Sept. 6, 1888.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



127 



not corue out; and the way that little varmint cavorted 

 around was a caution. He was making off with the pot, 

 when we settled his case with the gun; but, oh! what an 

 odoriferous carnp he made of it. We went without our 

 coffee that morning and put our pot to soak in the lake. 

 Hereafter it will hang high. 



There is a good deal of talk about the fishing at Lake 

 St. John, about fifty miles beyond and the terminus of 

 the Quebec & St. Johns Railroad. The lake is a large 

 one, being about thirty miles long and twenty-five wide, 

 and is said to abound in several varieties of fish, namely, 

 the wall-eyed pike, dory, and a fish they call the "ouin- 

 niche," by some the landlocked sal mon : but the latter- 

 term is hardly applicable, inasmuch as the lake, being 

 the source of the Saugenay, is accessible for salmon, the 

 falls being no serious obstacle. From the description of 

 his habits and methods, I should infer he was a grilse 

 preferring to remain in the extensive waters of the lake 

 to making his way to the sea. At the outlet these fish 

 arc said to be abundant, and take the fly readily. They 

 are also taken in the lake. As I propose to make personal 

 investigation, 1 will be able to give you the result of my 

 observations. 



Lake St. John offers such temptations to the market 

 fishermen that some Buffalo capitalists commenced an 

 onslaught with nets and seines and had captured and 

 cured many tons when the fish constables pounced down 

 upon them*, confiscated seines and the product and made 

 short work of them. It is a great pity that our officers 

 are not equally energetic and" prompt in suppression of 

 illegal fishing in our waters. The Canadians don't make 

 as many laws as we do, but they are prompt in their ex- 

 ecution of them and stand no nonsense. 



A party of amateurs came along here a week or two 

 since and brought some Chinese lanterns, something new 

 to the natives, and on being asked their use said they 

 were going to spear trout. Word was sent down to 

 Quebec, and at midnight, while the boys were soundly 

 sleeping, the constable pounced down upon them, much 

 to the surprise and consternation of the fishermen. The 

 uses of the new-fangled lights were explained, and the 

 constables retired, having had their twenty-five mile row 

 on a false alarm, all the result of an attempt to be funny. 



We are all confined to the house to-day m consequence 

 of a cold rain that pours down steadily, and we cluster 

 around the big stove, some writing, some overhauling 

 fishing tackle or reading old newspapers. We know 

 little of what is going on in the outside world and care 

 less. Our pretty woman has gone, and boiled shirts have 

 disappeared. Our thickest woolens are in demand . By 

 the way, let no one coming here omit to pi'ovide them- 

 selves with warm clothing. They will need it, and water- 

 proofs. Camping outfits can be hired of the railroad 

 agent and groceries obtained at the railroad store at 

 reasonable cost, boats also and good ones, guides at $1.25 

 to $1.50 per day, good stout fellows who can row all day 

 and build a camp at night. The hotel, although not 

 pretentious, gives you a rough room quite equal to a 

 fisherman's requirements, and good fare at a dollar a day. 

 The people are extremely accommodating and try to 

 make us comfortable. On the whole, there are much 

 worse places than Lake Edward. 



I am not going to tell you any big fish stories. You 

 can get those by the cord; but I hope to show you a trout 

 or two on my return that will suffice for your breakfast 

 with something over for the cat. See you later. 



Lake Edward, Aug. 28. PODGERS. 



ALONG DUNCARVAN. 



WHEN the midsummer sun settles squarely down to 

 business, and brick-walled humanity weeps at 

 every por-e, the sport-loving citizen sees visions and 

 dreams dreams. There comes to him the sweetly mingl- 

 ing murmur of woods and waters, and in fancy he be- 

 holds the beauty of a winding river in the wilderness, 

 with salmon-hunted pools aglow in sunlight in the dusk 

 agloom, or in the darkness giving back the glory of the 

 stars. And straightway the sport-loving citizen girds on 

 his raiment, and his city haunts know him no more, till 

 lie returns from the river in the wilderness, flushed with 

 victory and fly bites. 



