386 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



I May 4, 1898. 



The Fish Urns of the United States and Canada, in the 

 "Game Laws in Brief," 25 cents. In the "Book of the 

 " Oame Laws" (full text), so cents. 



ON THE NORTH SHORE.-Il. 



The Return Trip. -II. 



[Continued from pa^ge 3r,f!.] 



TUR trip to the Sisters was made in brief time, and 

 cam}) soon formed. Mr. Sohiling, the agent wlioin we 

 had invited to supper, came to the island with one of liis 

 Hons, in J)iH r>irch bark, sliortly after we had arrived. We 

 had ijiiitc an interesting talis: with him about the Hudson 

 Bay tJompany relative to trapi)ing, etc. He informed us 

 dui-ing the conversation that the prices in skins had 

 rapidly advanced. Fifteen years ago otter brought $4, 

 now ^1'): l,ea\ er $2, now .$10 and $12; bear $18, now ,$25; 

 black'fox pJJ, now $55; mink $2, now 75 cents, a reduc- 

 tion, and muskrat also much lower. He further stated, a 

 surprise to rae, that there are nearly as many furs ob- 

 tained in his territory as formerly. The -agencies of the 

 Hudson Bay (Jompany for the purchase of furs, are sta- 

 tioned as follows: Aguawa, Michipicoteu, Big Pic, Red 

 Eock. and Nipigon House, on Lake Nipigon, five in all. 

 The salaries of agents are from $400 to $6u0, including 

 rations. Mr. Sohiling has been in the employ of the com- 

 pany for fourteen years, and but recently had made a 

 contract for three years more. Wlien at Otter Head a 

 week ago he a.scertained that the tug Annie Clark had 

 taken up so far this season fully fifty anglers; in fact, 

 from all accounts, and authentic, there have been more 

 parties fishing on tlie North Shore this year than ever 

 before. I figured it out after returning to the "Soo," that 

 fully 150 rods had been on the Great Lake thrashing its 

 waters for the trout of radiant dyes. This does not include 

 the angleworm party who for the last five years have 

 visited the Aguawa for their sport. 



Two of this company last yeax made a trip to a small 

 lake some nine miles from the mouth of the Aguawa and 

 caught 801bs. of brook trout in a single hour, the average 

 weight being lilbs., and could, they stated, have caught 

 an unlimited number. It was simply slaughter, and 

 worms did the red-handed murder. The tramp was a 

 toilsome one over some very declivitous mountains, 

 through dense brush and by fallen timber. They brought 

 this year a CoUingwood boat and a small canoe, the latter 

 especially for river use. So fond of the sport are those 

 gentlemen that we should think they would make an ad- 

 vance in the gentle art and try the alluring fly, for we are 

 confident their pleasures would be doubly enhanced there- 

 by. One may as weU stand on the artistic plane in the 

 piscatorial, which is so closely allied to all that is beautiful 

 in nature, as to take i-ank witli the blundering pot-hunter, 

 whose methods in capturing the quarry are simply those 

 looking to abimdance. "The ethical import of angling is 

 to tho true Waltonian its most commendable feature. 

 Surely the heart of that man who is possessed of a Im-k- 

 ing passion for immuring himself amid the glories of 

 the primeval wilderness, a transient companion of the 

 loons and whippoorwills, contains no guile. The dayliglit 

 hymn of forest birds, the silent, pine-shadowed lake, 

 steeped in a dream of moonlight, and the harmonious 

 rustling of wind through river Hags are symbols that tend 

 but to inspire and purify the soul." 



When the boatmen commenced preparing supper, I 

 heard them chatting a,way quite lively in French, and in 

 a state of undue excitement. I was satisfied something 

 had gone wrong, so concluded to stop over and ascertain 

 what was tlie matter. On inquiry they informed me that 

 the two long-handled frying-pans liad been left behind at 

 our last camp. Here was a calamity indeed, for without 

 these essentials our meals would be shorn of much that 

 was toothsome. This all came about by neglecting one 

 of our absolute rules, viz., a search through the abandoned 

 quarters after the boat had been loaded and was ready 

 for departure. Mr. Sohiling, however, bridged over the 

 difiiculty by stating that he woiild send us one of liis 

 frying-pans, if the boatmen would come for it that even- 

 ing, and furthermore would send two of his boys to 

 Jackson's Cove, for the missing pans, in the morning. 

