86 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Feb. 20, 1890. 



case with all the rivers we met on the lake, the color 

 being attributed to the presence of pitch, so stated by 

 Agassiz. I wondered that brook trout frequented such 

 colored water, but they do, as this river in the early 

 season is said to swarm with them. We went up the 

 sluggish current in the boat to the first falls, where a 

 most magnificent view bursts upon you, with the sound 

 of the roaring rapids. The heights along the river are 

 steep and wooded and if you follow the narrow pathway 

 on the left, that is trodden by Indians and anglers, you 

 find it almost impenetrable. Huge boulders and broken 

 rock he scattered along the route as you follow the 

 sinuous stream. Dense verdure, tangled thickets and 

 prostrate trees are on every side, and in many places 

 from the rocky ci - evices spring the balsam, fir and cedar. 

 The hills, in ragged draperies, rise up from this surging 

 stream of cascades, pools and shallows, with a weaith of 

 coloring that is beautiful beyond compare. Nature has 

 been unsparing here and created everything with an eye 

 to grandeur and loveliness. This little world of beauty, 



"Half drowned in sleepy peace, it lay, 



As satiate with the boundless play 



Of sunshine in its green array." 

 The pools in this stream yield trout of three and four 

 pounds, but their capture is deerly earned. It is fished 

 early in the rnonth of June by the Indians from the 

 Catholic Mission in Bachewanaung Bay and doubtless 

 others, who thus strip it before the rodster from civiliza- 

 tion has a chance to wet his artistic fly in it. I doubt if 

 one could have auy comfort there in consequence of it 

 being so badly infested with flies and mosquitoes, and, 

 late as it was when we went, they were still quite numer- 

 ous and gave us a very warm reception. We remained 

 but a short time, as there were no jrood-sized trout then 

 to be caught here. I went up the river from the first fall 

 a short distance and found the forest too hard to penetrate, 

 as tangled masses of brush and fallen timber meet you at 

 almost every step. Ned caught a small trout at the first 

 fall, and we were content to leave it, even with that 

 small trophy, the visit being made simply in a prospective 

 light. We rejoiced when we struck the clear, open 

 waters of the Great Lake, and had our prow headed for 

 one of the neighboring islands where we intended to 

 camp that night. We reached our destination about an 

 hour before sunset, and as the island presented no 

 attractive louuging place, we sat musingly in the boat 

 while our men pitched the tent, and watched the long 

 shadows creep up the peaceful hills that confronted us 

 from the east, and so grandly interlaced one another. 

 Fleecy clouds, delicately tinted in silver and purple, 

 lazily floated in the soft air, while the Great Lake was 

 laughing and dancing with every ripple as unconsciously 

 as if no form dear to human hearts had gone down 

 beneath it. I never believe so much in the immortality 

 of the soul as when at sunset I look through a vista of 

 luminous clouds far down into that mystic region of light 

 in which we are to imagine are deposited the secrets of 

 the universe. I cannot believe that all this panorama of 

 unimaginable loveliness, which is spread out over earth, 

 sea and sky is without some significance. Deeply it 

 touches and excites the emotions, and presents the omni- 

 potence of God in language too plain not to be understood 

 by the simplest heart. The untutored savage in evidence 

 points to his happy hunting ground beyond the sailing 

 clouds, while the barbarian of the East, as he casts him- 

 self under the wheels of Juggernaut, tells you of the God 

 he seeks. Nature proclaims it everywhere, and the heart 

 that fails to see it must evidently be without emotion, 

 without reason. 



As soon as the tent was in position we went ashore to 

 survey the ground. Eank vegetation was on every side, 

 and the odor it emitted was almost sickening. A decayed 

 stump had been torn out to give place to the canvas, and 

 this increased the nauseating character of the place to 

 such a degree that I was positive I would be unable to 

 court the drowsy god with anything like success. The 

 smell was as of a tropical jungle, and I really did not 

 think such a thing could be encountered in this invigor- 

 ating climate; but the disagreeable proof was confronting 

 us. The boys improved the atmospheric surroundings by 

 gathering some balsam boughs and spreading them within 

 and around the tent. It was a mingling of the sweet 

 with the bitter, which happily resulted in a somewhat 

 conservative odor. 



The preparation for supper now commenced, and ere it 

 was served darkness was fast creeping over the woods 

 and the waters. Within a stone's throw of our camp lay 

 an island that was a famous breeding place tor gulls, and 

 that night when we sought our pillows the screeching of 

 those unmusical birds was pandemonium itself. They 

 were relegated to the habitation of the fallen angels a 

 thousand times that night amid a glare of verbal fire- 

 works that would have done honor to a Billingsgate fish- 

 woman. 