There were four of us to whom the vision recently 

 came, in the fair city of Frederic-ton, N. B. A portly 

 physician, who in prudent abstinence from his own medi- 

 cine had waxed rotund in proportions; a retired captain 

 of militia, who still burned with ardor to kill — if only a 

 salmon; a limb of the law, who is, of course, never so 

 happy as when he has a victim in the toils; these and 

 myself comprised the party that boarded the Northern 

 and Western railway train at Fredericton one fine morn- 

 ing, en route for the sporting grounds of the Renous and 

 Dungarvan Salmon Club. 



The Nashwark Valley unfolded to our gaze its wealth 

 of summer loveliness in stream and intervale, sloping 

 meadow and grove and wooded heights, as we whirled 

 swiftly through and on to Boiestown. Boiestown 

 is a pleasant inland village, situated at a point where the 

 Taxis mingles its waters with those of the southwest 

 Mh-amichi. Here, a well equipped team was in waiting, 

 and a brisk drive of nine miles brought us to the spot 

 where Holt's pleasant farmhouse, set in a beautiful gar- 

 den amid encircling fields, invites the hungry traveler. 

 We had dinner at Holt's, and a toothsome meal we found 

 it. Before going further we laid in a supply of potatoes, 

 eggs, and butter, stowed carefully under the supervision 

 of the captain, who watched over the commissariat de- 

 partment throughout the trip with the eye of an old cam- 

 paigner. 



From Holt's, a portage of 22^ miles brought us to the 

 club house, which is situated on the Dungarvan at the 

 mouth of the McConnell Brook, and 43| miles from the 

 mouth of the former stream. We had taken a man with 

 us from Holt's, and at the club house were met by three 

 more, who had crossed from Blackville station to the 

 mouth of the Dungarvan (seven miles) and brought up 

 the canoes, for our intention was to fish down the stream. 

