470 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



Kent County Clfb.— The anninl meeting of the Kent 

 County SportsmmV- Club, of Grand Rapids, "Mich., at the 

 office of Dr. Holmes last week, President Holmes presiding; 

 the minutes of (be last meeting, also those of the last annual 

 meeting were read and npproved. The- annual r. i 

 treasurer was certified to us correct by Ihe directors and 

 ihowcd i lie receipts for the year to lie $309.01 and the ex- 

 Fo] the same peiiod fSBfl Ifl Casbonhand $33 78. 



The following office]-; woe elected lor the ensuing year: 

 President, Dr. E. S. Holmes: Vice-President, I (arryWiddi- 

 comb: Secretary. Giordc W. Locke; Treasurer.' W. 11. 

 Calkins; Director for the years, Mark Noiris. The direc- 

 tors holding over are: L D, Follett, for four years; E. M. 

 Barnard, threcycars; Geo, A. Gould, two years, and -I C. 

 ' '."■!■-'■' , < ]»■ >•■-:■! A peiilion to Congress relative to Yel- 



I irli presented by ihe presided was accepted, 



and all of the, members present signed the same. A com- 

 mittee consisting of Foilett, Horton and Richmond were 

 appointed h) the chair to draw up n programme for a series 

 oi medal shoots For the coming season, "The president was 



' the meeting of the 



Michigan Spoilsmen s Association at Detroit, commencing 



next. A full delegation (six members) will prole 



1 ' i' ttend, "ucluuing the president. The meeting ad 



Jonrned to inecl in regular semi-month) \ .session Tuesday 



•em. 10, 



[Jan; 11, 18S3. 



Chatham:, N. Y.—At the annual meeting of the Forest 

 and Stream ( lub, held December last, ihe following officers 



were chosen fui ISN8: President, C. D Ilicok ; Scceiai v 

 and Treasurer. ( ' Harmon ; Musters of ihe Scales. A. ,j 

 Fellows, T, K. Burrows, William K. Burrows, C D. Hicolc 

 and "seal Slmfclt. Then Followed distribution of prices, 

 wide!; . ■ ,i c ws: Ncal Shul'cll first prize mi black 



bass, he having cam c ... s j x ;-j,j UU1 . quarter 



pounds. Nealaays, 'If any man had told him, while he 

 was fighting thai buss, that he would weigh less than twenty 

 pounds, he would havo knocked him intothe lake." "Old 

 Ken'' comes in for 3 ,-eond prize on bass, his Weighing five 

 ponnda six ounces. "Ttu Old Vet" was somewhat crest- 

 fallen, io thick thai Ihe youngest members of the elub had 

 01 sway with his bundle," I uthc feels confident of sue- 

 1 R." comes in for the prize on brook 

 tront, by eatebing a seventeen ounce fellow, on a bumble 



■i alls liis black hackles He caught him in Pul- 



vtr's, just below Ihe Dominies Slump, so called because a 



member of the club a few years ago had a hard fight n iih a 



tTout, and after liriiig him out, as he supposed, 



own wiiii ins hand In take bin) m, when fie gave 

 a Hop and swam under [he back, nwnv from further harm 



^£ te 5jhc i ll I] dj oed they iveie highly erne, i 



"T, R. who save ib.ui a "grand spread." after which 

 followed cigars, pipes, and fish stories," then a vote of 

 thanks to "T. R. * for his generous hospitality.— C U. 



r-"'k( tl sBlulf,Ark.,Dec. tld.-SpoTt- 

 thstandiogthe vast, abundance ••! gamehere has 



11 ' " C " .- I ■•; good bags of deer have been made except 



by the old resident deer hunters, and they have notl 



ncce i ual. They all say that deer are as plenty 



ir several years past, but |hat owing to the dear, 



bright, dry weather for the past three weeks il is almost im- 



ngl-l a shot The deer arc very tiny and fat. This 



acems to be difficult ground for STorthern hunters to work 



for deer The quail Were all driven into thick eovel by tile 



hawks, and went inio the timber after mast eirly in the fall 



1 "' hard to get. Water fowl skootiiii;-. mostly for 



mallard ducks, has been very fine, First-class legitimate 

 spoil on ducks, to wit, wing-shooting over d© 

 been hard io find, but when one gets u good place it is 

 very fine— our visiting sportsmen lulling 12B one after- 

 noon, nearly all single and double wjug shots, f have 

 bad some very fine tpsri on Wilson snipe. One residenl 

 ■ ed six dcerin two evenings' hunt. I sent one 

 party of five over to the king of bear hunters, Maj, Bebo of 

 Coahoma county, Miss., but bave had no report fiom them 

 ns yet.— Bybke. 