Joe, when he arose in the morning, said they kept him 

 awake nearly all night, and emphatically declared, ''I'd 

 like to blow 'em all to h— 1." "Me too," says Ned; and 

 putting in my ballot, I voted for the same instantaneous 

 graveyard. The camp in the "bush" not being at all 

 pleasant, was at once vacated, and we started on our re- 

 turn. We had a discussion relative to going to Pancake 

 Bay and Aguawa; but as the trouting in the waters we 

 had passed over was excellent, we concluded that "enough 

 is as good as a feast," and so were content with the return 

 trip. 



There was an island just this side of Grindstone Point, 

 that Ned had fished last year with excellent success, and 

 we therefore headed for that. On one point of it huge 

 blocks of stone ran at right angles into very deep water. 

 It was noted as a famous resort for the dappled beauties, 

 and Ned declared we would have unlimited sport there! 

 Everything was very favorable for us, the sky being 

 cloudy and the water breaking in respectable ripples. 

 Ned and Joe could not agree as to the location, but after 

 passing several islands we at last hit upon it as directed 

 by Ned. The boat was run into the shore this side of the 

 declivitous rock, in order to give Ned a chance for a 

 trout from the shore. I was satisfied to remain in the 

 boat until Ned had had his trial on the big rocks. He 

 started, accompanied by Joe, who carried the landing 

 net. After a rough tramp along a very broken shore he 

 reached the desired spot, and then carefully walking out 

 on the beveled and flinty blocks that were washed by the 

 waves, he made a cast, and the "horny-headed," alias the 

 "Terror of the Lake." was at once attacked by a vicious 

 trout, and closely riveted to the same by the masterly 

 tactics of the angler at the shore end of the pole. I 



looked every minute to see Ned slide down the steep rock 

 upon which he stood; but as he had hob nails in the bot- 

 toms of his boots, he clung to it as if he were part 

 and parcel of the flinty stone. The play of the de- 

 ceived fish was a joy to the angler, as his face glowed 

 with pleasurable emotions as his reel sang the requiem 

 and his rod beat the time. After Joe had landed the 

 trout, Ned gave him his rod to use, and then he came 

 where the footing was more secure. Joe missed two im- 

 mediate rises, but the third was a success, and he killed 

 the fish like an artist. Ned beckoned me to come over 

 with the boat and in a moment the twain got aboard, 

 and as soon as we reached the opposite side of the rocks 

 the casting and the fun commenced at one and the same 

 time, as both our casts were successful end two fish were 

 waltzing to our music. There was great danger of the 

 fish becoming entangled, as both were inclined to an in- 

 terview. I bawled out to Ned: 



" Shinny on your own side." 



" I'm trying to." 



"Reel up some." 



"Reel up yourself." 



"Oh, bother ! give him the butt." 



" Oli, the devil ! give him the butt yourself." 



" Say, you old idiot, put your fish on the other side." 



"You petrified simpleton, don't you know enough to 

 pull that minnow of yours out of my way?" 



" Flop that tadpole of yours into the boat." 



And thus the chaffing went on until both the trout were 

 killed, and then came the same instant from both: 



"Joe, net my fish." 



Joe took Ned's fish and very leisurely gave his attention 

 to mine, which was a beautifully mottled trout with a 

 rich color of orange, and scaled 4lbs. Ned's was a per- 

 fect fac simile of mine in color and weight. 



We caught four more at this point, two of which 

 weighed 4*lbs. each, with the other two registering each 

 31'os. This spot reminded me of some of my halcyon 

 days on the famous Nepigon , though in one respect it 

 was far more enjoyable, as we had no strong currents to 

 contend with, as is generally the case on that noted river, 

 consequently the pleasure was enhanced. We pulled up 

 to Grindstone Point and there caught four more of the 

 royal beauties, which averaged about the same in weight 

 as the others. Having more fish now than were really 

 necessary for our table, we concluded to retire from the 

 field and go ashore at the point and indulge in a few 

 games of " crib" while the boatmen were preparing din- 

 ner. Two of the trout we had boiled, and a more deli- 

 cious dish of fish was never prepared. The poetic Pope 

 says "it is vulgar to boil," but if his palate had passed 

 upon these trout he would have never given birth to such, 

 an assertion poetic as 



The vulgar boil, the learned roast, an egg: 

 Hard task to suit the palate of such guests. 

 After dinner we hurried into the boat and started for 

 our old camp at Maple Island Bay, and had not gone over 

 a mile or two before there was positive indication of rain, 

 as the "hooded clouds" were rapidly marshalling their 

 hosts and threatening every minu te to give us wet jackets. 

