Dec. 8, 1887.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



387 



he had been a most unwilling party, he was seen to 

 chuckle often to himself, but whenever he felt of his 

 throat, whore two or three ridges were rising, his coun- 

 tenance fell, and he looked very sheepish. In less than 

 half an hour from the collapsing of the tent it was pitched 

 again, and the whole company turned in and slept until 

 the sun was two hours high. Then Davey's cheery voice 

 calling, "Breakfis', gintlemin," brought us to our feet, 

 and presently to the table. 



"How are 'you this morning?'' said Walter, addressing 

 him. 



"Es fresh es a daisy, sur, washed wid doo," replied 

 cookey, setting down a plateful of nicely fried salmon. 



"And as clean, too. I see. Your midnight bath did you 

 good," continued Walter. 



"But done 'im betthur," replied he, pointing to Sebatis, 

 strutting about in light pants and navy blue shirt. 

 "Troth it wii8 a muricle I didn't dhrownd 'im, un' anither, 

 nn' a bigger one, be jabers, to turn the greasy, durty vil- 

 \ nn o' y isteiday into sicha rispictiblo luckin'man, barrin' 

 the black face." 



"Come, Davey, you must hold up on your miracles. 

 They are too expensive. We won't have a rag to wear 

 soon, if you perform two or three more of them, "remarked 

 James, 



"Luck a-here, sur," quickly rejoined cookey, turning 

 on his way for the coffee pot, "doan't bid the divil good- 

 morn' till ye mate 'im, Ef the nix one gits clear o' m' 

 grip we'd dhrap 'im into yon illigint breeks an' shurt o' 

 Saybaektus's danglin* on the sthick beyant. My word fru- 

 it, that 'nil hid the muricles," and, giving us a knowing 

 wink, he turned and went to the tire. A hearty langh 

 greeted this burst of native wit. 



"There, gintlemin," resumed Davey in proud tones, as 

 he poured out the rich, yellow coffee, "there's a dhrap tit 

 fur a quane, though I say it mesilf." 



" Tis very fine, cook,'' remarked Walter, after taking a 

 sip; "is it made from spring or river water?" 



"Spring!" ejaculated cookey with a laugh. "Do ye 

 think I'm Moses, man, to dhraw water from the dhry 

 rocks?" 



"O, I forget there's no spring here. Still, Davey, you 

 worked a miracle last night, why not another this morn- 

 ing?" 



"Fur the best of raisons, sur: m' rod was left behint in 

 the ould countherie. Cud I ha' gripped m' blackthorn 

 last noight, m' word fur it, the muricle 'ud inded differ- 

 int. So it's as well fur the muricle un' a soight betthur 

 fur Saybacktus m* sthick wus beyant the say." 



"So "you used the river water?" said Phil. 



"Uv coorse, but it's no the bree from the pond beyant, 

 where I transmogrified that black spalpeen las' noight. I 

 fitched it from the pint above." 



"Why you surely didn't think the water was dirty down 

 here where you two fell in, d:d you?" asked James in the 

 midst of a general laugh. 



"Fell in!" repeated Davey with a sneer, "troth there 

 was little fallin' in about" it; I twusted 'is whuzle till 'e 

 wus riddy to dhrap, un' thin I trowed 'imin; an' esto the 

 wather, I'd es soon take a dhrawin from an ould woman's 

 doye pot." 



"But how did you get into the water then?" queried one 

 of the party. 



"Why, sur; when I stipped down t'the sthratne t'clane 

 in' hands o' the durt o' 'is throath, begorra, the schainp 

 wus movin'. Cat o' a duzzen loives ur imp o' a hundher, 

 tho' ye be, ses I to mesilf, I'll ind ye; so in I lept on top o' 

 'im." 



"We heard but one splash, Davey," urged Walter. 



"An' deef y'u'd be, troth, ef ye hadn't; he made nise 

 enough to wake the dead ;" and without waiting for any 

 further discussion of this delicate subject, Davey turned 

 and went toward the fire. 



