Jan. 13, 1893.3 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



33 



jiever veiitured near him. Wlieu the larger ones fell 

 down with the current thev 2:laiiced around and whisked 

 off. 



The old fellow was a cannilial ti'out. Like the Utan- 

 oatin.a,' ti.!2:eT \y]w never ^'aries lits diet, he had given up 

 the ordintiiy diversions of trout life to become the «lave 

 of a A'oracions Hi)petite. 



Hundreds of sizable trout wpi-p in sio'ht, besides multi- 

 tudes of little felloA\'s. Tlie lattej' were swijnming- about 

 the waterfall, and many of them diseo\ered a passage, 

 for. they were oontiuuaily appeai'ing above and moving uj) 

 the stream. 



Tlip Slungle Brook is itself a tributary of one of the best 

 known, trout streams i)i the county, [irobalily owing to 

 Avhat at first seemed to me a singidar fact that the people 

 of the vicinity have a prejudice against eating trout dvulng 

 the snnimer months. 



■■Wliy," explained my fi-iend. ••tiiey are full of pin- 

 worms,"' and to my surpi'ise he promptl.y caught one from 

 the water trough, and with his penknife readily extracted 

 from its back a number of white thread worms, varying 

 from j-to IJin. in length, after which he retui-ned the fish 

 to the water apparently iminjured. 



Time is busy swee)3ing away in om- very ju'cservc the 

 scenes of cldldhood. Though the Americau jnay live and 

 die near the site of his paternal home, not less will he seek 

 in .memory for the landscape of his you tlx than his neigh- 

 bor between, whom and his native shore stretch a. tliousand 

 watery leagnes. 



Come liitlier at this season some years hence and you 

 will ] )robably find no flow. You may find water in the 

 l)ool, but the trout Avill be gone. Indeed, it is plainly 

 advertised to who ever can read natin-e's hand, that the 

 pool itself must soon be a tlung of the past. 



The bed rock here is a soft slate. The la.\ ers sheh e 

 toward the center of the. pool, and one may descend by 

 easy steps several feet until directly under the waterfall. 

 Nature lias been excavating this hole for a long time. It 

 is to be a sepulchre. If tiiere be no intelligent pmpose in 

 the work, the result, at least, is intelligible enough. 



What think you will be entombed in that rock graveV 

 Plainly, the Imge gneissic blo("k over which the water is 

 falling. The edges of the I'ocks bet\veeii wliich it is 

 Avedged are slowly melting awtiy, and every spring the 

 torrent gives it a push forward: at last it will slip from 

 the yisc that now clasps it, and plunge to t.ht' fate that 

 awaits. Then nature will hll the grave, smooth it oA'er, 

 and the pool will be no more. B. F. H. 



THE MECHANICVILLE FISH WAY AFFAI R 



Editor Foveat and Stream: 



In pursuance of my promise to reply to A. N. Cheney's 

 charge against me in your issue oC Dec. 29, I now desire 

 to answer his article seriatim. 



.\ . N. ( 'heiu>y',>^ statement : "My uiformaLiou in regard to some one 

 who attemptefl to impersonate a New Vnrk Fi.-^b Coniniissioner * * * 

 wa« ol^ course nin.st reliable." 



I acknowledge 1 am the '"some one." but emphatically 

 deny that I "attempted to rmpei-sonate a New York Fish 

 Comu.iissioner." The arrogance of the rest of the sentence 

 ' is cliaractii'ristic. Smce when has Mr. Clieney's infortna- 

 tion been "most reliable," so as to lie a "matter of 

 coiu'se'"? 



statement of A. N. Cheney \s unnamed 'correspondent: "The man 

 appeared to he nnder the inti'uence of hquor.'' 



My Avorsi ejievjues Avdl not accuse me Of intemperance 

 m drmk. and I (emjiliatically <leny the coAvardly insinu- 

 ation. Moreover. I will give a hundred dollar's to any 

 charity Forest and Stkeam may name if Cheney's corre- 

 spondent can jvrove I drank any mtoxicant on the day 

 referred to. namely, June 23, 1892, or can prove I wasewec 

 itndei' the influence of li(|_uor. 



Statement of the correspomlent: "He wanted a gun or spear with 

 which to kill it (the .sahnon), as he said he had been notified by the 

 Fish Commission to get them a salmon in any way that he could and 

 send it to theiii." 



