B32 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



slugs appear in greater numbers during damp weather, 

 and frogs are more lively and clamorous in the ponds and 

 marshes. Swallows fly low before rain, because the in- 

 sects which they chase and capture on the wing approach 

 nearer the earth at that time. If bats fly long and late 

 in the twilight it may be taken as indicative of a fine day 

 on the morrow; and they do so because in calm and 

 settled weather the insects on which they feed remain 

 long on the wing iu the evening. Fish are eager in bit- 

 ing at flies on the surface of the water before a coming 

 spell of rain, the lowness of flight of insects giving the 

 fish an opportunity of which they are not slow to avail 

 themselves. All these are good weather signs, but can- 

 not always be relied upon around this great reservoir of 

 icy water. 



The cl@uds persistently retained their leaden hues, and 

 the rain pattered and pattered, until we almost lost heart. 

 I sighed for a rub on the lamp of Aladdin, that a trans- 

 formation might ensue, which would lift us out of this 

 abyss of despair, but it was in vain, for the hooded clouds 

 continued to 



Tell their beads in drops of rair, 

 And pattei- Iheir doleful prayere. 



At last there was a cessation , and hke an unfortunate 

 catching at straws, we entered the boat and crossed to 

 the opposite side, and commenced casting for the "finny 

 heroes:'" but no sooner were our flies dancing on the 

 water than rain came pouring down. Shelter was im- 

 mediately sought under a cluster of trees, which soon 

 began to drip the moistened beads upon us. Once more 

 the clouds lighted up and the rain ceased, and again we 

 took to the boat. And so it continued to rain and clear 

 about every twenty minutes, giving us an opportunity, 

 between the showers, to catch three trout, with which 

 we departed for camp, satisfied that it was no use to 

 trifle further with the shiowering Jupiter. 



On our return Ned made a raid on his little bags of 

 tackle, and busied himself improving, as he thought, 

 some of his fine flies. He would take the most cunningly 

 devised lure and so cover it with deep red feathers, as to 

 entirely destroy its original shape. As soon as he had 

 completed one he handed it to me for inspection, if not 

 laudation, but I was a cruel critic, and always ridiculed 

 his changes. He was evidently an iconoclast, and took 

 exceptional pleasure in originality. I advised him to use 

 the tail of a red squirrel, as that was about akin to some 

 of his bushy lures. He stuck to his feathery idols and I 

 to my perfect flies, and the result was that I discounted 

 him as to the number of rises received. When I was in 

 fine luck one day he said: 



"That fly of yours brings 'em." 



"And that fly of yours frightens them," I replied. 



He was chagrined at the answer and kept quietly send- 

 ing his carmined feathers on all sides, with no response 

 whatever. I could see that he was somewhat disaj)- 

 pointed at his want of success, particularly when I was 

 bringing in trout after trout. Desiring to make the 

 generous- hearted sportsman happy, I tendered him one 

 of my best silver-doctors and requested him to try it. He 

 cheerfully acquiesced and the very first cast he made re- 

 sulted in a capture. 



"^Vhy that's a capital fly," says he, after he had landed 

 the exhausted trout. 



"None better, and don't you forget it." 



On another occasion I changed my silver-doctor for a 

 dun-colored fly, which as it skimmed o'er the water 

 looked as much like a grasshopper as it possibly could. It 

 was an eminent success and Ned was high in its praise. 

 Wishing to place him on an equality and cure him of his 

 cranky ideas 1 insisted on his trying one. He did so and 

 caught trout for trout with me. His red-headed and red- 

 tailed originals were now fast departing to that l)0urne 

 in the far distant. 



There are, of course, times and conditions of water that 

 almost anything in the shape of a fly will succeed, but 

 in the long run it's the artistic fly, artistically handled, 

 that captures the largest number of trophies, not in trout 

 fishing alone but every other. I could give hundreds of 

 instances of this if time and space would only permit. 



About 3 o'clock in the afternoon the rain ceased, the 

 dark draperies of the sky floated away, the sun shone 

 forth in splendid radiance, while the waters rippled with 

 a gentle cadence. It was to boat again, and along the 

 now aapphired shore to temjit the rainbow beauties to the 

 feast of flies. We only succeeded in coaxing three of 

 them to abide with us, owing to the lake's tendency to a 

 mirrored surface. We however had a pleasant outing, 

 and Ned, as usual, charmed with his minstrelsy as we 

 homeward moved by the waUs of woodland and granite 

 cliffs, tinged with the violet of departing day. This was 

 the time to enjoy the sunset pictures, so brilliantly spread 

 before us in their fanciful shadows of rock and tree, and 

 in their flashing hues upon the breathing waters. It 

 renewed our poetic fervor and made us enjoy more thor- 

 oughly the description of such an hour and such a view, 

 with which Percival has enriched the pages of Ameri- 

 can literature : 



Far to the south 

 Those slumbering waters floated, one long sheet 

 0£ burnished gold, between thy nearer shores 

 Softly embraced, and melting distantly 

 Into a yellow haze, embosomed low 

 'Mid shadowy hiUs and misty mountains, all 

 Covered with showery light, as with a veil 

 Of airy gauze. Beautilnil were thj' shores 

 And manifold their outlines, here up-swelling 

 In bossy green— tiiere hung in slaty clifl^s, 

 Blaclc as if hewn from jet, and overtopped 

 With the dark cedar's tufts, or new-leaved birch. 

