826 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Mat 14, 1891. 



OLD MR. BASS (INJEANNY). 

 T^OWN in tlier ineddeT green grass er gi-owin'; 

 ^ Leaves on er oak tree Ijig ez squirrel-ear; 

 Perty soon the vi'let flowers they'll be a-blowia': 



Run er suckers in ther crick er clur a-past yere. 

 Medder lark er "pUiky-pank-in' " 'long tlier bottom lane; 



Woodpecker woi'kin' on ther ole rotton rail; 

 W&,rter In ther crick er a-gltttn' clean an' plain, 



En ole Mr. Bass lie 'ginter wiggle hes tall ! 

 'Long on ther riffs tker miunies er a-swarmin', 



Fros in ther ma'sh er-tunin' perty high, 

 Sky gittin" cl'arer an' days er a-warmin', 



Ed ole Mr. Bass er a-cockin' up hes eye. 

 Olimh ther ole shed an' git yev pole down, Sammy, 



Reckon we 'ont need no coats In this soi'ter air. 

 Pack yer d inner pail an' bait, an' say good-bye te mammy, 



Olo Mr. Bass he kalnt give «« na dare I 



B. HOUOH. 



GmeAGO, 111., April. 



ON THE NORTH SHORE.-III. 



ICanttmiccl from Page SOS.] 

 TT^T'HEN the rain had ceased breakfast was prepared 

 » T and partaken of, and then we started for another 

 raid for the coveted fish. We each got a rise at the 

 boulders after a few casts and unfortunately missed, and 

 then Jupiter again opened the flood gates, which neces- 

 sitated a retreat to the tents. The rain continued with- 

 out intermission till 3 o'clock in the afternoon and then it 

 ceased. Once more we take to the boat and on reaching 

 the rocks about half a mile from camp we caught six, ' 

 four falling to my rod, my first trophies, of which there 

 was one double catch, and of the remainder one each to 

 Ned and Joe. Rain coming on again another retreat was 

 made. It had now been raining for two days and nights 

 with but little cessation and it looked as if we were in for 

 another night of it. Supper had to be prepared amid the 

 shower and served in the tent. After the meal there was 

 a slight discontinuance of the rain, and as the camp-fire 

 looked exceedingly inviting we gathered around it, en- 

 deavoring to look serene and liapny. To make the situa- 

 tion more cheerful Ned got off, in capital style, "The 

 Arkansas Traveler," giving both music and dialogue, to 

 the infinite delight of the half-breeds. OccasionaUy the 

 rain would again commence and cause us to beat a re- 

 treat to shelter, there to remain till it had ceased. We 

 kept thus marching to and from the tent to fire till 9 

 o'clock and then retired. No sooner were we wrajiped in 

 our blankets than the pitiless rain commenced beating a 

 tattoo upon the tent and then by way of sarcasm I recited; 



"Art hath naught of tone or cadence 



That can work with such a spell 

 In the soul's mysterious fountains 



Whence the tears of rapture well, 

 As that melody of nature. 



That subdued, subduing strain. 

 Which is played. upon the shingles 



By the patter of the rain." 



^'Please omit the remainder of the stanza, as any ref- 

 erence to 'patter of rain' is just now sadly out of place 

 and a terrible bore." 



"I will cheerfully comply, but you know, Ned, that 

 poetry is the music of the soul, and above all of great and 

 feeling souls," 



"Then give us 'The Beautiful Snow' and forever after 

 hold your peace, as I desire to slumber, and brood no 

 longer o'er this elemental strife of thunder, lightning and 

 rain." 



"Good night, then," 



"Ta ta," 



And then amid "the patter of the rain" wa fell into an 

 ''inviting sleep and soft forgetfulness." 



The morning opened cool and foggy, with a sky any- 

 thing but flattering for clear weather. Cloud after cloud 

 #f a wintry mixture ^va6 scudding along in wild pursuit, 

 while the waves were beating a solemn antliem on the 

 ragged rocks. Ned discovered on arising that he had 

 been badly bitten during the night by some insect he 

 thought more ferocious than a sand fly or a mosquito. 

 The afflicted part of his body which he exhibited was a 

 pitiful sight, marvelously resembling a miniature ridge of 

 purple mountains. He freely laved it with some Pond's 

 Extract, wliich soon allayed the pain and the inflam- 

 mation. 



Immediately after breakfast Joe went to work and 

 finished making the pair of oars, upon which he had been 

 engaged during spare hours ever since we had been in 

 oarap. He was a good mechanic and had made an excel- 

 lent job of them. 



