May 5, 1894.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



883 



cleaving the water for his freedom. The angler, however, 

 triumphed, and the gleaming beauty was laid in state 

 with the other "dandies of the gleaming stars." 



Encouraged at this, Ned fished more industriously than 

 ever, still keeping up the race between the two ends of 

 the glistening rock. At last another victim fell to his 

 masterly tactics, and then as the sun was fast shading 

 the rugged hills that gave picturesque sternness to the 

 bold shore, he expressed himself satisfied and ready to 

 take boat for camp. 



The return gave us a delightful ride o'er waters that 

 sounded the tiny foam bells, and by rugged shores of 

 cliff -like rocks that caught the setting sun as it blazed in 

 golden splendor. It is here in which a Chippewa tradi- 

 tion placed a Biren who lured hunters to their destruction 

 by the sweetness of her voice. Our half-breeds fully be- 

 lieved the romance and even listened, we thought, as we 

 glided by, to catch the bewitching tones of her entranc- 

 ing song. What a superstitious race these tawny bar- 

 barians are. Countless are their magic forms and numer- 

 ous the spells they adhere to. As spiritualists, ghost- 

 seers, table-rappers, etc., they excel even the pale faces. 

 Our boatmen partook of all these, and at many a camp- 

 fire we had listened to their extraordinary stories with 

 great interest. No wonder the "medicine man" is 

 so potent an agent with them. It would take many 

 columns to do the subject justice, and as trouting is our 

 specialty we will again revert to it, 



i . On reaching our quarters I at once proceeded to the 

 bluff in front with my yet un jointed rod, in hopes of 

 getting a rise from the cunning and savage patriarch of 

 the crimson dots that had so far outwitted us. I had on 

 but a single fly, a big jungle-cock, which I had affixed in 

 the boat as we came along for this particular occasion, 

 and which had so greatly excited his curiosity before. 

 With stealthy footsteps I approach the spot, and when 

 near enough, away sailed the alluring fly. It hit the 

 water with anything but downy lightness, and ere the 

 ripples had started from their base a monster pounced 

 upon it with such a leopard-like leap as to almost make 

 me forget my mission. I struck, of course, but as a noted 

 angler once said when in the same lamentable position, 

 had missed by "the ninety-ninth part of a second." It 

 might have been a little less, but when it's a miss a few 

 fractions of a second make but little difference. I must 

 admit that I was deeply chagrined at my utter failure in 

 missing such a wolfish rise, and was unable to account 

 for it unless as stated above. However, I did not then 

 dwell on cause and effect, but instantly put forth my best 

 efforts to once more induce him to tamper with the fanci- 

 ful jungle-cock, be it ever so lightly. I dropped the fly 

 over every inch of ground and fluttered it in every im- 

 aginable way, but the scarlet draped beauty was not to 

 be coaxed to the surface again that evening, no matter 

 how tempting or how subtle the art of the disappointed 

 angler. Satisfied of this, I retraced my steps, deeply 

 pondering on what excuse I should make to Ned for 

 defeat at such a magnificent rise. Now, no angler would 

 falsify on a trifling thing like that, of course not, but as 

 there was a certain pride in the accomplishment of the 

 art, one does not like to come out flat-footed and acknowl- 

 edge, particularly in a contest like this, to such a dismal 

 f aUure. I well knew that Ned would roast me severely if 

 I admitted the fact, so I pondered over the situation as I 

 slowly walked along, and finally determined to resort to 

 equivocation if I found him in an inquisitive mood. 

 Boldly I marched in, and when near camp I encountered 

 Ned directly in the pathway. He looked at me with an 

 inquiring gaze, and before I had an opportunity to say a 

 word so as to divert his mind to other matters, eagerly 

 asked: 

 "Did you have a rise?" 



"Did Jonah swallow the whale?" I replied, and then I 

 patiently waited the result of my crafty defense. To my 

 utter astonishment and great relief he was completely de- 

 ceived by my cunning reply and dropped the subject at 

 once, and immediately began to consider what kind of fly 

 he would use in the morning with which to tempt the 

 object of his desire. 



