180 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[March 19, 1891. 



PHIL ADELPITIA-, Marcli 14.-.T. Frank Kleinz, of this city, and 

 W. S. Willunns, of Nevvfirlc, N. .T., arranged to-day for a spries of 

 three matclics between J. A. R. Elliot, of Kansas Oity, a.nd John 

 L. Brewer, of Hammnndton, each match to be at 100 live pigeons 

 per man tor 81,000 a side. The matches will take nlace on the 

 Kfomidsof the Jersey City Heishts Gun r'lub, at Marlon, N. J., 

 the dates fixed being March 19, ai and 3S. lu addition to the 

 above fitake the Newarker wagered $1,000 against $2,500 of Mr. 

 Kleinz'a money that Elliot would win the three matches. 



WELLINGTON, Mass.. March 14.— A strong ynnd blew across 

 the trapa at the gronnds of the Wellington Gun Club to-day, and 

 the rapid llighr of the hub targets preven'ed the shooting of many 

 clean scores. In the classifioation merchandise match at 15 single 

 and five pair hubs, Barrett won in class A, with 19; Eager in class 

 B with 17, and Hooper in class C with 12. 



MT. VERNON, N. Y., March 14.-Mr. Edey, of New York, and 

 Mr. Sheriff of the Mf, Vernon Gun Club shot a friendly live-bird 

 match at the Mount Vernon grouuds to-day. Edey killed 14, while 

 Sheriff killed 20 straight. 



WEEHAWKEK, N. J., Marchl3.— The semi-monthly shoot of 

 the Algonquin Gun Club caiue off at Monitor Park, Weehawken, 

 N. J., this afternoon. Each man shot at 10 birds. Dr. Griswold 

 won the club medal on 0 dead out of 10. A friendly match at 13 

 birds each man was shot later on between F. G. Rinn and P. 

 Tomlin, the former winning by killing 9 birds to Tomlin's 8. 



LONG BRANCH, N. J., March 14,— The regular weekly shoot of 

 the Oceanville Gun Club took place yesterday. The targets were 

 blue rocks. The first event was a club shoot at 10 birds per man, 5 

 entries: Tlic scores were: A. B. Stout 7, W. I. Cook 6. Goo. Van- 

 note and J. Laird 5 each, W. A. Beecroft 3. The next event was a 

 miss and out between Vennote and John McKean, Vannote win- 

 ning. 



NEW YORK GUN CLUBS.-Dr. Hudson, President of the 

 Emerald Gun Cltib, has offered a handsome trophy for competition 

 between the representative gun dubs of this city. The competi- 

 tions are to be open to teams of 10 men at 10 live birds per man. 

 The Emerald, Algoncinin and Washiugton Heights clubs will in 

 all probability be the competing teams. 



WATEBTOWN, N. Y., March 5— South Side Gun Club's badge 

 shoot, at kingbirds, 5 (raijs, unknown angles; 



Taylor (»2 liirds) 1101111001111111101111 -18 



Ayers (21 birds) 011111101101110110110 -15 



Kingsley (22 birds) OOllOllllllOlOUOllUlO -H 



O'Connor (33 birds) 11111110111111111101110-20 



O'Conner wins badge for third time. 



TeaiH shoot, SO birds: Tallett 28, T.aylor23, Kingsley 18; total 

 68. O'Conner 25. Smith 23, Ayers 26; total 74. 



"B" class badge handicap shoot, at kingbirds, 5 traps, unknown 

 angles; 



Taylor (22 birds) ...1010111101111111111011-18 



O'Connor (32 birds) 11X11111100111101110111-16 



King-^ley (22 birds) 1111101111101111111111-20 



Avers (21 birds) 111111111111111110111 —20 



Tie, at 5 birds each: 

 Kingsley 11111—5 00111-3 Ayers 11111—5 11110-4 



By winning for the fifih time Mr. Ayers now becomes the owner 

 of the badge, Messrs. K'ngsley, Taylor and O'Conner having won 

 it three times each.— Oustem. 



CLEVELAND, O., March 12.— There were some excellent scores 

 made at the grounds of the Cleveland Gun Club this afternoon, 

 but none were more wonderful or better than ihe score of "Fritz," 

 who made 34 out of a possible 25. When tt is borne in mind that 

 "Friiz" has but one arm. sc me idea can be obtained of the clever- 

 ness of his work. The tie for second place was won by L. O. 