Ned proposed after the comr)letion of the oars that we 

 go to Maple Island and the main shore opposite for our 

 morning's sport. It certainly did not seem prudent to 

 go out in such threatening weather; but as we could soon 

 sound a retreat in case of necessity, I acquiesced, and Ave 

 all got in the boat and started with as cheerful hearts as 

 if the elements were of a roseate character. We were 

 soon on good grounds, and then the strife for the quarry 

 commenced in earnest. Ned sent his pet creature into 

 every choice spot that presented, and it was not long be- 

 fore he had a glorious rise, but unfortunately he missed 

 it. It was but a moment or two before my end of the 

 boat was opposite the spot where Ned woke up the 

 freckled beauty, and then circling through the air went 

 my silver-doctor and brown-hackle in search of the 

 hungry trout. He or another of the haughty and hand- 

 some tribe rose to the delusive doctor and then repented 

 of his rash action by trying to run away, but the tem- 

 pered steel held him secure, while the reel was discours- 

 ing music most sweet and the rod bending in unison. He 

 struggled like a gallant warrior for some time and then 

 died like all his tribe with his defiant eye to his wily ad- 

 versary. He was a three-x^ounder of exceeding grace 

 and symmetry and a ravishing beauty in his cloak of 

 spotted carmine. We whipped the waters after this cap- 

 ture for some time before getting another rise and that 

 came to Ned, who was more fortunate this time, for he 

 skillfully succeeded in bringing the daintily painted dar- 

 ling to net. 



Being now at the north entrance of the bay we crossed 

 over to lovely Maple Island, a noted rendezvous for the 

 ti?ibe of fontinalis. Here I caught two more of indiffer- 



ent size, and*Joe, who 'was now using Ned's rod, killed 

 another, and then the elements showing such a bold front 

 for a wild storm of rain, if not of wind, we up sail and 

 beat a hasty retreat. A handsome breeze sent us racing 

 o'er the ruffled waters, with the white foam spraying 

 quite lively from the sharp prow of the graceful craft. 

 To windward ragged chmda were looming up like blocks 

 of blackness, such as a poet "might dream of in picturing 

 the hellish walls and battlements of a beleaguered city of 

 demons," uiion which there was a play and crackle of 

 lightning, but no moan of thunder yet. 



As we struck the beach at our camping quarters, a 

 slight 8j)rinkle of rain commenced, which increased to 

 such an extent that we had to take to our tents for com- 

 fort. The boatmen were already in theirs, enjoying 

 themselves over a game of cards, leaving our trout in the 

 boat uncai-ed for. Ned, angered at this display of care- 

 lessness, roused them out of their snug quarters to give 

 the attention the fish desired. They, however, went 

 about quite pleasantly, much to my surprise, as an 

 Indian dislikes to be told of his neglected duties. They 

 had been feasting so royally and having so much idle 

 time, owing to the rain, that they thought it best to obey 

 instructions in a cheerful manner. John was naturally a 

 well-behaved half-breed, but Joe had a streak of ugliness 

 in him that I was sure would flash our ere the trip was over. 



The remainder of the day, which continued rainy, we 

 passed in playing cribbage and reading. Ned had started 

 in with a perusal of that lovely creation of Mr. Blackmore's 

 vivid imagination, "Lorna Doone," while I had fallen 

 under the fascination of Balzac's "Two Brothers," a work 

 of absorbing interest, holding one as spell-bound as the 

 mariner held the wedding guest with his glittering eye. 



On stejjping from our tent the next morning we were 

 greeted with a dense fog that covered both land and lake. 

 By 9 o'clock the fog disappeared, and we again made 

 battle on the radiant beauties just below the camp, 

 catching ten by 11 o'clock. The largest of these was 41bs. 

 while the remainder ran much smaller than usual, several 

 of them not being even half a pound. They were the 

 most diminutive trout we had ever caught on the North 

 Shore, and we were much surprised at it. Eain threatening, 

 we headed for camp, but before reaching it were caught 

 in the down pour. Our rubber coats and "south westers," 

 however, gave us ample protection, but the half-breeds 

 got a good soaking. 



After dinner Ned's penchant for overhauling tackle 

 possessed him, and in a twinkle the table was strewn 

 with as varied an assortment of stock of angling goods 

 as you would see in a sporting-goods store. Having lost 

 in the morning, owing to an imperfection in the gut, his 

 pet creation, mention of which I forgot to make in the 

 proper place, he set about to construct a similar one, being 

 satisfied that that model was the most tempting that 

 cnuld be made from fur, tinsel and feather, and that in it 

 "Nature would live again in art," and "the speckled trout 

 the curious snare approve." 



