Feb. 2, 1888.J 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



29 



luxuries and novelties, that it seems almost impossible to do more 

 than lias been accomplished. 



The vestibuled limited trains arc superbly finished, elegnnlty 

 furnished and steam heated. Each train is composed of a buffet 

 smoking and library ca r, two parlor cars, two sleeping Cars ami a 

 dining car, all of which, are united into one con'inuous covered 

 train by the construction of handsomely finished conc.ectin.6 

 vestibules upon the car platforms. The ehu-f advantage oi fins 

 arrangement is in the fact that passengers are thus enabled to 

 safely and comfortably pass through the entire train in going to 

 and from the buffet smoking ear, or to and from the dining car, 

 while trains are running at bik'h speed, without the slightest ex- 

 posure or danger in crossing the ear pla I forms. 



A new and improved system of ventilation lias been adopted, 

 with the result of securing an unceasing supply of fresh air. 



The vestibuled limited trains on the New York Central and 

 Lake Shore route are made up of the most substantial and the 

 handsomest railway carriages ever constructed. The interior 

 decorations and carvingsare not obtrusive, but so elegant as to 

 satisfy the most fastidious tastes. In the buffet smoking and 

 library car are a unique buffot, movahle chairs and couches in 

 the most luxurious upholstery; a secretary supplied with stationery 

 and writing material, and an inclosed reading room with a well- 

 stocked library, in which is represented the best literat ure of the 

 day, including the current newspapers and magazines. The new 

 features of this car are the, barber shop and bath room; and in 

 connection with these novel adjuncts, it may be asserted that if 

 useful on any road in promoting the comfort or pleasure of long- 

 distance travelers, thoir success on the Now York Central and 

 Lake Shore route is assured from the fact ibat these lines occupy 

 the only low-grade thoroughfare between New York or Boston 

 and the principal commercial cities of the West, and approach 

 inore'nearly than any other to the engineer's ideal of a perfect 

 roadway — a dead level. 



Old travelers know that the New York Csntral, for a distance of 

 over throe hundred miles, is possessed of four distinct, tracks, two 

 of which are exclusivelv devoted to the movement of passenger 

 trains. It, is not so well known that the Lake Shore road, with 

 which the New York Central connects in the Union Station at 

 Buffalo, is the only double-track connection that any of the sea- 

 board trunk lines possess west of their termini. The regular and 

 safe movement of fast trains under such favorable conditions can 

 be generally depended tipon. 



There is a feeling of great fatigue upon the completion of a 

 journey in the most luxurious cars over the very best constructed 

 railway, if that railway does not possess easy curves and light, 

 grades. 



The New York Central and Hudson River Railroad, in connec- 

 tion with the Lake Shore road, occupies, as stated above, the 

 natural easy-grade highway between the shores of the Atlantic 

 and the entire West, skirting along the world-famed Hudson 

 River and passing through the lovely valley of the Mohawk. 



The. New York Central's four distinct and complete tracks upon 

 this natural highway is a noble compensation for file tardiness of 

 inventive genius in providing the improved system of transport 

 by steam and rail that now spreads like the meshes of one vast 

 net over every civilized country on the face of the globe. 



Polite attention from disciplined trainaud station employees is 

 now assured to all 'patrons of the New York Central and Lake 

 Shore roads. 



Direct connections are made at Chicago, St. Louis and Cincin- 

 nati with the Great, Through lines to and from all points west, 

 northwest and southwest.— Adv. 



Ideal Mfg. Co. (John H. Barlow, Manager), Manufacturers of 

 Reloading Tools for Rifles, Pistols and Shotguns. Dealers in 

 Arms and Ammunition. New ITaven, Conn., Jan. 28, 1883. 

 Forest and Stream, N. Y. Dear Sirs: We are entirely satisfied 

 with our ad. in the Forest and Stream, and as long as our rela- 

 tions are as pleasant and the paper continues to nay as well as it 

 has, we will be with you as long as there is any Ideal Co. Thank- 

 ing you for favors, I am, yours truly, J. H. Barlow. Our West- 

 ern inquiries are increasing. Forest and Stream beats any 

 other journal we have advertised in the last six months. 



ha mid Mit er 



HABITS OF EELS. 



