May 15, 1890.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



331 



THE YELLOWSTONE PARK. 



THE Yellowstone National Park, the Rocky Mountain realm of 

 the northwest part of Wyoming, the wildest and most inter- 

 esting domain ever set apart by any government for the enjoy- 

 ment of its people, sepms to be in danger of defacement and defile- 

 ment by a speculators' railroad project. 

 No railroad should be petmitted to enter the Yellowstone Park. 

 But the Public Lands Committee of Congress has been led, it is 

 said, to decide upon a report, which, while defining the limits and 

 boundaries of this wonderful domain— limits which have not been 

 hitherto accurately defined— also permits a right of way 1o a rail- 

 way; a scheme devised by speculators, whose corporation does not 

 expect to build any railway, but to sell the right to some other 

 corporation. 



This scheme should be squelched by Congress. A railroad 

 through the Yellowstone Park would be a defacement and defile- 

 ment of the one great domain which the nation has set apart for 

 the enjoyment of its wild beauty by the people generally. The 

 desien has been, by common consent, to keep it a wild and natural 

 domain; a veritable fairyland of wonders; a resort for the Ameri- 

 can people, and (he most interesting place which tourists from 

 other lands can visit. Up to the present time its boundaries have 

 not been exactly determined. Bills have been passed in the Sen- 

 ate, in two or three recent years, but no precise and accurate 

 hound aries for this unique mountain domain have ever been de- 

 fined by the concurrent action of both houses of Congress. The 

 Public Lands Committee now have a bill, which not only defines 

 the limits of this wild and wonderful mountain park, but pro- 

 vides for its interests in the near coming years; for the Yellow- 

 stone Park is soon to take its place among the world's wonders — 

 if indeed it has not alrendy reached one of the highest places in 

 that select company. But the committee has permitted a set of 

 conscienceless speculators to mar their report by inserting a per- 

 mit for the construction of a speculators' railroad through the 

 Park. 



The setting up o£ a huckster's shop and hot sausage stall in the 

 chapter-house of Westminster Abbey would not be a greater dese- 

 cration. 



It would be too bad— it would be a national shame, to grant, in 

 this final bill of definitions, a charter to a set of conscienceless 

 speculators to build a railroad through the midst of that moun- 

 tain region. It is the very wildness of the Yellowstone Park 

 which constitutes, and is to constitute, its chief charm. It is too 

 elevated a field for other uses; its purpose, as designed by nature, 

 would seem to point out this mountainous region in "the Rockies" 

 as a domain to be preserved for the pleasure of tourists and 

 visitors. 



We ought to have in the United States one such place, which, 

 unfavorable to farming or manufacturing enterprises, ''fills the 

 bill'* as a health and pleasure-giving resort. The Yellowstone 

 Park does this. No other country possesses such a domain as this 

 great section of mountains and vales, and natural wonders. It 

 takes a fortnight to a month for the visitor to see it fully and get 

 a true idea of it. It extends from the 44th to the 43th parallel of 

 latitude, and longitudinally, east and west, from the 110th merid- 

 ian to a point beyond the lllth. Its bounds will be accurately de- 

 fined in this new bill from the Public Lands Committee. 



The elevation of this large domain is in a general way, as com- 

 pared with the level of the sea. about that, of the summit of 

 Mount Washington, or about 6,300ft. In some places the moun- 

 tains reach heights of 11,000 or 12,100ft.— nearly equal to the higher 

 peaks of the Rockies and the Alos. But the general elevation is 

 such that, taken in connection with the latitude, will forever 

 unfit this wild and picturesque realm for agricultural purposes. 

 Its evident natural use is just what the country has chosen it for 

 —a wild and picturesque resort for the people. Its air, in that 

 saddleback region between the oceans, and so far removed from 

 either sea, is dry and invigorating; in July and August it is de- 

 lightful. 



Through this wild and picturesque realm, the wonder of all 

 tourists, a speculative corporation, calling itself the Montana 

 Mineral Railway, is permitted by the committee's report to lay 

 its tracks. It is said the vote in committee was very close— the 

 speculators gaining their point by a majority of one. They should 

 have been beaten and their plan rejected unanimously. No rail- 

 way should be permitted in tne National Park. What makes 

 this permission contained in the committee's report, particularly 

 abominable is the fact that it is tacked on to a bill which is pro- 

 fessedly drawn to benefit the whole people. Tlie corporation 

 which has secured by such a close vote in committee the recom- 

 mendation to Congress to grant this right to invade the domain 

 of this mountain park, does not intend to build any railway, but 

 to sell at a big profit its franchise to some other corporation who 

 will. If Congressmen were as well informed on the subject as 

 they should be— and as honest guardians of the public interest as 

 they are expected to be — no such franchise as this would be voted, 

 no matter what the committee may report. 



