June 10, 1886.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



391 



face of the pool. "Virtue has its own reward," and so had 

 Jeems Mackerel. A trout instantly took the bait, and a sec- 

 ond later was dangling at the extremity of the short line. 

 Jeems was now in ' hockety," The limbs were too thick to 

 recover the fish properly, and his hold too precarious to go 

 fooling round. The old fish hawk seemed to study a bit, 

 and then just slid the rod backward between his legs, keep- 

 ing the tip slightly elevated until he could reach the wrig- 

 gling trout, wTiich he took off and slid into his breeches 

 pocket for safety. Then fingering his clam box with his left 

 hand, he rebaited the hook, and bless my eyes! if he'didn't 

 actually spit on his bait and again drop it in the pool for 

 another bite. "Superstition and raisin' is stronger than edi- 

 cashun," says "Old Knots," and after that feat of Jeems 

 Mackerel, I don't doubt its truth. 



The trout wouldn't take the bait any more, so Jeems 

 Mackerel backed himself down to solid earth as a bear 

 would back down a tree— stern foremost. Gettting upright 

 on bis hind legs, (he old fellow caught sight of me. Giv- 

 ing a self-satisfying chuckle, and dropping naturally into 

 one of his vernacular styles of expression, he remarked: 

 "Snake Root I yer'll have to do a heap more things than 

 sldnnin' a log if yer goin' to circumvent trout on Cedar. 

 Yer can't tell always when or wh^r yer goin' to ketch 'em, 

 or what kind of bait they'll tackle. They are just like 

 wimmen — monstrous fickle and onsartin' when you want 

 'em most." 



As he delivered this sage piece of philosophy, he slid his 

 hand into his breeches pocket, and extracting the trout, pro- 

 ceeded to string it on a forked twig with several others he 

 had previously captured. Then turning round, he started 

 to lead the way along the stream. "Come on, pardner," 

 said he, "and we'll rake some more of the toothsome morsels 

 from their dens." 



Alas for the treacherous soil of Cedar! As the old "King- 

 fisher" closed his comforting assurance, one of his feet went 

 down iu a muskrat hole and the other got tangled up in a 

 root, and for about twenty feet there was a regular circus 

 performance. The right foot scattered dirt and leaves as it 

 came forcibly from the hole, and toppling forward, Jeems 

 nearly lost his balance, then executed a semi-hop and jump, 

 only to reel off sideways; snatching at saplings and wiping 

 the bushes clear of dry debris from the last flood, he finally 

 landed, head on, against the trunk of a monster hemlock. 

 But for the obstacle, I firmly believe he would have contin- 

 ued to fall fully twenty feet further. 



" Jerusalem !" he exclaimed, "my brains feel sorter para- 

 lyzed." Then glancing anxiously at his rod that went fishing 

 in the bushes'on its own hook, he added, "What would 

 Uncle Dan Sloan say to see me play in' leap frog that way? 

 It reminds me," he continued, "of the day old Bill Hess 

 killed a bar upon Sturgeon. Arter trackin' him a long ways 

 old Bill finally caught sight of him down in a holler. Tak- 

 in' a quick sight he let 'Old Hannah' loose, and down 

 tumbled the bar over a log in the bushes. The bresh was so 

 thick yer couldn't see yer hand afore ye, hardly, and old 

 Bill was so anxious to stick his knife in the brute, he forgot 

 his eddication and went a runnin' to the spot. He couldn't 

 tell exactly the lay o' the land, and befo' he knowed it he 

 jumped over a log and lit kerflummux right on the bar. 

 The varmint was only skotched, and when Bill jumped on 

 him, it sort o' waked him up like, and givin' a screech like 

 a wildcat, it up and tried to hug Bill. As his gun was 

 empty and his knife onhandy at that particular rninit, Bill 

 didn't think it was necessary to stop and explain the acci- 

 dent, but he up and lit out — and they do say [at this point 

 Jeems Mackerel paused to chuckle] that he riz and fell over 

 logs and 'bresh', and tore saplins worse nor a three-legged 

 mule with a bushel o' hornets on his back. He just cleaned 

 a path in the woods so plain that next year the county sur- 

 veyor run a wagon road whar Bill had blazed the way. 

 However, let's likker." 



Involuntarily I felt for the small flask of "soothin' syrup" 

 or Kentucky "opodeldoc," which I carried in my hip pocket 

 for use in case of possible snake bite. 



