68 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Feb. 16, 1888. 



soigM uv ye. It's hard enough, it is, ba jabers, to sthand 

 ye all whin ye luk loike niin; so ba' harty buck, ef yer 

 goin' to cut up any uv yer haythen tbricks, begone wid 

 ye t'ye wangwun, ur whatever the clivil ye calls, down 

 sthranie. We'll ate un slape betthur widout ye," and 

 Cookey emphasized his somewhat hasty and angry words 

 bypointing down the river in the direction of the Indian's 

 home. 



•'Come, come, Davey," interposed Walter, "don't blauie 

 the poor fellow so; something's wrong; we must find out 

 what it means. Why don't you keep the clothes, 

 Sebatis?" 



Again the thin muscular hand was passed slowly over 

 the remnants, the eyes following, when at last he mut- 

 tered, "Ugh, these live me gettum wigwam, den sposem 

 s "maw makum more long." 



•'But good gracious," said James with much feeling, 

 "you're half naked, you'll perish at night; besides, the 

 flies will eat you up." 



"O, bitum-no-seeums no likum me," raising his head 

 •with a faint smile. 



"Begorra, un wise they air shure, fur uvry mother's 

 son uv 'em ud be pisoned," put in Cookey with a wise 

 shake of the head and cunning wink. 



"See here, Sebatis, take this and put them on," urged 

 Walter, pressing the bundle upon him. "We gave them 

 to you, they are of no use to us." 



" Aye, ye simple galoot, ef ye hed es much brains undher 

 that black tap uv yers es dirt on yer shanks ye'd do as the 

 gintlemin has tould ye; so take up yer duds un begone, 

 afore we gits sick luckin' at the likes uv ye." 



Cookey's comical gestures and bluff manner began now 

 to amuse us quite as much as the semi-barbarous aspect 

 of the Indian: so we not only ceased reproving, but rather 

 encouraged him to go on, believing it would prove the 

 more effective logic. 



"Yes, Davey, you're right, he must dress himself. It's 

 not pleasant to see so much nudity of that complexion; 

 so make him put them on," wlvispered Phil, anxious for 

 some fun. 



"Now, luck ahere, sur," roared Cookey, stepping up to 

 the Indian and waving his hand toward us as he pro- 

 ceeded, "These is gintlemin, what's not used t' seein' 

 craythurs goin 1 roun' wid their legs un arms widout a 

 hapurth uv coverin' on em, stickin' out loike burnt poles 

 greased wid soap, un their bodies luckin' es ef they hed 

 the black measels un yaller jauudwise fur a year in some 

 dhry countherie loike Africa, where they couldn't git a 

 dhrap uv wathur t' olane 'emsilfs wid. No, sur, ye'll run 

 ur drown ef ye doan't put on thim rags at once," almost 

 shouted he, taking the bundle from Walter and foroinj 

 it upon the Micmac. 



"Me no wantum, me no money buyuni," protested 

 Sebatis, stepping backward. 



"O, ho," echoed James, "What does this mean, boys? 

 Have the others put up this trick on the simple fellow by 

 persuading him we were going to charge for the suit? It 

 looks like it. Sebatis, who told you we wanted money 

 for them?" 



"Injun al'ays payum money for clothes," replied he. 



"Moind yersilf, sur," said Cookey in a commanding 

 voice, observing the evasion, "the gintlemin hes axed ye 

 a fair quistyun, so give 'im a civil answer. Dik Sak ur 

 San ur ony uther tell ye Misthur Miller ud sharge ye fur 

 the rags?" 



"Louis, San an' udders tellum me all same. Me think- 

 um all same, too; berry good dese," fingering the clothes 

 in Davey 's hand. The conversation of the red men al- 

 luded to above, and the grinning visages peering from 

 out the cover, told the same story, they had got up a 

 cheap show for us at simple Sebatis's expense. 



"Tut, tut, man," put in Walter, "they're making a fool 

 of you. Take the clothes and dress; we want no money; 

 never will ask any, they are yours." 



