would be short. Near Albany the foliage was 

 bright, and visions of Adirondack lakes framed in red, 

 scarlet and old-gold came up as the car wheels clicked in 

 unison with the rhythm of that charming little waltz song, 

 "When the Leaves Begin to Turn," which ran on for miles 

 until it became too dark too see whether the leaves were 

 turning or not. Supper at Plattsburg and a change of cars 

 at Rouse's Point for a Western bound train, were the only 

 breaks until Malone was reached, near midnight. Iu the 

 morning a look from the window showed that the leaves 

 had not only turned, but fallen, in this northern portion of 

 the State, and that the lakes would be trimmed with brown 

 and dark green, instead of the gorgeous colors mentioned, 

 plowing thai the hist of October found the trees prepared to 

 scud uuder hire poles through the gales of winter. 



A team from Malone over a good road reached Meacham 

 Lake, a distance of twenty-five miles, in a little less than 

 four hours and stopped at the cosy hotel of Mr. A. It. Fuller. 

 The lake is one of the most beautiful sheets of water in the 

 wilderness arid Fuller's buildings are the only ones upon it. 

 They are mostly new and are finished inside with linden or 

 hasswood, and are the parfectiou of neatness. All the room 

 he has is engaged by the same persons for certain dates for 

 seasons to come, and it is seldom that he can accommodate 

 others. This makes it a most select place, and as there is no 

 bar and no liquor sold it is naturally a quiet one. The lake 

 is some two and a half miles long by half as wide, and the 

 fidii tg and shooting is second to none, the laws being strictly 

 observed here. Brook and lake trout are artificially propa- 

 gated by Mr. Fuller at his own expense, and turned out in 

 great numbers not only for the benefit of his guests but also 

 for the good of those who may fish in the waters, only part 

 of which are under his control. The last report of the New 

 York Fish Commission contains the following note from Mr. 

 James Geddes, of Syracuse, to the board: "During my 

 rambles this summer in he woods, I for the first time visikd 

 Meacham Lake, where I found, much to my surprise, a fish- 

 hatchery managed at the sole expense of Mr. A. R. Fuller, 

 who keeps a small hotel at this lake. For several years Mr. 

 Fuller has hatched and placed in Meacham, which are public 

 waters, several hundred thousands of young fish — brook trout, 

 lake trout, and a cross of the two, many of which I took 

 with the fly. Now what I wish to say is this: Why should 

 not the fish commissioners foster and assist in such undertak- 

 ings to encourage others in the woods to go and do likewise? 

 A few hundred dollars of the vast sum annually appropriated 

 would, in my opinion, dou vast amount of good." 



Mr. Fuller's hatching boxes arc simple ones, placed in a 

 ravine and merely covered with boards, without a house, 

 although he eontemplates building one for his own comfort. 

 They are now full of eggs, and I saw some of the finest 

 brook trout I ever beheld, which were being confined until 

 ripe, when their eggs will be taken and the fish then re. 

 leased in the lake. 1 accompanied the proprietor to Clear 

 Pond, a half mile from Meacham, and saw him take a dozen 

 trout from the spawning beds, none of which would weigh 

 less than three pounds. Brook trout of five pounds weight 

 have many times been taken from these waters, and there is 

 no doubt of the fact that the/ produce larger trout than any 

 in the Adirondaeks or elsewhere in the State. I saw a 

 female hybrid taken from the beds which would weigh 

 nearly five pounds. Its colors were those of its father, the 

 Jake trout, but its shape and habits were those of the brook 

 trout. The fish was taken off to the hatching boxes, and I 

 did not have the chance to examine the vomer to see which 

 parent it resembled in the eharaeter'of this bone which 

 separates the genus G'wtiwmer from that of Salveliniu. 



