470 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



LJajs. 7, 1886. 



A SECOND NEW YEAR TRIP. 



SINCE the last issue of Foeest and Streak appeared 

 containing my reminiscence of fishing in Minnesota on 

 a New_ Year day long ago, an old friend dropped in on me 

 and said: "You have either a very bad memory or you think 

 others have, to try and work off a story like that on them, I 

 just laughed when I read it, because I knew nothing of the 

 kind ever happened." His proffered cigar was accepted, as 

 they always are, and all the reply he got was a look of in- 

 quiry which was intended to ask why I was to be guyed in 

 this manner when there was no point visible. "Yes," he 

 continued, "I read it to my wife and explained to her how 

 no such thing could have happened, and how I knew better." 

 By this time my tongue unloosened and said: "Well, may I 

 ask how you knew better? I will assure you that not only 

 are the facts just as I stated them but the real names of the 

 entire party were given. I never wrote a truer thing in my 

 life." Now be it known that very often, when he "wishes to 

 be particularly impressive, he descends to the use of cant 

 phrases, such as are common among the street arabs, and on 

 this occasion bid me "come off the i-oof," adding, as he took 

 up the paper, "the first line condemns the whole thing. 

 Here you say: 'Theflrat day of Januaiy, 1877, found me in 

 what is now Aiken county, Minnesota,' Now, I happen to 

 know that during that winter you were in the New York 

 Aquarium, and on that particular day were in Pike county. 

 Pa. , fishing with our lamented friend Fred Jones, who was 

 drowned some years ago on the outskirts of civilization." I 

 snw it! The fact was that either the printer or I had marie 

 an error of twenty years. The affair occurred in 1857 when 

 that country was indeed a wilderness, and my friend was 

 afterward convinced that such was the case. "Well," said 

 he, "how was it about that New Year fishing trip with Fred 

 Jones just twenty years, to a day, after the one you related? 

 I often asked Jones about it but"he always branched off on 

 something else. How was it any way, did you have any 

 sport in mid- winter?" 



There was no dodging him. so T settled back in the chair, 

 cut off more from the end of the cigar to make it draw freer 

 and gave him what he would have called the "straight tip," 

 which was something like this : Jones often came to the 

 Aquarium and as often said that we ought to have some of 

 the big pike from his lake: you know he owned a tract near 

 or adjoining the grounds of the Blooming Grove Park Asso- 

 ciation. He said we could get monsters there, and if 1 would 

 only go and stay a week we would have good sport, plenty 

 of big fish and it should not cost either the Aquarium or me 

 a cent. Now in m.y younger days I had fished for pickerel 

 through the ice, but had long ago abandoned it and did not 

 enthuse over the promised "sport." He talked with the pro- 

 prietor, Mr. Coup, until the latter urged it and late in De- 

 cember we went. At Hawley we loaded the sleigh with 

 provisions and listened to the bear stories, for which that 

 place is celebrated, as told by the old whisky-soaks, for 

 which it is equally celebrated, who kill more bears around 

 the stove in the groceries than are to be found in all North 

 America. Here we were met by "the General," Jones's game 

 keeper, a garrulous old duffer who would swear that game 

 and fish never were as plenty before, "more deer as hever hi 



seed in the park of the Marquis of , when hi was 'is 'ed 



game keeper." etc. It was cold and the snow was deep and 

 had drifted. The "General" managed to upset us once, on 

 purpose as I thought, to repack the sleigh in order to inspect 

 the contents of some jugs which might have contained either 

 vinegar or molasses, ' or both, but Jones was equal to the 

 emergencj'^ and made him attend to the horses while we re- 

 packed the goods. We did not upset again. The lodge was 

 reached and the General's "missus and kids" welcomed us 

 with stares and a warm supper. In the presence of his 

 "missus" the "General" took a back seat and one did not 

 need to be under the roof long to learn that the gray mare 

 was the better horse. 



