JtjKe 1, 1898. 1 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



473 



led Htid ^iv^t fishing. 



The Fish Laws of the United States and Canada, in th 

 Game Laivs in Brief," So cents. In the "Book uf the 

 • Game Laws " {full text), so cents. 



ON THE NORTH SHORE.-VI. 



The Return Trip.— VI. 



IContimed from Page U51 , 

 We had now reached Pancake Bay, and had nine 

 miles to make to Bachewauaung Bay, the only harbor be- 

 tween us and our destination unless we ran up the bay a 

 few miles. Emery was somewhat fidgety when we told 

 him to let her slide, as he was hrmly settled in his mind 

 about the weather, for the scuds were increasing in num- 

 bers and size in the west, and on these he hinged his fore- 

 cast for a blow. We were bowling along at a fair speed, 

 with a steadily increasing breeze, which would in all 

 probability give us some snowy billows somewhat above 

 the average before we reached a haven. Even with an 

 ordinary gale, and we expected nothing more than that, 

 the boat wotdd ride it in safety, but it harrassed that old 

 astronomer to such a degree as to give him visions of a 

 capsize or a wreck. 



Peter was a cool-headed sailor, and could be depended 

 upon to skillfully handle the craft, and wlien we stnick 

 the heavy breeze, after crossing tlie bay, he relieved the 

 careful boaimen by taking the rudder. The old rag now 

 fairly rattled, the cordage hummed a Uvely tune and the 

 fragile mast creaked and creaked, as if it wished to sm-- 

 pass the rustling sail in the grand uproar it was having 

 with the howMng wind. The surges gady curled before 

 the cleaviag prow and raced' along the sides in streams of 

 lather that rode the waves in our wake like a broad and 

 bending ribbon of purest satin. The sun still danced her 

 dazzling rays upon the crested foam that turned like rolls 

 of silver, flashing back the disappearing cm-Is with a dia- 

 mond-like glimmer. 



The asti-onomer, tliough lost in some grand problem, 

 sat eyeing his little white puffs with a reverence that was 

 beautiful to behold, satisfied now that they were of as 

 much vakie to the mariner as the "dipper" and the north 

 star. Occasionally he would drop a monosyllable or two 

 in Sanscrit or some other unknown jargon, with the 

 helmsman, and then resume his attittide of admiration. 

 Ah! Emery, what a i^recious, priceless pearl you are! 

 Your forecasts taken from the home of splendor — the 

 azure archway — are gems of vaj serene, and should be 

 known rmto all mariners in aU seas. You are a prophet, 

 the seventh son of a seventh daughter, a soothsayer of the 

 clouds, a reader of the writing on the wall, a necromancer 

 of the scuds, and so on to the end. 



On reacliing the point at Bachewauaimg Bay, the breeze 

 had become so violent and the sea was tossing in such 

 heavy surges that we thought it best to make harbor in 

 the bay imtil a more propitious wind favored us. This 

 decided, the question arose as to the proper channel to 

 take, there being an inner near the shore, and an outer 

 that was fully a mUe away. Peter said he thoroughly 

 knew the shore channel, and was positive he could safely 

 make it. Emery voted for the outside one, as its passage 

 was void of all danger, but Ned and I, having faith in 

 Peter's knowledge, told him to send her through the 

 inner. 



