FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Jan. 28, 1886. 



TO THE WALLED-W LAKES. 



VIII, — BIO FISH ON IiITTLB kod. 



>V LL that night a fierce southerly gale shook the lodge, and 

 in the morning it still blew hard. The waters of the lake 

 were white with foam, and over them the skies hung dark 

 and threatening. An Indian pack-saddle had been borrowed 

 the night before from Back-in-Sight, and having put our 

 blankets and the wagon sheet in a little pack on a spare 

 horse, we set out soon after sunrise for the upper lake. We 

 took a sack of bread and a little salt, and I told Yellowfish 

 to tie a quarter of meat on the pack. We were going to a 

 point where, according to my authorities, sheep were very 

 plenty, but it has been my fortune more than once to travel 

 for a day or two through a country where game was ex- 

 tremely abundant, and yet have no fresh meat to eat, so I 

 thought it well to take some provision of this kind with us. 



We crossed the river and turned up the lake, and before 

 we passed the old camp I noticed that there was no meat on 

 the pack, and on inquiry found that the Indian had forgot- 

 ten to follow my directions about taking it. We had left a 

 few drying fish on a scaffold near our former camp, and two 

 or three of these we took with us. Before we reached the 

 Inlet it had begun to rain furiously, and all the rest of the 

 day this continued. Our progress up the lake on the west 

 side was rapid, for the trail was in many places so good that 

 we could gallop our horses. Now and then, however, we 

 came to streams which spread out in marshy valleys of con- 

 siderable width, over which grew a thick tangle of tough 

 alders, and through these it was difficult work to force a 

 passage. The pack occasionally gave us trouble. The cinch 

 which held the saddle in place was merely a strip of raw- 

 bide a couple of inches wide, tied up by a stout leathern 

 string, and with this primitive contrivance it was impossible 

 to put the saddle on so that it would stay. Moreover the 

 lash rope had no cinch to it at all, and we could not draw it 

 tight without galling the horse's belly. The packing was 

 left to Yellowfish, who tied up the bundle Indian fashion, 

 swung it over the saddle, and then drew the ropes as tight 

 as was possible. We were continually stopping to tighten 

 them, but, as it happened, the only time that the pack fell 

 off was when we were crossing one of those wide marshy 

 valleys among the dense alders. I was riding behind, but 

 could not get to the pack horse in time to keep the load from 

 falling into the water, and so our blankets got wet. 



The ridge which runs down from the mountain to the lake 

 was reached not long after noon. Here it was necessary to 

 camp, for there is no grass for the horses for several miles 

 beyond, and indeed it is doubtful if horses can be taken 

 much further up the lake along the side of the precipitous 

 Goat Mountain, which stands next south of Singleshot. We 

 had nothing to eat except our half dried fish and some damp 

 bread, and so as soon as the horses had been turned out, a 

 fire started, and a shelter built to keep the driving rain from 

 our bedding, we started out to hunt. Yellowfish took the 

 south end of Singleshot Mountain and Appekunny and I the 

 north end of the Goat Mountain. The rain poured down 

 with great violence as we started out to climb the mountains. 

 Not very far from the lake's edge we waded the swollen 

 gtream, which pours down through the canon between the 

 two mountains, and there striking a deeply- worn trail, fol- 

 lowed it up the ridge and on to the bench. It is steep, rocky 

 and narrow, practicable for horses, but one would rather do 

 it on foot and lead his animal than ride it. Having reached 

 the top of the bench, we worked our way carefully along 

 over the ledges, which were piled one on top of another 

 until we had gained the forest above. We saw nothing, 

 however, to indicate the recent presence of any game. There 

 were no fresh tracks, and all the sign was that of last winter. 

 Still higher we climbed up on to the mountain, skirting the 

 deep but narrow canon whose vertical walls dropped off 

 sheer for nearly 1,000 feet, but work as carefully as we 

 might, we saw no game nor any signs of game. At one 

 point where we emerged from the timber, we could look 

 across on to Singleshot, and there a moving object caught 

 our eyes. It was a long way off and at first one of us took 

 it for a sheep, but a short inspection showed that it was our 

 companion moving along up near the reefs in his quest for 

 game. 