THE attention of the Fish Commission lias recently- 

 been called by Lieut. E. T. C. Richmond, of the 

 Second Artillery, to a very singular method adopted by a 

 species of eel, apparently for defending itself against the 

 attacks of its enemies. Lieut. Richmond's letter is here 

 given in full: 



St. Augustine, Fla., Nov. 10, 18S7.— Sir: In August, 

 1870, while stationed at San Diego, Cal., I went fishing to 

 the Island of San Clemente, about sixty miles off the coast 

 of California. While passing from rock to rock (falling- 

 tide) I observed the heads of eels protruding between the 

 rocks. Several of these I succeeded in securing in the 

 following manner: Standing upon a rock, I would lower 

 a baited hook a foot, or possibly two, in the. water right 

 against the mouth of the eel. When taken I would 

 endeavor to draw the eel out. It would withdraw its 

 head between the rocks, and several times I lost my hook 

 by the breaking of the line. I was surprised at the 

 difficulty of drawing them out until explained by what 

 followed. 



Upon finally securing one and placing it upon the beach, 

 the hook still secured in its mouth, I observed that it 

 would make a knot by passing its tail through a loop and 

 running this loop up to its head. I then saw why it had 

 been so difficult to withdraw the others from between 

 the rocks, assuming, of course, that they had made simi- 

 lar knots. All those which I landed (and I landed several) 

 displayed this peculiarity. The knot would run from tail 

 to head, and when the head was drawn through it would 

 result in a simple knot or loop in the line. Several of 

 these knots would be made in the hue in quick succession, 

 one hardly passing off the head before another would be 

 started at the tail. When I grasped the eel with my 

 thumb and forefinger, pressed with all my strength in its 

 gills, the knot would approach rapidly and I was wholly 

 unable to retain my grip. My hand would be pushed off, 

 the head withdrawn, and the eel would be free except for 

 the hook and line. 



This is not to be confused with the promiscuous knot- 

 ting of eels when placed in a basket, with which I am 

 familiar. I believe this is a device for escape when taken 

 "head on" by some enemy. I find this peculiarity of the 

 eel mentioned by no writer, and believe this to be its first 

 mention. 



If I am correct in this I would respectfully request this 

 paper be referred to the Commission soon to visit the 

 waters of our western coast, which, I am sure, if it will 

 take the trouble to investigate the subject, will find the 

 facts substantially as I have stated. 



These eels were from 12 to 20in. long, thick for their 

 length as compared with our Maryland fresh- water eels, 

 and of a dark copper, mottled color. 



Please acknowledge receipt of this with your action 

 thereon, and oblige, yours respectfully, 



E. T. C. Richmond, 

 First Lieutenant Second U. S. Artillery. 



Professor Goode has requested the naturalists connected 

 with the expedition of the Albatross to the Pacific Ocean 

 to look into this matter, to visit this island if possible, 

 and to endeavor to furnish for the Institution specimens 

 of the eel alluded to. It is hardly necessary to say that 

 the result of this investigation is looked for with much 

 interest. 



THE ANGLER AND THE BLACK BASS; 



OR, 



Pride Goeth Before Destruction, 

 And a Haughty Spirit Before a FatjL. 

 "TWAS morn; 



The shining orb with fiery glare 

 Had roused him from his eastern lair, 

 And darting forth his piercing ray 

 .Proclaimed to sons of earth the day. 

 The Angler, all unconscious of the hour, 

 Still wore the bonds of Morpheus' power. 

 When, startled from his peaceful dream 

 By entrance of the daylight beam, 

 Which fell upon his sunburnt nose, 

 He gave a snort, awoke, and rose. 

 His garments donned, refreshments done, 

 He loaded his mosquito gun, 

 Shouldered his tackle, sought the shore. 

 And bared lus muscle for the oar. 

 Still mindful of the olden time 

 He 'gan the old camp song to chime, 

 And o'er the lake the zephyr bore 

 "The Hat me Father used to wore;" 



And as the hills the echo caught 



The stillness seemed with portents fraught. 

 Now to the crystal depths at last 

 He gives the minnow with a, cast, 

 Then in an instant with a lurch 

 He strikes, and hooks a golden perch. 



Then many a more, till in the boat 



Lie two score victims of the sport. 



So goes the play, until the sun 



Has to his mid-day station run; 



The wary fish the bait refuse, 



And so the Angler takes a snooze. 



Now wakened from his sleep refreshed, 



The Angler starts on some new quest; 



But cast he ne'er so artfully 



'Tis all in vain, no luck has he; 



Success his every effort spurns, 



So toward the camp his way he turns. 



But as his boat glides on, perchance 



An object meets his watchful glance; 



"Ah!" cries the Angler, "there's a snag;" 



At once his movements cease to lag. 



And stoutly bending to the oar 



He swiftly skims the waves once more. 



"Perchance beneath that log may lie 



Some bass or pickerel so sly; 



I'll lure him with a tempting bait 



And try what fortune may await." 



Alas, a disappointed wish. 



