890 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[May 5, 1894. 



^"The"i Yachts and Yachtsmen of America." 



Under the leadership of Dr. Henry A. Mott, to whom is due the 

 nception as -well as the' carrying- out of the work, the International 

 Yacht Publishing- C'.n . of New York, has labored for two years in the 

 i production of the largest and most comyre'ien=iive wnrk on yachting 

 that, has vet been attempted. The first of the two volumes, just issued, 

 is of itself a convincing evidence of the extent of yachting in 

 America, as this great book, larger than the standard unabridged 

 dictionaries, covers but a part of the subject. 



The scheme of the work is an extensive one, and the arrangement of 

 details is systematic and logical, beginning with the evolution of the 

 yacht from the first primitive forms' of log, raft and dugout, through 

 the various craft of all periods and peoples, to the comparatively 

 recent time when the pleasure yacht, obtained recognition as a distinct 

 type. The second chapter deals more specifically with the history of 

 yachting, following which are chapters on yachting in the United 

 States; the cost, of yachting; types of yacht; the centerboard; rig of 

 yachts; speed records and yachting trophies. 



Our space is too limited to review these various chapters in detail, 

 and we can only say that every part of the subject has baf>n dealt with 

 most carefully", thoroughly and intelligently, and that the immense 

 collection of material facts, both historical and technical, has been 

 ably handled. The chapter on the centerboard, in particular, is very 

 complete, and much of it will be new, even to experienced yachtsmen. 



Nearly 500 pages are devoted to the history and records of the 

 various clubs throughout the United States and Canada, in which are 

 included records of races, descriptions of yachts, and notices of mem- 

 bers. 



The illustrations number in all nearly a thousand, the descriptive 

 portion of the text being fully illustrated by pictures and diagrams, 

 added to which are some 200 portraits of American yachtsmen and 100 

 full page photo-gravures of yachts and club houses, many of them 

 most artistic, the" negatives having been made specially for this work. 

 The volume is Ilxl4x4in., and is handsomely printed and bound. The 

 second volume, of the same size, will deal in detail with steam craft; 

 and will also include the history of the America's Cup, and the con- 

 clusion of the club histories. The work is published only by subscrip- 

 tion. We trust that, the labor and money expended in the preparation 

 of such a tribute to American yachting will meet with a fitting return 

 011 the part of clubs and yachtsmen. 



(^mating. 



FIXTURES. 



MAY. 



.10 Eastern Div. Meet, Calla Shasta, Connecticut River. 



JUKE. 



10. Hartford, Spring Regatta, Con- 30. Red Dragon, Spring Regatta, 



necticut River. Delaware River. 



30.' Knickerbocker.Spring Regatta 



JULY. 



[7-21. W. C. A. Meet,' Picnic Point, Lake Mendota, Wis. 



SEPTEMBER. 



3. Holyoke, Ann., Holyoke, Mass. 15. Red Dragon, Fall Regatta, Del- 

 aware River. 



Away " Up North." 



(Continued from page 369 ) 



Saturday was spent by the Chief in exploring, and by the rest of the 

 party in building a cache, grinding axes, rigging up camp and other 

 easy work, a much needed relaxation after the four days of arduous 

 toil on the Metabetchouan. The bottom of the Nora shows signs of the 

 rough work in the rapids of the Metabetchouan. Sunday passed as 

 Sundays generally do in the woods; a swim iu the morning, a good 

 deal of eating and sleeping, some reading and some fishing and ex- 

 ploring, and on Monday we commenced the serious business of the 

 survey. This was routine work, one day very much like another, 

 scrambling over bluffs and through marshes and swamps, cleaning, 

 chopping and leveling day after day. The country was extremely 

 rough, the flies outrageously bad, and the brush, owing to frequent 

 rain and showers, nearly always wet. consequently the work was any- 

 thing but pleasant, and there was a headlong rush for the canoe as 

 soon as the signal to knock off was given each evening. 



