Aim. IS, 1^6.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



49 



INTEECHAJ^GBABLE ElFLE CHAMBERS.— jErf'i^or Forest 



and Strea7n: The new gun principle described in the 

 Forest j^d Stream some time ago has ''materialized." 

 I got the Massachusetts Arms Co. to applyittoaMaynard 

 riiie. In testing the gun at alnut Hill 1 found it to per- 

 form admii-ably, making thirteen cousecutive bullseyes at 

 200yd8. at a rest. The gnm is rather light for the larger 

 chajt-gcs, being but S^lbs. in weight, and yet tlte recoil was 

 not so heavy as I expected. Used in the excitement of a 

 hunt I do not thinlc the recoil would be noticed. Tiie bar- 

 rel is 32in. long, and is rifled with a twist of one turn in 

 20in, I have practically throe sets of sights for the gun- 

 hunting, mid-range and long range. It shoots all the way 

 from 100 to 1,000yds. by simply changing the chambers 

 and the ammunition. I do not see but that it shoots as 

 steadily at aU distances as other guns Avith tlieir special 

 rifling, I think the use of this gun is destined to explode 

 a good deal of the nonsense ii n]5<:)sed Ijy gunmakers upon 

 the sportsmen of the count):y. It will no longer be neces- 

 sary to invest in half a dozen different guns to be duly 

 equipped for any kind of a hunt or the diiTerent distances 

 of the shooting "range. It is my purpose to do some tra- 

 jectory testing with this gun, and I shall not allow any 



Eireconceived opinions to stand in the way of demonstrated 

 acts. The loads taken by the (.40-cal.) arm are: 45-285, 

 60-360, 75-858, 90-300.— Common Sense (Boston). 



Bears in the Dissial Swamp.— Belvidere, N. C, Aug. 

 4. — Bears aa-e more numerous than usual up near the head- 

 waters of the Perquimans River. My health has been too 

 poor to admit of such violent exercise as bear hunting, 

 but the party with -wdiom I hunt has killed eight since 

 the summer months began, some of them very large — "old 

 lies." The wet weather has prevented our getting up 

 organized hunts, but should the swanii:>s dry up within a 

 few weeks tlie liears will sulTer, as they are depredating 

 on the pigs ijf fai-mers adjacent to the great Dismal 

 Swamp. Quail seems to be in great abundance. We can 

 hea.r them m every direction from daylight imtil dark 

 piping in the cora and meadows, and" a right cheery 

 sound it is. — ^A. F. R. 



The Bay Birds.- PMladelphia, Aug. 1.— I last week 

 saw a nice flock of cmdews flying over; and snipe and 

 small bnds are around in flocks. The gulls were cleaned 

 out for ladies wear three years ago, and hardly one is seen 

 for hundreds before that time. I am glad to see the bob- 

 olink question brought up, as the absence of tliis merry 

 singer is felt in Vermont and all the Eastern States. 

 Give:), hem a chance. — S. 



Tennessee. — Bond's, Aug. 3.— Game prospects in this 

 vicinity are flattering. We have been visited with some 

 tremendous thimder storms which I feared would prove 

 disastrous t© the yoimg quail; nevertheless, I have since 

 seen a goodly number of strong flying bevies. — O. 



Mr. Gripein Smith, of Longmont, Col., claims to have 

 shot a mountain lion on the Little Thompson, which meas- 

 ured Oft, from the end of its nose to the tip of its tail. 



Long Island Deer, — Four deer raced with a railroad 

 train for a distance, between Ronkonkoma and Central 

 Islip, Long Island, one day last week. 



Robins and Meadow Larks are protected at all times 

 in New York. 



Forest and Stream Fables. 



\m mid ^iver ^iBhinq. 



Address aU cornmunications to the Forest and Stream Ptib. Co. 



AN ANGLER'S TRIBUTE. 



ra MEMORIAM— GEO. B. CORKHILL, AND E. B. PATTEKSOW. 