All this time a winsome girl stood in tte doorway of 

 the lighthouse, her thick blonde tresses escaping from her 

 straw hat, waving us either a signal of warning or wel- 

 come. It then struck me, if the keeper were at home, 

 that it would be an easy matter to be picked up from the 

 chilly waters, though it might be an exceedingly uncomfort- 

 able position for us in the meantime. We, however, 

 were in it for weal or woe, and as the ukase had gone 

 out there was no retreat now, for once started it was 

 either success or failure, there being no intervening 

 station or half-way port about it. It was onward or over- 

 board. Peter's tlun lips closed tightly, and as his fingers 

 closed still tighter roilnd the rudder handle, then- tips 

 crimsoned, and then he swung the speeding craft about 

 and directfor the inner channel, which movement brought 

 a beam wind, and as we neared the angry waves that 

 were tossing high over the shallows, giving us an ugly 

 sea in the narrow path, we all took a good grip on the 

 craft as a prudential measure, and then in a moment 

 were at the mercy of the turbulent waters and the helms- 

 man. Away we went with the heavy spray dashing 

 upward from the bow, and more frequently inward, to 

 the horror of the astronomer, who sat spellbound as if 

 we were rapidly rushing to destruction, and which looked 

 very much Hke' it, when the intrepid pilot, ^vith his keen 

 eye ever alert, sang out. "Jibe!" and it was neatly done 

 and none too soon, for just then the sight of a rocky and 

 ragged bottom gleamed out in teeth-like ugliness from 

 the side, as if it were waiting to grind us into si^Unters. 

 A di-ead tremor thrilled all, followed by a ripple of de- 

 lightful serenity, when at the last moment the ever- 

 watchful guardian at the rudder, who had been strung 

 to the utmost tension by the grave situation, announced: 



"AH right now, but a close shave and missed only by a 

 hair." 



"You all fools, me no like it," exclaimed the trembling 

 Emery. 



"A miss is as good as a mile," said Ned, "and now for 

 shore, there to remain tUl the rising of another sun;" and 

 then he sang aloud in a clear voice, with his notes joining 

 the hymn of the snowy surges: 

 "In Baratiirio Bay 



We served with bold Lafittse, 

 How we did earn oiir pay 

 Wlio cares ; the devil a bit, " 



Emeiy and Peter chattered awhde, ere we reached the 

 beach, in a foreign tongue and witli considerable anima- 

 tion. The astronomer appeared to be reading his daring 

 nephew a lesson in carefid navigation. Plainly coidd I 

 distingiush fool, crazy, and the like, as he showered 

 the French and gesticulated with that mercurial tempera- 

 ment so apparent in these fiery half-breeds. Even his 

 brown fist was clinched and shaken at the bold helmsman, 

 but it availed not, for Peter simply smiled, and said with 

 reverence to the good old soul, for such he was, "All 

 right. Uncle," and then the emi^hatic lectm-e was abruptly 

 discontinued by the boat grating upon the gi-aveUy beach. 



Dinner was now hastily prepared, and about as hastily 

 dispatched, for the stirring events of the morning had 

 wonderfully increased our appetites. 



After the meal the boys took our tent up the hill and 

 put it in position ori the broad plateau that ran from the 

 landing to the entrance of the bay. The lighthouse 

 keeper, a half-breed, recently appointed, hearing of otir 

 arrival from the fair one of the golden tresses, paid us a 

 visit early in the afternoon. He amused us very much 

 with his recital of the following exciting bear story, Avhich 

 we give in substance: "Last week, shortly after break- 

 fast. I was called out of the house by vociferous shouts 

 from a party of a,nglers in a boat who had shot a black 

 bear in the face with some birdshot, resulting in totally 

 blmding it. Taking in the situation at once as I reached 

 the beach, I secured a stout piece of a heavy sapling and 

 waited at the water's edge for the landing of the natato- 

 rial bruin that was frantic wnth pain and swimming here 

 and there at random. At last the bear struck the shore, 

 liowling most unmercifully and f anly frothing with rage. 