"No, no," exclaimed the veteran "Kingfisher," resuming 

 his normal expression, "that article and myself don't har- 

 monize. We are not on speakin' terms. Humanity was 

 never made better by its use, and while I don't interfere with 

 my friends in finding a spell o' comfort and a realizhr sense 

 o' consolation in light doses of the fluid — as for me, I don't 

 want any better liquid than sparkles and bubbles right out o' 

 the ground. It's the coolingest, the sweetest and the purest 

 drink on the face of the livin' yearth, and Michigan is the 

 spot where it comes up colder and fresher and more self- 

 satisfyin' than anywhere else, accordin' to my notion." 



As he concluded this bit of apostrophe to water and to 

 Michigan, Jeems Mackerel picked up his rod, and gathering 

 the half dozen trout that had been scattered among the 

 leaves by his prolonged fall, he led the way in search of 

 another trout hole. 



Aside from the difficulties of travel involved in climbing 

 over fallen timber and creeping through the matted under- 

 growth, it was frequently necessary to make detours to get 

 around points that were too formidable to attack, or to avoid 

 marshy places where depth was no object. Meanwhile the 

 flies were getting in their work and the mosquitoes were hav- 

 ing a jamboree time. They had evidently posted spies and 

 pickets out on the edge of the forest, and the whole tribe had 

 been informed of our presence as providing a supply of choice 

 meat. There is nothing modest about the actions of a Cedar 

 River mosquito. He just plants himself where the flesh is 

 tenderest and proceeds to dig his way into the soil with the 

 indifference of a sexton. Just think of 40,000 of these in- 

 sects following you for hours and taking turns at tasting 

 your blood ! 



We had been following the little stream in its tortuous 

 course for perhaps a mile in a straight line, or about five 

 miles as we wobbled, and by industrious work had managed 

 to creel about a dozen trout, none of them weighing above 

 four ounces. Hunting the deepest holes, the stream finally 

 seemed to divide up and disappear, and while searching for 

 it we suddenly came plump on a watercourse five or six 

 times larger. It went, splashing on its way, diving uuder 

 roots, darting under banks of green mould and behaving like 

 a genuine forest torrent. 



This was Cedar River itself, and we had simply been 

 spending hours in fishing a tributary of that famous stream. 

 Jeems Mackerel ought to have known better. If he didn't, 

 he might at least have suspicioned that something was wrong, 

 for it wasn't the first time he had tiouted on Cedar. How- 

 ever, we forgave him freely for two reasons : First, because 

 we have no doubt the old fellow was actually lost, and sec- 

 ond, because Cedar River didn't afford any more trout than 

 its tributary. As I looked at the little string of fingerlings 

 that dangled on his twig, I could not repress a pang" of sor- 

 row that the poor things should be weaned so soon, 



The old "Kingfisher" never seemed to tire nor grow im- 

 patient. One minute he would be astride a swinging limb, 

 and, with one hand clutching a branch overhead, he would 

 strain his back trying to drop his hook under an opposite 

 bank, just where the water paused a minute to enjoy the rest 

 it could find nowhere else. Then he would skin out on a log 

 and imitate his namesake by sitting motionless for an indefi- 

 nite period, under the delusion that the trout beneath would 

 forget he was there. Or, lying flat on the ground and nudg- 

 ing' along as he pushed his rod in front, he would crawl 

 slowly and painfully to the brink of some eddying pool only 

 to return disappointed. With the zeal of a disciple and an 

 implanted love of nature in her original robes, I stuck closely 

 to the practices of the veteran fisherman, and with a little 

 more than equal lack of success. 



As the afternoon wore on the shadows rapidly deepened 

 and gathering clouds warned us of rain ahead. We hurried 

 along as rapidly as it was possible, for a night passed in the 

 swamps of Cedar, with its millions of flits and mosquitoes, 

 and its damp, chilly atmosphere, was a prospect too gloomy 

 'to contemplate. We had only time to pause now and then 

 to try some paol more inviting than the rest. Travel as we 

 might, there was no moment too pressing for the old "King- 

 fisher" to kneel down and swallow a mouthful of the deii- 

 ciously cool water of every spring and tiny rivulet we passed. 

 May the time never come when the tinkling music of the 

 running waters and the clear depths of the cooling springs 

 shall cease to refresh, with their poetic imagery, the weari- 

 ness of his mind, nor fail to plant themselves as free gifts of 

 nature beside his path, wherever his footsteps may tread in 

 the gentle pastime of "ye noble angler!" 