"All same's me buyum?" queried he, with a look of re- 

 newed interest, laying his hand upon the bundle and 

 looking up. "all same's me payum money for 'em?" 



"Yis, ye crack-brained looney, uv coorse. How long 

 des it take t' git un idee inte yer thick head? Troth ye 

 run more t' hair un durt nur t' common sinse." 



"Sposem me buyum at store, payum money, Mose Blink 

 givum the piece paper sayum all right, Injun payum. 

 Givum me paper now all same?" turning and addressing 

 James. 



"Of course, my good fellow," returned the latter, tak- 

 ing out his note book and writing a receipt, which he then 

 tore out and handed to the Micmac. The latter looked at it 

 a while, then folding it up, received the bundle from 

 Davey, and marched off with smiles chasing one another 

 all over his face. Cookey watched him in silence until 

 he had disappeared in the bushes, then turning to us he 

 remarked: "Be jabers, the same's no looney, moind ye; 

 he's loike a scorched cat, betthur nor he lucks." 



In whatever way this custom of always getting a re- 

 ceipt and feeling safe in its possession originated, it is 

 quite general even in the most trivial matters, and recalls 

 an old story which many of my readers have no doubt 

 heard, but will pardon its rehearsal for the pleasure of 

 others. 



An old Indian by the name of Sacobe had stolen ten 

 dollars from a trader; but succeeding well in the hunt 

 and feeling a little remorse at the recollection of the 

 deed, he afterward came, and, acknowledging the crime, 

 paid the amount. The trader was delighted, the more so 

 since he had not been able to fasten suspicion on any 

 one. Presently old Sacobe surprised him by asking for a 

 receipt. 



"What do you want a receipt for? You owed me ten 

 dollars and paid it, did you not?" 



' Yes, brudder," replied the Indian. 



"Well, you don't owe me. I don't owe you, what's the 

 use of a receipt?" urged the trader. 



"Me wantum receipt all same," soberly replied Sacobe, 



"But what good will a receipt do you?" insisted the 

 trader. 



"Well," returned the Indian, "sposem you die, byemby 

 sposem Injun die. Me goum to big gate and knockum," 

 accompanying the words with a smart rapping on the 

 counter. ' Who dere?' sayum Se Peter from inside, 

 'who wantum in?' 'Injun,' me say. 'What Injun? 

 'Sacobe.' 'Sacobe from Taboointac?' askum Se Peter 

 'All same,' me say. ( 0, Sacobe! You one bad Injun 

 You stealum ten dollars.' 'But, Se Peter, me payum 

 agin.' 'Showum receipt,' sayum him, lookum through 

 peep-hole. What Injun do then, eh? See? Me havum 

 to go down an' huntuni all over hell to gettum receipt." 

 Kewcastle, N. B., Jan. 28. CHIKTEK. 



PAST AND FUTURE. 



AND this is the trout brook where, as a happy, light- 

 hearted, careless boy, we fished twenty-five years 

 ago. Its waters are limpid and pure as of yore, and the 

 round white pebbles glisten and shine on its clear, sandy 

 bottom, just as they did then; while its bubbling, rippling, 

 laughing waters are carrying the same old story to the 

 blue waters of the river that flows at the foot of yonder 

 meadow. But the trout with their beautiful carmine- 

 spotted sides, with which it once was literally alive, 

 where are they? Alas! of all those thousands not a fin- 

 gerling remains. There at the foot of yonder steep hill, 

 with its smooth white body half extended over the deep, 

 clear pool which it shades, is the silver birch, behind 

 which we have hid for many an hour and watched the 

 speckled trout disport themselves in j>lay. Many a big 

 fellnw ha ve we seen on a warm summer day lying on the 

 white bottom of that pool, lazily moving his fins back 

 and forth, and thinking of who knows what? Ah! those 

 were great days. It makes us sad sometimes when we 

 think of them, for they can never come again. Not only 

 have the trout disappeared, but the boy is no longer the 

 same. What a pity it is that we cannot appreciate our 

 youth better while we are enjoying it. 