 I carefuUy came to his side, but on his getting wind of me 

 he made a sudden plunge and a fierce pass with his power- 

 ful paw, which, fortunately, was very wide of the mark, 

 and as this seemed to fret him he made several more des- 

 perate lunges, but to no pirrpose. I kept well out of his 

 way until I thought he had f uUy realized his helplessness, 

 and then I again stealthily approached, and lifting on 

 high the heavy club brought it down with such fearfid 

 force upon his bloody nose as to not only lessen the sap- 

 Hng by a foot, but to make that blind bear so very sick 

 and wretched that he howled most lamentably, and tore 

 around in a bewildering manner that was a sorry spec- 

 tacle indeed. After he had again become quiet, I once 

 more assumed the aggi-essive and gave him a savage and 

 terrific blow, losing another foot of the club. This roused 

 his anger to an infuriated degree, but it had sucli a teUing 

 effect that he made but a feeble movement or two, though 

 he moaned and growled so incessantly that it was really 

 pitifid to witness. I now quietly advanced, and with an- 

 other blow in the same place he toppled over, gave a few 

 struggles, and f7?'.sa major was no more. He was in poor 

 condition and unfit for the table, but I gave his meat 

 away to those wlio had a hankering for bear steaks, and 

 you can rest assured they were Indians." 



He further stated that eight bears had been killed at and 

 near the point the same week, and that he had captured 

 two cubs which were swimming to the island opposite in 

 company with their mother, who, at an opportune mo- 

 ment, reached shore and finally escaped. He attributed 

 the presence of so many bears to the dry season that had 

 about ruined the berry crop on which they so loved to 

 feast. 



On invitation we went with him to the Mghthouse, 

 where we had an interview with a Mrs. Quebec, a Cree 

 Indian, 105 years old, who was being cared for by Mr. 

 Devon. She formerly Kved at Eobertstraw, the most 

 northern station of the Hudson Bay Company, where, she 

 stated, she had assisted in years agone ia making the 

 shoes, gloves, etc., for the renowned Sir John Fi-anklin, 

 who undertook to solve the mysteries of the frozen zone 

 of the North. She was everything but a toothless, totter- 

 ing old hag, and did not look a year older than eighty. 

 Her form was erect and of stout structure and medium 

 height; head grand and massive, like a Numidian hon in 

 repose, and set with eyes fairly aglow, while her lips 

 smiled or frowned as occasion demanded, with an intelli- 

 gent expression that Avas irresistibly attractive. Every 

 line and furrow that marked her aged face were of such 

 strong individuality as to satisfy you she was a remarkable 

 woman among the untutored race. .She could read the 

 medicinal properties of herbs, roots and plants, as you 

 could a book, and to this day wherever Mother Quebec, as 

 she is called, is known to be, the Indians and half-breeds 

 flock to her for a healing of their ills and ailments. She has 

 had twelve children and has resided in Canada proper 

 over fifty years. Her artistic skill with the needle, and in 

 arrangement of the colored threads, is of the very highest 

 order. We were shown in proof of this a samj)le of her 

 work in a table cover that was made that summer. It 

 was beautifully ornamented with a lace-hke border that 

 inclosed a fine display of bears, buffalo, wolves, rabbits, 

 wild horses, etc, , pm-ely in the Indian style of architeture, 

 angles instead of curves, but so delicately were they 

 woven that even this rude style rmder her deft fingers as- 

 siuned a beauty that dehghted. We endeavored to secure 

 this piece of handiwork as a souvenir of our North Shore 

 trip, by the proffer of gold, but were unable, as it had 

 been given to the lighthouse keeper, who valued it above 

 our filthy lucre, and we honored him for it. 



She is a grand old oak of the human type, and one of 

 the last of a great_race of^savages, 



" — ^whose untutor'd mind 

 Sees God in clouds, or hears him in the wmd." 



