232 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



LOct. 9, 1890. 



The end of the "Little Bassett" Channel, one of the 

 winding, wandering, deep creeks or channels that go 

 meandering through the wilderness of rice across the 

 river, through the alleged preserves of the Canada Club, 

 lies not far from Joe's house, across the channel. As we 

 talked of this, I asked Joe where. and at what time the 

 best bass fishing was to be found on the Fiats. He re- 

 plied that the earliest fishing was usually on the Horse- 

 shoe Bay, about four miles distant from the ''made land" 

 where we were. Next came the "East Ground," about 

 three miles distant, east of the piers, in Canada; then 

 Johnson's Channel — or "The Johnson," as it is commonly 

 called — about ten miles; the "Any Carty,"* distant about 

 ten miles; Mitchell's Bay, twelve miles; the Big Bassett, 

 two to four miles; the South Channels and Little Bassett, 

 one to two miles; the last fishing of the season he was 

 prone to expect on the lower end of the pier, and here 

 some big bass were taken. 



Back of Joe's house and the Delta Club is a stretch of 

 marsh, over which it is a ^ide look to Hersen's island. 

 In the shallow water back of this marsh the bass were 

 spawning at that date (May 31). Soon they would begin 

 to "run" and would commence biting. 



Joe showed me the nests of two dusky ducks (black 

 mallards), in the marsh just back of his boat house, not 

 100yds. away. He insists on an observance of the game 

 laws among his guests, and has kept these ducks safe all 

 the spring. This back marsh is good shooting ground. 



The finest redhead decoys 1 ever saw in my live were 

 here at Joe Bedore's. He explained to me that there was 

 only one man in the country who could shape these decoys 

 right. This man boards with Joe during the winter, and 

 they put in the evenings working at the decoys, Joe doing 

 the rough work and the artist furnishing the higher skill. 

 The decoys were beauties. Joe explained to me that a 

 redhead decoy, to be lifelike, must have the top of the 

 head just about on a line with the top of the back, not 

 higher. The back is humped up very high and sharp, and 

 the curve of the back runs right down behind into the 

 water, not showing any tail at all. I guess he's right 

 about that. These decoys were nicely painted, the head 

 being treated with a bronze powder which is simply a 

 stroke of genius. The eyes are glass. All these decoys 

 are hollow and flat-bottomed. Joe told me that no man 

 could make wages by working at these decoys, and that 

 the only way he got them was by the night work in win- 

 ter time. There was an individuality about these birds 

 which made me want one for a specimen, and Joe prom- 

 ised to finish one up and send it to me; but he never did. 

 I could not buy any from him. 



I would rather sit aud talk to a man like old Joe 

 Bedore than do anything else; but he, too, had to be left 

 behind. I can't believe all the hard things they say about 

 Joe's being in league with the half-breeds and'the'lndian 

 fish -stealers, or about his shooting ducks before the season 

 opens. It may be because everybody along the Flats tries 

 to jump on Joe that I don't feel disposed to jump on him 

 myself. I believe he is as good as the average up there. 

 I would rather jump on the Canada Club, and I am due 

 to do that pretty soon now. It reads English, and can 

 take care of itself. 



For a little distance above Joe Bedore's there is a crude 

 beginning at land-making, and then the marsh sweeps 

 up, with about the nearest approach to a natural river 

 bank to be seen for a long way down. Beyond the marsh 

 is the little cottage of Louis Gorman, and then thegoodish 

 small cottage of Dr. Wood ward. Then there is some more 

 marsh, and then the cabin of John Witmer. Eight on the 

 point is a neat cottage belonging to Mr. Cromharn. We 

 have now come about to the end of our journey. We are 

 directly at the great sweep of the ship channel known as 

 the "Southeast Bend." Here, roughly speaking, ends the 

 tongue of land to which our main interest is confined, and 

 we shall not go any further up the river. To the left, 

 above us, we can see the green of Hersen's island; to the 

 right the timber of Walpole Island. There are hotels up 

 there still further, and at Grande Pointe there are cottages 

 up and perhaps a club or so going in. They are making 

 a summer resort there. But we shall have to draw the 

 line somewhere this side of Lake Superior. Across from 

 the point where we now stand is the long pier and somber- 

 colored house of the last club we shall visit up this way. 

 The course of the noted Big Bassett Channel is visible 

 from where we stand, and so we know that we have come 

 to the 



CANADIAN CLTJB. 