 This made everything serene, and would permit of keep- 

 ing the menu up to the high standard of excellence. 

 Peter was delighted with the idea of making the trip to 

 the agent's house, for it would give him ample opportun- 

 ity to pay court to the handsome half-breeds. 



We made a fine spread at supper for the father and son, 

 who enjoyed the abundant meal amazingly, and also gave 

 them some of our choicest dessert delicacies to take to 

 the three graces on their return. 



After supper, I took my rod nnd wont to the rocks on 

 the east side of the island, in Jui|ies cif ;i,iousing and hang- 

 ing a goodly trout. Mr. Schihug and his son accompanied 

 jne, wishing to see the sport if any presented. Reaching 

 the spot desired — a high rock some 15ft. above the lake- — 

 I began tlie work of enticement. My flies, a hackle and 

 a Henshall, which liad not yet been soiled by the water, 

 were sent to tlie surface which was then in ideal ripples 

 of sapphire shade, just right to a dot for luring. I made 

 a dozen casts or more, witli all the skill 1 was master of, 

 but no response greeted my earnest work, and it really 

 began to look as if the ci-ystal realms were without the 

 coveted fish. , Sohiling and his son undoubtedly thought 

 so, for they tm-ned and started for the camp, leaving me 

 to realize, if possible, my expectant hopes. Changing 

 position 1 cast again, and no sooner had my files touched 

 the waters, than a silvery gleam and a vicious splash'came 

 so suddenly as to ahnost imnerve me. I struck, however, 

 at the proi)i\r time, as I thought, and missed, and then my 

 heart beat a tattoo for just a moment, wliile a shade of 

 disappointment fell upon me. Plainly 1 saw his scarlet 

 hood and his spotted tall, arid that was all the satisfaction 

 I then got out of that tigerish trout. Recovering my 

 ner\'e as quickly as I had lost it, I once more lifted the 

 flies from the shadowy lake, and then sending them out 

 again, they fell like flakes of snow upon the surface with- 

 in a fraction of the place ^vhere tlie wolfish trout had 

 sn;i|)pe(l at the fly, and much to loy delight another flash 

 and dash came, but this time he w as eaught in the toUs 

 and bra\'ely broke for freedom. j\.s 1 was in need of a 

 netter, I gave a shout, and the twam, who had not yet 

 reached camp came racing back. The young half-breed 



taking m the situation at a glance, picked up the landing- 

 net, and climbing down to the water's edge over some 

 broken rocks, took position to lift out the stricken victun 

 as soon as it was killed. 



It is needless to minutely detail the fight; sufiice it to 

 say that more than once the infuriated trout sprang from 

 the rippling .surface and indulged in some lofty tumbling, 

 which to me was Ijoth pleasure and excitement. I han- 

 dled him with excessive care, as I was not desii'ous of 

 having a defeat before the tawny spectators, who seemed 

 to have their whole heart in the battle as well as myself. 

 I wanted no tale of blundering carried to the home of the 

 captivating trio and therefore strove with all the skill I 

 possessed to make that fighting warrior strike his colors 

 in due time. He haxl ba t tled too viciously and recklessly 

 to last long, and \\ le:n his speeding and plunging finally 

 ende 1, came to the surface quite exhausted, and then the 

 Une was recovered, and as he was brought within reach 

 of that bright-eyed boy, whose expressive face was an 

 artistic study, and who stood alert as an atlilete, he net- 

 ted him as soon as I gave the word with marvelous 

 adroitness. Up he came, running o'er the rock, and laid 

 the vampiished at my feet, that I might feast my eyes 

 upon as symmetrical and beautifully mottled a Salvelinus 

 fontinalis as ever swam in icy lake or wandering brook. 



