890 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[June 11, ,1885. 



about eighteen feet long and two and a half feet beam, and 



e wistfully _, 



cane fish poles with lines and hooks on ready for work, said 

 if we wanted fish going up to help ourselves to poles, which 

 we did by selecting two of the strongest and longest, about 

 the same length as the canoe, and our cup of happiness was 

 full. Down around the little dock at the narrows where our 

 craft was moored we caught four speckled frogs, two of 

 which were at once hooked on, and shoving out, 1 took the 

 paddle, and a few strokes sent us under the bridge and out 

 into the lake headed for camp, "two of the happiest old 

 'coons," Ben reckoned, "that ever went a fishiu in a holler 

 log." 



From the bridge the shore sweeps around to the left into a 

 pretty bay fringed with green woods down to the water's 

 edge, reaching out again a half mile or so above to a point 

 that approaches within Jess than an eighth of a mile of the 

 opposite shore. Above this point the lake widens again, and 

 is from a half to three-fourths of a mile wide clear up to the 

 Hoi ton place where the camp was made. Above the camp 

 it holds an average width of perhaps three-fourths of a mile 

 for a distance of four miles, when it widens to two and a 

 half miles or a little more, aud this upper part of the lake, 

 about three miles in length, is one of the loveliest sheets of 

 water in Michigan. From Provemont down, couuting three- 

 fourths of a mile for the narrows, the lower lake is about 

 seven miles long, the greatest width being nearly a mile and 

 a half, near Leland, the county seat. Leland 'is five miles 

 below Provemont. and here the lake has its outlet. Here is 

 a lake eighteen miles long, with an average width of near 

 a mile, affording fine bass fishing, as we found out before 

 breaking camp, which seems to have been little fished and 

 less known of anglers, and one may look in vain for even a 

 mention of it in the guide books— at least I did. 



Soon after leavinglhe bridge we met a sturdy, grizzled 

 old mossback in a smart little boat, and concluding that of 

 course he had been fishing, Ben hailed him to know what 

 luck. "They aint a bitin much," said the old gentleman, 

 as he stopped rowing and the boats lost headway, "norhaint 

 been for a day or two; must be there's goin* to be a change 

 o' weather 'fore many days." 



We noticed, however," that he had a fine string of fish 

 towing alonside, which he explained had been caught the 

 day before. He had lost his only spoon hook, line, float and 

 all. "Do you men belong to that camp up the lake"? If you 

 see anything of my float up around there I wish you'd pick 

 it up an' see what kind of a fish it's fastened "to. I was 

 trolling along by Horton's Point, a little ways above your 

 camp this mornin' an' all at once a tumble jerk took the 

 float out from under my legs an' away it went a sailin' an' 

 under the water an' that's the last I've seen of it. If you 

 find that float an' a fish on the spoon you'll find a whopper;" 

 and the old grizzly went on his way. A "float" is a narrow 

 piece of board of any convenient length up to a couple of 

 feet, around which the trolling line is wound and paid off 

 as required. Ben and 1 looked for the old man's float several 

 times, but could never find it, and Ben has not made up his 

 mind yet which was the whopper, the fish or the old moss- 

 back's story. 