Fearful that he might again revert to the subject, I 

 quietly walked away and busied myself unjointing my 

 rod and in consigning it to its proper receptacle. To use 

 an expressive "Americanism" I had "saved my bacon," 

 but felt that I had somewhat fractured the fact a wee bit, 

 just a wee bit, that's all, as an equivocation is a friendly 

 ally to a fairy tale. 



What selection Ned had made that evening from his 

 feathery lures for the enticement of the big trout in the 

 morning I never ascertained, for he had suddenly ceased 

 to be communicative with me on that particular subject 

 ever since I had so severely criticised his last wonderful 

 production, "the water fowl." 



The night being exceedingly beautiful we all after 

 supper sought the summit of the gigantic mass of granite 

 in our immediate front and watched the wavering lights 

 and shadows as they fell on the ragged cliffs and the 

 shivered rocks of the mountain tops with their aspect of 

 eternal melancholy calm. So intensely quiet was every- 

 thing, save the gentle murmur of the lake, and so deep 

 the solitude and breathless stillness of nature that you'd 

 think the whole earth was dead. Overhead the stars 

 twinkled with brilliancy equal to the advancing moon- 

 light, while the great lake catching the sparks of etherial 

 light danced in shimmering tints of silver. From the 

 valleys densely massed in darkened foliage and still 

 darker in deeper shades came an exhilarating air full of 

 sweet soft scents ravishingly intoxicating, while from every 

 copse and dell the glow-worm blazed and "a sheen of 

 iridescent silver flashed through the grass, right and left 

 at every flicker of the camp-fire, like a flitting phantom 

 of a rainbow." There was a singular fascination in 

 drinking in this wild and silent beauty of an approaching 

 night and a flowing together of impressions that you are 

 unable to put in definite shape. 



"In such a night let the abroad remain 

 Till morning breaks and all's confused again." 



The sun had sunk in a red glare without a cloud dim- 

 ming its face, and this alone, said Ned, signaled for the 

 morrow a bright day and a calm lake. 



Alex. Starbtjck. 

 [to be continued.] 



THE MOUNTED COLLECTION OF FISH 



At the U. S. National Museum. 



FIRST PAPER. 



In a paper I contributed to Forest and Stream last 

 October, on "Taxidermy at the World's Fair," the mounted 

 collection of fishes on exhibition at the U. S. National 

 Museum at Washington was briefly referred to. The 

 specimens, it will be remembered, are plaster-of-paris 

 casts, colored to imitate na.ture, and one of them, a trigger- 

 fish, was figured in the article. ^Some of these casts are so 

 perfect, and such good representations of the original 

 fishes, that it occurred to me that the readers of Forest 

 and Stream, interested in fish, would like to see a few 

 more of the same collection and hear something about 



Buffalo Fish-— Ictiobus urus. 



them. This idea I propose to carry out in a few brief 

 papers, of which the present one is the first of the series. 

 Some very fine photographs have been taken of those 

 casts of fishes for me, and reproductions will illustrate 

 each contribution. These casts have all been prepared 

 with great skill, and upon their being reduced by photo- 

 graphy for illustrations, we are sure to obtain figures of 

 the fish which in any case are as true to the forms of the 

 originals as it is possible to be. They are far superior to 

 any drawings made otherwise, with which I am familiar, 

 and as a rule stand a long way ahead of the majority of 

 figures given us in works upon the subject — especially in 

 the matter of accuracy of form. The illustration of the 

 pompano, for example, will not be mistaken for anything 



A Parrot Fish — Scarus sp? 



else by those at all familiar with this interesting species. 

 It is the common one (Trachynotus cardlinus), and not 

 the round pompano (T. ovatus), another type sometimes 

 met with by fishermen at various points upon our Atlantic 

 coast, much less either of our two remaining species — that 

 is, the African pompano, or the banner pompano. It is 

 said that the word pompano is derived from the Spanish, 

 and means a "grape leaf," probably in allusion to the 

 shape of the fish, but possibly to something else. 