A Pirn,AnEi.rniA "SnooxEr,."— Pliiladelphin, Dec. 29 

 liS82.—£-!(ttr Fontt. una Stream: 1 have been surprised to 

 find that among the gun houses here there is scarcely one 



; i ound or testing yard. II aeemi 

 b '. nearly as useful an appendage to a great gun house a- a 

 good hatchet is to tho hunter and explore]?— almost certain 

 to "come handy" daily. In conducting some protracted 

 experimental firing I have been delayed greatly because a 

 suitable place could not always be had. Scores of Philadel- 

 phia readers, possibly, have some old shop or disused room, 

 1 1 fui firing (to conclude my experiments 



would be permitted, in tho interest and for the I 



Sportsmen in general. Will not some reader, willing to allow 

 the judicious and prudent use as above of some old room or 

 shop kindly send a note tome, care Jos. C Grnbb & Co.. 



[arket street, Philadelphia? The matter, m „,, 

 one of general interest,— W. MoK II. 



Witebe Din They Come Fbom.— Marlboro, W. H.. 

 Dee. 81, lSf-3. — A short time since a friend of mine told me 

 that there was a queer bird on his faim, which I soon made 

 out to be a bevy of quail. There are twelve of them. 1 

 gave him feed for them and he has coaxed them within ten 

 rods of fit's farm. I am bound to keep them through the 

 winter if possible. About, three years ago there were some 

 quail imported and turned loose about eight miles from here. 

 Can it be that these birds sprang from them? Game, has 

 liccii plenty lor this: section. There have been shot in this 

 town over thirty foxes. Mr. Underwood beat the crowd on 

 weight; he killed on that weighed 124 lbs —I). W. T. 



A New Toledo GlrtJB.— The Toledo (0.) Liberal Shoot- 

 ing Club has been incorporated at Columbus, with a capital 

 of $5,000, in shares of $100 each. The incorporators are 

 George Bprass. James Barrow. Aaron Bellamy, Qrorgc 

 Schueler, Marian Rheinhart, George Burrow. Edward Rad- 

 bone. 8r., Edward Kadbone, Jr., and E. T. Gerfe The 

 en ' I'' lei "' L60 acres of marsh land in the North Bay, 

 what is known as the Dusseau place, containing some of the 

 ids in the Maumee Bay. They are lo- 



cated between the Sulphur Springs and Guard Island, and 

 are leased for ;)!i years. The gentlemen composing the, club 

 intend to build accommodations for themselves and friends 

 tor the season's shoot. 



UicuMuMj Counts Association.— The Game and Fish 

 1 1'oti elive Association of Richmond county (N. Y.) elected 

 the following officers at their annua] meeting held on Wed- 

 nesday afternoon, December ST: President, Francis Elidi- 

 I mi Vice-President, Thomas E. Gill; Second Vice- 

 President, Robert W. Hopkins; Treasurer, G. D. L'lluil- 

 ier; Secretary, George Endieolt. Directors— J. H. Clark 

 Southlield; Thomas J. Conroy. Northfield; Peter Polworth, 

 \Vcstricld; Harry C. Jones, Middletc.wri, Jeremiah Sullivan, 

 Castleton, 



TfiRUACB Crxv Ci-ub.— Youkers, N. Y., Jan. 5, 1883 — 

 The Terrace City Sportsmen's Club was organized here 

 Jan. 4, 1883, with the following officers: President, Wm 

 Bale; Vice-President. Jos. O'Brien: Secretary, J. W. Rush- 

 forth; IVeasurer, John E. Rockwell. The Club starts with 

 twenty members, and hopes to do some good work in the 

 way of enforcing the game laws in this locality the coming 

 season.— J. W. R, a 



Tmimahapoub, Ind., Jau 5.— Quail in this region quite 

 plentiful this fall and good hags made. There areplenty of 

 buds left over. 1 know of quite a number o( full co'vies 

 left over, and if the pot-hunters will only respect the law 

 and let them alone we will have flue shooting next season. 