 Dan and Duncan Moon were two of the men, and being 

 withal well acquainted with the stream, naturally shed 

 much light on the trip. One of them suffered a partial 

 eclipse one day , when he tumbled out of the stern of a 

 canoe and disappeared almost completely, a portion of 

 his face only remaining above the surface at the moment 

 of occultation. After coming out he oast some reflections 

 on the stream. We found the club house a most comfort- 

 able building, with snug kitchen adjoining and contain- 

 ing everything needful for our comfort. Our evening 



meal on that first day was made the more appetizing by 

 a supply of fine trout that we paused to catch in a stream 

 we crossed on our way from Holt's. We spent a pleasant 

 Sunday at the club house before beginning operations on 

 the stream. One of our party had put a hymn book in 

 his pocket before leaving home, mistaking it, no doubt, 

 for the "Complete Angler;" and a portion of the day was 

 spent in singing, waking woodland echoes with delightful 

 old familiar airs that all of us had known from child- 

 hood. When night came it was an interesting and 

 unique spectacle "to behold the Doctor and the _ Captain 

 making their preparations for slumber. In anticipation 

 of a mosquito invasion, each had provided himself with 

 a sort of hoopskirt attachment of netting, to be drawn 

 over the head and fastened there; and never did mediaeval 

 executioner, or modern baseball umpire, arrayed for 

 action, present a more formidable aspect than did these 

 two arrayed for bunk. The Lawyer and myself were 

 unprotected, but suffered no inconvenience, for very 

 few flies put in an appearance. The nights are cool on 

 Dungarvan, whose waters are never warm, and these are 

 assigned as reasons for the absence of those tiny pests 

 that haunt most streams and woods in summer. An- 

 other explanation has been volunteered, and may be 

 given for what it is worth. It is related that an Ameri- 

 can Senator, who does not believe that Canadians have 

 any fishery rights that should be respected, once found 

 himself on the Dungarvan and laid him down to rest be- 

 side its murmuring stream at eventide. A large mosquito 

 came that way, and after mature deliberation concluded 

 to sample the cheek of the slumbering statesman. The 

 result was not to say gratifying. He tried again. Same 

 result. Then he sat down on the statesman's nose and 

 reflected. His reputation was at stake; he would try once 

 more. He tried once more. Same result. The states- 

 man slumbered on. The mosquito lost temper. Moose- 

 hide had never baffled him; would he have it whispered 

 in all the nooks along Dungarvan that a Senator's cheek — 

 a Yankee Senator's cheek— was too tough for him? Perish 

 the thought! He tried once more. And still the states- 

 man slumbered. Exasperated beyond endurance, the 

 mosquito summoned help. It camo promptly in the shape 

 of more mosquitoes. Seating himself once more upon 

 the statesman's nose, he directed his companionr' opera- 

 tions, and a general attack was made. Still the states- 

 man slumbered. More help was summoned and a grind- 

 stone, and all night long relays of furious foes with 

 sharpened bills hovered over the recumbent Senator. 

 'Twas vain. At dawn there was not a mosquito in all 

 that region whose bill was not bruised and brolsen. But 

 still the statesman slumbered. That day there was an 

 exodus, and from that time down even to the present the 

 Mosquito Hades has been called Dungarvan. The writer 

 does not vouch for the truth of the story, but can testify 

 to the gratifying scarcity of flies along the stream. 



On Monday morning our sport began. The Doctor and 

 the Captain went up stream four miles to Little Falls, 

 where they spent the day on the pools in that vicinity. 

 The Lawyer and myself visited the four pools at Rocky 

 Bend, two and a half miles doAvn the stream. When it 

 is stated that we (the Lawyer and myself) killed fourteen 

 grilse (a grilse weighs from 3 to 51bs.), the sportsman needs 

 not the assurance that we had a royal day. Returning to 

 the club house and finding the others still absent, we re- 

 sorted to a little mild deception, such as all sportsmen 

 will appreciate. Eight of the grilse were packed away in 

 a box, and the other six ostentatiously paraded on a board 

 in full view. When the others returned they were able 

 to conceal all appearance of envy while regarding our 

 catch, as exhibited, and were able, after supper, to indulge 

 in some general congratulation at the outcome of the first 

 day's work of four amateurs. Ten grilse, they thought— 

 and, indeed, not without reason — were a very good 

 showing. 



"John," I said to one of the men, "could't you hustle 

 around and scare up another scale or two?" John hustled , 

 and then the fun began— for two of us. The box was 

 produced, and a fine grilse brought out and placed beside 

 the others. Forth caine another, and another, until the 

 whole eight had been brought to view. The eyes of the 

 Doctor and the Captain bulged out a good deal at sight 

 of the first one, and. bulged more and more as the process 

 went on. At the conclusion of the performance the Law- 

 ver murmured, as if to Mmself, "Yes, ten grilse is afine 

 day's work." The Doctor and Captain put on their hoop- 

 skirt attachment and crawled into bunk. 



Next day, however, they had their revenge; for while 

 we went up stream and at the falls hooked three grilse 

 only to lose them, our rivals went down to the bend and 

 killed a fine salmon. We, however, did not return empty- 

 handed, having succeeded in landing fourteen large trout. 

 On Wednesday morning everything was packed on board 

 the canoes, and we were off down the stream. We did 

 no regular 'fishing that day, but at New Pond, near Rocky 

 Bend, killed in passing a salmon and a grilse. We halted 

 for dinner at the mouth of the Little Dungarvan, a pic- 

 turesquely beautiful spot. At 3 P. M. we reached Island 

 Pool and 'went into camp. In the evening we were out 

 for a little while, during which three grilse were hooked 

 and lost, one of them snapping my trout rod into three 

 pieces. The Lawyer, who wandered to Clark Pool, about 

 200yds. above the camp, hooked and lost a salmon. On 

 Thursday morning we were out at 5 o'clock and the Doc- 

 tor and the Captain killed a grilse each before breakfast. 

