Oct. 20, 1887.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



243 



tered birds up the valley, M. left us for a moment to hunt 

 an adjacent weed field. He shortly stumbled on another 

 covey that came driving over the fence, one or two going 

 into a pile of rails and the balance scattering on the same 

 hillside as the birds I started. W. and I routed a bird 

 from the rail pile that flew toward M., a couple of hundred 

 yards distant. Both of us pulled loose, and while the 

 bird was missed the dropping of shot about M. evoked a 

 volley of ejaculatory praises from 1dm touching our eye- 

 sight in taking him for a bird. We warmly assured him 

 we were only making trial to see how far our guns would 

 carry. The explanation was totally unsatisfactory. 



On the hillside, where the two coveys had settled, we 

 had rare sport, bagging twelve or fifteen birds, though 

 the shooting had to be quick and sharp, on account of the 

 trees. W. ma !e one or two splendid shots that gave 

 promise of excellent skill in the future. This was his first 

 bird hunt. 



Kate, whose age and infirmities had secured several 

 lifts over high fences, got on the wrong side of an 8ft. 

 stake and rider just here, and appealed as usual for help. 

 Thinking she would find a convenient hole to get through, 

 we went on. This apparent neglect evidently gave her 

 mortal offense, as she forthwith abandoned our company 

 and made for Wingo. Or, drawing it milder, she may 

 have heard the big dinner bell that rang out about that 

 time and promptly gave attendance. 



Our day's sport" was continued till sunset and netted us 

 forty birds, giving a total for the week of near 160. 

 They had been kej>t by Tartt in his smokehouse, tied up 

 in bunches of a dozen each. Packing them in dui' hunt- 

 ing chest, we left next morning for home, with ideasiug 

 remembrances of Wingo, of our hospitable host and his 

 excellent wife, whose contributions to our comfort 

 neither M. nor myself are likely to forget. No less kind 

 were the attentions of W. , who gave Ms services to our 

 pleasure and constituted a most genial, companion in our 

 tramps. Si R. S. 



Frankfort, Ky, 



ESOC QUET. 



DURING last spring I had frequently heard of a large 

 hunting and fishing party, that was being organized 

 for the purpose of visiting the far West. Upon investiga- 

 tion, the only information I received was, that they were 

 going to Esoc Quet. 1 bad not the least idea of ever be- 

 coming a member of the party, that was beyond my wild- 

 est hopes. I heard them talk about Indians and cowboys, 

 blacktail deer and big trout, with a fair show of outward 

 indifference. When it suddenly came to pass that I was 

 to join them, my delight knew no bounds, for who does 

 not envy a, sportsman bound on a great hunting and 

 fishing trip to the wild West. It hardly seemed possible 

 that 1 was really to visit the boundless prairie, alas now 

 almost destitute of game, to see the ranches and cowboys 

 so well described by Roosevelt; Medora, the home of that 

 famous ranchman the Marquis de Mores, and Custer, 

 Big Horn and many other places made famous by the 

 bloody Indian battle of only a few years ago. All the 

 books I could find touching this country were i i nt n ediately 

 read with care and attention. Van Dyke's "Still-Hunter' 

 particularly so; and no one going after blacktail deer can 

 give this volume too much study. 



Gen. Rodney C. Ward, of Brooklyn, N. Y., was the 

 man at the helm when. I was invited to join, and never did 

 one work harder for the success of a trip and for the com- 

 fort of a party. He corresponded with very many people 

 in the West, and most of the correspondence led him to 

 believe that Esoc Quet was the desired spot. Big game 

 and big trout were said t o abound in that region, undis- 

 turbedly white hunters. Arrangements were made with 

 a celebrated hunter to furnish us Indians and horses. 

 Provisions, tents and Supplies of all kinds were purchased 

 in St. Paul and sent on ahead, so that on our arrival every 

 thing should be in first-class order. Lieut. Abercrombie, 

 of the U. S. A., who had surveyed the region, spoke in 

 glowing terms of the country and promised to join us. 