 Jones on the shoot off. The conditions were good for shooting. 

 The wind was favorable and the traps worked nicelv. Scores: 

 Upson 20, Elworthy 18. Holt 13, L. O, Jones 20, Story 20, Calhoun 

 19, Fritz 34, Ta.mblyn 23, King 14, Sanders 19, Silsby 31. 



GERMAN GUN CLUB.-The New York German Gun Club 

 held its first shoot in 1S91 under the newly revised rules at Dexter 

 Park grounds, March 10. J. P. Dannefelser captured the club 

 badge and Vice-President Huff the Boessnecker medal, which 

 goes to the marksman who makes the three best scores during 

 the year. In the meantime the second best man at eacn shoot is 

 the owner until the next meeting; in ties the competing numbers 

 are handicapped 3yds. additional, and then 1yd. up to 31yds. 



PORT RICHMOND, N. Y.-Scores of the North Shore Gun 

 Club made at their regular monthly shoot. March 14. The wind 

 blew very brisk from the northwest, which made the targets 

 duck and fly in a very uncertain manner. Twenty-five bluerocks 

 per man. 3 traps; Schabert 10, G. Seawood 16, H. Seawood 13, Sco- 

 field 19. Zimmerman 6. The high wind had much to do with the 

 poor scores and light attendance. 



BOGARDUS.— Samuel Castle, of Newark, contemplates the 

 issuance of a challenge for a 100-bird mateb with A. H. Bogardtis. 



Secretaries of canoe clubs are rectuested to send to Forest and 

 Stream their addresses, with name, membership, signal, etc., of 

 their clubs, and also notices in advance of meetings and races, and 

 report of the same. Canoeists and all interested in canoeing are 

 requested to forward to Forest and Stream their addresses, with 

 logs of cruises, maps, and information concerning; their local 

 waters, drawings or descriptions of boats and fittings, and all 

 items relating to the sport. 



AMERICAN CANOE ASSOCIATION. 



Officeks, 1890-91. 

 CoMJiODOHE: Walter U. Lawson, Eoston, Mass. 



SECB.ETAKY Tkeasurer: Raiph F. Brazer, 47 Central street, Lowell, Mass. 

 Regatta CoMmirEB: J. A. Gage, Lowell, Mass.; W. G. MauKendrlck, 

 Toronto; L, B. Palmer, Newark, Jf. J. 



NORTHERN DIVISION. 

 Officers: 



ViCE-COM.: AY. H. Cotton, Kingston. 

 Re.\e.-Com.: J. C. Edwards, Lindsay. 

 Purser: C. E. L. Porteous, Kingston. 

 Ex. Com.: Colin Praser and P. H. 

 Gisborne. 



ATLANTIC DIVISION, 

 Officers: 



VicE-CoM.: I. V. Dorlaud, Arlington. 

 Rear-Com : E.D. Anderson.Trentoa. 

 PonSER: Rich'd Hobart, Newark N.J. 

 Ex. Com.: H. L. Quick .<ind H M. 

 Kreamer. 



CENTRAL DIVISION. 

 Queers; 



Vice Com,: C.V.Winnp, Albany, N.Y. 

 Rear-Com.: T. P. Gaddls, Dayton, O. 

 PtTRSER: Ho^vard Brown,Albany,NY 

 Ex. Com.: J. K. Bakewell and H. M. 

 Stewart. 



EASTERN DIVISION. 

 Officers: 



VrcE-COM.: J. W. Oartwright, Jr. 

 Eeae-Com,: G. L. Parmele, Hartford. 

 Purser: B. Apollonio, Wiuehester. 

 Ex. Com.: Paul Butler, E, S. Towne 

 and Sidney Bishop. 



Applications for niemDerstdp muse be made to division pm-serH, accom- 

 panied by the recommendation of an acti ve member and the sum of §2.00 

 for enti-ance fee and dues for current year. Every member attending 

 the general A. C. A. camp shall pay $1.00 for camp expense?. Application 

 sent to the Sec'y-Treas. will be forwarded by him to the proper Division. 



Persons residing In any Division and wishing to become members of 

 the A. C. A., will be f urnishea with printed forms of appUcatiou by address- 

 ing the Purser. 