After passing the point we had a fair breeze up lake and 

 had little to do but keep the old dugout straight with the 

 wind, and troll and skitter for pickerel; but we held too far 

 off shore for the long-snouts, and our trolling and skittering 

 amounted to a failure. When we had idled along for per- 

 haps three miles we began to think we ought to get a sight 

 of the camp, and Ben avowed, after his fashion, that "we 

 must hev passed the durned thing, for we've come six mile 

 ef we've come a solitary foot." However, as we rounded the 

 next point two striped tents near the water proclaimed that 

 even Michigan miles have an ending, and a few minutes 

 later the "holler log" was pulled up on the low banks in front 

 of the camp and we were ashore making the acquaintance of 

 Al and taking a view of the surroundings. A scattering row 

 of low trees growing along the bank almost at the edge of 

 the water, among which were a few white birches and a sol- 

 itary "popple" twenty yards back from the water, were the 

 sum total of the shade trees for the camp. Not a very pic- 

 turesque place at first glance, but we found it very pleasant 

 after a day or two, and it was a safe camp in case of a hard 

 blow, as we could goto bed without fear of a tree falling 

 and crushing a tent and whoever might be under it. The 

 ground wa3 four or five feet above the water level, sandy soil, 

 perfectly dry and grassy, and stretched back in a level, un- 

 broken field to Horton's" house, 130 yards back from the lake. 

 Up to the left an eighth of a mile the field was skirted by a 

 dense, swampy wood that ran back to the road along the foot 

 of the hill, and down to the right lay the rest of the farm, 

 fringed along the lake shore with a narrow belt of swampy 

 woods that came to au end a quarter of a mile below the 

 tamp. It was really a pleasant place, and we liked it better 

 the longer we remained, the only drawback being the lack 

 of an adjacent clear, cold spring, which necessitated carry- 

 ing our drinking water from Horton's well. We prevailed 

 on Al to bring a bucket of fresh water from the well as a 

 sample, and after drinking nearly half of it, Ben and I shed 

 our superficial raiment and went to work with a will to 

 make a nest for the girls, as their comfort had of course to 

 be looked after first. The largest tent, about 9 by 13 feet 

 on the ground, was set up with uprights and ridge pole in 

 the shade of the tree back from the water, and staked down 

 with extra care. The rope running through eyelet holes 

 near the apex, and sometimes taking the place of a ridge 

 pole when ridge poles are scarce, was given a couple of turns 

 around the rear upward and tied securely to the tree a few 

 feet back, and the other end pulled taut and fastened to a 

 stake driven firmly into the grouud 15 or 20 feet in front. 

 Two nights after, during a terrific stcrm, we had reason to 

 feel that the labor expended on this tent had not been thrown 

 away. 



Al had procured a load of clean, soft oat straw fiom the 

 big barn near the house, and we spread this in the tent three 

 or four inches deep, and on top of it laid a rubber piano 

 cover and a couple of rubber blankets, rubber side down, 

 which covered the whole floor of the tent. On top of these 

 the straw was spread evenly to a depth of two feet, and then 

 Ben and 1 "rolled over" it till packed down to about a foot 

 deep. A thin cotton mattress and a big buffalo robe were 

 spread over all, pillows placed, quilts and blankets properly 

 adjusted, "skeeter bar" hung, and there was a bed fit for the 

 finest lady in the land, not elegant, but restful, and some- 

 thing that would, as Dick Mac might say, "accommodate 

 itself to the 'synopsis' of the frame." A better plan is to 

 place logs or boards at the head, foot and sides to keep the 

 straw from spreading; but we were in a hurry to get the 

 camp in shape, and Ben said, "It was good enough for the 



Jones family, fur the Joneses never was used to the very best 

 o' everything nohow." And then Bon had a story to tell 

 about the "Jones family," who had suddenly become rich 

 through shoddy or oil, I forget which, and how the old 

 woman and the daughters were always after pap Jones to 

 put on airs and outdo their wealthy neighbors in the matter 

 of fine horses, carriages and things of high tone; but the old 

 man happened to be a plain body with good "boss sense," 

 who was content with the old things and ways he was 

 used to, and generally squelched their aspirations in the 

 bud with the above quotation. It served many a good 

 turn in camp and afforded endless amusement to the girls, 

 and the older heads too, when properly applied to any case 

 in point. 