Forest and Stream, a good publication, is true to the public 

 interest on this, as on other subjects. That journal has this earn- 

 est protest against this scheme: 

 i "Those who wish to obtain such a franchise should ask Congress 

 the privilege they desire fairly and squarely on the merits of their 

 proposition. They should not try to bmuggle it through as a rider 

 to a good bill. 



"To grant a right, of way to a railway to run through the 

 National Park is to destroy it. Should such a right be granted to 

 one road, a similar right cannot be denied to another. There will 

 be a race between corporations to reach points of interest in the 

 Park, the reservation will be gridironed with tracks, disastrous 

 fires will destroy the pine forests which clothe the mountain 

 sides, springs will dry up, the great reservoirs, like the Yellow- 

 stone Lake, will no longer supply waters to fill the mighty rivers 

 which now irrigate the plains of Montana, Dakota, Idaho, Oregon 

 and Washington. 



"Last Saturday, in the House, was devoted to eulogies of the 

 late S. S. Cox, who was an ardent advocate of the integrity of the 

 National Park. Three years ago his eloquence defeated, by a vote 

 of lO'.i to 70, a bill granting a franchise to a railway to run through 

 the National Park. If the dead statesmau could speak to-day, all 

 his great influence and all his superb eloquence would be used to 

 defeat the amendment which has been added to the Park bill by 

 the Public Lands Committee. We ask each member of the House 

 to give his vote to kill this amendment , which is a mere grab, and 

 to pass the Park Dill as it came, from the Senate."— Hartford 

 Daily Times, May l. 



m nt\& §wqr fishing. 



NOTES FROM CAPE COD. 



THE harbor of Woods Holl has been full of small sea 

 herring {Clupea Jiarengus) all winter— a thing I 

 never saw before. The name "sperling" is applied to 

 them by nearly all the fishermen. Codfish have come in 

 quite abundantly this spring, both small and large. 

 Some are caught every day in the fish traps about Woods 

 Holl. From Quisset to Cuttyhunk they are caught in 

 fish traps and lobster pots. In Vineyard Sound they are 

 getting them in the same way from Falmouth Heights 

 to Quick's Hole. This is something entirely new. In a 

 little funnel bass trap on Nonamesset, belonging to Capt. 

 Spindle, on Saturday, May 8, the first day they hauled, 

 twenty-three large cod were taken. May a they got fif- 

 teen. May 6 they had eight, the traps in Quisset Harbor 

 had one each, and the lobstermen brought in some from 

 their pots. The fishermen about Woods Holl think these 

 must be fish that were hatched here by the Fish Com- 

 mission. It is a new experience to catch cod along shore 

 in fish traps. Never before since traps were put in has 

 this been known to occur: but once in a great while they 

 would catch a logy or sick cod. Those that are taken 

 now are very nice plump fish weighing from 5 to lolbs. 

 each. I am trying to get some of the fishermen here to 

 try them with hook and line. Other fish have not come 

 along yet to any extent. We are getting plenty of lobster 

 eggs. From April 16 to May 6 I have collected upward 

 of 3,500,000 of them. 



White wing coots, or scoters, have not begun to fly 

 yet; they come along about May_ 15. The winter has been 

 so mild that they did not come' in to feed. 



V, N, EDWARDS, 



Woods Hot,t<, Mass., May «. 



THE MOON'S EFFECT ON FISHING. 



N the fall of 1888, a friend and myself were relating 

 to each other tbe noteworthy incidents which had 

 oootirrecl in our respective angling careers, and among 

 the numerous anecdotes and some fish stories, I asked my 

 friend the following question: "How do you account for 

 the varying success of anglers, and of the same angler at 

 various times?" He looked at me as though surprised at 

 such a curious question, but said that he thought it was 

 due to luck, or chance, or good fortune. I then said that 

 although luck may have some influence on the success of 

 an angler, I thought it was due to a more substantial 

 cause. This cause I told him I thought to be the moon; 

 and I also said I thought the moon must in some unknown 

 way influence the number of fishes; but beyond this, as 

 I bad only looked superficially into the question, I could 

 give him no information. However, it was from this con- 

 versation that I determined to investigate the relation 

 existing between the moon and salt-water fishes. 



I therefore devoted a considerable portion of this past 

 season, beginning with early spring and ending late in 

 November, to salt-water angling, and, as is usual with 

 anglers, have met with varying success. 



