Jaotjajbt 36, 1883.] 



FOEEST AND STREAM. 



511 



Length os Barrels— Red Bank, N. J., January 23. — 

 "Butter Ball" wants to know why a No 12, 28-inch barrel 

 cannot be made to shoot equal to a 30-inch. I have used 

 both lengths in a 12-gauge and find the 28-inch gives equal 

 shooting in every respect, and is preferable, as you can get 

 on a bird much quicker in the cover. The Short barrels will 

 take finer powder, and should they be bored the same as the 

 30-inch, no perceptible difference 'will be found in the tar- 

 gets.— Wild. 



Indiaha— Indianapolis, Jan. 14.— Shooting in this region 

 this f '11 has not been good. Have never known quail so 

 scarce. The Ions continued cold neither and deep snow of 

 last winter destroyed both quail and rabbits. Woodcock 

 shooting whs unusually good during early part of the season. 

 I obtained woodcock on each of my first three trips after 

 quail, finding thetn in cornfields and unexpected places. I 

 and a friend obtained the finest pur of woodcock 1 have ever 

 seen, during a day after quail in the latter part of October. 

 We bad them prepared aud mounted by Jack Beasley, a 

 noted taxidermist, of Lebanon, Ind. They are beauties. — 



a k. m. 



The UnEKowts Gcn Cub, of .Brooklyn, field its annual 

 meeting on Friday evening last. The following officers were 

 elected for the ensuinc year: Henry Kuebel, President; 

 John Bchlieman, Vice-President ; Henry van Staden, Sr., 

 Treasurer; Henry Baruth, Secretary. It was agreed to 

 shoot for two prizes at every match on the classified ohm. at 

 De ler's, on the fourth Thursday of every month. The first 

 shoot will be on Thursday, January 26, at pigeons and glass 

 balls. 



Fox Hunting. — Hornellsville, N. Y. — A. great many red 

 foxes are being shot here this winter. Fox hunting here is 

 all done ou foot. The hunters all want slow dogs. They 

 sty that a fast dog will run a fox out of the county. — J. Otis 



Fellows. 



Double Wads Wanted — Indianapolis. — By the way, 

 why don'tBome of ourenterprisingarnrnuuition manufacturers 

 make a suitable prep '-red gun wad thick enough, so that one 

 will do over pi iwder, B id save the trouble of always having to 

 put two in ? 6 < i ta might consist of one-half thick 



wads to go over powder and the other half still thinner than 

 those now in use to go over shot.— S. H. M. 



East Saogaw, Mich, Game Protkotion Club.— 

 President. A. H, Mershon ; Vice-President, William J. 

 Loveland ; Secretary and Creas'irer, Wdlia'n B. Mershon. 

 Executive Committee :— A. H. Mershon, George L. Reming- 

 ton aud H. B. Roney. 



Brooklyn GttN Club. — The following officers were elected 

 last week for the ensuing year: President, George W. 

 Port; Vice-President, John M. Gill; Secretary, A Elmen- 

 dorf; Treasurer, Dr. Monroe. Executive Committee : — 

 Messrs. Walter, Appe), Creed. 



Virginia— Charlotteevil le, Va., Jan. 19.— Game is very 

 sca'ce, and almost all the lund for miles around is posted, so 

 that there is a poor chauce to break dogs or to keep them in 

 practice.— J. T. 



Pokt Jbffekbos, L. I. — January 17th. We have plenty 

 of ducks here iliia winter, I go after them every dav that 

 the weather will permit. I have just returned from a 

 month's shooting trip in South Carolina, where I found game 



very plenty.— W. H. R. 



jf#? and $iver 



FiSH IN SEASOIT IN JANUARY. 



FBS8E WATER. 



Pickerel, Smx n-ttnuUUus. 

 Pike or Pickerel, fisox incnin. 

 Puce-perch (wall-eyed pffie) 



Slizotelhium amencanvm, S. 



griseum, etc 



Yellow Perch, Perm Jluviatiiu. 



War-mOUth, Chcr.nnbryUUHiiith.su*. 

