Nov. -^4, mt] 



FOHEST AND STREAM. 



448 



U8 some partridges, he said, but I fear he was looking for 

 caribou. 



Wheu he rejoined us toward evening he rpported hav- 

 ing seen in a swamp a pathway of caribou '•Ca de large et 

 de ereux" (so wide and so deep). I diacounted his 

 story by 75 ptr cent., as I usually do with such reports; 

 buc even then it was apparent he had come across the 

 track of several animals, perhaps four or five and perhaps 

 a dozen. He said he waited a while in hopes of seeing 

 one, but as it was getting late and we might need him 

 he came away. 



Our young gunning friend was all enthusiasm for 

 going out early next morning to try for a shot. But in 

 the morning, when he found that it had been raining 

 during the night, and that the swamp was a couple of 

 miles away, his ardor abated. Moreover, the night pre- 

 vious he had burned his boots so that there was not much 

 left of them but the soles and the lacings, and on the 

 whole he thought he had better stick to trout fishing, 

 which he could do barefoot. I approved of his prudence, 

 for I knew that Damase has no more idea of distai ce than 

 an Indian, and his two miles Avere as likely to be five as 

 anything else. 



I occasionally get a laugh on Damase when he under- 

 takes to tell how far it is to any place by T'epeat.ing what 

 an Indian is reported to have said: est tout ^ytoche: 

 on voit la boeagne. Rien que quinze Hems.''' (lu Is close 

 by; you can seethe smoke. Only fifteen leagues,) Five 

 or ten miles, I know, are nothing to him. I used to think 

 I was a fair all-day snowshoer myself, but never, in my 

 best days, would Thave trusted myself to follow Damase 

 on a caribou hunt. I only know of one man that I would 

 bet on to do it, and that man hasn't any more meat on 

 his bones than would decently cover a clothes pin. 

 Damase isn't built that way at all. He stands about oft. 

 lOin. and weighs iSOlbs. He doesn't start suddenly, but 

 wheu he gets to going he don't stop. He goes over the 

 ground like one of those carcajous, whose tracks are 

 occasionally — very rarely of late years — found in these 

 woods; that same steady, monotonous, unrelenting put- 

 ting of one never-tiring foot before another. And like 

 the carcajou, he eats when he gets there, not before. 

 There is no stopping for lunch or 5 o'clock tea with him. 

 The good Nazaire was not an easy man to keep along 

 with when he was in his prime, but Damase I always 

 had a wholesome awe of in that particular and never 

 took him on a long tramp. So I am not sure but our 

 young friend was fortunate in having his boots burned. 



At the rapids a Thifaut we found, as we expected, that 

 we had serious work before us if we insisted on camping 

 further up the river. At that stage of the water it was 

 possible to get up the empty canvas, without passengers 

 or baggage, and we decided to camp there and do the 

 rest of our exploring without our impedimenta. So, 

 while the tents were being pitched some of us fished. 

 And such fishing! The river seemed to be teeming with 

 ti'out, and they were hungry. So were we, but we 

 avoided taking small ones as much as we could, and 

 when we got them put them back. We took none so 

 large as I thought it likely we should get. The largest 

 ones were of about a pound and a quarter and from that 

 down. We saved none that would weigh under about 

 half a pound. I was rather surprised that we saw none 

 of all of those three and four-pound fellows such as are 

 sometimes found a good deal further up the river and in 

 some of its branches. Not that I care about them, a 

 trout that will weigh three-quarters of a pound or a 

 pound suits me well enough tor sport and is far better 

 eating, but we were on an exploring expedition. There 

 are, no doubt, some very large trout in the streams and 

 lakes further up, but I have never seen them. In some 

 places I believe they will take the fly and in others they 

 will not. I heard to-day that a gentleman from New 

 York recently took one weighing T^lbs. But it was taken 

 with bait in 60ft, of water. My informant, a sportsman 

 pur sang, who I think would sooner go hungry — just a 

 little bit — than take fordinaUs with anything but a fly, 

 said he would as soon fish for cod. I don't exactly know 

 how I should feel about it myself. I am not so much a 

 sportsman as he. But as I said before, three-quarters of 

 a pound will do very well, and six men can dispose of a 

 very fair lot of them, especially when Damase is of the 

 party. We got enough. We could not have eaten any 

 more and had very little salt. 