Then a race for camp and a plunge in the lake, then supper, smoke, 

 and yarns around the campflre. The cook himself was hospitably in- 

 clined and always accorded us a hearty welcome to his premises, and 

 he was an adept, at story-telling and an inveterate talker; being left 

 alone in camp all day it was only natural that he should be eager to 

 exercise his powers of speech at night. 



The second Sunday in camp, just as we were finishing a tardy 

 breakfast, there appeared off our landing a large canoe bound west, 

 evidently for Temagami Post. The crew were about ten in all, and 

 included a young Indian and his wife, who had just been down to 

 Temiscaming to get married. They were invited ashore and feasted 

 with the best the camp could afford. 



On the following Saturday night volunteers for a trip to the Hudson 

 Bay Co.'s post at Temagami were called for. Our fleet was insufficient 

 in tonnage for the work before it, and Temagami is the great emporium 

 of canoe manufacture of the district. Tired as the men were, one- 

 half of them responded, and the Nora and Dora set off at 7 P. M. for 

 the 25-mile voyage. Carrying over a quarter-mile portage at Rabbit 

 Lake, we entered White Bear Lake. Three miles of navigation and a 

 200yds. portage brought us to Crooked Lake, two miles long. Another 

 short portage over the height of land cook us into Cariboo Lake, a 

 mere pond, and a fourth portage, about 300yds., brought us at dusk to 

 the great Lake Temagami. 



This is the largest sheet of water in the district, and acknowledged 

 to be the most, picturesque. It lies high, nearly 1,000ft, above the sea, 

 and is a bewildering maze of islands and points, over 2,000 of the latter 

 having been actually counted and laid down on the map by the Geo- 

 logical Survey. The water is deep and beautifully clear, in fact, 

 Temagami means, in the native Algonquin, "the deep sheet of water," 

 and, as may be imagined, it swarms with fish, and hr.s long been the 

 source of supply of this article of food for the plants of the Hudson 

 Bay Company. In general the scenery resembles that of the Thousand 

 Islands of the St, Lawrence, but the timber is larger and finer, the 

 straight, clean shafts of the Norway pines being predominant near the 

 water, and the more, remote slopes being wooded with the lordly white 

 pine. The lumberman's ax has never swung in this region, and the 

 murderous bush Are has done little damage. 



Pushing off from the portage in the dusk, the two canoes headed 

 west, the crews plying tbeir paddles with a steady swing. Emerging 

 from the narrow channels among the islands into a wider expanse, the 

 moon began to rise and soon flooded the lake with silvery light. The 

 lake was smooth as a mirror, and the canoes swept on and on, hour 

 after hour, the crews breaking out into snatches of song, until, at 2 

 A. M. we rounded the point or Bear Island, and the houses of ,he post 

 were made out close alongside. A ringing chorus as we swung up to 

 the landing brought, the trader in charge out to the door, and he hos- 

 pitably invited us to spread our blankets on his living room floor, and 

 in a few moments all were sound asleep. 



We spent next morning looking around the post and inspecting 

 canoes, of which there was a large stock on hand. A pleasant ac- 

 quaintance was made with M. Paradis, a Roman Catholic priest, also 

 a guest at the post, and one of the modern representatives of the long 

 line of missionary explorers who, since the days of Champlain, have 

 been ever in the front in the march of civilization. Toward noon the 

 two brigades started out, Pere Paradis going north to his station on 

 Sandy Bay and we east to our camp on Rabbit Lake. 



There was a fresh breeze from the southwest after we got out three 

 or four miles; and extemporizing sails out of blankets the three, 

 canoes swept, gaily along, the crews lolling in the bottom and a stream 

 of tobacco smoke arising from each. At 7 P. M.. exactly twenty-four 

 hours from our start, we swung into the landing at the camp, having 

 covered fifty miles without any undue fatigue. 



A few days later we ran our survey out to its northern end and 

 turned our canoes 1 bows southward. So far we had been on the high 

 road of communication between Temagami and the outside world. 

 We were now to enter a terra iricognita to the south of Rabbit Lake' 

 Tents were struck and duffle stowed, we ran down the outlet of White 

 Bear Lake, and after a hard tussle with wind and wave, reached the 

 south end of Rabbit Lake about noon, eighty miles. A large stream 

 enters here, which we rightly guessed as being the most likely road 

 to the south. Signs of an old trail were found, and opening this up 

 we found a reach of nearly dead water. Canoes were portaged over 

 reloaded andwe set off again. 