Clear Pond has no visible inlet nor outlet, and the trout 

 spawn near the shores among the sediment, which they 

 sweep away until they come to gravel, a foot below; but it 

 is doubtful if any hatch here, as a few weeks later the sedi- 

 ment covers the beds again. It did not contain many trout 

 until Mr. Fuller stocked it a few years ago, but there must 

 be plenty of food here or they would never grow to such a 

 great size. The "frostfish" abounds here, and is called 

 •'whitefish"; and this reminds me that "shad" was on the 

 bill of fare for supper at Plattsburg, and proved to be the 

 whitefish, Coregonus, of Lake Champlain. The species of 

 catfish culled "bullhead," "bullpout," etc., A. catus, is 

 found here in great, numbers also, as are sunfish and several 

 small cyprinoids. In Meacham eels are quite plentiful and 

 suckers abound. The latter play upon the surface at this 

 time of^the year, and can be shot very easily. 



Many deer are killed about here, and a hunt, is arranged 

 every day now by some New York gentlemen, whose suc- 

 cess is varying, like all hunts; but about this I will write 

 again. The survey party is still below at Raquette, and 



will not be here before December, if then, and so we are 

 widely separated. Mr. Colvin has been here in former 

 years and left his monuments to mark his primary, and 

 perhaps other, triaragulations which afford us such a perfect 

 knowledge of this mountainous region. 



A friend has sent a note saying that as the "Adirondaeks 

 of Murray" have been done in these sketches, it might be 



ell to give a view of them through other spectacles. I 

 thought that I had been doing this, but will sit down and 

 think it over, and if the snow keeps off and the spectacles 

 don't got broken, perhaps it may be done. It is just glori- 

 ous here now; better than in summer, with its insect tor- 

 ments. But city people are all on the homestretch as soon 

 as September conies, and so miss the best time of the year 

 to be in the woods for everything except trout. F. M. 



Italian Fish; Fiends.— The Italian laborers employed 

 in the construction of the new railroad on the west Shore 

 of the Iludson River, are making fearful havoc among the 

 in the vicinity of their camps. They have been carry- 

 ing on their destructive practices for many months, and it 

 is now about time for them to stop, or to be stopped by the 

 officials of the railroad. Owing to the gross carelessness of 

 those in charge of the work of blasting, these Italians are 

 allowed to help themselves to dynamite cartridges, with 

 which, every Sunday, they repair to the trout streams and 

 bass hikes and murder the fish by scores and hundreds. 

 These Italians know no better; but the railroad people ought 

 to; and they are the responsible parties. 



"At. Fresco." — We had a pleasant call last Saturday 

 from "Al Fresco," our well-known Florida correspondent, 

 who was on a flying trip to these latitudes. He reported 

 the usual rosy aspect of Florida things in general and fish- 

 ing in particular. Indian River Inlet is the place to go. 

 The fish are very plenty, so plenty in fact, that it was hinted 

 a three-tined pitchfork might not be aa altogether useless im- 

 plement. ' 



Ihe fyartmtim ^auri$t 



MENDON MERE. 



nPHK mountain slopes to the level plain 

 •*- In dark green mantle of cypress leaves 



The grata is garnered in bounteous sheaves; 

 The latter summer has come again. 



Ripe fruit is hanging from orchard trees 

 In globes of crimson, or gold and red. 

 The tiger-lily, with drooping head, 



Resigns her soul to the robber bees. 



Sad autumn flowers, in blue and gold, 

 Are flecking the fading river banks, 

 And strange wild vines in their tangled ranks. 



Wave in the breeze as they did of old. 



I watch by the river, as long ago 

 I watched by the waters of Mendon Mere. 

 What sights and sounds do I see and hear, 



As the river goes by with endless flow? 



A long succession of mountain spurs, 

 Roundly abutting upon the stream, 

 An eagle drifting, with savage scream, 



Above the ridges of pines and firs. 



A fish hawk guarding the glassy pools. 



A pert kingfisher with grating cry, 



A heron lazily flapping by, 

 And trout and minnows in swarming schools. 



And now, as of old, the woods are rife 

 With mystic murmur of sylvan sounds, 

 For over the hill are eager hounds, 



And a red deer running to win his life. 



Ah, little I reck of hounds or deer. 



Or care for a shot at buck or doe. 



My hair is gray and my pulse is slow- 

 Alas for the days of Mendon Mere. Nessmuk. 



ANGLING IN GERMAN WATERS. 



