ARCH 15, 1888.J 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



149 



Jffijpwstorm — in mine and a half hours, including stop lor 

 lunch. He was to return to Parmaeheene the day after 



Sgiiting to mo. I should like to visit his canrp in winter. 

 He is now engaged in trapping animals alive to keep 



JSiein in confinement and study their habits. R. would 

 like Danfortk and he would like his place. I told Mrs. 

 M. that I would like to have R. read Danforth's book, but 

 forgo! to give, it to her when she was here. John is a 

 joighty hunter, and knows more of the woods and the 



^habitants thereof than any man I ever met. With it 

 all he is a most beautiful companion. When 1 was there 



'|$St fall he and I sat up every night, when we ought to 



I&ve been in bed. smoking and talking until past mid- 



fiflght." 



P -Would we had been owls on one of the bending branches 

 Aear that ; camp-fire, listening to hear those stories! We 

 35ave all heard the fluttering wings of the traditional 

 "little bird who told," whose liking for stray bits of 

 "gpssip has been much indulged; this bird would have had 

 Something really worth telling. 



► Apropos of hunting, the next letter is suggestive, 

 wwitten by one who is most successful in both hunting 

 Qpd fishing, and who often claims a corner in the fly- 

 •room : 



k lk I am making my plans to go South this week. 1 do 

 'not know where I shall go. Tell R. I have sent 500 shells 

 .Jarom the Atlantic vvmmumtion Company, loaded with 

 JBobultze powder, to Savannah, and expect to do lots of 

 Sjllail shooting before I return. I wish the game laws 

 hgermitted me to send some of them North. That Schultze 

 Bowder is great. No smoke, and cracks like a rifle, but 

 needs a good gun to shoot it in." 



Perhaps a future letter will tell us of his luck with the 

 £jtiail. Reckless riding, gun and a small "darky" combi- 

 nation last year put a sudden stop to the quail shooting 

 Wtith a broken arm. May he be spared all such this year; 

 but is the powder which demands "a good gun to shoot it 

 *br' and "cracks like a rifle" wholly safe? 



"Down South" recalls a letter 'from North Carolina, 

 which shows that the. civilized races do not monopolize 

 jartiticial flies. "Veritas," in his delightful paper in the 

 'f\3REST and Stream of Feb. 11, makes one a little bashful 

 about even mentioning any improvements in angling im- 

 plements, but surely he will permit me to tell of those 

 which the "simple red man" has found effectual. 



"Last winter I wrote you from our factory, Reidsville, 

 N. C, ordering two dozen No. 8 Sproat hooks, to use in 

 r *aaking some North Carolina Indian flies or hackles, and 

 in sending them, you sent an extra hook and requested 

 ttpe to send to you a sample, but not having the material 

 $leer skin) then did not make them. I procured some a 

 flay or two since and now send to you two specimens 

 which .you will see are reversed hackles, made by cutting 

 narrow strips of skin with the hair left on, and wrapping 

 the same around the hook a feAv tames, and tieing well at 

 each end. The Indians tie them to perfection and use 

 some sort of cement or varnish making waterproof the 

 thread. They use various colors and lengths of hair from 

 different skins, but usually rather stiff hair and preferred 

 from the deer's legs. They often cut the hair off and use 

 it without the skin, but the flies made in this way are not 

 as durable. Feathers are occasionally used in the same 

 way. 



"The effect of this reversed method is very perceptible 

 in swift water. Every little move in drawing back as it 

 floats down gives it the appearance of a live worm trying 

 to get out of the water. It does not amount to much 

 with the feathers, as they have no worm or caterpillar ap- 

 pearance. In addition to this form I send you, they some- 

 rtimes use three or more stiff hairs running down over 

 the curve of the hook Hn. or more long, to reproduce, the 

 feelers on the caterpillar's head. The advantage of twist- 

 ing the skin around the hook is to give it a sort of turn- 

 ing motion in the water as the current strikes it. 