The rattle of a wagon back on the road announced that 

 somebody was coming, and directly here they came sailing 

 across the field in a spring wagon, Jim, Dan, Mrs. Jim. Bob, 

 and Miss Fanny, but Kit was nowhere to be seen. They 

 explained that she was back on the road somewhere with the 

 lumber wagon, looking after the baggage, assisted by a small 

 boy who was driving the team, and'half an hour later they 

 drove up with the horses well jaded, and Kit looking as im- 

 portant as though the whole success of the trip depended on 

 her keeping a vigilant eye on that baggage. On unloading 

 we found our lunch basket had been left behind at the hotei 

 at Sutton's Bay, containing some biscuits, sandwiches, hard- 

 boiled eggs, a huge cake, etc., and a three quart jar of beet 

 pickles that Kit had prepared with her own hands especially 

 for the palate of "Uncle Dan." Dan said he felt a little 

 "sour" over the mishap, but Bob sweetened him up with a 

 hunk of maple sugar, about the first thing she discovered iu 

 her preliminary tour of inspection around the camp. (Bob. 

 had a wonderful faculty of finding out where the maple 

 sugar was stored away.) 



A week later the basket was sent over with the pickles in 

 prime condition, but the biscuits and cake Ben said was 

 "jest about right fur street paviu' purposes ; good enough fur 

 the Jones family, though, for the Joneses never was used to 

 the very best of everything nohow." The afternoon was 

 spent by the girls unpacking, arranging, cleaning up and 

 getting rigged up in their fishing clothes, and "we boys" 

 kept on fixing up the camp till everything was in order ex- 

 cept the kitchen fly, Dan's tent and the flagstaff, which were 

 left until next morning. 



The evening was so lovely and the water below camp 

 looked so inviting and fishy that somebody had to put a rod 

 together and go a fishing, and I remember that when he got 

 back supper was over and his share of two fat mallards that 

 Al had been surreptitiously roasting in one of the stoves all 

 afternoon, had been reduced to a few cold fragments and 

 bones, with not enough left to hazard an opinion as to the 

 original flavor, but we had fish for breakfast. 



KlNGEISUER. 



[to be continued.] 

 [It should be explained that the nickname Bob belongs to 

 old Ben's niece.] 



THE WORCESTER FISH DAY. 



r pHEBE has been a good deal of unfavorable comment in 

 JL the Forest and Stream concerning "side hunts," as 

 they are commonly called, and I am inclined to the opinion 

 that these events, as they are frequently conducted, are open 

 to adverse criticism. Our club has, however, held these 

 contests ever since its formation, and it is only fair to say 

 that as -a rule they have been honorably conducted, and the 

 game and fish dinners have been very enjoyable. It would 

 probably be claiming too much to say that these contests have 

 always been entirely free from crookedness, aud this year 

 when the meeting was held to make arrangements for "fish 

 day," there were some members who were in favor of doing 

 away with the old plan, invite the members to turn out and 

 fish for the honors of the occasion, and allow each one to 

 pay for his own dinner. But the desire to beat somebody 

 was very strong with a majority of the members, and after 

 a good deal of argument on both sides of the question it 

 was voted to have the affair on the old plan, viz. : choose 

 sides and the defeated side pay the bill, no trout less than 

 six inches long to be counted, no private ponds to be fished, 

 all fish to be taken in a lawful manner and by the members 

 turning them in, aud each member placed on his honor to 

 adhere strictly to the rules. 



The sides were captained by J. F. Davenport aud Samuel 

 Porter, and when the one hundred and thirty-five members 

 were arrayed against each other nearly every one thought 

 the sides very evenly balanced. Thursday, May 28, was 

 fixed upon for the fish day, the dinner to occur on the even- 

 ing of the 29th. Each of the. captains, although pressed 

 with business, spent much time in arranging with their men, 

 aud it was very evident that each was determined to use 

 every ligitimate means to win. For several evenings pre- 

 vious to the event it was decidety amusing to drop into 

 "Shattuck's" and notice the wise looks and animated man- 

 ners of the members as they paired off in different parts of 

 the room to talk matters over and listen to the aggravating 

 remarks one member would make to another of the opposite 

 side. Nearly, or possibly all the New England States were 

 visited on this occasion, and the three biggest catches were 

 made in New Hampshire, Rhode island and on Cape Cod. 