Having finished oixr interview with the wondrous 

 centenarian, we ascended the flight of stairs that led to 

 the top of the flashing tower, which gave us a magnificent 

 view of the loveliest of bays and of the great lake, which 

 lost itself in the bright sunshine that glowed in changing 

 tints of silver on the foam-tipped waves and along the 

 rocky and beetUng cliffs. I never passed or visited 

 Bachewauaung Bay but what I felt like paying my 

 tribute. To me it is beautiful beyond expression, and 

 has oft been the theme of the truly imaginative. Its 

 shores and its slopes are rich in the scenic picturesque, 

 and in season carpeted with all the bright colors of the 

 flora of this icy region. Its islets 



"Shine out with an opal glimmer 

 Iiike gems in a casket of light ! "J 



While its streams that flow from mountain heights, 

 come tumbling in seething cascades and racing rapids 

 like unto veils of lace or frost-beds such as one sees in 

 the meadows in the morning. The gorges and giant rocks 

 that fine these singing waters are ablaze with glowing 

 hues that find relief in creeping shadows, cmwing bends 

 and towering forests that swing to the gentle breeze or 

 the violent gale, llaving drank to repletion of the gor- 

 geous panorama spread before us on afl sides we de- 

 scended to the terrestial and tramped over to the tent 

 where we read and conversed till supper, with the bril- 

 liant stmshine pom-ing generous libations upon lis. 



It was not long after the meal before the cricket opened 

 with his evening song, and then the myriads of nocturnal 

 insects joined in the melody with a special few that joined 

 in drawing, like vampires, our very best blood. That 

 loud-smelLmg terror, the repellent at this red-handed re- 



volt, was soon abluted upon the exposed parts_ of our 

 anatomy, and then the insectivorous revolutionists de- 

 parted to a safer distance and a purer atmosphere. 



The landscape, with the recedu3g of the turbulent 

 waters, was fast losing the rosy lights and silver shadows; 

 the sobbing foam cmied and broke on the brown and 

 rugged rocks and wooded inlets of the shore; belated birds 

 hurried with arrowy speed to theu- leafy haunts, and aU 

 had become as still 'as death, except the murmur of the 

 waves in which all meaner and harsher sounds seemed 

 lost and hushed to silence. The subtle moon breaks forth 

 from the slow opening curtains of the clouds, and as she 

 "walks in beauty to her midnight throne," through a jew- 

 eled sky, makes perfect the picture of night "which gives 

 us the language of another world." We sat as we always 

 did when the evening in splendor was clothed, and watched 

 the constellations as they blossomed "in the infinite 

 meadows of the heavens," until our eyes grew weary, 

 and then it was to "nature's soft nurse," gentle sleep. 



Alex. Starbuck, 



[to be contintjed.] 



TROUT FISHING IN NEBRASKA. 



