64 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Feb, 81, 1884. 



and maintained its beauty thus till it finally disappeared. 

 And now the lake claimed our attention. The roseate hues 

 that veiled the waters gave way to hands of soft purple and 

 gold alternating, running parallel with the shore and extend- 

 ing nearly out to the line of vision, where a luminous veil- 

 like band interposed, more beautiful if possible in its sheeny 

 softness than anything that had gone before. From our 

 lofty outlook we sat in our camp chairs, and in silence drank 

 in the beauties of the scene. The sunsets from our camp 

 here were always beautiful, but this one was preeminently 

 so. The day done, the camp-fire was mended, and the long- 

 twilight enjoyed. To the dweller in the lowei latitudes, one 

 of the most 'interesting features of this region is the long 

 twdights. The transcendanlly beautiful lake sunsets may 

 occasionally be seen, but the "long twilights are of nightly 

 occurrence", and the summer wanderer never forgets to ad- 

 mire them. . To the sportsman everywhere the camp-fire 

 brings comfort and happiness, but to the sportsman in the 

 Lake Superior latitude the camp-fire and the long and glori- 

 ously beautiful twilight, and the murmuring lake breeze iu 

 the pine boughs, gives a witchery to the summer eveuings 

 nowhere else to be found. 



The succeeding day, in company with our young friends, 

 we went back to the scene of our trouting the day before. 

 The Greek Professor, on having sufficiently cured his jerk, 

 accompanied us. The same buck (we guessed Mm to be), 

 thai had been so much surprised at our appearance the day 

 before, returned to the lake while we were there, and walk- 

 ing out of the brush to the water's edge, he was once more 

 astonished to see men on the opposite shore, and he again 

 scrutinized us closely, his scrutiny resulting as it did the 

 day before, he again spread his broad tail and disappeared in 

 the brush. 



Our catch this day was about the same as the day before. 

 The Judge took but few saying that he was tired of that kind 

 of sport, but the Greek Professor, zealous to outnumber his 

 catch of the day before, held on till he was one ahead, when 

 he too ceased. In the two days, 754 trout were taken, which 

 our young friends put on ice and sent up to Marquette, to be 

 distributed among their friends. 



And now, if any one wishes to rise in his place and de- 

 nounce "trout, hogs," about this time is as good as any. I 

 have no defense to make, but will have something myself to 

 say in the prosecution before I close. 



Before leaving, rain began falling, and we had a wretch- 

 edly bad trip home. Our guides lost their way, and led us 

 through thickets and swampy places, until it began to look 

 as if we were destined to lie out over night. In their wan- 

 derings they came to the little lake lying northeast of Beaver 

 Lake, and which is a part of the system to which that lake 

 belongs, and they re-discovered it and named it Rainy Lake. 

 Finding our way out of the woods, however, we reached 

 camp barely in time to escape a soaking rain. That night 

 we prepared and ate our suppers under great difficulty. 

 About dark, a violent thunder storm passed over the lake, 

 from the west to the east, and after some time it (or another) 

 returned, and went back to whence it came. The elements 

 over the lake seemed to be in great commotion, and notwith- 

 standing our greatly wearied condition, we sat in the door 

 of our tent and watched the play of the lightning and lis- 

 tened to the bursting thunder till a late hour. The flashing 

 lightning gave momentary illumination to the black, boiling- 

 waters, and far out we could see the outline of a steamer, 

 and the long trail of smoke hanging low over the inky waters 

 behind her. At a late hour we went to bed, and all through 

 the night, whenever awake, I could hear the rain beat upon 

 our tent and the waves pounding on the shore. 



For two days the weather was catchy, but on the evening 

 of the second" our two friends left us and returned to Munis- 

 iug. Our time being up, we commissioned Mr. Cox to send 

 a boat for us as soon as he returned, and on the following 

 Saturday morning he himself came after us. The Indians 

 were all gone on a "packing" expedition for a company of 

 land-lookers to Minnesota, and so he came iu lieu of one of 

 them. 