WESTERN CANOE ASSOCIATION. 



Commodore— D. H. Crane, Chicago, 111. 



Vlee-Commodore— N. B. Cook, Chicago, lU. 



Rear-Commodort^O. A. Woodruff, Dayton, O. 



Secretary-Treasurer— J. H. Ware^ 130 Rialto Building, Chicago, HI. 



Applications for membership should be made to tlieSec.-Treas., on blanks 

 which may be obtained from him, and should bo accompanied by S3 as 

 initiation fee and dues for the cm-ront year'. 



FIXTURES. 



JUNK. 



e. Hoisting Sail Competition, 20. Marine & Field, Open, Bath 



Brooklyn. Beacb. 

 3. New York, Annual, S. I. 27. Brooklyn, Ann,, Bay Ridge. 

 0. New York, Sandy Hook Race — . lanthe, Spring, Passaic Riv. 

 JULY. 



11-26. "VV.C.A. Meet, Ballast Island. 



ATTGTJST. 



6-27. A. C. A. Meet, Lake Champlain. 



SEPTEMBER. 



7. lanthe, Ann., Passaic River. 5. Orange, Ann,, Passaic River. 



THE CRUISE OF THE SHENANDOAH 



AS JJETAItiED By THE COMMODORE. 



c. c. 



PART ILL 



WE werenp betimes intbe morning, and after a good breakfast 

 of fried bacon, fried potatoes, poached eggs on toast, bread 

 pnd butter and coffee, we struck the camp, packed and launched 



the canoes and embarked, getting a good early start, with Bear 

 Li thia Springs twenty miles away as our ob.iectiv6 point lor the 

 evening's camp. 



It was a bright sunny morning, and as we paddled around the 

 bend, past the confluence of Norrh and South rivers and into the 

 Shenandoah, the "Beautiful Daughter of the Stars," which 

 stretched Its 8ilv<;ry length invitingly before us as it began its 

 northward journey, seeking an outlet through the mountains to the 

 sea; and as we inhaled great drafts of the fresh, vivifj'ing moun- 

 tain air, and our eyes took in the exquisitely beautiful picture of 

 mountain, forest, field and river, we felt that it was indeed good 

 to be here; and we unanimously voted that Captain John Mc- 

 Gregor, who first brought canoeing intfl prominence as an eligible 

 out-of-door sport, was a benefactor to the human race and should 

 be honored accordingly. 



We portaged the mill dam a mile and a half below Port Repub- 

 lic, as the river was .so lowthat the shoot was closed, and in shoot- 

 ing the rapid below, the Frankie, with her usual obstinate go- 

 ahead-a-tiveness, got a terrific rake on her starboard bow from an 

 ugly snag at the foot of the rapid that Iliad tried my best to avoid, 

 that might have opened a slit in her side for 18in. or more. 



'■This ground, all along the right hank of the river and from 

 here over to the mountains, is the battlefield of Port Republic, 

 isn't, it?" said one of the boys. 



"Yes," I replied. "This was the last of the series of battles 

 Jackson fought in his remarkable valley campaign; and, although 

 the ntimber of troops engaged on either side did not exceed twelve 

 or fourteen thousand, it was one of the hottest and most despe- 

 rately-contested battles of the war, and at its close (xen. Jackson 

 is said to have remarked that the dead outnumljerHd the living." 



"Old Stonewall was pretty hard pressed here for a time too," 

 said George. 



"Yes, he barely escaped defeat here. At one time the day was 

 almost lost; hutaflanK movement along the mountain side by 

 one of his generals saved him. He himself rallied the old Stone- 

 wall Brigade, which had become badly routed, and led them in a 

 charge. This mill race here," I added, as we neared the Lewis 

 dam, "was full of Federal soldiers at one part of the engagement, 

 and they made it pretty hot for Jackson's men from their 

 ambush." 



"There was also some very fierce fighting around the old Lewis 

 mansion, over beyond the raiload toward the mountains," added 

 George. 



"I have always heard that campaign spoken of as a remarkable 

 one, how was it ?" 