Matters are looking dismal around camp, though the 

 spirits of the campers are not the least bit o'ershadowed 

 by the damp state of affairs, it now being the fifth day of 

 rain, with no sign of clearing weather, and to make mat- 

 ters worse, Joe averred that morning he had seen it rain 

 here every day for a month or more. About 4 o'clock, as 

 if by magic, the i-ain ceased, the misty clouds sailed 

 away and a bright sunshine appeared in the west, ting- 

 ing with bands of gold the little clouds as they sprang 

 into existence. 



This cheerful change of the elements inspired us with 

 new life, and word was at once given to again attempt a 

 decimation of the proud princelings of the watery realm 

 that in wait lie for floating prey. The pursuit was along 

 a serrated and wood-crowned shore, that unfolded a 

 grand panorama of lovely scenery, encircled with all the 

 colors of the opal and amethyst from the now glowing- 

 sun. Dante Gabriel Rossetti, who had the gift of living 

 out into the free and open universe, has caught the iden- 

 tity of such scenery and solitude in the poem entitled 

 "The Sea Limits," where he connects both with the life 

 of men: 



Listen alone beside the sea. 



Listen alone among the woods; 



Those voices of twin solitudes 

 Shall have one sound alike to thee. 



Hark where the murmurs of thronj^ed men 



Surge and sink back and surge again, 

 ytill the one voice of wave and tree. 

 G-ather a shell from the strewn beach, 



And listen at its lips; they sigh 



The same desire and mystery. 

 The echo of the whole sea's speech. 



And all mankind is thus at heart 



Not anything but what thou art; 

 And earth, sea. man„are ail in each. 



After much artful persuasion we finally succeeded in 

 capturing two lovely specimetis of the speckled brigade, 

 one being a three-pounder and the other a pound less. 

 This satisfying our craving for possession of the jeweled 

 beauties, we returned to camp, with Ned making the 

 woods and waters echo with his melodious notes. Hav- 

 ing now more trout than would satisfy om- wants for a 

 few days, we concluded to slightly salt the surplus, which 

 was to be held as a reserve when stormy weather pre- 

 vented an indulgence kx the sport. 



The sun not sinking in a clear sky that evening satisfied 

 us that we were to be kept in doubt as to settled weather. 

 Ned, defining the evening as gray, said the mariner's 

 rhyme, as to guide for weather, would, under such condi- 

 tions, hold good: 



*'An evening red and morning gray. 

 Will set the traveler on his way; 

 But an e^^ening gray and a morning red, 

 Will pour down rain on a traveler's head." 



Not to be o'ershadowed in weather prognostication, I 

 stated that the old rhyme informs us: 

 "If the cock crows going to bed. 

 He will rise wlih a watery head; 

 ■SVhen the peacock loudly bawls, 

 We shall soon have rain and squalls." 



"That's all O. K.," says Ned, "but a lamentable future 

 is predicted for that crowing cock in the old couplet:" 

 "A whistlxDg girl and a crowing hen 

 Will never come to a good end." 



"I don't exactly see the unison between a crowing hen 

 and a crowing cook." 



"Some persons can't. " . 



Retreating under a sublime simile, T was perfectly will- 

 ing to let Ned remain master of the cap and bells, and 

 then the weather talk was settled, about the only ele- 

 mental thing wecoitld at that time settle. 



The boys gave us a fine spread for our supper that even- 

 ing, and though it was not 



'*0f syllabubs' and jellies and mince piee. 

 And other such ladylike luxuries," 



it excelled that of the Hidalgo's meal, which was simply 

 "very little meat and a great deal of table cloth." Neither 

 walnuts nor wine had we, but a bountiful supply of broiled 

 trout, ham and eggs, fried potatoes, hot cakes with maple 

 syrup, raspberries, peaches, and the inevitable tea, to all 

 of which we brought the hungry edge of appetite. 



After the repast, Ned indulged in a luminous smoke, 

 and I in Balzac's fiction, till darkness compelled me to 

 relinquish the volume. Speculation as to prospective 

 weather was again reopened, and then, the trip for the 

 morning being laid out, we sought our tents novy redo- 

 lent with balsam, which was a foot deep throughout, 

 and was as inviting a place for slumber as mansion grand. 

 We were not long in our blankets before the balsamic air 

 wooed us to gentle and healthful sleep. 



There was some promise in the new morn of clearing 

 weather, as the fog which then prevailed was fast re- 

 treating to the hills, where it hung in great clouds, re- 

 morselessly shutting out the sylvan scenes with which 

 we were environed. 



