Aug. 6, 1885.1 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



23 



t o a^ihcs instead of coals; but there is no better -wood hand.7, 

 so while Sfcven-up displays his defective earlj'^ education by 

 chasin^c tip ups alorij the" shore, the skipper rolls a dampisb 

 log close to a big stone, builds a driftwood tire botwoeu 

 them, sets the coffee-pot over wln-ve the blaze has subsided, 

 fries gome bacon, and in tlie boiling fat that is left crisps 

 some slices of raw potato, cnt thin as wafers. There is 

 ijothiug Yt'Ty appetizing about this dinner, but the coffee is 

 good, and hunger makes the diner wisb he'd cut up one 

 more potato and fried one more slice of bacon. 



"Seven-up, you low-bred rascal, for decency's salco don't 

 • count every niouthfu] that I eat and watch my every sip of 

 coffee as if I were some wonderful automatic sausage- 

 maclune. It's embarrassing, hang it all, to keep your eyes 

 on a fellow when he'.s dining. Oh, yes, I dare say you'j'e 

 hungry, but if I'd owned you a week you wouldn't be sitting 

 (here staring and licking your chops. Here, there's a slice 

 I'f hiu?rm that I want myself, and there's some good brown 

 I ircd cut lip with it. What! won't eat it? Well perhaps I 

 can cure you of over daintiness I iy the time the cruise is 

 over. At any rate we'U put away tlint bread and bacon for 

 a future trial. You shall have some fresh water when we're 

 aboard again." 



WhUe the skipper washed up the dishes the sun was ob- 

 scured by a dark cloud, and stray puffs of wind scattered 

 the ashes and sand in evei-y direction. Evidently a storm 

 was brewing, so the Sneak was hauled ashore, the traps were 

 got aboard, we pushed off and hauled out to our moorings. 

 After swinging the boat'-s bow into the wind, the center- 

 board was lowered, the sail hoisted, the anchor raised and 

 the Sneak crawled away from shore on the starboard tack 

 When a sufhcieufc offing was secured, we bore away with 

 the "wind on the quarter and flew up the Sound against the 

 tide. The blow was kicking up quite a swell by this time, 

 so the apron was set up on its stick on the forward deck, 

 .and the cockpit apron was unfolded in anticipation of a rain 

 storni. The sky was black above, the water beneath looked 

 like ink; even the dead-grass color of the Sneak seemed 

 of a darker tint than usual, and only the white sail relieved 

 the gloomy aspect. But still the rain didn't come. Past the 

 fort we shot, then across the bay, and by the little shipyard 

 where they make oyster sloops, faster than the brave little 

 "box" had ever traveled before. Then a good-sized village 

 was sighi.ed, overtaken and passed, and as the course was 

 laid across a bay wider and deeper than usual, where the 

 wind got a broader sweep, the Sneak seemed almost lifted 

 nut of the water, In a canoe of her length in such ,a blow, 

 even double-reefed, it would have required all the physical 

 and mental effort of the skipper to keep her from cap.sizing, 

 and the happy saUor could not help contrasting his ea.sy pos- 

 ture and knowledge of perfect safety aboard his present 

 craft with the gymnastics ho had performed in a canoe under 

 similar circurastauces, when compelled to make hasty leaps 

 to windward to keep Lis double-ender right side up, and 

 <lodging back and forth between deck and cockpit in re- 

 sponse to sudden gusts and unexpected lulls. 

 Just here something happened. 



Seven up had been uneasy for some time. He had evinced 

 an obstinate disposition to stand up and the skipper had re- 

 peatedly ordered him to "charge," but after a moment in the 

 reclining position he would be up on his feet again, leerino- 

 at the skipper with the dull, vacant look in his grizzled eye's 

 peculiar to the last stages of inebriation. Deeming this act 

 on the dog's part an evidence of mutiny aboard^ship, the 

 skipper determined to make an example of him, and was 

 reaching for a convenient rope's end wljen the animal sud- 

 denly assumed an extraordinary, weiid and uncanine attitude. 