 The Lawyer broke his record of the previous night by 

 going up to the Clark Pool to hook and lose two salmon. 

 After breakfast we reloaded the canoes and went down 

 to Blair Pool, where the Doctor killed one grilse and lost 

 another. At the falls, a little lower down, we killed in 

 the evening four grilse and two salmon. Of the 

 latter the Doctor killed one and Duncan Moon the 

 other. Moon hooked his at the upper end of the falls. 

 He had just killed a grilse and laid it down on a little bar 

 in the stream. The salmon took the fly and started down 

 stream. Seizing the grilse with one hand and holding 

 the rod with the other, Moon followed the lead, over 

 rocks and through rapids, to a basin a quarter of a mile 

 below, where he finally played and landed his kingship. 

 It was the most exciting episode of the trip, and our 

 attendant Moon became at once in our estimation a most 

 brilliant satellite. There was not one of us but envied 

 him his skill and coolness, and, most of all, his success. 

 Our total catch for the day was seven grilse and two 

 salmon. 



It rained that night, and Friday was dull and cloudy. 

 That morning the Doctor and Captain went down to The 

 Jaws, where" the stream narrows and rushes between 



two bee tling walls of rock. Li a pool there they killed a 

 salmon and a grilse, and lower down, at the lower basin 

 of the Falls, captured two more grilse. The Lawyer and 

 I remained at camp and in the pool there captured, three 

 grilse, total for the day one salmon and six grilse. 



The Lower Falls referred to above, extend in a succes- 

 sion of rapids for a mile or more, forming pools and 

 basins as they go; but we found no difficulty in shooting 

 them with our canoes. The next day we captured two 

 grilse before breakfast. After that meal the Doctor in- 

 veigled the Lawyer away downstream, and they brought 

 back with them at night five grilse. The Captain and I 

 had an off day at camp, but killed one grilse in the after- 

 noon. That day ended our fishing, making a total catch 

 of forty-two grilse and five salmon, besides a large num- 

 ber of trout. The rest of our trip was uneventful. 

 Our return home was by way of the mouth of the 

 stream, thence to Blackville station (seven miles) and 

 over the Northern and Western to Fredericton. 



Healthy, hungry, happy — these words describe our 

 condition after an outing such as only the sportsman 

 can appreciate at its worth, on one of the finest of the 

 many fine salmon streams of New Brunswick. 



The Dungarvan is a tributary of the Renous, which in 

 turn is a tributary to the southwest Miramichi, joining 

 the latter not far from tidewater. The Dungarvan lacks 

 nothing essential to a favorite salmon haunt and has 

 abundance of natural beauty to delight the eye of the 

 sportsman. The distance from the mouth to Little Falls 

 is 43| miles, except for the first few miles from the 

 mouth, where there are scattered farms, it flows through 

 a, finely wooded wilderness of undulating country. The 

 banks are for the most part high and rocky, in places 

 precipitous; and if the sportsman is of a scientific bent 

 there is a world of changing interest in the exposed 

 strata worn and scarred by the persistent waters. The 

 waters are very clear and cool, flowing over a shaly or 

 rocky bottom. Pools are of frequent occurrence, and the 

 result of our party's efforts, remembering we were but 

 amateurs, shows that the pools are well stocked. The 

 stream is easily navigable by canoe to the Little Falls, 

 above which there are pools, though somewhat cUfficult 

 of access. 