Broken Bow, Nebraska.— I do not think it is generally 

 known that there is a Mttle— a very little— good trout fish- 

 ing in Nebraska. At least, I was not aware of the fact 

 until a month ago. A business matter called me into the 

 northern part of the State. At Ains worth, the county 

 seat of Brown county, on the F. E. & M. V. R. P., I found 

 myself under the necessity of driving to Bassett, the 

 county seat of the adjoining county. In conversation 

 with the driver the subject of fish came up and he in- 

 formed me that at Long Pine some very fine trout fishing 

 could be had. On my expressing incredulity that there 

 were any brook trout in Nebraska, he admitted,that they 

 might be pike or pickerel, he wasn't sure, and I dismissed 

 the subject from my mind. However, when we crossed 

 Long Pme Creek the appearance of the water and sur- 

 roundings revived my interest, and when a fine half- 

 pound trout, nicely planked, was placed before my plate 

 at the dinner table at Long Pine, my doubts all vanished, 

 and nothing short of a dire disaster could have kept me 

 from going back to Lone Pine that evening. At the rail- 

 road eating house a large tank crowded with Eastern and 

 rainbow trout confirmed both ears and appetite, and T 

 made hasty preparations for a half-day's fishing the fol- 

 lowing morning, I borrowed the landlord's heavy bam- 

 boo rod, the only one in town, but no flies or leaders 

 could be obtained. "These trout," said the landlord, 

 "won't take flies, I've tried 'em. There are no worms 

 here and we have to use minnows," As I was after trout 

 for the sake of trout I did not object to the rather un- 

 sportsmanlike way of procuring them, so secured my 

 minnows, drove up the stream about four miles, and 

 came in after three or four hours with 16 trout weigh- 

 ing 6ilbs, 



This stream w-as stocked by the Government some ten 

 years ago with both rainbow and Eastern brook trout, 

 since which time the fish have been thriving and multi- 

 plying. The stream can be waded its entire length of 25 

 mfles. Fishing goes on here the year around, and if this 

 continues the fish will doubtless sooner or later be exter- 

 minated, especially as pike are beginning to find their 

 way into the stream. In spite of the landlord's^ story, I 

 saw fish rising to the cedar flies and am satisfied that 

 good sport could be had, and fair success, with the brown 

 hackle. Trout have been caught here weighing 51bs. , and 

 it is nothing uncommon to take a 2 or 3-pounder. 



The new extension of the B. & M. E. P., reaching 

 Sheridan in northern Wyoming, has opened up to us the 

 fishing paradise of the West. One can reach the best 

 streams of the Big Horn Mormtains in an hour's drive 

 from Sheridan. Here one does not care to save a catch of 

 less than a pound weight. The streams are teeming with 

 trout, the mountains with elk, deer, antelope and bear, 

 the valleys with willow grouse. The scenery is unsur- 

 passed, the accommodations are good, and as yet the fish 

 and game know nothing of the destructiveness of civiliza- 

 tion. This is without doubt the finest game region at 

 present reached by any railroad in America. I shall take 

 a trip there in July. Leaving Omaha at 10:15 A. M., 

 Sheridan is reached at 3 P. M. the next day, but one 

 change of cars being made, i. e. , at the breakfast station 

 of Edgemont in the southwest corner of South Dakota. 



The Kekoskee fish story had about slipped out of my 

 mind until last evening, when a friend (who, to his own 

 misfortune, is not a reader of Forest a^n'd Stream) capped 

 the chmax of a little round of fish stories by saying: 

 "WeU, gentlemen, you probablj^ won't believe me, but up 



in Wisconsin a number of years ago " "Hold on a 



minute," said I, "was it at Kekoskee?" Imagine my tumtd- 

 tuous feelings when he answered in the affirmative. As 

 soon as I could cahn my agitated mind I faintly begged 

 him to go on. "WeU, sh, the bulllaeads were so thick in 

 the stream there that they backed wagons down to the 

 water's edge and scooped up the fish with shovels, 

 Tliev used to sell them at ten cents a basketful, but fish 

 were so plentiful that the price finaUy dropped to twenty- 

 five cents a wagon load. They laid planks across the river 

 and passed over on the backs of the fish." With a few in- 

 quiries I established beyond a doubt that this is the old re- 

 hable Kekoskee fish story, a little garbled from the Hough 

 version, but enough of the salient points remaining to 

 establish its authority. Further, this gentleman directed 

 me to two other residents of this town, who corroborated 

 his statements. If I ever had any doubts as to Mr. Hotigh's 

 veracity or sanity they have all been dispelled, and I 

 hereby announce myself as a true believer. C. P. H. 



Montana Ditch Screens. 



BozEMAN, Mont., May 19.— Editor Foi'est and Stream: 

 A new feature in the fish law is the placing of grates at 

 the junction of ditches or drains from Sept. 1 to March 1, 

 for what benefit is a mystery to me. Irrigation takes 

 place here during the summer months — June, July and 

 Auo'ust. During the fall, winter and spring months 

 most of the ditches are dry, as no water for irrigation is 

 needed. But it is during the summer months that 

 miUions of fish perish on the cultivated fields during 

 irrigation time; and at tliat time gi-ates ought to be put at 

 the heads of ditches to prevent fish from entering said 

 ditches or drains. 1 undei-stand that som Butte parties 

 are going to test this new fi^h law. G. 