 Bright as the wave below. How glassy clear 

 The far expanse! Berieatli it all the sliy 

 Swelled downward, and its fleecy clouds were gay 

 With all their rainbow fringes, and the trees 

 And cliffs and grassy knolls were all repeated 

 Along the uncertain shores, so clearly seen 

 Beneath the invisible transparency 

 That land and water mingled, and the one 

 Seemed melting in the other. O, how soft 

 Yon mountain's heavenly blue, and all o'erlaid 

 With a pale tint of roses! Deep between 

 The ever-narrowing lake, just faintly marked 

 By its reflected light, and further on. 

 Buried in vapory foam, as if a surf 

 Heaved on its utmost shore. How deep the silence ! 

 Only the rustling boughs, the broken ripple, 

 The cricket and the tree frog, with the tinkle 

 Of bells in fold and pasture, or a. VQice 



Heard from a distant farm, or hollow bay 

 Of home-returning hound— a virgin land 

 Just rescued from the wilderness, still showing 

 Wrecks of the giant forest. * * * * * 



We were in hopes that the morrow's dawn would realize 

 the now cheering prospects of settled weather. The sun 

 had gone down in a bank of snowy o]ouds, but gave us a 

 peep at her fair face just before she dipped into the lake. 



Our desires were not realized, for long before we arose 

 in the morning we heard tho steady patter of rain on the 

 tent. Ned at once began to calculate on another deluge, 

 and after having completed the elemental problem, turned 

 over in his blanket and was soon in deep sleep, and I 

 hoped, pleasant dreams. The rain continued at intervals 

 all day, and to brighten matters, Ned and I had a number 

 of games of "crib;'' tiring of that he sought the fascinat- 

 ing pages of "Lorna Doone," and I wandered into Bal- 

 zac's absorbing story — "The Two Brothers." John, the 

 helper, was somewhat musically inclined, and having 

 brought a "fiddle" with him, went persistently to work 

 and sawed out a number of thread-bare dance tunes, 

 much to Ned's disgust. 



"Great heavens!" said he, "are we to be hereafter borfed 

 with those discordant notes?" 



And then he began to study up some plan to put an 

 end to the unmusical scraping. I advised him to pur- 

 chase the "fiddle" and make a bonfire of it. This was 

 not all, for Joe, who had picked up an air or two on the 

 catgut, succeeded John in the musical olio, and seemed 

 to never grow weary of „his performance. It was a sort 

 of a picnic to me, as my ears had been somewhat accus- 

 tomed to such discordance by taking in the various opera 

 companies organized in the East the past season, I was 

 confident some accident would happen to that "fiddle" if 

 Ned ever got a chance to step on it. They took good care 

 of it, I assure you, for Ned's hoof never got within strik- 

 ing distance of it. 



We were kept the entire day in camp, and consequently 

 were growing quite restless. The weather the next 

 morning had not improved a bit, for we were again 

 greeted with the moan of thunder and the rain drops' 

 showery dance and rhythmic beat. We intended to have 

 crossed the bay that morning, but the unpropitious 

 weather xarevented. The boatmen again took turns 

 scraping the "fiddle," which came near paralyzing poor 

 Ned. and we took to cribbage and our books. 



This is our tenth day in camp, and notwithstanding 

 the damp state of afi^airs we manifest no discontent nor 

 desire to return to the civilized world. We were eager 

 for an outing that morning, as the cloudy condition 

 which prevailed was very favorable for fly-fishing; but 

 that persistent rain, which vexed sailors curse, and for 

 which poor shepherds pray, would not let up long enough 

 to permit. About every half hour observations were 

 taken, but not a ray of hope could we obtain from them. 

 It was decidedly a wet sky, with not an inch of blue 

 in it. 



There is nothing consoling in camp on a rainy day. 