"Well, it was a remarkable one and was something like this: 

 Jackson was in the valley with a little arrny of fii'tt en'or sixteen 

 thousand men in the spring of 18Ga— in May— wliile McOlellan was 

 meandering around in the swamps of the Cbioatiorainy with the 

 great Army of the Potomac, and Johnston was facing tiim, trying 

 to keep him out of Richmond. In addition to the lorces imme- 

 diately under MeClellan, McDowell was at Fredericksburg with a 

 Federal army of 40,000 men; and directly opposing Jackson were: 

 Milroy with 12,000 to 14.000 men at McDowell, out in the moun- 

 tains about :15 or 40 miles west of Staunton, Fremont with over 

 /.'0,000 men at Franklin, not far from Milroy at McDowell, Banks 

 at Strasburg on the vallpy pike down below Staunton, winle 

 Shields with 12,000 to 15,000 men had ht-en detached from Mc- 

 Dowell's forces and was east of the Blue Ridge, ready to pop in on 

 Jackson through some convenient gap when the opportune time 

 and place should occur. 



"This was the situation early in May, with Jacksou and his little 

 army near Port Republic, and the only hope of saving Richmoud 

 was for him to keep all these people interested and thereby pre- 

 vent them from swarming doM'n on that devoted eitj^ long enough 

 for Johnston to have it out with McCiellan. 



"Jacksou began operations by leaving the valley in an ostenta- 

 tious manner, moving as though to join the forces at Richmond. 

 This news speedily reached the Feueral forces, just as Jackson 

 had intended it should, and Milroy at once prepared to advance 

 toward Staunton, to be followed by Fremont. 



"Jackson, however, simply went as far as Charlottesville and 

 other adjacent railroad stations, where he had collected trains 

 enough to transport his forces, and at once put swiftly and 

 secretly back into the valley, arriving in Staunton on Sunday, 

 to the intense surprise of everybody. He at once put a guard 

 around the entire place and allowed no one to enter or leave it, so 

 as to keep all knowledge of his presence from becoming known, 

 and as soon as possible he took up his line of march from the 

 mountains in Milroy 's direction, through BufTalo Gap, and fully 

 expecting to meet him at every mile, and arresting and stopping 

 all persons going that way, so that no news of his approach should 

 get to Milroy. He surprised Milroy, still at McDowell, and after 

 a very severe battle he routed him utterly. Jackson, leaving Mil- 

 roy's demoralized forces to tall back on Fremont, then came out 

 of the mountains, via Harrisonburg, and disappeared over the 

 Massanutton Mountains into the Lurav Valley, crossing the 

 Shenandoah River at the White House ferry, George, where, as 

 you remember, we camped one night two years ago." 



"Yes, I remember, it ia at Massanutton post-ofiice." 



"Well, Jackson hastened down the Luray Valley and fell upon 

 Banks la the rear at Front Royal and Strasburg, and defeated 

 him and chased him clear down the valley beyond Winchester. 

 Jackson was now in a precarious position; for Fremont, with his 

 25,0C0 or .30,000 men, was advancing rapidly out of the moimtains 

 upon him, while Shields was hastening with ,all possible speed 

 across the Blue Ridge to cooperate with Fremont, the plan being 

 to catch Jackson between the jaws of this relentless vise and 

 crush him. Jackson, however, was not to be so easily trapped, for 

 he made an Impassable barrier of the rain-swoilen, unfordable 

 Shenandoah between himself and Shields bv handling his cavalry 

 so skillfully and quickly as to burn all the bridges on the river 

 ahead of Khields. He then returned with all possible haste up the 

 valley, reserving battle until he could get Fremont and Shields 

 where he could handle them one at a time in quicit succession, and 

 yet where neither could render assistance to the other. His cal- 

 culations were so close that on his rapid retreat up the valley 

 after pursuing Banks down beyond Winchester, as his rear guard 

 passed up Fisher's Hill, not tar from Strasburg, Fremont's ad- 

 vance was visible just coming out of the mountains, while Shields 

 was impotenily raging at him from the banks of the impassable 

 Shenandoah. 



"Jackson thus slipped from between them and continued his 

 retreat up the valley, hotly pursued by Fremont; while Shields 

 went tearing up the Luray Valley beyond the Shenandoah, pur- 

 suing a parallel course with the other armies. When Jackson 

 reached the vicinity of Port Rppublic— as far as the Shenandoah 

 would serve him— he gave battle to Fremont at Cross Keys and de- 

 feated him; then crossed the only remaining bridge, at Port 

 Republic, immediately burning it behiud him to prevent Fremont 

 from rallying to the assistance of Shields; and then the next day 

 he disposed of Shields at the battle of Port Republic, as already 

 mentioned. 