Breakfast over, the work of reloading the canoes was 

 hurried up. as the hour was late and we had hoped to 

 reach North Branch, the goal of our wishes, early in the 

 afternoon. Anxious to have his clothes as dry as possible 

 before transferring them to the canoe, Sebatis had left his 

 "breeks un shurt" hanging on the pole before the fire; so 

 just before we cast off he ran to fetch them. When he 

 re-appeared, however, he was a changed man. A woebe- 

 gone look had taken charge of his face, his mouth was 

 hanging open, his gait was unsteady and seemingly weak, 

 and Iris eyes moved listlessly backward and forward be- 

 tween us and something hanging across his arm. A tele- 

 gram announcing the loss of wigwam, squaw and pap- 

 pooses, could not have affected him more. What was the 

 matter? 



"Hallo, Sebatis! what's up now?" came from the middle 

 of one of the canoes. 



"Ugh, pole fallum, fire eatum up clothes, mor'n half 

 gone blow," replied the poor fellow in regretful tones, 

 turning over the scorched portions. 



"Never mind, Sebatis," said Phil, in cheery accents, 

 "you are ail right, they're long enough for pappoose 

 yet." 



"Un good enough, begorra, the rale thing fur the nix 

 muricle," remarked Davey with a broad smile. 



It was hard to keep from smiling at the sad, but co la- 

 ical looking fellow, as he stepped aboard and deposited 

 the object of his sorrow in the bow of the canoe, but as 

 he was the most simple and good-natured of the red men 

 we felt like sparing his already harrassed feelings. 



Soon we were among the rapids and swirls and bould- 

 ers, fighting over again the battle of yesterday. The 

 sun had not yet swung clear of the southern hill Avail, 

 but shone brightly upon the rocky terraces of the oppo- 

 site side, where crag and gulch, gray precipice and 

 gloomy forest were scattered in endless variety and pro- 

 fusion. Projecting far above the dwarf trees which 

 seemed to cling to the face of the rock were seen huge 

 pines, scarred and blackened, pointing heavenward their 

 lifeless trunks, monuments in this wild cemetry of nature, 

 commemorating a giant race long since swept away. 



How refreshing the morning air, just moving down the 

 valley, companion of the rushing current and dashing 

 spray, from which it borrows much of its coolness. How 

 fresh and green the mosses and ferns' carpeting and em- 

 bro dering the rocky shores, covering the harsh stern 

 face of nature with wreaths of mildness and beauty. 



Here in the heart of nature's wilds, some of her most 

 charming flowery forms are met. Almost by the edge 

 of the river the bluebell of childhood's memory nods its 

 head to the passing water, as if expressing its thanks for 

 the cooling spray showered upon it at noonday. The tiny 

 violet, emblematic of sweet humility, keeps' watch, too, 

 over the thundering stream, reclining its little head as if 



listening to its giant strains. The honeysuckle and mea- 

 dow rue, the wild rose and showy lady's slipper, both 

 yellow and rose colored, the oddly formed blossom of the 

 pitcher plant, and the drooping favorites of the immortal 

 Linnaeus, the twin flowers, cover the mossy banks or 

 paint the velvety mantle where they grow. These and 

 many others welcome the hardy voyageurs to their rug- 

 ged homes. 



As we ascended the river we found much of the country 

 bad been burned by forest fires, and presented a bleak, 

 desolate appearauce, the exposed rocky ledges grinning 

 and frowning on us as we threaded the narrow stream at 

 their feet. We found also many rows of pickets still 

 standing in the river, where poachers had lately been 

 pursuing their nefarious work, but these we took the 

 liberty of pulling up and starting on a trip to the distant 

 sea. About 10 o'clock our progress was arrested by a net 

 stretched from shore to shore, completely blocking the 

 river, so that not a salmon could get past. In the pound, 

 a bag-like projection of the middle of the net, generally 

 made with small meshes so as to prevent grilse from 

 passing through, we found a salmon, which we appropri- 

 ated, cutting the net into several pieces, pulling out the 

 pickets, and sending the whole contrivance adrift. 