AS summcr.s come and go at Cape May Ave miss at tlie bivouac 

 some dear familiar faces, and there is one face we recall witli 

 \mdisguised jileasure and affection. No summer solstice came and 

 vanlslLed without Ms historical and familiar presence. He had 

 everywhere troops of friends, ever glad to gi-asp him hy the hand, 

 to smoke with him on tlie broad piazzas of Congress Hall, or to 

 sail in his genial company out into the deep blue sea, and tempt 

 with alluring bait the swift swimming denizens of the deep. 



Alas! there Is more than one of these dear f amili ar faces who have 

 gone across the river into the sweet bye-and-bye. One of these 

 was Greorge B. Corkhill, who had passed of his pilgrimage on earth 

 only forty-eight Avinters. wben the inexorable call of the grim 

 Reader summoned him from tlie kindly circle of admiring and 

 warm-hearted friends into a world beyond the stars. George B. 

 Corkhill did not expect to die so soon. Grod disposes wliile man 

 only proposes where and how he A^ill spend his summers. Our 

 Kenial and warm-hearted companion of many a pleasant and long- 

 to-be-remembered fishing excursion had even engaged for tlie 

 summer his old quarters at the same hotel in which he was an ever 

 welcome guest. But death marked our dear friend for his own, 

 and in the midst of the storm and stress period of his life the 

 soldier laid aside his sword till we can say of him as of Colonel E. 

 B. Patterson ("Old Shamokin" we tenderly called him): 

 "Our good Knights are dust. 

 Their swords are rust, 



But their souls are with the saints, I trust." 



George B. Corkhill will not rank among the great of the earth, 

 but he accompiished some great things, and that Alls Napoleon's 

 definition of greatness. As a professional man he was true to his 

 clients, ardently in love with his profession, and possessed of a 

 strength of purpose, and professional tenacity in pursuit of legal 

 victories which made him a formidable antagonist in political life 

 and in the forum, whose strife and triumphs were very dear to 

 Mm. But as a man -we respected him, and to-day put flowers over 

 the grave of our dead friend. Here's ''rue for remembrance and 

 pansies for thought." 



Older in years, but of the same genial spirit— "touched to fine 

 issues"— was Colonel E. B. Patterson, who was the close and 

 familiar friend of Mr. Corkhill. It was but yesterday they went 

 away, and yet it doth appear as if they had been away a thousand 

 years. Time takes no measure of eternity, and yet the ancients 

 Baid of death that it could not be an evil, for it was universal. 

 And the di\'ine William, who sits "pensive and alone above the hun- 

 dred-hauded play of his o-wn imagination," says the sense of death 

 is most in apprehension. The very beetle that we ti'ead upon feels 

 pangs as great as when a giant d'ies. We gladly recall the rare 

 courtesy and the strong, manly and genuine simplicity of Patter- 

 son's character. Like all good men sound to the core, both those 

 we loved and who have gone before, were fond of the pleasures 

 and health-giving joys of forest and stream. Many a winsome 

 hour have we spent, as the sun was slowly sinking behind the 

 western stars, on the strand near the old Congress Hall Pier, while 

 my sweet-spirited fi-iend (Patterson) told of his piscatorial joys 

 among the specMed trout of the mountain regions of the Keystone 

 Stato, whose rocks and foaming rills he loved so well. These 

 hours were bright and memorable, and their memory hath an im- 

 mortal perfume; and over these graves, now sacred, we pause to 

 drop a tear and plant the laurel of tender affection. 



Friends in yon brighter and better world than this, we say Hail! 

 and Farewell! And when wcj too, have joined the ever moving 

 army who go forward to the silent Halls of Death, may some kind 

 reader of tliese lines say one Mnd word of him who pens this hon- 

 est tribute to two brave and generous hearts. James M. Scovbl, 

 Qamben, New Jersey. 



ADIRONDACK NOTES. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



In the early part of last month I was suffering some- 

 what from overwork, and a short trip was advised by the 

 doctor, for the purpose of recuperation. Of course I did 

 not wish to leave the city in July; had hoped to get my 

 vacation in October, and all that; but when one's doctor 

 says a fellow must go away from the city, and he can get 

 aAvay, he's pretty apt to g*o. Just in the nick of time 

 came a letter from a friend at Cooperstown, asking me to 

 meet liim at Albany and go through the Adirondacks. 