The last day of the year came in with a blow, and the 

 drifting snow forbade any fishing, so we drove over to a 

 wagon maker's to see the sporting wagon he was building 

 for Jones. It had racks for rods and guns, kennels for dogs, 

 lockers for clothing, refrigerators for provisions and refrig- 

 erators for game— and I noted that these were of equal size, 

 though I would have made the former largest — and ammu- 

 nition chests and perhaps other things which I have for- 

 gotten, I thought it complete, and if called upon to suggest 

 an addition could only have recommended a shot tower, 

 wherein she sportsman might furnish himself with a neces- 

 sary article in case he needed it and should be near a lead 

 mine, but I thought this too valuable a hint to give away, 

 and reserved it untU it could be patented. Back at the lodge 

 we found that the General had caught some minnows for 

 bait and had them alive in a perforated bucket in the spring. 

 We supped, smoked, told all the stories that we knew (chest- 

 nuts most of them), yawned and went to bed. 



New Year's day was cold, some wind and a little move- 

 ment of fine snow on the surface in exposed places. Al- 

 though the lake was in sight of the house we took our 

 lunches, for, as the "General" said, "If they be a-bitin' we 

 haint a-goin' to leave um for a bit to eat." There was too 

 much snow on the ice for skates to be useful, and we went 

 to the further end of the lake, where the "General" said 

 "the big ones be," and he cut holes while we baited hooks 

 and rigged tip-ups. The wind raised a httle snow-dust from 

 the surface, as 1 have said, and this covered the holes and 

 froze the tip-ups so that they would not tip up if a fish took 

 hold. We ran round, stamped our feet, blew our fingers 

 and cleaned out the holes. After about an hour of solid 

 sport of this kind Jones gave a "whoopl" and pulled up a 

 fish. It was a perch of about four ounces. We celebrated 

 the event. Just how we celebrated it I leave you to judge. 

 What would you have done in such a case? 



My friend had no idea what would be the proper thing, 

 and when I told him that we ate a snow ball to cool us off, 

 he said: "Yes, I think I would have taken a ball too," 

 He put an emphasis on "ball" that I did not clearly under- 

 stand, but as I am not up in all the slang of the day these 

 things pass without question. After this interruption the 

 narrative was resumed. 



We found that we were cold and agreed to go to windward 

 in a cove and start a fire. On the way along shore I killed 

 a rabbit with a revolver and the "General" dressed it and 

 hung it up. By the time the fire was well under way the 

 rabbit was nearly frozen, and we cut it up and roasted it in 

 detail to add to our lunch. Then we took a ball (my friend, 

 of course, imderstood this to mean a snow ball, as there was 

 no chance for fish balls) and after a hearty lunch and a 

 smoke we went to inspect the tip-ups, which, being frozen, 

 would not tip. Jones attempted a pun about not getting any 

 "tip" from them, but the day was cold and levity was not in 

 order. The lines were cut out and yielded a pickerel of 

 about two pounds. We looked toward the lodge and knew 



by the smoke that so gracefully curled, etc. (see the "Third 

 Reader"), and without consultation we started in that 

 direction. We had the two fish cooked for supper, and then 

 sat down and talked fish. I don't know whether he told any 

 untrue stories or not, if he did they were believed, and as he 

 is dead I hope he has forgiven me for all the fishing lies I 

 told him. 



"I always regarded Fred Jones as a much more truthful 

 man than you," said my candid friend (how can people be 

 so confoundedly candid? Doesn't it pain them?). "For," 

 ho added, "he used to shoot as well as fish, while you know 

 you only fish." 



"Certainly," I retorted, "but when I went out with a gun 

 I used to lie a great deal more about what 1 killed than I'did 

 in after years about what I caught, because when we are 

 young we want to kill things and are sensitive on the point 

 of our destructive ability. We have not the courage, which 

 comes of experience, to say that we have hunted all day and 

 brought home no game. As we grow older we are not 

 ashamed to come home with an empty creel, for have we not 

 the example of one of the earliest of 'fishermen, who said : 

 'We have toiled all night and caught nothing'? We come 

 home or into camp and state the facts. The professional 

 funny man of the daily newspaper has been trying his hand 

 at the angler whom he has seen fit to call 'the trout liar;' 

 but the slander, like that on the mother-in-law and the tra- 

 ducing of the goat, does not really injure the genial fisher- 

 man, the abused mother-in-law nor the hilarious goat. 