"That certainly was a remarkable campaign; to do all this 

 marching and to light four severe battles, each vyith forces as 

 large and larger than his own, and win them all." 



"Yes, It really reads more like the romance of liction than sober 

 history. Jackton"s strong point was to mislead, confuse and sur- 

 prise his enemy as much as possible, and to si i'ike his blows quickly 

 and sharply." 



"Commodore, wasn't there some kind of an incident or adven- 

 ture happened at this Port Republic, bridge in which Jackson 

 played a conspicuous part?" asked George. 



"Yes; I have heard ses'eral versions ot it; and as nearly as I can 

 get it. It runs something like tbis: Jackson had just fought the 

 battle of Cross Keys, and bis aimywas encamped at and near 

 Port Republic, across the river and but two or three miles away, 

 except one division under Ewell. which were holding Fremont's 

 scattered and defeated forces in check while Jackson should try 

 conclusions Avith Shields, whose advance had just eomenp, and 

 whose army, you will remember, had been pursuing a parallel 

 course wiih Jackson's retreat all the way up the valley, but 

 unable to cross the river to reach him. Jackson with his staff 

 was on the Cross Keys side of the river, away from the main body 

 of his army, when a small detachment of Shields's advance under 

 a lieutenant galloped boldly up and seized the Port Republic end 

 of the bridge, and " 



"What! with Jackson's army encamped right there at Port Re- 

 publicl" exclaimed Lacy incredulously. 



"Y"es," I replied. "The forces of the three armies were now .ill 

 together. Fremont's at Cross Keys, just across the river, defeated 

 and more or less demoralized, Jackson's in and near Port Repub- 

 lic, and Shields's pushing up after and parallel with Jackson's, 

 and since the battle of Cross Keyes, after which Jackson crossed 

 the river, now on the same side with him and right up with htm; 

 and the job of work Jackson had cut out for himself was, after 

 having defeated Fremont, to now defeat Shields also. 



"Weil, as Jackson came galloping down from Cross Keys with 

 his stalf at his heels and dashed upon the bridge he found this 

 Federal detachmt^nii just getting apiece of artillery in position, 

 training right down across the bridge in his face. Without an 

 instant's hesitation he put a bold face upon the matter and gal- 

 loped right up to the squad. 'Turn that gun the other way!' lie 

 commaded sharply; and the Federal soldiers, taking him for the 

 moment in the dim gray of the early morning for one of their own 

 offleers, obeyed the ordei-, and Jackson dashed over with his staff 

 trailing after him. No sooner had Jackson gotten safely over ana 



out of the way, however, than the Federal lipu tenant began tolre- 

 cover his wits, and just tben Capt. Willis, of Jackson's staff, came 

 dashing along at the rear end of the straggling scurrying line of 

 stail officers, and was at once recognized bv the lieutenant as an 

 old West Point schoolmate who had resigned the Tear before to 

 join the fortunes of his State in the Confederacy, and he was 

 promptly taken in, together with the few remaining staff officers 

 with him. As Willis gracefully submitted to the inevitable he re- 

 marked to his 'Yankee' friend, pointing to Jackson's retreating 

 form still visible 111 a cloud of dust scurrving down the village 

 street: 'Landen', do you know who tli:i,t. is?' 'No,' said Landers. 

 'Whoisil?' 'That's Stonewall Jackson, and j on' ve just missed 



the opportunity of your life!!!' was ihe reidy. 'Great !!' 



exclaimed Landers with a Durst of sulphurous profanity, the 

 heartfelt fluency of which can only be acquired in the army. 



'Just ^iv luck!! Why, I'd have been a colonel by 



night!!!'" 



"That vvas pretty rough on the lieutenant; to let such a chance 

 slip through his tiugers!" aaid Lac\ . 



"Yes and a pretty close call for Mr. Jaekson." said Gsorge. 



