Apkxl 10, 1890.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



227 



The Peribonea at Lake Tshitagaina, over fifty miles 

 from its mouth, is about a mile wide. The country 

 nearly up to the lake is rather low-lying. The banks of 

 the river are of clay and in many places quite high, but 

 there are no mountains of any size and only one tributary 

 river of importance. Even this is not shown on the map 

 published by the Department of Crown Lands at Quebec. 

 The country has not been surveyed, and the authorities 

 seem to be quite ignorant of the territory under their 

 control. As we near the lake the country becomes moun- 

 tainous and very attractive. The forest is primeval. 

 Logging operations have been conducted in this region 

 for many years by the Price Bros., of. Chicoutimi, who 

 are large exporters of lumber. The logs are driven down 

 the Peribonea by gangs of men and towed through the 

 lake by a steamer which is stationed most of the time 

 about three miles from tho mouth of this river, then the 

 logs are passed down tbe Little Discharge and so on to 

 the mills not far from Chicoutimi. A Michigan or Maine 

 lumberman would laugh at the little saplings which are 

 considered worthy of being cut and sent to market. The 

 whole forest growth is stunted. It is too far north for 

 heavy wood. The woods are said to contain game- 

 moose, bear, caribou, etc. In a trip of nearly three 

 weeks I did not see the print of a hoof, much less the 

 color of a hide. Mile after mile the clay shores of the 

 river are smooth, unmarked by any foot. One poor little 

 jack rabbit, who was much interested in gnawing a stick 

 and watching the canoes, was allowed to live. But the 

 Indians go up the river in winter and get furs, so there 

 are/animals there. 



There is no bird life visible. No kingfishers, no hawks, 

 no cranes, only small birds.. Even the little crossbills 

 that we look for in Maine and the upper Canadian forests 

 are absent. The shores are bare and deserted. 



But fish are plenty. Frost pike grow here to a large 

 size, 3 and 4ft. in length. I do not speak scientifically, 

 but I suppose they arecalled in other waters muscalonge. 

 Then dore, yellow-finned and bellied perch, which, like 

 the pike, is caught by trolling. They do not rise to the 

 fly. Both are very good eating. Next witouche, a white- 

 meated fish like the ordinary chub, but good eating. 

 Some trout. I remember in the quick water below the 

 falls I got a good rise on tbe first cast, and wondered why 

 he did not come out of water, thinking of course it was 

 a ouininische, but when the 3-pounder was safe in the 

 net he proved to be a trout. Lastly, the best fighter for 

 his inches in the world, the ouininische. and plenty of 

 them, as I have said, in June and September. Good fish- 

 ing in August. One evening at dusk, as the sky cleared 

 after a rainy day in camp, I went out for an hour or so. 

 A foolish ouininische was playing around in a pool, show- 

 ing his back fin. The second cast attracted him, and to 

 his surprise he felt himself hooked. Then the battle 

 began. There was plenty of sea room, so to speak, and 

 smooth water. My 8oz. rod never had such a test. He 

 fought every inch. The two canoemen were kept busy 

 holding the boat properly. Nearly half the time the tip 

 of the rod was under water. Slowly, inch by inch, he 

 yielded. At last he sirnply fell off the hook into the net 

 and the battle was over. ' It took twenty-three minutes, 

 and a single inch of slack line would have lost him. He 

 weighed olbs. , and made a beautiful supper for my four 

 guides and my self. E. A. L. 



ANTOINE BISSETTE'S LETTERS. 



DANVIT, 22 Februaire.— M'sieu Fores' Strim: Dar 

 was one ting mek me laft some, some it niek me 

 mad, w'en Ah II hear it read in you papier. Ah '11 goin' 

 tol' you what dat was be, but mebby you '11 ant be glad 

 for have me tol' it. 



It be kan o' funny an' kan o* foolish ant it, for mans 

 w'en he tol' story baout hees go huntin' dauck or pateraige 

 or some kan o' bird, for call hees gawn "mah Scotch," 

 "mah Greeny," "mah Remiltin," "mah double back- 

 acsbin choke-bole Packy hammerly hoi' tomato,"* or 

 forty prob'ly twenty oder nem. 