Three or four hours of this extremely moist and unsuc- 

 cessful hunting convinced us that, here at least, it was useless 

 to hope to get our supper, and we turned back toward camp. 



Down on the first bench above the lake we paused for a 

 while to look about us. Toward the foot of the lake was a 

 veil of driving rain which hid all beyond, but where we 

 were, for a moment the rain had ceased to fall. We could 

 look across the lake and see the sombre gray wall that rose 

 far above us and ended in a snow wreath, and could discern 

 at its foot a curious level platform of rock, partly covered 

 with pines and partly under water, about which there seemed 

 to run a wall of rock separating it from waters of the lake 

 Which appeared to flow in and out through a narrow chan- 

 nel close to the shore on its southern side. Up the lake the 

 d|m shadows of half a dozen stupendous mountains could 

 be felt rather than seen, and here and there above the water 

 rose little islets, some of them bearing a few trees. Still fur- 

 ther up the valley, as the mist for a moment cleared away, 

 we could see that the lake again narrowed, and two slender 

 tongues of land ran out, one from either side, and overlap- 

 ping, seemed to end this lake, cutting it off from another 

 beyond. This appearance has given rise to the statement, 

 unf oundedj that there are three St, Mary's LaKes, On the 



west side of the lake, the Goat Mountain, so called because 

 there are goats on its western slope, rises like a wall, and 

 toward its southern end carries a great mass of bluish white 

 which looks like a tremendous glacier. We had gazed but 

 a little while when the rain clouds again lowered and shut 

 out all the view, and we hastened toward camp. Arrived 

 there, we found Yellowfish steaming before the great fire, 

 but no red quarters of sheep hung from the trees. He had 

 been no more successful than ourselves. He had seen noth- 

 ing, not even a fresh track, and told us what we already 

 knew pretty well, that there was no game in the neighbor- 

 hood. We all agreed that as yet it must be back in the 

 hills. 



We were all uncomfortable enough as we stood about the 

 fire with our damp clothing clinging to us, and gnawed at 

 our unsatisfactory meal of scorched fish and soggy bread, 

 and while we were eating, Yellowfish, after a prefatory 

 speech in which he invoked bitter curses on all our heads for 

 starting out so poorly provided, proposed to return at once 

 and spend the night at the Kootenay camp, which, we had 

 been told, was to be moved up that day to the Inlet flat. I 

 was about to veto the proposition at once, when Appekunny 

 spoke up and supported it. There is nothing that I dislike 

 more than giving up anything which I have attempted to 

 perform, but after thinking the matter over, it seemed to me 

 rather selfish to keep the men out here in this wretchedly un- 

 comfortable situation simply on my account. So, after a 

 little thought, I said "Go," and we started. We rode rapidly, 

 but did not find the Kootenay camp, and reached our own 

 about 9 o'clock at night, cold, wet and hungry, having prob- 

 ably ridden forty miles and walked nearly ten since wc 

 started. 



The next day was fair, though very windy, and Appe- 

 kunny, Yellowfish and King went to the head of the lower 

 lake, the two white men to bring down the boat and the half- 

 breeds to lead back the horses. I remained in camp. 



About 4 o'clock I heard shouts, and walking down to the 

 lake shore, saw the boat coming down before the wind at a 

 great pace. In the bow stood Appekunny holding his out- 

 spread coat, while King steered in the stern. When they 

 reached the shore they handed out three fine lake trout, one 

 of which weighed nine pounds. They had trolled most of 

 the way coming down, and had had a number of strikes, but 

 in most cases the fish had been lost. One or two very large 

 ones, which they had brought almost up to the boat, had 

 snapped the stout hooks off short. 