As my heaven of delight ended with his capture I gave 

 the erubescent fish, which weighed over dibs., to the 

 young half-breed, with instructions to present it to his 

 charming sisters with my kind regards, all of which I 

 learned he gracefully did— and so ends the tale of a trout. 



After supper the boatmen went to Aguawa with Mr. 

 Sohiling and his son to get the prolfered frying-pan. As 

 I expected, they did not return till about midnight, and 

 the presumption is tlie charms of the forest beauties held 

 them enti-anced till that watching hour. 



The next morning the dark clouds were pouring in loose 

 mas.ses, scattering scud-like as they broke, with every in- 

 dication of falling weather, .something we had not had for 

 the past ten days. We had planned to go to the main 

 shore but concluded to wait a further development of the 

 elements. In a few minutes the i-ain came and soon 

 passed away, and then the sun stole out and beautified the 

 clouds and turned the water to prisms of silver. This was 

 our opportunity, and we embraced it by going direct to 

 the rocks opposite tlie camp. It was certainly a lovely 

 morning for sport, and the very first cast I made received 

 a response which induced me to vibrate the rod with a 

 suddenness that made the iridiscent investigator hunt for 

 another locality in the "vasty deep." He struggled hard 

 for release but the rapacious manipulator at the end of that 

 little seven-ounce spilit-bamboo held Mm with a wizard 

 hand till he lay prone on the surface, with his gay colors 

 rivalling the crimson of the drifting clouds above, another 

 victim to the recreation contemplative. 



The boat moved gently along, and had gone but twenty 

 feet before I aroused another princeling of the spotted 

 gai'ter, who leaiied at the lure with the swiftness of an 

 arrow from a cross-bow, and which velocity, fortunately 

 for Mm, saved his jaws from the cold steel. He was a 

 stalwart and no amount of coaxing would induce him to 

 another attack, as he had doubtless arrived at that per- 

 ception wherein he could distinguish a bunch of feathers 

 from a beetle. It beat me, and again we steal o'er the 

 waters, ofl'ering as we glide the beautiful poems in feathers, 

 imitations which have been made with an eye to perfection 

 by the daintiest fingers of the gentler "sex. Fortune 

 seemed to favor me, for another proud beauty, in a 

 spangled jacket, so greedUy admired my dropping flies as 

 to spring for one with a view to a feast, and was soon 

 made aware of the deceit when he found his reddened jaw 

 closing on the arched and tempered wire. He sang the 

 lay of the reel with about the same frenzied effect as aU 

 his warlike tribe when they battle with the crafty angler. 

 It w^as his last lay, however, and like the last dying notes 

 of the swan, his sweetest, as the cruel critic of the spool 

 put it, when he gazed upon its ruby tints as it breathed its 

 life away in the bottom of the boat. 



Ned was getting envious, yet still was hopeful that he 

 would soon rival the record of the morn, if not surpass 

 it, but was kept in arrears mitil I had caught another. 

 He now began to think that his newly-made flies, which 

 he luid |iut on that morning, were not so attractive after 

 all. 1 insistetl that lie try one of mine, which he did, 

 and then his l)ad lueic disappeared, for it was not long 

 before he liad a rise and a ti^out. I gave him some com- 

 mon-sense talk about tly-tj ing and fly artifice, and he 

 must confess that in all the trouting we had had together 

 my ideas on the subject were correct, for I had always 

 roused two to his one with my lures, vvhich were fz-onitlie 

 best makers in the country. Ilecould tiean ordinary fly, 

 but was away off in his selection of colors, being too much 

 given to a snjierabundance of one hue in some of his crea- 

 tions; and again, when it was necessary for the reverse, 

 these failed by ample additions. Some anglers take great 

 pride in their creative gemus, which is highly commend- 

 able, hut 1 nnu li prefer to patronize those who make it a 

 commereial as well as a decidedly artistic business. 



After Med had made his initial catch of the morning, 

 we returned, going over the same ground till we reached 

 what is called the "big rock," about two hundred feet 

 from the sh.jre, and wliere the coast ran at right angles. 

