244 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Sept. 2i, 1895. 



AN OUTING IN THE SIERRAS.— II. 



Boca, Truckee River.— Leaving Webber Lake at about 

 2 P. M. on July 29, after a hot and dusty, not particularly 

 interesting drive of twenty-eight miles, Judge Hunt and 

 I reached Boca at about 6 P. M. 



Boca is on the line of the C. P. and U. P. R. R. } most of 

 its few houses standing on the north side of the railroad 

 and of the Truckee River. It consists principally of the 

 Boca Ice Co., which owns the hotel, the store, immense 

 ice houses in which over thirty thousand tons are stored 

 every winter, and cottages occupied by employees of the 

 company and of the railroad; there is of course a post 

 office, railroad ticket and freight office and a Wells Fargo 

 office, a school and some saloons. 



The ice company is a branch of a syndicate which, 

 utilizing here, and at several other locations in the moun- 

 tains, certain small lakes, furnish to the fruit growing 

 counties ice to preserve the fruit transported East. As the 

 altitude of Boca is about 7,000ft. they are tolerably sure 

 of plenty of freezing weather. 



Boca is nine miles east of Truckee, and is considered 

 the best place from which to fish the Truckee River. The 

 hotel is well kept and very comfortable, with prices 

 moderate. At its table we were again impressed, as we 

 were at Webber Lake, with the delicious quality of the 

 milk, cream, butter and beef. A stranger after driving 

 over the dry and burned, apparently barren, or rather 

 pine barren country, is not apt to suspect that anywhere 

 in the vicinity there are pastures which will produce 

 such results, and as in a day's drive he has probably skirted 

 or crossed a number of dried-up watercourses, he wonders 

 what the grass does for water. But he has undoubtedly 

 seen a few bunches of fat young cattle down in some of 

 the valleys; and the juicy steak served to him convinces 

 him. 



The Truckee River is full of trout. Like all other 

 trout, though, they have their times for feasting and for 

 fasting, as we found out. A very large proportion are 

 rainbows, and I recognize in the small ones the trout of 

 which I wrote and described in one of my letters from 

 Sitka in 1880, as banded with iridescent hues and caught 

 only for a few days each spring in a small lake which I 

 christened Piseco, just back of the town. There are 

 some "silver trout" and I was told of another variety, 

 which I did not see, the "black trout." 



Pishing in the Truckee is ahout the same as that in 

 any other wide creek or narrow river; at times and 

 places easy, and at others very hard work. It has how- 

 ever two specialties. One it shares in common with all 

 others of the Sierra streams and lakes, a wonderful 

 clearness of the water that makes finest of tackles, 

 smallest of flies and skill in making long casts very neces- 

 sary, for the trout are shy and wild. The other special- 

 ty is its own. From 100 to 200 or 300ft. above it the G. P. 

 Railroad extends. The banJi is in most places very steep 

 and in many, where the roadbed has been through rock, 

 consists of the sharp-edged boulders blasted out and 

 reaching well into the stream; and in some places they 

 or great crags jut out, necessitating either a swim or a 

 trip inland and up, which is very trying to comfort and 

 more so to wading boots; mine became sieves on my 

 second day's work. 



On our arrival Judge Hunt was not only willing but 

 anxious to begin business at once, and postpone supper; 

 but I was not. The unaccustomed tramping and driving 

 of the last few days had induced in me a disposition to 

 follow Nesstnuk's favorite amusement, and "hold down 

 a log" — in my case, though, a comfortable chair on a 

 pleasant piazza, from which a superb mountain view 

 was obtainable. The fact is that, although in all and 

 every other respect an ideal fishing companion, in one 

 the Judge was not fitted to be my "running mate," as I 

 will show by the "rule of three;" for figures which 

 won't lie will be necessary to convince anyone who 

 knows him that in any respect the Judge is lacking. 

 Here are the figures: As 70in. (his height), 63 in. (mine), 

 147 lbs. (his weight), mine, which should work out 132; 

 and that is a liberal calculation. If the problem be solved 

 more accurately by Euclid's rule, 



Similar parallelopipedons are to each other in the tripli- 

 cate ratio of their homologous sides. 



My weight, if I have correctly multiplied and divided, 

 should be — to correspond with his — about lOOlbs. Were 

 that so, I should not be handicapped, but unfortunately 

 I tip the beam at 1671bs. 



I admit, though, that it is hardly fair to the Judge (even 

 to make a strong point) to claim that we are "similar 

 parallelopipedons" having homologous sides. Certain 

 curves in my structure are decidedly convex, which in 

 his, except perhaps immediately after dinner, are con- 

 cave. 