He ouly takes a small sunfish. 



"Once more I'll try and then I'll go; 



Whoop ! Look at that ! Ha ha ! Ho ho 



Whiz goes the line, the light rod bends, 



The reel its clicking music sends, 



The fight is on, now comes the fray, 



The glorious climax of the day ! 



Full forty feet the line runs out; 



The Angler scarce refrains a shout. 



Stung by the hook and wild with rage 



The victim socks the pain to assuage, 



While in the struggle mad he springs 



And in the air his body flings. 



Oh, what a pri^e ! A clear five pounds ! 



A very beauty, oh my zounds ! 



See how he struggles, wild and hard, 



To tear away the cruel barb; 



See ! how the supple rod he draws; 



Mark ! how he shakes his slimy jaws. 



Now to the depths again he flies, 



And in his madness vainly tries 



By quickened strength and crafty art 



Or cunning t rick the line to part. 



Now leaping wildly in the air, 



Now rushing till the reel strikes fire, 



Then whirling round some twisted snag, 



Then underneath some hidden log. 



In vain ! The Angler by his skill 



Frustrates each wily effort still. 



The trusty tackle holds him fast, 



And wears away his strength at last, 



Till, stripped of all his furious might, 



He gives away, and yields the fight. 



The Angler draws him near the boat; 



Then stops, upon the prize to gloat. 



"Ah, tamed at last and brought to bay; 



No empty hand returns to-day; 



Proudly my way to camp I take 



And see my friends with envy shake. 



A few turns more upon the reel 



And thou art safe within my creel. 



Soon shalt thou lie upon the shore, 



Thy grand but fruitless struggles o'er. 



Defeat, entire defeat is thine, 



The Angler's joyous triumph mine !" 



"What savage look is in thine eye? 



Dost thon defy me ere thou die ?" 



A jerk— a whirl— a splash— a groan ! 

 All's lost ! My glorious prize is gone ! 

 ***** 



'Tis even; 



Far in the golden tinted west 

 The god of day retires to rest. 

 And as the shadows gently skim 

 Across the quivering water's brim, 

 A weary Angler takes his way 

 And ponders on the passing day. 

 "Well, gallant warrior, thou art gone; 

 Thou hast in open contest won; 

 Thou hast a noble battle fought. 

 Thy freedom earned I grudge thee not. 

 Yet boast not, for I never yield, 

 I'll meet thee on another field ! 

 Thought of defeat, away, away ! 

 Now tune again the cheerful lay." 

 Then hills and woodland echo round, 

 And shore to shore gives back the sound, 

 As o'er the lake the zephyrs bore 

 "The Hat me Father used to wore." Walloon. 

 Cincinnati, 0. 



WINTER TALK OF ANGLING. 



IT is early to write of trout and fly rods, but the pick- 

 erel fisherman— through the ice— is abroad in the 

 land. Those who indulge claim that it is sport, and in- 

 deed there is something to it when carried on with horse 

 and sleigh and holes ready cut the day before. The 

 modern invention of " drop flags" to show when the fish 

 is on rather beats the limber brush stick of our boyhood 

 days and a good deal of enthusiasm is the result of the 

 pickerel biting briskly. The ponds in southern Massa- 

 chusetts are in order this winter, and some of the early 

 visitors have been wonderfully successful. Mr. Foster, 

 of the Boston firm of Foster & Weeks, took a few days 

 off on one of the ponds in Falmouth last week, and though 

 the weather was zero a part of the time, he comes back 

 full of the fun. It was so cold that they did not fish at 

 all one day, and the rest of the time it was too cold to 

 stand on the ice. But this did not matter, as good teams 

 were at hand and it only took a few minutes of "spin- 

 ning to make a round of the hooks. The result of one 

 day's fishing was ninety pickerel, and the largest fish 

 caught weighed 41bs. *6oz. This, Mr. Foster thinks, was 

 not bad for a, winter's days. Reports from Maine indicate, 

 that pickerel are being taken freely on the numerous 

 ponds in that State. It is claimed that in some of these 

 ponds the pickerel are increasing in size and in numbers, 

 while in others the reverse is said to be true. Some of 

 these same ponds have been stocked with black bass, with 

 the idea, tha,t the bass might thin out the pickerel, but 

 such has not been the result to any considerable extent. 

 In the upper Sebago Lake, or Long Lake, as it is better 

 known, the pickerel fishing is about as good in winter 

 time as it was before black bass were put in, while the 

 bass have also become abundant. In the ponds in the 

 same section the result has been about the same. Per- 

 haps Warden Mead, or "Black Sput," will give the Forest 

 and Stream some ideas on this question. 