I shall have very little or nothing to say of season, 

 winds, rain, storms, tides, hot or cold waves, kinds of 

 bait, etc., except as they influence what I have to say in 

 reference to the moon, " The effect of each upon the differ- 

 ent species of fishes varies so much, and is so well known 

 to practical anglers, that it would be fruitless for me to 

 write of them. 



But now we come to a very important question: In 

 what quarter is the moon? Upon the answer of this 

 question will depend the weight of your basket in going 

 to and coming from your fishing resort. Thus, if you go 

 angling at a time when the phase of the moon is unfavor- 

 able you are apt to bring home your basket very light. 

 On the other hand, if the phase of the moon is favorable, 

 you probably will have as many fish as you can comfort- 

 ably carry. 



© 



I have divided the success with which an angler may 

 meet into the best, medium and poor; and have discov- 

 ered a corresponding phase of the moon for each. These 

 various phases, together with their degree of success, are 

 the following: 



1. The best success will be met with on those days 

 between the first quarter of the moon and four or five 

 days after this period . 



2. Medium success will be met with two or three days 

 before the first quarter and that period of time interven- 

 ing between the four or five days following the first 

 quarter and two or three days before the last quarter. 



3. Poor success will be met with from the two or 

 three days before the last quarter up to the two or three 

 days preceding the first quarter. 



Evidently there is a cycle, beginning at or soon after 

 the first quarter of the nioon, when we have the best fish- 

 ing, this passing into fair fishing, this into poor, then fair 

 again, and finally getting back to the starting point. This 

 cycle occupies a period of about four weeks, in two weeks 

 of which we have good, including the best fishing, and 

 this is succeeded by two weeks of comparatively poor 

 fishing. 



The fishes seem to increase in number from the new 

 moon up to the first quarter; they then remain about 

 stationary in number for four or five days and they then 

 begin to decrease, until they seem to be fewest two or 

 three days prior to the new moon. 



In order to bring out the above apparently cloudy 

 points more clearly and forcibly, I have introduced the 

 above diagram , representing a lunar month of twenty- 

 eight days and the interval between the quarters of the 

 moon occupying a period of seven days. This is not 

 exact for each month, but it is approximately correct 

 and will serve my purpose. The diagram is simple and 

 needs, I think, very little explanation. The four quar- 

 ters of the moon are represented opposite the horizontal 

 and perpendicular lines. The numbers, as well as the 

 spaces in which they are printed, represent days, and not 

 days of the month. The success with which the angler 

 will meet is printed between two dark oblique lines. 



There are exceptions to the above, but 1 have found 

 them to be due, more particularly, to outside influences. 

 For example, I may cite that in striped bass angling, a 

 northeasterly storm after raging for two or three days, 

 will increase the number of fishes the day or two follow- 

 ing it. If this storm happens to come on those days 

 which I have classed under medium success, you will 

 catch more fish than you would ordinarily in this same 

 period. But, if it comes on those days which I have 

 classed under poor success, I have found that its favor- 

 able influence upon the number of fishes, as compared 

 with the former period of time, is only slightly marked. 

 On the other hand, a similar storm occurring during the 

 weakfish season, would, for a day or two following, de- 

 crease the number of fishes. It is also well-known that 

 during the hot weather of the summer months, the fishes 

 very often take the bait much more freely at night or 

 early mnmine, than during the daytlpif , Stage of the 



tide also has its influence, varying not only with each 

 species of fish, but also with each and every angling re- 

 sort. I could mention a number of other examples, but 

 these will suffice to show what I mean by outside in- 

 fluences. 



There is one other point which 1 have noticed, and this 

 is, that as the season opens for each species of the salt- 

 water fishes they first appear at or near the first quarter 

 of the moon; and conversely, that as the season ends they 

 finally disappear between the last quarter and new 

 moon. 



There are certain deductions to be drawn from the 

 a bo v e observations : 



1. That there is a direct or indirect relation from week 

 to week and from day to day between the moon and the 

 number of fishes. I say direct or indirect because I think 

 the height of the tide, as it varies from day to day, has 

 some influence upon this subject; and inasmuch as the 

 tides are caused by the moon, this relation is direct as 

 regards the moon, and indirect as regards the height of 

 the tide. 



2. That the state of tlie weather, etc., has a certain in- 

 fluence upon the number of fishes. 



3. That the angler can calculate as to when he will 

 meet, barring outside influences, with the best success. 



4. That if the angler proposes to spend one or two 

 weeks at a fishing resort, which is situated at some dis- 

 tance from his home— say Florida, or one of the striped 

 bass clubs, or any one of the numerous fishing resorts 

 along the coast— it will be to his advantage to arrive at 

 his destination two or three days before the first quarter 

 of the moon. Thus he will arrive just prior to the days 

 when he may expect the best success. 