 Nearly concealed among shrubbery on the bank was a 

 small bark hut, from which smoke was rising, and a nar- 

 row "dugout" canoe lay upon the pebbly shore. We 

 imagined the poachers were observing us from their hid- 

 ing place, and grinding their teeth in anger at the de- 

 struction of their fish traps. 



We took dinner about a mile below the mouth of Shore 

 Camp Brook, a little tributary tumbling in from among 

 the hills and gulches on the north side of the river. As 

 the day had been very warm and our men worked un- 

 usually hard, we decided to give them a longer rest than 

 we used to at midday; so after the meal was over James 

 announced a three hours' "hang up." One by one the 

 Indians ceased sucking their tumakuns and dropped to 

 sleep beneath the shade of some silver birches, from 

 which they were aroused at the end of the siesta by the 

 cry "All aboard." Soon the swirling, gurgling sounds 

 from the bow, and the measured thud, thud of the poles 

 were heard, and as North Branch, the goal of our wishes, 

 was reported buf two miles off, our feelings kept urging 

 us to a keener lookout for a first glimpse of the great 

 pool. In an hour we passed Shore Camp Brook, where 

 swarms of trout lay, as at the mouth of Devil's Brook, in 

 the cool water, and scudded away at our approach. Half 

 an hour more and the dull roar of falling water reached 

 my ears. 



"What makum big noise, Louis?" I asked. 



"Big fall, North Branch, all same's there now." 



The noise grew louder and more distinct. There could 

 be no doubt now about it being the falls, for from a maze 

 of rocky cliffs on our right and a little above issued 

 hollow rumblings, hoarse and deep, as if the great battle 

 of the universe, water versus rock, was raging there in 

 all its fury, away in among those rifts and chasms. 



"What green spot is that just ahead, Louis?" 



"Little island just mouth North Branch," 



Straight ahead and on the shore of the main river a 

 little above the island, we saw a small beach of glistening 

 white sand, fringed with alders and low birches, and 

 thither our canoe was directed. As we passed the mouth 

 of North Branch the thundering of the falls on the latter, 

 not more than thirty rods up, became terrific; the main 

 river, too, seemed to grow wider and smoother, and 

 presently I noticed the Indians pushing with their poles. 

 Looking into the water, what was my surprise to find 

 myself in the middle of a great pool, the width of the 

 main river and ten or more feet deep. The water was 

 eddying in numerous circles and gently bursting wreaths 

 as it swept slowly down from the head of the pool about 

 fifty rods above, where a big rapid spat and sputtered and 

 growled, casting its white foam and angry water into the 

 great basin, where their wild, savage energy was soon 

 transformed into easy curves and graceful movements. 

 What a magnificent pool. And what visions of future 

 sport rose before our excited fancies. How we cheered 

 as we stepped out on the soft, warrn, white sand, and how 

 the ancient rock-ribbed hills reverberated, throwing back 

 hollow echoes like the warning growls of fabled giants, 

 whose abodes might be amid the dark caverns of those 

 rugged heights. 