"Well, what did Coup say when you went buck to the 

 Aquarium with nothing?" 



"Jones went in to square it, and among other things told 

 him that if we had been there a week before we would have 

 taken some huge pike. This was a 'chestnut,' and awoke 

 memories in Coup of the days when he was managing the 

 'greatest show on this or any other planet,' and he simply 

 said, 'Mr. Jones, when I struck a town where the receipts 

 were less than the expenditures every man in the place would 

 tell me that if my circus had only been there a week before 

 we would have to hire extra teams to take away the money.' " 



Jones felt the worst about it, and never missed an oppor- 

 tunity to declare that fish of great size abounded in his lake, 

 but that we struck it in just the wrou^ time. This may all 

 be so, but as I went fishing through the ice on that occasion 

 partly under protest, it is the last time that l ever will try it 

 for sport. My friend who thought he had me cornered, ac- 

 cepted the amendment of putting the Minnesota New Year 

 story back twenty years and buried the hatchet. 



Fred Mather. 



MY FIRST TROUT. 



LAST July, a year ago, 1 took my first trip to the trout 

 regions of the Northwest. Our course lay by way of 

 St. Paul over the line of the Northern Pacific Railway. 

 After the necessary arrangement about transportation, etc., 

 we started on our journey of some seventeen hundred miles. 

 Our party consisted of Col. J., wife, sou and three daughters, 

 myself and daughter and two servants, all comfortably 

 housed in a special car kindl}^ tendered the Colonel by the 

 railroad officials. Our first stop was made at Lake Minne- 

 tonka, where you can have all the expensive luxuries of a 

 great watering place, with little of the element of sport. 

 From here we went to Brainerd, Minn., and were side- 

 tracked for a few days' bass fishing. Next day we went to 

 Deer Wood Lake and had a splendid day with the bass. 

 We were fortunate in securing good skiffs and rowers and 

 soon had all the party busy landing the bass and pickerel 

 from the clear deep waters of the lake. All did well. The 

 younff girls enjoying the sport hugely, but the Colonel 

 proved the champion of the day. From this point we moved 

 on west, our next halt being Ft. Keough, M. T., here we 

 met a regular blizzard. Remained one day to refm-nish our 

 car and then moved on. 



We next halted at Ft, Missoula, M. T. Here expected to 

 capture our first trout. After a day's rest we started bright 

 and early for the Rattlesnake, a small bold mountain torrent 

 that empties into the Missoula River at Missoula City. The 

 Colonel, although an invalid, was eager for the fray. We 

 had a pleasant time but caught very few fish. We next 

 started for the Jocko and Thompson's River. Magnificent 

 trout streams and Uterally teeming with trout. Here we 

 took all the trout we could use and felt refreshed by the pure 

 air and mountain scenery, which, to most of our party, was 

 something entirely new. After remaining one day in this 

 grand but solitary region, we went back to Missoula City, 

 stopping at short intervals, where the streams neared the 

 railroad, and cast our flies for trout, generally with success. 



We concluded, after a day or two, to explore further west. 

 Accordingly orders were issued to hitch on to No. 1 and 

 take her to Lake Pen D'Oreillo, The joiu-ney was through 

 extensive pine forest most of the way, and in places— it will 

 sound incredulous to persons who have no idea of this coun- 

 try except through the current literature of the day— the 

 road was'literaUy walled on either side by the heavy timbers 

 removed from the roadbed. We were, in respect to fishing, 

 sadly disappointed in these lakes; but then it was worth the 

 trip to see this beautiful sheet of water, extending for sev- 

 enty-five miles and from five to ten miles across. Some as 

 lovely pieces of scenery as mortal eye ever beheld lie nestled 

 in this secluded natural retreat. But as for the fishing, there 

 was no use trying. We found encamped upon this beauti- 

 ful water about five or six hundred Indians, who had fished 

 the lake for all it was worth" since the ice disappeared. We 

 were told by some one that the way most of the fish were 

 captiu-ed was by dynamite. While walking along the beach 

 we could see great numbers of dead fish washed ashore by 

 the action of the waves. The Indians were preparing, so 

 we were informed, to break camp, as they considered it un- 

 profitable to stay, as the supply of fish was exhausted. The 

 fish captured were all shipped to Portland and other places 

 on the coast. We experienced the hottest weather at this 

 place of any during our trip. The thermometer, hanging in 

 the car with windows and doors open, showed about 110°. 