At last the rain drops began to patter down through the 

 leaves and fall in larger drops on the ground at our feet. In 

 half an hour the rain had increased to a steady fall that be- 

 tokened no letting up. Fortunately we now came to a sort 

 of path, made by cutting off the saplings two or three inches 

 above the ground, and hewing a log out of the way here 

 and there. This at least indicated the shortest way out, and 

 while we took an occasional tumble over the stumps, and 

 slipped on the wet banks of the numerous gullies we crossed, 

 we made fair headway. Jeems Mackerel said there was an 

 old clearing ahead somewhere, and when we reached that 

 we had only to climb the bank and find ourselves in sight of 

 the Fair Grounds. Pulling down my hunting cap and but- 

 toning my coat to the chin^ I faced the rain with all the con- 

 tentment possible. Jeems Mackerel's old slouch hat bent its 

 rim down and shot its peak to the sky as if it were used to 

 rain and rather enjoyed it. At last, after an hour's twisting 

 and tumbling, a gleam of light was revealed ahead, and then 

 the long, gaunt forms of burned trees reached up toward 

 the leaden sky. The faint path we followed suddenly ter- 

 minated at a huge upturned tree that blocked the way. 

 Climbing the trunk we saw nothing ahead but a mass of wet 

 weeds, marsh grass and brush. The outlet was shut off 

 entirely, 



"Got to fly," said Jeems Mackerel. 

 "Wings too wet," I replied. 



"Watch me sail," said J. M., and suiting the action to the 

 word he poised himself on the end of a limb, then with rod 

 overhead he leaped into the dripping weeds and bushes. 

 There was evidently a bottom to the thing, as he demon- 

 strated by wading through to the top of the bank. I had no 

 choice but to follow. In dropping among the brush I nearly 

 broke my ankle on a concealed limb. I didn't know it was 

 there. The reeds shed water like a duck's back. By dint of 

 hard pulling and slipping and sliding I reached the top of 

 the bank. "The more extended view this elevation gave me, 

 enabled me to see J. Mackerel wading "waist high through 

 the tangled grass and burrs and sprouts that infested the 

 clearing. He was making a "bee line" for the Fair Grounds 

 and shedding water as Jim Wolf shed "sassers" as, fighting 

 the tomcats,"he fell off the shed roof into the plates of candy 

 set out to cool. I followed his illustrious example, tracking 

 him by the water line, and bent brush and -weeds, and soon 

 had the satisfaction of reaching the main road where it 

 crossed a tiny rivuiet. 



Taking a short Test under a tree while the Kingfisher was 

 making away with a quart or two of his favorite beverage 

 from the cooling stream, I noticed two or three dozen spoiled 

 trout scattered over the ground. It needed no second thought 

 to recognize in their pallid forms the rejected contents of 

 that old canvas bag we had seen earlier in' the day, and about 

 whose cooking properties Jeems Mackerel so forcibly 

 prophesied. 



From this point to Bellaire, the rain fell in torrents. We 

 first sought shelter under the trees, hugging their trunks and 

 dodging the streams that came down the under side. As the 

 cold drops finally went crawling down our back3, between 

 skin and cover, and having a prejudice against the mean 

 feelings that come of being soaked by inches, we concluded 

 to quit temperizing and to walk into the deluge like men. It 

 rained some. In fact it came down so hard we began to feel 

 sorry we hadn't some cork life preservers with us, so we 

 could float and save the labor of traveling. Jeems said he 

 hadn't had so much fun "since the big storm on Carp Lake." 

 [Mem — That was the time Jeems Mackerel wrote of the big 

 fish biting his spoon in half, and of his riding four foot 

 waves in an egg shell. Jeems is a veteran.] 



As we tramped through Bellaire, with sand and water 

 mixed sloshing in my shoes, I remembered that little speech 

 of J. M.'s about my being the "beau ideal" of a trout fisher- 

 man, "sam peur et sans reproche." The thought excited my 

 risibles until, laughing outright, the old snipe heard me and 

 looked around inquiringly. 



"Nothin', only laughiu' to keep up the circulation." 



He knew that was a whopper, but reserving his wrath, he 

 turned his face to the front and pushed on. It was getting 

 dark when we reached the boats. The "Kingfisher's" fond- 

 ness for rowing (he resents any interference with his prerog- 

 ative as chief oarsman) served him a good turn on the back- 

 ward trip up Intermediate River and Central Lake to camp. 

 While the exercise kept him warm, I sat in the stern and 

 shivered with wet and cold. I fancied the old rascal (Jeems 

 is a shade under seventy) enjoyed my discomfiture. I after- 

 ward got even with him on a tour to Six Mile Lake. 