Common pompanos I have caught hundreds of in Key 

 West harbor, Fla., and taken a few of the banner pom- 

 pano off Pensacola, where the local fishermen call it 

 the "gafftopsail pompano." A few years ago the com- 

 mon species was found to occur also on the Pacific coast, 



and Ohio valleys they form a large percentage of the 

 food fish consumed. They usually bring a better price 

 than the smaller suckers, excepting the black horse, but 

 at the best they are coarse, poor fishes, the flesh being 

 full of small bones and scarcely worth the trouble of pick- 

 ing. The buffalo-fishes are found by Prof. Forbes to feed 

 on small crustaceans more than do the other suckers and 

 less on mollusks." While living at New Orleans I have 

 frequently seen these great suckers loaded up in wagons 

 by the fishermen and drawn into the city to be exposed 

 in the market-place for sale. They are generally pur- 

 chased by the poorer classes as food, and are rarely eaten 

 by those who can afford better. I have seen some seined 

 that weighed as much as 201bs., and one exceptional case 

 where the specimen weighed over 301bs. With their large 

 scales, bronzed bodies and ponderous forms, it is a fine 

 sight to see a lot of living ones together lying on the river 

 bank just after the nets have dragged them out of their 

 natural element. 



Fishes with large scales and other strong external 

 characters make fine casts, and such an one is shown in 

 the figure of a parrot-fish. These peculiar species derive 

 their name from the resemblance of the mouth parts to the 

 mandibles of a parrot, which, it will be seen from the 

 illustration given, is quite striking. R. W. Shufeldt. 



Washington, D. C. 



The Forest and Stream is put to press each week on Tues- 

 day. Correspondence intended for publication should reach 

 us at the latest by Monday, and as much earlier as practicable. 



Common Pompano— Trachyno tus carolinus. 



having been captured in the Gulf of California. In the 

 Havana markets this fish is very highly esteemed, and in- 

 deed this is the case almost everywhere where it is known. 

 With us, for the table, it is in its best condition in the 

 autumn, at the time the old ones are leaving the coast. 

 They are then very fat, and far better eating than they 

 are in the spring of the year. They are beautiful objects 

 when caught with hook and line, and I will never forget 

 the first fellow I safely landed over the side of the boat. 

 Sheet silver could not compare in color with his bril- 

 liantly-tinted sides, and the effect was much enhanced 

 when he was free to thrash about in the bottom of the 

 boat under the bright rays of a Key West sun at noonday. 



Another good cast in the collection is that of a buffalo- 

 fish. "The three species known as 'buffalo-fishes' {Ictio- 

 bus buhulus, urus and cyprinella)," says Prof. Jordan, 

 "are found mainly in the river channels of the Mississipi 

 and its tributaries. They are the largest of the suckers, 

 reaching a weight of 151bs. or more. In the Mississipp 



ANGLING NOTES. 



Early Trout Fishing. 

 When the spring opened early in northern New York, 

 so unusually early, judging by the time that the ice went 

 out of the lakes and ponds, that the oldest inhabitant had 

 no recollection of a similar early spring, the brook trout 

 fishermen girded themselves for action and great was the 

 preparation for the first fishing on the 14th of April. Ex- 

 cept for wind with, at times, a March flavor, the 14th of 

 April was a bright, sunny day, and perhaps the warmest 

 day of the season up to that time, and great was the joy 

 thereat in the hearts of some scores of fishermen. In a 

 moment of weakness I promised Mr. C. H. Baxter, secre- 

 tary of the Mohican Rod and Gun Club, that I would go 

 a fishing on the opening day, but that there should be no 

 misunderstanding about the matter later, I told him I 

 believed we would get few if any trout, that they would 

 not rise to the fly with the streams full of snow water, as 

 they were in spite of the warm air, and any trout we 

 might get must be taken from the bottom with the barn- 

 yard hackle, which they would swallow with more delib- 

 eration than a sucker, and when caught would be found 

 to be slimy and poor in flesh. He thought I was throwing 

 water on the scheme colder than any we would find in the 

 brooks, but he was game to go. I have not yet confessed 

 to him that when, a few days before the 14th, the Surro- 

 gate asked me if I could appear in his court the morning 

 of the 14th without breaking my heart, I whispered in his 

 ear, "Judge, you have saved me, but to make a dead sure 

 thing of it issue a bench warrant for my appearance and 

 give it to Sheriff Reed, for I haye promised to go a-fishing 

 on that day," 



