Sept. 7, 1895.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



201 



country all his life, we were able to show him a lake 

 which he had never seen or heard of within six miles of 

 his house. This was the little lake once called Giller's 

 Lake, now known as Craig's Lake, about a mile and a 

 half from our old camping ground on Phantom Lake. 

 This is the pi ice where we have caught several huge bass, 

 and we intended to accept Mr. Craig's kind invitation to 

 fish it again this season, but he happened to be away 

 when we called for him at Mukwonago. Mr. Craig in- 

 formed us that the small-mouth bass which he caught 

 two years ago in the creek below Mukwonago dam and 

 planted in his lake have now reached half a pound or 

 more in weight, and are so abundant that one party, 

 without his knowledge, caught and took away fifteen of 

 them in one day. He is putting in still more of these 

 bass every year, and he says that next year we must 

 come and have a try for the new small-mouths in his 

 lake. He assures us also that there is another big bass in 

 that lake which he thinks will weigh 7 or Slbs., and 

 which declines to be caught by anybody not hailing from 

 Camp Forest and Stream. If that bass knows when he 

 is well off he would better emigrate before J. B. H. 

 comes after him next summer with his little casting rod 

 and his pleasing spotted frog. For I need not say that 

 next summer, if all goes well and as we hope, we shall 

 again see Camp Forest and Stream pitched on the bank 

 of our new lake; and I hope there may be more pleasant 

 and desultory days whose devious but all too rapid flight 

 may be again recorded in a desultory way. This year our 

 camp seemed to us pleasanter than it had ever been, 

 and as pleasant as it could ever be, and I know I felt a 

 sort of sadness on the morning when we folded our can- 

 vas and rode away, looking back at the smoke of the fad- 

 ing camp-fire, whose fingers beckoned us to stay. 



E. Hough. 



909 Skothity Building, Chicago. 



GAME NOTES WITH PENCIL AND 

 CAMERA.-1I. 



[Continued from page 180.'] 

 From this place we retraced our way to a little stream 

 that puts back into the bog from the north side of the 

 bay. On the point between the first bend in this stream 

 and the lake is a large beaver house built last year. 

 Ascending the stream we soon came to a point where it 

 forked. We chose the West Branch and made our way 

 up that till stopped by a beaver dam. Fresh cuttings 

 floating on the water showed that there were beaver close 



by- 

 Descending to the place where the stream branched our 

 eyes were gladdened by the sight of a large buck on the 

 opposite bank. Jock adroitly ran the bow of the canoe 

 in behind some protecting bushes growing at the water's 

 edge, and for half an hour or so we lay there, unseen 

 spectators of a very pretty little bit of deer life. 



We soon perceived that the buck was not alone, but 

 was accompanied by a doe. The two, however, paid little 

 attention to each other, though feeding nearly side by 

 side. Possibly they were an old married couple, though 

 it is more likely that they were thrown together simply 

 by chance. The buck seemed to have some strange aver- 

 sion to getting his feet wet, and preferred to kneel to 

 reach the lilies growing close to shore, rather than wade 

 out among them. He also hesitated a long time before 

 crossing a tiny inlet from the stream, moving back several 

 times to his old feeding place before he could make up his 

 mind that it was really worth the effort to go further 

 down the stream. 



Meanwhile the doe had unhesitatingly entered the 

 water and swam across to our side of the stream, at a 

 point, however, where she was more or less concealed by 

 the bushes. Once across, she was joined by a fawn who 

 scampered about with joy at her return. 



of laziness and a cloyed appetite. To our surprise, instead 

 of looking at us when the shutter clicked, the buck raised 

 his head and looked in the other direction. The bushes 

 moved and the next instant another buck appeared on the 

 scene. They looked each other over and then, having 

 been attracted by some motion in the canoe, for I was at- 

 tempting to reload the large camera, they looked across at 

 ub. I saw it was useless to attempt this, and instead took 

 the kodak and tried several pictures with that. One 

 was given last week, showing the small buck in plain 

 view. 



The other had jumped back in the bushes, but his 

 curiosity was not yet satisfied, for his head appears in 

 the photo. 



Incidentally I had caught a glimpse of the doe on our 

 side of the stream, standing with her neck outstretched 

 looking intently at the bucks, as if to inquire what was 

 wrong. She did not suspect that in reality the cause of 

 their alarm and subsequent departure was on the side of 

 the stream where she stood and where her precious fawn 

 was hidden. 



By the time we had reloaded she had disappeared; but 

 when we got opposite the spot where she had last appeared 

 I stood up in the canoe and looked over the low rim of 

 bushes that fringed the stream edge of the bog. 

 There she stood, only 50ft. away, scared half out 

 of her senses by my appearance, and rooted to the 

 spot. I took advantage of her fright to take a photograph 

 with the small camera, upon which, however, only her 

 head appears. 



A trifle further up stream we heard a stick crack on 

 the east shore, and looking in that direction I saw a fine 

 buck partly concealed behind some trees less than a hun- 

 dred feet away. At the same instant Jock saw a large 

 deer on the opposite bank that at first he took to be a cari- 

 bou or moose, from its dark color and owing to the fact 

 that it stood in dense shadow. 



Meanwhile I had not succeeded in attracting his atten- 

 tion to the first deer, and the canoe shot ahead to a 

 position where it winded us, and was off. The other deer 

 had also seen us, and disappeared before we could get close 

 enough for a picture. 