 Arrangements were also made to have that famous sports- 

 map and surgeon, Dr. Merriam, U. S. A., with us to look 

 after our physical welfare. 



Our arrangements were all completed by the 1st of 

 July. Arms an d ammimition were purchased in sufficient 

 quantities to kill all the game in America, and there was 

 fishing tackle in proportion. (Bless that dealer who sent 

 10-gauge ammunition for the 12-gauge gun.) From that 

 time until Aug. 25, the date of our departure, appeared to 

 us a useless blank; and though we seemed to perform our 

 accustomed duties in the usual manner, a close observer 

 could have noticed that we carried our heads higher and 

 seemed filled with an inner consciousness of superiority 

 over ordinary fellow mortals not bound for the trackless 

 forests to hunt grizzlies. 



The evening of Aug, 25 found us at the Grand Central 

 Depot. The magnificent private car Wanderer, well 

 stocked with creature comforts and placed at our disposal 

 by kind friends, was a scene of great confusion ; boxes of 

 guns, bundles of rods, cases of wine, baskets of fruit, 

 valises and bags of all kinds, were piled in every room 

 and corner. Outside were many friends bidding us fare- 

 well and giving us much valuable advice how to preserve 

 our scalps from Indians and our bodies from bears. At 

 last the gong sounds and we hustle aboard the train, 

 which moves gently off on time. We begin to feel, as 

 the General remarks, that we are going West. While the 

 party are stowing away baggage and drawing lots for 

 staterooms and berths, I will give the reader a list of the 

 company. Gen. Rodney C. Ward, of Brooklyn, the father 

 of the expedition and on all occasions a man of great 

 weight with us, heads the list, followed by Judge H, A. 

 Gildersleeve, Dr. C. W. Hoagland, Col. Wm. Hester, 

 Baron F. Loesener, Messrs. Chauncy Marshall, Eugene 

 Underbill, Murray Boocock, Geo. Marsters andWakenian 

 Holberton. Later we were joined by Lieut. Abercrombie 

 and Dr. C. K. Merriam, both of the United States Army. 

 Our creature comforts on the Wanderer were ably attended 

 to by cook Brown, assisted by steward Patterson and 

 head waiter Dan. How they managed to keep up the 

 wonderful bill of fare they did, and where they kept their 

 endless and varied supplies, will ever remain to us an un- 

 explained mystery. With lots of books and vocal and 

 instrumental music in the evening the time passed quickly. 

 After leaving Chicago we were ordered to put off "'boiled 

 shirts" and substitute flannel; those who dared disobey 

 were court martialed the following evening and promptly 

 convicted and sentenced by the Judge. 

 We were treated with great courtesy by the officials of 



the Northern Pacific R. R. all along the route, and they 

 did everything in then power to make the trip pleasant. 

 While waiting for the train at St. Paul the general pass- 

 enger agent, Chas. S. Fee, gave us a very pleasant drive 

 through that beautiful city. We bought some bright- 

 colored picture books for the Indians, and the red men 

 were greatly pleased with them, particularly those con- 

 taining the representations of animals; they never tired 

 of talking about the great beast with two tails, as they 

 described the elephant. 



We left St. Paul in the evening, and awoke the next 

 morning to find ourselves in the boundless prairie. Here 

 the General remarked that he now felt without doubt we 

 were going West. 



To the majority of our party the country was entirely 

 new. We did not know which most to admire, the 

 wonderful scenery of the Bad Lands, with its curious and 

 richly-colored formations, petrified trees and slowly 

 smouldering seams of coal, the marvelous buttes of Mon- 

 tana, or the snow-clad Rockies. The people, too, attracted 

 their share of attention. Cowboys, with broad-brimmed, 

 leather-banded hats and jingling spurs; and Indians, real 

 wild Indians, with gay blankets and blanket leggings, 

 long, black, braided ban and vermillion-streaked faces. 