As we were rowing up Long Lake a very peculiar thing 

 happened. Van was trolling with a spoon hook for pick- 

 erel and had caught a oouple of small ones, I doing the 

 rowing. Presently Mrs. T., seeing Van's luck, called out 

 to me for a spoon. I had none, but I took three hooks, 

 of about the common perch size, and tied them together 

 for a grapnel. To these I tied a swivel sinker to keep 

 the line from tmsting all out of shape; and then for a 

 spoon I tied on a stick of birch bark cut in the shape 

 of a spoon as nearly as possible. With this crude tackle 

 Mrs, T, caught the largest fish of the trip, a mighty pick- 

 erel of about 81bs. ; and also a small catfish or buUpout, 

 or buUliead or whatever the reptile's name is. This is 

 something ne w to me, I never heard of a bullhead taking 

 a strolling spoon. 



At Long Lake we struck a camp and stayed for fom- 

 days, sleeping in the open camp and cooking d la "Ness- 

 muk" our own grub. We caught a good many pickerel 

 and had a royally good time. 



We auw quantities of deer tracks and a good many 

 boats on the Eaquette River in the evenings, with the 

 jacks ht, night-hunting. Tliese fellows would douse the 

 jack as soon as they heard oars, and skip into the bushes; 

 but as soon as we had passed they would light up and 

 go to work. Almost all the hotels had venison on the 

 table. We were talking with one man who keeps a good 

 many dogs, and who made no secret that last season his 

 dogs ran deer for gentlemen from New York, He wanted 

 us so stay a couple of nights and go jacking with him, and 

 was quite disgusted when we refused. On Long Lake we 

 heard of one man (a justice of the peace) who had a seine, 

 and who (from the di-ift of the conversation) was intend- 

 ing seining trout. As we afterward saw this same man 

 shoot at a deer — a magnificent buck that came out on the 

 bank just opposite the house at the end of the carry at 

 Forked Lake (from Forked Lake to Raquette River)— I can 

 well believe that the old gentleman would seine trout or 

 anything else. 



We had a splendid time, and after rowing a loaded 

 boat and carrymg loOlbs. over carries, I arrived at Blue 

 Mountain Lake with a gain of olbs. , and I never gained a 

 pound before in my Uf e. Cocker, 



THE GREAT SOUTH BAY. 



ON Tuesday evening, Aug. 3, the citizens of Babylon, 

 IsUp and Bay Shore, N. Y. , held a mass meeting at the 

 latter place to consider the protection of the fishing inter- 

 ests of the Bay. Mr. James H. Doxsee was called to the 

 chair and Dr. S. Moore w-as appointed secretary. Mr. 

 Vail said that fishing in the main channel with nets should 

 be prohibited and Jtlr. Hulse offered the following: "Re- 

 solved, That it is the sense of this meeting that all net- 

 fishing in the Main Channel, from Fire Island Bar to the 

 head of the said Main Channel, and also in Dixon's and 

 the East channels should be prohibited." 



A lively discussion followed in which ten speakers 

 favored the resolution and three opposed it, the former 

 being warmly applauded showed where the sympathies 

 of the audience lay. It was shown that the nets have in- 

 creased both in numbers and size for several years, and 

 that some of them are three-fOurths of a mile in length. 



The cause of the present scarcity of bluefish was at- 

 tributed by Caiit, Moses Downs, a net fisherman, to the 

 cold easterly winds of last spring, which so chilled the 

 waters of the Bay and inlet that the fish would not enter. 

 He feared tlia.t if the present differences between the net 

 and line fishermen were not amicably adjusted the Al- 

 mighty would prevent the fish from coming into the Bay 

 at all. " 



Chairman Doxsee thought that the welfare of the South 

 Side depended upon the summer visitors, many of whom 

 come here to enjoy line fishing, and that if it was de- 

 stroyed the villages of the south shore would suffer greatly. 

 He thought the meeting should endeavor to so act that 

 the greatest good should be done to the greatest number; 

 if line fishing benefited more people than net fishing the 

 latter should be prohibited. 



Mr. L. B. Garrett stated that from SayviUe to Amity- 

 ville seventy-five jiersons were engaged in the net fishery, 

 while 5,000 "people were directly benefited by line fishing. 