The creek was filled with snags and sandbars, but with caution and 

 occasional wading and lifting, a mile or two of advance was made 

 when the creek turned abruptly to the north and west, barring fur- 

 ther progress. Camp was pitched in the only available place which 

 could be found, a smooth sloping rock, and the Nora started out to 

 explore. 



Eventually a small stream was found coming from the southeast 

 and draining Rankin Lake and Three Portage Lake, a portage of a 

 quarter of a mile was cut out to the latter, and thence three-quarters 

 of a mile to Redwater Lake, a long, narrow river-like stretch of water 

 extending some five miles with only one small break in the navigation. 



From Redwater we descended to Chokecberr.y and from CJjOkecierry 

 into Boyce's, a beautiful sheet of water. 



The Nora in her wanderings often ran upon deer feeding ; one or 

 two bears were sighted, but scuttled off too fast for a shot ; moose 

 were seen several times and the signs of all these animals were every- 

 where abundant. Partridge began to be very thick toward the mid- 

 dle of August, and every lake was full of bass and pickerel. The flies 

 disappeared almost altogether as th» creeks fell, and the swamps dried 

 up, and life on the line became pleasanter. 



Summer melted into fall, the days grew shorter and the nights 

 chillier, and still the call in the morning was "All aboard for the line," 

 and three canoe loads of men would go shooting through the morning 

 mists, bound for the end of the '•line." Marten Lake was still some 

 distance away, and there were no signs of any one but ourselves in 

 these wilds, with the exception of a detachment of the Geological Sur- 

 vey, who were working in the same region, and an occasional visit 

 from whom was among our pleasant experiences. 



Provisions began to get short, and especially those staples ot 

 Canadian backwoods life, tea and tobacco. The Chief being the only 

 one of the party who had no regular everyday duties to perform, he 

 elected to proceed to the nearest post; and, picking the strongest 

 packer and paddler of the party for his bowman, Nora's bow was 

 again turned toward Lake Temiscaming. John Wabi was a half- 



THE WEDDING PARTY. 



breed of the Algonquin race, born in this region— a stout, thick-set 

 young man with a very ugly, but decidedly good-humored face. He 

 was enormously powerful and carried the Nora and a moderate sized 

 pack on his shoulders, and a rifle or gun in his hand, over the most 

 execrably rough ground with the greatest apparent ease. He swung 

 the heaviest axe in camp all day without apparent fatigue, and when 

 the other men were inclined to grumble and fret, John had usually a 

 good humored word and a smile. He was easily the best man in the 

 party, and hence his being chosen for the present arduous expedition. 

 Urged by strong, steady strokes, Nora sped away northward, thread- 

 ing her way between the beautiful pine-clad islands of Boyce's Lake, up 

 the tortuous reedy course of Chokecherry Creek, over a half dozen of 

 portages on John's back, and then out over the more open expanse of 

 Redwater Lake. 



A few minutes' halt at the north end of this last was sufficient to fry 

 a few slices of bacon and make a cup of tea, and again Nora lay 

 bottom up over John's head, and we tramped gaily over the dreaded 

 Purgatory portage, sped across Three-Portage Lake, and over Hell 

 portage, and by 2 P. M. were afloat on Rabbit Lake again. The day 

 had grown overcast and threatened rain, which meant camping early 

 in order to provide a snug camp and lots of dry wood, so we hastened 

 to make what progress we could, and steadily dip, dip went the 

 paddles without intermission. 