"It illustrates in a most picturesque way the fortunes of war,"' 

 said 1. "And by the way, Willis's subsequent adventures were 

 quite in that line. He was sent to the Federal rear with his com- 

 panions, in charge of a sergeant and a small squad of men, and 

 after the battle of Port Republic—wliich, bear in mind, was 

 fought that morning and resirlted in a disastrous defeat for the 

 Federal forces— he found himself and bis fellow prisoners, with 

 their little squad of captors, making their way virtually alone 

 down the valley after the retreating army. The sergeant seemed 

 ssmewhat demoralized and uncertain what to do; upon seeing 

 which 'vVlllis stopped and slid to him and his squad: 'See here, 

 my men, your army is whipped, and cut to pieces, and you are 

 virtually alone in an enemy's country: now you can't get off witb 

 u.=, and it will go hard with you if you are found trying to make 

 your way through here with Confederate soldiers as prisoners. 

 Now the best tbi"g you can do is to go back with me and give 

 yourselves up. I'll pi-omise you that you shall be well treated. 

 You've treated us well and I don't want to see any harm come to 

 yon. Now that's my advicp, and you'd better take it!' " 



"Ha! ha! ha!" shouted both boys, '"did they go back?" 



"Go back! of course they went back! It was the best thing they 

 could do; and Willis actually brought his guard back into his own 

 lines as prisoners." 



"Well, that's good! that fellow deserved promotion." 



"Yes, poor fellow, he got it. He went up higher and higher un- 

 til, two or three years later, he was made a brigadier general, and 

 was instantly killed in one of the bloody battles around Rich- 

 mond, within less than an hour after receiving his commission, 

 while leading his new brigade into action," 



"That's the fottuae of war with a vengeance," said George 

 thougbtfully. 



"It is indeed,"' I replied as we procsedpd on our way. 



We stopped for our midday lunch and rest at the Three Springs. 

 It was a lovely place for a camp, and we regretted that it was so 

 early in tlie day that we had no excuse for stopping. The water 

 burst forth from three great crevices in the rocks at the foot of 

 the heavily-wooded bluff that here rose abrupdj- from the river, 

 and united in a single stream which poured its ice-cold crystal 

 waters io to the river in volume equal to a large creek; a beauti- 

 fully shaded strip of level ground between tlio blulf and the river 

 offered ample room for the tented cauoes, a handsome residence 

 stood on the brow of the blutx embowered in the trees, and alto- 

 gether the place was an attractive one. 



"I'm goinc' to try a cast iu the clear wafer off the mouth of the 

 •spring." said tx^orge. who bad been poluug around among the 

 rocks in the edge of the walei- until he i:apturBd a crawUsh, and 

 was now enaai?ed in rigging up his fishing tackle. 



liiicy and I pulled away at our after-dinner pipes and watched 

 him witli interest as he baited liis hook; then stepping carefully 

 out upon the stones in the edge of tlie water, he droppedhis craw- 

 fl.^b skillfully out just where the cleLir water of the spring held 

 back the muddy water of tlie river, and waited for developments 

 He had not long to wait. With &• mighty splash and a rush the 

 bait was taken, and he uttered a yell of delight as he begau (o play 

 the tish. His delight was of short duration, for with a final lunge 

 the big bass brolje from the hook and made 1 is escape. 



"I declare but that's too bad! What ttshing we would have out 

 among these reefs and rocks if the water Vvfis only clear!" he ex- 

 claimed excitedly, as he hunted in yniu for anotlier orawtish. 



He then attached a collar ol flies to his line and whipped the ad- 

 jacent clear water industriously, but it was no go; they wouldn't 

 rise. So he sadly reeled in his line, uu jointed his rod and stowed 

 it away, and we reiimbarked. 



"This is a famous Ashing ground all along here," I said, "especi- 

 ally below Shaver's Dam, w hie ti is Just ahead half a mile below 

 this slack wat^r. Hovt" ttais headwind does catch a fellow!" I con- 

 tinued, as I labored awsy with my big double-bladed paddle, 

 driving my canoe into the teeth of the stiff up-stream breeze; 

 while the little wa^es chopped aw3 y under her bow with a succes- 

 sion of sharp slapa ;i,a she slowly made way against the wind. 



"Yes, that's where that full, high bow comes in," said Lacy. 



"I shall really have to sell this boat this- — " 



"Georee, xhn Commodore is going to sell his boat this winter!" 



"No! Whai's the trouble'i'" 



"Sh«'s too big for hini." 



"You don't sa> ! Will he build a new one?" 



