S22 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Nov. 18, 1886. 



^Mrms all communications to the Forest and Stream Pub. Co. 



MEMORIES OF LAKE BUTLER. 



BEING laid up in ordinary with the toe of a coming 

 winter kicking sharply at my breathing works, I 

 feel strongly impelled to wi-ite of scenes and places that I 

 may never go ovei- again. And, sitting in my little back- 

 woods den, it is pleasant to find that there is a lasting 

 pleasure in going over these scenes, that leaves no sting 

 behind. Looking over my Florida notes for 1885 I find 

 the following entry under date of Oct. 19: 



"Tired of lying off in camp, and carried the canoe over 

 to Salt Lake before sunrise to try fly-fishing in Lake 

 Butler with some new tackle sent me by a friend. Caught 

 the finest — though not the largest— bass I ever happened 

 to strike. Though I held hard it was over an hom- before 

 I could get him alongside the canoe and shoot him in the 

 head. And he was lively to the last." 



Sitting in a cosy attic with a persistent northeaster 

 beatmg at the window, it all comes back to me with the 

 vividness of a sharp photograph. The long, hot summer, 

 with its constant plague of insects, with everybody gone 

 north who could get away, and only a heat-oppressed, in- 

 sect-bitten contingent of some fifty souls left at the Springs 

 to keep each other in countenance. The Listless, feverish 

 languor that comes to the Northerner in the hot, weary 

 days, with little to amuse or kill the time, and no game 

 except a few shore birds in season, at least to any true 

 sportsman. As for the native cracker, it is all' open 

 season to him. He kills when he can and all he can. I 

 spent much time tramping about the woods, cruised up 

 and down the coast and on rivers and lakes, until I was 

 tired of it. There was no lack of good fishing, but I soon 

 tired of it too. I could buy a fat "buck" mullet for a 

 nickel, and, as he was about the best fish on the coast, 

 and would afford two ample meals, it seemed a waste of 

 time and muscle to paddle three or four miles on a hot 

 morning to catch one or two sea trout or channel bass, 

 when the mullet was much the better fish, miless one 

 were actuated by a passion for angling, which I was not, 

 having about fished away my angling ardor. 



It was durrug the heated term that I received a light 

 bass rod with a cast of flies from E. W. Davies, of Athens, 

 Pa. , with a request that I give rod and flies a fair test on 

 the big bass of Florida. Of course I gave the promise; 

 but it was months before I made it good. At length, 

 when the weather had become a trifle cooler, it sti-uck 

 me as a good notion to tiy the bass on Lake Butler -with 

 the fly, and I got out and overhauled my bass tackle. 

 The rod was a 7oz. lancewood, with a black wahuit 

 handle, very plain, but hand-made. The flies were an 

 ibis, a yellow-May, and a. black with drab tail. Mr. Davies 

 had written me that the black was the killing fly on the 

 Susquehanna; but it was always a poor one with me, 

 especially in the lakes of the Northern Wilderness. There 

 I had found the scarlet-ibis and split-ibis the best, while 

 the yellow^May was but so-so. 



In tying on the cast, however, I gave the black the ad- 

 vantage of tail fly, yellow-May second, ibis for hand fly. 

 I thouglit the ibis would still prove the taking fly; but I 

 was mistaken. I often am. I seem to have as great an 

 alacrity in being mistaken as Falstaff had in sinkmg. 



It certainly was a glorious morning that 19th of Octo- 

 ber, when, at the first faint streak of dawn, I turned out, 

 had a powerful cup of coffee, inverted the canoe on my 

 head and started for a one-mile walk over to LTpper Salt 

 Lake, I could have made the trip by water, but it would 

 have included nearly four miles of padd hug, and it is 

 the early worm — or iiy — ^that catches the bass; so I elected 

 to walk. I forgot to take into account the heavy dews 

 and the rank growth of coarse grass, flowering shrubs 

 and plants that I must needs wade through; whence it 

 happened that I reached the shore of Salt Lake wet to 

 the slrin and blue with cold. 