Many and many an hour we sat on our hard bench in 

 the little white schoolhouse, and drowsed over our spell- 

 ing book until the teacher's bell proclaimed that school 

 for that day was over. Then we hurried home, and soon 

 with pole in hand were on the banks of the stream we 

 loved, fast filling the tow string used in lieu of a basket. 

 The string filled, we hurried home with no lagging feet, 

 so we could have them cooked for supper. How good 

 they tasted after they were rolled in corn meal and fried 

 in pure sweet butter. We have had our legs under the 

 mahogany of a good many celebrated cafes and restau- 

 rants in our time, but we never tasted any trout that 

 quite equalled those. 



There was no weighing in mind the merits of the vari- 

 ous hooks, Sproat, Aberdeen. Limerick or Kirby; we used 

 the first we could get and they always answered. We 

 spent no time in talking fine spun theories about the 

 good points of twisted or braided linen, or silk or sea 

 grass lines. We frequently used a chalk line. At that 

 time we had never heard of an artificial fly, and for a rod 

 we thought that nothing could beat a good straight black 

 alder pole. Yet we always caught lots of fish, because 

 we knew where to fish, and a little something about the 

 nature of what we were fishing for. I am not much of a 

 believer in that old story about the boy with his rude 

 tackle and the city chap with his fine outfit; and one of 

 the writers in "Fishing with the Fly," byOrvis, says it is 

 a lie. It is not if the boy understood his business and the 

 city fellow didn't. I sometimes think that I knew better 

 what tackle I required when a boy than I do now. This 

 tackle question is getting down to a fine point. Go to 

 one manufacturer and he will tell you that the six- 

 strip hexagonal bamboo is the thing. Go to another in 

 just as good repute and he will tell you that he has been 

 making rods since Adam was a little boy, and the hexa- 

 gonal rod is a second-rate affair, but the round rod is just 

 what you need, and you won't be able to rest nights 

 unless you buy one. Another celebrated firm will say 

 that lancewood and bamboo are all right in their way, 

 but if you want a No. 1 rod, you must have it made of 

 Bethabara wood. Then when you come to reels: but I 

 forbear — if you had a fairly good idea what you want 

 when you start out, 3'ou will be all at sea before you can 

 come to any definite conclusion. 



I have fished a good deal and have used both the round 

 and the hexagonal bamboo rods, and I could never see 

 any difference in their actions, but perhaps my touch is 

 not delicate enough. The most killing rod 1 ever owned 

 was made of hickory. It was too heavy and it warped 

 badly, but you could depend upon it; when you gave a 

 big laker the butt you need never shake in your boots for 

 fear it would break; everything else might go to flinders, 

 but the rod would still be there. If I am fishing where I 

 can take good care of my tackle I prefer a split bamboo 

 to any other rod, but for roughing it with a general all- 

 round rain or shine rod, give me lancewood. I have never 

 used a rod made of Bethabara wood, but intend to try 

 one in the spring, and if it proves as good as the makers 

 claim I think we will have hit on the best rod at last. 



I sometimes think that the ideal angler of the future 

 will be a man who will never go fishing at all, but will 

 have a large room entirely devoted to tackle of various 

 kinds. Handsome cases of satinwood and ebony lined 

 with the costliest of velvets, and having plate glass doors 

 in front, will be ranged along one side of the room, filled 

 with rods of various woods all mounted in solid gold. No 

 rods exceeding 6oz. in weight w T ill find a resting place 

 there. Salmon rods will not be allowed because of their 

 great length. Beautiful reels of gold and aluminum, 

 with ruby jewels and diamond studded handles will rest 

 on then' soft cushions. Lines, flies and leaders of the 

 most expensive kind will also occupy their proper places. 