 — S. H. Al. 



LONG Isii-SD.— Port Jefferson, Jan. 8.— The duck shoot- 

 ing is very good here cow, 1 go out three or four times a 

 week and get from twelve to twenty birds each time. Coots 

 and old sepiaws are very plenty.— w. H. R. 



Jfist mid §iver jgfisltmg. 



"T'tviici. Topassethe time in thy boate, canst thou devise any 

 pieTuce: 



Fh.ic. If the v/iiitle be with moe, I eau angle, or toll tales: it against 

 tnee, it will he pleasure for you to see rate lake palnes. 



Venus. 1 like notflshiER: yet wast bora at the u n 



PIlOO. But lie may blesse tbliinj,-, thm eaughi such a one in the sea. 



I Vacs. It was not uitli on imgle, my baye; but with a nctle." 



-"SopftO and I>lu„>»," Act l, to. I, 



WINTER TALKS ON SUMMER PASTIMES. 



ItOUT nAUNTS AND HABITS. 



ear b ben (lie air is ealnumdpUias- 



iess against nature not to go out and 

 r rejoicing »ilh Heaven and earth.— 



i two fn 

 forty yards dista 



the Lack of tin- d 

 ting tf 



Thebh Dbeb Kiklbd at Owe Snot.— The deer season 



closed on Saturday according to law, and 51 r. K I), Smith 

 of this city, celebrated the event in a way that he will not 

 Boon forget, lie and a party of four others were bunting on 

 YTungwom-ins' Creek. About. sL\ miles above the mouth 

 ol the. creek, and when a short distance from the members 

 ofbispaity. Mr. Smilh spied three deer. He. leveled his 

 Spencer nfle and fired away, Idlling the three deer, a. doe 

 ! shol. Mr. Smith was only about 

 u h;> fired the. shot, the bull breaking 

 ■ I n little ahead of the fawns 

 __.jid deer back of the shoulder passed 

 through and lodged m the neck of the third deer Two of 



l)0Ut the same size, and weighed in the 



neighborhood of 100 pounds each.— Xn,* //,/,•.,( (/>,„„ i 

 B i I ' can, Jan. 3. 



_ Hawks axd Cnows.-They have in c- ,, , , , 



io tsraodc ol oittchina; hawka and owls. A prile is set up in 



the fields where chickens wander, and upon the top of it a 



steel trap without teeth is setand chai.icd on, It is the mosl 



manner Ol getting rid of the thieves that you could 



On Gardiner's Island sonic time ago they tried 



' ra the craws, which are thei-e in thousands 



■ icd the sable cawers and they were thrown, .twenty 



■i eui, upon the dunghill, Conceive the picture ol 



trainer Savage watching them revive and git. T once made 



1 i ewho dropped to shot, and while 



■end in ecslacy, he lose grandly and left 



| end wisci. I wring them a little now if they 



don't show shol holes.— T. M 



ix.— m\ c >' 



in those v rnaj senson 



ant, II. were ll ajn ] ..■ 



see her riches, and parti 



Jfttfon. 



Salmon are a dainty fish and never resort, to streams 

 which, in their normal condition, are turpid or impure. 

 Like trout, they must have clear, o>ld water, where there 

 are rocks and-ntt's and fiebbly bottoms, and pools scooped 

 out of the river bed and flanked by rapidly flowing currents. 

 I never took a salmon in absolutely still water, and very 

 seldom on shallow rapids. The former is not natural to 

 them, and when in the latter they are pursuing their upward 

 journey and are not easily diverted, They rest in pools, and 

 there is where the angler looks for them and expects to And 

 lie j. i, and when found and they are in the rising mood, no 

 sport has ever yet been revealed to human consciousness 

 which is more kingly. 



The best trout streams are simply miniature salmon rivers. 