To my friend Baxter I said: "I must appear before the 

 Surrogate at the proving of a will, and I am extremely 

 sorry that I cannot go out with you and get wet." Mr. 

 Baxter and Mr. John Watson did go and they got home 

 again safe and fairly well. Mr. Alexander Canfield, a 

 veteran trout fisherman, caught one trout, slimy as an eel 

 and very thin in flesh. Hon. A. B. Abbott and sons 

 caught two trout, and about fifty other fishermen that 

 started between 1 o'clock and 5 on the morning of the 

 14th, and scoured all the brooks within reach, got the 

 same as Mr. Baxter — nothing. The brooks were low, the 

 water cold, and the trout sluggish. 



A few days later Mr. G. R. Harris, secretary of the 

 Paper Company, fished what is called an "early brook," 

 and with two companions caught nearly fifty trout, and 

 he told me that at noon they dug a hole in the snow and 

 put their morning's catch in it to await their return at 

 night. 



The Washington county streams are considered earlier 

 than those in Warren county, and Mr. Charles H. Wilson 

 has for years made it a point to fish there on opening 

 day. One of his companions who was as regular as he 

 was, formerly a companion of Dr. Bethune in fishing the 

 same streams, Mr. Wilson, writes me: "My trip to Salem 

 for opening day fishing was a very pleasant one, but the 

 fishing was very poor. The streams that usually yield a 

 fair catch were fished with poor success owing to low 

 water and cold weather. Our party of four, Mr. T, A. 

 Wright, of New York city; Mr. J. M. Williams and 

 Charles Whitcomb, of Salem and myself, caught on 

 Saturday in White and Black creeks, fifty-two trout of 

 lawful size. High hook fib. 



"Monday, the same party took from the headwaters of 

 Black Creek 46 trout of better size, one of l|lbs. weight. 



"The usual large trout story was sprung on the Salem 

 people by two strangers, who caught a8 trout, weighing 

 19*lbs. I saw them. They were in an 81bs. basket, which 

 was not quite full." 



From Rochester Mr. Thomas W. Fraine writes: "My 

 line was wet on the opening day. I caught 5 trout from 

 6 to 9in. long. Never saw the streams so low before." 



Whether the water is high or low, April 15 is too early 

 to expect good trout fishing in the streams of northern 

 New York. Trout may be caught, it is true, but they 

 afford no sport, as they show no more fight than a piece 

 of dead wood, and when dragged out are slimy and in 

 poor condition. The warm and gentle rain which is fall- 

 ing as I write, and turning the grass green as it falls, and 

 at the same time opening the tender green leaves on the 

 trees and bursting the blossoms of the plum and the cherry, 

 will change all this, for the insect life in the streams will 

 awaken, and the trout will come out from the deep holes, 

 and on the gravel of the rapids will be washed clean with 

 burnished sides, and take on flesh and become vigorous 

 and alert for flies, natural and counterfeit, that may fall 

 on the water of the murmuring stream. Then there will 

 be some fishing worthy of the name. 



As to lake fishing, Fish Commissioner Wentworth, of 

 New Hampshire, reports that at Newfound Lake a salmon 

 (ouananiche) was caught the morning of the 16th and 

 two the morning of the 17th. On that date the ice was 

 still in the lake, except at the head of it, where there was 

 open water and where the fishing was done. 



Mr. Alonzo J. Cheney writes from Sunapee Lake, N. 

 H. , under date of April 16, that he thinks the ice will be 

 I out of that lake during the week ending the 21st and that 