Our arrival in camp was hailed with such a degree of wel- 

 come that we almost forgot the troubles of the trip. I am 

 not sure, though, that the prospect of a change from pick- 

 erel to trout for breakfast didn't have something to do with 

 that welcome, "Old Knots" said that on this special occa- 

 sion there would be no harm in breaking the rule of abste- 

 miousness and swallowin' a dose of "opodeldoc" to drive 

 chills and rheumatiz from the system. Uncle Dan removed 

 his pipe from his mouth and suggested that "all things were 

 made for some use, and as we might hev been snake bit un- 

 beknownst, there was no harm in vaccinatin' against the 

 pizen." As "Suckermoogen Bill" added his approval with 



the sage observation "that there was but one time to die," I 

 felt my strength as a cold-water disciple oozing out my finger 

 ends, and with desperate resolution was about to submit to 

 the infliction, when Jeems Mackerel concluded the inquest 

 by icily remarking, "When a fellow wants to go to the cir- 

 cus, it's wonderful how anxious he is to have the children 

 see the ani miles, and how much natural history thar is in a 

 Bengal tiger, a spotted hyena and a monkey." 



I firmly believe Jeems Mackerel will become a conQrmed 

 cold water inebriate. I had my satisfaction, however, for 

 while he was satisfying that enormous appetite of which he 

 is almost sole possessor, he attempted to drain the bottom of 

 a can of peaches, and a humble "yellow jacket" that had 

 gone to sleep iu the bottom touched the hot end of his body 

 to Jeems's tongue, and for ten minutes I thought he was 

 trying to exhibit that circus, "natural history" and all. 

 "Suckermoogen Bill," a splendid cattle doctor, spent two days 

 treatin' what he called a "ginooiae case of black tongue." 

 Uncle Dan thought it was small pox and wanted to inocu- 

 late. I suggested that Furr and Snyder might go around 

 the neighborhood and collect up the children and bring 'em 

 to camp to see "the evil effects and witness the awful exam- 

 ple of indulging too much in cold water as 'it comes spark- 

 lin' and bubblin' fresh out o' the ground.' " 



When the old Kingfisher got well of that "yaller jacket," 

 he spent most of his time persuading the boys not to mention 

 the subject outside of camp, and specially not to let his wife 

 know anything of the circumstance, "for," said he, "she 

 always did vow that men had more tongue than wimmen, 

 specially if Jeems Mackerel was around." 



We never told anybody about the affair, and don't expect 

 to, as we consider this little episode "don't count." 



Shake Root. 



Fbankfort, Ky. 



THE NEW YORK TROUT LAW. 



TBE laws regulating the capture of all kinds of trout, 

 have again been amended by the Legislature of New 

 York, and the bill has been signed by the Governor. In our 

 issue of May 27, Mr. John D. Collius complained of errors 

 in the law as it stood, and on the 25th the bill introduced by 

 Mr. Doyle to correct these errors, had passed. The Gover- 

 nor has signed it, and we notice that the date of capture for 

 brook trout is restored to April 1, except in the counties 

 included in the forest preserve, and that the new brown 

 trout are protected. We regret that the clause restricting 

 the capture of brook trout under six inches in length, was 

 left out. Perhaps this was "done in the engrossing" where 

 it is claimed that the error in the former law occurred. We 

 give the law in full : 



AN Act to amend chapter one hundred and twenty-four of the laws 

 of eighteen hundred and eighty-six, entitled, "An Act for the pres- 

 ervation of moo3e, wild deer, birds, fish and other game." 

 Passed May 25. 18SB; three-fifths being present. 



The people of the State of New York, represented in Senate and 

 Assembly, do enact as follows: 



Section 1. Chapter one hundred and twenty-four, of the laws of 

 eighteen hundred and eighty-six, entitled, "An "Act for the preserva- 

 tion of moose, wild deer, birds, fish and other game," is hereby 

 amended so as to re;id as follows: 