Dr. Moore favored exact and equal justice to all classes 

 of fishermen. He thought that if net fishing was pro- 

 hibited during the spawning season the effect would be 

 to increase the quantity of fish. The speaker also referred 

 to the menhaden fishery, and said that a well-known citi- 

 zen of Islip, while at Fulton Market on Monday of last 

 week, saw unloaded from a fishing steamer $10,000 worth 

 of food fish, and heard the men on the steamer say that 

 the fish were caught a mOe and a quarter from Fire 

 Island Inlet. 



Editor Johnson, of the Journal, corroborated Dr. 

 Moore's statement in regard to the fish taken from the 

 menhaden steamer, and stated that he was authorized to 

 give the name of the gentleman — ^William Nicoll, of Islip. 

 The steamer, ]\Ir. Johnson said, was the J. C, Humplirey, 

 and the fish taken weighed, on an average, eight pounds 

 each. Mr. Nicoll saw the fish and heard the men say 

 where they were caught. Mr. Johnson cited the case of 

 the Olympic Club, the members of which removed from 

 the Shrewsbury River, N. J, , because the net fishermen 

 ruined the line fishing. Mr, Johnson declared himself as 

 strongly opposed to the use of nets in the Bay — believing 

 that the prosperity of the whole South Side depended 

 upon the prohibition of net fishing — that being decidedly 

 the lesser interest, 



Cai^t. S, A. Titus, of Babylon, said that he believed the 

 question at issue could be amicably settled, and that if 

 good judgment was allowed to prevail there would be no 

 trouble; there would be fish enough for all. He called 

 attention to the fact that the South Side Association for 

 the Protection of Fish and Game, organized two years 

 since, failed in its attempt to prohibit net fishing, because 

 the net men were antagonized instead of conciliated. 

 The speaker warned the meeting against making a simi- 



lar mistake. He did not think that the menhaden steam- 

 ers were responsible for the scarcity of bluefish, and read 

 a letter from ex-Assemblyraan Hawkins substantiating his 

 views. The bluefish were of a migratory nature—here 

 one day and away the next. The speaker thought that 

 if the net men were consulted they would join in anv 

 effort to restore the fishing — if it could be restored by work 

 of man. 



The resolution offered by Mr, Hulse was adopted. J ohn 

 Snedicor offered the following, which was adopted: 

 "Resolved, That a committee of seven be appointed by the 

 chair to circulate petitions asldng the Board of Supervisoris 

 to pass a law in accordance with the resolution previously 

 adopted at this meeting," The chair appointed Henry Oak- 

 ley, George W, Pettit, L. B. Garrett, Isaac Smith, John 

 Clock, Nelson Ketcham and D. W. Wicks. 



F. A. JohnBon offered the following, which was adopted: 

 "Resolved, That a committee of five citizens beappomted 

 by the chair to appear before the Board of Supervisors at 

 its next meeting and urge the passage of the law asked 

 for in the petitions to be circulated throughout the towns 

 of Islip and Babylon." The chair appointed as such com- 

 mittee, J. H, Vail, John S. Snedicor, Hon. C. T. Duryea, 

 Isaac G, Terry, On motion the chairman was added to 

 the committee. 



THE PICKEREL DEFENDED. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



A recently printed article by Mr. Backus vilifies the 

 garainess and edibility of pickerel. He describes the 

 pickerel as "slimy to the touch, nauseous to the taste and 

 smelling of decay. They have no spu-itof game nor other 

 virtue in them." 



Having caught trout in brook and lake, bass and pick- 

 erel in pond, let me say a word in favor of the latter, A 

 trout will grab the fly and usually you can land him; a 

 black bass is strong in his lips, and when he bites he is 

 sure; but when a pickerel takes hold of the bait rnuch 

 more scientific work must be used than to catch either 

 trout or bass. The pickerel will sometimes "fool" a half 

 hour with the bait, which latter should be a live shiner or 

 perch, or small sunfish. He will endeavor first to kill the 

 bait at the head, and in doing so he will carry the bob 

 down. This is not the time to pull up. After the bob 

 comes to the siu-face, the pickerel is intent to have the 

 bait in earnest; down goes the bob the second time and 

 this is the time to "strike" him. Now is the time for the 

 angler to show his skiU. The rule is to draw the fish 

 steadily direct to the breast of the fisherman. Let the 

 pickerel have any slack line or strike him against the side 

 of the boat, he is' gone. He wiU either cut loose from the 

 hook, his jaws being tmder, or he will cut the eneU with 

 his teeth, which are very sharp. 