But trout are Unlike salmon in their habits in this: In the 



i '. i -ion trout are often found on riffs where the water 



is both shallow and rapid, but later on, from the middle of 



July to the close of August, no experienced angler would 



expect to find them 'here in any inviting numbers" In these 



hot months, when the water has become" tepid, they resort to 



the mouths of cold brooks or spring holes, and the.y need not 



be looked [or elsewhere. But salmon are unilomilv found, 



in August as well as in June, in pools. To be (sure, when 



the water is well up, there are pools where there are only 



shallow riffs when the water is low. I have often taken fish 



at high water where I would not think of casting for them 



when the water was low. Hence one never comes to know 



a river so as tu make the most of it until he. has fished it at 



all its stages. But whether the water is high or low it is all 



■■ ■ aalmcln pest in pools, and it is the merest chance 



' tre taken i Isewhere. In these pools the Water is not 



n -ay deep, but it is always of greater depth than 



the water in their immediate neighborhood, and the full 



he current is ordinarily delected from them by the 



rpeks of larger or .-mailer dimensions, wdm.se position has 



given the mo'.ion to the water which, in lime, has scooped 



out these resting places for the kingly fish. 



On all the rivers I have tidied for salmon -and I assume 

 it be true of all fathers— the best pools are almost always 

 found j list above some rough or heavy rapid. The fatigue 

 involved in ascending these rapids make rest all the more 

 welcome. The excitement in fishing these pools is intensi- 

 fied by the doubt which always follows n -dike whether you 

 will be able to kill your fish within the limits of the pool or 

 Whether he Will rush down the rapids, and so compel you 

 to follow him, In that case the chances are always against 

 you, because, with all the skill of your nanoemeu, if you 



are in a canoe, or of yourself if you are on shore and ths 

 water renders wading possible, it is always qc 

 whether you can keep up with your flying fish. Bi 

 rushing through a rapid full of rock's, i here is c 

 chance that your line will get hitched, or, worst of all, Hint 

 the fish may take, it, into his head to stop midway of tho 

 rapid, and thus, like a hunted deer, double on you and allow 

 you to swoop past him, only to find out the fact when you 

 have dropped into still water a hundred yards or more be- 

 low the point wdiere your fish is sulking. Under these latter 

 conditions a hitched line is often the sequel; or, when it, is 

 not, you can only force back your canoe against the impel u- 

 ous current to where your fish is sulking by the most her- 

 culean efforts. When that point is reached* and you find 

 your line happily free, you can only hope that* he will 

 start; and when he does start under such circumstances it is 

 almost invariably down stream, with a rush, and you after 

 him under such a pressure of excitement as renders you 

 equally indifferent to danger and unconscious of 

 When the foot of the rapids is reached tho fight is renewed, 

 hut you are master of the situation if you have shown ordi- 

 nary skill thus far, and it is only a question of time— if you 

 are well hooked— when the gaff will lie called into requisi- 

 tion. 



When you are casting from the shore and you are obliged 

 to follow your fish on foot through even shallow rapids, 

 you need to have all your wits about you, and to bring out 

 all the highest skill there is in you; first, topnseive \ti;r 

 footing upon the slippery rocks over which .you must pass, 

 and secondly, to take care that your fish does not run faster 

 than you do yourself, and so get out more of your line than 

 you wish him to have. In this sort of fishing you have one 

 advantage over the canoe, you wvd not move faster than 

 your fish, and if he chooses to fake a rest midway of the 

 rapid, so can yon. But it is an unpleasant time for a fish to 

 sulk when you are waist-deep in the water awaiting his 

 pleasure. I have more than once stood (bus an half hour at 

 a time, rinding it impossible, by any skill at my command, 

 to start the stubborn brute. Once i was dragged to the foot 

 Of a rapid which terminated in a deep hole, through which 

 there was no way of passing but by a plunge and a swim. 

 Of course, no one in such a. contest would give up beat 

 when a cold bath gave promise of victory. The provoca- 

 tion iu Ibis particular ease was that immediately alter the 

 gamy fellow had compelled me to take this plunge he sur- 

 rendered—coming up to the gaff so soon as I could reach a 

 fooling and give him the butt. 



But these rapids tussles are glorious when the fish ma1s& 

 a straight wake f'orthc easily flowing water below them It 

 is grand to stand up in your canoe when both fish and canoe 

 move at ctmal lightningpace, and you are able to keep a taut 

 line upon him every inch of the way. 1 have often had just 

 such experiences, and the recollection of them still stirs' the 

 blood like the sound of a trumpet. 