 Where the angler is a man of very great wealth, he will 

 have an aquarium of alabaster/ 60ft. long, 80ft. wide 

 and 10ft. deep, built flush with the floor in one 

 part of the room; in tins he will keep his trout. None 

 under Bibs, in weight will be allowed in that water, 

 on the surface of which will float his cedar boat, lined 

 with sandal wood, and inlaid with mother of pearl, and 

 from which, urged on by his friends who may be present, 

 he will do his fishing. But I am speaking of the ideal 

 angler of the future who may be in moderate circum- 

 stances (worth say $2,000,000) and who ignores the 

 natural trout entirel3 r . He will send out invitations, 

 exquisite examples of the engravers art, which will read 

 something like this: "Mr. J. Pauraway Jones, ideal 

 angler, asks the pleasure of your company on Thursday 

 evening next, June 14, 19 — , at 9 P. M., to witness an 

 exhibition of his skill as a fly-fisherman." We can 

 imagine J. Pauraway in his gorgeous fishing hall, every 

 seat being filled with admn-ing friends of both sexes. 

 The ladies, wearing six-story hats so as to shut off all the 

 view they possibly can from the unfortunates behind 

 them, occupy the front seats. 



Mr. Jones will commence as follows: "Ladies and 

 gentlemen, that superb fish, Salmo fontinalis, is almost 

 extinct and can only be found in a few of our most 

 secluded lakes and inaccessible streams. Places that are 

 only open to the rough and ready fisherman with his cor- 

 duroy clothing and heavy brogan shoes, and which can- 

 not on any account be visited by an ideal angler — of 



which guild [ahem] I deem myself a worthy member [in J 

 his dress of silk velvet coat and knee breeches, silk stock- ] 

 ings and low-cut patent-leather shoes]. Now I like to 1 

 enjoy the sensation of fishing, so I have fitted up this 

 hall with all the implements of the art as you can readily 

 perceive; in addition I have procured at great expense < 

 one of Mr. Sellaman's wonderful electric trout. Johnson 

 [to his flunky] produce the fish. This fish is superior in i 

 many respects to the genuine trout itself. It can be 

 caught many times and can be played until the motor that 

 moves it is run down. Its triple back-action leap for lib- 

 erty is superior to any move that the real trout can make, 

 and above all, it is played on the floor where every mo- 

 tion is in plain view. It can only be used by anglers 

 who are perfect in the art of casting the fly, for in order 

 to have it take the fly the lure must be cast fairly in the 

 mcuth of the fish — which as you see is wide open with 

 the head inclined backward' at an angle of 45° — this 

 starts the electric current, and the fish grabs the fly like 

 a flash. Now one of the tests required of all candidates • 

 for admission to the American Association of Ideal 

 Anglers, is that they be able to make three successive 

 casts inside of a 2in. ring at 60ft. ; so we are all able to ■ 

 fish for the electric trout. Johnson, hand me my 5oz, 

 novel combination rod, made of the best part of ten 

 different woods, and have the music strike up." 



Here the melody of twelve guitars and mandolins, 

 played on by as many beautiful women, floats out on the 

 perfumed air. Mr. J . Pauraway Jones steps into his rose- 

 wood boat, lined with red plush, and mounted on wheels 

 so as to be moved easily, commences to cast. At the 

 second attempt the fly is landed fairly in the trout's 

 mouth, and the fun begins. The fish, alive with the 

 genius of man, dashes now to the right, now to the left, 

 sulks on the bottom — beg pardon — on the floor, gnashes 

 his teeth until the sound causes the ladies to give some 

 faint shrieks of dismay, makes huge leaps in the air, and 

 finally gives the triple back-action leap. But in vain. J. 

 Pauraway is equal to the occasion , with firmly compressed 

 mouth, dilated nostrils, and flashing eye, he plays the 

 fish, giving the butt when required, letting the tip of his 

 rod drop whenever the fish makes his leaps, reeling up 

 whenever the trout seems to act tired, taking advantage 

 of all points as anglers, both ideal and common, should. 

 Finally the struggles of the fish almost cease, and J. 

 Pauraway Jones begins to reel him in, Johnson standing 

 near with his landing net, meshes of fine silk, hoop of 

 18-karat gold and handle of enamel, ready to land him. 