 In fact, I thought that we would suffocate during the night. 



Late in the evening we noticed some excitement down about 

 the station house, so I went down to see what was up. I 

 found chained to a telegraph pole a young cub bear, which 

 had been captured by some of the railroad men that morn- 

 ing and over which they were havimg some amusement. I 

 went back to the car, as it was about night, and had no more 

 than got to the car when I heard the crack of a rifle and the 

 urging on of dogs and almost at the same instant the crack- 

 ing of the brush at the end of our car, when a large black 

 bear rushed by and made for the border of the lake and soon 

 disappeared from view beliind the bank. It was supposed 

 that this was the mother of the cub, who probably hearing 

 the cry of distress from her captured child, thought she 

 might rescue it from bondage. We were dehghted when 



the express train arrived with orders to remove us back to 

 Missoula City. Here we found pleasant air and lovely scenery 

 and feeling that in our experience it certainly was "the trout 

 coimtry. 



After a. day's rest we concluded to take a trip up the 

 Bitterroot Valley. When our coachman arrived we found 

 out that we were expected to have the honor of sailing up 

 this beautiful valley in the old Villard coach. The Colonel, 

 who was the moving spirit in all our enterprises, rather 

 objected to any such notoriety; but after being told that 

 there was no other wagon, other than a common road wagon, 

 that would take a party of eight exclusive of driver, the 

 Colonel gave in and we started for the Lo Lo. Here we 

 had good trout fishing, and the girls enjoyed themselves 

 gathering flowers and ferns. However, we had but a short 

 time to stay, as we purposed going back to the car that 

 evening. We intended resting one day and then make a 

 tour of the National Park. That night, just before bedtime, 

 a physician called and said that he had 'just learned of our 

 presence, and insisted on a regular trout fish the next day. 

 The Colonel, being pretty well tired out, did not care to 

 make such a trip, so it was arranged that the Doctor and I 

 should go back to the Lo Lo next day after he had attended 

 to his professional business in the morning. 



It was near twelve o'clock before the Doctor drove up in 

 his gig for our trip. _ The Doctor insisted upon our taking 

 the guns and his pointer, so with this outfit we were soon 

 on the road. The Doctor's horse proved to be a good one, 

 and by 2:30 we were on the ground. We soon arranged our 

 tackle and started for the stream whose roar, as a great 

 waterfall, could be heard through the great growth of tim- 

 ber about one hundred yards from where we hitched our 

 horse. The Doctor is an expert fly-fisherman, and kindly 

 selected my fly and gave me the necessary information how 

 to manage when I got a strike, etc. We now went down to 

 the stream and fished about one hundred yards apart, but on 

 account of meandering channel and the high mountains and 

 thick undergrowth, we were out of sight of each other. My 

 first cast fastened on to a twelve- inch fish — about three quar- 

 ters of a pound. I landed him safely, and repeated the luck 

 next cast. We fished for about an hour and the Doctor 

 thought we had better start home. When we got to the 

 buggy the Doctor emptied his creel and i emptied my hunt- 

 ing coat pockets and found that the catch footed up, for the 

 Doctor 32, for your humble servant 30, making 62 fish all 

 told. We started for home taking our time and eating our 

 lunch as we went along. We got home after dark and found 

 our friends very anxious about us as we expected to leave 

 that night for the Park, a history of which trip I will give 

 you in my next. Occident. 



Sedalia, Mo. 