THE ordinary incidents of a troutiug trip, especially those 

 connected* directly with the catching of the fish, are so 

 very similar all the world over, that in attempting to keep 

 my promise and give you an account of my experiences on 

 the streams in this vicinity, I meet at the outset an obstacle 

 which to me seems formidable, and this obstacle is the diffi- 

 culty I shall have in trying to avoid more or less repetition 

 of the old, old story, with which all readers of spotting lit- 

 erature must be very familiar, and many of them, as I am, 

 most heartily tired, so tired that the most skillfully worked 

 and thrilling descriptions of the vagaries of the "speckled 

 beauty," his "rushes" and "sulks" and demands upon the 

 power, strength and skill of rod and angler, fail utterly to 

 draw. Is it satiety, advancing age, or the knowledge gained 

 by having myself been one of theactors iu such little dramas, 

 with free access to "behind the scenes" that has thus killed 

 my sensations? 



Perhaps the second reason is the strongest, for 1 find that 

 many other golden illusions have faded; for example, I no 

 longer strive to let "The rays of the morning sun, as they 

 give the first kiss," etc., "find me," etc., "by the banks of 

 purling brooks." With Fred Mather, I believe that there is 

 a good deal more fun in a morning nap, and the general 

 average of the. day's pleasure is best maintained by the in- 

 crease of luck with which the approach of sunset is generally 

 accompanied, while with morning fi-hing, as noon ap- 

 proaches, the slacking up of sport causes increasing fatigue 

 to make itself more manifest. 



After "mature deliberation" as to the ways and means I 

 should employ in the eudeavor to keep my promise, I have 

 resolved to steer as widely as possible from the breakers 



among which I have already drifted, and confine myself as 

 closely as I could to a channel, which, whether a good one 

 or not, should have, at least, the merit of novelty, and to 

 base my letter upon the points in which a irout fishing trip 

 in Germany differs from one in our own country — that 

 blessed country to winch the thoughts of the wandering 

 tourist so lougingly revert, when seated at the table d'hote 

 and Ailing up on its mysterious comoinations, the memory 

 of oysters, raw and steamed, real roast, turkey, and un 

 cooked celery, present themselves so strongly and 'so vividly 

 that the slight remaining desire for the never endingjtf/eC 

 and potagc or consume is reduced to very slight dimensions.. 

 Please excuse this apostrophy, which, even if patriotic, is, I 

 confess, somewhat irrelevant. I'll return to my subject, 

 trusting that in so doing I may succeed in interesting ' (wo 

 classes at least of your readers, those who have and those 

 who have not gone through the same experience; the first by 

 reviving in their minds some pleasant reminiscences, anil 

 giving confirmation to some of the yarns they have span; 

 to those of class second with whom" they have, to use an ex- 

 pression common to sailors, "swapped lies" and to the 

 second by imparting some new facts. Alt of the rest of 

 your readers are very welcome to skip the columns devoted 

 to Ibis letter. 



During this month I have passed several very pleasant 

 afternoons trout fishing, and while I have neither caught 

 any extraordinary numbers nor any very large fish, I have 

 had lots of fun, and learned a great deal about how other 

 people do it. 



The brooks that I have fished have had to me one great 

 novelty, for although here and there a bit of cultivated pinn 

 WOOda, through which they passed, lias, to a slight extent. 

 recalled similar bits in oar own wilderness, yet t be _. m . i :i I 

 course has been through cultivated fields 'and vineyards, 

 with the agricultural peasants busily engaged in their ordi- 

 nary pursuits, through thickly settled hamlets and villages, 

 from which groups gathered and followed me along the. 

 stream, manifesting great interest in my success and wonder 

 at my mode of fishing, for to them the little rod, fine line 

 and casl oT flies were novelties, and that trout could really 

 be thus taken a revelation. Grave men in blue blouses, 

 each with a porcelain pipe in full blast, deserted the allure- 

 ments of the ritidiRvtli.vln'flni (innsi, where they were wont 

 to doze comfortably over immense mugs of beer. Stolid, 

 solid and bareheaded women, whose short skirts revealed im- 

 mense connecting links with the heavy wooden sabots whicli 

 encased their feet, ceased their toil with hoes, and plows, 

 and wheeLarrows and solemnly joined the procession, 

 Which was further increased by ciowd's of small boys in clogs, 

 little girls in ditto, each bearing m ner arms a child some- 

 times nearly as large as herself; a soldier or two and a priest, 

 for no group in Europe is eouiph le without representatives 

 of both professions, came also, and with my "guard" uud 

 his assistant as my personal staff I was by no means a ' 'lone 

 fisherman." 