Sea trout show themselves wherever salmon are found, but 

 not always simultaneously with them. In rivers where Ihe 

 salmon run begins in May or early June, you need UOl I : ■> 

 sen trout in any cousiderai lie numbers before well on iuto Jul v. 

 Intermediately they arc found in tidewater at the mouths of 

 the salmon rivers, and oRen in such numbers and of such 

 weight as give the angler superb sport. Three, five and 

 seven pound fish are not uncommon, and I have heaid of 

 them of even greater weight, but lhave never myself taken 

 one of over five pounds — two pounds less than a real brook 

 trout, I once killed in the Bangeley waters, a beauli lid fac 

 simile of which was Kindly painted for me by Dr. Otis, of 

 New York, who was in camp with me at the time, There 

 is no picture in my collection I value more highly. 



Next to salmon fishing 1 know of no more 'exciting sport 

 than angling for sea trout in waters where they reach their 

 highest dimensions; for waters differ in regard to this fish 

 as in regard to both brook trout und salmon — the weight of 

 all fish being determined by the. abundance and quality of 

 the feed available to them. There are salmon rivers open to 

 all comers for sea trout alone, alter the salmon season is 

 over, say from the middle of September on. I can imagine 

 few things more fascinating than such r.n excursion': 1 

 know a river that you can strike fifty miles above its mouth, 

 by an easy portage of six miles from the steamboat landing. 

 To tloat down these fifty miles with the current, in n bark 

 canoe, with such scenery on either hand as can hardly bo 

 excelled on the continent, is something which any appreci 

 ative angler might covet. It is a trip I have never yet 

 found leisure to take, but affairs will go hard with me ill do 

 not try it the coming season- 

 Like trout, salmon vary in size in different rivers, \Vliy 

 this is so is a mystery which I have not been able to solve. 

 It cannot, result from either the quantity or quality of food 

 in the rivers, because it is assumed to be a settled fact that 

 salmon are very light feeders— if they, feed at all— in fresh 

 water. Possible the difference conies from the greater or 

 less abundance of food found by the fish in their salt water 

 rambles. Far-fetched as this conjecture may be deemed to 

 be by those who arc as ignorant of the subject as I am my- 

 self, it may, perhaps, after all, furnish the true solution; 

 because, as the instincts of the fish always bring them back 

 to the rivers where they were hatched, may not the so me in- 

 stinct keep them to their own feeding ranges when outside'/ 

 If so. and if these ranges, like trout waters, vary in the kind 

 am) quality of food available, the fact will' affect their 

 weight. 1 simply stale this as a hypothesis. If I am at 

 fault, and if any one can solve the problem "by authority" 

 or otherwise, 1 will be very glad to hear from him. 

 Certain it is that those who have "heard much about salmon 

 rivers from those acquainted with them, have heard such 

 phrases as these : "\ es, there are plenty of salmon in such a 

 river, but they are small." In such -another river we are 

 told. "The fish are in moderate numbers and ol fair size," 

 and of others we are told : "The fish may not. be as plenty 

 as in some rivers, but they run large," and so on of rivers 

 from one end of the coast "to the other. Iu one where I hi 

 listed, a So pound salmon was not uncommon. The li I 

 fish I ever landed weighed 39A pounds, but 1 fought a fish 

 for two hours which Anally broke away and was taken c 

 morning in a net nine miles below with my fly in his mouth, 

 and he weighed 48 pounds. One gentleman" Mr. Spurr, of 

 St. John. K, B., killed two 40 pound fish in the same river 

 the preceding year. It was ] u this river, also, that General 

 Arthur killed bis famous 50 pound salmon, and where Mr 

 Dun, his companion, lost a fish after a long struggle, which 

 immediately afb rward ' >ai - into a net with the evidence 

 Of Mr. Dun's ownership in his mouth. This Bah weighed 52 



pounds, 



These monsters were caught iu the Ca.scapedui. u river in 

 which forty fish that I took one season averaged So 1 lbs., 

 and five of these only weighed 11, 15, IT, 19 and ija lbs, 

 respectively. Tho Rcstigouche is almost equally famo.ts 



