472 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Nov. 30, 1895. 



kindred State organizations, particularly the work of the 

 Pennsylvania State Sportsmen's Association. These com- 

 parisons, it must be admitted, were favorable to Vermont, 

 which has such a strong and representative body of men 

 working for i fc. Before closing he placed before the league 

 the following nut for it to crack: "You have had a close 

 season on deer for many years, and there are lots of deer 

 now in your woods; the season does not open until 1900, 

 and by that time the number of deer in the State will be 

 such as will attract a large body of hunters to come and 

 help to kill them off. How are you going to prevent them 

 from being killed off all at once? Are you going to adopt 

 something like the Michigan law on deer and make non- 

 residents pay high license? Are you going to restrict the 

 number of deer killed by each man? What are you going 

 to do about it, because 1 understand from your president, 

 Mr. Titcomb, this question has never yet been considered 

 by your body?" 



Col- E. R, Morse, who was the next speaker, made a 

 very able and amusing after-dinner speech. He regretted 

 that he possessed none of the special attributes of a sports- 

 man. It gave him the shivers to take a fish off hiB hook, 

 but— he didn't shiver very often. Now that he had re- 

 tired from the militia, he could say with safety that he 

 had never shot a gun off in his life. Another drawback 

 was his absolute regard for veracity, a quality which he 

 and the immortal George inherited equally. Notwith- 

 standing the difficulties enumerated, the Colonel made a 

 speech that brought into play the risible muscles of his 

 audience during the whole time he was on his feet. 



Rev. P. M. Snyder, of Burlington, who was then called 

 upon by Mr. Powers, said that for the first time in his 

 ministerial career he felt that he was not in it. Brethren 

 of the cloth were always supposed to be right in it all the 

 time when it came to talking, but here he was at fault, 

 knowing so little about the subjects of which his hearers 

 knew so much. "One definite article of my creed," said 

 Rev. Snyder, "is that the sport which you are here to 

 foster and further is perfectly innocent. My fishing and 

 shooting have been very limited; when I fish I simply hold 

 on to a line, and it's the fish's fault if he's caught. I have 

 been hunting once in the State of Vermont, going out 

 into the woods with an acquaintance; his gun went off 

 once by accident, mine didn't go off at all. In closing 

 the reverend gentleman said that the meeting was 'the 

 most representative one possible in the State of Vermont, 

 and he congratulated the league upon the success that had 

 attended its efforts. 



Capt. Smith S. Leach, of the United StateB Engineer 

 Corps, a newly elected member of the league, brought the 

 proceedings to a close with one of the most humorous 

 speeches of the evening. He began thus: " 'Truth is 

 eternal and must prevail.' That's not original and I don't 

 know who said it, but it's true nevertheless. It is generally 

 supposed that a man cannot make a speech in the presence 

 of sportsmen and adhere to the truth and be amusing. I 

 am confronted, therefore, by the following difficulty: 

 Shall I be truthful and dull, or shall I prevaricate and be 

 amusing? I choose the truth." And so he did, as all who 

 heard him will bear witness, nevertheless keeping his 

 audience smiling all the time. 



So closed the annual social gathering of the Vermont 

 Fish and Game League for 1895. 



Planting Trout In Lake Champlaln. 



Wednesday, Nov. 20, will be long remembered (if in- 

 deed a fish has any memory) by some 800 troutlets which, 

 under the fatherly care of A. L, Barrows, found a per- 

 manent residence in the waters of Lake Champlain on 

 that day. There were others present at the time, but we 

 feel justified in giving the major part of the credit to Mr. 

 Barrows, because it was he who, as tenderly as any 

 mother to her offspring, watched over the infant trout- 

 lets from the time of their arrival at Burlington from 

 the hatchery until they were finally introduced to the 

 rocky nurseries of Hog's Island Reef and the hospitable 

 shores of Stave Island. 