 An ominous growl of thunder was soon heard, and then 

 prelusive drops with "tinkling of innumerable feet," and 

 at once the unwelcome rain came beating down in a most 

 remorseless manner. We could have enjoyed it with a 

 poet's fancy under good shelter, but exposed as we were, 

 it was simply impossible to exclaim with Longfellow, 

 "How beautiful is the rain." The sail was hanging damp 

 and useless now, and our only resource being the oars 

 the boatmen swung to them with an earnest will and 

 soon landed us at our old camp. Our provisions had been 

 well-protected during the storm by covering them with 

 our tents, and Ned and I saved our skins with our rub- 

 bers. The boys were well soaked, but paid little heed to 

 it, knowing full well that a rousing fire would soon 

 bring them around all right. Shortly after reaching camp 

 the rain ceased, much to our gratification, though there 

 was a dampness in the air that chilled, and if you per- 

 chance touched a protruding limb of tree or bush, a 

 regular miniature rain storm greeted you. Things were 

 damp, sticky and muddy, and even our spirits, which 

 are generally of a sunny nature, were shaded to sadness. 

 The tents were soon in position an* then a rousing fire 

 was made, around which we all gathered and tried to 

 drive dull care away with song and jest. It was not a 

 genuine success, for soon after supper Ned and I sought 

 our tents and our blankets and strove hard to enter the 

 realms of Morpheus as a panacea for our utter despond- 

 ency. 



The morning opened quite unfavorably, as a leaden 

 sky and high winds prevailed. Fishing was not to be 

 thought of in such weather, as the white caps were toss- 

 ing their snowy plumes on all sides, so we set to work 

 and got everything about the camp in number one order. 

 The boys gathered some balsam branches and piled them 

 a foot high in our tent. Ned and I took an inventory of 

 our wardrobe and concluded to improve our toilet by an 

 entire change after we had first taken a good bath. The 

 wind lulled sufficiently in the afternoon to permit of 

 angling, so we went to the reef in front of the camp and 

 after the most persistent efforts for two hours caught 

 only one little trout. They would not rise at all, as it 

 was too soon after the blow. This I have always found 

 to be the case, as the trout during stormy weather either 

 lie very quiet or else are not seeking food. Either horn 

 of the dilemma is not agreeable to the rodster. Rough 

 water, when it is not too boisterous, is always best for 

 the sport. A mirrored surface fills no creel. 



Cincinnati. ALEX. STARBUCK. 



Mock Trout.— We are informed by Mr. S. F. Denton 

 that in the western part of Massachusetts the dace (Semo- 

 tiluspidlaris) is called mock trout, from its habit of bit- 

 ing like fontinalis. He has heard the name used at Lake 

 Pleasant and elsewhere. 



Seines, Nets of every description. American Net & Twine Co.. 

 Mfrs., 34 Commercial st. Rnston. or 199 Fulton st.. N. Y.—Adv. 



Fishing in Florida Waters.— Anglers who intend visiting 

 Florida this season will find it to their advantage to inspect the 

 superior tackle for tarpon and other fishes, manufactured by 

 Thomas J. Conroy, 65 Fulton street, New York.— Adv. 



Names anb Portraits of Birds, by Gurdon Trumbull, a 

 book particularly interesting to gunners, for by its use they can 

 identify without question all the American game birds which 

 they may kill. Cloth, 220 pages, price §2.50. For sale bv Forest 

 and Stream. 



RANGELEY CAMPS. 



THE possibility that the foreign trout introduced intofl 

 Maine waters may prove to be something like the] 

 English sparrow, is mentioned by lovers of the rod and] 

 line, but it is again suggested that there would be con-,1 

 siderable fun in catching them if such were the result.] 

 Still, our Commissioners cannot exercise too great care] 

 in introducing the eggs of foreign fish. It is not many] 

 years ago since the ponds of Maine were being stocked! 

 with that shark of all fresh-water fish, the pickerel. In-] 

 deed, they were put into Umbagog Lake, the lower great 

 lake of the Androscoggin chain, a lake then greatly 

 famed for the size and number of its trout. But from 

 that date the day of trout in that lake was done. Now it 

 is noted for its pickerel fishing, though with occasionally 

 a big trout, that has grown too large for the pickerel to 

 swallow. 