I dumped myself into the canoe and paddled over to 

 the carry in no very amiable mood, took out, and com- 

 menced climbing the steep ridge that separates the two 

 lakes. It is quite a hill— for Florida, and I paused on the 

 summit at the big live oak, which is the resting place, to 

 get my wind and also for a brief siuwey of the scene, 

 which, to say the truth, was really worth looking at. 



I am not mucli given to describing sunrises. I mostly 

 leave that to the other fellows. But I thought this excep- 

 tionally fine. Lake Butler lay below, placid as a mirror, 

 its glassy sm-face flecked here and there hj small flocks 

 of summer ducks and the ugly heads of a few 'gators, 

 floating grim and motionless. Across tlie lake, to the 

 east, an interminable forest of pines, with the sun just 

 showdng his rim above then- plumed tops, looKing much 

 larger and milder than usual, say about fifteen feet in 

 diametei', and the color of a well-ripened pumpkin. 



Mocking birds, cardinals, bluejays and chewiuks were 

 making the woods vocal, and I raised the canoe, carried 

 it down to tlie beach, put my rig in order, and started for 

 a paddle of a mile and a quarter up the coast to Salmon 

 Bay, where, if anywhere, big bass are to be caught. 



Now, it is usual to catch several fair-sized bass in pad- 

 dling up the coast; but the flies were a Yankee innova- 

 tion they did not understand, and I did not get a rise 

 until the canoe had rounded the ijoint into Salmon Bay. 

 Then it came so sharp, quick and heavy that I was near 

 losing the rod overboard. No need to "strike;" the bass 

 did that. 



I dropped the broad double blade overboard, seized the 

 little single blade and commenced setting the canoe out 

 into deep water. For, in a canoe only Sift, long I had 

 found the large paddle a fep^rful incumbrance in hand- 

 ling large fish, and I could always pick it up when 

 wanted, 



I did not see the fish for a while, but I could feel that 

 he was large and lively. I think he made a dozen leaps 

 while I was working him out into the bay. 



At last I got liim where I wanted hnn and the sport 

 commenced in earnest. I reeled up on him to about 2of t. 

 of line and had ]aim here I could see him. Well, he 

 was a beauty. Bright and Mdescent in the sunlight, 

 leapiag almost incessantly for the first ten minutes, tow- 

 ing the canoe in his mad rushes almost as fast as she 

 would go -under ordinary jiaddling, sounding for bottom 

 occasionally so strongly that the rod was taken under to 



the handle, then ,making a runaway dash for the lily- 

 pads only to find liimseif foiled, and then trying a vnsh 

 home on the canoe to find the liae quietly jjassed around 

 the stem, allowing him the side he most wanted. Yes, it 

 was sport for the fai-st fifteen minutes, and then it began 

 to get a little tiresome. It kept one constantly on the 

 strain, and the sxxn was getting hot, especially on one's 

 back, the persphation was streaming down my face and 

 I decided that it was time to take him in. But he would 

 not come and I could not fetch him. He seemed as livelv 

 at the end of tliirty minutes as at first, and I felt that I 

 had got enough of fly-fisliing to last me a good wliile. 



The pliant rod, with the easy jdeld of the light canoe, 

 reduced the danger of breakage to the minimum; but it 

 also made it very difficult to force the gamy rascal along- 

 side. I am satisfied that in his brave fight for life he 

 made more than fifty fah leaps in the air, and I never 

 was so disgusted with a fish in my fife. As often as I 

 got him to wallowing with his dorsal fin out of water and 

 succeeded in leading him near the canoe, he would take 

 a scare and dive down just'as I was getting ready to shoot. 

 Then the leaping and running had to be all gone over 

 again. 