It may have been gathered by remarks made in earlier 

 articles, that the " Canadian Club" is not popular on the 

 Flats. There may, or may not, be a reason for that. I 

 confess that I have no business in "writing up" the Cana- 

 dian Club on such information as I secured personally, 

 for that was very little. It is not journalistic fairness to 

 hear only one side of the case, and although the best effort 

 was made to secure both sides of the evidence, this at the 

 time could not be done. There exists the danger of hurting 

 the feelings, or the amour propre, of some member of the 

 Canadian Club who may, for all we know, be the very 

 best of fellows, and fully disposed to do only what is right 

 and sportsmanlike. We shall go far wrong, however, if 

 we confine the story to what was actually seen, and credit 

 assertions simply as assertions and not as facts. 



It was growing late when Mr. Boydell's steam yacht 

 dropped me at the dock of the Canadian Club, and as he 

 must soon go back down the river, my stay at this club 

 was necessarily short. I hurried over the long walk from 

 the pier to the house, which I could see was a big frame 

 house, dark-colored, roomy, but plain and unpretentious. 

 Even the dogs here were inhospitable, and it was only 

 due to the aid of a small boy that my legs were preserved 

 from contact with a big retriever that ought to have 

 known a great deal better. At the house I learned that 

 Mr, Muir, the steward, or "caretaker," as he is there 

 called, had just left on the boat. At the house there 

 were two or three women, among them Mr. Muir's 

 daughter and his wife, a typical Scotch woman if I know 

 what that is. I tried to engage Mrs. Muir in conversation, 

 seeking to get a few little points about the club which 

 would help me in the work, but found myself altogether 

 unable to get along at it. Mrs. Muir may have been un- 

 able to -understand my language, or she" may have been 

 startled by the hurry I was evidently in — a hurry which 

 will be understood by any visitor who makes the journey 

 of the whole channel in one day, stopping at all these 

 points of interest the necessary length of time. Or, upon 

 the other hand, as seems more probable, the good lady 



*By some mysterious twist of comparative philology abbreviated 

 from "Cheael Eoartfe." 



may have understood more than she seemed to, and have 

 remained discreetly mute on points whereon she could 

 not consult the gudeman of the place. Be that as it may, 

 and be the right to knock uninvited at the door of a 

 sportsman's club as it may, all the answers I could obtain 

 were "I dinna unnerstand," "I canna tell," and "Mr. Muir 

 is awa'. " I must compliment the gentlemen of the 

 Canada Club upon the discretion of those left in charge. 

 Mrs. Muir, poor lady, was obviously suspicious of the 

 newspaper man, and perhaps thought she was receiving 

 a visit from an insurance man, tax collector, excise man, 

 Government detective or something of the sort; but after 

 all, I must confess that since I tried my best to ex- 

 plain the object of the visit, and since the reception 

 here was so very different from what it had been at all 

 the other clubs, the feeling carried away was one of a 

 rebuff, and so, with very little reason for it, I began to 

 wonder if there was not a disposition in this select organi- 

 zation to keep quite to itself and to repel questions whose 

 answers might bring out facts that it didn't care to have 

 known. This conclusion, like most others merely 

 jumped at, is probably wrong, but it was at that time so 

 strong within me that I made no further effort to get any 

 information about the Canada Club. I do not know who 

 are the gentlemen composing it — I hope this will offend 

 none of them— and I do not know the officers. There are 

 only 24 members, and they must represent a good deal of 

 wealth or influence. Mr. James Muir is the resident, or 

 ' caretaker." His address is Port Lambton, Ont. 



Of all the clubs on the Flats the Canada Club is by far 

 the best situated and most fortunate. It is right upon 

 the Big Bassett Channel, and directly accessible there- 

 from are the best fishing and shooting grounds of the re- 

 gion. As I understand it, this is chiefly a shooting club. 

 The preserves are the best anywhere in that country. 

 From the looks of the club house I should think this was 

 the sporting ground of a few hard shooters, who come 

 out not so much for summer pleasuring as for duck hunt- 

 ing, and care more for comfort than for style. The 

 Canada Club house is out of the world of the other clubs, 

 its situation being very remote, away up on the point of 

 the big bend. 



There must be a good many thousand acres of inarsh in 

 the Canada Club preserves. No one knows just how 

 much they claim, or rather have a right to claim, for 

 they are alleged to claim all out-doors, like our friend Mr. 

 McQueen. Their lease is from the Walpole Indians, 

 Whether these Indians owned this marsh in their reser- 

 vation, or whether the Canada Club took the comfortable 

 ground that the marsh was all a part of the island which 

 they did own, is more than the writer knows or more 

 than any one on the Flats seems to know. You will 

 hear plenty of denials of the validity of the lease, but as 

 to that it is impossible to say anything here. I will ask 

 Queen Victoria about this the next time I see her and 

 then report, unless she happens to be as taciturn as Mrs. 

 Muir, good lady. 



