July 8, 1886.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



4 71 



either side of the throat is always present and very sugges- 

 tive of a cut-throat. I wish "Reel-Plate" and also "Piseco" 

 had been with us to see how Alaskan trout take the fly. 

 From the Alaskan, a newspaper published in Sitka, I see the 

 following in the issue of Feb. 20, 1886. It is a reprint from 

 "Fishing with the Fly," in which the article on tbe salmon 

 and trout of Alaska was furnished by ' 'Piaeco :" ' 'A fly they 

 would not rise to," writing of Salmo j)urpuratus. I can 

 also inform "Piseco" that I have had the salmon trout rise 

 to the fly, which he says, "this the trout, while in Alaska, 

 fails to do." I used only two flies this afternoon, a "hare's 

 ear" for tail fly and a "gray palmer" for dropper. The fish, 

 I thiuk, showed a slight preference for the "hare's ear." 

 We did not take the numbers that "Reel-Plate" records, but 

 I venture to remark that we had as much sport; and I have 

 a good many days of such sport ahead of me before the run 

 of salmon blocks np the streams. T. H. S. 



Wbangelij, Alaska, June 8, 1886. 



CAMPS OF THE KINGFISHERS. 



CAllP LAKE, MICHIGAN. — XVITI. 



THE next day was Bob's birthday, and as a birthday is 

 not an every- day affair, it was resolved to give Miss 

 "Browu Eyes" a good send-off into her seventeenth year in 

 the shape of a picnic, to be given under the management of 

 the "Jones Family," across the lake at the "North Pole 

 Spring." 



Jim and I had discovered this spring while wandering 

 around on our first unsuccessful hunt for Maybert's Creek, 

 and, as we afterward learned, it is only about five rods from 

 the creek, at the end of an old shingle cutter's road leading 

 off from the main road, and about three-quarters of a mile 

 from the lake. 



I note this spring because it is the best one anywhere 

 along the lake or near it, and if any thirsty brother ever 

 chances along tbe road near this little trout spring it will 

 pay him, if it be a hot July or August day, to trudge down 

 to it and slake his thirst with a draught of as pure, spark- 

 ling, ice-cold water as ever welled up from the bosom of 

 Mother Earth. Then, when he has covered about, half the 

 distance back to the road, it will pay him to trudge back 

 again and do it all over, for it is a rare spring. 



Hyperboler was elected master of ceremonies, and by 10 

 o'clock a big lunch and all the party, except the skipper, 

 who was indisposed, were off across the water for the spring 

 and a good time. 



As old Dan can handle a rod with more comfort than he 

 can the demoralized old right leg on a three-quarter-mile 

 walk, and as there was no conveyance at hand to take him 

 to the spring and as old Hickory was laid up in camp for 

 repairs (I have carried the old fishhawk on my back on more 

 occasions than one to a desired spot he could not reach alone, 

 where he wanted to sit and fish), he and Muller spent the 

 day fishing till the picnic broke up in the evening with 

 somewhat belter results than had attended us the day 

 before. 



When all were back in camp the birthday festivities 

 wound up with a supper by candle light, and I venture that 

 if Miss Bob's days lengthen even into the sere and yellow 

 leaf she will pass no pleasanter or happier birthday than she 

 did there in the Michigan North Woods, surrounded by her 

 new made friends, "the Joneses." 



As I lay awake a while that night after the camp was at 

 rest I tried to figure out the reason for the indifferent sporr. i 

 we had been having, and could arrive at no conclusion olhe 

 than we had been paying too much attention to camp com J 

 forts; we had been sleeping too late in the mornings am 

 fishing during the wrong hours of the day. 



Before daylight in the morning I was out and half a mil 

 down shore in a boat, without having disturbed the slum 1 

 bers of the girls or caused a break in the rythm of Muller's 

 sonorous snore, and long before smoke curled out, of the 

 stovepipes at camp as a token that the philosopher was still 

 alive, I was a mile and a half down and across the lake 

 among a small school of bass that were biting as if they 

 wanted to make up for lost time. Now and then, too, a 

 longsnout took a notion to try the temper of the old iod, 

 but always with disastrous results — a stroke of the gaff and 

 a whack of the club ending the controversy in one round. 