 Onvpple, Pomoxi/s nigromaculatut. 

 Bachelor, Pomoxys annularis. 



SALT WATBE. 



Smelt, Qmitru* mordax. I White Perch. Morone amesricana. 



Stnpud Bass or Koekflsh, Jlcccus \ Pollock, PoUathw* carbonariuti. 

 Itiuatue. 



AKMKn cap-a-pie with baskets, bags and rods, 

 THE I -I jrei ttj to the river plods ; 

 utnlgb in looks in' v.orful truth announce, 

 The luggage hall a ton, the ash an ounce. 

 (Pu/mau's Pads Mcxmn.for Trout Fishes, London, 1S80.) 



HALCYON DATS. 



AN EXPERIENCE MEETING INVITED. 



MEMORIES of a lonely camp, a picture of a weather 

 beaten lent beneath a giant pine, the midnight music 

 of wavelets upon a pebbled beach, all these come floating up 

 to-night on the bosom of the storm wind and with them the 

 remembrance of a duty unperformed. 



As the writer in August last mournfully unjointed his rod 

 at the close ol his tenth annual sojourn in the mountains 

 amid the bass, it was the determination to forthwith share 

 the pleasures of the tale of ten years with his brethren of the 

 angle. Instead of so doing he has been content to fatten on 

 the"~pabuhim of " Nessmuk," content to dwell with that gray 

 haired chief iu abodes almost a counterpart to his own — 

 either fit for the gods. True, Nessrnuk has been a Nirnrod, 

 a veritable Ulysses, so far as wandering goes, while the 

 writer has listened nightly to the whisperings of the same 

 elves iu the roof tree, yet the inmost currents of the soul 

 have flown iu the same channel ; the same kisses from breeze 

 and shower hive wafted to their hronzed faces ; the same 

 arlist hand has flung, before each the glories of the morning, 

 the splendors i.if cloud and peak that stood "'sunset flushed)" 

 and the shad tws that would have defied the genius of a 

 Rembrandt even I 



" All life is not the same life," yet, there is that "touch of 

 nature" Which makes many lives one, those alone, born of 

 the Great Mother, And, were Rabbi Ishmael to perform the 

 task imposed upon him in song of finding one, who, for a 

 single dav, had been happy, had been happy with naught to 

 mar the perfection, we believe that he would pass two names, 

 at least, to the Recording Angel. 



Of those ten sojourns with tent, and rod— of a month in 

 each year passed in the solitude of the mountains, wiih 

 sport, unrivalled with the bass— aud that, too, not one hun- 

 dred miles from New York— much might be said it was 

 only bow and then that the faint, far off whistle rrf a loco- 

 motive reminded one that a giant civilization was 

 throbbing beyond those mountains and far below, and re- 

 called us from barbaric lapses Indeed, we would have been 

 content for the nonce to have known that the shadow on the 

 dial had gone back to the time when the squat Laplander 

 was master of Europe. 



There is an " old, old story," as dear to the angler camper 

 as to women, and, like that of the latter, to be told only to 

 the chosen few. In the present instance, that story must be 

 deferred to some future day, when the veterans shall have 

 finished their record of the summer, or, perchance, Nessmuk 

 shall have completed his loved c mfession. 



go, to pass this by, and to bring forward the result— our 

 experience — for the profit of the gentle, craft, we are com- 

 pelled to record that for some, to us unknown, cause, basa 

 refuse to take the fly, and more especially the bait, with the 

 avidity of the day3 when no ponds and lakes were first, 

 stocked. Especially is this the case in Orange county, N. Y. 