But brushing figures aside, facts remain, and for a long 

 climb up a steep hill 7,000ft. in the air on a hot day, the 

 man who carries extra weight, especially if gifted with 

 short legs, is badly handicapped. 



All of which is to clear myself of possible charge of 

 undue laziness. 



The Judge, who off the bench— perhaps then I was 

 never before him— is one of the most amiable of men, 

 always willing to give the other fellow the first chance at 

 the best pool, yielded to my mood and had his reward, for 

 on the off side of the piazza he discovered a very good 

 shuffle-board. He is an expert at the game and fond of 

 it; 1 am not; and he got even. 



We waited until the train bound West should come, 

 that we might "see off" Mr. and Mrs. Burnham, who had 

 been with us at Webber, then turned in at 10 P. M. to 

 . "sleep and dream," and in those dreams to picture — not 

 the fish of to-morrow — but seeing from our windows the 

 headlights and listening to the apparently constantly mov- 

 ing, whistling cars; our fish were monsters with head- 

 lights, and not like the "mute little fish that can't spake 

 their wish," as explained to the Widow McAvee, but 

 more like the Eehiostoma barbatuvi or Lynophryne lucifer, 

 as described and illustrated by Mr. Hudson in tne Cosmo- 

 politan for September. 



The next morning at a comfortable hour— not at sun- 

 rise—we cast our lines into the pleasant places of the 

 Truckee. 



Sam, with a good team, drove us two or three miles 

 down the river, crossing it twice on good bridges, and 

 after passing through the abandoned hamlet of a dozen 



cottages, where not even a dog barked at us, left us at 

 Bookhalter's abandoned saw mill, and we cast into the 

 great pool below it. Not instantly, but after quite an in- 

 terval we decided that we might as well go on. Not a 

 rise, and during that hot forenoon the experiment was 

 often repeated with slight returns. 



After lunch though prospects improved, and when Sam 

 came for us we had some forty odd trout ranging from i 

 to fibs. Judge Hunt fished altogether with flies, finding 

 the Caddis black ant and gnat the most killing, I used a 

 small Emerich spinner and a grizzly king for divp fly, and 

 both did very well, the spinner the best. 



Our arrangements were simple. My maximum cast is 

 not over 30ft., the Judge's 70ft. I fished ahead and took 

 all I could from the pools and holes on our side— scaring 

 many over to the other side— from which the Judge 

 would bring them to basket. 



The next day we went over the same ground, but fur- 

 ther we tried every device and we caught just nine trout, 

 none of admirable size. The fish would not rise. 



The next day we concluded to try nearer home. So 

 tramping down the railroad till we struck a trail down 

 the bank, we in two hours of forenoon took seventeen, 

 and after returning to the hotel, enjoying our dinner 

 and resting off until 4 P. M. we went over the same ground 

 again and took twenty more, all good ones, as were those 

 of the morning. 



The next day, Saturday, August 30, was a scorcher; the 

 mercury climbed up into the 90s, and it was with reluc- 

 tance that we essayed. One single hour without a rise 

 satisfied us and we packed for home, and I gave up for 

 good. Not so the Judge; toward evening he ventured 

 and, to my chagrin, came back with a very handsome 

 lot, among which was our largest— something over lib. 

 weight. 



And thus ended our Truckee experience. We were — 

 everybody said — too early; the stream was not yet low 

 enough; September is the best time to come, etc.' But we 

 were satisfied; we had had fair luck and a pleasant time, 

 and our reminiscences of Boca and the Truckee will be 

 such that we will both be glad of a chance to repeat. 



At 9 P. M. we took the train bound West — Judge Hunt 

 for San Francisco, I for Truckee, where I was to sleep and 

 take early stage for Tabor on Sunday morning. 



I will next week tell you of the Tabor part of my trip. 



Piseco. 



IN CAMP WITH A MASCOT. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



There is a growing tendency these times to take the 

 women along on your hunting and camping trips, and I 

 have just read the descriptions of two outings wherein it 

 is elaborately described how "She goes along," one by a 

 Michigan and the other a Nebraska correspondent of "our 

 own" paper. It has called to mind a trip which my friend 

 Fred S. and myself took a few years ago, and when Fred 

 took "her" — his wife — along. 



Did you ever take a trip into the primeval woods, over 

 sixteen miles of blazed trail, in the month of November 

 and with a woman? If you have not you don't want to. 

 One fall Fred kept teasing me to go with him on a deer 

 hunt. He had found a place, he said, away back among 

 the hills where mast was plenty and deer sign were as the 

 traditional sheep tracks. It was in the month of Septem- 

 ber and too early for successful still-hunting. I argued 

 we had better wait until later. But Fred would not take 

 no as an answer and finally I had to surrender and was 

 not very sorry to do so either, as any hunter who has been 

 in the same place will know. 



