340 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



LOCT. SI, 1898. 



Forest and Stream in the World's Fair. 



As Seen by Our Staff Correspondents. 



Chicago and Xerxes. 



Oet. 10. — The World's Fair progresses, and it progresses 

 after Chicago fashion. You can't guess big enough, or lie 

 down and go to sleep and dream big enough for this daring, 

 dirty, dear old town. She breaks the records. 



Yesterday was Chicago Day, and there assembled a 

 crowd. It was not merely a large crowd, nor the largest 

 crowd of this country, nor the largest crowd of this cen- 

 tury, but the largest crowd of any country or of any 

 century. That is the way Chicago does business. 



The papers are comparing this crowd with the famous 

 army of invasion gotten together by Xerxes, the Persian 

 king, who marched on Greece to put an end to the banana 

 monopoly. Xerxes is said to have had 5,000,000 in his 

 army — a lot more than he needed. Which I beg to say 

 Xerxes has not handed down his tumstUe records, and 

 maybe he didn't have any turnstile. In all probability 

 about half of that 5,000,000 was a bluff, which, big as it 

 was, didn't work on the Greeks. In all probability, too, 

 the actual part of the army, not the Oriental imagery of it, 

 was scattered over 100 or 200 or more square miles of 

 country, or over country that far across. Yesterday, on a 

 piece of ground not twenty miles across there were some- 

 where between 3,000,000 and 8,000,000, and over 750,000 

 of them, paid and unpaid for, were on a piece of ground 

 not one mile square. There never was such a crowd as 

 that in the history of the world. Chicago has the docu- 

 ments to prove this. Xerxes was a good fellow in his 

 way, and he meant well, but he is a trifle vague, and he 

 won't do any more. Chicago has the record. 



Such a crowd as that is a wonderful, a fascinating, and 

 a terrible thing. It is unthinkable, except one sees it. 

 Fortunately it was American, one of the wonderfully 

 good-natured crowds which make the most remarkable 

 feature of this exposition. It swarmed along the narrow 

 aisle of the Angling Pavilion, and would have broken 

 down the railing, turned over the furniture, and swept 

 away the Forest and Steeam exhibit entirely had it not 

 been for the efforts of the guard, Emil Walters, and of 

 the FOEEST AND STREAM men who rallied to his aid. 



Meantime, the crowds continue at the Fair, at the rate 

 of two to two and a half million people a week. The tax 

 on the business resources of the town is inconceivable. 

 Everybody is coming. The Forest and Stream men are 

 hurried and busy day and night now, trying to meet all 

 the paper's friends. Let them all come. There is only 

 one World's Fair, and only one Chicago. We may get 

 tired, but after the Fair is over we can go to New York, 

 or some other quiet place, and rest up again. Let 'em 

 come. 



A Fine Mascallonge. 

 Oct. 12.— Mr. Gardiner M. Skinner of Clayton, N. Y., 

 maker of the celebrated Skinner spoons, wrote me on Oct. 

 7 that he had just taken in the St. Lawrence River a fine 

 mascallonge, weighing 421bs. , and that he had sent it on 

 for display near his section in the Fisheries Building. 

 When the fish was received here it was not in condition 

 for display, and Dr. Henshall took it in charge, skinned 

 it and sent the skin down town for mounting. Tlie speci- 

 men was well worth preservation. It measiired 4Mt. in 

 length and weighed, as stated, 421bs. If Mr. Skinner does 

 not look out that fish will get into the Forest and Stream 

 exhibit yet. 



A Lovely Trout. 