 Then at last, the goggle-eyes began tampering with the frog, 

 and it was time to reel up and lay the rod in the boat, for as 

 Ben says, "ef there's anything that makes a feller mad it's 

 them durned red-eyed sunfish a nibblin' an' a twitchin' at yer 

 bait when ye ain't a fishin' fur 'em." 



I was back in camp by 9 o'clock for a late breakfast, with 

 a string of fish that was good for weak eyes; and when they 

 had been duly inspected the whole family resolved to be on 

 the water by daylight next morning to beat James Mackerel's 

 record. Ben was so fired up at sight of the string of fish 

 that he took a boat and "ole quintessence" and started out 

 after breakfast to "see if he could hev a little fun on his own 

 hook," but after three or four hours absence he came back 

 with a long visage and no fish, not even a goggle-eye. 



As he leaned his rod up against the popple some one fired 

 the regulation "what luck Ben?" at him, to start him to ease 

 his mind of its load of disappointment. "The 1 aint nary 

 tish atween here an' the sawmill," he answered solemnly, 

 "fur I rowed plum' up there an' back, an' my frog jest a 

 draggin' behind till the spots is all wore off it, an' I didn't 

 get a cussed bite. 1 could ketch as many as that in a boss 

 trough," and he reached for a camp stool, on which he 

 balanced himself with one leg swung over the other, scraped 

 a match, and was soon lost in a cloud of solace from the 

 briar root. 



Next morning with all the good resolutions as to early 

 rising, old Ben was tbe only one out before daybreak, and 

 going over to call Bob, who had promised to go along if he 

 would awake her, they were soon ready, and as they left the 

 landing I heard him say, "Now, Bob, ef there's anything in 

 airly fishin' yer uncle '11 show ye how to ketch 'em," and 

 then the regular dip of the oars shortly took them out of 

 hearing, past the point a couple of hundred yards below. 



None of the rest had energy enough to get out, and the 

 sun was well up before the camp was astir. When break- 

 fast was ready an hour or two later and the mists had lifted 

 from the water, they were discovered quietly fishing in the 

 first little bay below camp, and the breakfast call on a fry- 

 ing pan soon brought them in hungry and happy. "Look 

 at them fellers, will ye?" said Hyper, as he dragged a fine 

 string of fish to the edge of the water, twisting and flopping 

 and throwing spray over him in small showers, "when Bob 

 an' me go a -fishin', we go a-fishin', an' don't ye forgit it; hey ! 

 Bob?" But Bob had found the breakfast table, where she 

 was distracting the philosopher with orders, and trying to 

 convince the other girls that her appetite was failing her. It 



turned out that Bob had taken ten of the thirteen bass 

 brought in, and Ben had besides taken a pickerel and two 

 "red eyes," but he didn't step quite so high over tbe achieve- 

 ment as he did when he "ketched James Mackerel's trout." 



The old cowboy said in explaining how Bob came to lay 

 him out, "I'd a felt kinder mean to beat my own niece a- 

 fishin', so I jest fished most o' the time without ary bait on 

 my hook an' she a-thinkin' all the time that I was a doin' 

 my level best;" but Ben was used to wriggling out of tight 

 places in fish stories, and it was not to be expected that he 

 would be caught napping in an easy case like this. Bob was 

 highly pleased over her catch, but was content after the first 

 experience to let some of the others do the early rising, while 

 she found sport enough in late evening fishing, which, after 

 all, was good enough to satisfy any reasonable angler. 



We had at last, however, struck the key to the sport — early 

 morning fishing — and those who could muster resolution to 

 be out and on the water before sun-up were sure to return 

 before the forenoon was half gone with more fish than we 

 could possibly use, and our neighbors were kept busy "sort- 

 in' bones" during the rest of our stay. 



So the days passed on toward the end of our vacation, 

 each full of its own pleasures and happiness without a cloud 

 to mar the good feeling of the camp, and it was with many 

 regrets that we looked forward to the breaking up of the 

 happy family to go back to the noise and bustle and drudg- 

 ery of the old life. We, the "old fellers," were getting young 

 again and we hated to break off and take a backset for an- 

 other year. 