We started, equipped for a week in the woods, our 

 duffle contained in knapsacks which were not very heavy, 

 as we are both firm disciples of the illustrious Nessmuk. 

 Fred carried a .38-40 Winchester, 1 a .38-55 Marlm. Do I 

 need to describe the glories of those autumn days, the 

 bright, crisp and cool mornings of the last week in Septem- 

 ber, and the leaves just beginning to array themselves in 

 their carnival colors in expectancy of • the merry dance 

 they would soon lead with the chilly November winds? 

 It would be quite needless, for he who has not seen 

 and enjoyed them does not deserve to be told about 

 them. 



We stayed in camp a week and hunted faithfully, but 

 never did a venison steak grace our table. Deer were 

 plenty all around us, but they were the "skulking" 

 kind, as Fred said. Quite often one of us would come 

 upon a fresh bed among the evergreen thickets, so fresh 

 in fact as to be yet warm from the heat of the animal's 

 body, but the wily deer had stolen away without sound or 

 sign. As the woods were quite noisy, there was little 

 chance of tracking them, and our main reliance was the 

 "science of sitting on a log," which science, however, 

 availed us very little. Our provisions had been arranged 

 with the expectation of fresh meat, and fresh venison at 

 that, in camp, and our non-success compelled us to find a 

 substitute. As I did not want any unnecessary shooting 

 I suggested to Fred the unsportsmanlike idea of building 

 a few snares for partridges or rabbits. But to his credit 

 be it said, Fred would not listen to such a proposition. 

 He would rather live on fish three times a day than stoop 

 to such means. So every day one of us would descend 

 down to the little river, where in usually about half an 

 hour we would catch enough trout on a tamarack pole 

 and a "grub" or a piece of pork for bait to feed us for a 

 day. They were excellent fried in pork and it was fun 

 catching them despite the primitive method. 



At the end of the week we returned to our homes. 

 Neither of us had even seen a deer nor had either fired 

 one shot out of his rifle during the whole week. Yet we 

 had had a glorious time, the beauties of the weather 

 more than compensating us for our ill luck at deer. I 

 shall never forget that week, and I still insist that in 

 many ways it was the most enjoyable I have ever spent 

 in the woods. It is not all of tainting to hunt, no more 

 than it is all of fishing to fish. 



Fred was not quite satisfied, however. He proposed 

 and agreed to another trip to the same locality in Novem- 

 ber. The deer were there we both agreed, and with the 

 help of the early snows we hoped for success. I was in- 

 formed that Mrs. S. evinced an eager desire to join us on 

 our trip, and on a later occasion Fred confided to me that 

 his unmarried sister had caught the fever and wanted to 

 go along too. This latter plan I most emphatically "sat 

 down upon," and successfully. Finally it was agreed 

 upon that Mrs. S. should accompany us as a "mascot," as 

 her fond husband expressed it. Well, imagine the re- 

 sult 1 Where a few weeks previous two of us had tramped 



into the woods with light knapsacks and lighter hearts, 

 it now required a heavy back-load of dry goods for each 

 of us two; and a couple of guides carried bundles each 

 bigger than himself. Fred had bought about every little 

 camping knick-knack to be had on the market for the 

 comfort of his lady, and insisted on taking the whole load 

 into the woods with him. As to the weights of our 

 hearts I know at least one that did not feel quite so light 

 as it had on going over the same trail a few weeks pre- 

 vious; and the further along we got the more did I realize 

 the enormity of the undertaking. Ladies are real nice 

 and charming enough around a tent spread on a lawn 

 near some miniature pond or at an A. C, A. camp, or — 

 well, anywhere but in a simple lean-to in the heart of the 

 wilderness. 



Our progress was slow, very slow; there were bog holes 

 and fallen trees, and brooks without bridges, and what 

 nots to interfere with pleasant promenading, and each 

 obstruction called forth a series of little feminine shrieks 

 and "Oh mys" and "Why Fred's," and such other little 

 phrases which ladieB are in the habit of using and which 

 are not found in Webster's Unabridged. 



At night the ordeal was over with. The guides soon 

 had the camp in ship shape and supper ready, which con- 

 sisted of pork fritters and toasted bread, with coffee with- 

 out milk. I noticed how Mrs. S. asked for "some more 

 of those fritters, please," and I remembered how a day 

 or two ago she had insisted that pork be left out of our 

 woodland bill of fare because she "just abhorred pork and 

 would not eat it anyhow." 



Then there was the usual hour of talking, smoking and 

 story-telling, all of which was nice enough, but when 

 everything was ready to turn in there came another rub. 