This is a lie and out of the Avhole cloth. I deny it in 

 toto that I wanted the gun or spear or so asserted. I 

 deny that I said I had been "notified, etc.," but assummg 

 for ithe moment that I did say so, does not this admission 

 on the part of Cheney's correspondent pnt him out of 

 court as regards the "impersonation" charge? How could 

 a memlier of the Fish Commission be notified by the Fish 

 Ct.inimission to ''get thenr a salmon V" This' writer is 

 aware tluUi 1 only gave nij^ correct status and inad- 

 vertently corroborates my version, wd.iich I will give 

 ])resently. 



"The watchman at the plaster mills says that the next morning 

 ahont 4 o'clock the man still ca.lUng himself Barber was at the mill and 

 asked foi' a spear, but the watchrnan would have nothing to do with 

 him, although Barber offered to watch while Wheeler' w en I tor a 

 spear." 



Tins is another sample, of the "most reliable" informa- 

 tion published by A. N. Cheney. I emphatically deny 

 the statement. I Avas not at the mill next morning at all, 

 but drove home the same day through a violent thirnder- 

 .sforni along Avith my wife and little nephew, Avho accom- 

 panied me. , 



• ^To one has been here to examine or inspect the flshway exCepl 

 Commissioner Uarher, and he is a daisy." 



It will tie olisej-ved that this corresjiondeirt himself 

 makes no chaifie of in] person at! on. Ind attaches Ihe 

 handle to my narne' out of Ins oAvn inner cr'nsciousuess. It. 

 is Mr. Cheney's slatemeril that 1 "atfeni]:it..Ml to imjierson- 

 ate." and I need not say the <'har.iJ'e is -a serii jos one. I 

 may certainly l>e a. "daisy," to u,se the winter elegant 

 ami flattering phrase, and 1 won't deny my.self the com- 

 pliment, seeing it is the oid,\- luu.' nffered. but 1 am not. 

 and never said I Avas "<_ V>jnnd.ssii.->ner" Barber. 



So much for the correspondeirt. I now pass on to the 

 com inents. 



A. N. Cheney's uomments: "He was simply an irap&ster masquerad- 

 ing as a Commissioner." "That he fooled my correspondent is evi- 

 deirt." :. 



These are assumptions only, ami are not borne out 

 by the quoted letter from the Metshanicvjlle coJ'respond- 

 ent, 



"Whetlier tliis rBarher) is the man that appeared at Mechanic ville 

 and called hiai.self a Fish Coumii-ssioner desired to Icill a salmon illegally 

 of course I cannot .say.^' 



This is the way .\. N. (_'henev .shelves the responsibility 

 for pubhshing "jm.ist reliable" evidence. All along be as- 

 .sumes the absolute tJ tith of the JMechanicville report, and 

 then saA'es his own .skin with the "of course I cannot 

 say." I. am the man referred to and the charge is a lie 



and doubly so because it is mixed Avith the very slightest 

 grains of truth only. "A lie that is partly tlie truth is 

 GA-er the blackest of lies." 



Here is my ])lain and unvarnished statement of the 

 case. On June 1 I, IS«3, I was dh'ected by Chief Ciirne and 

 Fish Protector Pond to visit the fish ways in my district, 

 Auz. . Mechanicville and Northimiberlaud. On. ifhe 21st I 

 Aasitod Northmnberland and duly rejiorted thereon. On 

 the 28d I s'isited Mecha.nicville. On my Avay down the 

 riA'er I had l.ieard repeatedly that salm.on were both shot 

 and s[ieaT(^d at tlie dain. I made up my mind if possible 

 to find out. At the ].)ul]j mill and throughout my A'isit I 

 distinctly stated that 1 was the game and fish protector, 

 giving also my name and address. I ha.d no reason for 

 doing otherwise. It was at noon wiien tiie gate was shut 

 down that I and a dozen or so of men saAv a large salmon. 

 I purposely made the remark, to no one in particular, "I 

 Avould like to liaA-e that fish for the commissioners." This 

 AA'as a pai't of my perfectly legitimate plan to find out the 

 po.ssibility of getting it illegally and to ascertain the senti- 

 ment of the luen. As I expected, it provoked an oft'er to 

 get a gtm to shoot the fish, which 1 neither accejited nor 

 rejected: a, man started off'. I think, for one, and just then 

 the Avhistle blew for Avork to recommence. And that is 

 all there is in the charge brought Avith so juuch circum- 

 stantiality against me. 