Or 'f he go hunt wid builick gawn, he can' say he '11 gat 

 muzzly loadim or breeches loadin' rafle or rippeter, but 

 he'll gat call it "mah Mahlins," "mah tirty-two forty 

 twenty Wingchestin," or prob'ly some oder nem so foolish 

 lak dat. 



Ah '11 said hees gawn, 'cause Ah '11 sip pose dat what 

 he '11 meant. Why '11 ant it say gawn? He shame of it 

 for tink it ant saoun' pooty? 



Den he Ml take long wid it "mah Liverlick," "mah 

 Level Ellen." Dat was some kan o' dawg, prob'ly. 



Wen he '11 tol' baout go feeshins, he gat call hees f eesh- 

 pole "mah Lennel," "mah Horvit," "mah Clubb split- 

 bambaloo." Hees leetly clock winder jus' de saine^ an' 

 tol who tie up hees fly. 



Ah weesh someboddee tie up all of it, de fly an' de 

 muskitto, too, w'en Ah '11 go feeshin". 



S'pose Ah '11 tol' haow Ah '11 keel dose stunk onder mah 

 haystack las' week wid mah tree-time Bacheldy, evree- 

 boddee know dat was mah peetchfork, ant it? 



S'pose 'f Ah '11 tol' Ah chawp daown beeg basshwood 

 an' keel tree, prob'ly four chat sauvagewid mah Brookes, 

 some noboddee ant "tink Ah '11 draounded it on de brooks, 

 but know dat was de nice kan o' nem for mah hax, ant 

 t? 



An' who care who mek it mah peetchfork an' mah hax, 

 any more as he care who mekde gawn, or de feeshpole or 

 de dawg, hein? 



Ah '11 ant s'pose dem gawn mans an* feeshpole mans 

 geeve dat fellers gawn an' feeshpole for tol' of it more as 

 Bacheldy an' Brookes goin' geeve me fork an' hax. 

 Mebby dat fellers tink he '11 goin' to 'f he II to! it gret 

 many offin. Ah do' know, me. 



Well, Ah b'lieve Ah II took motion for see 'f Ah can to! 

 some huntin' an' feeshin' story, so he '11 ant gat no vul- 

 garity nem for gawn an' feeshpole. 



One niorny, hairly, de sunrise was risin' on de eas'. Ah 

 do' know what for, 'cause she ant gat for climb Tater 

 Hill, honly jus' Hog Back 'f she come from de wes'. 



Ah II took daown mah G. S. R. Tower singly barrel, 

 one a half ninches bore big flint hammerly, an' Ah '11 

 spik "whew" to mah bobtail Tom Hamlin half splanyel. 

 todder half honly jus' dawg. Bah gosh, Ahhadto saidit. 



An' Ah Ml start for go on One' Lasha hoi' sugar place, 

 where One' Lasha an' bear rnos' keel bose of it one odder. 



De sunstreani was beegin run all over de wes' side 

 Danvit, jus' lak she lak de folkses dat side de bes' for 

 pour melt gol' on it , w'en Ah hear mah Tom Hamlin bark, 



♦Mr. Bissette is doubtless struggling with automatic— H. M. 



bark so 'f he was engage for bark up all hees bark in one, 

 prob'ly two nhour. 



W'en Ah IJ gat pooty close apart of dat tree, where mah 

 Tom Hamlin be sian' on bees tail of it for gat up hees 

 bark straight, Ah Ml seen sometings big an' black very 

 high up of de graoun, some hide in de leaf. 



Ah tink it bear, but Ah Ml don't fraid, me, Ah'llantdat 

 kan o' mans. 



Ah Ml harm mah G. S. R. Tower singly barrel one a 

 half ninches big flint hammerly, load wid one han'fulls 

 black paowders, wad wid one quarters Veregenne Ver- 

 mont)/ an' sem measuring B B col' shoot, wad wid some 

 Bullangton Free Pr&ai, dey was bose of it veree good 

 papier for dat, mos' lak waspbee nes'. 



Ah Ml bet you head Ah 'U see where mah G. S. R. 

 Tower was pint ah Ah ant shut mah heye. 