"I send you specimens of hair on the skin, trim the skin 

 down thin, soak well in warm water, and then gtretch it 

 thoroughly and cut it in strips to suit." 



Accompanying the letter were the pieces of deer skin 

 and specimens of the flies described. Are they not re- 

 lated to the much recommended "fluttering fly"? 



C. F. Orvis. 



TROUT FISHING AT LAKE BATISCAN. 



AUGUST 15, 1887, by the express train of the Quebec 

 and Lake St. John Railroad, from St. Raymond, 

 our party, consisting of Messrs. E. A. Panet, N. P., Wm. 

 Demers, my brother Arthur, and myself, left on our long 

 contemplated excursion to that unknown lake called the 

 "Big Batiscan," (a smaller lake in the vicinity is called 

 the "Little Batiscan"). We had with us four capital 

 guides, and all the supplies true sportsmen care about 

 encumbering themselves with on such a journey. 



Big Lake Batiscan was not hitherto 'known to have 

 been visited by white men driring the summer months; 

 but, in winter on snowshoes, trappers and explorers had 

 done soon a few occasions; and reported on the beauty 

 of its surroundings, and the enormous size of its trout. 

 The leader of our party was that brave sportsman and 

 esteemed gentleman, Mr. Panet, of St. Raymond, before 

 mentioned. He proved equal to the occasion, the back- 

 bone and main spring of the expedition in all the trials 

 that beset our paths. Our four guides consisted of 

 French-Canadian trappers, the principal being Jean 

 Morasse, of St. Raymond, so well known, who has 

 tramped every foot of this Province with Jos. Bureau, 

 an explorer in the employ of the Dominion Government. 

 Although 62 j r ears of age, he is as active as a much 

 younger man. The manner in which he handled the 

 canoes, poling up and running the rapids, was the admir- 

 ation of all, and his cooking never to be forgotten. The 

 pea and bean soups he put before us at our mid-day 

 meals, always found us loud in expressions of praise, he 

 certainly possessed wonderful skill in satisfying the 

 appetites of as ravenous a lot of tramps as ever food 

 tempted. Next came Bernard Marasse, a perfect Her- 

 cules at carrying a heavy load over a portage. The other 

 two men, Moise and Alexis Noels, were as good men in 

 canoes as ever handled a paddle. For our party of eight 

 we had provided two strong birch bark canoes to carry 

 us, with about l,0001bs. of baggage and provisions. 



We left St. Raymond on Monday evening by the 7 :30 

 train of the Quebec & Lake St. John R. R , having been 

 favored by a glorious send off by about twenty-five or 

 thirty of the fair ladies and a few gentlemen friends. 

 Parting from this charming gathering, we felt that we 

 were leaving the "girls we love behind us," as the old 

 song has it, and this feeling haunted us till we reached 



Riviere Pierre, when we realized the fact that we must 

 Begin work in earnest by removing our outfit from oil' the 

 regular passenger train, which went no further, and take 

 the construction cars (belonging to Mr. Beemer), for the 

 rest of the journey by rail. After having transferred our 

 baggage and provisions from one car to the other, the 

 men proceeded to put in a box car our canoes, one of 

 w T hich, about 22ft. long and prized very much, (hey tried 

 to shove in through a side door, but its length caused 

 considerable difficulty, and to our dismay we found that 

 it had been so much injured as to be unfit for use. This 

 was really vexatious, until we found we could replace it 

 by another at Beaudet Station, where, we were to leave 

 the railroad, and at 1 1 :<i0 that night we reached this 

 point. After carefully stowing away all our effects we 

 stretched ourselves on the baro floor of the depot, there 

 merely a log hut, and were soon enjoying our first night's 

 rest. 



Early next morning we were up, breakfasted, and then 

 set to work making up the packs that each was to carry 

 over the many portages we were to encounter. Ail 

 being ready we carried the bundles to the edge of the 

 Batiscan River, loaded our canoes, and, with a hearty 

 cheer, shoved off from the shore and began paddling, 

 keeping time to the cheerful voyageurs' song, all joining 

 in the chorus in a manner to make the woods echo our 

 voices. We proceeded in the following order: E. A. 