So we camped, and the next morning the empty canoes 

 were poled up the rapidg. Tne passengers, with Damase, 

 took to the woods, where we found a very good path 

 made by some lumbermen who had been obliged to port- 

 age a good part of the provisions for "the drive"' on their 

 backs. The rapids are called a mile and a half long, but 

 the mile is a long one. The canoemen said that after the 

 rapids we should have a mile and a half of eau niorte, 

 but I found their ideas of dead water very different from 

 mine. Apparently, to them dead water is any water that 

 is not broken into rapids white with foam. The current 

 was still very swift, and we poled nearly all the way from 

 the top of the rapids a Thifaut up to those of La Sauva- 

 gesse, where the passengers disembarked again. The 

 water being low, we crept along the river bank. The 

 rapids a Thifaut are wide and shallow, while those of La 

 Sauvagesse are steep and broken by enormous boulders. 

 One, quite in the middle of the river, called "La tuque 

 de la (b'aMragesse," bears a striking resemblance to tnat 

 characteristic Canadian headgear, the "tuque." The 

 canoes were coaxed along from rock to rook and from 

 point to point, and at about a couple of miles further up 

 stream we lunched — and fished. 



There were tiout everywhere. 



Here too, as in many other places we found the "ouata- 

 see." This fish is so common here that it seems to me he 

 is hardly appreciated as he ought to be, for he is very 

 good eating indeed and a really good sized one is no fool 

 to handle with a light rod. I took one weighing about 

 21bs. with a fly. just below the surface, although usually 

 only the smaller ones rise. The Professor eventually suc- 

 ceeded in getting one home in order to settle a disputed 

 point. Its real name is Levcosoimis puIeheUuft, but it is 

 variously called "roach,'" "roach-dace," "red-fin," etc., 

 and is widely distributed. A man told me once that after 

 a few days of fiish diet he and the men with him actually 

 preferred the "ouatasee" to the trout. 



Having gone up river as far as I felt any special interf st 

 in going, and having reached a place where lor a Iouk 

 distance the river was wide, and too shallow for rilh- r of 

 our canoes, we decided on turning back. The Professor 

 and I loafed and fished a little, our gunner went for 

 ducks, but got us only one, and Damaae took an hoar's 



tramp into the woods, trying to find a couple of lakes 

 where I was told by excellent authority I could load a 

 boat with trout in a couple of hours. We didn't want a 

 boat load, of trout just then, but thought that if there 

 were any such lakes in the neighborhood we should like 

 to see them. We afterward learned that we had gone 

 beyond them, and that if we had looked for them a mile 

 or so further down instead of up the river, we should 

 have found them in ten minutes. So there are more lakes 

 that no fly-fisherman has ever visited and another pxcur- 

 pion in store for us next summer. Two of my friends had 

 come across these lakes when caribou hunting. Whether 

 those big trout that were so ravenous in winter will take 

 the fly next August remains to be seen. 



We ran the rapids of La Sauvagesse in a very small 

 fraction of the time it had taken us to go up. It was as 

 exciting a business as I wish to engage in. If our canoes 

 had not been beautifully handled we should surely have 

 been swamped. I have run rapids before, but I will 

 award the palm to La Sauvagesse. At the rapids a Thi- 

 faut a difference of opinion between om'two men resulted 

 in running us on to a rock, where we came within an ace 

 of getting capsized. We ran part of them safely until we 

 came to a place where Lazare said we must get out or 

 risk the whole with no chance of getting to shore. 



We disembarked and Damase ran the canoe down alone, 

 reporting that we might all have gone as well as not, and 

 got out with perfect safety within a few yards of our 

 camp. There was a little friction between the two men 

 about that time, but I incline to think Damase was cor- 

 rect, for we had already decided that Laz ire's prudence 

 verged very closely on timidity. But he knows more 

 about running rapids than I do, and it is a matter in 

 which it is best to err on the safe side. 



At the foot of the rapids and close by our camp I fished 

 again. And what quantities of trout there were! At 

 almost every cast one, two and sometimes three little 

 chaps would be out of the water at once, tumbling over 

 and turning somersaults in the most ludicrous manner. I 



A LITTLE FISHER MAID. 



Amateur photo by W. O. Held. 