Ah Ml pooll de triggin veree hard, de flint, he say 

 "chick!" de primins, he say "whoof!" G. S. R. Tower say 

 "whoom!" An' bah gosh! haow he Ml jump on mah 

 shoulder. Mos' knock off all mah breeze aout. Wal, 

 sah, he blewed all dat hauimal hees brain off an' he come 

 scrachity, whish, hoomph! on de graoun'. 



He ant bear, honly jus' hell hog, or more polite for call 

 forkypine, prob'ly. ' Ah Ml had to take hoi' of it, mah 

 Tom Hamlin, an' pull it home for fraid he Ml gat stuck all 

 dat pin in hees skin of it. Dat was de en' of it. 



Dah, dat saoun' pooty good, but Ah do' know 'f he ant 

 jus' good 'f Ah call it dat gawn mah hoi' muskitt, an' 

 mah dawg mah dawg. 'Less M'sieu G. S. R. Tower goin' 

 geeve me nudder gawn for tol' hees name on it, but Ah 

 Ml spec he Ml dead, for Ah b'lieve mah gran'-gran' pere 

 tooke dat ga wn at Carillon from Angleesh sojer. 



If Tom Hamlin goin' geeve me dawg lak dis, Ah sorry 

 Ah Ml spik Ms nem of it. T dem zhontymans sen' me 

 dey two papier, Ah can use it very advantages. Miss 

 Sam Lovel^geeve me dese. 



Naow, Ah Ml goin' tol' leetly maght feeshin' story, 

 honly it all true, so he ant mosh feeshin' story. Ah Ml 

 goin' beegin. 



It was in sprim of year, w'en de squirrel cup was blow 

 jus' hard he can blow all long on de sunshime side of de 

 hwood an' de moose flower he Ml beegin show white 

 splosh on de brown leaf drop las' year. 



Bombye, pooty soon Ah beegin feel de feeshin crazy in 

 all mah bone of it, but mos' in mah stommak. Ah Ml feel 

 of it for some specklin' beauty. Ah Ml tol' Ursule, Ah can' 

 stood it no more an' he'll say Ah Ml ant wan' to. 



So Ah Ml dig some de One' Lasha worm behin' hees hoi' 

 shaup. De Danvit specklin' beauty know de tas' of dat 

 worm, kan o' lak soleledder an' he lak it bes' of any cep 

 grasshoppit he'll can get naow. Den Ah Ml took mah 

 Joel Bahtlett swamp (dat where Ah Ml get it aout askin') 

 crack cedar, he ant split quat, an' mah Joe Hill wood lot 

 ash, no jint in bose of it honly some leetly crookeds in 

 las' one for feesh raoun' corner. 



Ah Ml took mah cottlen chalk line de capenty geeve me 

 'cause he ant quat so big 'nough, an' mah prowl bent 

 hook Ah sol' a heggs for two of it, an' Ah go, me. 



Wal, seh, Ah Ml hear Stony Brook call me, "joogle 

 lugle, joogle lugle," 'mong de birch and de spruce, an' 

 Ah' 11 go dere an' feesh, feesh, feesh, an' Ah Ml ant catch it 

 so much as chub. 



Den Beav' Medder he'll call me, "wishity sweely" 

 'mongde alder an' Ah Ml go dare, jus' de same. Feesh, 

 feesh an' Ah Ml ant gat bit of any feesh cep' one hairly 

 muskitto or hoi' one so tough winter can' keel it. try if he 

 can' made me swore. 



De feeshin' crazy beegin go off mah bone but de feelin' 

 for specklin beauty rimmain jus' de same in mah stom- 

 mak till w'en Ah '11 was goih home dis-courage Ah fan 

 hoi' mud turkey crawl aout for smell of de sprim. 



Ah catch she, an' Ah Ml don' care for specklin beauty 

 some more. Dat hoi' mossy back was de mos' beauty Ah 

 Ml ant spec' for see. 



An' w'en Ah Ml gat home wid dat good lucky, Ursule 

 he Ml say Ah was preffeck feeshymans. 



Dat ant moch story, but Ah Ml tol' you he was goin' be 

 true. Ah mos' wish I lied leetly maght, ant it de bes' for 

 story, hein? Antoine Bissette, 



SciPPOS. — Ah Ml was goin' wrote gin 'f you want hear 

 of it.— A. B. 



Dis ioas privately. 