 You take to cards and soon they tire; then the book "is 

 brought out and after a few pages is put away; a cigar 

 or two solaces you for a while; then you run out to the 

 fire by way of change and run back again; then you 

 overhaul your stock of tackle and the sight of an artistic 

 fly makes you think of the scarlet-robed beauties down 

 in their watery lair, and you are then more discontented 

 than ever. Your tent has sprung a leak and that neces- 

 sitates the care of bedding, etc. All this time a chilly 

 dampness is making you very uncomfortable, and just 

 when you think the rain is diminishing it takes a fresh 

 start and begins to fall with a steady determination— a 

 sort of soak, soak, soak. To add to this aggregation, the 

 wind begins to rise and moan and then you are com- 

 pelled to close the tent, and there you are "cabined, c;ib- 

 bed and confined." Yottr misery is now complete, and 

 by way of making yourself believe you are happy under 

 stich a condition of depressing weather, you indulge in 

 sarcastic laughtej- at the absurdity of the situation and 

 endeavor to warble some free-hearted song as if you were 

 under Italian skies. This free life in the forest is glorious 

 indeed, provided always that it don't rain more than six 

 consecutive days. 



The rain, with heavy thunder and vivid lightning, con- 

 tinued the entire day, much to ottr disgust, and we only 

 hoped, when we sought our beds that night, that the 

 morn would be ushered in with bright skies and gentle 

 breezes. Alex. Staebuck. 



St. Louis, May 16. — Dealers in fishing tackle in this 

 city report a largely increased sale of fine tackle. In this 

 regard, however, St. Louis is far in the rear. If the 

 manufacturers of fine tackle would send out a few 

 thousands of such a paper as Foebst and Steeam it 

 would immensely increase the sale of their goods. Any 

 angler who is a regular reader of a sporting paper would 

 soon discard his old reed pole and cotton line and procure 

 for himself some modern tackle. I note that a stock 

 company is being formed by sportsmen in Springfield, 

 111., and neighboring towns to purchase the title to some 

 15,000 acres of hunting and fishing grounds near Pekin, 

 on the Illinois River. A meeting will be held on May 21 

 to definitely determine what shall be done. Fishing is 

 good at Murdock Lake. Charles Smith, secretary of the 

 Murdoch Lake Club, has just returned from the lake and 

 reports a catch of 65 bass and croppie in a day and a half. 

 The new club house of the Grilead Slough Hunting and 

 Fishing Association will soon be completed and the open- 

 ing will be made a grand success. A steamer will be 

 chartered to carry up the members and their families. — 

 Aberdeen. 



SuNAPEE Fish.— New London, N, H., May 16.— I am 

 just in from Lake Sunapee and find that the native trout 

 are being taken in large numbers, and landlocked salmon 

 are rising to the fly. Fish Commissioner Hodge was at 

 the lake visiting the hatchery and pronounced the spring 

 hatch at Sunapee prime. I captured six elegant spotted 

 trout to-day, pencUings of the two best I inclose. Wish I 

 could hand you the original and tempt your palate. The 

 six weighed lllbs. 6-Joz, — Byron. 



A Oatskill Catch.— Catskill, N, Y,, May 7.— E. F. 

 Tibbals, in a fishing stream in the town of Jewett, this 

 county, yesterday afternoon caught twelve trout that 

 weighed nine pounds eight ounces. The largest one was 

 nineteen inches long and weighed plump thre© pounds. 

 He used flies and a four-puuce rod. 



Rocky Mountain Grayling.— Salt Lake City, Utah, 

 April 21. — Since my first letter some friends of mine sent 

 me two "grayhng," so called. They were caught near 

 Melrose, on the Union Pacific R. R. system, in the Big 

 Hole River, Montana, with bait— a white grub worm found 

 in decayed railroad ties. These were caught April 13. 

 Later in the season they are said to bile readily attliR fly, 

 and are quite plentiful. The fish were about 10 or llin. 

 long and weighed about lOoz. each. The sides were said 

 to have been spotted, but the high wine 188° proof seems 

 to have been too strong and the spots are not present. 

 The spots on the back fin and the shape seem to be as in 

 the grayling, except that they seem larger. I intend 

 to fish these waters in June and will be able to procure 

 perfect specimens, I shah take pleasure in forwarding 

 you one later on. I had located the fish in Idaho in my 

 former letter, but my recent ones came from Montana. 

 The Beaver Head, Blackfoot and Jefferson rivers in 

 Montana are said to abound with these "grayling." I 

 would like to know how to preserve specimens of fish,— 

 T. J. A. [There is no better fish preservative than pure 

 alcohol diluted with about one-third its volume of water. 

 Take two quarts of alcohol and one quart of water; mix 

 them and the mixtttre will keep fish long enough to ship 

 them almost any distance. Take the precaution to make 

 a few small incisions into the belly, so that the liquid may 

 go freely into the abdominal cavity, which is the most 

 difficult part to preserve. The loss of color may be pre- 

 vented to some extent by adding glycerine to the alcohol 

 and water. Some persons use equal parts of alcohol, 

 glycerine and water. Always be sure the preservative 

 enters the abdomen. If the fish is not to be kept perma- 

 nently it can be shipped safely in salt by removing the 

 insides and filling the cavity with salt and then packing 

 the specimen completely in the same preservative. The 

 first method is preferred.] 