 But when we saw the track walkers carrying Winchester 

 rifles we began to feel that we were indeed going West 

 very rapidly. At some of the stations we noticed vast 

 piles of buffalo bones and skulls, collected from the 

 prairie, brought in to be ground up for fertilizer. The 

 prairies themselves appeared to be destitute of game, ex- 

 cepting in the ponds and sloughs, where our sight was 

 gladdened by flocks of wildfowl, snipe and plover. Along 

 the Yellowstone the scenery was superb. The Indian 

 lodges with their bands of cayuses added to its \vild 

 beauty. The cayuse is an Indian pony descended from 

 the wild stock and generally distinctly marked with 

 white spots, some are entirely'white and very handsome. 



On the morning of the fifth day we found ourselves 

 speeding along the magnificent Clarke's Fork. Great was 

 our desire to stop the train and try the trout which they 

 say are plentiful in this lovely river. The bright green 

 waters rushed and boiled among the rocks or glided 

 quickly along the white sand beach, where was unlim- 

 ited room for back casts; beyond the giant Cottonwood 

 trees stood out in strong relief against the towering rocks 

 which resembled ruined castles more than natural stone. 

 But even now we are approaching our journey's end, 

 Pend d'Oreille Lake (pronounced Pend de Ray), with its 

 green waters and background of purple mountains 

 glistens in the distance like an Alpine picture, and in a 

 short time we are at Sand Point, Idaho, where, our ca,7 is 

 switched on a side track. 



Here we put off our "store clothes" and emerge in 

 what each individual considers the most appropriate 

 dress for the woods. The result is bewildering. Instead 

 of the sober dress of respectable citizens we present to 

 the astonished Sand Pointers the appearance of a cross 

 between a Wild West show and a circus. Fringed leather 

 suits, corduroy suits, velveteen suits create a great sen- 

 sation, judging from the expressions of the crowds of 

 Indians and Sand Pointers who surround us. 



Under the kind guidance of Mr. Murphy, a local angler 

 and expert fly-fisherman, we manage to secure a boat and 

 row over the lake to the nearest fishing ground. Our 

 efforts are rewarded with considerable success and we 

 make our first acquaintance with the new variety of the 

 Sahno family. Great confusion seems to exist in this 

 region in regard to the names of the fish and the grouse. 

 The so-called mountain trout, cutthroat trout or speckled 

 trout of these waters are magnificent fish; in Pend 

 d'Oreille Lake we caught them weighing from |]b. to 

 l*Ibs. They are called in the Government reports the 

 black-spotted trout, and are, I believe, the young of the 

 steel-head salmon. They spawn in the spring and com- 

 mence quite young. As they grow in size and weight 

 they drop down into larger waters until they reach the 

 sea, where they are caught up to 301bs. The female is 

 colored very much like a bluefish, green on the back, 

 with bright silver sides. They are spotted with black 

 spots, very close together near the tail, and the dull 

 orange dorsal and caudal fins are also profusely spotted 

 with black. The male is very different in color and much 

 darker, with olive back and sides, shading in bright car- 

 mine toward the belly, the spots are the same as on the 

 female. I found that on this lake the jungle-ibis, Howard, 

 jungle-cock, royal-coachman, jungle-Abbey and professor 

 seemed to be the most taking flies; and the anglers here 

 prefer the fluttering fly, size of hook No. 6 and 8. These 

 trout take the fly in a peculiar manner, and I missed 

 quite a number before I succeeded in hooking one. When 

 they first rise they take the lure gently in then: lips, then 

 turn and swallow it as they go down, so that if the angler 

 strikes before the fish turns, he invariably jerks the fly 

 out of its niouth. They are exceedingly brave and fight 

 more like black bass, making long rims and ending with 

 a jump out of water. The flesh is pink, firm and delicious 

 eating. 



The following day proved so stormy that we de- 

 cided to remain over in our comfortable car. Some 

 tried the trout again, while others devoted their time to 

 the grouse and wild fowd. It cleared off in the afternoon, 

 affording superb views of the lake and mountains; the 

 ever changing colors wrought by passing showers and 

 gleams of bright sunshine are impossible to describe. 