5. I ha ve seen it stated that there is, in addition to the 

 spring and fall runs, a summer run of striped bass. 

 This is true, and corresponds with my observations. 

 This run will commence two or three days prior to the 

 first quarter of the moon, and continue for from ten to 

 fourteen days; and as this phase of the moon occurs either 

 the latter part of June or early part of July, it has been 

 termed a summer run. 



6. Incidentally, I may mention that what I have said 

 in reference to the fishes also may be applied to the com- 

 mon edible or blue crab (Callinectes hastatus Ordway). 



In closing, I may say that my observations have been 

 confined entirely to salt-water angling; but I have had 

 enough experience in lake, pond and river angling to con- 

 vince me that this same influence is at work upon the 

 fresh as well as the salt-water fishes. This latter state- 

 ment I cannot verify, except so far as memory goes; and 

 I remember that in some weeks I had first-class or fair 

 success, while mother weeks it was poor. This part of 

 the subject deserves careful investigation. 



Finally, there is one other question which I should like 

 very much to see answered, and this is: In what manner 

 does the moon influence the fishes that it should cause 

 them to vary in number? It undoubtedly is through the 

 tide, but how? Perhaps some of my readers can answer? 



Edwin Dudley Smith, M.D. 



New York. 



RANDOM CASTS. 



AS a rule, your tackle will suffer more during the close 

 seasons than when in actual use, simply because 

 you fail to give the little time necessary to have the re- 

 pairs made when you return from your outing. A dollar 

 spent in the fall for this purpose will save two in the 

 spring. And don't put your flies away without some- 

 thing to keep the moth out, or when next needed there 

 will probably be nothing but the bare hooks. 



The manner in which our food fishes are wasted by the 

 menhaden fishermen is a crying shame, and every one 

 who has the welfare of the poor at heart should do his 

 share toward getting the National Government to restrict 

 their methods. Fish will never be cheap food until some- 

 thing is done to prevent these corporations from taking 

 everything that comes to their huge nets and turning the. 

 catch into fertilizers. 



The expensive enameled silk line is only necessary to 

 facilitate casting the fly; when fishing where the fish 'run 

 large and more than 25yds. is likely to be needed, splice 

 on 50 or 100yds. of nine-thread linen line behind the 

 enameled one. In Florida the channel bass of large size 

 takes the fly, and when fast to one of 15 or 201bs. consid- 

 erable line will be found necessary to capture him on a 

 trout rod. 



When fishing a salmon pool to clear out the trout, don't 

 use a light leader on your trout rod; I was unfortunate 

 enough to see a big salmon break away after having 

 played him for upward of half an hour, by not knowing 

 any better at the time. 



In most of the mountain streams of New York and 

 Pennsylvania better success may be had both as regards 

 the size and quantity of trout taken, if flies tied on Nos. 

 14 and 16 hooks were more used than of those generally 

 sold for the purpose in the tackle stores. Attach them to 

 a drawn gut leader. Big Reel. 



Brook Trout in Pennsylvania. — During the first 

 week of fishing, beginning April 15, in Bowman's Creek, 

 Messrs. Anderson and Heilman, of Pittston, caught some 

 very large trout, the smallest I2in. and the largest 16fin. 

 long. This was one of the nicest catches made on this 

 stream for years. They began fishing near Crosby's and 

 fished down to Evans's mills, using tandem hooks and 

 minnows for bait. The arrangement of the hooks was 

 devised by themselves, and will be understood. A minnow 

 about 1-Jin. long, is fastened by passing the first hook 

 into the mouth, out at the gill-opening, and striking the 

 barb through the body at the base of the dorsal fin. Big 

 trout cannot easily escape from this rig. In Fishing 

 Creek a Wilkes barre party of four caught 801bs. in the 

 second week of the open season. The Bushkill, reached 

 from Cresco and five or six miles of driving, is well 

 spoken of at present. Broadhead's Creek, about one 

 mile from Henryville (Delaware, Lackawanna & Western 

 R. R.) is also very productive. Trout are more abundant 

 and larger than for many years. The Tobyhanna ought 

 to give a good account of itself, for there has been no 

 logging and no trouble from ice. My own outings recently 

 have been spent on the Wapwallopen, where the returns 

 were fairly good. The black gnat proved to be the most 

 successful early fly, with cowdung and black-hacklf- 

 good seconds,— C, M, B. (WUkesbarre, p a> , May 7), 



