Feb. 2, 1SS2.| 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



5 



(Kite $pai4mimi §ouriiL 



• 



"CAMP CANUCK." 



LEAVES FROM A l.OG-BOOK. — VjtT. 



assc nftouiki, flanse 



N'entOlljJS tn pas le inoulin ijUmeor ■•'" 



VS the last word of tile song rang out loud and clear, and 

 repeated itself again and again Tn echo and ic-eeho, Ivry, 

 tlic miller, parted the bushes behind me, aud .stepped out by 

 riiv camp-fire on the shore. 



'" Ha, Ivry! you're iu a jolly mood to-night.'' 



"There is nothing to cry about, Capitaine. 1 live, so I am 

 jolly. Is not that enough? But come, 'Toinette waits at the 

 mill. And she has bacrhumor, I cau tell you." 



"But I am not prepared, lvry. Here is my log-book not 

 written up for a week." 



" (Via ue vaut rien!" snatching the book from my hand. 

 ' 1 shall show you the greatest masqueallonge that you have 

 never seen. And 'Toinette 1 has very bad humor to- 

 night;" 



The log-hook should have been written up, and I had de- 

 termined to do it that night; but the St. Lawrence was still 

 for the first time that week, and the chance of spearing a 

 large masqueallonge was a temptation; besides, 'Toinette 

 "had bad humor." 



"Well, lvry, 1 will go." 



"Then be quick, Capitaiue," cried the young Frenchman, 

 relighting his pine torch in the fire, and waving it around his 

 head to start the flame. So away we went, IVry's mUsculat 

 form in advance, parting the thick undergrowth and lighting 

 the way, while 1 followed as best 1 could, stumbling through 

 the tangle of briery thickets that intervened between my se- 

 cluded carnp and the mill. As we entered the clearing near 

 the hitter a graceful form bounded suddenly from (lie dark- 

 ness with the spring of an antelope, aud a peal of laughter 

 like the trill of a bird sounded iu our ears. 



"Oh, you are there, 'Toinette," said Ivry, "with your 

 tricks." 



Antoinette Girasol was one of those strange beauties that 

 are not seldom seen among the peasants of the Department of 

 Eure, in north-west France. Will hair of a rich, light tiUge, 

 almost red in color, she had a pair of deep black eyes, set in 

 a complexion of the fairest," and shaded by long lashes and 

 arched eyebrows several shades darker than the hair. Her 

 figure was full, but light and graceful, and her carriage erect. 

 like that of her brother. Boi'n and bred iu the Canadian 

 wilderness, she knew nothing of the outside world, and had 

 a freedom from restraint and an innocent gayety that, iu a 

 city belle, would have passed for boldness; but in 'Toinette 

 it was only the natural outcome of her iunoeent buoyanoe. 

 As we wended our way to the boat, with both her uaads 

 clasped on my arm, she was scolding me iu her quaint 

 broken English (Ivry had lived in the '•settlements," and 

 spoke English better) for keeping her so long waiting, and 

 declaring her intention of pushing me overboard if 1 did not 

 spear the largest fish. 



"An' if M'sieu Capitaine should nefaire come out of te 

 water, I would not feel not one leetle bit bad at all." 



Ivry's boat was a -flat-bottomed, homely craft, made of 

 pine boards as they came out of the mill. In the bow was a 

 grate of iron, raised on a pole. This the Frenchman tilled 

 with "fat " piue sticks and knots, and placing 'Toinette and 

 me side by side in the bow, he pushed the boat from shore. 

 and standing in the stern, propelled us down the creek to 

 the river with powerful strokes of his long-handled paddle. 



"Make the fire, Capitaine," said lvry, as the boat turned 

 out, of the creek and skirted the shore of the great river. 