Early in the season I remarked upon a beautifully 

 mounted brook trout displayed in the Government Build- 

 ing by Mr. Farrington, of Lowell, Mass. It was really 

 the most beautiful little bit of trout poetry I had ever 

 seen. Well, through the courtesy of Dr. Bean, repre- 

 sentative of the U. S. Fish Commission, Mr. Farrington 

 has out of the kindness of his heart presented to the 

 Forest and Stream for its exhibit another specimen of 

 his delicate and dainty taxidermy, another trout, as 

 beautiful as the first one, and bigger. All the Forest 

 AND Stream fish are bigger and better than anybody's 

 else. This new and lovely addition to the paper's treas- 

 ures is 12iin. long, and the inscription says that it was 

 caught in Maine. The half skin is mounted on a convex 

 oval plaque of light wood, and shows a perfect profile, 

 eye and all. The coloration is preserved perfectly, the 

 outline is not distorted in the least. The whole effect is 

 not less than beautiful. This is bric-a-brac, vertu, objet 

 d'art, and we think so much of it that we keep it out of 

 the dust and under glass. Mr. Farrington has the thanks 

 of the paper for supplying it with just what is wanted — 

 a nice brook trout. The unique and beautiful specimens 

 of his amateur handicraft are not common in the land. 

 I know of no professional who can equal them in their 

 fidelity and carefulness. 



Some Persons. 



Mr. Carrington Phelps, of Phelps Island, Lake Minne- 

 tonka, Minn., in the summer time, and of Minneapolis in 

 the winter, spent some moments in the Forest and 

 Stream corner this week. He speaks very highly of the 

 charms of Minnetonka. Mr. Phelps was a classmate at 

 Yale of Mr, Geo. Bird Grinnell, the President of the 

 Forest and Stream Publishing Co. , to whom, however, he 

 applies a classmate name and title rather less dignified 

 than the above. 



Messrs. W. F. Ellis and C. Ellis, brothers, from the cold 

 land of Manitoba, have now departed for the north part 

 of the world. 



Mr. R. S. Cox, of the justly famous firm of Haller & 

 Cox, attorneys at law, Seattle, Wash., is back in Chicago 

 for a look at the Fair. Dick went to Seattle, as near as I 

 can learn, because the duck shooting is better there. 

 When the firm of Haller & Cox go duck shooting they 

 leave a card on the door saying, "Back in half an hour." 

 They may be back in a week, or maybe in two days. You 

 couldn't expect a fellow to stay if the flight was no good. 

 I never saw Teddy HaUer^ but I believe I am acquainted 

 with him. 



Mr, Gqo. a. Winn, of Arlington, Mass., the other side 

 of the continent, was here looking at the recent shooting 

 at Burnsi4e ^n4 enjoying the Fair alsO; 



Mr. A. J. Peaper, secretary of the Mobile Light and 

 Railway Co. , of Mobile, Ala. , pretty well toward the south 

 edge of the country, dropped in often but I missed him. 



Hon. H. S. Winslow, of Newton, Iowa, which is very 

 near the center of the earth, called and left a card whose 

 owner I wish I could have met. He is one of the biggest 

 hearted men on earth, and would rather fish than plead. 

 In days of old, before I went wrong and became a news- 

 paper wreck, I used to read law in Judge Winslow's oflSce. 

 If he had met me now, and gazed into my innocent face, 

 it would have astonished him to see how much law I have 

 forgotten. I had a narrow escape from greatness, be- 

 cause I came very near being a lawyer, once, and I wiU 

 leave it to Haller & Cox, attorneys, if I wouldn't have 

 been a corker. 



Mr. C. C. Cai*penter, of Chicago, pauses and asks if the 

 editor of Forest and Stream is in. No. He has gone 

 back home, but if he and the whole force were out here 

 in line, they co\ild all be busy meeting friends. 



Mr. John R. Schneider, of Evanston, 111., came in and 

 gazed with awe upon the Kekoskee championship medal 

 and then sadly shook hands. "I guess I'm sort of losing 

 my grip," said he. "I can't lie like I used to could." Mr. 

 Schneider spends each summer in camp in Lake county, 

 fishing and practicing. 