If I timed him correctly it was an hour and a quarter 

 before I succeeded in getting him fairlv alongside and 

 putting a bullet in his head from the Uttle .22, which I 

 preferred to the gaff. He did not move a fin after the 

 shot, and I took him in at once and proceeded to weigh 

 him; but my scales did not weigh above olbs., and I never 

 shall know his exact weight. Probably not much more 

 than 61bs. I had taken the big-mouth much heavier than 

 that; but he was the gamiest, plumpest and brightest I 

 had ever taken. I took a slice off one side of him that 

 just filled my little frying pan and found him as good on 

 the table as he was game in the water. 



Going out of Salmon Bay I let the flies trail, and 

 caught a couple of bass weighing about If^lbs., both of 

 which I tiu-ned loose. All three were taken' on the yel- 

 low-May, and although I used the same cast frequently, 

 I never took a bass on the black, and only occasionally on 

 the ibis. I often changed the position of the flies,' but 

 the yellow always remained first favorite in Florida 

 waters. 



As for the 7oz. rod, I tested it to the uttermost, and it 

 came out of the fray as sound as it went in. 

 And now for a little sequel. 



It happened that, at the very time I was playing my 

 bass in Salmon Bay, my cracker friend, Gause, was fish- 

 ing from the island at the foot of the lake. He used an 

 18ft. cypress pole, 10ft. of strong line, a large hook, and 

 cut bait. His enthe rig did not cost more than ten cents, 

 and he only fished about an hour, going home in time for 

 breakfast with f om- bass (which he called trout) weighing 

 respectively 131bs. , lOlbs. , 71bs. and 51bs. 



It happened also that Gause stopped at my camp on his 

 way to the Springs in the evening, and we compared 

 notes concerning the fishing on Lake Butler. He exam- 

 ined my fishing tackle -witli indulgent cmiosity, and I 

 thought he regarded my light rod something as a Cafi- 

 f ornia stage driver would look at a toy coach. He in- 

 quhed the price of rod, reel, flies and line, and then pro- 

 ceeded to free his mind about thus: 



"Now, Cap'n Nessmuk, it's a nice little trick, but what's 

 the good of such a triflin' switch to ketch big trout? It 

 took you longer to ketch one fish than it did me to ketch 

 four, and I don't see why you had any more fun than I 

 did, let alone that it costs more than it comes to. Why, 

 I laiowed Cap'n Sam Stephenson, who fives up the 

 Anclote, to ketch 2001bs. of troxit in one afternoon. He 

 used four or five feet of fine and a 'bob,' and took 'em all 

 among the bonnets and snags, just where your flies 'n' 

 trollin' spoons couldn't be handled. He sold 'em the 

 next moniin' in Brookville for ten cents a pound, and ity 

 was enough to load his cart with supplies. You seo^ 

 Brookville don't have any fishin' nearer than the coaw, 

 'n' they wuz wild for trout. I can't understand you 

 Yankees. Seems as tho' the less fish you ketch an' the 

 more it costs the better you like it." 



It struck me that Gause had the right idea. He ex- 

 plained the gaminess of the trout (bass) to his own satis- 

 faction, and subsequent experience proves him pretty 

 well i-ight. He said: "As for you-uns 'playin' ' a fish soch 

 a long spell instead of takin' him right plum in, it all 

 depends on the tackle. I you will use a limber switch 

 an' a long, thin line, why the fish gets headway on ye an' 

 slashes around about as he's a mind to. But if yoxir line 

 is strong an' you jest snatch him baldheaded from the 

 start, he sort o' loses his grip an' comes right in like a 

 stick of driftwood." 



As I had plenty of time on my hands and may add 

 a trifle given to experimenting on matters pertaining to 

 " fishin' an' huntin\" I concluded to put in a week on 

 my favorite stamping ground, the old clearing at the 

 head of Lake Butler ; firstly, because there was a pair of 

 ivory-billed woodpeckers living and breeding about the 

 head of the lake and I hankered after the cock bird for a 

 sijecimen ; and secondly, to test the bass with any and 

 every line at my command. Whence it happene'd that 

 one pleasant day, when the weather was just cool enough 

 to be delightftil, I paddled out with a well-laden canoe 

 and reached the camp a little before noon— a ten-mile 

 trip with one carry of 70 rods which had to be doubled. 