 His nose was pressed to the floor boards, his tail was caressed 

 between Ms legs, and his l:)ody arched up like an enraged 

 cat's. As the skipper gazed in" mute surprise, the center of 

 the arch seemed to rise higher and higher, the nose and tail 

 gradually came nearer together, and just as the skipper had 

 made up his mind that the brute was going to stand on his 

 head or execute some other gymnastic feat, there came a 

 gurgle, a cough, a gasp— a noise 'as though his whole interior 

 had broken asunder— and Seven-up was 'seasick! The skip- 

 per's first thought was to hurl the invalid overboard, his 

 second was to let him alone in his misery; and the second 

 thought prevailed. Big drops of rain were by this time fall- 

 ing, so the skipper drew the aprnn over the cockpit and a 

 veil over the indisposed dog at the same time, donned his 

 rubber coat and lit his pipe, and proceeded to make the best 

 of a bad job as philosophically as possible. 



The Sneak had overhauled a craft of nearly twice its size 

 at this juncture, and the latter was made out to be the cat 

 boat containing the merry young folks who had laughed so 

 derisively at the plodding Barnegat ducking boat^ in the 

 morninft-. But they were not so merry now, With two 

 reefs tied in her sail their open boat was heeled nearly on her 

 beam, and the boys and girls, with white faces, were cling- 

 ing to the windward rail with the rain beating mercilessly 

 down upon them. It was a puerile but perhaps a natural 

 .satisfaction to the skipper that he could glide close up and 

 allow them to see how comfortably his derided little ship 

 could weather the siorm both of wind and rain; and when, 

 as the Sneak left the fair weather boat behind, and the 

 drenched Skye terrier uttered a plaintive whine, the con- 

 valescing Seven-up thrust his nose from beneath the apron 

 and opened his huge jaws in what seemed a sarcastic gdn 

 of mammr.th proportions, the revenge for the morning's 

 insult was complete. Some time after the little craft had 

 passed a famous summer resort on the lee shore, the skipper 

 saw the catboat's passengers and crew laud at its pier and drag 

 their soaked coverings up to the big hotel on the bluff. 



All the rest of the" afternoon it rained, and it blew, and 

 Seven-up whined, but the skipper eared not. The rubber 

 coat felt cold on his shoulders, as though the persistent drub- 

 bing of the drops had beaten through,"aod the oiled-muslin 

 apron conveyed a vsomew hat similar sensation to his knees. 

 But the tobacco kept dry and the old pipe burned bravely. 

 The skipper kn(;w that he could trust to his fittings to keep 

 the rain and sea out of his cockpit, but the mischief done to 

 the interior by the seasick dog could as yet only be surmised. 

 However, there was no use worrying about it now, for it was 

 done, so the skipper turned his attention to picking out a 

 suitable anchorage for the niglit. He wished to halt early, 

 as there was much to do before bedtime, but no haven a"i> 

 peared that met all the requirements until nearly sundown, 

 when the Sneak was run into a nook cut off' from the storm 

 by a high point, where the beach was fine gravel and sand 

 instead of mud, where it was wild and lonely enough to 

 guarantee a freedom from inquisitive visitors, and where 

 there was a large cornfield close to the shore. After anchor- 

 ing out the boat's tent was fished out of the locker, and much 

 care was spent in the endeavor to get it up without giving 

 the rain a chance to penetrate the interior, an endeavor 

 which was only partially successful, however. Then the 



few remaining minutes of daylight were expended in "reno- 

 vating" the scene of Seven-up's indisposition, and when all 

 was clean and ship-shape again, the boat was pushed ashore 

 and we clindjed in the darkness and the rain up to the corn- 

 field. It proved to be field corn but still green, and the skip 

 per gathered a few tender ears for the evening meal, after 

 which the shore line was secured, the Sneak pushed back to 

 her moorinss, the galley (three flamme force alcohol stoves) 

 was produced, and the water put over to boil. It here oc- 

 curred to the skipper that Seven-up, from the late thorough 

 evacuation of his .stomach, might be in a fit condition to re- 

 ceive nourishment, so the tin basin containing the liacon and 

 brown bread before-mentioned was hauled out of the locker 

 and offered. The dog gave one sniff at the dish and seemed 

 to be taken with a sudden convulsive spasm. The back 

 again arched up, the head and tail were again lowered; but 

 as the first warning gurgle was heard, the skipper gave vent 

 to a wild and startling yell that would have done credit to a 

 Comanche. The gurgle never reached the gasping point, 

 and Seven-up, frightened out of his tlireatened relapse, sank 

 on the floor in a heap, panting. 