 Panel and A. Van Felson, in one canoe, with the Harasses 

 and half the baggage. Wm. Demers and myself, the 

 other two men and remaining baggage in the other. 

 Having paddled up the river about one hour we came to 

 the first portage, which was about one mile long. Each 

 having shouldered his pack followed our leader in Indian 

 file; an occasional obstruction brought some of us 

 tumbling down amid the roars of laughter of those more 

 fortunate ones, who would then lend a kindly hand, lift 

 up the fallen, and, with the best foot forward, the path 

 would be resumed. 



At the end of this portage the canoes were again en- 

 tered, and paddling another mile and a half found us at 

 the Forks, a juncture of the Batiscaji and Lightning 

 rivers. Heading our canoes up the latter stream we soon 

 came fco the first rapids, when poling was begun in earnest. 

 At the head of these rapids another portage was soon 

 made, and a short distance further up we came to the 

 third, and having gone over this we felt as hungry as 

 wolves, it being mid-day. Our cook prepared a delicious 

 meal with a quantity of trout caught in a few minutes' 

 time, near at hand. The whole party were in joyful 

 spirits until it was discovered that in our haste we "had 

 unfortunately left one of our principal bundles behind at 

 the second portage, and it must be sent for. This 

 detained us about four hours, when we made another 

 start, poling up three more rough rapids and then met 

 less current, when paddles were again used. Our leader 

 and men pushed to the next portage to prepare cam]) for 

 the night, for there we intended resting from our labors, 

 delighted with the beautiful scenery we had met and 

 fully enjoying our first day's outing. The canoe con- 

 ducted by my men was headed for the shore on the way, 

 much to my surprise, and I asked them to hurry on and 

 round a point instead of landing, but they kept on in the 

 same direction till suddenly stopping they pointed out to 

 us a small stream of cold spring water running from the 

 mountain side into the river, and told us to try a cast in 

 the pool before us. This we readily did. and as soon as 

 the flies touched water the pool seemed alive with trout, 

 eager for the dainty morsel, and we haided them out one 

 and two at a time as fast as we could cast, and Demers 

 and I yelled with delight over the sport. Fish weighing 

 from one to three pounds, and one big fellow gave such 

 a tug that my casting line was gone like a flash through 

 the water, having given away at the upper loop. This 

 was soon remedied by replacing it with another, and I 

 was again in full play until roused from the sport by our 

 friends ahead, who had set up camp and were lustily 

 hailing us to come to supper since ten minutes or more, 

 but we were so taken up with success landing trout that 

 wc were oblivious to all else, and their yells had not pene- 

 trated our ears. When we reached camp and displayed 

 our catch they shouted with joy over the numbers' we 

 had captured in less than half an horn-. We cooked all 

 we could eat that evening and left plenty for next morn- 

 ing's breakfast, and salted down a quantity to pick up 

 and carry home with us on our way back. 



We were up bright and early the next morning and 

 soon in our canoes again, poling up some heavy rapids 

 till we reached the first falls of the river, which are about 

 thirty-five feet high, where I expected we should have 

 another difficult portage over the hills; but we undertook 

 and succeeded in crawling over the smooth rocks, and 

 gradually came to the top. Again taking to our canoes, 

 we pushed on through one difficulty, then another, and 

 camped half way through a long portage at 7 o'clock that 

 evening. One of our men (Bernard) having become ill 

 and unable to go any further, we w T ere su fficiently tired 

 with our day's work to accept any excuse for a halt. We 

 all enjoyed a hearty snpper, partly on canned corned beef 

 left over from a former meal. Soon after I experienced 

 a sensation of distress and sickness which I could not 

 account for, and after a night of unrest awoke so weak 

 and in pain as to be unable to stand; two of the men also 

 complained of feeling unwell, but it sooner left them 

 than it did me, and during the whole day I was unable 

 to do any share of work, and required the assistance of 

 my friends, who were exceedingly kind to help me on. 