The Thayer brothers, who purchased Birch Lodge at 

 the head of Richardson Lake, one of the Rangeleys, last' 

 summer, have just had a steamer sent from Boston for 

 those waters. She is known as the Kara, and is 41 ft. overj 

 all, and was designed by Burgess. The boat will be the 

 biggest in the Rangeley waters, and, is to run between the 

 South Arm and the Thayers' camp at the head of the 

 lake. She was sent bv rail to Bryant's Pond. Frond 

 there she was hauled on sleds, constructed for the pur- 

 pose, twenty-one miles to Andover. Thence she has been 

 hauled twelve miles through the woods, by the lake road, 

 to the South Arm. Mi-. Geo. Newton, so many years a 

 guide for the famous (?) Whittier, has had charge of the! 

 steamboat transportation. The Thayers are men of i 

 wealth— millionaires, in fact— and they are greatly inter- 

 ested in the sports their camp affords. J. Parker Whit- 

 ney, who has an office in Boston and is also actively 

 interested in real estate in California, where he spends < 

 his winters, has a camp at Mosquito Brook on this same 

 lake. This camp has cost Mr. Whitney something over 

 $40,000. He has spent the better part of his summers; 

 with his family, at his camp for many years. He first 

 visited that region over thirty years ago, a young man, 

 with his pack and camping utensils on bis back. Since 

 that time he has "made his pile," but he cannot forget 

 the happy days at the dear old camp. Special. 



DISTRIBUTION OF FRESH-WATER 

 FISHES. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



The item, " Mysterious Stocking of Ponds " with fish, 

 brings to mind boyish observations of long ago. There 

 was, and still may be, a popular idea among a certain 

 class of persons that earthworms and small fishes some- 

 times rain down, because earthworms would be found on 

 the roofs of buildings and small fishes in pastures andij 

 meadows after a heavy rain. The popular idea as to the 

 worms was banished from my mind when I saw them 

 coming out of the earth after rains, and also saw such 

 worms crawling up the wet sides of the old farmhouse. 

 I observed that they could not climb unless the siding 

 was wet. 



After a short but very heavy rain I had occasion to go 

 into the pasture about a fourth of a mile from home, and 

 about 10 to loft, higher than a spring brook on the farm, 

 and found, in pools of standing water, many small fish 

 about an inch long. Rained do wn , the people said . Not so. 

 The heavy rains had formed rills from the pasture to the 

 brook, and the fish had ascended the rills. My boy- 

 ish judgment was satisfied in that regard, for I was quite 

 a little fisherman, and had caught during the spaAvning 

 season what we called a rock bass and placed it in the 

 brook, where it had thirty or forty rods clear play. I 

 watched my bass with great interest, and in due time 

 found a great number of small bass in the brook, and 

 among those fish in the pools in the pasture were many 

 of my bass. 



When I came West, Grand Prairie was unsettled, and 

 for pastime I would take my dog, gun and horse, and go 

 upon the high rolling prairie, sometimes fifteen miles and 

 more from the river, in quest of prairie chickens, and 

 many times, when beating the ground, would find in de- 

 pressions or low places, which had held water for some 

 time but dried out, skeletons of fish and fish in various 

 stages of decay. They to my mind reached those ele- 

 vated places from the river by way of various gullies, 

 water coarses and rills, during the heavy rains or spring 

 freshets. 



A farmer friend had fine fishing for a few days in hia 

 pasture meadow and plowed fields where he had ditches, 

 catching pickerel, a few of them weighing as high as 

 lOlbs. In June there came an unprecedented ly heavy 

 rain, flooding the farm. The fish came to the farm from 

 the river during the. rain, when the ravines and wet 

 weather water courses were full. 



Last summer I saw a small boy catching, with a hook:, 

 small fish in an artificial pond about two years old, made 

 by a railroad company to catch and store surface water 

 for use of locomotives. I asked the boy how the fish 

 came in the pond. He replied, "Dunno." It was appar- 

 ent to my mind. The pond was several feet higher than 

 the road bed, and, at times, evidently overflowed, the 

 water escaping alongside of the road to a creek, as I 

 could determine by a belt of timber. 



The method of stocking ponds has nothing strange 

 about it when we remember the remarkable power fish 

 have.to ascend falls and rapid streams. I have watched 

 them by the hour ascending and trying to ascend the 

 pour of milldams about 8ft. in height, watched them in 

 their persistent efforts to pass over riffles in small streams, 

 in ascending riffles so shallow that the water would not 

 half cover the fish. 



It may be asked, how does it happen that small lake3 

 or ponds but a few miles apart so olten contain entirely 

 different kinds of fish? An answer for many cases can 

 be, that during such floods it happens that one kind of 

 fish only reaches one lake and another kind another 

 lake. 



I knew two lakes but two miles apart, one of which 

 contained nothing of the fish kind but pickerel, the other 

 was drained or dried up and was found to contain noth- 

 ing but a large, worthless kind of fish, called in the West 

 dogfish,, both of which are found in the river. 



Prairie. 



[The distribution of fresh-water fishes by sudden 

 changes of level in streams is one of the best known 

 methods of dispersion, but it is by no means the only one. 

 Leaving out of the question geological changes which 