There was quite a breeze blowing that morning, with a 

 prospect of a gale toward the middle of the day. But the 

 fishing tug which made Munising, its headquarters, was oil 

 the Grand Portal two or three miles, and if we could manage 

 to get to that place in time, we were sure of being picked 

 up by tiat steamer on its return. In a very short time we 

 "pulled up stakes" tsee the origin of the phrase) and went 

 aboard the Sand Piper. "Now don't get scared!" said Skip- 

 per Cox assuringly, as his vessel swung round till the wind 

 filled tbe'sails. And then away she went over the waves like 

 a courser. Now it was that the Judge's 220 pounds became 

 useful. Seated amidships, it became his duty to "cut ship" 

 by sliding to the right or left, according to the force with 

 which the wind blew. Unfortunately for our comfort, it 

 came in cat squalls, and in spite of the nimbleness which 

 fear lent to the ponderous Judge, it did seem that we would 

 capsize. At any other time and place I think the shuttle- 

 like swiftness with wnich his heavy keel slipped back and 

 forth on the cross board would have produced boisterous 

 merriment, but with the danger of capsizing at any moment 

 staring us iu the face, we watched the ponderous shuttle- 

 like movement in solemn silence, with a feeling that as long 

 as it was kept agoing the chances were with us. 



At length we reached the leeward side of the Grand 

 Portal, where we lay in a little haven till the tug came along, 

 when our boat was made fast to it and we were taken on 

 board. By this time the wind had increased to quite a gale 

 from the west, and the little steamer found it no holiday 

 affair to plough her way through the rising waves. 



In a large tank aft the little cabin, a hundred fish or so, 

 whitefish, lak« trout, and perhaps some others, represented 

 i he morning's catch. The lake fishing all the season has 

 been poor, so poor that the catch had not defrayed the ex- 

 penses, and in two weeks thereafter the tug was taken off 

 that part of the lake. The fishermen with whom I talked, 

 spoke freely of the annual decrease in the numbers of fish 

 taken in the lake— a decrease which, if it continues but a 

 few years longer, will see the end of the fishing industry on 

 the lakes. 



Shortly after we went aboard and the little steamer was 

 on her way, one of the men, who, with others, had just 

 completed the work of cleaning the fish, seized a handful of 

 the offal and threw the bloody mass overboard. A flock of 

 gulls had been following and screaming in the wake of our 

 vessel, and as soon as the mass struck the water they pounced 

 down upon it and gulped such bits down as they managed 

 to get hold of. "Feeding the gulls" was an every-day oc- 

 currence with these fishermen, and the birds had learned not 

 only to follow the vessel but to look for their choice food, 

 at the motion of a hand. A bit not too large was gulped 

 down in a trice, but ijE it were too large to swallow readily, 

 the finder would either drop it after an Ineffectual effort to 



swallow, or else be robbed of it by some of his greedy com- 

 panions. Frequently two, three or more would get hold of 

 the same morsel, and sometimes a straggler, wmo could not 

 find a beak-hold in the piece itself, would seize a neighbor 

 by the wing and swallow at that. And such a screaming 

 and flapping of wings would ensue, until perhaps the flock 

 would fall to the water, where the screaming and flapping 

 might go on for some moments longer until indeed the morsel 

 were swallowed or else lost in the waters. 



About 3 P. M. we reached Munising, and the seat of the 

 Judge's trousers being greatly worsted by the morning's work 

 balancing the Sand Piper, we w r ent into quarters to give him 

 a chance for repairs. 



Our camp we made on the bay shore under the shadow 

 of a cluster of maples, and within thirty yards of the tent, 

 in a dimple in the bay's bottom, we caught with the fly 

 speckled trout of fair size and of gamy quality. The only differ- 

 ence we could discover between them and their cousins of the 

 streams was in their color. The markings were the same, but 

 their bright colors had faded out. At the dock we were told, 

 trout from two to three pounds in weight were frequently 

 taken. The natives insert hooks in an empty metallic rifle 

 cartridge and pouring melted lead into it, make a grappling 

 hook that never fails to do its w T ork when once in a trout's 

 mouth. This cluster of hooks they bob np and down and 

 the large trout, attracted by the polished shell, lay hold and 

 are yanked to the dock. 