The "Kinofishers" Again. — Editor Fm-est and Stream: 

 I was recreating at Cheboygan in 1884, when the "King- 

 fisher" letters, descriptive of the Black Lake trip, appeared 

 in Forest and Stream. A Cheboygan editor deemed 

 these letters of suflicient interest to rej^rint them, and I was 

 present when Meiiill first saw them. After reading the one 

 wherein he is styled a "mossback" and furnished with an 

 overdrawn mossback dialect, he exclaimed in anger in the 

 presence of half a dozen persons, "I maybe a mossback, 

 but I don't hire mossbacks for $5 per deer to drive deer into 

 Black Lake for me to kill out of season, and then abuse them 

 behind their backs." Of course I cannot say whether Mer- 

 rill spoke maliciously in his anger or had confounded the 

 two Cincinnati parties and supposed he was delivering a 

 righteous judgement. "Kingfisher" says: "We had no 

 special grievance against Merrill, and were treated at least 

 fairly by him." Such having been the case, Merrill would 

 not look in this direction for ridicule or unfair treatment, 

 but natually attribute the "Kingfisher" letters to the parties 

 with whom' he had had trouble. Previous to this time I had 

 heard nothing against the "Kingfishers," but immediately 

 afterward the subject became an open secret, especially as 

 tlie writer of their annuals scourged game law violators. 

 Mr. Sliner was doubtless induced^to attempt an expose by 

 the belief that "Kingtisber" did not practice what he 

 preached, but of this he had no knowledge until he saw the 

 Black Lake letters. If Ms. Miner received information in 

 July, 1883 (while he and they were there) that the "King- 

 fishers' ' were the violators, there is a greater certainty of the 

 report having originated in malice, and a sudden collapse of 

 the theory that the October party of Cincinnatians had been 

 mistaken for the "Kingfishers." " It is against reason to sup- 

 pose that this slander was circulated before October, 1883, 

 but in my opinion nothing was known of it until the publica- 

 tion of the Black Lake letters, and then it was given out fay 

 Merrill as I have described. It is not Itlcely that the "King- 

 fishers" advertised themselves in July, 1883, as the original 

 and only "Kingfishers." Had they done so, they would not 

 have thought it possible for party No. 2 to have palmed 

 itself off for the "Kingfisher" party. My theory is that Mr. 

 Miner was at Cheboygan during the stay of the second Cin- 

 cinnati party, and was told of their misdeeds; that after the 

 appearance of the Black Lake letters and public utterances 

 of Merrill, he was informed by letter or otherwise that this 

 was the party with whose unlawful actions he was familiar. 

 Hence his attack in good faith one year after the occurrence. 

 -Onyx, 



Fishing Tackle.— On the principle of preparing for war 

 in time of peace now is the time to overhaul the fishing 

 tackle and put it in readiness for the spring campaign. The 

 rods should receive careful attention and the ferrules tested 

 to see if they have loosened by any change of temperature 

 or by the strain of last season's work. The whippings should 

 be replaced if frayed, and, if necessary the rod should be 

 varnished. If the angler is not expert at this work he 

 should send it to his rod maker whom he knows to be the 

 most expert of all, at least he believes him to be, which is 

 just as well. Reels should be cleaned and oiled, lines and 

 leaders should be tested and if there is any frayed gut in the 

 leader or among the fly snoods cut it out and tie it anew. 

 Fly snoods should be free from all cracks where the gut 

 joins the fly, the most usual place for them to break, and the 

 fly should be re-tied or the gut cut and whipped on tight, 

 with silk. This is pleasant work for winter evenings and 

 brings its reward in finding all things in readiness for the 

 first trip to the streams. 



Derivation of "MAeKmoKJB." — New York. Jan. 2. — 

 EdUm' Forest and Stream: In the foot note to the article en- 

 titled "A New Year Fishing Trip," Mr. Mather ventured 

 an etymology of the word mmcalo-nge. He might safely 

 have gone further. It is hardly necessary to remind so ac- 

 complished an Ojibwa scholar that mae means "spotted" or 

 "speckled." Thus: the Nipigon Indians (Ohippewas) call 