The meal the skipper prepared would have sufficed for 

 fotir men of his kind in the city, but the solitary voyager 

 found it none too much to satisfy his cruising appetite, 

 though he marvelled much that his hunger should be so in- 

 tense the first day afloat. There was Julienne soup (canned, 

 of course), green corn, boiled potatoes, brown bread, ginger 

 snaps and hot coffee. Poor Seven-up manifested not the 

 least interest in the dispatch of this meal, but hanging his 

 chin (or at least what answers for a chin among dogs) on the 

 bow deck, he sat with his head out of the tent-flap in silent 

 meditation. 



When the dishes were washed up and put away it was 

 bedtime aboard the Sneak, but for an hour the skipper and 

 the dog sat by the tent opening and listened to the rain and 

 watched the lights on the vessels that occasionally passed 

 out on the open water. As he rubbed on his hands and face 

 a plentiful allowance of "mosquito dope," the skipper, con- 

 sidering the events of the day, acknowledged that it might 

 have been a pleasanter one if the seasick dog and the 

 continuous rain could have been eliminated; but even 

 allowing that the .scrubbing on account of the former 

 had dampened the cabin floor pretty thoroughly, and 

 that the latter kept the crew confined to quarters, there 

 were redeeming circumstances in plenty. A dry rubber 

 blanket could be spread over the floor as a foundation for 

 the bed, and dry mattress and blankets over this; the quart- 

 ers to which the crew was confined were not cramped as in 

 a canoe, but gave room enough to move about, sit or lounge 

 in any position ; there was a sense of victory over the ele- 

 ments that was hugely satisfactory in this, that, let it blow 

 as it would or rain as it may, the staunch little sneakbox 

 with her appurtenances would be as dry and comfortable as 

 an ocean steamer; and above and greater than all was the 

 joy of an open-air existence, the feehng of liberty and free- 

 dom, the happy-go-lucky power to go when and where he 

 listed and do as he pleased, that made the skipper hug him- 

 self with dehght, and feel glad that he was there. And this 

 gladness and enjoyment were present throughout the re- 

 mainder of that fortnight's cruise, notwithstanding the fact 

 that nearly every one of the following days was almost a 

 counterpart of the one here described,' that it rained almost 

 constantlj'-, and that fogs, mosquitoes and contrary winds 

 did the very worst tricks they were capable of. It ma,y be 

 added, in justice to Seven-up, that his seasickness did not 

 return, that he enjoyed his cruise, and learned many valuable 

 points of canine good breeding that he has never forgotten. 



Seneca. 



SPORT IN THE SIERRAS-MI. 



ON the following Monday afternoon the water had sub- 

 sided to a proper fishing stage, and was quite warm, 

 so that reasonable hopes of a great catch were entertained by 

 all hands. I chose to go up stream about two miles and fish 

 down. Hot daring to wade the river, from reasons before 

 stated, fishing was hard work, as the banks were very brushy, 

 excepting in a few spots. The trout rose freely, and an en- 

 joyable afternoon and a creel full of fish rewarded mv labors. 

 Evening arrived before I was half way toward home, and 

 reeling up my line I left the stream and struck across coun- 

 try to the road. At that place the road formed the are of a 

 circle, the circumference of which was the river, and in 

 consequence 1 had quite a distance to travel. The chappa- 

 ral soon became terribly eutanglng to work through, and at 

 length almost impassa'ble. In the angle between the river 

 and the road rose a steep and bare granite dome, about 500 

 feet in height, down which had slipped many a slice of rock, 

 loosened by tfie agency of frosts and storms. This loose and 

 bioken material had formed a wide talus at the base of the 

 dome, around which I was trying to work my way. Rocks, 

 soil, caves and pitfalls were all covered from view by the 

 dense coat of chapparal, which was nowhere more than four 

 feet high. If the reader has ever attempted to force his 

 way up a mountain side through a similar growth, he will 

 realize what a very large-sized contract I had on hand. The 

 brush all pointed down hill, owing to winter snows weigh- 

 ing it down and sliding over it, and to force one's way up- 

 ward is like pushing against a cheoaux-de-frise. 