As the poles, crotches and sides of the camp were in 

 good order, it was a short two hours' work to stretch and 

 fasten the canvas roof, slick up the camp and lay in night- 

 wood. 



When the job was done and such debris as gathers 

 about a woodland camp cleaned up, as Secretary Mc- 

 CuUoch retired the greenbacks — "by burning," I thciught 

 it as pleasant and homehke a residence as a modest- 

 minded man could deshe for a I lorida winter, and I 

 could not help a passing wonder at the restless and un- 

 easy Northerners, who, coming to Florida for an outing, 

 commence their restless peregrinations on the eastern 

 coast, take in the St. Johns, IndianRiver, theKissimmee, 

 Lake Okeechobee, the Caloosahatchie, and a long line 

 of the Gulf coast, resting nowhere for more than three or 

 four days at a time, constantly getting tangled in dreary 

 marshes, muddy lakes and rivers, the cotu'ses of which 

 Avould puzzle an alfigator. The worst featiu-e about this 

 is the fact that when these fellows do happen to strike a 

 pleasant spot where high, dry camping-ground, good 

 water, good boating, with fair fishing and shooting all 

 combme to tempt the outer into making a protracted 

 stay, the demon of um-est is sm-e to hurry them away — 

 perhaps to spend the first night in a wet boat on a 

 desolate marsh through inabihty to find a landing. 



It was late in the afternoon when I put my rig in order 

 and paddled a mile down the west shore of the lake to a 

 cozy little bay for an hour's fly-fishing. Two little 

 brooks empty into this bay, and it 'is a lovely spot for fish- 

 ing with the fly; hut the bass are small. * I fished untlL 

 srmdown and caught three bass of a Httle over lib. each. 

 Saved one and let the others go free. All took the yellow- 

 May. Then I went to camp, and while I was quietly 

 smoking by the fu-e, a plump gray squurel scrambled up 

 a luckory tree within four rods' of the shanty, cocked 

 himself pertly on a limb and commenced working his 

 way to the inside of a hickory nut. I ought to have left 

 him in peace ; but the camp was short on game, and he 

 was such a beautiful mark. WeU, I took him in. 



One squu-rel and a bass were rations for a day. 



Then I overhauled my stock of feathered spoons, plain 

 spoons, "propellers," and artificial minnows, with a view- 

 to exhaustive experiments on the big-mouths. 



I also had a lure which was fashioned after the "bob," 

 which proves so killing in cracker hands. Now this 

 "bob" is an institution; you may swear by it all day with- 

 out breaking any commandment. It is 'composed of red 

 and white rags Avith a dash of gaudy feathers, and looks 

 like a Mother Hubbard rag baby struck by a cyclone; but 

 all the same it is the most taking lure used for the big- 

 mouth. I made my lure on a three-hook gang, working 

 a funnel-shaped head of bright scarlet cloth on the lip- 

 hook, and making the body simply of long white hau- 

 from a deer's tail, letting the brush come low enough to 

 cover the tail-hooks. 



For one hour each morning and the same each evening 

 I tried the bass, giving each lure its fair turn over the 

 same ground and keeping a fair account of every rise and 

 every fish taken. 



Of the spoons a small feathered spoon from Buffalo was 

 the most successful by a small percentage. The phantom- 

 minnow was a close second. Large, plain spoons were not so 

 taking. And the nondescript, the "bob" of scarlet cloth 

 and deer's hair, won just about two rises and caught fully 

 two bass where the best spoon cotmted one. I spent a 

 week alone experimenting with the bass and had a record 

 of sixty-thi-ee strikes with thhty-one fish brought in. My 

 two heaviest strikers got away "by fairly breaking a six- 

 teen-thread Cuttyhiuik line. I shaU not say what I think 

 they would have weighed. When hooked they made for 

 the cypress roots, and a stiff breeze blowing on shore 

 rendered it impossible to set the canoe out into deep 

 water with one hand. I only used tln-ee fish dm-ing the 

 week, gave away a couple of mosses to people who came 

 up from the Springs and turned the rest back into the lake. 