You s'pose 'f Ah Ml blow hard baout some kan o' gawn, 

 dey Ml geeve me one of it? Ah Ml ant got one but Ah can' 

 tol' what Ah Ml shot wid jus'de same an' keel lot o' pate- 

 raige, or bear 'f you tink bes'. 



What kan o' gawn you tink Ah Ml bes' try for brag of? 



Ah do' know "f M'sieu 'Mumpsin ant lak pooty well for 

 have split bambaloo. He lak for feesh pooty weli, Sat'day. 

 Ah do' know 'f he ant Sunday. Ah jus' lieve fry for it. 

 Ah bet Ah tol' you baout some big feesh Ah Ml catch. 



A. B. 



Note.— I have examined Mr. Bissette's ancient weapon. 

 The inscription engraved on its battered heel-plate, which 

 he takes to be the name of the maker, is "G. R. S., No. 

 10," and on the lock-plate the word "Tower." I conclude 

 that it is a Tower musket, manufactured in the reign of 

 George II. and belonged to the 10th Regiment, which 

 quite probably participated in Abercrombie's disastrous 

 assault upon Ticonderoga. If so, it may have come into 

 the possession of Mr. Bissette's ancestor (if he had one) in 

 the manner he describes. It is more probable that he him- 

 self appropriated the arm during his service in the Papi- 

 neau war. My observations compel the conclusion that, 

 owing to their great longevity, the French Canadians 

 have very few ancestors, and also that the truth may be 

 more easily reached by believing the opposite of any 

 statement made by these people, than by placing implicit 

 confidence in their assertions. — H M. 



African Big Game.— It is reported that Mr. Royal 

 Carrol, who started some months ago for Zanzibar for the 

 purpose of making a hunt for big game in Masailand, has 

 reached civilization on his return trip. The expedition 

 was vex-y successful, something like 200 head of game 

 having been secured in two months. Lions and elephants 

 are included in the list. Even in that far land people 

 were not exempt from attacks of the grip, and Mr. Car- 

 rol's caravan is said to have suffered severely from this 

 disease. 



A Book About Indians— The Fobest and Stream will mail 

 free on application a descriptive circular of Mr. Grinneirs book, 

 "Pawnee Hero Stories and Folk-Tales," giving a table of contents 

 and specimen illustrations from the volume.— Adv. 



611 Hints and Helps tor Sportsmen. A book of 340 pages 

 Send for table of contents. Price $1.50, postpaid, from this office 



CALIFORNIA'S HARD WINTER. 



AUBURN, Gal., March 29.— Editor Forest and Stream: 

 In my article headed "Robins and Olives," pub- 

 lished in your issue of March 13, the Mexican name of 

 the Heteromeles aroutifolia should read "toyon" instead 

 of "toyou." By the way, a Sacramento paper gets after 

 me about that article, and calls me a tenderfoot, and as 

 much as says that I am foolish for making such state- 

 ments, and proceeds to correct me as to the habits of the 

 robins. Just allow me to say that although I did not 

 come to our beloved State in the fall of '49 or the spring 

 of '50, yet I am no tenderfoot, and during thirteen years 

 residence in the golden State, have I made fair use of 

 close habits of observation. The only trouble with the 

 paper in question is that it misunderstood my remarks, 

 or else could not bear to have it go abroad that snow was 

 ever known within the the borders of California. All 

 the world knows that we have all varieties of climate 

 within our own confines, and also that our State is so 

 large that California game notes must be accepted as 

 being accurate only in the locality in which the notes 

 were made, and not as applying to the State at large. 



In this sense my notes were entirely accurate, except- 

 ing as regards the wild pigeon. This bird is somewhat 

 eccentric in its habits, and sometimes will go pretty far 

 south in its migrations; but yet, in so far as its presence 

 in Placer county, in greater numbers than ever before, is 

 concerned, I am again correct in my statement. As for 

 the varied thrush {Turdus ruevius), there is no question 

 as to the truth of what I wrote. I do not claim it to be 

 a rare bird in winter in this vicinity, but I unhesitatingly 

 state that never before in the last thirteen years has there 

 been one of these birds seen here for scores that have 

 visited us during this past winter. 