Darkness was setting in and 1 struggled on, knowina' that 

 it could be but a few hundred yards to the road. The rough 

 and sharp-edged rocks gave an uncertain foothold at the 

 best, and weighed down with the creel full of trout, and 

 handicapped with the rod, which had to be saved from in- 

 jury at all hazards, I received a number of very severe falls 

 by being tripped in springing from rock to rock. Not being 

 very strong yet, I was fast getting wearied out when, to 

 make matters more interesting, just as I had taken another 

 tumble and lay staring rather dazedly at the darkening sk^, 

 skiT-r-r-r-r! went a rattlesnake at my vei-y elbow. To rny 

 frightened ear the rattle rose to a perfect whirlwind of sound, 

 which was under, over and all around me. I lay without 

 motion, as though already paralyzed with the poisonous 

 fangs, and the infernal din gradually ceased. A branch set- 

 tled and cracked under my weight, and the noise again 

 aroused his ire. By this time I could no more have remained 

 quiet than if a red hot poker had been appUed to my spinal 

 column, and making a desperate effort, fairly rolled and 

 tumbled away from the danger. After gaining a safe dis- 

 tance I could still hear him singing away, but as I had never 

 lost a rattlesnake in all my life I had no desire to find any, 

 and left him to sing himself to sleep if he so desired. I shall 

 never know why he did not strike me. because I am certain 

 that he was lying directly beneath me. I have always 

 thought that the mat of bushes upon which I fell prevented 

 him froni striking, and thus saved me from a dangerously 

 painful, if not fatal experience, Either the chapparal was 



not so thick after that, or there was more mettle in my heels, 

 for I was not long in gaining the road and the house! 



On the ensuing morning, Will, the Terror, and my.self 

 planned a visit to the little lake forming a source of the river, 

 and distant about nine miles. So Will harnessed bis horses 

 to the buckboard and we started. We had to ascend nearly 

 3,000 feet, the heaviest grade lyino- in the first five miles. 

 When nearly at the summit, and within a mile of the lake, 

 we left the road and drove over fallen timber, through 

 underbrush, large trees and deep mud holes, down into a 

 beautiful little meadow, at the head of which we stopped. 

 The horses were unharnessed and one was turned loose to 

 graze, while the other was tied to a tree in the shade, the 

 supposition being that the free one would not leave his com- 

 panion. How this resulted the sequel will show. A tramp 

 of another half mile brought us to the lake, a small body of 

 water— nothing more than a respectably sized pond, in fact 

 —surrounded by a fringe of timber, backed by the eternal 

 peaks. We found the only boat in posse.ssion" of a profes- 

 sional fisherman, who made his home on a larger lake, some 

 three or four miles distant, and who had come here a few 

 days previously for the purpose of skinning this one. He 

 proved a good fellow in his way, however, and readily came 

 ashore when hailed, and gave the Terror and myself seats in 

 the boat. Will skirmished around and found an old raft on 

 which he trusted himself on the "wild rolling tide." The 

 professional, whose name was L , would not fish anywhere 

 only in the deepest water, and witli an anchored boat. Of 

 course, under those circumstances, my flies were of no use, 

 and I sat and bobbed with bait in some fifteen feet of water, 

 a very disgusted individual. However, after 3 o'clock P. M. , 

 we did better, as L. left to carry his ti-out over to meet tlie 

 stage in order to forward them to market. After getting 

 control of the boat we took Will in and had some excellent 

 sport, getting sixteen trout that averaged almost a pound 

 each. 



At P. M. it was time to leave, so packing up our rods, 

 etc., we started. A few moments' walk brought us to the 

 ulace where oar horses had been. A broken halter, still at- 

 tached to the tree, told us all too well the disgusting tale, 

 that a nine-mile tramp separated us from home and supper. 

 I proposed that we skirmish around and try to find the 

 horses, but Will a,ssured us it was of no use, as he knew that 

 on getting free they would surely strike out for home at 

 once, and that they were probably there at that very mo- 

 ment. Supposing that he ought to know best I acquiesced, 

 and then we held a council of war as to the next best thing 

 to be done. Will proposed that we place the harnesses and 

 our own duffle upon the buckboard, .secure it from falling 

 off, and then pull the vehicle by hand back to the road. 