 The fish is within reach; Johnson is just putting the net 

 under him; a look of triumph is on J. Pauraway's face, 

 when a whirr of machinery is heard, the trout dashes 

 under the boat and out at the door; the leader is broken; 

 Johnson faints, the strings of the musical instruments 



break with a loud snap, and . This is what we 



sometimes think angling is coming to. I like to see fine 

 tackle, but these hair-splitting theories in regard to it 

 disgust us. Veritas. 



Oil City, Pa. 



THE LARGE TROUT RECORD. 



IN Dr. Bean's article upon the Sunapee trout, in your 

 issue of Jan. 26, occurs the following: 

 "In Forest and Stream of June 23, 1887, 'The Large 

 Trout Record' is reviewed by Geo. Shepard Page, A. N. 

 Cheney and 'Special.' I do not believe that all of the 

 large trout referred to in that record were fontinalis, but 

 I cannot prove that they were not, because I have not 

 seen any of the specimens." 



From the context I judge that Dr. Bean's doubts arise 

 more particularly in regard to the species of the Maine 

 trout, than regarding the species of the Adirondack trout 

 mentioned by me; but my friend Mr, H. H. Thompson, 

 secretary of the State Fish Commission, is also a doubter, 

 and is more specific in his doubt. He says: 



"A friend of mine, a high authority in matters pisca- 

 torial, persists in hurling big fish at my head. H6 says 

 that a trout (8. fontinalis), was picked up on Loon Lake, 

 Franklin county, this State, on the fifth of June last, 

 which weighed frpbs. Query: Was there ever a trout of 

 this species caught or found in this State to equal or ex- 

 ceed this weight? My correspondent does not say that 

 he saw this fish, and I shotdd fail to sustain my repute 

 as a doubting Thomas in the matter of extraordinary fish 

 weights reported for the press, were I not to presume 

 that his personal inspection would have developed a lake 

 trout (S. 7iam.ayc.usli), commonly misnamed in northern 

 New York, a salmon trout." 



The fish mentioned by me in Forest and Stream, June 

 23, and the fish referred to as above by Mr. Thompson, 

 are identical. My information in regard to the trout 

 came from Mr. Edward A. Morrison, of New York city, 

 and to-day he has very kindly furnished me with further 

 information, which I quote from his letter: 



"When the fish was brought into the hotel I was so 

 struck with its size that I suggested to Mr. Chase, the 

 landlord, that he should send it to Mr. Miner, at Saranac 

 Lake, to be mounted; this was done, and the fish is now 

 in a glass case in the Loon Lake Hotel. There are no 

 lake trout in Loon Lake, except such as Avere put in as 

 fry within a period of three years. The trout was seen 

 by a great many guides and fishermen, and there was no 

 question raised as to its being anything else tltoa an ex- 

 traordinary specimen of common brook trout.' I have 

 fished for many years in Adirondack waters, and while I 

 have no scientific knowledge of the structure of fish, yet, 

 as far as I can judge, the fish was the common brook 

 trout. I did not measure the trout, but it was done in 

 my presence, and the figures given your uncle are the 

 correct ones, viz. : 6£lbs. weight, 23in. long, 13in. £irth. 

 As the fish is, however, in existence, the question ci^n be 

 positively settled as to its species." 



I have followed quite a number of distinguished fish 

 into their retirement from public gaze to obtain knowl- 

 edge of their pedigrees, birth-marks, personal habits, 

 idiosyncrasies and moral characters, before and after 

 death , as certified by interested friends and administra- 

 ors; and I have found too frequently that the private 

 life and shrinking qualities of these large fish have tended 

 to impair the usefulness of their executors in the public 

 office of sealers of weights and measures. The experi- 

 ence that I have gained in this kind of hunting causes 

 me to be a trifle careful about putting the weight of a 

 big fish in a newspaper as a target for the fishermen of 

 North and South America, Europe, Asia and Africa to 

 cast at for authenticity and reliability, but I sent the 

 record of the 6-ilbs. trout to Forest and Stream with the 

 utmost 'confidence that when in the natural course of 