(Forest and Stieatn Amateur Photography Competition.) 



laughed until- 1 was tired. We did not care for many 

 more fish and we threw the flies chiefly to see the trout 

 jump at them, avoiding catching them as much as 1 

 could ; but once in a while a bigger fellow would rush in, 

 and make off with the hook himself. Htm we saved for 

 the frying pan, but the small ones went back into the 

 river very little the worse for their experiences. Some 

 people might say it was cruel sport, but I am of those 

 who think fish are not very sensible to pain. It was only 

 a few days ago that a trout carried off a poorly fastened 

 fly for me, and within five minutes he rose again and I 

 caught him with the hook still sticking in his mouth. 

 Two acquaintances of mine were fishing together when 

 One lost his whole casting line with three flies on it. A 

 few minutes later the other man caught the trout and 

 recovered the whole thing. So I do not consider that 

 my quarter of an hour's amusement hurt the trout much, 

 though I do not know that I ever before fished for trout 

 that were not wanted to be eaten. I do not approve of 

 cruelty even to fishes. I invariably kill my trout before 

 taking them out of the landing net as the most safe, con- 

 venient and humane method. I do not like to see or hear 

 them flopping about in the bottom of the canoe. I had a 

 man with me once who used to put his fish alive inside 

 his flannel shirt and next his skin for safe keeping. I 

 should think the feeling would be disagreeable. 



I have said we had very little salt and so we despaired 

 of being able to send any fish to our friends. But one of 

 the men found a logging road near our tents and some 

 distance up the road was a camp and in the camp was a 

 small box of coarse salt, left there because not worth 

 carrying away. It was a godsend for us. We packed up 

 a good lot of trout to send away and the Professor care- 

 fully salted and packed the 2lb.' "ouatasee" to take home, 

 for one of his friends had insisted that a fish with such a 

 mouth as was described to him must be a sucker and 

 would never rise to a fly. When the fish was nicely pre- 

 pared for transjjortation we came away and left it, forget- 

 ting all about it. Perhaps he is there yet. 



We went down the river, ran all the rapids, camped 

 again at the mouth of the Pierre, caught more trout and 

 other "ouatasee"' and reached the railway near The Tenth 

 two hours before our train was due and four hours be- 

 fore it arrived. There was plenty of time to amuse our- 

 selves with photography and novel reading but we event- 

 ually reached a camping ground on our homeward route 

 «nd arrived back at Lake Clair in good time the next day, 

 T p Prof essor allowed that it was all very well to visit 

 and explore new fishing grounds but when one is in Para- 

 dise one might as well stay there, and that hereafter he 

 was not to be tempted away from our favorite lake. It 

 is true that of all trout the Lake Clair trout is "first and 

 there is no second." G. pe Montauban. 



A PRAIRIE CHICKEN MIGRATION. 



During the siunmer of 1886 it was my good fortune to 

 make a ten days' visit to Isle Royale, T do not think any 

 one was living on the island at the time except light- 

 keepers, but 1 met quite a number of fishermen and old 

 miners who as well as the light-keejjets knew a good deal 

 about the place and from all of whom I received much 

 information concerning the beasts and birds that were to 

 be there found. Of the latter the only game bird that 

 was mentioned was the partridge or ruffed grouse. 



Last summer (1890) I made a second visit to the rocky 

 little island and was surprised to find that in addition to 

 the ruffed grouse, the pinnated or prairie chicken was also 

 an inhabitant. At our first camping place which was 

 near by the abandoned Minong copper mine, we met with 

 as handsome a covey of chickens as I have seen in many 

 a day. They were real prairie chickens and no mistake. 



Again I interviewed "ye ancient ones," for my curiosity 

 was excited— -excited not only because their presence run 

 counter to the information of five years before, but for 

 the further reason that the exceedingly rocky, rough, 

 mountainous, timbered and bush-covered island was not 

 the character of country in which I had been accustomed 

 to seeing these birds. But the old fishermen and others 

 assured me the birds were there, but they had "recently 

 come in" they said. "How long since ? "Three orfour 

 years ago," answered one and "four or five" another, and 

 "a few years ago" answered still another, and so on. 



It is enough to say that I was satisfied that the prairie 

 chicken was a recent arrival, but whence came it, was 

 the next question. The island is from twenty to thirty 

 miles from the North Shore of Lake Superior (I write 

 without map or data before me) and it seemed reasonable 

 enough that the birds could have crossed on the ice like 

 the deer are said to do, but the country along the North 

 Shore as seen from the deck of a steamer seemed so in- 

 hospitable to prairie chicken life, that it looked un- 

 reasonable to account for their presence from that quarter. 