 Time was when the angler with a fair assortment of bait. — 

 for instance, crawfish, minnows, black crickets or with the 

 spoon— was certain of fine sport. This has changed, and the 

 sport is growing poorer year by year. Not that our waters 

 are depleted, for some of our ponds are literally alive with 

 black bass, yet they refuse all bait. Now and then a pair of 

 five-pounders will be the reward of a day's fishing, which 

 pleasing episode will not be repeated for, perhaps, a month 

 of daily fishing. There may be exceptions to this state of 

 things, but they are rare. Greenwood Lake seems to be fall- 

 ing into line with the rest, as regards black bass. We men- 

 tion this resort that we may be corrected, if in error, by 

 some one of the many readers of Forest and Stream who> 

 frequents its waters, and whose experience may differ fr< m 

 ours. Up to the season just passed, we believe there has 

 been some fair sp«rt had there, but the present season has 

 not been goi d. Within a radius of ten miles, no less than 

 that number of ponds, or, rather, small lakes, most of them 

 with rocky shores, have been slocked with bass for twelve or 

 fifteen years. During the first five years the sport was ex- 

 cellent. Then came a gradual falling off until now, in one 

 of them, at least, it is almost useless to cast. Yet, in this 

 pond, great numbers of bass can be seen at times ranging 

 from three to five or six pounds ; so the reaiy answer "fished 

 out" has no application here. 



The writer, daring the ten years above mentioned, has de- 

 voted his leisure, almost exclusively, to black bass fishing ; 

 and has his favorite spots, which afford good sport, and are 

 to him what a certain clump of alders in a run is to a valued 

 correspondent of the Game Bag and Gun department of Tiie 

 Forest and Stream. Still, the general condition above out- 

 lined, remains to us a mystery. Can some brother of the 

 angle explain it ? 



It may be presumptuous in a stranger, upon his first en- 

 trance into the columns of Fokest and Stream, to call an 

 " experience meeting,'' but the companion of many a night, 

 by the camp fire, read by flickering torch, bids us seek the 

 truth. Whether it lies " in the bottom of a well," pent up 

 in the brain of the editor, or reposes in the experience of 

 some gentle craftsman, let it come forth. 



And if an "experience meeting" may be opened, will not 

 some "contemplative man" tell what he knows about 

 " signs ;" lo what extent luck has been had in the teeth of 

 all unfavorable ones; what, if any, he has found in'allible. 

 Let Nessmuk lead, and " he who left half told," the memo- 

 ries of a pleasant week with bass at a Pennsylvania lake, 

 with the two boys, "jine in," and let noone be "backward." 

 Let us hear from "Kingfisher." 



The breath of spring will soon be wafted to us on the 

 gales ; soon rods will again be jointed aud camp fires, in the 

 mountains, blaze and burn as of yore; again, reposing on 

 her bosom, her children will commune with the Great 

 Mother and, Antreus like, arise new born. Speed the day 1 

 and he, who can carry with him, as food for contemplation, 

 new thoughts, be they but vagaries or living truths, super- 

 stitions, trusted in by gentle anglers — now dusk — in the long 

 ago, or the new light which, day by dav, comes to progres- 

 sive man; he who has these ever with him — whether in the 

 lonely cruise of "the Nipper" in the "Bye-ways of the 

 Northwest," or "the Forests of Yucatan" — paddles and 

 iramps not in vain, though night finds him chilled and 

 drenched on a lee shore, or without a string or with an 

 empty creel. Wawatanda. 



SOUTHERN SEA-FISHES IN 1675. 



THE extracts given below from Ihe log-book of that rare 

 old piratical buccanneer, Captain Dumpier, were banded 

 us by Mr. Frank Endicott, the well known lithographer of 

 this city, and the President of the Richmond County Game 

 Association. They are valuable for many reasons, one of 

 which is the showing of how the names of some fishes were 

 spelled in those days, especially the vulgar name of Megalopn 

 thrUsoides, which wss tarpom, now changed to tarpum, and 

 occasionally to tarpon. The latter spelling seems to have 

 only a few followers. 



What glimpses of fret-booting pleasures " as he sailed, as 

 he sailed," the extracts call up ! Rich galleons laden to the 

 scuppers with the gold of the helpless old Dons, Bilks and 

 jewels and pieces-of-eight, and inlaid cuirasses and gilded 

 breastplates and rapiers with hilts quaintly filagreed and 

 studded with preciouB stones, and other like aesthetic plun- 

 der which is not to be had in these degenerate days. It 

 moves us to make the office boy walk the plank out of the 

 t bird story window, and only considerations for the fat apple 

 woman below, to whom his descent in that manner would 

 be particularly disagreeable, prevent it. 