 At one pai't of the journey they carried me over a long 

 portage. Bernard, having fully recovered from his ill- 

 ness, was as lively as ever, and after I had drank some 

 strong warm tea I began to feel better. Being assured that 

 each portage or rapid was the last, I took courage and 

 would not give up, but this story was made up for the 

 purpose, as we encountered fifteen more before the finish. 

 M y own and the men's ifiness was due to our having eaten 

 corned beef which had been opened the day before, and 

 some of it left in the can. This should never be done, in 

 hot weather particularly, for the canned articles, whether 

 meat or vegetables, rapidly decompose after being ex- 

 posed to the air, and become very unwholesome, if not 

 poisonous. 



At night we camped on an island, where we all thor- 

 oughly enjoyed a welcome sleep. Next morning we 

 awakened, every one himself again and eager to reach 

 our destination. Two horns' toil over rapids brought us 

 to the end of our journey, where we found a log hut 

 erected by Jean Marasse, last winter, for the lessee of the 

 lake, A, L, Light, Esq., C. E., of Quebec, We struck our 



tent alongside it, and after a hearty dinner started to ex- 

 plore the big lake Batiscan. 



What a grand sight opened out before us I At one 

 glance the lake in its full extent could be seen, it being 

 about nine miles long, and said to be thirty miles around", 

 being a beautiful sheet of water, unbroken by islands or 

 other obstructions. It is bound on one side by high 

 mountains, resembling those of the Saguenay, appearing 

 like bare rock, while on the other side they have a 

 gradual slope to the water's edge, and are quite a contrast 

 to the others, and are covered with trees, such as elm, 

 birch, mountain ash, etc. I wish 1 could color in words 

 the beauties of this grand scenery. As soon as we had 

 recovered from this spell of admiration, which our first 

 view of the lake and surroundings had created, we put 

 our rods together, jumped into the canoes and began 

 casting our most taking flies around the borders of the 

 lake, and wore rewarded by capturing many beautiful 

 trout about 15in. in length; but these did not satisfy our 

 ideas of what we should catch in a lake renowned for its 

 big fish, and knowing that the water was exceedingly 

 deep and that large trout are found therein, we decided 

 to try the artificial minnows we had provided ourselves 

 with. Attaching one to the end of our lines, weighed 

 down by heavy sinkers, below the minnow r s, Ave allowed 

 it to touch bottom, the canoes were slowly paddled on 

 and the lines made to quietly rise and fall 2 or 3ft. This 

 trolling proved a perfect success, for first one then an- 

 other of the party would shout out, "I have a beauty!" 

 "a monster!!" "a young whale!!!" as each magnificent 

 fish was hauled up and dropped into the canoes. 



Two of them 81bs. each; six or seven nearly 71bs. each 

 and many 4 to 611)8. Fifteen of the large ones weighing 

 851bs., or an average weight of 5 Jibs, each, all being 

 speckled trout, beautiful in shape and color, the true 

 Salvia fontinalis. It is reported that no other fish than 

 trout are found in the lakes above the falls I have before 

 mentioned. For four days we enjoyed the unequal ed 

 fishing of the lake and the River Moise emptying into it. 

 Fly-fishing in any lake is seldom successful in the 

 months of July and August, and we therefore entered the 

 River Moise and paddled up its comparatively placid 

 waters for about five miles. This river was teeming with 

 trout, which in its clear water we could see darting ahead 

 or off from the sides of our canoes in every direction. 

 We caught them wherever we tried a cast in such num- 

 bers and greatly enjoyed our success. We soon found 

 our canoes literally filled with trout from 12 to 18in. long, 

 and one of these weighing but 211 >s. would struggle 

 harder than a five-povmder caught in the lake. 



