102 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
oa 
[SmPr. 4, 1884. 
A PHANTOM SHOWMAN. 
HE speculstive doe-showzaan is an abandoned wretch 
who, when discovered, ought to be strung up by the 
thumbs and treated toa column or two of editorial scourg- 
ing, We haye long had a column of just that sort in pickle 
to be promptly administered on the very first opportunity. 
and accordingly, the other day, when the report came to us 
by way of Chicago that a speculative dog show was to be 
held in the City of Brotherly Loye, we were greatly inter- 
ested in the story, for here at last promised to be our victim. 
But our satisfaction was of short duration, Eager as has 
“been our search, we have heen unable to discover the slight- 
est trace of when, where, or by whom this speculative dog 
show is to be held, and the supposed speculative manager has 
proyed as elusive and intangible as a will-’o-the-wisp, an 
ignis Fotues, the baseless fabric of a dream, an Ichthyopha- 
gian nightmare, an op'um vision, the uncanny creation of a 
mind exalted by stimulants, a vanished presidential boom, or 
finally, as that woodcock we were waiting until the 1st of 
August to kill, and in the place of whose borings, when that 
day finally came, we found the print of the hob-nailed boot 
(not to say cloven hoof| of the gunner who had got in there 
before. us. It has gradta'ly dawned upon us that this specu- 
lative showman must belong to the category of the men of 
straw which enterprisine' journalists now and then set ur 
that they nay be aiways ahead of others in knocking them 
down again. We bave aso abandoned the fruitless search 
for the speculative dog show. Any one who has eyer tried 
to recover one lost dog can appreciate what a hopeless 
task it would be to discover the whereabouts of an entire lost 
tlog-show. 
We are compelled (and somewhat reluctantly, in view of 
that column which must be kept in pickle) to conclude that 
the Philadelphia speculative showman is a phantom, 
CawnADIAN Rirte SHooring.—The season of fall meetings 
is at its height in the Dominion, and the successful Ontario 
meeting of last week is followed by the Dominion matches 
at the Rideau rages in the present week, The volunteers 
of Canada take as much interest in this part of their military 
duties as do their fellow volunteers in England, The Cana. 
dian meetings are well attended, and there will be many 
congratulations in this season over the success of the team 
at Wimbledon last July, when the Kolapore cup was once 
again captured by Canadian pluck and good shooting. The 
government lends a discreetly helping hand, but not more so 
han the importance of the work demands, and the entire 
subject might serve very well as a guide for our American 
militiamen who think so much of their uniforms and so 
little of the work to be done in them. A series of local 
meetings followed by a recognized national one is what the 
States stand in rare need of, Pride of locality has much to 
do with stirring up an enthusiasm in such matters, and the 
managers of our home guard ought to bear this in mind and 
at once institute a series of regular State shoots. 
WESTERN MARKSMEN.—A elance at our rifle columns will 
show what has been done in the way of tall scores by our 
friends in the West during the past week. There is a plenty 
of shooting talent in almost any section of the country, 
but the men at Western Union Junction piled up the scores 
in a fashion which showed that they bad caught the secret of 
successful small-bore work. Should another international 
match fall upon us soon; it is not unlikely that Western men 
will be called upon to lend a hand in wiping out the British 
marksmen. Such averages as those shown by this last team 
match are rarely made, and they speak volumes for the fine 
team system which must haye prevailed, We congratulate 
the Minneapolis team and think that under good opportuni- 
ties even better work is possible from them. 
CREEDMOOR Prizes.—There is a liberal oul-pouring of 
gifts from many quarters into the hands of the Creedmoor 
authorities, and at the meeting of Tuesday afternoon a long 
list of donors was read by the chairman of the prize com- 
mittee, It is pretty certain now that with fine weather there 
will be 4 liberal attendance afi Creedmoor during next week, 
and it is no more than the committee men who have worked 
so hard for the affair, deserve. 
THe PHMADELPHIA KENNEL CLUB SHow.—We take 
sreat pleasure in acceding to the request of the Philadelphia 
Kennel Club to editorially notice that the club ‘cordially 
invite all breeders to exhibit at their show on Sep. 16,17, 18 
and 19; and to make it a representative and legitimate one.” 