While dinner was being cooked the wind went down, and 

 an hour before sunset we went out again on to the water. I 

 took my trout rod, and as we rowed slowly up the lake in 

 fifteen or twenty feet of water, trailed a piece of the white 

 belly of a lake trout behind the boat. The bait was large, and 

 the hook very small, and when I had my first bite I struck 

 too quickly and lost the bait. The next time I let the fish have 

 it for a few seconds and then struck hard, and a moment 

 later trembled for my tackle. The fish made a wild rush 

 which caused the reel to fairly shriek, and I expected to 

 have the line break, but he stopped before it was all off the 

 spool, and going to the bottom sulked for a while. This 

 gave us an opportunity to bring the boat nearly over him 

 and enabled me to recover my line. Then a few pulls and 

 twitches started him off again, and for a few moments he 

 made lively work for us. Two or three times he headed 

 straight for the boat, but on each occasion Appekunny, who 

 was at the oars, managed to get out of his way so that he was 

 led around the stern. At length the fish began to grow 

 tired and to yield to the constant strain of the rod, and finally 

 he was brought nearly to the surface of the water. But the 

 end was not yet, and frightened at the boat he made other 

 vigorous rushes which again obliged me to give him plenty 

 of line. Finally, quite tired out, he was brought to the sur- 

 face, the gaff was put into him, and I had the satisfaction of 

 handling the largest fish that I had ever taken on this little 

 rod. His weight was five and a half pounds. 



In an hour's fishing I caught two more which weighed four 

 and five pounds, and lost another which from the strength 

 he displayed I imagined must be much larger than any we 

 had seen. This fish after a few furious rushes sulked on the 

 bottom, from which I could not su.rt him, and devoted all his 

 energies to sawing on the line, which he fraaHy. succeeded in 

 cuttmg. 



These lake trout are thought to be the same as the lake 

 trout of the Adirondacks and the great lakes — Salmo namay. 

 cush. I have never seen this species in the East, but Appe- 

 kunny, who is familiar with them in the Adirondacks, 

 assures me that they are identical. 



The following morning was again pleasant, though at 

 times the wind blew down the lake with great violence, but 

 the sport of the night before had somewhat whetted my 

 ardor, and we were disposed to have a day with the lakers. 

 About 10 o'clock, when the wind went down, we started 

 out. Our camp was on the river, about two hundred yards 

 below the lake, and in the face of wind and current it 

 seemed easier to cordelle than to row the boat up the lake. 



So Appekunny got into the craft to keep her off the shore, 

 and King and I took the long line over our shoulders and 

 pulled on it stoutly, and in a short time we had rounded the 

 point. Then all got aboard, and we pulled slowly up the 

 west shore of the lake. 



The lake trout lie in deep water, and it is said that the 

 best way to fish for them is by means of a troll with a half- 

 pound, sinker attached, so thatthe bait will be. from, six to 



ten fe, beluw the surface as the boat moves along. We 

 found, however, that on a bright day like this the fish 

 readily »m e to the surface for the bait, which being three 

 or fournches long and perfectly white, was easily visible 

 in this (tear water. I fished with my rod, but had taken 

 the premtion to remove my trout line from the reel, and 

 had recced it by a somewhat heavier cotton line, for in 

 trying t3 trout line the night before, after coming in from 

 the ifchrg, T had discovered that it was somewhat rotten 

 and wea, and I feared to trust it with these monsters of the 

 deep. IW; though we had as yet seen no very large ones, 

 yet they lo grow to a great size. The previous autumn 

 Appekuny had caught one in a whitefish net, which 

 weighed airty-five pounds, and there is a tradition of one 

 caught y».irs ago by a trapper which was so large that when 

 its captoran a stick through its gills to carry it over his 

 shoulder, '« tail dragged on the ground as he walked to 

 camp. F' such fish one would need salmon tackle at 

 least. 