In my report to the Commissioners of this \dsit I said 

 (and this is. ]ierhaps. one of the causes for animus in this 

 case): "In my ojiinion there is altogether too much dye 

 sttiff, lime and refuse runrring into the riA-er at this point 

 to be of benefit to the fish that are trying to get through 

 tlie fishAvay. and I think it Avise for you. with some mem- 

 ber of the Commission, to visit this point at an early day. 



* * The day I visited the fishway I, in the presence 

 of ten or tvveh'e employees of the prdp mill, saw a salmon 

 at least 4ft. in length."' This Ava.s Avritten ti, day or two 

 later. 



In conclusion, I woald add a word to my assumed total 

 unfitness to hold my i^osititm. That is a matter for my 

 present superiors to judge of, and I certainly shall not be 

 dictated to by A. N. Cheney or by the "late Commis- 

 sioner" he quotes, as to my duties. As a ]iiece of news 

 acceptable to the readers of Forest ANr> Stream, I may, 

 hoAvcA^er, be alloAved to state that since my assumption of 

 office (a period of seven months) I have arrested over 80 

 parties for violating the laws and haA'e con\icted over 60, 

 imposing fines amounting to more than $700. Of the 20 

 or thereaboids unaccounted for, (j Avere discharged, oA\'ing 

 to intimidation of A\ itnesses, o sent to jail in default of 

 fines. 3 decam^ied to A'eruiont and 8 Avere discontinued on 

 account of the irregid;irities of a, justice. I ha.A'e also 7 

 important cases more pending. There is not much of 

 the "daisy" pa.ttein in all this, I think. 



Charles H. Barber. 

 (lame and Fish Protector 17th Dist. 



ANGLING NOTES. 



Pike Fishing- Through the Ice. 



Until the New York fish and game law was piassed last 

 year there Avas a close season for pike,' which cut off pike 

 hshing through the ice. When that law Avas in force 

 there svas much o]jposition to it and considerable ill-feel- 

 ing in consequence. A. game pi'otector consulted me 

 about making an arrest, as he had evidence against two 

 men for fishing in the Hudson, Avhere there Avas no close 

 season for pike. Avith tip-ups. He claimed that if two or 

 any number of men less than thirty cut thirty holes in 

 the ice and put thirty baited hooks and lines into the 

 holes that they A^-ere using set lines. I advised him not 

 to make the arrest and told him if he AA-as placed on the 

 stand mider oath he Avould describe an entirely different 

 outfit as constituting a "set line" under the law'. He said 

 I had adA'ised him for fifteen years and for the first time 

 I was Avrong, but he did not make the arrest. 



That same Avinter or the foUoAving spring the Supreme 

 Court (rf New Hampshire decided that fishing through the 

 ice with tip-ups Avas fair angling, and that any nimiber of 

 lines sf) used by men Avho were present to Avatch the tip- 

 ups Avere not set fines. I cannot noAv refer to this decision . 

 but presmne it can be found easily by those Avho may be 

 interested in it. Already this winter I have been asked 

 more than a score of times if it Avas legal to catch pike 

 through the ice in the lakes Avhere formerly pike had a 

 close season, and in all cases I have said yes as to one of 

 the lakes, but another law prevents fishing through the 

 ice in the other. The local game protector tells me that 

 he Avill arrest any man found fishing through the ice for 

 liike A\ ith more than one line, as the chief game ])rotec- 

 tor of the State has decided that the use of tip-ups does 

 not constitute angling, and a rod must be used. 



I think that the chief game protector is not correctly 

 quoted in saying a rod must be used. In Section 271 of 

 the New York laAv definitions are given of the terms used, 

 and Article 5 reads: "iVngling is defined to mean taking- 

 fish with book and line or rod hekl in the hand, and does 

 not include set lines." Of cotrrse the chief game protec- 

 tcn''s decision is fhial, unless the courts shotdd construe 

 the law in a diff(M-enf manner, hid- Ave all know that tip- 

 rips are not set lines in the meaning of the law, for set 

 lines are long, strong lines Avith short baited lines to the 

 number of several himdred. soiiietinies, attached. Avhich 

 are anchored out over night. Ii" a tip-ii|) that a man is 

 watching is a .set line, then a l)aited rod that the fi.sher- 

 man |»uts down in the boat, from which lie is lislnng, 

 while he takes a drink or eats his lunch, must also be a set 

 line. 