It would have been a very pleasant afternoon's stroll, if 

 for no other purpose than to 'enjoy the scenery and delight- 

 ful mountain air, which, after months of confinement to the 

 conventionalities of cities, was most refreshing. No paint- 

 ing, among the many I have tired myself staring at in the 

 various galleries of Europe, convey* d to me more real 

 pleasure than the ever changing panorama of the brooks, 

 now winding through pine7 forests dersc iu shadow, then 

 out in the sunlight through meadows and fields carpeted 

 with acres if brilliant poppies and larkspur, with daisies 

 and clover to remind one of home, then through quaint 

 Geiman hamlets and under stone bridges, the high arches 

 and extent of which indicated that the "purling brook" 

 could and did sometimes become a river whose force was to 

 be respected. 



The path down the stream was smooth as a country foot- 

 path, and not a snag or alder, mosquito or black fly" to de- 

 tract from the pleasure. 



But there was another purpose, and on each occasion I 

 caught all I wished of good-sized trout. No number so 

 great on any day as to cause the sport lo pall, nor so few that . 

 disappointmen. took the place of pleasure, just the happy 

 medium which served to keep up a gentle excitement, Not 

 a "hole" yielded more than a couple of fish, but it. was very 

 seldom that any place which "ought tc hold a trout" failed 

 tocou.eup to" my expectations. "The fish were of a very 

 satisfactory average size, ranging fi om four ounces to four- 

 teen, and I could not perceive that they were at all inferior 

 in game to the trout of our own mountains. 



The firs, step toward a fishing trip here as elsewhere is to 

 find out where to go, and the second how to get there. 

 Then comes here the third, which is the most difficult of all, 

 for it is to get the necessary invitation or permission to 

 make use of the knowledge;" for in Germany every bucket- 

 fid of fresh water, every inch of stream, and every living 

 creature of any value "iu it, is private property." Em Ti 

 stream has, according to its length, a greater or less num- 

 ber of owners. When in its course it runs through landed 

 estates, it is the property of the landlord, the portions run- 

 ning through villages are generally owned by them, and 

 become a source of revenue either by being leased annually 

 to the highest bidder, or by tax upon" such anglers as obtain 

 from the Burgomaster a license to fish there. The fishings, 

 or sections, are generally of six kilos each (a kilo is three- 

 fifths of a mile) and the rental varies from twenty to a hun- 

 dred marks per annum (equal to from four to twenty 

 dollars). 



The owner or lessee of a section generally employs (and 1 

 believe he is compelled by law so to do) a "guard" or 

 keeper, whose duty is to prevent poaching, kevp the stream 

 in order, and to "accompany fishermen to see that all fish 

 which are less than twenty centimetres (eight inches) in 

 length arc returned to the brook. It is customary for these 

 guards, who like most every one else in Germany wear a 

 regulation uniform, to act also as assistants to a fisherman, 

 carry and clean the fish, disentangle caught hooks, and 

 make himself useful generally. The laws require that, each 

 kilo shall be restocked every spring with one hundred 

 young trout, which can be procured at either ol i era! 

 breeding establishments, of which I have visited two, uud 

 "some day" will tell you of them, one at Heidelberg and 

 one at Baden-Baden. The keeper's work is not a sinecure, 

 for the high price of the bach fordlen in the market makes 

 a great temptation to poachers. His home is generally close 

 to his field of duty, and as his revenue depends greatly upon 

 the fees he receives liom fishing touribts, it becomes his 

 interest to do all in his power to put such patrons in good 

 humor by keeping up the stock. 



Hoinbourg-Ies-Baili.s is a most charming summer I ... I , II 

 is situated upon a spur of the Tauuus Mountains, and from 

 this circumstance derives one of its many names. Hoiubnrg- 

 von-der-Hohe, or "on the hill," perhaps the most useful 