J. W. Titcomb, superintendent of the State hatchery at 

 St. Johnsbury, reached Burlington on the above date on 

 the noon train, bringing with him six cans of lake trout fry 

 to be planted in the lake. Local members of the Fish and 

 Game League had made preparations for taking the fry to 

 the localities best suited for their protection during the 

 exciting times such young fish usually go through in the 

 transition stage from little wigglers to full-grown lakers. 

 Superintendent Titcomb was unable to join the party 

 owing to his work as secretary of the league; but there 

 was a large body of volunteers who willingly manned the 

 Mariquita, a capable craft generously placed at their dis- 

 posal by the Lake Champlain & Lake George Transporta- 

 tion Co. The weather was scarcely favorable for the ob- 

 ject in view, as there was a lot of rain and a threatening 

 look in the sky that boded a strong blow before long. 

 Outside the breakwater the southwest wind did. not "blow 

 softly," neither was the water as smooth as the very gen- 

 erally quoted mill pond. On the contrary, there was 

 enough wind to raise a good-sized lumpy sea, that the 

 Mariquita took to in the most graceful manner. She 

 bowed and she courtesied in a way that a minuet dancer 

 in the early days of this century would have envied. 

 Sea legs were at a premium, and it required all the skill 

 Mr. Barrows could muster to fill the bucket with water 

 from the lake so as to acclimate the little ones to the 

 beverage most commonly patronized in the prohibition 

 city of Burlington. 



The list of the crew and passengers on board the Mari- 

 quita on this occasion was as follows: The captain (whose 

 name has unfortunately escaped our notebook) and the 

 engineer, whose name has gone to join that of his supe- 

 rior officer; first mate, Dan Loomis (of the Lake Cham- 

 plain & L. G. T. Co.); purser, J. W. McGeary; purser's 

 assistant, H. R. Conger; steward, M. C. Berry; supercargo. 

 A. L. Barrows; cook, L. C. Grant; apprentice, Byron 

 Lambkin; deck hands, F. H. Wells, W. L. Stone, W. J. 

 Henderson and E. F. Henderson; saloon passenger, Ed- 

 ward Banks, of Forest and Stream; steerage passengers, 

 800 youthful members of the Namaycush family in the six 

 cans. 



Pointing the Mariquita's nose about due north, our 

 helmsman took us past Rock Point, a curious geological 

 feature on the lake shore. The saucy waves were roughly 

 rocking the craft as we sped on toward the Hog's Back 

 Reef, marked by a lighthouse, whose keeper and a doctor 

 from Burlington had a serious interview with floating 

 ice one day last winter; the lighthouse keeper's family 

 was .visited by sickness and a doctor was urgently 

 needed; the trip to the shore for the doctor was made in 



safety and a medico was secured; on the return trip the 

 boat was caught in an ice-pack and it was late at night 

 when they finally managed to make a landing on Stave 

 Island, some miles to the north, and there build a 

 fire with which to thaw out their frozen limbs. 



On reaching the reef, the Mariquita's boat was pulled up 

 alongside and three of the six cans containing the trout 

 were transferred to her stern; she was then headed for 

 the reef manned as follows: Stroke, A. L. Barrows; No. 

 3, Dan Loomis; No. 2, H. R. Conger, and bow, W. L. 

 Stone. Notwithstanding the total disregard for time 

 evinced by the three oarsmen behind their able stroke, 

 fair speed was made to the reef; shipping their oars, Bar- 

 rows and Loomis consigned to their new nursery about 

 one-third of their passengers, distributing the balance 

 along the shores of Hog's Back Island. 



Returning to the Mariquita, the boat's crew was taken 

 aboard and the vessel headed for Stave Island, a few 

 miles still further to the north. Ragged storm clouds to 

 the northwest assumed a very threatening aspect, and 

 some of the more timorous of the crew wanted to batten 

 down the hatches, but the storm passed over with nothing 

 more serious than a heavy downpour of rain. During the 

 heaviest part of the rain the wind died away, returning 

 later with accumulated force and from a different quar- 

 ter — the northwest. It was blowing quite strongly and 

 was rapidly growing colder when we landed on Stave 

 Island, the property and summer camp of deck hand F. 