There were some days left yet and each one was worth a 

 whole month on the farm, in the sanctum, or in the office, 

 whether we fished early or fished late or fished not at all; 

 each one was to be enjoyed as though it were to be the last. 



The next morning some of us were awake before day for 

 an early start, but on getting out, a fog so white and dense 

 covered lake and laud that it was impossible to see the 

 "hennery" from our tents, and we could barely distinguish 

 the outlines of the kitchen fly not more than a couple of 

 rods away. The philosopher was roused out to get break- 

 fast while we studied over this uulooked-for "category;" 

 and soon the girls were awake and came flitting over, one 

 and two at a time, like shadowy spectres out of the sur- 

 rounding mist, to huddle around the glowing stoves and 

 wonder if this were a sign of another change of weather. 

 Everything exposed was dripping with moisture, and the 

 prospect was not a cheerful one for early sport; but Jim and 

 Ben concluded that they could find their way to a certain 

 strip of promising water above Horton's Bay, where they 

 had made up their minds the night before they wanted to 

 fish, and when Ben had once "set his head" to go they were 

 soon ready and off. They were cautioned as they pulled 

 away from the landing to follow the "synopsis" — as old 

 Dick M. says— of the shore and bay, and keep the line of 

 bulrushes in reach of the oar, lest they get lost in the fog 

 and fail to reach the spot they were searching for, but Ben 

 said, "Shucks! I reckon I kin row straight across to the 

 pint up yander, an' then we kin find the place slicker 'n 

 grease." Two strokes of the oars hid them in the bank of 

 fog, and we saw no more of them till it lifted, near the 

 middle of the forenoon. The others of us had not "set our 

 heads to go a-fishin'," and we decided to stay in camp till 

 the sun drove the mists from the water. 



When the fog lifted so we could see under it up and down 

 the lake, Jim and Ben were in plain sight fishing patiently 

 in the little bay below ramp (t>>e point the* — ' ' f . 

 ii» exactly tl>e opputfUe direction), jiret where wo knew Lhure 

 was a toag drivon into the bottom a few rods from 



Lv1 yci teen ♦uken. U wa,« rati' or ft puzzliui: "coincidence" 

 how they uatne Lu be ueiow cumy when they had started out 

 to do their fishing above, but Ben told about it after he had 

 taken the edge off his appetite at the breakfast table. 



"Ye see, when we started out I headed the boat straight 

 fur the pint above an' kep' on a rowin' till I'd ha' bet we was 

 nigh onto five mile from camp an' still no pint in sight nor 

 notbin' else but fog so durned thick that several times we 

 stuck fast in it an' had to back out an' go 'round where it 

 wasn't quite so thick, an' I reckon this must ha' thrown us 

 out o' our course. Curious how thick fog'll git when there's 

 nothiu' to bender it, an' " blinking furiously as he swallowed 

 a mouthful of "biliu' hot" coffee, "it's surprisin' how long 

 coffee '11 keep red hot in a tin cup." 



Coming back to his bearings again : "Then I concluded 

 to pull in to shore without lettin' on to Jim an' feel along 

 till we came to the place where we wanted to fish, which I'd 

 know by a stake stuck in the bottom near the bulrushes, but 

 I might as well hev started to find the North Pole, fur we 

 couldn't see more'n ten foot from the boat nary way, an' 

 after pullin' a spell longer I stopped to study over the pints 

 o' the compass, an' Jim said he reckoned we was lost. After 

 exchangin' views fur a minit er two we found out that we'd 

 both bin unanimous on this pint fur some time, but we was 

 ashamed to holler to you fellers at camp to find out our 

 bearin's fur fear ye'd laugh at us. Jest then we heerd a cow- 

 bell an' we concluded to pull in toward it till we struck the 

 rushes an' fish along at memorandum, like that feller ole Dan 

 tells about, till the fog went off an' we could find out about 

 where we was. We hadn't gone more'n ten rod till the boat 

 scraped agin sometbiu', an' lookin 1 round there was a stake 

 a stickin' up about two foot out o' the water, an' we jest tied 

 the boat to it an' went to fishin' as onconsarned as ef it was 

 the very place we'd been a huntin' fur. Talk about fish a 

 bitin'! "Ef you'd a bin there, James Mackerel, you'd a got 

 ten year younger in less'n half an hour. First Jim an' then 

 me aa' then both would be a striviu' with a bass, an' it 

 wasn't long till we had the stringer half full, an' the fun was 

 jest too satisfyin' fur the Joneses^ fur they wasn't used to it. 