The exiracts show (hat the old captain was a keen and 

 accural e observer, as witness his description of the tnrpom 

 and of the methods of iis capture. This is probably the. 

 earliest mention of this fish and therefore should not be over- 

 looked by future writers upon it. The book is entitled "A 

 Collection of Voyages by Capt. William Dampier, Anno. 

 1075; London. Printed for James and John Kuapton, at 

 the Crown in St. Pauls Churchyard, 1729." Vol. 2, part 2; 

 Chap. 1, pp. 12, 13, furnish the following, which we give, 

 spelling, capitals, and all : 



BAT OF MEXIOO (CtMUit of TuwUn). 



"The Tarpim is a large scaly Fish shaped somewhat like 

 a Salmon but somewhat flatter. 'Tis of a dull Silver Colour 

 with Scales as big as a Half Crown. A large Tarpom will 

 weigh 25 or SO Pound. 'Tis good sweet wholesome Meat 

 and the Flesh solid and firm. In its Belly you shall find two 



large Scalops of Fat weighing two or three Pound each; 1 

 never Knew any taken with Hook and Line : but are either 

 with Nets or by striking them with Harpoons, nl winch the 

 Moskito Men are very expert. The Nets for iliis Purpose 

 'ire made with strong double Twine the Mi sites rive or six 

 Inches square. For if they are too small So that ihe Pish be 

 not. jbtatigled therein, he presently draws himself a little 

 backward, and then springs over the INet : Yet I have seen 

 tbem taken in a Sain made with small Meshes in this man- 

 ner. After we have inclosed a great Number, whiisl the 

 two ends of the Net were drawing ashore, too or twelve 

 naked Men have followed ; when a Fish struck against the 

 Net the next Man to it grasped both Net and Fish in his 

 Arms and held all fast till others came to bis Ass'Sta* ce. 

 Besides these we had three Men in a Cnnoa in which they 

 moved sideways after the Net : and many of the Fish in 

 sprioging over the Net, would fall into ihe Carina; And by 

 I hese means we should take two or three at 'very draug 

 These Fish are found plentifully all along thai "shore from 

 Cape Catocb to Trisi, especially in clear Wati r, near sandy 

 Bays ; bat. no where in muddy or rocky Ground. They are 

 also about Jamaica, and all the Coast of IheMaiue ; especial- 

 ally near Carthagena." 



Again, in speaking of the natural productions of the Bay 

 of Campeohy, he says • 



" The Lngiines, Creeks and rivers are plentifully stored 

 with great variety of Fish (viz.) Mullets, Snooks, Ten- 

 pounders, Tarpoms, Cav:.illies, Parricootas. Gar-Fish, Sting- 

 rays, Spanish Mackril, with many others." 



AN ADIRONDACK PRESERVE. 



MESSRS. George W. Cotterill and Joel B. Erhardt, 

 members of the bar in this city, are the promoters of 

 an important undertaking, designed to convert a large por- 

 tion of the Adirondack region into a game preserve of a char- 

 acter in many respects superior to any other in that sect ion of 

 country. Mr. Cotterill secured last week from the laud 

 boaid of the State, at Albany, a grant of thirteen thousand 

 acres of land in Hamilton county, embracing Township 40, 

 within which is situated almost the entire extent of Raquette 

 Lake, the largest and most remarkable of the Adirondack 

 lakes, it having a length of twelve miles, ninety-six miles of 

 coast, aud an elevation of 1,731 feet. This large tract of 

 land is heavily limbered, and it is the intention of the sports- 

 men into whose charge it has now passed lo preserve the 

 forests in all their primitive grandeur, furnishing cover for 

 the large game now abundant on the property. 