Later on .Jo and I made a canoe trip along the Isoun- 

 dary between Canaaa and Minnesota. We followed that 

 somewhat remarkable lacustrine water way which 

 begins at the mouth of the Pigeon River on the North 

 Shore and leads northwesterly to the Like of the Woods. 

 Leaving the North Shore at Grand Marais we wagoned 

 and packed across the country to the lake chain we were 

 to follow, reaching it about fifty miles from the mouth 

 of the river. 



For a few miles after leaving Grand Marais the coun- 

 try was covered by a dense forest of timber, but on reach- 

 ing the high land which was ten or twelve miles back 

 from the lake we found ourselves in an exceedingly hilly, 

 nay mountainous and rocky region, which at one time 

 had evidently been a finely timbered region, but the 

 timber had been swept away by fires and the whole 

 country was overgrown with thickets of bushes and 

 saplings. Our Indian guides, Shingibis and Swamper, 

 spoke of this region as "the plains," and both assured us 

 that prairie chickens were to be found on these "plains." 



Shingibis was little if any short of sixty years of age, 

 but was still rugged and capable. He bad spent all his 

 life in the woods as trapper and hunter, several years 

 being in the employ of the fur companies. He was an 

 intelligent woodsman and I have no reason to suspect the 

 truth of what he said. We did not ourselves see any 

 chickens, but we were told by others afterwards, who 

 had been through the region , that the story of the Indians 

 was true. 



Whence came the chickens to the so called "plains" 

 of the North Shore ? 



Before leaving the island I met with a very intelligent 

 gentleman from Duluth, whose name I have forgotten, 

 who gave me the following account of a chicken migration. 

 "Some twelve or fifteen years ago,'" he said, "the prairie 

 chickens invaded Duluth and vicinity in flocks of thou- 

 sands. They came apparenty from the west and south, 

 and great numbers perished in the lake while others 

 passed on down the North Shore and went no one knew 

 where." It was generally supposed he said that they 

 were fleeing from the hunters. 



A more diligent inquiry might have resulted in more 

 definite information, out I had no opportunity to make it. 

 The question is one that is not altogether devoid of in- 

 terest. Four-footed animals have been known to mi- 

 grate — to leave one country for another when the former 

 became too hot for them on account of the hunters, or too 

 poor for them because of the lack of food; and so too the 

 wild turkey and the quail will move from one locality to 

 another in search of iood. I know of an instance (from 

 report of those who sawj of the wild tui'keys traveling 

 from one part of Indiana to another m the early day, in 

 search of more abundant food. They traveled in a scat- 

 tered flock and were half a day passing a given point. 

 But this chicken migration is, to say the least, quite re- 

 markable — remarkable because of the great distance the 

 birds have apparently traveled, and because of the new 

 conditions to which they seem to be habituating them- 

 selves. D. D. Banta. 



Eggs Killed by Heat. 



Quail seem to be less numerous this season than for 

 several years past. Some suppose the. wet spring was the 

 cause of the scarcity, but I cannot assign that reason, as 

 the rains were too early, for it is known that the hatch- 

 ing season is not until about harvest time. My opinion is 

 that the hot summer had much to do with it. Whether 

 this opinion has ever been held by others I cannot say, but 

 I noticed that after an uncommonly hot summer years 

 ago the birds were unusually scarce. I reason upon the 

 case thus: a degree of heat above 106° Fahr, is dangerous 

 to the germ of the egg. Now, supposing the temperature 

 of the egg at a certain stage of incubation to be 100' ; when 

 the bird leaves her nest in quest of food, the rays of the 

 sun, should they find entrance to the nest, must in a short 

 time raise the temperature of the eggs sufficiently to kill 

 all or a portion of them. Does not the reason seem quite 

 plausible? West Virginian, 



A Book About Indians.— The Fobest and Stream will mail 

 free on applicatioa a descriptive circular of Mr. Q-rlnneU's book, 

 "Pawnee Hero Stories and Folk-tales," giving a table of oonteBtR 

 wd apeclmen illuatratlonB from the volume.—^ fif. 