Gray squirrels were fat and plenty, while I could get 

 quail when I wanted them, and either was superior to 

 fish. I also tried my hand on goggle-eyes and bream, 

 winch were plenty both in the lake and Brooker Creek, 

 the latter being the inlet. They were of fair size for their 

 kind, but so inferior in the pan that I seldom kept them. 

 And even the black bass, though fully the equal of his 

 northern brother, is by no means so good on the table as 

 the sea-trout, the mullet or the pompano. 



And looking fi'om my window out on the bleak side- 

 hill where the snow lies in ragged patches on the damp, 

 dark plowed ground, my soul hvmgers for that pleasant 

 camp at the head of La'ico Butler, or the larger, better 

 appointed camp where I kept my traps and made my 

 headquarters for more than a twelvemonth at the Oak and 

 Pine. ^ Nessmuk. 



AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGISTS' UNION 



THE annual meeting of the American Ornithologists' 

 Union opened Tuesday last at the National Museum 

 in WasMngton. Among those present were Mr, J. A. 

 Allen, Mr. G. B. Sennett and Mr. William Butcher, of 

 New York; Prof. S. F. Bahd, Mr. R Ridgway, Dr. E. 

 Cones, Dr. C. Hart Merriam, Dr. A. K. Fisher, Dr. Leon- 

 ard Stejneger and Capt. Chas. Bendire, aU of Washing- 

 ton; Mr, J. H, Sage, of Portland, Conn., and a number of 

 others. 



The Committee on Migration and Distribution of Birds 

 reported, as did also that on Pi-otection of Birds. This 

 last report, read hj Mr. Sennett, the chairman of the 

 committee, was qtiite a long and interesting paper, and 

 was listened to with great attention. 



He said: "The committee ajjpointed by the Amei'ican 

 Ornithologists' Union to work in tlie interest of bird pro- 

 tection embraces ten mem.bers, seven o^ whom are of New 

 York (that we may the more readilv assemble a quorum 

 in that city). One is from Boston, one is from New 

 Biamswick and one from Kansas. Besides several infor- 

 mal gatherings, we have had tAveuty meetings when busi- 

 ness has been transacted and recorded liy'a qiiorum or 

 more of the members. Our plans were chiefly to aAvaken 

 public interest in behalf of the birds, that their wanton 

 destiniction might be checked; and to frame suitable laws 

 for the protection of our native song birds and to secure 

 their enactment in the various States. 



"In carrying out these ideas we have received valuable 

 assistance from many friends of the cause we cham- 

 pioned: the editor of Science devoted to our use a supple- 

 ment of that jom-nal, which presented to the public cer- 

 tain articles on bnd destruction from the pens of various 

 members of our committee, and also the draft of a bird 

 law, which seemed to us so simple and effective as to 

 meet the requirements of the greater number of our 

 States. This pubUcation, slightly changed to appear as 

 our Bulletin No. 1, and the Supplement brochure were 

 sent broadcast over the country to the number of about 

 twenty thousand; they were sent to the ])ress, to legisla- 

 tors, to the Audubon Society, to school superintendents 

 and elsewhere, according to our best judgment and the 

 hmited amorniit of money at our d'isposal. The Bulletin 

 forms were electrotyped for f uture nse when funds shall 

 be forthcoming. 



"Early in the year a statement of the nature and ob- 

 jects of' om- committee was furnished the Forest and 

 Stream for publication, and duly appeared in that 

 jom-nal; moreover, the statements, "in the form of slips 

 printed for circulation and distributed as seemed best, to 

 the number of about eighteen hundred, sei-ved as our first 

 direct appeal for public sympathy and cooperation. These 

 seemed to meet with general approval, since they were 

 freely copied and published. Newspaper paragraphs 