DOWN THE YUKON ON A RAFT. 



BY BXEOT. FRED'K SCHWATKA, V. S. ARMY. 



Sixth Paper. 



AS we floated out of Lake Marsh it was known that some- 

 where ahead there would be found the largest rapids on 

 upper river, and by some form of improper interpretation the 

 from our Indians, or in some way we had the idea that they 

 would occur very soon, within three or four miles, so to 

 speak, and I undertook the herculean task of walking on 

 ahead on the beach and finding them to signal the raft so 

 that it would have ample time to reach the bank, for the 

 river was now 500 to 600 yards wide in places. It turned 

 out afterward that the rapids were more than fifty miles 

 further on. I had walked more than three miles when I 

 came to a peculiar kind of creek distinctive of this district 

 of the river, that is, not very wide, but altogether too wide 

 to jump, with slippery slopes of clay, and so deep that the 

 bottom could not be seen or reached with a pole. These 

 streams have a current like a glacier, and the one that 

 stopped me — and I suppose all jhe rest — had the same un- 

 varying width for over a half a mile from its mouth, beyond 

 which I dare not go for fear the raft passing me, when I 

 returned and fought mosquitoes, and waited for it to come 

 along, when I would have the canoe pick me up. 



The first traveler along the river was one of our old 

 Tahk-heesh friends, who came down paddling his cotton- 

 wood canoe with his family, a squaw and three children, 

 wedged in the bottom. He comprehended my situation and 

 1 tried to make him understand that I wanted simply to 

 cross the canal-like creek, while he, remembering a few 

 trifles he had received at a few camps back, thought he 

 would extend his services and take me a short way down 

 the river, to which I did not object, still believing that the 

 rapids were but a short distance ahead. The rain was fall- 

 ing in a persistent drizzle, which, coupled with my cramped 

 position in the rickety canoe made me feel anything but 

 comfortable. My Indian patron was evidently feeling 

 worried about, not' meeting other Indians (for hi? had previ- 

 ously promised me that he would have a number at the 

 rapids to portage my effects around if my raft went to pieces 

 in'shootine; them, as they were all confident it would) and he 

 was stopping his not unmusical gurgling strokes of his 

 paddle every minute or two to scan the river banks or to 

 listen if he could hear anything of them. Finally he became 

 discouraged at the prospect, after he had descended about 

 three or four miles, and diving down into a mass of dirty 

 rags and Indian bric-a brae of all sort he fished out one of 

 the brass mounted Hudson Bay flintlock horse pistols I have 

 already described in a former article as 3 of their possible 

 possessions, and I was horrified at the sight for I felt sure he 

 was going to use it as a signal. He took out the bullet and held 

 it in his teeth, and 1 felt the least little bit better but still 

 terrified beyond measure, and it was not until he pointed it 

 directly at me in the other end of the canoe that I felt at all 

 safe, and as I heaved a deep sigh of relief, he fired, and 1 

 could not help but thrill with the liveliest gratitude for his 

 consideration f©r me, and the warmest admiration for his 

 indomitable courage as he stood unflinchingly at the butt 

 of it and pulled the trigger. For fear that he might ask me 

 to fire the next one, however, I told him in the sign lan- 

 guage that I would swim ashore and run around in the 

 woods and back country and look them np, if that didn't 

 bring them to a response. It awakened no reply, from which 

 I inferred that none of the others had mule pistols, at least 

 within a radius of 500 miles of here, or probably did not fire 

 them off, and as it was getting well along in the evening my 

 "Stick" friend pointed his canoe for an old camping place 

 on the east bank of the river (although the canoe was so 

 warped and its nose so broken that you could have conscien- 

 tiously said it pointed in any direction), and with a lew 

 strokes of his paddle he was soon at the shore and I went 

 into the simplest camp I ever did in all my life, for all that 

 was done was to pull an old piece of canvas over a pole and 

 crawl under it and imagine it kept out the rain, which it did 

 about as effectually as if it had been a crochet tidy. I cer- 

 tainly think that if he had covered me with his horse-pistol 

 again it would at least have been warmer. 