 A leetle more o' that coffee, Al, ef ye please," as he passed 

 his cup across the table, "an' Jim, I'll thank ye to waft 

 them fish this way while they're hot, fur ef there's anything 

 that makes a feller hungry it's fishin' iu a fog before breckfust. 



"About the time we was a wisbin' fur another fish stringer, 

 the fog begun to git thinner an' raise up so we could see the 

 shore, an' diree'ly we saw a barn an' then a house a little 

 ways back of it, but nary one ov us could make out that 

 we ever seen 'em before, an' then we wondered which way 

 it was to camp. " 



"Yes," now chipped in Jim. who had been too busy mak- 

 ing up for lost time to do any talking, "the longer we looked 

 at tnat house and barn the more confused we were as to our 

 whereabouts, and we finally agreed that we were just no- 

 where. As we sat there trying to study it all out, Ben said, 

 'There's a lot o' tents down by the water' — we hadn't noticed 

 them before — 'must be some more campers, I reckon, but 

 what's the matter with that American flag a hangin' down 



that pole? our own camp, by the jumpin' jebossafat!' and 

 then it all flashed into our empty pates instantly; there were 

 Horton's baru and house, and the familiar fields and the 

 camp, all looking as natural as life, and just then some one 

 touched off the "frying pan, and here we are, but we don't 

 want any more early fishing in a fog, even if we catch a 

 string of fish as long as the boat. " 



A few mornings after we were treated to another fog even 

 heavier, but the experience of Ben and Jim had made us 

 wise and no one ventured to explore its mysteries outside of 

 a convenient hail. 



(to be continued.) 



THE MUDDY POTOMAC. 



THE anglers in this part of the domain are in a state of 

 chronic despair. Most of the time since the latter part 

 of April the water in the Potomac River and tributaries has 

 been as roily as the muddy Missouri, and now, when much 

 preparation had been made for an outing on the Fourth, 

 there is a deluvian down-pour, and the jig is up again. Good 

 fishing was had during two or three weeks in April, but 

 since then and all through spawning time hardly a fin has 

 been taken. This has probably been fortunate for the fishes, 

 as they were certainly not disturbed while nesting. 



You ably advocate the abolishment of spring shooting; 

 would it not also be well for all concerned to discontinue 

 spring fishing? I think it would. Large numbers of bass 

 and other game fishes are taken in the spring just before and 

 during spawning time, and the streams are thereby robbed of 

 vast numbers that would come in the order of nature. We 

 all angle in the spring. It would be hard to forego the 

 pleasure; but would it not be wiser? 



There has usually been fine sport catching striped bass 

 with the fly near Little Falls, and in the tributary streams 

 between this place and salt water, but this season was a 

 blank on account of the condition of the water. There will 

 be excellent black bass fishing in the Potomac in the fall, 

 provided the water is clear, and persons wishing good sport 

 can confidently seek it at any point on the river from the 

 mountains to tide water. J. C. B. 



Washington, July 2. 



TROUT AND BEARS. 



I ARRIVED at Rawley Springs, in Rockingham county, 

 Virginia, at nightfall on yesterday, June 29, and found 

 the excitement of the hour to be a 16^ inch trout killed by 

 Mr. Pearson, the resident superintendent of the Springs 

 property, in Dry River, about a half a mile from the hotel. 



This morning, while a small company of guests were 

 watching the curious gambols of a small boy, a Newfound- 

 land dog and a pair of bear cubs of about fifty pounds' 

 weight, a stalwart mountaineer galloped into the midst of 

 us astride of a mountain nag, calling for the loan of an axe, 

 saying that he had killed a large bear and had two cubs 

 treed about a mile up the river. Thereupon an adjournment 

 was had to the new scene of action and these cubs also cap- 

 tured. 