 H. Wells, who has a lovely cottage, where he dispenses 

 generous hospitality during the warm days of the summer 

 months. On the island, which at a rough guess covers 

 probably six or eight acres — maybe more, as owing to the 

 rain we could not judge its extent accurately— there are 

 some English pheasants and a host of rabbits, one of the 

 latter being disturbed by our footfalls on the piazza and 

 making a break for the shelter of a friendly woodpile. 



The visit to Stave Island, and the distributing of the re- 

 mainder of the 800 steerage passengers among the rocks 

 that line the southern shore of that island, completed the 

 business of the trip. The return to the harbor at Burling- 

 ton was made through a fairly heavy sea kicked up by 

 the northwest wind which was now blowing with ever- 

 increasing force. The entire trip occupied about four 

 and one-half hours, every minute of which is looked upon 

 by the saloon passenger as having been well spent. 



Echoes from Burlington. 



Among the trophies of the chase which decorated the 

 banqueting hall on Wednesday night were several deer 

 heads, mounted in a most artistic manner by W. P. 

 Conger, a local taxidermist and a member of the league. 

 As shown by the accompanying cut, Mr. Conger softens 

 the hard lines which are always so marked where the 

 deer's head meets the wood of the panel by making good 

 use of the superfluous skin on the neck, the ruffle or 

 oollar, adding greatly to the general effect and making 

 the mounted head much more lifelike. We believe the 

 idea originated with him, being the result of a chance use 

 of some superfluous skin on a head he was mounting. 



Toastmaster George M. Powers said at the banquet: 

 "We have not come here to blow for Burlington." Capt. 

 Smith S. Leach, in his speech a little later in the evening, 

 stated that he was "full of just such talk, and was 

 going to blow a good deal for Burlington." We feel 

 now just like Captain Leach did then, and we're going to 

 blow too, a whole gale. 



The hospitality of Burlington toward her guests was 

 unlimited; the Algonquin Club and the Ethan Allan 

 Hose Company, a purely ; social organization since the 

 volunteer fire department was done away with, both 

 kept open house on Wednesday, entertaining the mem- 

 bers of the league and their guests right royally. The 

 committee on arrangements also looked well after the 

 creature comforts of the visitors. 



Prominent among the guests from outside the State 

 were A. C. Johnson, president of the Mechanicville, N. 

 Y„ Rod and Gun Club, and P. E. Moller, of Hoboken, 

 N. J. The latter, who is a personal friend of President 

 Titcomb, made a mistake as to the day of the banquet, 

 arriving a day too early. Thanks to his error the morning 

 hours on Wednesday were made to pass the more rapidly 

 for Forest and Stream's representative. 



A magnificent specimen of the finny residents of Lake 

 Champlain was accorded a place of honor among the 

 decorations of the banqueting hall. This was a 151b. lake 

 trout, superbly proportioned and well mounted by Mr. 

 W. P. Conger. This trout, which was taken in Shelburne 

 Bay, has a history : A man and a woman were fishing 

 for smelt through the ice in that portion of the lake one 

 day last winter; all of a sudden the woman felt a great 

 . strike and a man took the line with the idea of landing 

 the fish more surely than the lady. While he was haul- 

 ing it in the hook gave way and the fish was loose; as it 

 happened, however, the other line was being hauled in at 

 the same time so as to be out of the way, and the hook on 

 that line fastened securely in the dorsal fin, the fish finally 

 being landed on the ice. The fish showed no fight, being 

 "loggy" from either the severe cold of the water or from 

 an overdose of smelt, his belly being really chock full of 

 those delicate fish. 