 The match caught the resinous pine in an instant, and the 

 blaze was reflected in the water, laying bare, its secrets to 

 the bottom. The long-handled spears were poised- ready to 

 Strike, and every nerve and muscle was tense as we strained 

 our eyes to catch sight of the expected game. "Te Capi- 

 taine will lock his foot in that of mine," said the beauty at 

 my side, "that he may not fall out of te bateau after te 

 f'eesh," at the same time thrusting out a neat foot and round 

 ankle invitingly. Thus securedl could have watched for 

 "lunge" till morning (without fear of falling overboard, 

 I mean), and just as I was thinkiug something to this 

 effect, 'Toinette' gave a slight start, and said in a low tone, 

 "A gauche, Ivry; now, Capitaine." At the same time a 

 large masqueallonge appeared almost beneath me, the- 

 est motion of its fins plainly visible by the glare of the tig 

 Leaning over to strike, it seemed impossible 10 miss dial huge 

 body not five feet away, but its very size told me thai it 

 would not yield without a fierce struggle; so steadying my 

 excited nerves I made the blow with all the Strength I 

 possessed. Lucky for me that my foot was locked in that of 

 the fair 'Toinette; and lucky, too, that that support was of 

 the stoutest; forbad it failed I w r ould certainly have gone 

 heels over head into the river. As it was, the boat turned 

 nearly on its side, and the flaming brands from the grate I 'i 

 all about. 



".Not so quick, Capitaine," said lvry. whose native polite- 

 ness would not permit him to laugh at my misfortune. 

 " Some more wood on the fire, aud we try again." 



Soon a pike appeared on 'Toinette 's side of the boat, ami 

 Ivry held us immovable for her to strike. Slowly poising 

 the spear the French maiden sunk it silently into the water-. 

 The. fish, transfixed by the barbed prongs, made the water 

 boil with its struggles for a moment, but Toinette brought it 

 to the surface near her brother, who deftly lifted it into the 

 stern. 



"It is more leetle than that M'sieu Capitaine did not gel." 

 said the Canadienne, with a smile. 



In a few moments we reached a spot where lvry assured us 

 the largest fish were known to lurk, and I had' not looked 

 long before a very monsler appeared beneath me. This time 

 I must make no false move. My hand. trembled with ex- 

 citement, but I got the ilircetion carefully, and though it ap- 

 peared to point lo one side when inserted in the water, I 

 drove the spear straight down. Instantly 1 frit that it was 

 fast; and the struggles of the fish to escape became terrific, 1 

 feared the. slender Shaft of the spear would break when my 

 efforts' to bring the captive to the surface were resisted, anil 

 so I tried to haul him iu hand over hand. But Ivry warned 

 me to desist, as the spear was not imbedded strongly. It re- 

 quired no little strength and adroitness to keep a hold on the 

 shaft, while the enormous fish lashed and beat the water; 

 but 1 clung bravely, and at last the masqueallonge floated near 

 the surface, 



" II est hoye," * cried Ivry, as by an effort we lifted (he 



ay gasping, Opening and 



add like to grind his ene- 

 •th. 



ds of small fry from the. 

 ly a long, slimy 

 th the boat, anil 

 .■nth sunken logs 

 ipear. At length 

 yes roved to the 

 estjf en the bank 

 n the beauteous 

 grate fell on her 

 watching hi- 

 ke generally 

 :1 its auburn 



anil liei 

 wling I 

 ■ did nut 



* A localism, r 



ntnj a dying or axuauutad flsli. 



monster into the boat, where he 1 

 i leisiiie- his massive jaws, as if he v\ 

 jiites with the formidable-looking U 

 On we wen! again, starting rnvri 

 banks of weeds as v.v passed. Q 



eel lazily propelled hia 3ria'ky for 



tortoises' as big as tubs went en 

 and rocks, lint our chosen gam 

 my patience Was nigh exhausted 

 grand pine forest that lifted its head in m< 

 of ila: 'river. Then I let my gaze fall 

 maiden at my side. The light from the 

 soft, mobile face as she leaned over the ski 

 tently. Her hair, loose from the round cap 



floated buck from her head in a wave, 

 tinge sparkled and -hone in the firelight like jeweled gold. 

 The bare, 'round arm that held the poised shaft was white as 

 d the shapely outlines of the graceful form were de- 

 picted as a silkouette"against the dark background of the pine 

 forest, 



"If te Capitaine w r ould not regard me he might see te grand 

 feesh," said "'Toinette, without raising her eyes from their 

 st< a, i . gasse into the water. 



" Let us return," said Ivry, "I think the fish are not well 

 tO night." 