Immediately after breakfast we got ready for a trip 

 along the shore on the opposite side of the bay, and as 

 we were to go about six miles, and not expecting to re- 

 turn before night, we took lunch with us. Ned dis- 

 covered that morning the first shad fly that we had seen 

 since leaving the "Soo." It was an oinen of good luck, 

 for with their appearance the trout rise more freely to 

 the fly. The first place we fished was the large reef in 

 our immediate front, from which we took two fine trout, 

 weighing respectively 3 and 41bs. After this we crossed 

 to the coast, where we whipped the waters for over a 

 7uile or more without receiving a single rise, owing, 

 dotibtless, to the mirrored surface which prevailed. In a 

 short time the sun came out in all its glory, changing 

 the panorama of dismal dreariness, which had encom- 

 passed us for the past six days, to prospects more bright 

 and beautiful. Being desirous of drying everything in 

 camp we returned, and exposed mattresses, blankets, 

 pillows, etc., to the bright, warm rays of the sun. This 

 completed, we set the boys to gathering some fresh 

 balsam boughs for the tent, and then Ned and I had a 

 lively rubber of crib, in which I routed him "horse, foot 

 and dragoons." 



After the game, the forest looked so inviting in golden 

 hues and grateful shade, that we strolled through it some 

 distance, picking here and there as we proceeded the lus- 

 ciotas raspberries, which grow in great abundance on all 

 sides. At every step, now that there was warmth in the 

 bright rays of the sun, we came across moths and butter- 

 flies and delicate insects with gossamer-like wings, that 

 rose from the green tangle under foot. Hero we saw our 

 first forest bird of the trip, a gold-crest. Soon after a 

 blackcap, from the cool shadows of the underbrush, lit 

 upon a cedar bough and fairly split his little throat in 

 rounding the rich bars of angaria, the exquisite melody 

 of which seemed just in keeping with the sylvan scene. 

 The woods being yet a little damp from the late rains, 

 we thought it prudent to bring our enjoyable ramble to 

 an end, and so we reluctantly returned to camp. 



For sis hours the sun shone brightly, and then the 

 damp and chilly fog appeared and again enveloped every- 

 thing in its misty folds; while sullen clouds, chasing 

 each other across the sky, interposed their gray masses as 

 a bar to the rays of the sun. No light, no warmth, noth- 

 ing btit a cold, clammy feeling in the air, that makes you 

 wish you might change places with some dweller in the 

 tropics. It is unendurable and decidedly uncomfortable. 



About 4 o'clock that evening, despite the fog and bleak 

 air, we ventured to the reef again, where after an hour's 

 earnest casting I rose a monster to the lure, which I 

 hooked, btit after his first dash, sad to relate, he kissed 

 me a hurried farewell as he flopped his broad tail in my 

 disappointed face. I was evidently vexed at the loss, 

 but gave birth to no impiety over it. We flahed on till 

 6 o'clock without exciting the inquisitiveness of another 

 mottled darling and then returned to camp. This is the 

 same place where Ned caught hissix pomider last season, 

 of which exciting struggle he still has delightful remem- 

 brance. In the evening about 8 o'clock the tent in which 

 our boatmen slept and where our provisions were kept 

 took fire through the sheer carelessness of John, who bad 

 placed a lighted candle near the canvas and then went 

 hurriedly away. At the first alarm we ran swiftly to 

 the tent and worked in good earnest to quench the grow- 

 ing flames. Fortunately a bucket of water near by was 

 quickly secured and thrown on the blazing tent, which 

 somewhat checked the fire for a moment, and then the 

 canvas was rapidly stripped from the ridge pole and 

 smothered hj rolling it together. The boys soon imjjro- 

 vised another tent with the sails and remnants, and next 

 morning Joe took the fire-despoiled tent to his home in 

 Goalias Bay and had the damage repaired. We were 

 soon again in good form in camp and all going well. 

 These little incidents add to the exciting interest of the 

 trip, at least the boys thought so, as they were quite 

 merry over this one after the occurrence. 



We started the next morning for Bachewananing Bay, 

 with the air soft and balmy, the lake a quivering, 

 sparkling sheet of silver, and the hills all purple and pink 

 and faint crimson. It was a jmre delight, this slipping 

 o'er the plain of twinkling waters under bright skies, 

 that charmingly mellowed all things in the landscapes 

 so beautifully spread before us. Our troubadour, catching 

 the inspiration of the radical change, tuned his lute-like 

 voice and sang in notes melodious; 



"The night was clear and mild. 



And the breeze went softly by, 

 And the stars of heaven smiled 

 As they wandered up the sky." 



In a few hom'S we rounded into the east side of Bache- 

 wananing Bay and then sailed into a little cove, landed, 

 and made camp in a most lovely place. The half-breeds 

 soon had the boatunloaded, the tents in position, and then 

 fitting up a temporary kitchen, turned their attention to 

 making a convenient landing for the boat. This was done 

 by taking a long timber about 13in. square, that they 

 found stranded, and anchored it with heavy stoaes at riglit 