Messrs. Edwin C. Gibbs and John Griffith, of Cincin- 

 nati, O., parleyed with local demons, or locum tenens, or 

 whatever the servant girl called it, at the Forest and 

 Stream prize exhibit for a time this week. 



Mr. J. M. Boyce and wife, of Wellsboro, Pa., "Ness- 

 muk's" old home, left their names on the Forest and 

 Stream register and spent some time examining the 

 Forest and Stream's perpetuations of that odd charaeter. 

 Mr. Boyce knew "Nessmuk" well. " 'Nessmuk' would go 

 hunting when he felt like it," said he, "'no matter how 

 business was. T can attend to business when I can't go 

 hunting,' he would say, and away he would go," 



Castalia. 



Mr, J. W. Fenner, of Cleveland, O., paid a pleasant 

 call, and so did Judge Cummings of the same city. The 

 latter is a member of the Castalia Club, which sent on the 

 big brown trout to Forest and Stream. Mr. John A. 

 Waite, of Toledo, O., also a member of the club, called 

 and looked at the "King of Castalia." Lastly, Andy 

 Englert, the man who caught the King, came in and 

 cast a loving eye upon the case. Andy tells me that 

 in September he caught another brown trout, which 

 tied the record, 71b8. 6oz. The latter is the weight of the 

 King of Castalia, shown by Forest and Stream. This 

 last fish was taken on a 4oz. rod, at night, and without a 

 landing net. It was then determined to net out these 

 great brown trout for fear they would eat all the fish and 

 drink all the water up. Andy says that he has gdl-netted 

 fourteen of these fish in the Castalia sti-eam since then, 

 whose total weight was 481bs. He got one of over Gibs, 



Unclaimed Letters. 



There are at the Forest and Stream exhibit unclaimed 

 lettei-s for F. O. Cloyes, Newton B. Stone, Wm. Richard- 

 son aijd Miss Grace Armitage. E. Hough, 



Mr. Norvin T. Harris and wife, of St. Mathews, Ky., 

 called at the Forest and Streajvi exhibit on the 12th inst. 

 No pleasanter information can be told to field-trial sup- 

 porters than that Mr. Harris will attend some of the field 

 trials this year and will also have some of his dogs in the 

 competition. I am heartily glad it is so, and I am sure 

 that every one else will be glad, too. To the fame of Ken- 

 tucky as a land which produces the finest horses, of which 

 he himself has largely contributed, he also was one of the 

 first to bring the glorious State into prominence in the 

 records of field trials. 



Wun Lung, the little giant which swept victoriously 

 through the competition so many times in so many differ- 

 ent sections, will be represented by his progeny in some of 

 the forthcoming events of like character. Of the little 

 wonder, Wun Lung, Mr. Harris still has a lively recollec- 

 tion, and a keen regret at his loss. He was a wonderful 

 little dog afield and a companionable one in home life. 



Connecticut Day brought Mr. Arthur B. Calkins, of 

 New London, Conn., to the World's Fair in general, and 

 to Forest and Stream's exhibit in particular. His card 

 indicated that his profession is "attorney at law," but his 

 sunny manner and frankness would indicate the true 

 gentleman and sportsman. On the following day he in- 

 troduced his friend, Mr. S. B. Manwaring, of Waterford, 

 Conn., and his autograph, too, was duly inscribed in 

 Forest and Stream s register. 



Mr. W. W. Holmes, of Waterbury, Conn., and Mr. 

 Ben 0. Bush dropped into the exhibit together. Mr. 

 Holmes, as the readers know, wields a shotgun with great 

 force at the tournaments. He assured me that Mr. Hough 

 has libeled "V\aterbury in times past, inasmuch as the 

 chief industry of the people of that city of different times 

 does not consist solely in winding up their time pieces. 

 Blarney Castle, in the Midway Plaisance, excited Mr. 

 Bush's praises for its historical greatness and goodness. 