Schoharie Creek Salmon. 



Replying to j\Ir. Robert Hartley's request for informa- 

 tion regarding the sain ion seen in Schoharie Creek, Judge 

 Fitz Ja-mes Fitch, of PrattSA'ille, N. Y., reported the fish 

 as liaAung l:)een seen, not caught, by Rca-. Charles Gr. 

 Adams, of New ^'ork city. l\Ir". Adauis A\'as fishing just 

 below De\ asego Falls, near thi- village of Prattsville, last 

 September, and saw the salmon, a fish nearly ;jft. long, 

 swimming near the surface of the pool, with its dorsal fin 

 out of water. Judge Fitch is an accomplished angler and 

 a prudent man, and a remarkably Avell informed man 

 concerning the fishes of the salmon family, and when he 

 said that the fish seen Avas a salmon I had no hesitancy 

 ahont accepting tlie statement, knowing well that he 

 AA'ould not rep(.irt the salmon witliout first investigating 

 and satisfying himseff of the identity of the fish. 



After hearing of the fish seen by ]\Ir. Adams, Judge 

 Fitch "learned from an authentic source" that pre- 

 A'ions to Mr. Adams's discovery, anotlier salmon, or the 

 same one, was seen foiu- or fi-ve miles further doA\Ti stream 



at the foot of trilboa FaUs. Judge Fitch says: "I know 

 of no obstruction in the streams named (Sciioliarie Creek 

 and Moha.Avdv River), in time ot flood, that would ])revent 

 its i.)assag-e to the point whei-e it Avas seen by Mr. Ada.ms, 

 unless it tie Cohoes Falls." I had serious doubts about the 

 iish lieing able to pass C(.)h.oes Falls and tlie Sclieiu.Hjtady 

 Dam in which. I knew the tisliAvay was useless, lait after- 

 ward I had a call from .Judge Yates, of Schenectady, and 

 he told me that it was not necessary for fisli to try the 

 falls or the dam, for striyied bass and white jierch came 

 up in to the MohaAvk through tlie canal locks and of course 

 the salmon could follow that route also. A. N. Cheney. 



THE METABETGHOUAN WINNINISH. 



EdAtor Fared and. Stream: 



What information can you give me as to winninish fly- 

 fishing in the s]n'ing in the rivers innning into Lake St. 

 John, tlie Metabatchouan or the Mistassini or the Peri - 

 bonca. Imt more particulary the Metabetclionan';' I have 

 Jished the latter stream last August with splendid results, 

 and as I will not be able to go the coming year in the fall 

 I Avoiild, if fishing is good in the sjiring, go there. I fished 

 the Metabetchouan a week or so liefore the party from 

 Hudson fi.shed it, the party that published the art!icle in 

 your Y>aper. Any information you can give tue Avill be 

 greatly a]iprecia1:ed. " M. C. Luckenbach. 



[In K(.)iu5STAND Stream, Aug. 21, Sept, 18. Sept. 25, 

 1890, will be found many details about A\'inninish of the 

 Metabetchouan. Perhiqis notJiing else is of greater inter- 

 est to the angler than some ex]ierience of a "brother 

 angler;" therefore Ave have applied to Mr. ([jeo. H. Dana, 

 a member of the Saguenay Fishing Club, for information 

 about spring fishing at the club house, foot of Alma Island 

 on the Saguenay. Mr. Dana, was on the grounds in June. 

 On the 2,^th. and for about a \s'eek thereafter, the killing- 

 fly was the Cahill: this was followed by the professor. On 

 the first day's fishing Mr. Dana's companion took 251bs. of 

 Avuminish, and his oAvn rod killed 20Jrlbs. The fiy was 

 tied on No. (i sfaoat hooks. There is no reason to doubt 

 that the same fly Avould prove equally eft'ective for the 

 northern Avinninish Avherever found.] 



Drowned by a Shellfish. 