The readers of Forest and Stream will pardon another 

 allusion to trout, though it is midwinter and hardly time 

 to look over the hooks and the flies. But I went into a 

 wholesale drug store on Washington street yesterday and 

 found one of the clerks handling some queer-looking 

 little bags — pillows he called them, though they were 

 rather small. These little bags emitted a familiar odor, 

 that reminded me of something. What was it? An errand 

 — a letter that must be posted? No, that was not it. It 

 was firstly the odor of fir boughs, and green at that. I 

 found that the Maine Fir Bough Co. — curious name — was 

 forwarding these little pillows, and that the drug store 

 had sold 50 to 100 gross of them since the winter begun. 

 Well, the physicians hit upon the camping idea, and they 

 are recommending these little pillows for nervousness, 

 and even rheumatism and diseases of the lungs. How 

 long will it be before they will recommend the fly rod and 

 the open air and the trout— the enthusiasm of the real 

 outing? 



One or two letters from the region of the Androscoggin 

 lakes say that the ice is not half so thick as it was a year 

 ago at this time. Mrs. Sessions, who has staid so many 

 years at the South Arm, Richardson Lake, thinks that 

 the ice may go out early. She says that an enormous 

 woodpile is being got in readiness for the little steamers 

 that are to ply up the lakes as soon as the ice is out. She 

 has not forgotten the big trout, taken by Mr. C. D. Chase, 

 of Northumberland, N. H., of which he gave the Forest 

 and Stream that very readable account last summer. 

 Mr. Chase was then a novice in big trout fishing, and 

 when he felt the thrills of the fellow that weighed over 

 nine pounds, he declared to Frank Dunn, his guide, that 

 he was snagged, and he knew it. But Frank was cool as 

 is the air on a windy day on the same lake, just after 

 the ice has departed. The big fish was captured. Mr. 

 Chase drew an outline of it, and from this outline an oil 

 painting has been made — life size — by Mrs. W. K. Moody. 

 Again the painting has been photographed, and the photo 

 has this notable feature, that one would be led into the 

 belief that it was really taken from a small trout, life 

 size. Perhaps other photographers may have noted the 

 same feature — that is, that the photographs of large trout 

 present the true proportions of small trout. If so, what 

 becomes of the theory that the great trout of the Andros- 

 coggin lakes are out of proportion — too deep for their 

 length ? 



A letter is on my table, from perfectly reliable sources, 

 which says that Henry Stanley — not the much-respected 

 Maine Commissioner, but a relative of his — shot a deer, 

 during the open season, in a swamp within two miles of 

 Dixfield village ; the home of the Commissioner, by the 

 way. Mr. Stanley also states that he saw thirteen in one 

 herd in the same swamp. How is this for deer near a 

 village of some prominence ? Would those deer have been 

 there if the local gunners had been permitted to hound 

 them during any part of the summer ? Tell this to those 

 fellows who argued before the New York Legislature 

 last year that the hounding of deer does no harm. It is 

 perfectly safe to state that under the reign of the skin 

 and crust hunters in Maine twenty years ago no such 

 thing as a deer was ever heard of in the vicinity of Dix- 

 field. Had a stray one happened to have been there, he 

 would have met his end in less than a couple of days at 

 the most. So much for protection. Special. 



An Improved Butt Piece eor Rods. — An improve- 

 ment in reversible butt pieces recently devised by Mr. E. 

 Hurtzig deserves the attention of anglers. Usually the 

 aperture for the first joint in the end of the butt piece 

 which was not in use, has been stopped by a plug, which 

 was very likely to get lost. Mr. Hurtzig conceived the 

 idea of fitting screw caps to either end of the piece, which 

 cover the sockets and keep dirt out. On the same butt 

 piece a longer reel-seat than usual has been made, and at 

 either end of the seat is a cap for one end of the reel 

 plate, the ring working between them. It is thus possi- 

 ble to fix the reel either at the very extremity of the butt 

 or 3 or 4in. above it — a convenience when one wishes to 

 shift the reel from below to above the hand. 



An Indianapolis Fishing Club.— Editor Forest and 

 Stream: The fly-fishermen of Indianapolis have organ- 

 ized a club with the usual officers and a poet. The prin- 

 cipal object seems to be to facilitate the swapping of 

 yarns, and to accomplish this they have comfortable 

 rooms, a library, etc. Incidentally they will undertake 

 a missionary work among the brethren who still use min- 

 nows and the deadly < 'soft craw. " A casting tournament 

 next summer is among the possibilities.— HoosiER (In- 

 dianapolis, Ind., Jan. 30). 