For near ' a mile we rowed slowly along. The scene was 

 fairly brtllmt. Under the cloudless sky and the bright sun 

 the clear wters of the lake played and sparkled, the foliage 

 of the hi bides took on its brightest hues of green and 

 gold; the rgged mountain tops, though so distant, showed 

 each raviniand seam in. their gray sides, and their mantles 

 of snow tfccw back the sun's rays like silver. It was so 

 lovely aud peaceful a scene that one felt like dreaming over 

 it; and yr,L ie air was so fresh and bracing, so full of tonic 

 and vigor, ue boat danced about so lightly, and the waves 

 leaped aUTuasl led so merrily about us, that one could not 

 dream. \ , afc. he would be falling into a pleasant reverie 

 the crest A'wni ye would strike the boat, and its cold spray, 

 dashing ill fa ce, would at once bring him back to the 

 preseut. i 



We had !>we<f:i perhaps a mile when King, who was in 

 the stern o ( he boat, gave a wild wave of the arm which 

 held his tTd*ne\ Hue. It tightened for a moment, and a 

 heavy swir a <-peared in^the water fifty feet in our wake, 

 and then tfi ^'Qe suddenly yielded, and came in without 

 resistance. Ae^few seconds later my rod bent, and I struck 

 the fish so had that Appekunny gave a cry of caution: 

 "Look out, o you'll smash your rod." But I had un- 

 limited confid'nee, born of past experience, in the tough 

 bamboo, andl wanted to set the hook fast. I did so. The 

 fish did not a first make off as they usually do, but re- 

 mained for a ew seconds nearly in the same place, while he 

 shook himselfio furiously that I feared he would throw the 

 steel out of bisjaws. Then he made one or two short, fierce 

 rushes, [and oice broke water, but after that seemed to give 

 up the fight, gowly I brought him to the surface at the 

 boat's stern, and justy* the gaff was put into him, we could 

 see why he had yieldH'j so easily. In his shaking, when 

 first struck, he had \f ,W the line several times about his 

 head, and his gills v uY ^ fast bound down, ,so that it was 

 impossible for him /eathe. He was a small fish, only 

 weighing four poiiS^, but from his stomach we took a 

 couple of young wA*^fish five or six inches long, with 

 which we replacetovjh' baits of fish belly. And always 

 after that we look«*i these fry in the lake trout that we 

 caught, and invarialy yound one or more. They are the 

 most taking bait ibese fish that we discovered. The 

 number of these ^ui|ejjh r 1« destroyed must be something al- 

 most incredible. TU ,"*ke trout are extremely abundant 

 and voracious, and iu a^fay each one must capture at least 

 three or four young wl,Ueu3h. What the total destruction 

 is it would be impossiM: $o compute. 



We had gone but a lh#t further.when Dick King struck a 

 good fish and hauled hp 1 in nand over hand, in true blue- 

 fisherman style, until i! swung him into the boat and 

 slapped him down .on n.,eioor. Then he took another in the 

 same way, and then I ty* * strike, which gave me twenty- 

 two minutes of very ex < i«K sport, which my companions 

 enjoyed as much m V ef the excited way in which they 

 talked and danced about any indication of their feelings. 

 Four times the splendid n> darted off for the middle of the 

 lake with an energy that truly alarming, and four times, 

 by giving him the butt wien the fine was so marly gone 

 that I could" see the spool though the strands, I checked him 

 and very gradually brougl" him back; a fifth time I tried to 

 do this, but he would at* atop, and when tip and butt L*d 

 almustmet, and I felt »bat a pound more would break »1 •« 

 rod, I sullenly lowered the tip, deciding that it was better to 

 let him carry away the line than to break the only rod I had. 

 As I did so I found that he had stopped, himself exhausted 

 by the struggle. The fight was a lon S and bitter one - 0ften 

 I would gev him within *ifiht of the boat, but it was very 

 difficult to bring him wit^n reach. When nearly tired out 

 he would sulk oa .the bottom, and nothing that I could do 

 would start him to moving again. After a while the strong 

 tension of the bending rod would slowly raise him from his 

 secure depths, but when I tried to bring him to gaff, his rest 

 would enable him to start c>2 with renewed energy. At 

 length, however, he came to tfte surface of the water, though 

 still back up, and with his auJk^ vicious eye glaring fero- 

 ciously, as if he meditated frest* stratagems; but before he 

 could put them in practice, King had the gaff in him and he 

 was triumphantly lifted over tt*e side. He weighed just a 

 trifle under seven pounds* 



All the morning we fished witife varying fortunes. The trout 

 seemed to favor particular localities, *nd we would row over 

 one of these, noting & we. passed a>»* *t» e P " 1 ^ on the 