On the return I plied the single paddle, while lvry took bis 

 turn with the spear, and the French girl sat at my feet, telling 

 me in her patois of the great masqueallonge that nearly 

 drowned her brother one time by pulling him bodily oil' the 

 stem of a chaloupe from which he was fishing; and in this 

 way we went back to the mill on the creek, the prattle and 

 laughter of the joyous maiden continuing till we parted for 

 (he night at my camp — for they both insisted on accompany- 

 ing nic through the tangled underbrush to my little shelter 

 tent. Aud as I lay on my couch of aromatic hemlock after 

 the, " bon-soirs " had been said and 'Toinette had thrown a 

 parting kiss to me and then run away laughing, I seemed 

 si ill to hear the bird-like laugh and the quaint lisping patois 

 of the young French maiden, and even in my dreams the 

 clear voice would now and then ring and reverberate in my 

 ears. Seneca. 



A WET WEEK IN WISCONSIN. 



A LT1IGUGH a constant reader of Forest and Stream. 



jTji I have never seen the charming village of Packwaukee 

 mentioned in your columns as a haven of enjoyment for 

 in artsmenj and as I think the place really worthy of men- 

 tion, I cull from my note book some hurried remarks jotted 

 down during (be pleasant month of October. 



Our party numbered three guns, aud the men who handled 

 them were Adrian Corvalli, "Billy" Buffi n and the writer. 

 We begau shooting at Prairie du Chien, but owing to hot 

 weather and the scarcity of birds of all kinds we were forced 

 to abandon this place and turn our steps toward Packwaukee ; 

 and here I cannot do better than to quote from Corralli's 

 journal, who, it will be seen, did not much enjoy his semi- 

 amphibious existence. 



Cbrralli says: I pass over that part of our expedition which 

 relates to Prairie du Chien, a locality famous for the large 

 number of woodcock which are yearly killed on the banks of 

 (he Mississippi above and below one of the most picturesque 

 little towns I have ever seen in a country justly celebrated 

 for the w T onucrf id beauty of its scenery. I heard of many 

 woodcock, loth dead and alive, during my brief stay at 

 Prairie du Chien, but the pleasure with which I listened to 

 (lie sportsmen's tales was somewhat damped by my personal 

 experience, winch was of (lie most gloomy character, In fact 

 I never saw but one cock, and that was a poor weak bird, 

 which had been hit before, and was caught by one of the 

 dogs without a shot fired. So much for Prairie, du Chien, 

 where 1 hardly pulled a trigger. 



Packwaukee, which is situated on a muddy creek dignified 

 by the name of the Fox Biver, affords fcw r facilities for sport, 

 although you can always sec birds flying about, and occa- 

 sionally even observe them alighting in wild and unaecessible 

 pines. Ducks and snipe are in the majority; but once 

 every two or three years a prairie-chicken may be no- 

 ticed, and there is au octogenarian in the village who 

 boasts of having seen a bevy of quail when he was a 

 boy. The curse of this country is the treacherous char- 

 acter of the soil, which renders pedestrianism not 

 only difficult but sometimes dangerous. Underneath the 

 smiling surface of the most verdant pasture-land there lurk 

 deep mud-pits and quick-sands, into which the unwary 

 traveler is suddenly plunged, generally w T hen he least an- 

 ticipate; such a catastrophe. I "have often been the victim of 

 such accidents, and rarely escaped without tilling one or 

 bolh boots with mud and water, and sometimes sinking so 

 far as to submerge that portion of my person which a soldier 

 is supposed never to exhibit to his enemy. 



Happily this country is largely decorated with haystacks, 

 and beneath their friendly shelter I have many times emptied 

 my boots and allowed my drenched trousers to bask in the 

 sunshine of their lofty summits. But for these happy hay- 

 stacks I should long since have perished miserably, and' I 

 look back with pleasure to the mauy contented horns I have 

 spent beneath them " on the side that's next the sun." 