Two hours later we crossed the first portage on the MetabetchouaD, 

 and, the rain still holding off, we ran merrily down the smooth reaches 



HUDSON'S BAY CO.\S POST LAKE TEMAGAMI— THE AGENT'S HOUSE. 



and stepped briskly over the portages, until an hour later we found 

 ourselves on the first of the Bass Lakes and began to look about for a 

 camping place under some overhanging rock or spreading spruce 

 tree; when, lo! the clouds broke in the west and a flood of golden 

 light came pouriDg in upon the sombre forest, and. presto! the 

 gloomy ravine became a smiling valley, and the inky water began to 

 sparkle and gleam in the rays of the setting sun. With rising spirits 

 John and the Chief plied their paddles with renewed vigor; the shores 

 sped by, and just at sundown we stepped out of the forest on to the 

 bare rock on the summit of Jordan portage, and paused a moment to 

 take in the grand panorama of mountain and valley, gloomy forest 

 and slumbering lake, spread at our feet. Only for a moment, how- 

 ever; down the steep hill we went, carefully picking our footsteps; 

 down the babbling purling rapida of the lower Metabetchouan, and, 

 just twilight gave way to night, we reached the mouth of the river. 



While John got a cup of tea ready, the Chief mounted to the plateau 

 above and brought from the post office a tremendous accumulation of 

 mail matter. A farmhouse close by supplied the unaccustomed lux- 

 ury of milk. Supper was rapidly dispatched by the light of the fire. 



■'Tired, John?" asked the Chief. We had come some thirty-five 

 miles in twelve hours, and had carried across nineteen portages vary- 

 ing from, a few yards to over half a mile in length. So the question 

 was opportune. 



"No," said John, laconically. 



"What do you say to going on to the fort, it's going to be a fine, 

 bright night?'' 



"I guess dat better way," says John. Maybe blow hard to-mor- 

 row." 



Without more parley the traps were stowed aboard again; and just 

 as the moon rose over the hills on the opposite shore, Nora shot out of 

 the river on to the broad bosom of Temiscaming. 



Steadily dip-dip, pit-pat, went the paddles; beetling cliffs, sandy 

 coves, mysterious-looking, gloomy valleys, went by in endless proces- 

 sion, A sharp turn to the left around a low point, another to the 

 right round a sandy island, and there in front, two miles away, gleam 

 white and ghostly in the moonlight the whitewashed buildings of 

 what was a few years ago one of the tnoBt important of the Hudson's 

 Bay Company's posts. A breeze springs up behind us and raises quite 

 a sea, on top of which Nora reels and swings along at a great pace, 

 through the narrows and again on the still greater expanse of the 

 upper lake; and rounding a rocky point on the eastern shore, we sight 

 the lights of the settlement of Baie des Peres, and flitting past the 

 familiar shape of the Meteor lying at her wharf, in a few seconds 



Nora's bow grates upon the gravel in a quiet little cove ana our desti- 



nation is reached, Fifty miles of steady paddling and portaging; not 

 a bad day's work, even in the territory of 'he H. B. C. 



A good night's rest, albeit with a rather smothery sensation on 

 account of the unaccustomed wooden roof and walls, and Sunday 

 morning dawned bright and sunny. We overhauled the H B. 0. 

 store, bought our supplies, chatted with the company's employees, 

 and with our old friend, Capt. Percy, of the Meteor, and with the 

 ladies of the hotel. John, I believe, went to church at the R. C. mis- 

 sion. After another night's rest we were off again on the Meteor for 

 Montreal River. We called for a few minutes at Fort Temiscaming, 

 and found little difficulty in realizing its glory and importance id 

 bygone days. We pictured the scarlet ensign floating from the lofty 

 flagpole, a brigade of high-prowed North canoes sweeping into the 

 landing, fifty paddles dipping in unison to the strains of "En roulant 

 ma boule" or "La claire fontaine"; the chief factor, followed by his 

 clerks, coming down to receive them, and the ladies waiting on the 

 verandah, while a crowd of swarthy, black-haired, bead-ornamented 

 Indians and squaws looked on quietly and attentively, but incuri- 

 ously, from a respectful distance. 



Bah! the Meteor's brazen whistle toots a summons and the roman- 

 tic pageant of other days fades away, and in its place is the reality 

 of sweeping sandy beach, tumble-down buildings and smoking steam- 

 boat, with a few dusky children in front of a log house and the ladies 

 on the verandah, the wife and sister of two of the Geological Survey 

 staff, the only living realities. 