§ 19. No person shall catch, or attempt to catch, or kill or expose 

 for sale, or have in possession alter the same has been caught or 

 killed, any speckled trout, brook trout, California trout, brown trout, 

 salmon trout or land-locked salmon, save only from the Arse day of 

 April to the first day of September in each year, except in tho coun- 

 ties included in the forest preserve, establised by chapter two hun- 

 dred and eighty-three of the laws of eighteen hundred and eightv- 

 five, wnereit shall not be lawful to catch, or attempt to catch or kill, 

 or expose for sale, any speckled trout, brook trout, brown trout, and 

 California trout, save only from the first day of May to the fifteenth 

 day of September, and salmon trout and land-locked salmon from 

 the first day of May to the first day of October in each year. No 

 person shall at any time take or catch any speckled trout, brook 

 trout, brown trout, salmon trout, land-locked salmon or California 

 trout, from any of the waters ot this State for the purpose of stock- 

 ing a private or public pond or stream except from the waters of 

 Lake Ontario. No person shall at any time willfully molest or dis- 

 turb any of the fish mentioned in this section, while they are upon 

 their natural spawning beds during the spawning season, except in 

 the waters of Lake Ontario, nor shall any person take any of said fish, 

 or any spawn or milt from any of said fish while upon their natural 

 spawning beds in any of the waters of this State (except such as are 

 wholly private). Any person violating any of the foregoing provis- 

 ions of this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and in 

 addition thereto shall be liable to a penalty of ten dollars for an at- 

 tempt, and twenty -five dollars for each fish caught, killed, exposed 

 for sale or had in possession during tbe prohibited season aforesaid; 

 and a penality of fifty dollars for disturbing or molesting fish upon 

 the spawning"beds, or taking spawn or milt therefrom, with twenty- 

 five dollars additional for each fish taken thereon. The foregoing 

 provisions are not to apply to the operations of State or public hatch- 

 eries, or to the artificial propagation of said fish by State or public 

 authority; nor to the taking, transportation or possession offish-fry 

 thus artificially propagated or distributed for the stocking of waters. 

 Owners or proprietors ot private hatcheries are also exempted there- 

 from to the extent that they may take fish, spawn or milt iu their 

 own private waters, for the purpose of artificial propagation, inclu- 

 sive of the sale, transportation and possession of fish-fry or spawn 

 thus obtained or propagated lor the purpose of stocking waters. In 

 all other respects these provisions are to apply. No officer of the 

 State nor any person, shall place or deposit in any of the waters of 

 the Adirondack region of this btate [so called] any fish, or fish-fry. 

 or spawn, or milt, except speckled trout, brook trout, brown trout, 

 salmon trout, California trout, or lami-loeked salmon unless the fish 

 sodeposited or placed in such waters are indiegnous to the particu- 

 lar water where placed, except that uon-proying or non-destructive 

 fish, such as usually constitute food lor the species above named, 

 may be therein placed. Any person offending against this provision 

 shall be deemed guilty ot a misdemeanor, punishable by imprison- 

 ment in a penitentiary or county jail for a period not exceeding eigh- 

 teen months or shall lorfeic a penalty of five hundred dollars, or 

 both, in the discretion ot the court, for each fish or spawn deposited 

 in violation thereof. No person, common carrier, corporation, asso- 

 ciation or company shall, at any time, carry or transport or have in 

 his or its possession for t he purpose of transportation, any speckled 

 trout, salmon trout, California trout, or land-locked salmon caught 

 or killed iu that portion of this State constituting the forest preserve; 

 and unv person, common carrier, corporation, association or company 

 Avhich has in his or Its possession any such trout shall be deemed to 

 have them in possession in violation of this section; provided, how- 

 ever, that they may transport from the forest preserve, or have 

 in possession lor the'purpose of transportation, speckled trout, brook 

 trout, brown trout and Oalitornia trout from the first day of May to 

 the first day of September, and salmon trout or land-locked salmon 

 from tho first day of May to the first day ot October in any year, 

 caught or killed in the forest preserve, for each owner of said, 

 trout, provided that they be accompanied by such owner. Any per- 

 son offending against this provision hall be deemed guilty of a mis- 

 demeanor, anil in addition thereto shall be liable to a penally ot fifty 

 dollars for each trout or part thereof had in possesion for transpor. 

 tation in violation of this provision, and may be proceeded against 

 in any countv of this State in which the offender or prosecutor re- 

 sides or the offender has an office for tho transaction of business. 

 Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 



The Northern Lakes op Canada are described with 

 routes, guide to best camping, fishing and shooting localities, 

 hotels, cost of travel, etc., in a 200 page guide book prepared 

 by Barlow Cumberland, Toronto, Canada. There are maps 

 of the Muskoka Lakes, Simcoe and Coucbiching, Georgian 

 Bay and other waters. The book is crammed full of useful 

 information, designed to point out the way and make it easy 

 for tourists, pleasure seekers, sightseers, anglers, shooters, 

 canoemen and all the other wings of summer outers in the 

 Dominion. The maps are of special value, being drawn on 

 the panorama plan, 