There are (wo varieties of the snipe (Seotopax wilx/mei'i) to 

 be found here. One is the common snipe (usually termed by 

 Americans jack-snipe) and the other the Moutello snipe. The 

 latter is a thin and wary bird, which is difficult of approach, 

 and when flushed invariably flies into Minnesota, Iowa, or 

 some other of the neighboring States. When killed this bird 

 is so attenuated as to be almost unfit for food, but as nobody 

 succeeds in shooting them this fact is of little consequence. 



The common variety of snipe is much fatter than the Mon- 

 tello species, but even the.se birds rarely fly less than two 

 miles, and so afford the shooter much hearth-producing ex- 

 ercise. 



.Woodcock are not found in Marquette county, where 

 Packwaukee is situated; in fact, beyond the eternal ducks and 

 gymnastic snipe there is nothing to tempt the sportsman 

 awaj from the very excellent shooting which is attainable at 

 all points on the Ottawa Biver and the St. Clair Flats during 

 the autumn months. 



Wild geese, with more pereepl ion than one would expect 

 in an bistoricalb stupid bird, invariably pass over this 

 region; but 1 believe that early in the present decade a speci- 

 men ■ a killed by a man who bore the romantic, yet famil- 

 i of John Smith. In front of the village and 

 spanning the river is a bridge, over which the ducks fly early 



q : i mug at a height which gives them very much the 



appearance of being a cross between humming-birds and 

 bumble-bees. My heart sinks within me as I look back to 

 the number of ineffective shots which I have fired at those 

 infernal chjeljs from that accursed bridge, which, to my 



excited and eager fancy, appears to be built upon the useless 

 cases of cartridges I have exploded on an empty slomach — 

 for you must kuow nil (his shooting has to be done before 

 breakfast, which is in itself ridiculous, inasmuch as a well- 

 fed man is twice as deadly in his aim as I he poor wretch 

 who has been forced out of bed at 6 A . M. and sent shivering 

 into the damp mist of a late October morning, 



Packwaidtee is not a pretty place; and stands knee-deep in 

 sand throughout its dreary length) When you go out on that 

 wretched bridge half the population watch you, and for some 

 time business is partially suspended. I have already described 

 with some care the treacherous nature of the bogs and wet 

 prairies, over which' I have roamed in every direction since 

 ill luck planted me in this mud hole. Strange as it may 

 appear, the waters of the Fox Biver.rival in subtle dangers the 

 quaking bogs around it. Below the calm surface of the 

 river huge snags project nearly to the level of the water, 

 and it is no uncommon thing when iu a canoe to find your- 

 self suddenly perched on the top of some tree, the locality of 

 which you 'never dreamt of. Once impaled in this way the 

 great conundrum is how to get afloat again. The least 

 incaulion will assuredly send you out of your canoe and into 

 the water, (it froze hard last night) and once, in the water 

 you naturally perish. Such an end Would be uncomfortable, 

 though cpiite'in keeping with the principles of the Packwaukee 

 people, who are enthusiastic only on the subject of cold 

 Water, One morning I started out fidl of hope and breakfast 

 and duck shot cartridges, but I had not gone forty yards 

 from the principal hotel when I felt my canoe rise beneath 

 me, and in a moment I was mounted on a. fiat-headed snag. 

 Half the village came out to look at me, and it was with the 

 greatest difficulty that after many judicious straggles I at 

 last found myself once more afloat. 



I never saw really good shooting here except once or twice 

 on the bridge before breakfast. But shooting before breakfast 

 is always an abomination ; and all that nonsense about exercise 

 on an empty stomach is too silly to mislead any sensible per- 

 son. If exercise is to be taken on an empty stomach, I leave 

 it to that class of youthful lunatics who like it. For my own 

 part I think it is 'simply cruel to shoot before breakfast, but 

 everything in this purgatorial region seems to be graduated on 

 a scale of more or less discomfort. Shooting here ceases to 

 be a pleasure and is prostituted to the level of a clumsy toil. 

 I should like to see comfortable paths and roads made of 

 some soft yet not too yielding substance, leading in every 

 direction likely to be inhabited by birds. In this way I 

 believe Packwaukee might be made a'really pleasant resort for 

 the tired Civil Servant. 