The entries will close next Saturday. The full list of judges 
is printed elsewhere, 
PosTMASTERS TAKE KINDLY to angling, and appear to 
have a happy faculty of getting quick responses when they 
drop a line to the fish. We cannot answer for other cities, 
but we know that there isa great deal of well-cultivated 
fishing talent in the post-offices of Boston, New York, Bal- 
timore and Cincinnati, 
GunzyA, Switzerland, has a novel society for the protec- 
tion of Alpine plants. It appears that the edelweiss and 
other beautiful mountain plants have been so recklessly 
destroyed by the tourists that legal measures have been 
thought necessary to protect them from extermination. 
Che Sportsman Gourist. — 
A SONG OF SELFISHNESS. 
Danvis, Charlotte Co,, Vt, Aug. 18. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
These lines were found by Mrs. Huldah Lovel in a bag of 
paper rags which she was emptying to sell toa tin peddler, 
and are supposed to haye been written by her husband, 
Samuel Lovel. She having kindly permitted me to copy them, 
T seitd them te you to make such use of as you see fit. Yours, 
truly, Horace MuMrson, 
Schoolmaster in District No, 13. 
THINGS AS I LUFFTER HAVE 'EM. 
BY A SELFISH CREETUR, 
I luffter see the corn a growin’, 
Nary weed in ary hill, 
When ‘taint me ‘at does the hoein’. 
But the corn my ben *]] fill; 
An’ jes’ ’s I feel abaout the hoein’. 
So I do abaout the mowin’. 
I luffter hear a haoun’ a hoolin’, 
‘N’ when the fox comes raound tie hill 
1 lnuffter hear a gun a shootin’; 
‘N’ then everything grow still— 
When it’s my haoun’ does the hootin’, 
An’ it’s my gun *t’? does the shootin’, 
1 luifter see a fly a hoppin’, 
On the suffis of the brook, 
I luffter see a traout a floppin’, 
In the grass when that he’s took— 
When ‘t was I the fly sot hoppin’, 
An’ it’s my traout does the fioppin.** 
FISHING IN NORWAY, 
VY ERY few years ago Norway claimed no more prominent 
a place on the map of countries possible to the modern 
tourist, than it did in the days of the ancient Romans. It 
was a terra incognita that the external world left undisturbed 
in its supposed fogs and snows, The most eccentric cf 
tourists would never have dreamed of searching for pleasure 
in a land of which report was so yague and knowledge so 
limited; and the occasional bold’ adventurer who, having 
delyed into its hidden secrets, proclaimed the beauties and 
interest he had discovered there, was regarded as an amiable 
lunatic. Gradually, however, as descriptive works of 
journeys taken in this northern fastness found their way into 
the hands of readers, and guide books made the path straight 
for those who need a road well rolled before they venture on 
it, this feeling of alarm wore off, and a more or Jess intelli- 
gent public, as anxious for a new pleasure as ever Xerxes 
was, welcomed the fresh field and pasture new. Ten years 
ago, when I first visited these Scandinavian shores, it was 
quite an event to meet a fellow traveler on one of the inland 
roads; now all the world goes there, and each season the 
number of tourists increases. Of course the main supply 
comes from England, that being the nursery of the fashion, 
but many Americans and a small contingent from the Con- 
tinent help to swell the annual tide. 
Nor is there the least reason why so magnificent a country 
as Norway should have remained thus long unsought, The 
land and waterscapes possess a diversity and grandeur be- 
yond compare with anything to be found in the usual haunts 
of the tourist; it is the birthplace of half the legends and 
myths which enrich our language, and filled with historic 
interests which speak our kinship to its people; to the sports- 
man it offers game of many kinds, and to the angler a fish- 
ing ground unsurpassed; while the mode of traveling is as 
delightful as it is simple, and as cheap as it is comfortable. 
As to this latter particular, the traveling arrangements of 
Norway are wonderfully good, especially when one takes 
into consideration the wild nature of the land. Railways 
are necessarily conspicuous by their absence, but the coun- 
try, certainly the southern portion, is threaded by excellent 
roads, which area marvel of engineering skill and careful 
keeping, Along these roads at “stages” of from seven to 
ten miles apart, are farms appointed to the dignity of being 
“ost stations,” the owners of which are authorized by their 
government to supply at fixed rates to all wayfarers board 
and lodging, horses and carrioles—the small cart of the coun- 
try, and the only means of transport in the interior. The 
qualities of. these various items vary, of course, in different 
parts of the country, but the mishaps are the exceptions 
which prove the rule of general excellence. 