Amonu the showy shells of the Pacific coast of the 

 United States none are better known or more widely dis- 

 tributed than the sea-ears or abalones, and n(jne are more 

 eagerly sought for by Chinese fisliermen. One A\-ould 

 scarcely anticipate danger, much less disaster, from the 

 pursuit of an object so harmless in itself : but it is reported 

 that a Chinaman once lost his life near Bartholomew 

 Bay. on the coast of Lower California, AA^hile gathei-ing 

 abalones. 



The foot of this sheUfisli is capable of taking a firm hold 

 on a flat surfax^e, and in most cases it becomes almost im- 

 [lossible to detacli the shell Avith(.)ut breaking it into 

 fragments. 



The unfortunate Hshernian refern^d lc> was collecting 

 the shells under a shelving rock between tides and had 

 thrust his arm arcamd a shat p edge, to dislodge a. large 

 one Avhich he saAv on the surface. Having no stick con- 

 venient to pry off' the a.balo.ne he pla(;ed his fingers under 

 the shell antl tried to detach it by a quick motion. The 

 abalone, however, contracted suddenly and held the 

 fingers of the {Jliinaman so tightly that they could not be 

 pulled away. The tide I'ose and the man was drowned. 

 His companions returned to search for him at the next 

 loAv tide and found his body still imprisoned by the poAV- 

 erful grasp of the abalone upon the rock. 



Ice Fishing for Pickei'el. 



The cold of winter has not overcome the ardor of the 

 fishermen. From the northern counties of Ncav Jersey 

 and Pennsylviinia come rep<n-ts of fisliing Avith the tip-up 

 and the more unsportsmanlike axe. Even at a zero tem- 

 perature holes have been cut through ice 18in. thick on 

 lakes of Pike county, Pa., and tons of pickerel have been 

 (■aught. 



Mrs. Romaine Whittaker has distinguished herself on 

 Porter's Lake by capturing seventy-fiA-e pickerel during a 

 forenoon, although the cold Avas so scA-ere as to freeze the 

 lioles almost as fast as they were opened. Brink Pond 

 has been a favorite fishing ground, and it is claimed that 

 five tons of fish haA^e been caught there during the last 

 month of 1893. 



On the ponds of Bergen coimty. N. J. , the fishing out- 

 fit comprises an axe and a pair of skates. The ]ierch and 

 pickerel are found at the .suj-face of the Avater under the 

 ice and are stunned by sharp bloAvs of the axe. after Avhich 

 holes -are cut and the fish secured. This is doubtless ex- 

 hilarating to skaters, but not Avorthy of the name of sport. 



New "STork Game Law Enforcement. 



Nbwburgh, N. Y., Jan. 7. — The following complaints 

 made by State Gauie and Fish Protector Willet Kidd_ have 

 been settled: 



Thomas Cuddeback paid flOO penalty and $40 costs for 

 ha vmg an eel rack in the Basher's Kill, a trout stream 

 that empties into the Never.sink River. 



The Ronier & Tremper S^teamboat Co. paid $50 and costs 

 for transiiorting a. deer. 



Henry Plulse paid |100 jjenalty and $16,50 costs for hav- 

 ing an eel rack in his mill at Phillipsburgh on the Wall- 

 kill River. 



Three other eel racks were removed from the Never- 

 sink Ri\'cr. 



Rirssel Headley, of Newburgh, was.emjjloyed as special 

 counsel by Protector Kidd. 



Iowa Lakes. 



IMatlock, la.— Our fish commissioner, Mr. T. J, Griggs, 

 is a • 'hustler," and did good work the ]3ast sum mer in stock- 

 ing streams and lakes Avith fish, ino.stlv black bass. There is 

 fair fishing in all the streams here, the principal fish being 

 pickerel or pike and rock bass. Spirit Lake and Okoboji 

 are the great fishing resorts of this part of the State; pick- 

 erel, AvaU-eyed pike and bass are tlie fisii mostly caught. 



LTnION ftLvCHINE. 



Ideal Fishing Figures. 



Dr. J.vivies a. Henshall sends us photographs of b\m 

 figures. Avhich he has had modeled for the Angling- Ex- 

 hibit of the World's Fair, one representing the "Soieutific 

 Angler" and the second the "Ideal Stifi-Fisher." The 

 photographs are by Mr. J. E. HaUe. 