But if the Meteor has no romance or nonsense about her she is at 

 any rate strong and speedy, and with a favoring wind she runs down 

 to the Montreal River in a remarkably short time, and the Nora, John 

 and I are unceremoniously "dumped" on to the heaving billows off its 

 mouth. Cautiously keeping her bows to it we drop ashore and with- 

 out a moment's delay commence the toilsome ascent of the river. 



The supplies aggregate a considerable weight now; John slings a 

 pack of sundries over his forehead, turns the Nora over on top, takes 

 up the ax in his hand and intimates that the remainder of the load, 

 consisting of blankets, tobacco, 801bs. of sugar, lOlbs. of tea and sun- 

 dry other matters, will be about right for me— and this at the foot of 

 a hill 300ft. high. With a sinking heart I prop this tremendous-look- 

 ing pack upon a log, put the broad strap over my forehead, swing 

 myself round so that the weight comes into the small of my back 

 and then straighten myself up. John starts off up the precipitous 

 ascent, with a satisfied grunt and I follow, and, rather to my surprise, 

 in fifteen minutes we have gained the summit and in five more are 

 wiping the perspiration from our foreheads at the end of the portage. 



Seven times is the operation repeated during the afternoon, and at 

 dark we scud in before a howling north wind to a sheltered sandy cove 

 near the south end of Rabbit Lake and spread our blankets under a 

 noble Norway pine on some willow brush hastily cut by the light of a 

 fire of pine bark. Oh, the luxury of a pipe and a hot cup of tea before 

 the cheery blaze, with the scud flying overhead and the bitter cold 

 blast shrieking through the pine tops. Little recked we of the 

 weather, it could hardly rain with such a wind, and if it did, had we 

 not the Nora ready to turn over our heads, and oh, the soundness of 

 our sleep after two nights in a stuffy bed room in a very dirty little 

 hotel. 



We awoke giants refreshed, and threaded the windings of Rabbit 

 Creek, Purgatory Portage, Redwater, all the familiar scenes, and 

 early in the afternoon reached our camp on Boyce's Lake. The party 

 had moved on in the meantime, as we had intended, and we pushed on 

 for the outlet. A mile of bouldery channel, two portages of fair 

 length, and we entered a large stream coming from the northeast. 



Another little lift and some boulders, and the creek became wide, 

 deep and winding, with low, earthy banks of alluvial soil on either 

 hand covered with a profuse growth of blue ash and other hardwood 

 trees. Around bend after bend, and through reach after reach, we 

 swept, until it seemed as if the river is interminable, but at last the 

 heavy bush begins to give way to willow scrub, and at about 4 P. M. 

 we emerge on to the reedy expanse of Wicbsteed Lake. Away in the 

 southwest, three or four miles off, we fancy we detect smoke, and 

 ohei-rily now the paddles are plied for the last stretch of our 100 and 

 odd miles of voyaging. A couple of miles further on, sfrnuts on the 

 bank are heard and a couple of the survey party appear on the shore, 

 and tell us of the whereabouts of the camp, and in another half hour 

 we detect the sheen of the white tents among the Cedar Land balsams, 

 and in a few minutes we are greeted by the cook and welcomed 

 "home" again. The Chief, 



[to be concluded next week.] 



British Racing Canoes. 



In view of the fact that an American canoeist will visit England this 

 year to compete for the R. C. C. challenge cup, the following, from 

 the Field, is of special interest: 



"With the advance of the season, canoe men are becoming aware 

 that, so far as the metropolitan district is concerned, no new canoes 

 are being built, notwithstanding the free hand in designing which has 

 been given by the new classification rule. It may, of course, be pos- 

 sible that new vessels are being built for members of the Royal C. C. 

 in secluded places, but the two members who were early in the sea- 

 son mentioned as about to build have turned over to the canoe yawl 

 class. Unless there are such 'dark horses' ready to bud forth, the 

 club stands in real dagger of seeing, for the first time, its £50 challenge 

 cup competed for by visitors, and carried away for a year without 

 any real att empt at defense by the club. 