There was one good thing about a rain storm in Alaska, 

 however, and that is the philosophical repulsion that exists 

 between a moving two-grain rain-drop and a stationary 

 grain of mosquito when they come in contact. All along 

 this bank the dense willow growth crawled up and leaned 

 over the water, and I was afraid there was no camping 

 place to be found, until I saw a place where a little spur of 

 spruce-clad hillocks infringed oh the shore, and here 1 halted 

 the raft and we made an uncomfortable camp. Everywhere 

 we could see muskrat wakes as they went swimming back- 

 ward and forward across the river, but we secured none. 

 Fish of some sort kept jumping in the river, but the most 

 seductive "Hies" were unrewarded with a bite, although 

 the weather was not of the kind to tempt one to hunt or fish 

 simplv for sport. 



The next day, the 30th of June, was but little better, and 

 we got away late from our camp, our Tahk-heesh friend 

 accompanying us in his canoe for the purpose of telling us 

 just where we should find the rapids, and of course, disap- 

 pearing ahead so as to keep us feeling more anxious about 



it. At one time, about eight o'clock in the evening, we 

 heard roaring ahead as we swung round a high clay bluff, 

 and were conscious of the fact that we were shooting for- 

 ward at a more rapid gait, and the raft was swung on "shore 

 and a prospecting party sent out, which revealed thai there 

 were rapids extending a distance out into the river, but of 

 no consequence to us. In fact, they were directly in front 

 of our position on the shore, and so swiftly was the current. 

 that we could not get out into the stream fast enough to 

 avoid sticking on the rough bar of gravel and boulders, :md 

 shortly after the crew had jumped iu and were preparing to 

 pry the raft round into the stream, the most violent splashing 

 was heard on the outer side of the craft, and it was S.Opn 

 found that a goodly -sized grayling had hooked himself into 

 a line that some one had allowed to trail over the logs in 

 their hurry and excitement of attending to more important 

 duties connected with the supposed rapids. He was 

 divorced from the hook and when thrown over another 

 one repeated the operation, audit soon became evident that 

 we were getting into the very best of fishing waters. After 

 the raft swung clear of the outer boulders of the reef, several 

 lines and flies were gotten out and it was quite amusing and 

 entertaining to see the long "oasts" or rather attempts at 

 them as we rushed by distant ripples near the bends of the 

 banks, more than one of which were successful in landing 

 a fine grayling. 



That evening we camped late (about 10 P. M.), near where 

 a couple of ripples were formed by gravel bars running out 

 into the stream, and some fifty or sixty grayling rewarded 

 the three lines that were kept going until about 11, or till it 

 was too dark to fish with any comfort. The grayling- 

 caught that evening seemed to be of two distinct sizes, the 

 larger averaging about a pound in weight, the smaller about 

 one-fourth as much. 



On the morning of July 1, we approached the great 

 rapids of the Yukon River, our adventures around which 

 shall form the main part of the next article. 

 [to be continued.] 



LIFE AMONG THE BLACKFEET. 



BY J. WILLARD SCHDXTZ. 

 Twelfth Paper— Folk-Lore. 



THE ADVENTURES OF KUT-O-YIS. 



LONG ago there lived on the Maria's River a very rich 

 old man, and he had a wife and three beautiful daugh- 

 ters. Ail the young men looked at these young women and 

 wanted to marry them, but their father said no. No one but 

 the richest young man could have his daughter. From a 

 far off camp came a young man, very rich, and he married 

 the three sisters. 



After a time this young man began to treat his old father- 

 in-law very badly. He took all his docs away from him and 

 his weapons, and gave him very little to eat. Not far from 

 where tbey lived was a large cave, where this son-in-law 

 whose name was Many Feathers, kept a herd of buffalo, and 

 every time he wanted meat he would let. ouc out and kill it. 