It has been stated earlier that much of the best bass 

 fishing is found over on the Canada side, and on these 

 same preserves. These channels being navigable, cannot 

 be preserved, and the complaints of the Canada Club 

 against the anglers cannot be sustained. It is an open 

 question at law whether the Canada Club could convict 

 or get damages against any one who should shoot ducks 

 in season on this "preserve." The club would have to 

 prove its legal and definite boundaries before it could sue 

 in trespass. But no such thought as this obtains among 

 the better sentiment of the flats. Perfect comity exists, 

 and by club courtesy the limits of this "preserve," which 

 hedge in the best shooting and some of the fishing, are 

 respected perfectly. Unless memory is at fault, there has 

 been something said in these columns about this same con- 

 troversy. My own facts are so limited that it would be a 

 pleasure to see others take the question up and get at the 

 full actual facts in the case. E. Hough. 



175MONEOB Street, Chicago. 



THE CANADA CLUB. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



In the articles upon the clubs of the St. Glair Flats 

 which have appeared in the last five numbers of your 

 valuable paper, there have been interlarded with much 

 that is of interest to sportsmen in general many state- 

 ments which are entirely misleading to your readers, and 

 very unfair to the Canada Club with its "alleged pre- 

 serves." 



Perhaps your writer is not aware that the "alleged pre- 

 serves" are held by the Canada Club (a corporation 

 organized and existing under the laws or Canada, and 

 representing an investment of some $40,000) directly 

 from the Indian Department of the Canadian Govern- 

 ment, for which it pays a large annual rental. The means 

 used by the club to preserve the game are mostly those 

 employed by similar organizations: First, the Canada 

 Club does not open until the 15th of October, thereby 

 putting a closer restriction on the shooting season than 

 the law provides. Second, during the season no member 

 is allowed to shoot before 8 A. M., nor after sundown, 

 thereby giving the ducks ample time to rest and feed in 

 the marsh. Third, much food which tends to make the 

 marsh a natural feeding ground for ducks is put in at no 

 little expense to the club. 



No doubt your writer represents the feelings of the 

 hotel keepers and those who hunt for the market, but we 

 do not believe that he represents the feelings of any true 

 sportsman, any one of whom must realize that if it were 

 not for the means which the club has used there would 

 not only not be fair shooting in all parts of the Flats, as 

 there is now, but no shooting on any part of the Flats. 



Jas. H. McMillan, 

 Geo. M, Hendrie, 



Detroit, Mich., Oct. 3. Members of Canada Club, 



I am in receipt of the following letter, relative to the 

 club articles that have been running: 



"Detroit, Oct. a.— Your articles on Clubs of St. Clair 

 Flats that have appeared in the last five numbers of the 

 Forest and Stream, show a marked dislike to the 

 Canada Club. Now your information has either been 

 gathered from some very prejudiced party or else you 

 have never gone into the matter, and just written down 

 the common talk of the market -hunters and others that 

 reside along the river. In the Canada Club marsh, more 

 has been done to preserve ducks on the great St. Clair 

 Flats than all other clubs put together. As regards our 

 'supposed' lease, the same js held from the Indian Depart- 



ment of the Canadian Government, for which we pay a 

 large annual rental, and at present the club stands as an 

 investment of some $40,000. You call the Canada Club 

 jealous of its fishing rights. Now, this is not so; it is true 

 we protect the best shooting on the marsh against Ameri- 

 can shooters, and mean to do so to the end of the chapter. 

 If the American marsh was not drummed to death with 

 shooting, in and out of season, daylight and dark, there 

 would be lots of ducks there also, but under the present 

 circumstances I am afraid that our friends across the 

 river must forever 'look upon the flaunting rice of the 

 grinding monopoly.' Every sportsman loves fair play, 

 and this you have not accorded the Canadian Club. 

 Yours truly, Geo, M. Hendrie, Member of the Canada 

 Club." 



I am very much obliged indeed to Mr. Hendrie for the 

 above, for it carries additional data for a work where the 

 widest possible information was the one thing wanted. 

 It was one of the regrets of the trip to the Flats that so little 

 could be definitely learned of the Canada Club. To the 

 newsgatherer it was simply one of the clubs of the Flats, 

 nothing more, nothing less", and it3 news was wanted just 

 as much, not anymore. It is of course not the case at 

 all that 1 have shown a "marked dislike" for the Canada 

 Club. It is the case that what information I got was 

 necessarily obtained almost altogether outside of the 

 Canada Club, but it hardly seems to me that the gentle- 

 manly reserve of the American Club members, and their 

 courteous treatment of the boundary lines of the Canada 

 Club, imply any undue prejudice on their part. It cer- 

 tainly is not the case that all the "common talk" I heard, 

 of market- hunters and others — principally others; I be- 

 lieve I did not talk with any market-hunter at all— was 

 just written down, although I beg Mr. Hendrie's atten- 

 tion to the fact that what it common talk is painfully 

 liable to be common truth. I am sure Forest and 

 Stream will be very glad to publish the fact that the 

 Canada Club is of more worth in game protection than 

 all the other clubs. The information about the lease is 

 also welcome, though not conclurive as to the validity of 

 the lease. As to the "large annual rental," Mr. Hendrie 

 will oblige the writer and hundreds of club members 

 who read this paper, if he will state accurately just what 

 that rental is. The American club men say it is too in- 

 significantly small. How much is it, really? 