 It was a very hard day to fish for trout around home, the 

 sky being clear and the water in the brooks quite low, still 

 there were some very fair strings taken within easy drive of 

 tins ci ty . 



Thursday evening the tired and sunburnt fishermen met 

 at headquarters to turn in their spoils and witness the count. 

 "Uncle" Nathan Harrington presided at the scales and also 

 judged those of doubtful length, some of which looked as if 

 they had been "pulled" just a little to bring them to the re- 

 quired six inches. It was evident, early in the evening, 

 that Capt. Davenport's side had won, his men having turned 

 out more generally than Capt, Porter's. The display of fish 

 was very fine, and a large audience of spectators were pres- 

 ent, and watched the proceedings with the greatest interest. 

 There were no pickerel or perch, but several fished for pouts 

 with good success, ex-Mayor Pratt turning in a large bucket 

 full all "alive and kicking." Ten o'clock was the time fixed 

 for closing the count, and when that hour arrived, the secre- 

 tary opened the telegrams which settled definitely what was 

 already apparent, that Capt. Davenport had won. It should, 

 however, be stated that more than twice the number fished 

 on his side. The defeated party were good-natured, and 

 there were no charges of fraud, and it was agreed on both 

 sides that the affair had been very squarely conducted. 



The dinner was served by Mr. John M. White, at the 

 Tourtellotte House, Millbury, and too much cannot be said 

 in its praise. Mr. White is a thorough sportsman and knows 

 just how to entertain such a party, and gentlemen of large 



experience in such matters declared they had never seen it 

 equalled for real excellence. 



After the. removal of the cloth the cigars were lighted and 

 President White presented John R. Thayer. Esq., "as master 

 ot ceremonies. His happy way of presenting the speakers 

 proved him to be the right man in the right place. The 

 speakers were all in their happiest mood and it was late 

 when the last story was told. The night was perl'ect, the 

 sky being clear with a full moon, and when the jolly party 

 ot seventy-five gentlemen took their carriages for 'a midnight 

 drive of six miles it was conceded by all that the annual lish 

 day and dinner of our club had been a perfect success; 



E. Spuaoue Knowles. 

 Worcester, Mass., June 5, 18So. 



TORCHING FOR SMELTS. 



ON the 21st of April the word went around that the "big 

 smelts" had put in an appearance in the streams the 

 evening before. This was enough to bring over a dozen 

 men and boys to the banks of a certain well known brook 

 near the head of Long Pond. A part of these carried dip 

 nets, and the most of the others bundles of pitch wood or 

 jacks, although two or three, one of whom was the writer, 

 carried no equipments of any kind, but went "merely 

 to see the fun." 



The evening was warm and very still, and a moon nearly 

 at first quarter helped to prolong the lingering twilight. A 

 fire had been kindled at some little distance from the stream, 

 and t.s it had been agreed upon to keep away from the water 

 until it was fully dark, all hands were grouped around the 

 fire and were indulging in the usual gossip and jokes of such 

 occasions. All at once some one asked, "Where's Amasa?" 

 A glance through the intervening alder thicket brought the 

 answer, for in that direction a figure could be dimly seen 

 standing in the brook and busily plying a long-handled clip 

 net. This was sufficient to send everybody to the water. 

 and jacks were soon flaring at intervals along' the banks and 

 showing fish by thousands" And now began the excitement 

 Those who had nets worked them, and those who came 

 "just to see the fun" forgot that this was their Object, and 

 waded into the ice cold water, catching the fish in their 

 hands and throwing them ashore. Boys screamed and men 

 shouted. The air as well as water was full of fish, and the 

 sedate man, regardless of shoes and stockings, was knee- 

 deep in the current, his hands grasping here and there, while 

 the pockets of his overcoat and the crown of his hat were 

 full of wriggling fishes. Two dozen fish, averaging nearly 

 eleven inches in length, were captured with a single sweep 

 of a dip net. The piles upon the bank were fast increasing 

 to proportions far beyond a market stall, when a rational 

 thought seemed to strike some of the cooler heads. "Let's 

 stop this, boys; it's nothing short of murder, for we have all 

 we can make any use of." For once men were reasonable, 

 and boys, as usual, followed in their lead. The fish upon 

 the bank were gathered up, and Eodger's Brook with its 

 swarming waters was left to itself. But in a very short 

 time over three hundred weight of a species of fish that can. 