 Here we conuneiu iM 1 and enacted a tragedyin the w^aters, 

 for it was red-handed slaughter for quite a while. I made 

 one double catch, and Ned picked up a coujjle of magnifi- 

 cent threc-poundeis. Reaching a retreating part of the 

 cliff, we came across some small trout wliich annoyed us 

 considerably on account of our fUes being particularly 

 selected lor big funiinalis. As it was, we hung several of 

 them and spiteftiUy lifted them £i-om the water, and as 

 spitefiflly tossed them into the boat. It was big fish or 

 nothing Avith us. I at last got a good-sized one here, and 

 Ned another, and then concluded it high time to discon- 

 tinue the carnage. The trout ran f rom 1 i to 81bs. , and 

 were of the most varied colors, from deep scarlet to bright 

 crimson; from golden orange to peach blush; from rose- 

 colored to deep claret; from mantling ruby to delicate 

 violet— in fact, all the hues from the pink of the shell to 

 the red of the simset, and so on to the end of that whicli 

 brightens and fades m the rainbow. He is without a peer 

 in his coat of radiant beauty, and stands alone as the 

 symmetrical athlete of this great lake. 



During the day we lost quite a number of the dapper 

 dandies that we thought securely hooked, and also missed 

 a few vigorous rises. I told Ned it was a symptom of ad- 

 vancing year's, a gentle incfinationto the "slippered panta- 

 loon." 



Emery, the astronomer, said the smokehouse would 



again have to be brought into requisition, as we had too 

 many of the j-osebud beauties for immediate use, and the 

 probability was that the trout, which were now rising 

 finely, would be in great abundance, and it might be as 

 well to hmit ourselves in catches, as we did not want 

 wicked waste. The suggestion was entu-ely unnecessary, 

 as we never indulged in mere despoliation, but having 

 been given in sincerity we so received it. 



We were qtute weaiy when we retui-ned from the sport 

 that day, but a good supper, with plenty crowned, soon 

 drove away the fatigue. Taking chairs after the meal, 

 we sought our quarters, about 100yds. from the dining 

 place, overlooking the lake, and there had a big talk over 

 the battles of the day. Ned, as well as I, regretted part- 

 ing with several magnificent trout that we were quite 

 sure of securing, not so much a desire for possession as to 

 obviate the unskillfifl reflection it left with us. "I think," 

 said the veteran, "that I hurried one a trifle too much," 

 and I was piositive that I had in one or two instances. 

 How clearly otir mistakes of the day came to us. but as 

 we then and there resolved to make ample amends on the 

 next outing, and endeavor to demonstrate the "gentle 

 art" to a nicety, the regrets soon vamshed in wreaths of 

 nicotian incense that ascended from our regalias as we 

 watched the twilight gray drawing around us. A yoimg 

 moon at this delightful hour was just peeping out over- 

 head, with power enough to drop a little trickling of 

 silver into the lake, while the stars shone brightly with a 

 very abundant showering of light along the milky way, 

 "It was an evening bright and still 

 As ever blushed on wave or bower, 

 Smiling from heaven, as if nought ill 

 Could happen in so sweet an hour." 



Alex. STARBuac. 

 [to be continued.] 



ICE-BOUND MAINE WATERS. 



The unusual lateness of the season is the topic of dis- 

 cussion with the trout and salmon fishermen at the pres- 

 ent time. The ice stiU clings in the lakes in the north 

 woods, and on the upper waters of the Maine rivers large 

 bodies of snow are mentioned. Recent letters from 

 Rangeley suggested that the ice cannot possibly get out of 

 the Rangeley Lake waters before May 23, and some of the 

 guides suggest, in Avriting to their patrons, that the lakes 

 wiUnot be clear before the 2.5th. Such are present indi- 

 cations; the season, especially in the northern part of; 

 Maine, being from 12 to 16 days late. ' 