Thoroughly tired out from casting we decided to return 

 to camp early. After landing our fish and laying them 

 on the moss the sight was one our party can never 

 forget and we decided that such sport should satisfy the 

 most ardent fisherman and it would be a sin to kill any 

 more. Therefore the next morning we packed up our 

 traps, and with a parting look at the charming scenery 

 of the lake we gave three hearty cheers and a tiger for 

 Big Lake Batiscan and began our journey homeward. 



I must mention that we so enjoyed the fishing that we 

 did not unstrap our guns. We saw numerous birds of 

 several species from the golden eagle to the bush war- 

 blers, and several kinds of ducks which breed near this 

 lake. On shore our guides pointed out the tracks of such 

 animals as the moose, caribou, bear, otters, beaver, fox, 

 mink, and other quadrupeds. On the borders of the lake 

 were A r arieties of the most beautiful Avild flowers I have 

 ever seen, greatly adding to the charm of the scenery, 

 one would fancy they were placed there for that purpose. 



We were somewhat anxious to know how our canoes, 

 after the rough usage over so many portages, Avould stand 

 the strain of shooting through the rapids, but they proved 

 equal to the occasion, being beautifully handled by our 

 guides who steered them through the intricate channels, 

 often twisting like huge snakes around boulders or other 

 obstructions to our admiration, as Ave scrambled doAvn 

 the path over slippery rocks on the edge of the stream. 

 Our friend Demers, who was decidedly the best dressed 

 of the party as far as neatness in clothing was concerned, 

 got a ducking here which soon took the starch out of his 

 linen and left the rest of his suit in no better condition 

 than those of his companions, who delighted in the com- 

 fort of dilapidated clothing. They also came in for their 

 share of wettings, all joining in hearty roars of laughter 

 at mishaps Avhich had no evil results. 



The first night Ave camped at the Big Falls, which are 

 said to bear a striking resemblance to the well-known 

 Nippegan Falls. The next day's journey Avas similar in 

 events to the first, and I must say. judging from the 

 rapidity with which we sped along, the stream well de- 

 serves its name of the Lightning River. About noon we 

 reached the landing at Beaudet Station, on the Lake St. 

 John Railroad, and soon transported our canoes, luggage 

 and boxes of fish, intended for our friends, to the car 

 which was to carry us to our destination, the romantic 

 village of St. Raymond, to be welcomed back to the. 

 charming girls and friends Ave left behind us, and Avhom 

 we were anxious to see again and proudly display to them 

 the trophies of our trip. ~ While stopping over at Beaudet 

 Station Ave Avere much amused at an exhibition made by 

 a, man named Peticlere, avIio has succeeded in taming a 

 number of fish of the chub family, Avhocame to hiniAvhen 

 he showed himself on the banks of the river, feed out of 

 his hands, and even allow him to take them out of the 

 water and pet them as you would a bird. They certainly 

 know him, as they Avill not approach others. We left 

 Beaudet Station at 5 P. M. and arrived at Riviere Pierre, 

 where we were to pass the night, at about 7 P. M. Upon 

 our arrival we presented a sorry spectacle; a razor had not 

 glided over our faces for ten days, and Ave Avere covered 

 with an undergrowth of beard of all colors and shades. 



We slept that night in the hospital, a large room taking 

 its name from its resemblance to a dormitory, accommo- 

 dating some twenty or thirty traA'elers or regular 

 boarders employed on the construction of the railroad. 



The next morning Ave took the train for home, Avhich 

 we reached in good time, and were heartily welcomed 

 by the loved ones and our friends, among whom we dis- 

 tributed about 150 dozens of trout, the remains of what 

 we had caught on our two days' trip, after consuming 

 several dozens each day among our party of eight 

 hungry men. We met with every possible courtesy from 

 the manager and and employees of the road, Avho are 

 true friends of the sporting fraternity and greatly assist 

 in making such excursions as ours successful and anxious 

 to be repeated. Geo. van Felson, 



Quebec, Canada, 