 hardly be surpassed in table qualities were on their way to. 

 t lie village. The express the next morning showed plainly 

 that distant friends had not been forgotten, while a large 

 box placed in front of a store with a "help yourself" attached, 

 was speedily relieved of its contents. 



But this was only the work of one evening, and the next 

 night the fish would be even more abundant. The word had 

 spread, and long before dark everything for miles around 

 that could be called a dip net was on its way. In place of 

 a net one fellow carried a large corn popper with an exten- 

 sion lashed to itshandle, and another had a tin pan with its 

 bottom punched full of holes and nailed to a pole. Quaint 

 as these implements were, both, it is said, did good service. 

 Through the evening and well into the night dozens of jacks 

 and torches sent their brilliant glare along the stream and 

 into the surrounding forest. No doubt the excessive light 

 frightened the fish and kept many back in the lake, but still 

 hardly an individual went away without fish enough for any 

 reasonable demands. On either this or the preceding night 

 two men, one to carry a light and the other to handle the 

 net, could have filled an oxcart. This last statement, of 

 course, is on the supposition that the two men could have 

 had the stream all to themselves. As it was, the large num- 

 ber of fishermen, especially on the second evening, rapidly 

 scattered the fish and drove the most of them back into the 

 deep water of the lake. 



The above is only a partial account of what happened on 

 a single stream, and we hear similar reports from nearly, 

 every tributary of the Sebago waters. At Bear Brook, in 

 Harrison, but little more than a mile away, the run has been 

 longer and probably even more fish have been taken. 



It would be a work for the scientists to fully explaiu the 

 different varieties of smelts and their habits. That they 

 belong to the salmon family all agree, but in this particular 

 locality there are three different varieties, commonly called 

 the big, salt-water, and little smelts. The salt water* smelts, 

 Osmervii virklexcens, are common in all the rivers, creeks and 

 streams along our coast. They are said to bear transferring 

 well, even into waters entirely land-locked aud fresh, but 

 always with a diminution in size. The big smelts are like 

 the salt-water variety in some respects, but are larger and 

 darker colored. They are over ten inches in length, aud 

 average nearly a quarter of a pound in weight. Many 

 occur much larger than this, and one was weighed here a 

 few years ago that was caught through the ice with hoolc 

 and line, and turned the scales at eleven ounces. A few are 

 mentioned even larger, but they are rare, to say the least. 

 The little smelts are but miniature representations of their 

 larger relations, weighing less than half an ouuee each. 

 Some have thought that these little fellows were only the 

 young of the larger variety, but this can hardly be true, as 

 they seem to be fully developed and are ready to spawn as 

 they desccud the streams to their breeding grounds. They 

 do not run up the streams until about a week later than the 

 larger ones, and are much more abundant. They are also 

 found in many localities where the big smelts do not occur. 

 They vary somewhat in size in different places, and are 

 said to be* larger in Norway Lake, only twelve miles away, 

 than they aieliere. In the last mentioned lake no big smelts 

 are found. An idea of the abundance of these little smelts 

 may be nad from the fact that a few evenings since three 

 fellows dipped a shorts sack full (about three bushels) in less 

 than an hour. That this party of wholesale fish killers were 

 under the influence of something stronger than brook water 

 was proved by what followed, for tyingup the mouth of the 

 sack, they r threw it into the stream and allowed it to drill 

 with its contents out into the lake. 



No person pretends to know anything about when these 

 waters were stocked with smelts, but in all probability they 