The whole region about the upper waters of the strea m 

 abounds in lakes, all of them stocked with large and 

 gamy trout. To one of them, Bamford Brook Lake, one 

 and a half miles from the club house, a road is being- 

 constructed. Pure cool brooks, trout-filled, empty into 

 the lakes and into the Dungarvan. At the Lower Falls, on 

 the summit of an overhanging rock, a second club house 

 is to be built this year. The rock overhangs a fine pool, 

 into which the sportsman will be able to cast his fly from 

 the club house door. The region of the Lower Falls is a 

 marvel of picturesque loveliness, worthy of being visited 

 even by those who do not wield the magic rod. This 

 property of the Renous and Dungarvan Salmon Club is 

 perhaps less known than some of the others in that region, 

 but those who know say it is second to none. It is care- 

 fully guarded and the amount of fishing during the sea- 

 son limited. Those who have the good fortune to spend 

 a week or so in careless abandon along the winding- 

 stream in the fishing season, have an experience that in 

 the opinion of sportsmen at least cannot be surpassed. 

 The place is now easy of access, and as the stream is a 

 favorite spawning ground for salmon, abounds with 

 trout, and is carefully guarded, it will doubtless become 

 more and more the Arcadia of sportsmen's dreams. 



PlSCATOR. 



THE TOBIQUE TRAGEDY. 



Editor Forest and Stream; 



It cannot but occur to any one who gives the subject 

 careful and impartial thought, that Mr, Howes made a 

 fatal mistake in allowing a gun to be discharged while in , 

 pursuit of the poachers the evening before the Tobique 

 murder. It was natural and perfectly proper that he 

 should try to prevent infringement on the laws of 

 the land and the rights of his lease. It was right 

 that he should use every effort to ascertain who the 

 offenders were, with a view of having them punished,- 

 and considering the number of men and canoes in the 

 party, it does look as if a little more might have been 

 done in that direction . 



When dealing with such characters as poachers, it is a 

 wise precaution to go well armed, for you can never 

 safely forecast then- line of action. But to fire a gun to 

 intimidate, when every one knows that in nine cases out 

 of ten it is perfectly safe to lay down your weapons and 

 walk right in and kick the man who does it, is, to say the 

 least, very imprudent, and is usually the outcome of 

 thoughtlessness or want of self-reliance. Such an act 

 gives many a lawless ruffian a chance to commit a mur- 

 der, and get in the plea of self-defense; and in the case 

 under consideration the sympathizers of the criminals 

 will say in extenuation, "The Howes party fired on them 

 the night before." Doubtless, in discussing the matter 

 among themselves, the murderers used this plea to key 

 themselves up to the proper pitch to do the deed. 



It would also be well if camping parties would remem- 

 ber that in New Brunswick there is a stringent law 

 against hunting on Sunday, or even discharging firearms. 

 The coroner's jury had evidently more than the murder 

 of Mrs. Howes in mind when they commended that "The 

 authorities on the Tobique should look after the lawless 

 and. careless use of firearms by fishing parties and others." 



There has been a diabolical crime committed, one with- 

 out parallel in the history of the Province. No one who 

 has read the evidence adduced at the inquest can doubt 

 that the right persons have been arrested. On finding 

 against them a verdict of wilful murder, the coroner's jury 

 did their duty. It now only remains if or the good people 

 of Victoria county to see that the miscreants get their 

 deserts, and thus, as far as possible, to wipe out the blot 

 on the fair name of our little Province, and at the same 

 time convince others of the Day-Trafton-Phillipin stripe 

 that New Brunswick is an uncongenial climate, as well 

 as a mighty uncertain footing for that order of savage 

 that ambushes and pours in deadly volleys at short range 

 on the heads of defenseless women and children. 



L. I. Flower, 



WrCKHAM, N. B. 



Plymouth, N. H., Aug. 27.— Have just returned from 

 Sunapee Lake, where I spent two weeks. The number of 

 trout and salmon taken there this season is wonderf ul. 

 Dr, Quackenbos took a 51b. salmon on Aug. 21, trolling 

 for bass. Some large, ones were taken with the fly in 

 July. — E, B. Hodge. 