SIi-. Maurice D. Wilt, Philadelphia, praised Forest and 

 Stream's yachting department and wished there was 

 more of it. He seemed to be of the enthusiasm which 

 makes true gentlemen and sailormen. 



Chicago Day brought a troop of Forest and Stream 

 friends to the fore. Of them was Mr. J. Ingersoll, of 

 Cleveland, O. He gave some most interesting descrip- 

 tions of the trout waters near his city, the manner in 

 which the streams have been stocked and the present 

 status of them. In his experience he said that the brown 

 trout would bite best at night. They were trying to cleai- 

 the stream of them. 



The "Nessmuk" canoe is of special interest to every vis- 

 itor, and it is marvelous how many people know of it and 

 its late owner, of whom aU speak in terms of praise. 

 Many of the visitors knew him personally, but none 

 seemed to have such an intimate knowledge of him as did 

 Mr, M. D, Packard, of Canton, N. Y, He dwelt at some 

 length oa "Nessmuk's" fondness for life iu the woods, his 



nobility of character and his rare mentality. In respect 

 to the little lOlbs. canoe, the Sairy Gamp, he gave some 

 most interesting history. That canoe was not the result 

 of speculative experiment. An importunate solicitation 

 on the part of "Nessmuk" for something fighter than any- 

 thing at that time in existence in the way of a boat stimu- 

 lated the builder to action. " ' Nessmuk'," said he, "had 

 matured his ideas concerning the siee and weight of canoe 

 he wanted. His then lightest canoe, the Bucktail, 

 weighed about 181bs. He wanted something: still lighter. 

 He told his warns to Mr. Rushton. but the latter had many 

 misgivings as to building so fight a craft, fearing that in 

 practical use it might result in a catastrophe. He so ex- 

 pressed himself to 'Nessmuk.' Thelatterhad nofearsof that 

 sort, but on being shown that a canoe which proved tmser- 

 viceable would reflect on the skill of the builder he admit- 

 ted the gravity of the undertaking. However, the canoe 

 was built and it proved not only light but serviceable. 

 The sides did not come together as skins would do as some 

 ppople had predicted. It was thoroughly tested by weights 

 before it was permitted to be practically used. It proved 

 a most serviceable canoe and met 'Nessmuk's' wants. 

 That canoe is the Sairy Gamp." 



Of Forest and Stream he said he had taken it almost 

 from its first issue and that it was clean from the first 

 page to the last, and fit for any ones' wives or daughters 

 to read. 



In regard to the name, a lady who stopped at the cosy 

 corner one day renaarked, "Why did they call that canoe 

 the Sairy Gamp? She was the most unlovely of Dickens's 

 characters. She stole the medicine from her patient and 

 took something to cheer her heart when slie was 'so dis- 

 poged,' There are too many Sairy Gamps." 



I could not explain the matter, Sairy did not like 

 water, she did not weigh lOlbs, nor was she lOft, long. 

 The name seemed to be a mere sentiment without any 

 reference to the Sairy of old, and it so, perforce, had to 

 rest, 



Mr. Bert Ainsworth, of Madison, Wis. , admired Forest 

 AND Stream's exhibit and described some yachts and boats 

 he had built for the lake fishing and traffic on the waters 

 near his home. He closed a pleasant interview with an 

 invitation to call on him and enjoy his boats and the fish- 

 ing, for which a grateful feeling still lingers. 



Mr. Geo. F. Wright, cashier of Iron City National Bank, 

 Pittsburgh, a member of the Pittsburgh Rod and Gun 

 Club, made a most pleasant call, chatted about game 

 matters and spoke of Forest and Stream's high merit, 



Mr. John S. Dumsers ("Occasional"), of Elgin, 111,, 

 after his autograph wrote, "One of the oldest friends and 

 readers of Forest and Stream," A delightful conversa- 

 tion with Mr. Dumsers on game and fish interests satisfied 

 me that he and the paj)er were friends of each other. 