 Just after rolling into our blankets there was a protest 

 entered from somewhere the other side of the camp about 

 "something sticking into my ribs; oh, this is horrid; why 

 Fred, dear, could not you pick out a smoother place to 

 lie on?" in plaintive tones from Mrs, S. Forthwith the 

 whole camp had to turn out with hatchets in hands to 

 ferret out the offending sticks, stubs, etc., while Fred 

 kept piling dry brushwood on the fire that we might have 

 lignt to aid us in our microscopic search. Finally every- 

 thing was pronounced all right by our mascot and 

 everybody relapsed into well-deserved deep slumber, not 

 to awaken again until morning; everybody except the 

 guides, who got up once or twice to feed the fire. 



Morning dawned bright and cool. After an early 

 breakfast and unpacking our household goods the guides 

 left us, instructed to return in a week's time. We were 

 left alone, and at once fell to putting the camp into "con- 

 dition," as Fred called the process of putting each and 

 every one of the "light and portable" inventions into 

 some nook or corner. After it was all done and I viewed 

 the gorgeous array, I modestly suggested that the state 

 of affairs be called a household and not a camp in the 

 woods. 



But enough of this. We went to hunting and found 

 the deer quite as shy as on our previous visit. Three days 

 we hunted and had no success, and each night prayed 

 that the morning might bring forth — snow. On the 

 fourth day the weather was cloudy and we expectantly 

 scanned the sky. I had been off alone two or three miles 

 from camp, and in the middle of the afternoon decided 

 to hunt toward home. As I was leisurely walking along, 

 not attempting any silence, a deer jumped within 20yds. 

 of me and "lit out." The trusty Marlin sent three leaden 

 messengers after him, and I had the satisfaction of seeing 

 a large trail of blood on the dead leaves. About fifty 

 rods from where I had jumped him I found him dead. 

 He proved to be a spike buck. The bullet had entered 

 the haunch, torn lengthways clean through his body, 

 through the lungs, and had come out at the right shoulder, 

 leaving a hole large enough to put my fist into it. I 

 have great respect now for the penetration of a .38-55 

 bullet. 



I shouldered him and started for camp. That was a 

 triumphant march into camp! Fred smacked bis lips 

 when he saw me coming. Fred likes venison as Horace 

 Kephart loves persimmons. I think Fred and Horace 

 would make great friends. Mrs. S. was at first very anx- 

 ious to see a "real wild deer," but later on expressed her 

 opinion that it was "just horrid for men to kill such lovely 

 animals. It's too bad," she said, with a tear in her eye. 

 Too true, Mrs. S.; but remember, please, that by law of 

 nature the stronger will prey upon the weaker, from man, 

 as the strongest, down the scale to, say, the 3in. brook 

 trout, who is a terror to the baby minnows in his native 

 pool. Did we have venison steak for supper that night? 

 Ask Fred and Mrs. S., and ask where the half of that sad- 

 dle disappeared to at one meal! 



After supper I took a quiet stroll into the woods partly 

 to digest my supper and partly because it had been my 

 habit to do so since Mrs. S. was a member of the party; 

 and undoubtedly they too would not miss my company. 

 In fact Fred used to see all sorts of things in the daytime 

 which he would relate for my benefit at supper. He 

 wanted me to watch for a bear one night, a wild-cat 

 another and so on, and I — well, I went and watched. I 

 would go down to the brook, build me a little fire to keep 

 warm and watch for bears and panthers and other birds 

 until I got drowsy and thought it was time for Fred and 

 his spouse to end their little tete-a-tete and turn in. In 

 fact I suspect Fred never did go very far from camp eveu 

 during the daytime. On account of my feelings for Fred 

 I did not want to verify my suspicious. If he was content 

 to let me do the hunting and he the eating, why that was 

 all right and satisfied me. And I had quite as much 

 enjoyment at my own little camp-fires as did he. While 

 waiting for the bears to turn up I would have pleasant 

 visions of a happy time to come when Forest and Stream 

 will open a marriage bureau and we confirmed woods- 

 loafers may find mates there who will be the Ideals, the 

 Perfection, of the aforesaid loafer's dreams. They won't 

 read novels, won't wear bloomers and won't be "new" 

 women, A just plain "old" woman is good enough for 

 anybody, and so long as she can cook flapjacks and veni- 

 son steaks the fellows who sit around the camp-fires 

 evenings will be her friends and — hm — lef s see, it's time 

 to go up to camp and hustle "those two" off to roost. 



Next day it snowed hard all day. Mrs. S. was afraid of 

 being snowed in and so the command went forth to 

 evacuate camp next morning. We did so, going out 

 "light" and sent the guides in after the duffle. 



Altogether it was an enjoyable trip, but whenever I go 

 off hunting or camping now the mention of "woman" 

 has a harsh, grating sound to my ears, Matterhorn, 



Baktow, Vt. 



