482 



RECREATION. 



ON THE RACKET RIVER. 



DR. E. P. STUART. 



September 20, 1897, Mr. and Mrs. David 

 H. Decker, my wife and I, started for a 

 hunting trip on the Racket river, Cary Falls 

 being our objective point. We reached 

 there at 2 p. m. the second day, tired and 

 hungry. After a good meal and a night's 

 rest we were much refreshed, and spent the 

 greater part of the next day arranging the 

 cottage where we were to stay. In the 

 afternoon I started out to fish, taking a new 

 spinner I had never tried, and a strip of fat 

 salt pork. Getting into the boat, I let out 

 my line and pulled across to the other 

 shore. I had only turned around and 

 straightened out my line when something 

 struck. I played him some time before I 

 got him alongside the boat, and lifted him 

 in, as I had no landing net. He proved to 

 be a 2]/ 2 pound pickerel. Before reach- 

 ing the shore I took another, almost his 

 exact counterpart. They were much darker 

 than Lake Keuka pickerel, more solid and 

 sweeter. As they were enough for supper, 

 I caught no more that evening. 



The Hollywood stillwaters at this point 

 are better known to lumbermen, hunters 

 and guides as the upper and lower bogs of 

 the Racquet river. These waters contain 

 bass, muskalonge, large pickerel, perch, 

 bullheads and pike ; and in fishing from the 

 rocks over the falls some large trout have 

 been taken. In the many brooks flowing 

 into the river there are large numbers of 

 trout. 



The falls are beautiful. Two large rock 

 islands, standing high out of the water, 

 divide the river into 2 streams. At low 

 water one can walk across on the rocks 

 from shore to shore, with the water boiling 

 and splashing between. 



The scenery along the Racket is grand. 

 The upper Hollywood Stillwater is 5 miles 

 in length, and Y^ to ]/ 2 mile in width. It is 

 dotted with numerous islands and huge 

 rocks sticking out of the water, but not to 

 interfere with pleasant boating. The still- 

 water below the falls is 3 miles in length 

 and about the width of the other. Both 

 seem more like lakes than like a river. 



The next morning after breakfast we 

 crossed the river and took to the woods. 

 They are magnificent; giant birch, beech, 

 cherry and maple trees on the higher 

 grounds, spruce, balsam, ash, and pine on 

 the lower, all unbroken forest except occa- 

 sionally a lumberman's shanty. We went 

 about a mile and raised 2 deer but did not 

 get a shot. We found their beds still 

 warm, and heard the deer run. 



The first week I did not hunt much, be- 

 ing unable to tramp far. I had some sport, 

 for all that. I went into a cedar swamp 

 not far away, and killed all the grouse we 

 could use. I might have killed more, as 

 they were plentiful. I had fairly to kick 

 them up before they would fly. 



I also caught enough perch, pickerel and 

 bullheads to supply both families with all 

 we could eat, In fact, we had no meat at 



any time except what we killed, and 3 

 pounds of salt pork. 



One night Dave came in and said he 

 had killed a large buck, and that after he 

 had shot him the buck had jumped into a 

 cranberry swamp. He said he could hear 

 the creature floundering in the brush a dis- 

 tance ahead and heard some hard breath- 

 ing; then all was still. It was so dark he 

 could not see, so he decided to wait until 

 morning to bring the buck in. 



Accordingly, in the morning we took the 

 boat, paddled up the river about 2 miles, 

 landed, and, guided by Dave, soon reached 

 the place. There were the fresh tracks of 

 a large buck and the place where he jumped 

 into the brush, but we found no blood. 

 We followed the trail some distance, then 

 spread out and thoroughly canvassed that 

 cranberry swamp, but we could not find a 

 dead buck. We finally gave it up. 



.Dave redeemed himself by killing a large 

 buck a few days later. 



I hunted faithfully nearly all the week, 

 but with poor success. I had 2 to 4 deer up 

 every day but they were too wary for me, 

 and I got only one shot. At last I suc- 

 ceeded in getting a large, fat, dry doe. 

 One secret of my failure was that I never 

 had been accustomed to still hunting. I 

 had always hunted with hounds, but I am 

 glad hounding is abolished. 



We did little more hunting except for 

 grouse, and killed only enough of them to 

 eat, not being game hogs. The ladies en- 

 joyed the trip greatly, boating, fishing and 

 wandering in the woods. 



The plunge of the muskrat was almost 

 incessant. Otters were quite numerous. 

 We saw several ; also a great many minks. 

 The river was in almost constant commo- 

 tion as far as we could pull. Occasionally 

 we could hear the squall of a wildcat on 

 the shore, or the whistle of the deer com- 

 ing down to the water to feed. Deer are 

 numerous in the woods and along the river. 



Although we saw no bear we saw plenty 

 of signs. One day we landed at a place 

 where a little stream entered into a larger 

 bog filled with water. There we saw the 

 track of an unusually large bear. White 

 rabbits are numerous in the woods and 

 swamps. Altogether Carey Falls is a de- 

 lightful place for hunters and those who 

 need rest. 



The worst luck I can wish Recreation 

 is that a year from now its circulation may 

 be 500,000 copies. You are giving the 

 sportsmen of the country the best mag- 

 azine that has ever been published, and you 

 deserve success 



W. H. Mullins, Salem, O. 



There's a young woman who makes lit- 

 tle things count. 



How does she do it? 



Teaches arithmetic in a primary school. 

 — The Pathfinder. 



Recreation is the best magazine pub- 

 lished. 



C. R. Wagner, Oak Park, 111. 