Trout Fishing "Just Over There."— You all know 

 him, or at least have heard of — this talkative, confiding 

 fellow, who we hear is everlastingly having big catches 

 of trout of amazing size and beauty. WpU, last summer 

 two of us, while in the mountains of New Mexico and 

 near Cimarron, a small town, were told by a near rela- 

 tive of this fellow, whom we will call Jake, who had 

 such phenomenal luck trout fishing "just over there," 

 that there was fine trout fishing up on the American 

 Creek, some twenty miles from here. He said this stream 

 contained some of the most beautifully mottled trout of 

 amazing size and ravishing beauty, "just over there,"' 

 Not thinking he was a relative of Jake, we hastened over 

 to the American Creek. After fishing for several miles 

 up and down the creek we had the good luck to catch 25 

 little trout the size of American sardines. Good fishing, 

 most beautifully mottled, of amazing size, etc. We 

 finally came to the conclusion he had caught them all. 

 After this, when any of this kind of anglers told us of a 

 certain stream being full of trout, we always remembered 

 the ones "just over there." At one place where we 

 stopped fishing was prime and in all is glory. We fished 

 along this stream three days. In some places we found 

 the trout a little wild and hard to catch; they were mostly 

 of a size, averaging about l^lbs., and for once we got all 

 the fish we could eat. The scenery along this mountain 

 stream was simply grand and filled the angler's eyes with 

 delight. This stream is very narrow, so that one could 

 step across almost anywhere. As we spent several weeks 

 last summer in the mountains of New Mexico, you may 

 hear from this neck of woods again as to fishing and 

 hunting. — G. B. L. 



Another Fishing Dog.— I have reason to believe the 

 account of a dog catching suckers in California, mention 

 of which is made in the Forest and Stream of May 14. 

 I distinctly remember a similar instance which frequently 

 came under my observation in my boyhood on the coast 

 of Maine. A neighbor had a very intelligent large dog 

 that quite regtilarly visited "the bar," which uncovered 

 at low tide, for the purpose of killing catfish {Anarrhicus 

 lupus). I do not know whether the dog had been trained 

 to this or did it instinctively. However, be seemed to 

 have a decided antipathy against the catfish, which, as 

 is well known, is one of the most pugnacious fishes of 

 northern seas. It often happened that one or more catfish 

 would be left by the ebbing tide in some shallow depres- 

 sion where there was hardly room for him to move about. 

 The dog seemed to take especial delight in watching for 

 fish placed in such a predicament, and would immediately 

 attack them. His method of attack was to catch them 

 by the head, or just back of it, and drag them out of the 

 water, where, of course, they soon became helpless. Oc- 

 casionally he would attack one where the water was a 

 little deeper than common and where the fish could fight 

 with less disadvantage. In some instances of this kind 

 which I recall the battle was a very vigorous one. The 

 fish would make vicious snaps at his enemy and lash the 

 water into foam, but, with rare exceptions, would be over- 

 come by the superior skill and intelligence of the dog. 

 As these contests occurred frequently and almost dkectly 

 in front of my house, I had an opportunity to note their 

 varying phases. — J. W. Collins. 



Those at Home. — The fact that this class of nature's 

 true lovers have not had, and will probably not have, an 

 outing in this glorious springtime, does not in the least 

 abate their ador nor cool their enthusiasm. On the con- 

 trary, the deprivation, though truly hard, sharpens their 

 anticipations for a time when fate may be less hard, and 

 when they, too, may share in the joys of forest and 

 stream with their luckier brothers. Should "hope long 

 deferred" ever begin to despair, the perusal of Forest 

 AND Stream's pages would easily cheer her again to her 

 wonted condition. This is one of the great pleasures we 

 stay-at-homes enjoy; and I doubt not but that we appre- 

 ciate the many sketches of life in field and forest, on 

 lake and stream, with a keener zest than those who ai'e 

 privileged to taste the reality. Brothers, you who toil 

 steadily in storeroom or warehotise, counting room or 

 shop, do not despair; for if, in yom' whole life, it is not 

 given you to secure even one outing nor one chance for 

 communion with the nature you love, your life will still 

 be the richer and better for cherishing that passion.— 

 Onyjutta. 



The Biggest Connecticut Trout.— A trout 17in. long, 

 13in. in girth and weighing 41bs. loz, is reported to have 

 been caught by Fred Messenger in Cranberry Pond, North 

 Qranby, Conn,, about the middle of May. 