 From another source I learn that he is a most charm- 

 ing and sound writer. 



Mr. A. B. Cole, West Stockholm, N, Y., registered and 

 said Forest and Stream is the best paper in the world. 

 Its newsy columns and high literary excellence won his 

 admiration and patronage. Ruffed grouse shooting, hia 

 favorite sport, afforded an interesting theme. 



Mr. Austin T. Quirk, Secretary and General Manager of 

 the Globe Accident Insurance Co., of Indianapolis, and 

 his wife, stopped at the exhibit for a few brief moments' 

 conversation. Mr. Quirk is an active member of the 

 American Field Trial Club, and, until a few months ago, 

 lived in Columbus, Indiana. He regietted that circum- 

 stances prevented the club from holding field' trials this 

 year. 



Among the names of celebrated dogmen which serve to 

 give an added efl'ulgence to Forest and Stream's register, 

 I observe that of Mr. H, W. Lacy, who writes himself 

 "one of us," and gives his abode as being in an Eastern 

 hamlet somewhere on Manhattan Island, Mr. Lacy sa w 

 the World's Fair and is now proud to be one of the vast 

 congregation of Chicago admirers, 



Messrs. Theo. E. Gatz and Mr. Ewing, of St. Louis, Mo., 

 add yachting to their accomplishments. They bestowed 

 much praise ofi Mr. Stephens for his skillful editing of the 

 yacht department. The descriptive matter, they said, is 

 technically accurate and the conclusions just and impar- 

 tial. I hear many similar comments, and, were I to relate 

 them all, 1 feel sure that Mr. Stephens would realize 

 that his admirers are not limited by any horizon. 



The ladies, it should always be remembered, are natu- 

 rally as enthusiastic in a healthy fondness for delightful 

 sports appertaining to the rod, dog and gun as are the 

 lordly lords of creation. But, bless them, they are satis- 

 fied with the sport for its own sake, and such praise and 

 fame as are bestowed and have their limits within their 

 home circle. In his public writings, the husband has a 

 procli-sdty to remember his own big catch, forgetting that 

 of his wife and her keen enjoyment of it. But it 

 was not so in the reminiscences of . camp life 

 told in a few pleasant moments by Mr, Car- 

 rington Phelps, of Minneapolis, who called at Forest 

 AND Stream comer on Oct, 13, with his wife and son. 

 Memories of the pleasant outing brought an animation of 

 manner which denoted the true sportswoman. It appears 

 that Mrs. Phelps carried the honors through several con- 

 secutive outings of "high hook" till this year, when the 

 scales turned slightly against her. But there is another 

 year coming. Mr, Phelps began taking Forest and 

 Stream in 1875 and has taken it ever since. His good 

 opinion of it seems to grow with the years. An invitation 

 was extended to the writer to join in their fishing next 

 time, which the aforesaid writer hopes to do. 



Speaking of ladies and their fondness for field sports 

 reminds me of a visit of a group of Kentucky ladies to 

 Forest and Stream's corner on the 11th inst. That 

 Kentucky is deserving of its eminence in one of the three 

 specifications, namely, beautiful women, no one will now 

 more stoutly maintain than myself, and I will further 

 add that they have a nobility of character and a charm of 

 manner which win admiration from the most phlegmatic 

 Northerner. 



But that is not what I intended to say, nor is it all that 

 their merit deserves. In conversation with one of them 

 I learned that she owned a dog, was fond of field shoot- 

 ing, admired good horses, but had never learned to fish, 

 for want of opportunity, yet took a keen interest in 

 Ashing aa set forth in the experiences of brothers and 

 other male relatives. They remained but a short time, 

 and somehow after they left the cosy comer did not 

 seem so bright the rest of that day. I believe that Chi- 

 cago would be a better city were it situated in Kentucky, 



B. Waters. 



909 SEoromr Bdwinq, Chicago, 