Doubtless some part of this backwardness of the season) 

 will be made up. I, for one, shall be greatly surprised it 

 the Rangeley and Moosehead waters are not clear of icei 

 by May 15. Still the last accounts say that the ice in] 

 Moosehead is strong enough to permit of the hauling 

 wood and lumber over it. Even Lake Winnipiseogee, im 

 New Hampshire, was covered with ice at the date of this 

 writing; ten or twelve days later than last year. SebagQ 

 Lake, in Maine, but a few miles from the ocean, is aA 

 present — May 1 — fuU of ice. This lake cleared last yea;^ 

 on April 5, according to the account of a gentleman who 

 owns a camp on its loorders, and goes there e^ ery year for 

 landlocked salmon. This gentleman remarked on Satur- 

 day that there was then no signs of the ice breaking up. 



Newfound Lake, in New Hamptshire, is at present locked 

 in solid ice. A year ago, on the last of April tlie lake wa-s, 

 open and several of the big trout or togue, for which the 

 lake has recentlj^ become celebrated, had been taken. On 

 Wednesday April 27, last year. Fish Commissioner Hem-y 

 0. Stanley, of Maine, with his friend, Col. Hazeltine, took 

 9 of the beautiful trout, for which the lake has become 

 noted within a few years, from Swan Lake, near Belfast, 

 Me. One of these trout, weighing over 4Jbs., was shown 

 in Dame, Stoddard & Kendall's window, in this city, on 

 April 29. This year the lake was locked in ice of great 

 thickness on the same date. 



Fishing in the streams has amounted to nothing in 

 Maine yet. Many of the streams are scarcely clear of 

 ice, and the whole of them have been choked with roil 

 and snow water. Salmon fishing at Bangor has been 

 very poor up to date, only the few akeady reported in the 

 Forest and Stream having been taken. The river hat 

 been runmng with debris and snow water. A good run 

 of salmon is exjjected as soon as the water falls a little 

 and becomes reasonably clear. Trout fishing is extremelyj 

 dull in the streams in northern and western Massachu- 

 setts and southern New Hampshire, and the fishermer 

 talk rather discouragingly. They believe that some warm 

 weather is needed to lower the streams and reduce the 

 amount of ice and chill in the water. Special. 



Alaskan Herring Season. 



The Indians of south-eastern Alaska gather large quan 

 titles of herring spawn, which they consume in its fresb 

 state, and also dry for winter use. 



The inland waters near Sitka, and soutlnvard among 

 the Prince of Wales Archipelago, swarm with these val- 

 uable food fishes, and the Indians, besides catching largtj 

 quantities of the fish, gather the eggs for food in a very 

 simple and ingenious manner. 



The spawning of the heiTing occm-s in the spring while 

 the bushes are yet without leaves. Large quantities ol 

 brush are cut down and stuck into the sand below low 

 water mark in about two feet of water. At high tide th( 

 fish run along shore in vast numbers, and deposit theii 

 eggs on the clean branches of the bushes, every pai-t ol 

 the brush being thickly coated by the deposit in two oi 

 three tides. These bushes are then taken uji, and thfj 

 eggs stripped off into a basket by the squaws, and tin 

 bushes replaced to gather another crop of eggs. ' 



No one can comprehend what immense numbers of fisl 

 frequent these waters, wlio has not seen them. They art 

 taken by the natives in traps, and with an implemen 

 peculiar "to the people of this and adjoining coasts alone 

 It is fashioned as follows : A narrow board ten feet long 

 by three inches wide cut dowm to a thin edge on one side 

 in this thin edge are inserted sharp sticks or nails everj 

 three inches, the top end left free for the hands. ' 

 With this implement in hand the Indian seats himsel ' 

 in the bow of the canoe, and di'aws it tlrrough the wate ; 

 with a, quick motion parallel with the canoe and raises i 

 over the canoe behind, turns the machine over and drop 

 the impaled fish into the boat. 



The action is very like paddling except the motion ti 

 drop the fish. This operation is repeated until the fishei 

 man has gotten all he wants. 



Great numbers of eulachon are taken in this way also. 



E. P. H. . 