I have until this moment f orgotton to mention an interest- 

 ing species of duck called "the" Wizard," so named from the 

 magical way in which it ofttimes escapes even as you stretch 

 forth your hand to capture it. Host of the ducks here require 

 to be frequently shot, but the Wizard must be fairly riddled 

 before he can be bagged. He is a social duck, usually found 

 in company, and utters a shrill whistle note not unlike the 

 cry of a golden plover. 



In a few days I shall turn my face towards the rising sun 

 and bid a permanent adieu to Marquette couuty, which to 

 me has been little else than a rendezvous for a continued 

 series of mud bath-'. I began my holiday in mud; I have- 

 daily wallowed in it since; and in all my schemes for 

 amusement and exercise I find that mud is the preponderat- 

 ing ingredient. 



To the stranger who proposes to visit yiarquette County I 

 would say, if possible, go somewhere else. Should you go 

 notwithstanding my warning, be careful never to sit down, 

 except upon a tree, on a fence or behind a haystack. Any- 

 where else you must encounter one of two miseries— either 

 to squat in a puddle, or to perforate your hinder person with 

 the prickly sand burrs, which arc another of the pests of this 

 country, which had nearly escaped my truthful pen. 



In saying good-bye, the hardest heart' will soften; and it 

 now remains for me to say that I wish Packwaukee a happy 

 and prosperous future. The people are kind and obliging", 

 and their pumpkin pies will always be remembered by me 

 with gentle and kindly feelings. Cakes and various kinds of 

 preserved fruits I have secreted in large quantities about my 

 person ; and I am glad to say that throughout all the troubles 

 and trials of my western life my appetite has never failed me. 



In bidding Packwaukee farewell I have few regrets; and 

 my principal object in writing these notes is to prevent eager 

 sportsmen from'coming here to perish. Should an untoward 

 fate ever bring me here again, I shall come clad from head to 

 heel in waterproof clothing, with a life preserver attached to 

 my stomach, a portable canvas boat fight enough for rapid 

 transport, and accompanied by a Member of the Royal Hu- 

 mane Society equipped w r ith a complete life-saving apparatus 

 of the latest pattern. Thus guarded, aud fortified with a 

 pint of rye whisky per diem, I may a second time add to the 

 sporting literature of the wettest country in the world. 

 * * * * * * 



My friend Adrian Corvalli has since visited other shooting 

 grounds, and has enjoyed such success that I fear he will re- 

 turn to Wisconsin no more. His description of his week's 

 shooting is slightly melancholy, but I do not think ho would 

 have been so miserable but for the unusual height of the 

 water, which greatly increased the difficulties he mentions 

 with such feeling. 



The shooting off the bridge really was extremely trying, 

 and I once saw a sportsman "get rid of fifty shells for one 

 duck. On another occasion 1 was building'a blind close to 

 an excited Nimrod, who carried a heavy No. 10 muzzle- 

 loader and appeared to be shooting heavy charges. A good 

 many broadbills and redheads were flying over, and this 

 shooter must have fired more than twenty shots without bag- 

 ging a bird. At last I said to him, "If you wish, I will shoot 

 some ducks for you;" and he at once gave me his gun, my 

 own shooting iron beiug in the house. After a few shots I 

 handed him five redheads, greatly to his delight. Iudeed, he 

 was so pleased that he endeavored to slip a dollar bill into 

 my hand as I moved off to complete my blind. I had to ex- 

 plain that I required no reward, aud that, lik e himself, I was 

 shooting only for pleasure. "Stranger," said he, "you are 

 very kind, but please don't tell my "partner how 1 got these 

 ducks," the partner in question being then engaged warming 

 himself at the village. I promised to be silent, and shortly 

 afterwards left him blazing aw r ay us wild as ever. 



In my western trips I have always observed thai, uine-tenlhs 

 of the sportsmen I meet shoot behind their birds, not beingable 

 to calculate correctly the speed at which the ducks are mov- 

 ing. One reads a great deal concerning the art of flight shoot- 

 ing, but after many years' experience I do not believe that 

 any rule cau be laid 'down for the successful guidance of 

 young sportsmen. Practice alone can make a man a good 

 shot, anil even then success is not assured, unless the shooter 

 lias a. dee i beady hand, and a cool head. 



In America these qualifications art by no ruuans une#m- 