In addition to the birds noted in my last article I will 

 now add more. Lewis woodpecker (Asyndesjivus tor- 

 guatus) has been a very common bird here during the 

 heavy snows above u«, although in all previous years it 

 has been rare. Not only has this bird been common, but 

 contrary to its general habits it has been quite tame and 

 "folksy," alighting on fence posts in town, also on fruit 

 and shade trees, and even on roofs of buddings, like the 

 flickers. On one occasion in the early part of the present 

 month I observed two specimens of Clarke's crow (Pici- 

 corvus columbianus) busily engaged in opening pine 

 cones one mile out of our little city. This I consider to 

 be a very rare experience, as this bird haunts only the 

 bleak sides of high mountains. 



Again, the American dipper or water ousel (Oinclus 

 mexicamis) has been driven down out of the high Sierra 

 by the tremendous depth of snow covering all the smaller 

 streams, and can be found by hundreds up and down our 

 foothill streams, bowing, or rather courtesying its re- 

 spects to the passer by. This is one of our most interest- 

 ing birds and one that I have spent hours in watching. I 

 never can overcome the feeling that the little fellow is 

 committing suicide, when 1 see one of these birds going 

 into the water and deliberately walking beneath its sur- 

 face. It was always a mysterious proceeding to me, and 

 alw r ays will be, I believe. 



Another bird that is never a migrant has been driven 

 down out of its home in higher altitudes, and has been 

 with us in this vicinity in such numbers as to seriously 

 crowd our own residents of the same species. This is the 

 crissaltowhee bunting, or California towhee {Pijrilo fuscus 

 crissalis). This quiet, home-keeping bird has been forced 

 out of the higher foothills by the unusual deep snow, 

 contrary to its usual habits, and is so common that every 

 bush seems to shelter an inmate. They are now return- 

 ing home and becoming visibly fewer every day. This is 

 a very common bird throughout the foothill region, and 

 never leaves its home, excepting under great stress of 

 circumstances. 



This has indeed been a hard winter in California. Rain, 

 rain, rain in the valleys and foothills, and snow, snow, 

 snow in the mountains. And even yet it keeps up its 

 steady pace. As I write this, the constant raindrops are 

 beating against my office windows and higher up in the 

 mountains the snow is again threatening our railway 

 communication. To eyes new to the country, a journey 

 from one end of our county to the other must seem 

 strange indeed. Coming into the county on its eastern 

 borders, on the C. P. R. R. at the present time, a traveler 

 is in the midst of Arctic scenery, with snow 20ft. deep 

 yet on a level. This continues over the summit of the. 

 Sierra Nevada and until Dutch Flat is reached. There 

 the snow has mostly disappeared and the almond trees 

 are putting forth then bloom through the falling but 

 rapiclly melting snow. At Colfax the' peach is in full 

 bloom and tender buds are putting forth. At this place 

 the orange, cherry and plum are in bloom, and the peach 

 is pretty well passed out, though a few still show in blos- 

 som. In the lower foothills, and down to the western 

 line of the county, early fruit is formed and the oaks are 

 almost in full foliage, and all this within the limits of 

 one county. Truly California is a country of surprise and 

 one that all its sons and daughters, native and adopted, 

 swear by. Arefar. 



Acclimatization Society.— Mount Vernon, New York, 

 March 30.— Editor Forest and Stream: A thought has 

 been revolving in my mind lately for the formation of an 

 acclimatization society, in conjunction, if possible,- with 

 other scientific societies. It is clearly of as much inter- 

 est to the sportsman as to the naturalist. Our cousins on 

 the other side have, I understand, a similar society, and 

 it might have been made an international thing, We 

 might, with the help of the general public, acclimatize 

 birds from all parts of the globe. We can command any 

 climate and any kind of country, and to my mind it is 

 beautifully adapted to this idea. Wonderful results have 

 been obtained in Australia and New Zealand, barring 

 rabbits, and such a thing could not happen in this coun- 

 try of sportsmen. Efforts have already been started in 

 this direction, and to the agriculturist, sportsman and 

 naturalist this project might be an inestimable boon. I 

 hope to hear from others on this subject. — Hybrid. 



Pheasant Eggs Wanted. — A gentleman of this city 

 would be glad to learn where he can obtain a few settings 

 of English pheasants' eggs. A line to X. Y. Z., this office, 

 will receive prompt attention. 