The huge eagle which spread his wings in a protecting 

 manner over the head of Toastmaster Powers was a 

 trophy of W. L. Stone's skill with a rifle. The eagle 

 flew over Mr. Wells's cottage at Stave Island one day this 

 fall and settled in a pine tree on the southern shore, being 

 successfully stalked and killed with a single bullet that 

 must have penetrated very close to the region of the 

 heart. 



The management of the Van Ness House deserve a vote 

 of thanks for the able way in whioh it handled the sud- 

 den influx of guests on Wednesday. The Van Ness House 

 opened its doors wide on this occasion and made every- 

 body feel at home. 



Winter descended suddenly on the State of Vermont 

 last week. On Wednesday morning, Nov. 20, although 

 it was rainy and unpleasant, a light overcoat was all that 

 was necessary for comfort. By midnight there was an 

 inch or two of snow covering a couple of inches of frozen 

 slush, while a howling gale blowing about forty miles an 

 hour was whirling snowflakes around the corners in a 

 true midwinter style. 



Under the fostering care of the Vermont Fish and 

 Game League, furred and feathered game has increased 

 very largely in the State. Partridges are more numerous 

 this year than for some time past, while deer are fre- 

 quently met with in those portions of Vermont wher 

 the country is such as they prefer. In 1900, when th 



first open season occurs, there'll be lots of deer for the 

 Vermont hunters. With five more years yet to come in 

 which they can go unmolested, the natural increase of 

 the deer will add greatly to the number now within its 

 borders. 



Dr. G. H. Woodward is one of Burlington's prominent 

 citizens who finds time to take a few weeks off and go 

 into the woods and enjoy life properly. Dr. Woodward 

 has a camp in tho Adirondacks which he makes his home 

 while in the woods, getting good hunting and fishing in 

 its vicinity. In talking about the game of the Adiron- 

 dacks, the doctor said: "If Forest and Stream wants to 

 do a good work, let it enter into a crusade against 'jacking' 

 and put a stop to that branch of deer hunting. For every 

 deer that's secured by this means, there are many more 

 that get away and die, owing to the almost impossibility 

 of finding a wounded deer in the brush after you have 

 knocked him down while 'jacking.'" Dr. Woodward 

 cited five cases that had occurred to him, in each of 

 which the deer had been severely wounded, often falling 

 in the bushes after reaching the shore, and in only one of 

 which he ultimately secured his game. 



It is just seventeen years since Captain S. E. Bumham, 

 J. C. Dunn and A. W. Higgins purchased five deer in the 

 Adirondacks and took them over into the State of Ver- 

 mont and turned them into the woods. They repeated 

 the operation about a year later, but this time the 

 number of deer purchased was one less— four. This, we 

 understand, was the first bon a fide attempt at replenishing 

 the game supply of Vermont, deer being then extinct in 

 that State. 



An extremely cold day; a snowfall that has weighted 

 down the branches of the spruces, hemlocks and cedars; 

 Vermont "partridges" that have learned a thing or two 

 by experience; the day of the week— Friday; and a com- 

 panion who has spent the previous night in room No. 13 

 at the Van Ness House! With such a combination, it is 

 scarcely to be wondered that Henry E. Spear and his 

 companion on Friday, Nov. 22, returned from their hunt 

 empty-handed. The remarkable feature of the hunt was 

 the predilection shown by the birds for the highest and 

 thickest trees; not a single one of the score or more flushed 

 (not all different birds probably) was on the ground. Per- 

 haps after all this fact had more to do with the lightness 

 of the bag than No. 13 and Friday. Edward Banks. 



ANGLING NOTES. 



Black Bass Records. 



It was Forest and Stream, I believe, that was credited 

 with offering a money reward for a small-mouth biack 

 bass of 61bs. in weight, a story without foundation, al- 

 though it is current to this day in some of the back pre- 

 cincts, and I expect that our children's children will hear 

 of the supposed reward and apply to Forest and Stream 

 for the money a hundred years or so from this date. I have 

 been asked what I know about record weights of Dlack 

 bass of the small-mouth species. 