The bear excitement being over, this afternoon I got out 

 my tackle and went down the river to try the trout. In a 

 short time I killed six very fine ones, an ! hooked but re- 

 turned to the water divers fingerlings. 1 found the killing 

 fly to be coachman as I tie it, and typical professor T| 

 coachman aforesaid w» tied with a red floss hlxly tipped wltli 

 peaeo.'.* f '-: w.'iiiia ami tail of r*a«ul»ck, hackle red. I 



noou I killed a very large trout on a dropper i\y tied a* fol- 

 low*. Body yeUow 'floss h»^kte yellow, tail red, wings, wiof 

 tjr'verts of gcuU-n -wiueed woodpecker. Thk tea vary pretty 

 ftj not, tiowp inUw ofnrtial catalogue. lieu on a Ino. a 

 oproat, this same fly sometimes kills bass better than some 

 of the regulation sorts. 



The rod I used this afternoon is one I made last year of 

 the bois d'arc, or so called Osage orange wood, which I think 

 superior to any rod I have ever handled. I have found it to 

 be an admirable working rod in bass fishing, but never tried 

 it before on trout. I have no doubt is my own mind that 

 this is by far the best wood in the world for rods. It is little 

 heavier than red cedar, excessively strong and tough with 

 more pliancy and spring than any other wood. The color is 

 a beautiful orange, requiring no stain, receiving the highest 

 polish and curving beautifully. I have rods of ash and 

 lancewood, of bethabara and hornbeam and cedar, and have 

 tried every known material for tips, and I would choose a 

 bois d'arc rod over and above all other known material. The 

 rod 1 have is rather short, only nine and a half feet; I prefer 

 a rod of ten and a half feet, and I see no sort of occasion 

 for having one rod for bass and a different one for trout. I 

 think everything in excess of ten and a half feet is in the 

 way in a trout or bass rod, under ten feet they begin to get 

 too short. Nevertheless I have a cedar and hornbeam rod 

 only eight and a half feet long I made about twelve years 

 ago and with which I sometimes cast a bait a la Henshall 

 and often use also as a fly-rod on difficult water to cast over. 

 I have killed many bass and trout with it at long range. 



Bawley Springs, Va. M. G. El/LZEY, M. D. 



"The Fluttering Fly." — Eklitor Forest and Strewn: Mr. 

 Holberton's letter anent the fluttering fly in the last issue of 

 Fouest and Stream contains a gratuitous charge which 

 strikes me as unparalleled for assurance in so far as it relates 

 to the writer. He says: "Still, allowing your correspond- 

 ent's statement (which, the public must understand, comes 

 from a rival in the business) to stand," etc. I am the corre- 

 spondent referred to, and by "business" I suppose he means 

 the fishing tackle business. If I am correct in my concep- 

 tion of the term, the public must understand nothing of the 

 sort, provided it cares a sou about the matter; for by so doing 

 it would understand what is absolutely and unqualifiedly 

 untrue. While I have sometimes wished that my place was 

 inside rather than outside the counter of a tackle shop, I am 

 not, nor have I ever been, engaged in the fishing tackle busi- 

 ness, either in its manufacture or its sale, directly or indi- 

 rectly. If it is parliamentary, I would like to suggest to 

 Mr. Holberton that in the future he confine himself to plain 

 facts and avoid drifting into the realms of pure fiction. — A. 

 N Cheney (Glens Falls, N. Y.). 



As additional evidence that the fluttering fly is not so well- 

 known abroad as your correspondent has intimated, I copy 

 this sentence from an order received by Messrs. Abbey & 

 Imbrie, from England : 1 T see by Scientific American at 

 you are agents of Mr. Wakeman Holberton's patented trout 

 and black bass flies. 1 inclose you P. O. order, and will feel 

 obliged if you will send me a few suitable for trout, and if I 

 find them successful in catching English trout, I will recom- 

 mend them to my friends."-^. Holeektq«, 