Looking the ground over we fornid ourselves on a flat 

 terrace about two or three acres in area, flanked a few 

 rods back by a semicircular range of low hills extending 

 from the mouth of the North Branch to the mam stream 

 a little above the rapids. The face of this was nearly 

 perpendicular, cracked and split in every conceivable 

 manner, so that much of the little flat at its base was 

 covered with a confused heap of sharp stones which had 

 tumbled from above. Here we pitched our tent, almost 

 on the bank, where we could look down into the great 

 basin and enjoy the river breeze so delightful in these in- 

 land places during the very hot weather. This terrace 

 looked like an old field of Bannockburn, for it was thickly 

 pitted with holes of all sizes from 2 to 5ft. in diameter 

 and as many deep. Some had recently been dug, others 

 were old, parti y filled with rubbish, and overgrown with 

 grass and scrub. Sak informed us that these were smoke 

 holes for curing salmon; the fish were hung over the 

 opening, a fire built at the bottom, and the whole inclosed 

 with spruce or birch bark. He also pointed out some old 

 prostrate pine logs which had been hollowed out into 

 great troughs where the salmon were packed and 

 ' 'struck" with salt before beiug transferred to the smoke 

 holes. J udging from the evidences around us this pool 

 and terrace have been for ages a veritable Black Hole for 

 the poor fish. Sak's explanation, however, was by no 

 means satisfactory to Davey, who seemed to entertain a 

 lurking suspicion that he had hit upon a graveyard of 

 victims of Indian cruelty. Into the large holes especially 

 he was often observed looking, as if thinking in what 

 stage of decay the grinning skull of some poor Yorick 

 might be; and Walter did say that in one of these pensive 

 moods he was heard to mutter "Rest 'is sowl." 



About half -past six, tea being over, we repaired to the 

 pool. Lots were cast for positions, James winning first 

 toss, and choosing the head of the basin, just below the 

 rapids. Phil was next in luck, and selected the middle, 

 leaving to Walter the lower end, into which North 

 Branch flowed, but where he was obliged to cast from a 

 canoe. In a few minutes James raised and struck 

 the first fish in the eddy of a big rock under the opposite 

 bank, and was having some fine sport playing it, when a 

 shout from Walter, followed by another from the Indians, 



told that he too had struck game. Presently James's fish 

 sulked a few rods below the head of the pool, and per- 

 sistently refused to leave its moorings, although artfully 

 coaxed to do so, until big Peter in a canoe tried the value 

 of a punting pole on it, with the result of sending it scud- 

 ding toward the rapids again. 



All this time Walter was having excellent sport with 

 his. He had played it toward, the island, and was soon 

 out on terra firma, but the fish suddenly "took" the cur- 

 rent, obliging him to take again to the canoe and follow 

 it. After an exciting chase and struggle it was netted on 

 the bar at the lower end of the island. 



James had now his fish pretty well hi hand, and Louis 

 netted it very cleverly as it was swimming past the edge 

 of a rock. Walter's fish marked 10 and James's 9£lbs. on 

 the spring balance. 



After mutual congratulations and a gentle "all round" 

 of booktawichk, not forgetting a hearty toast from 

 cookey expressing the hope that we might find the fish 

 as "plinty es rocks un e? hungry es Injuns," our flies were 

 sporting over the surface, dancing their lively challenges 

 to the spectators below. Phil struck a large fish, but lost 

 it on the first rim; probably it was but slightly hooked. 

 Walter was again in luck, and shortly after sunset landed 

 an 11-pounder on the island fhore. The fish seemed to 

 take the fly with more avidity in the col 'er water at the 

 mouth of North Branch than they did further up the pool, 

 for James had several lazy rises, always failing to 

 "fasten" to one. As twilight came on we returned to 

 tent, made a change in our toilet, and sat down to 

 luncheon. We then adjourned, as usual, to the Indian 

 camp-fire, always two or three rods from ours, to smoke 

 our pipes, talk over the experiences of the day, and par- 

 ticularly to enjoy the quaint conversation of our swarthy 

 friends.' 



The talk naturally turned upon the many evidences of 

 poaching we had seen, the parties by whom carried on, 

 and the provision made by the Government for protecting 

 the spawning grounds. 



"Do you come up here often, Sak?" some one inquired. 



"O, sartin; two, tree, more time one summer," replied 

 the Indian. 



"When is this netting begun and how long does it last?" 

 queried Walter. 



"Well, see, fish walkuni 'bout firs' June, pretty tick. 

 Then white man b'low, come up free, four, five canoe. 

 Settum nets clear 'cross Park's Landing, Catamaran, 

 Devil Brook, Stoney Island, Push an' be Dam", all good 

 place. Mebbe stayum there free, four week, makum 

 shhigle same's men down wigwam we pass, when byme 

 bye 'bout end June fish no walkum, go home." 



"But what do they do with the fish?" asked one of the 

 party. 



"Sellum, sartin," replied Silk; "ev'ry two, free night, 

 one canoe go down near full. Mose Blink, Cud Higgin, 

 Bob Stern, all buyum," 



"Is there any poaching done after that time?" 