In 1876 a small-mouth black bass was caught in what 

 was then known as Long Pond, in Warren county, N. Y. , 

 which was said to have weighed 71bs. 10oz., and I have 

 no reason to doubt the weight. The bass was caught by 

 Julius Seelye, and it was the first one of the really big 

 black bass of which I have any knowledge. The capture 

 of this bass was not known beyond the locality in which 

 Seelye lived. Long Pond, now called Glen Lake, is about 

 midway between Lake George and Glens Falls, on the 

 line of the Delaware & Hudson R. R., and is about a mile 

 and a quarter long and a third of a mile wide, and it was 

 stocked with black bass from Lake George in 1868. 



Thirteen little bass did the stocking and no bass have 

 been placed in the pond from that time until this year, 

 when the State planted a few hundred little bass about 

 2in, long. 



Early on the morning of Aug. 1, 1877, I caught a black 

 bass in Long Pond weighing Hilbs., and I may say once 

 for all that there is nothing but the small-mouthed species 

 of bass in the pond or lake. 



I allowed the bass to dry in the boat, after taking it 

 ashore to be weighed by a disinterested party, and the 

 evening of that day the fish weighed but 71bs. 14oz. I 

 recorded this fish in Forest and Stream, and thereafter 

 for two or three years my life was made miserable by 

 people who had never seen a black bass approaching that 

 weight and consequently did not believe it possible for the 

 species to attain it. I caught another black bass the same 

 morning weighing 6ilbs., and the two fish were photo- 

 graphed and copies of the photograph sent far and wide 

 only to increase the number of doubters. 



In 1883 a small-mouthed black bass was caught in Lake 

 Ronkonkomo, Long Island, for which a weight of 81bs. 

 was claimed, and it was exhibited in Mr. Blackford's 

 market in New York. Mr. H. H. Thompson writing of 

 this fish said: "Placed in the scales under my own eyee, 

 the sparkling eyes of 'A. N. C in my imagination looking 

 through mine, the weight was carefully noted at exactly 

 71bs." Mr. Thompson had been one of the doubters con- 

 cerning the species of my fish. The next year, 1884, I 

 sent a black bass to Mr. Blackford which was caught in 

 Glen Lake in September of that year, and informed 

 Forest and Stream by wire that the fish would be exhib- 

 ited at Fulton Market. A representative of this journal 

 weighed the bass and announced the weight as 8£lbs. and 

 the species a small-mouth. 



This fish was caught by Mr. Edward Reed, the sheriff of 

 Warren county, and is now in the cellar of the National 

 Museum, at Washington. Reed's bass was not allowed to 

 dry and it weighed the same in New York as it did when 

 I shipped it. The next big bass from Glen Lake was 

 caught by Mr. Boynton and weighed 81bs. lOoz. Mr. 

 George Pardo was m xt to break the record with a bass of 

 81bs. 12oz. from Glen Lake. 



July 26, 1891, Nathaniel Parker caught a black bass of 

 lOlbs. I weighed and measured the fish, and reported it 

 in Forbst and Stream as having been caught in Glen 

 Lake; but this was an error. I asked Parker if he caught 

 it in the pond, and he said yes. It was not until some 

 time later that he told me he did not mean Long Pond 

 (Glen Lake), but Round Pond, which is a stone's throw 

 away, and was stocked with black bass from Glen Lake. 



Parker's bass is generally considered to be the record 

 fish, and it is mounted in New York city, as is Boynton's 

 bass. Reuben Seelye, father of Julius, caught a black 

 bass in Glen Lake which, it is claimed, weighed llilbs. 

 I do not include this fish in the list above, because there 

 was supposed |to be a question about the accuracy of the 