 The storm, we afterward heard, was very severe, particu- 

 larly along the line of the railroad; seventeen bridges 

 were washed away by a cloud-burst, and there was no 

 communication with the East for five days. At last 

 comes a clear day. We vacated the dear old Wanderer, 

 and moved our plunder across the creek to where our 

 guide was encamped with his men and horses. We ex- 

 pected to make an early start, but though the herder had 

 gone for the horses at daylight, it was noon before he 

 drove them into camp. They had been stampeded and 

 were found nine miles off in the woods. Because of our 

 needlessly large supply of baggage, we had to hire a 

 squaw, who owned several horses, to help us out of our 

 trouble. Mary proved to be a trump, and worked like a 

 beaver. It was nearly two oclock before we started, and 

 we made a long and interesting looking train, with our 

 party on horseback leading, as we filed out of camp, down 

 the banks of the Pend d'Oreille River, past the Indian 

 lodges with their queer bark canoes and other belongings. 

 It was six o'clock when we reached our first camping 

 place. Of course it is impossible to camp with so many 

 horses except where there is an abundance of grass and 

 ! water. Fire is soon started, the horses turned loose and 



sleeping bags made ready. These sleeping bags, by the 

 way, were quite an institution. The inner bag is of linen, 

 then comes a bag of sheepskin dressed with the wool on, 

 and over all a heavy canvas bag made to button up and 

 inclose the whole thing like a mummy. They are warm 

 and comfortable, and as rain poured all night and they 

 were quite waterproof, they did good service, for unfor- 

 tunately we had no tents. Matters looked pretty glum in 

 the morning, and we were a damp, uncomfortable look- 

 ing party, though we managed to get a cold bite and a 

 cup of hot coffee. 



As soon as the horses could be caught and saddled we 

 were off; and lucky were those who were well provided 

 with rubber clothing, for it ramed the whole day, and 

 the bushes through which we pushed our way as we fol- 

 lowed the narrow blazed trad added more than their 

 sliare of moisture. The trail led us through the roughest 

 possible country, it coidd not have been worse and been 

 practicable for horses; it led up and down slippery 

 ravines, so steep that it was with great difficulty we 

 could keep in our saddles, fording streams up to the 

 horses' bellies, and sbpping and sliding over wet rocks. 

 It was a wonder that no one was injured; only one horse 

 fell; but fortunately his rider escaped. We pushed on 

 ahead of the pack train, hoping to reach the lake before 

 night, but one of the party gave out so we stopped at a 

 beautiful meadow through which ran a lovely trout 

 stream. We were ahead of our pack train, and without 

 any shelter but our sleeping bags; no axe and food. Dr. 

 Merriam here proved what a good woodsman could do. 

 With nothing but his hunting knife he succeeded in mak- 

 ing a good lean-to, before which we soon had a roaring 

 fire. He then fished out a loaf of very damp bread and a 

 piece of raw bacon, so that we managed to make our- 

 selves comparatively comfortable, though it was not quite 

 up to the Wanderer. 



I put my rod together and tried the brook in front of 

 the camp, but caught only a very few small rainbow 

 trout. Signs of deer and bear were plenty, and every bit 

 of sand was tracked up by them. We slept by "fits and 

 starts" that night, accompanied by the occasional yelp of 

 a coyote or prolonged howl of a big wolf. At daylight I 

 made my breakfast of a piece of lemon and a cracker. 

 Then I cooked a couple of little trout and a bit of bacon 

 on a stick to take along as a lunch, but thought better of 

 it and ate it up at once. Away we go on the last stretch. 

 The trail improves, the sun breaks through the sullen 

 clouds aud our spirits rise in proportion. One of our 

 party left Sand Point with a bad cold and fully expected 

 the rough treatment he received would bring him to an 

 early grave, but to his great astonishment he found him- 

 self that morning completely cured, in fact none of us 

 felt a bit the worse for our rough experience on that trip. 