We ascended the stream to the point where the Aroostook 

 Carry, via Lapomkeag, begins, without seeing any more 

 game, and then retraced our course to its mouth. Once 

 on the lake, we worked our way leisurely along the edge 

 of the bay toward the sand beach where we had seen the 

 deer earlier in the day. 



When we reached the feeding ground sure enough there 

 was a small deer. This deer acted in a most peculiar way, 

 which can most easily be explained upon the supposition 

 that it mistook the large camera in the bow of the canoe 

 for another deer. This camera was stained red, and re- 

 sembled somewhat the color of a deer in its early fall 

 coat. The wind had played havoc with our blind of 

 bushes, and large patches of the color must have been 

 plainly visible. 



Whatever the reason, the little deer on sighting U3 ran 

 inshore and then directly down toward us. We could 

 hear it splashing along and knew it was coming our way 

 and endeavored to change our position. Unfortunately 

 a clump of bushes 4ft. high lay between the spot where 

 it would appear and the camera. 



But the deer did not give us time. In less time than it 

 takes to write it it popped into view and stopped, its neck 

 outstretched and only just beginning to understand that it 

 had done a foolish thing. The next second it realized 

 that home and mother lay in the other direction, and its 

 endeavors to get away quickly would have been ludi- 

 crous were it not for the fact that we felt the loss of the 

 photograph keenly. 



After lunch we ascended another little stream putting 

 into this same East Bay around which our morning had 

 been spent. As we had the wind with us we saw no 



"stood looking at the lilt-pads." 



The timidity of wild fawns, as a rule, gives them a 

 character of sadness, and this fittle incident was pleasing 

 as showing that such is not the keynote of their lives. 



Gradually, and evincing all the symptoms of a vacillat- 

 ing mind, the buck worked down the stream till;} he 

 reached a point nearly opposite. Here we secured 'his 



toto as he gtood looking at tho lilypads, the incarnation 



game; but "numerous tracks, including those of moose 

 and caribou/gave witness that it was there, though not 

 visible. - 



Coming down again to the bay we found the wind 

 blowing a gale in our teeth, and taking out my paddle I 

 assisted Jock to drive the canoe against it. We were 

 going along at a fairly good pace when I saw something 



in the water ahead that I took to be the grandfather of 

 all living muskrats. It had just left the marshy shore 

 and was making its way out toward deep water, swim- 

 ming rapidly with its nose just above the surface. Its 

 head was tilted back and it looked at us from the corner 

 of its eye. I have a faint impression of seeing its tail 



j 



9 



CURIOSITY. 



about a yard behind, but of this I am not sure. For an 

 instant I lost its eye, as I turned to call Jock's attention 

 to it, and when I looked again it was gone. Jock had 

 just that moment been looking at some beaver workings 

 along the shore, and he said the animal was undoubtedly 

 a beaver. 



That beaver should have known we wouldn't have 

 harmed a hair of his hide and given us an opportunity to 

 take his picture. Unfortunately, however, his knowl- 

 edge did not reach beyond the fact that his pelt had a 

 considerable commercial value under certain conditions. 



Soon after we sighted a deer near the sand beach where 

 we had seen the others. It did not wait for us, however, 

 but disappeared in the woods while we were still a long 

 way off. A little later we came unexpectedly upon a doe 

 standing partly behind a fallen tree. She stood her 

 ground bravely till the canoe came within about 100ft., 

 but was so hidden by the tree that the photograph was 

 unsatisfactory. 



This was the last deer seen before reaching camp, and 

 made a total of fifteen for the day, or thirty-two in all 

 since entering the woods. 



Tuesday, July 30, was another windy day characterized 

 by frequent rain squalls. The wind was more southerly 

 than it had been, and Jock decided to try the upper 

 waters of Warderley Brook. We looked for moose and 

 caribou on this stream and had not dared to ascend it be- 

 fore with the wind from the west for fear of stampeding 

 the game. The limit of our time in the woods was rapidly 

 approaching, however, and though the day was by no 

 means what we desired, we could not afford to wait 

 longer. 



Soon after entering the bay at the mouth of the Btream, 

 we saw a deer on the bog. We were at the time close to 

 the south shore of the bay, and to get to leeward required 

 crossing to the other side. We decided on this course, 

 but almost immediately had reason to regret it, for behind 

 a little point on the shore we had just left and barely out 

 of camera range we saw a doe. We changed our course 

 at once, blaming ourselves for not thoroughly exhausting 

 its possibilities before leaving the protecting shore, but the 

 doe had seen ub and was off, whistling. 



Then we turned our attention again to the other deer, 

 but before we got within reasonable distance he was off, 

 bounding over the bog as if on springs. 



At the mouth of the brook we tried fishing a little, for as 

 Jock expressed it we were "starving in a land of plenty." 

 In fact we had had no meat to eat for more than a week, 

 and our diet of bread and coffee— or bread and tea-— had 

 only once or twice been varied by fish. We were work- 

 ing hard to get pictures, and did not have time to fish. 



I have no doubt that sportsmen accustomed to the 

 Maine woods will listen to the statement of our lard-r 

 with some incredulity, as it is not the usual thing for par- 

 tiesjback in the woods. to be without meat at any 