 One "day, when he let one out, he only wounded it, and it 

 ran out on the prairie. He gave his father-in-law a bow and 

 arrows and sent him after it,, The. old man chased the 

 buffalo a long way, but could not catch it. As lie was goi 

 along the trail he picked up a large clot of blood which had 

 dropped from the animal's wound and hid it in the Voids of 

 his robe. Wheu he returned home Many Feathers was 

 angry, and he said: "Why did you not kill that, cow ?" 

 "Because I couldn't catch it," replied the ok' niftU, "What 

 did you pick up out there on the prairie'?" 'Nothing," said 

 the "old man. "I ran a prickly pear in my foot and stooped 

 to pick it out." 



Then the old man went to his lodge and said to his wife, 

 "Go quickly, old woman, and get some wider, I have 3 

 clot of blood which we will boil and cat." VV '•"'" the water 

 was hot they threw the clot of blood in it, and pretty 

 they heard a cry like that of a child, but they Looked iu the 

 kettle and could see nothing. Three times they bean: 

 cry, and when they looked in the kettle the third time they 

 saw a beautiful baby boy, and they took him out and. named 

 him Kut-o-yis: Clot of Blood. In one day the bov gicw to 

 be a man, and he said to the old man, "Father, why b 

 you nothing to eat in your lodge?" Then the old man told 

 him how his son-in-law had taken all his dogs and weapons 

 away from him, and that they would have starved to death 

 had it not been for their youngest daughter, who stole a 

 little meat for them whenever she could. ■ -Isev. -r mind, 

 father," said Kut-o-vls, "let us make a bow and anv.Avs and 

 a knife and we wilfgo hunting." When they hud made the 

 weapons they went out on the prairie and Kut-o-yfs killed a 

 fat cow. 



When they were skinning it the old man saw i 

 thers coming toward them, and he was afraid; but kin- 

 ky down behind the buifalo and said: "Let him come, 1 will 

 kill him." When Many Feathers came up close Ire said, 

 "Who killed that cow?" "I did," replied the old man. 

 "Well, 1 am going to kill you," said Many Feathers, and he 

 commenced to string his bow, but Kut-0-yis jumped up and 

 shot an arrow through bis heart. Then they Went horn,- and. 

 Kui-G-yis killed the old man's oldest daughters, for they had 

 not pitied him, and he took the youngest one for his wife 



Now, way out in the Sweet Grass Hills, there lived a big- 

 wolf, so big that a man was only a mouthful for him. 

 Kut-o-yls wesnt tu kill this wolf. When he came to wl 

 the wolf was, he let it swallow him, and when he g< i in its 

 belly he found many people there, some dead and some yet 

 alive. And Kut-5-yifl said to the living, "Get up and dam-,-." 

 and they all danced. Kut-o-yfs held a knife firmly on the 

 top of his head and every time he danced the knife cut into 

 the wolf's heart, and pretty soon they felt the animal Way 

 and fall over dead. Then they cut a hole in its side aud 

 crawled out, and Kut-o-yis took off the scalp and gave it to 

 the sun. 



Kut-5-yis killed all the bad animals. There we., 

 great man-eating snakes which he killed, and he let only one 

 little one live, "The peoplo will not be afraid of little 

 snakes, "he said, "so you can live and make little ones." 



New Glasgow Rx>d and Gon Clt:b— At the annual 

 meeting of the New Glasgow (Nova Scotia) Pod and Gun 

 Olub, held Jan. 31, the following officers were elected for 

 the ensuing year: President, II T. Sutherland; Vice-Pre>i 

 dent, John K. Fraser; Secretary-Treasurer, J. Howard 

 Cavanagh; Executive Committee, W. B. Moore, K 

 Walker, Jas. S. Fraser. The chm is in a prosperous condi- 

 tion, owns a club-house, boats, decoys, and a trap-shooting 

 outfit, and the members expect to do some tall shooting this 

 season. 