"O, yes; more big in fall. Sposem big rain 'bout mid- 

 dle Septem'r, great heap fish walkum up here. River 

 near full. Then seeuni white man go up 'gen past village. 

 'What gotuui in big box there, brudder,' ses I, 'sposem 

 pork, beans, eh?' 'O, sartin,' him say, 'much grub; me 

 goum up North Branch, North Pole, Gutigiss lookum lum- 

 ber chance.' "Eatum big, sposem in woods?' ses I. 'O, 

 yes,' him say, 'eatum bigger, bigger ev'ry day.' Now In- 

 jun no fool. He knowum what in big box same's white 

 man. Injun knowum too, why for white man al'ays 

 huntuui lumber chance soon's one big rain," 



"I suppose they catch them as they do in June?" said 

 James. 



"Putty much same, but likum better holes. Salmon 

 berry f ick in hole; puttum net all roun' pulluui out one 

 time twenty, f irty, mebbe more." 



"What use do they make of them, Sak?" 



"Well, firs' smokum in big hole same 's here an' here 

 (pointing to several depressions around the fire), then 

 rolluni up birch bark; when all catchum go home." 



"Why don't they take them down fresh as in June?" 



"Sposem did, might get in jail. 'Gin law catchum 

 then, 'sides salmon all black and big nose (referring to 

 the "hook-bill" growth on the jaw just before spawning), 

 so cutum off heads, smokum all black, so 's can't tell 

 when catchum." 



"Are they good to eat then?" asked Phil. 



"W-e-1-1, putty strong, as one old hog, but smoke kill- 

 lira, smell, makum all same 's smoke," replied Sak with a 

 grunting laugh. 



"Have you no fish wardens on this river?" queried 

 Walter, removing his cigar. 



"O, sartin, warum fish, no peace tall; chasum, chasum 

 all time, same 's I tellum," replied Sak with energy. 



"I don't mean that," said Walter, observing Sak's mis- 

 take, "have you no men to keep bad white men from 

 killing salmon in that way?" 



"O, yes, sartin," returned Sak, "two, f ree Lookumovers 

 one river. See Great Chief 'way up — what you callum, 

 Mohawk country? Kenedy, eh? — all same. Well, Great 

 Chief makum man down Newcastle Big Lookumover. 

 Berry good un, too; he walkum all over Nor'west, Big 

 Sevogie, Little Sevogie, Little Sou'west an' clown b'low, 

 too. Byme bye he makum white man Little Lookum- 

 over er-ry five six mile uv river, tellum watchum bad 

 white man no killum salmon, givum twenty, f irty, mebbe 

 forty dollar one summer; sposem look sharp, 'spec' Great 

 Chief givum more. Little Lookumovers say urn not 'nough , 

 takum all same, but stayum home all time. 



"Well, byme bye, sposem some un goum up river, 

 same 's you now, seeum white man nettum smokum sal- 

 mon, findum poles an' traps, him writum Tomahawk, 

 paper on little side (opposition), an' Tomahawk tellum 

 people nex' time how big side (Government) doum all 

 wrong. Spec' soon no salmon 'tall, much men nettum, 

 killum fish. Little Lookumovers no good 'tall. Money 

 all frown away — country goum to devil. Byme bye, two, 

 free days, Arrow, paper on big side, come out. Me seeum 

 both down Mose Blink when me sellum ee 1 s. Mose gettura 

 for nothin' keenum in shop for people readum; big side 

 an' little side sendum up. Me gettum top pile codfish in 

 corner an' readum. Byme bye Mose come sayum easy 

 like, 'Well Sak, you one putty smart Injun, what you 

 makum out papers, eh?' 'Putty big job makum anyfing 

 out 'tall', me say, 'one sayum 'tis, toter sayum 'tisn't, all 

 same's two cross pappoose.' 'Don't peer knowum much 

 how cat juirpum up here, or's you say, which hole mus- 

 quash in, eh?' Mose sayum with sly wink, an' goum 

 'way sellum white squaw queer t'ing, likum one big eel 

 pot, madum uv steel to holduin all 'cept head an' legs. 