"Yes; he thinks tie will build one a little smaller." 



"That's all right, boys; but I only wish one of you had to paddle 

 this.'^hip for half a mile against that gale, that's all," said I, as 

 we strung ourselves out to I'est on the edge of the dam, which was 

 entirely above water, after sliding the canoes over on to the bare 

 i-eofs below. 



"I hardly felt the wind cigainst my canoe," said Lacy. "It lies 

 so low in the water the wind gets no hold on it." 



"Yes, that's one advantage you certainly have with those small 

 canoes; but they really are as much too small as mine is too large. 

 Now, a haptiy medium would be about the thing. Say 14ft. length, 

 27in. beam, 9 or 9!/gin. deep amidships, 13in. at bow and r2in. at 

 stern, with the lines considerably fuller than iu your canoes and 

 with plenty of cutaway to the bow and stern. That's the design 

 for my next canoe," said 1 as we took our places in our canoes, 

 pushed off and dodged our way out carefully through the laby- 

 rinth of reefs below the dam. 



About! o'clocic we reached the Riverbank mill dam in company 

 with an industrious shower, which caught us lialf over the port- 

 age, and there we lay for an hour and a half— my canoe below the 

 dam, half on the rocks and half in the water, wkile the other 

 canoes remained floating on the still water above the dam. 



We of course at once donned our rubber coats or oUed capes 

 and esconced ourselves in our respective canoes, where with 

 hatches tightly closed and waterproof aprons tucked up to our 

 breasts under the rubber coats or capes we were in a position to 

 bid deflanee to the showeriest shower that ever showered. 



The rain fell heavily, and as I lit a cigar and watched the drops 

 as they splashed fiercely from the deck in front of me and looked 

 down the steep slope of the foaming rupids before me, everywhere 

 dotted with the rocks and reefs which thrust up their black, ugly, 

 grinning heads through the foaming white waters; I mused. 



This place was the scene of my first and only attemjit at jump- 

 ing a full-grown, able-bodied mill dam, actively engaged in busi- 

 ness, and that huge black, jagged mass of stone i hat stood up out 

 of the boiling white watjr some thirty yards below, was where 

 my canoe brought up. filled and sank after the rlisastrous capsize 

 that followed or rather accompanied the attempt. 



George remarked 88 lie crawled out from under his wheel one 

 flue evening at the foot of one of those big hills for which the 

 Valley pike is noted, after successfully achieving one of the most 

 brilliant headers it has ever been my good fortune to witness. "'If 

 1 had only been expecting it." Yes, that's it. and the same thought 

 occurred to me as 1 sat here in iny cauoe, enjoying my cigar and 

 watching the rain drops splashing from the deck in front of me 

 and hissing in the water around me; but it is the unexpected that 

 always happens, and In my case it happened with the most start- 

 ling unexpectedness. 



I was conscious of a tremendous rake all along the bottom of 

 my canoe as I shot over the edge of the dam, and had just time for 

 the thought to flash through mv mind that the canvas was un- 

 doubtedly ripped clear off the bottom of the canoe before the waters 

 closed over my devoted head v,*iHi a roar, and the sky glimmered 

 vaguely yellow above me, 1 have never yet exacUy understood 

 how it happened; but I instincti^'ely struck out to free myself 

 from the canoe, and as instirictively held on to my paddle, and as 

 1 recovered rny feet and stO'-nl nearly waist deeii in the midst of 

 the roaring torrent alougside nf my unfortunate canoe, securely 

 wedged In among the ro"l;s, her cockpit coatning just about three 

 inches below the sulfate of the w.ater, whicli'boUed over and 

 through her with a fci-.'e which instiiuily wasbed everything 

 movable or that was not lasted fsst or under decks out of her, 

 and watched my most cherished belongings go bobbing one by one 

 in a little procession doAyn the rapid, r^nd theu turned and gazed 

 with a dazed fascination upon the cold, unfeeling waters pouring 

 with a calm, steady roar in a glittering sheet over the dam, the 

 surface ot which Avas considETably above the level of my eyes as I 

 stood in ihe water 20 or 30yds. below it, my scattered ideas 

 : gradually took shape in a vague but positive desire for some one 

 I to appear in sight and come ottt and kick me for ever attempting 

 I BUOh a f oolliardy piece of busineBS. 