With a bass or trout it is fun to let him have the Une; 

 not so with the pickerel. The latter is natm-ally a lazy 

 fish; but when he knows he is hooked he is in a great 

 hurry to get oft', and to land him he must be brought in 

 with a steady pull toward the body of the angler. In 

 order to avoid the fish striking the side of the boat, the 

 line and hook should measure same as rod. It often 

 occurs that the fish, not being caught, has only scarified 

 the bait, in which case throwback the line, and, whether 

 the bait be dead or alive, the pickerel will go for the same 

 bait rather than take a live minnow on an adjacent line. 

 The wiiter has let the pickerel sometimes take the line in 

 pretty much the same way as with a trout. This it is not 

 safe to do unless you are sm-e that the fish is hooked, 

 which can be done on the second immersion of the bob by 

 lifting the rod so that the Une be taut, whereupon the 

 hook wiU turn and catch in the mouth of the fish. Then 

 let Mr. Pickerel go and the fisherman is apt to have as 

 much to attend to as if he had a trout on his hook. 



That pickerel axe "slimy to the touch" is true, but the 

 charge that they are "nauseous to the taste and smelUng 

 of decay" is nonsense unworthy of reputation. 



On Wednesday, Aug. 4, the writer, vsdth Mr. Eossiter 

 Bailey, of Sparkill, N. Y., caught 31 pickerel, weighing 

 in the aggregate 441bs., at Wescoline Pond, Pine Grove, 

 Pike county. Pa. Near by is Tink Pond, stocked with 

 bass. It is not usual for sportsmen to tell where the game 

 is, I think there are enough fish in those ponds for all, just 

 as good as ever were caught. And one good feature about 

 the' sport is that Andrew Quick, of Pine Grove, takes good 

 care of the fishermen, and gets them their live bait gratis. 



W. B. T. 



SALMON NOTES. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I send you scores of two rods on the Restigouche River. 

 The river was unusually low and clear and the fish very 

 shy. I was compelled to use leaders of double the usual 

 length and the smallest "Forrest" fly he makes. I caught 

 one large black bass in trap and had a lively canoe chase 

 with another one; but unfortunately he landed out of 

 rifle shot. Among some of the amusing antics of the sal- 

 mon was one instance where a 25-pounder must have 

 started a neighbor, and both jumped at same instant clear 

 two to tln-ee feet of the water and within one foot of each 

 other. On several occasions I could see (the water was so 

 clear) that other salmon would swin up to the fish I was 

 harnessed to, and apparently inspect him and swim 

 around him; I could also plainly note the muscular mo- 

 tion with which the fish make (as they always do during 

 the fight), the trying and provoking tugs so destructive to 

 the hold of the hook by their force and rapidity. 



THE SCORES, 



A. R.'s rod — Mouth of Kedgewick to Little Cross Point, 

 Restigouche River. Five days fishing, 37 salmon; weight, 

 8701bs,; average, 23ilbs.; largest, 28ilbs., 311bs., 341bs. 

 Fly, smallest double Jock-Scott and black do. made. 

 Every fish killed without gafiing, 



E, P. R,'srod — Mouth of Kedgewick to Little Cross Point, 

 Restigouche River. Foiu-teen days fishing, 56 salmon, 

 weight, l,1681bs.; average, SOflbs.; largest, 241bs,, 251b8., 

 261bs. Other pools on river, 12 salmon; weight, 2301bs. 

 Twenty -seven killed vsdth double J. -Scott, 16 with single 

 J,-Scott, 5 with Ranger, Butcher and Titus, 8 with 

 smallest double J. -Scott, 12 with smallest double blackdo. 

 Fifty gaffed, 18 not gaffed. 



Meacham Lake, N. Y., Aug. 2.— Our fishing continues 

 good. The score for May, June and July is 10,127. There 

 is every prospect of good fishing in August. — ^F. 



Forest and Stream Fables, 