"Under the new rule of classification it would be next to absurd to 

 maintain that the present holder of the cup. the Stella, could, except 

 by fluke, beat canoes specially built and fitted for racing; or even 

 hold her own against some of the old canoes if they are rentted with 

 bulb fin-keel and una or sloop rig. 



"The alteration of some of the late first-class canoes to bring them 

 up to date would not involve very heavy expense, and the large num- 

 bers of races to be given on the Thames would seem to justify the 

 outlay to any but half-hearted racers. A lifting fin and bulb keel can 

 be fitted to nearly any of the existing center-plate cases at a cost of 

 about £4. The shifting of mast cases, addition of sliding seats, and 

 possibly the cutting up of ends to shorten the rating waterline, are not 

 really heavy expenses. Whereas, stripping the side-planking and-re- 

 building out to the extra 6in of beam now permitted, would, in ad- 

 dition to new work at forefoot and after heel to shorten the l.w.l., 

 prove a somewhat heavy item; but even then the expense would not 

 be over half the cost of anew boat, as all the expensive items of 

 hatchways, coamings, centerplate case, keel, rudder and deck fittings, 

 masts and rigging all come in, and the boat thus renovated would be 

 more sailable and saleable." 



CANOE NEWS NOTES 



The Spring Lake Clinker Boat Co., of Spring Lake, Mich., has issued 

 a handsome catalogue of boats for rowing, sailing, fishing and hunt- 

 ing. The company has lately abandoned the construction of steam 

 launches, canoes, etc., in order to devote its energies to the improve- 

 ment and perfection of the class of boats through which, in particu- 

 lar, its high reputation has been established. 



A. C. A. Membership. 



Atlantic Division.— Amand G. Heller, Newark, N. J.; Fordham 

 Briggs, Herman R. Klotz, August Schroter, New York city. 



Rifle at San Antonio. 



The first thing a member of the San Antonio Rifle Club does as he 

 enters the precincts of the range is to look at the topmost end of the 

 flagpole to see if Old Glory is on hand. The next on the tapis is a 

 meander through the forest of newly -planted trees to see if his tree 

 is growing; then he spits on his hands, borrows two buckets from 

 Clancy, goes to the ditch and gives the tree a drink; then he comes in 

 the shooting hall, takes a drink himself, unbuckles his gun case, wipes 

 the oil off his gun and the perspiration off his brow, and devotes the 

 rest of the day to the rip-roaring, screaming, split-up-the-back meet- 

 ing of the greatest aggregation of good fellows on this continent. 

 Scores at 200yds., muzzle rest, globe and peep sights, American Stan- 

 dard target: 



J Legler. , 

 J Suess.. 



Two hundred yards, off-hand: 



A Guenther 



G Altmann, 



G Giesecie. ,- 



10 12 9 



8 9 11 11 11 11 



9—101 



10 10 9 



8 11 10 9 7 9 



9— 92 



12 11 11 



9 9 11 12 9 12 



9—105 



9 12 10 



8 10 10 11 12 10 



7— 99 



10 9 9 



8 10 10 12 11 11 



9— 99 



IS 8 10 12 8 9 8 10 9 



10— 96 



.10 11 11 



11 9 12 8 11 10 



11—104 



11 10 9 



9 11 12 12 9 11 



10—104 



11 10 8 



9 11 10 12 11 10 



9—101 



9 9 7 



9 9. 6 9 8 9 



11— 86 



8 10 8 



10 7 9 9 9 9 



9- 88 



8 10 9 



9 9 10 11 11 8 



9- 94 



9 7 8 



10 10 9 8 9 7 



11- 88 



10 9 8 



7 0 9 11 12 8 



9- 9i 



5 9 7 



6 7 8 8 5 7 



9- 71 



5 9 9 



7 7 9 7 9 7 



6— 75 



7 5 8 



8 10 8 6 6 10 



6- 74 



6 5 9 



8 5 S 10 6 9 



H— ',4 



7 5 9 



4 4 6 7 7 5 



8— 62 



9 0 



14 9 6 5 7 



7- 64 





0. 0. G . . 