The traveler, if he be worthy the name, must be ready to 
meet with bad pieces of road, ending in some poverty-stricken 
farm; to drive long stages in stormy weather, when the rain 
and darkness becloud his way, and he is conscious that the 
harness of his horse is mainly built of string and promises. 
Sometimes he may even find that his hopes of resting long in 
some chosen locality will be doomed to disappointment by 
season of the Norske cupboard being as empty as was Mrs, 
Hubbard’s: but this is an event unlikely to occur often. 
After some little experience, | may assure my reader that he 
would find all over the southern portiohs of the country, an 
almost perfect traveling organization, anf all his needs amply 
supplied by one of the simplest, kindest and most hospitable 
of people whom it is possible to travel among, Nor could 
he choose a land wherein the pocketbook hetakes so little of 
the plan de chagrin nature as Norway. Vikings have for- 
gaken their crafts of old for simpler ways, and live quietly 
after history’s fitful fever. No longer pillaging the Mercian 
coasts, they weleome Mercia’s descendants and fleece them 
not. May be the yearly growing influx of tourists will alter 
somewhat the old order of things, but a year or two ago a 
man’s average expenses would come to about half a collar 
per Norwegian mile—equal to seven English miles —for tray- 
eling, and one dollar per day for board and lodging. Say 
that he journeyed three days out of the week eighty miles, and. 
stayed at stations which promised good rt during the 
other four days, he could spend but little more than fifteen 
dollars per week in this way. : : 
For the sportsman who looks for pleasure mainly along the 
mid-rib of his gun, I cannot recommend Norway as a happy 
hunting ground, Guide books and enthusiasts, suffering 
from a superabundance of superlatives on the brain, may 
laud the sport to be had here, but they either do not know, 
or else have been the spoiled favorites of fortune. For many 
other reasons I could advise him to go to Norway, but the 
shooting which he may hope to gain isa delusion and a snare, 
at least. so 1 found, and I looked hard. But for the angler, 
let him forsake Seville, and see Norway ere he die, It is a 
land after his own heart; a region of fjord, river, lake and 
stream, wherein all things that swim abide, Tt is a, very 
paradise for a fisherman, and as the best months for his pur- 
pose, namely July and August, are also the best for trayel- 
ing, he may enjoy together all that Norway has to give and 
show him. I hear that lately the government has made 
if necessary for strangers to take out a fishing license, but 
doubtless the fee for this would be light, and as everybody 
fishes throughout the land the enforcement of the rule would 
not be very stringent. ; 
That fish is abundant everywhere the traveler will all foo 
soon learn in his experiences, and perchance he may srow as 
weary of trout and the inevitable salmon as did the Israelites 
of quail and manna. Of the former, being always fresh and 
well prepared, it is not easy to tire, but the dried salmon, to 
which the Norwegians are so partial, may be relishable as a 
novelty, but familiarity with it breeds much contempt. I 
remember once sitting down in solemn state at the head of 
an abnormally long but, save myself, empty table in an 
out of the way hotel, and dining, fow/ sew/, liberally but 
monotonously on salmon. “They had no other food in the 
establishment, Five times did the grave-faced lady of the 
house bring me cutlets of fried salmon in a lordly dish, and 
five times did I obediently partake of it, being hungry, but 
when salmon appeared for the sixth time | beat a masterly 
retreat to the balcony, there to brood over “‘the sameness of 
our passing lives.” It is not possible to get fresh meat every- 
where, and the mutton which one returns to once in a while 
is a dubious justification of that name, while its substitute, 
reindeer venison, is confessedly preserved through the sum- 
mer months in ice, The latter is always very good, how- 
ever, and in smaller items the Norwegian table is generally 
well provided. I might perhaps mention here a little fact, 
not that it has anything especially to do with our subject, 
but merely because it is a fact, and they are inclined to be 
rare nowadays, 
At some of the upland stations, where jarge flocks of goats 
are kept, mine host is fond of bringing in two sorts of cheese 
as a finishing touch to the traveler’s dinner. One of these is 
fresh and fairly eatable, but the other should be approached 
with care. The station-keeper himself seems to doubt 
whether the tourist will enjoy this particular comestible, for 
it is always covered with a closely-fitting glass shade—a not 
unnecessary precaution. Any fastidious mortal whose olfac- 
tory nerves are sensitive, had best let that sleeping dog lie. 