Toward noon our eyes were gladdened as we were rid- 

 ing through the dark forest by a glimpse of the silver 

 sheen of the lake through the big trees. "Kunusku at 

 last! Hurrah for Esoc Quet!" we shout, and as we ride 

 out on the beach we see the welcome sight of white tents 

 glistening three miles up the lake. In a short time we 

 were at our camp, which was beautifully laid out on a 

 white sand beach, 50ft. back from the water's edge. 

 Half a dozen enormous pines shaded the tents and close 

 behind them was the dense forest. At one end the In- 

 dians had then lodge and kitchen and at the other we 

 had a very comfortable dining room built of cedar slabs 

 and covered with a blue striped fly. A secure log house, 

 just back of our tents, held the stores, and these with a 

 bark kitchen for the cook completed the camp at Esoc 

 Quet. This is the Siwash name of the locality and the 

 meaning is the "Perfume of the Pines." The people in 

 northwestern Idaho never use the word Indian, it is 

 always Siwash. Fortunately our cook, Kiffy, and waiter 

 Julius, soon followed us, and presently the appetizing 

 smell of brofled venison penetrates our camp and we are 

 gladdened by the "first square meal" since our depart- 

 ure from Sand Point. Our pack train did not arrive 

 until the following afternoon. Such looking guns and 

 such damp clothing. It took all the next day to get 

 things into shape. The hot sun dried out the cartridges 

 and blankets and a liberal use of "elbow grease" and 

 Ferguson's rust preventer got the firearms into decent 

 shape agaiu. 



Dr. Merriam was the first to try the deer. We left 

 camp early in the morning with one of the Indians, 

 crossed the lake, hunted over the hills on the opposite 

 shore, near the mouth of Vermillion or Priest River, and 

 returned that evening with the magnificent head of a 

 black-tailed buc k. He had a very laborious hunt and did 

 not sight the deer until late in the afternoon; after follow- 

 ing him some time, without being able to get near, he 

 took a long shot at the game as it stopped to look back 

 from a high ridge. By good shooting and good luck 

 combined the first shot struck the huge deer between the 

 eyes. The distance afterward paced was about 250yds. 

 It was impossible to get the meat home that night, so 

 they left a hat hanging over it to keep off the wolves and 

 returned with the head and liver. The liver, when cooked 

 with bacon, was equal to the finest calf's liver. As the 

 doctor related his experience that evening by the camp- 

 fire, while its light played fantastically on the branches 

 of the tall pines that towered toward the bright stars 

 overhead, Ave all felt fired with enthusiasm and wanted 

 to kill a deer immediately. But before planning another 

 hunt it was necessary to get the venison into camp. By 

 daybreak three Indians, with two boats, started from the 

 slumbering camp, and I volunteered to go with them. 

 The air was sharp and cold as we pulled across the lake in 

 our canvas boats, but it was warm enough when we began 

 tu climb the hills. We went along slowly and carefully, 

 for the Indians said we might see a deer. The branches 

 were dry and brittle and it required great caution to pre- 

 vent making any noise. I imitated the Siwashes in the 

 matter of dress, and left my coat and vest in the boat. 

 On my feet I wore Indian moccasins, for heavy shoes are 

 too noisy and slippery. Even our hats were in the way, 

 and we soon stuck them under our belts. My Indian and 

 I were some distance from the others when we heard four 

 shots in quick succession. My Siwash wispered, "Him 

 shoot deer." We saw plenty of fresh signs, and on meet- 

 ing the other two men on the crest of the hill, learned 

 that the chief had missed a deer at short range, though 

 they believed it w r as slightly wounded by the last shot. 



We soon found the big buck killed the day before; the 

 Indians skilfully quartered him and adjusted their heavy 

 loads with thongs cut from the hide. It was a hard pull up 

 the steep hill (I could barely climb it with only my rifle), and 

 they had to rest frequently before reaching the top. Then 