It is their desire to do all in their power to check the de- 

 struction of the natural timber supply, the protection of 

 which is highly important, not only to meet, future demand, 

 but to insure the continued existence of large, and valuable 

 bodies of water which now irrigate l he lands through which 

 their tributaties and outlets pass. 



There is at present no iniention of creating any club-house 

 or public gathering place in connection with this preserve, 

 the design being to furnish sites to those who may r become 

 members of the association on which to erect their own pri- 

 vate camps, supply stores being located at convenient points 

 from which everything necessary of camp supplies, provis- 

 ions, ammunition, tackle, and even dogs and guus may be 

 procured. It being to the interest of the guides lo protect 

 the property of the sportsmen and tourists from whom they 

 earn their living, any furniture or other goods left at the 

 camps from season to season, will be found undisturbed, 

 upon the return of the owners. There are on the lake iu the 

 season fr.>ni fony to fifty of these camps, already in the oc- 

 cupation of which Ihose who hive previously used them will 

 remain undisturbed, so long as they use their privileges with 

 the spirit of sportsmanship, and join withlhe new a'sociation 

 in its efforts to preserve and perpetuate the resources of that 

 grand game region. In addition to the land already secured 

 from the State, large tracts now privately held will probably 

 hereafter be joined to the property of this association, i ither 

 by purchase or by the admission of the present owners lo the 

 new club. 



Raquette Lake is one of the greatest of black bass waters 

 in the Adtrondacks ; in fact the supply is so large that the 

 minnows, upon which the bass feed, are becoming very 

 much reduced in numbers, causing the bass to devour one 

 another, the larger subsisting upou the smaller. In conse- 

 quence of this, part of the bass will be allowed to pass inio 

 the lower lakes The method of fishing for bass by anglers 

 in this lake, differs greatly from that, usually pursued. The 

 usual plan is lo either troll with a spoou, or to cast or sink 

 a fly. Buss seldom rise to the fly, and when Ihe fly is sunk, 

 the bass caught, are chiefly small fish near the shore. The 

 proper way is to troll with live bait, a ten otmce Tod, with 

 twenty or thirty feet of line, and a nine-foot gut leader. 

 The bait must be toughened by being placed in a perforated 

 box in the lake, where 'hey should be fed for two or thiee 

 days, at the end of which, a large proportion of them will be 

 found to have died; but those lemaining will exhibit greater 

 vigor than when first caught. The hook must be placed 

 through the lips of the bait; there should be a light wind, 

 enough to cause a ripple on the water ; aud then the angler, 

 seated in his flat-bottomed row boat, which should be i f green 

 color, can, with the assistance of a man to propel the boat, 

 capture many fish of three pounds, or nearly that, in weight, 

 by skimming the bait on the surface of Ihe water. There 

 should be a well in the stern of the boat, divided into two 

 compartments, one for the game fish and ihe other for the 

 bait, and both should communicate, by perforations, with 

 the water of the lake, so that the bait may be kept lively and 

 the bass fresh until the angler's return to shore. In this 

 manner fishing can often be enjoyed throughout an entire 

 day, so long as there is a ripple on the surface of some part 

 of the lake, and the wind is not too strong. 



There are also both lake and brook trout to be found here. 

 The former are usually caught by still-fishing at a spot pre- 

 viously baited, and marked by a buoy; the privilege of fish- 

 ing at that point being considered lo belong ouly to the per- 

 son who has pre-empted it in this manner. Lake trout are 

 often caught weighing twenty pounds each. 



Deer are very plentiful, one man having killed nineteen on 

 the shores of Raquette Lake within two months. Ruffed 

 grouse are also found in large numbers, and various kinds of 

 ducks on the lake. 



Raquette Lake is an important thoroughfare, all persons 

 going by wat r to the upper lakes, Forked Lake, Long Lake, 

 Little Tuoper and Great Tupper Lakes, etc., having to pass 

 through Raquette. There are now two hotels on Raquette 

 Lake, one of which is on the land embraced in this tract. 



Anglers should read the announcement of Thomas H. 

 Chubb's new patent reel-plate. See our advertising columns. 