Tf he essay to lift it, he will, in all probability, receive a dis- 
taste for cheese which will last him the rest of his life. I 
once, and only once, allowed innocence and curiosity to 
leaG mé into the fatal error, but on the doing of the deed that 
cheese found itself with startling rapidity on the grass plot 
outside the window, and I finished a gloomy breakfast from 
which all happiness had departed. But these are the mere 
sayorings of the salt, and even should the sportsman find 
himself at some post station, where the commissariat had 
not provided for him, he can almost always count on easily 
making up the deficiency with ducks and fish. On several 
occasions when I have learned that the necessary eruse of 
oil was running dry, I have succeeded in working a material 
miracle by visiting some neighboring lake or stream, from 
whence I would returnin triumph, bearing the wherewithal 
to eat and be merry. It isset down in some guide-books 
that it is necessary to get the- permission of the land owners 
to fish in somie of the trout streams. This may be the case~ 
with a few, but I have fished with considerable success 
wherever it seemed likely that I should catch anything, and 
was never in the least degree interfered with. Indeed the ~ 
natives are everywhere so courteous to strangers, that one 
has to read as one runs and learn some of their lessons. No 
Norwegian would pass you on the road without bidding you 
good-day, nor would he dream of entering a shop without 
saluting by moving his hat to the inmates, and he deems 
those who do not conform to the ways of his land unman- 
nerly—miay be he is right. 
Of course, it is difficult to lay down rules about tackle, 
time and method for a fishing tour in Norway, since the 
diversity of waters and seasons is so great. But the strongest 
tackle and plenty of it must be taken; strong because the fish 
run to a great size, and plenty, because tackle proper—gut, 
flies and good rods—are almost unknown in Norway, the 
half dozen large towns being the only places where such 
things can be purchased. The most valued gift which you 
can bestow upon the peasant of the interior is a fishing hook, 
They are the ‘‘backsheesh” of Norway, ‘The tourist will 
hear the ‘Tip us a brownie, Sir,” or *“Give us a small copper, 
Boss” of his own land in its Norske rendering, ‘Will the 
stranger give Knute a fishing hook?” For what good was 
money to him for his purpose when the nearest store where 
he can purchase his need is perhaps at Christiania on one 
side of his wild country, or Bergen on theother, Once, 
however,he has procured a hook,the native cares little for the 
rest of his outfit, but armed with a young firtree for rod, and 
as much of the finest string as he can get, sets forth to hunt 
the wily trout with a light and confident heart, With these 
rude implements, too, he is often surprisingly successful. Tt 
is a bad workman that complains of his fools, and in Nor- 
way it isthe trout who has most right_to demur on these 
erounds, for is it not more of an insult to be basely caught 
by an improvised rod in the hands of anatiye, than humored 
and gently landed by the science of a well-equipped tourist? 
The prophet here has often honor in his own country. I 
have an example in my mind’s eye, of painful memory. 1 
had been fishing the better part of an afternoon in a likely- 
looking piece of water, without so much as a rise to treward 
my endeavors. Yainly did I try every hole and rapid; vainly 
changed flies and whipped the pools and shallows; Dame 
Fortune, whose uameis Frailty, would not smile for me. 
‘At last in despair, I relinquished this futile warfare, feeling 
much inclined to imitate the old gentleman who, after a 
similar temper-depraying experience, hurled his fly-book 
into the stream with the remark, ‘‘There, you obstinate beg- 
gars, take your choice!” But having no wish to cut off my 
‘Tose in order to spite my face, I restrained myself, and pre- 
pared todo upmy rod. WhileI was thus engaged, two 
Norse lads appeared on the scene. They were evidently 
bent on business, for both carried long and newly peeled fir 
rods, from the ends of each of which hung a generous allow- 
ance of multi-colored string, ending in a hook for bait. As 
they chose the same fishing ground as that oyer which I had 
lately been “swinging my ten-cent bug,” I determined to 
watch their proceedings awhile, and by witnessing the fail- 
ure of my successors, beget some solace in my soul. So 1 
watched. The little fishermen soon had everything pre- 
pared to their liking, and went at the sport im earnest, one 
walking up stream, the other down. The time went merrily 
by, and consolation lurked in every soothing puff of smoke 
from my pipe. But such undeserving contentment came to 
an abrupt end, as suddenly the younger of the two Norwe- 