 "Then." said he, "we can go home down the grade as easily 

 with the buckboard as without it, and as soon as the horses 

 get home Henry will start up the road with them and meet 

 us." This sounded well, so to it we buckled. Will took 

 the pole, the "Terror" and leach caught a whiffle' ree, and 

 away we went. We accomplished the first hundreds yai-ds 

 very well, after which came some soft ground, and then a steep 

 ascent through brush and timber to the road. My profession 

 as a medical man renders it necessary to spend a goodly 

 portion of my time behind a horse, but in all my life up to 

 that hour I had never before experienced so lively a feeling 

 of commiseration for that noble and much abus"ed animal. 

 Reader, there is no doubt about it, you have got to have the 

 toothache yourself before you know how it hurts. We spit 

 on our hands, tugged, grunted and sweated until at last, 

 three weary mortals, we had the infernal vehicle upon the 

 road. Then it was that the labor of holding back came in. 

 and which was the worst upon our tired muscles was hard 

 to decide. At last, after descenaing a bit of very steep 

 grade, I "bucked'' on the proposition of any longer making 

 a horse of myself, so shouldering our rods and "fish we left 

 everything else by the side of the road and struck out for 

 home, which we reached at 9:30 P. M., tired and hungry. 

 There we found some new guests, among whom was will's 

 brother. The whole household was in a state of anxiety 

 about us, as the horses had not returned home. They were 

 no doubt quietly grazing in our immediate vicinity at the 

 very moment we were discussing theu- probable course. And, 

 in tact, they did not arrive until after daylight the next 

 morning. This little adventure has taught me not to be too 

 ready to accept another's opinion where the chances are that 

 he may be mistaken. 



On the following day the different guests went off their 

 separate ways in quest of sport, and I was left to go down 

 the river alone. The trout rose very freely to the fly, and 

 had I been able to wade the stream would have soon loaded 

 myself down with more than I could carry. As it was, I 

 filled my creel in about two hours' fishing, besides stringing 

 a few larger trout on a willow fork. In fact the temptation 

 to make a "trout hog" of myself was very great. It required 

 a deal more effort to stop, with the trout rising at every cast, 

 than any one never subjected to the trial can easilv realize! 

 I did it, however, and can now look back with pride to the 

 fact. 



Hitherto I had no companion in my sport upon the stream, 

 as the Terror proved to have little of the angler in him, and 

 preferred dancing attendance upon the pretty O. to any sport 

 requiring much elfort. But tu-morrow B. will arrive, with 

 his wife and little daughter, and then I will have congenial 

 companionship. B. is not a skilled angler, but dearly' loves 

 the sport, and is a king of good fellows. 



The next day is given to "deer hunting by Will, his brother 

 and myself, but without result. B. arfive'd late that night, 

 and on the following morning was too tired to leave the 

 house, so Win and 1 start out for the lake again to have a 

 combined hunt and fish. Taking my own team this time, 

 on our arrival I secure the horse so that no funny business 

 shall occur, and shouldering our lifles we .start out for a 

 hunt. Taking the dog. Will follows around the base of a 

 large mountain to the right, my course being straight up. 

 After half an hour's climbing I came out upon a spot where 

 the mountain side is hollowed away into a huge basin, the 

 bottom of which lie.T 1,000 feet below, Here, where I can 

 have such an extended view, I take my stand. What a glori- 

 ous sight! With my back toward the'Sierras' crest, I look 

 out over the central valleys of the State. On this spot the 

 au- is as pure and clear as ether, but down there all things 

 are covered with a quivering yellow haze, that tells of the 

 intense heat which is scorching the poor harvesters in the 

 broad wheat fields below. At my feet lies this ereat basin, 

 filled with a gigantic forest growth, hemmed in on three 

 sides by granite walls, with immense banks of glittering 

 snow lying in their angles. 



But hark ! far below sounds the voice of Turk, mellowed 

 by the distance into sweetest strains. In a few moments it 

 swells out louder and clearer, and my pulse quickens for 

 the deer must be coming this way. Tes, there becomes! 