I must confess I do not see how the Canada Club can 

 be so very jealous of its fishing rights, because the best 

 fishing as I understand it, is in navigable channels; but 

 in the statement that the Canada Club means to protect 

 its shooting against American shooters "to the end of the 

 chapter," we get directly at what is my estimate of the 

 Canada Club, and which now seems to me just, although 

 it may not be just, for I have not all the facts. 1 think 

 the Canada Club has got a good thing and wants every 

 bit of it, I think the Canada Club is pretty fond of the 

 Canada Club. No one blames it for this. The big Amer- 

 ican clubs respect its lines and its lease perfectly, 

 although the one and the other are not, so far as I could 

 learn, definite or proved. In view of all this feeling that 

 exists on the Flats,!?I should think it would be well for 

 the Canada Club to define its lines and publish them, and 

 to define its lease and publish that, too. That is just the 

 sort of news that this paper would like to have, I feel 

 sure. It is something that no paper, so far as I know, 

 has ever been able to get. Such publication would stop 

 much "common talk" and much ill-feeling. Let us have 

 it. We can then see whether or not there is any "pull," 

 any "ring," and "standing in," any consideration which 

 practically amounts only to hiring of some Indians for 

 pushers* yet smuggles in for a select few some very valu- 

 able privileges. These are said to be facts. I do not 

 know them to be facts. If they are not, it would be a 

 pleasure to show that they are not. I cannot do this 

 without the assistance of the Canada Club. Let us have 

 that assistance, and let us get to the bottom of the matter. 



At the hands of the servants of the Canada Club, as is 

 said later in the course of remarks, which I fear will yet 

 more displease Mr. Hendrie — the writer received treat- 

 ment which any unreasonable man would in America 

 have called inhospitable in the extreme, if he did not 

 call it worse. This was not the case among the other 

 clubs. There I got help in the hunt for news. From the 

 Canada Club I have had no help, but this one "kick" — as 

 newspaper men euphoniously term that article — from Mr. 

 Hendrie. I am thankful for what news the letter holds, 

 and any future letters on this topic, if gentlemanly in 

 their nature, shall have as early publication as I can 

 secure for them. If there is anything on earth that 

 Forest and Stream wants I am sure it is both sides of 

 any case, for no fairer-minded paper is published. After 

 this I do not think the Canada Club should complain of 

 unfair treatment. The articles constituting this series 

 were all written long before the receipt of the above let- 

 ter. I do not see any reason for changing any of those 

 papers which have not yet been published. I certainly 

 should not be moved thereto by the assertion that fair 

 play has not been shown to the Canada Club. It is not 

 less than misfortune when one wishes to show absolute 

 fair play and is accused of not doing so. But the cry of 

 unfair play too often arises when our neighbor's estimate 

 of us is not that which we put upon ourselves. Will the 

 Canada Club, seriously, quietly, with no hard words, 

 but only an earnest desire to get at the full facts, please 

 tell us more about itself and so enable one to spread a 

 better estimate? E. Hough. 



U. S. FISH COMMISSION WORK.— Dr. Hessel, superin- 

 tendent of the U. S. Fish Commission carp ponds, Washing- 

 ton, D. O, estimates the number of carp now in the pond to be 

 upward of 400,000. Owing to the cold weather of last May the 

 season is at least a mouth backward, and the ponds are not 

 to be drawn off until about Nov. 1, instead of early October, 

 the usual time. The month of May, the Doctor says, is 

 the most important one of the year to warm-water fishes, 

 and a low temperature of the water then makes a very late 

 season. Besides the carp there will be about 6,000 tench and 

 30,000 gold fish for distribution. The ponds are i a good con- 

 dition, and have a good supply of stock fish for breeders in 

 them. Since the flood of 1889 there has been little trouble 

 from snakes. In one year, previous to 1889, 1,900 snakes 

 were killed at the ponds with a 23-cal. parlor rifle. 



A Book About Indians.— The Forest and Stream wilt mail 

 free on application a descriptive circular of Mr, Grinnell'a book, 

 "Pawnee ffero Stories and Folk-Tales," giving a table of content*? 

 and spec! --lien illustrations from the yoliqne.— ^.da. 



