May 12, 1894.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



408 



of lakes west of State Line, under his guidance. The 

 wagon, driven by a younger brother of Clark, was to leave 

 us at the first lake and return for us in ten days. We 

 reached Anderson's Lake about 6 o'clock in the evening 

 after a terrific jolting over the worst road I ever saw. 

 But this kind of experience was what we expected, and 

 we got it with a vengeance. Anderson's Lake is quite a 

 small but a beautiful little gem, dropped down in the 

 heart of the forest. We found a desirable camping spot, 

 and while engaged in putting up our tent a flock of loons 

 came flying over the place and settled on the water within 

 an easy rifle range. Lucius and Clark grasped their rifles, 

 and stepping to the edge of the water opened fire upon 

 them. Having witnessed so often their unsuccessful 

 attempts to bag these birds, I was not sufficiently inter- 

 ested to even watch their fusilade; but a moment later a 

 sharp cry from Lucius, "Oh, papa, come here, quick!" 

 brought me to his side with a bound. I found him stand- 

 ing with open mouth staring into the water. Seeing at 

 once that he was not injured by an accident, as I feared 

 from his cry, but that he was looking at some object in 

 the water that created great surprise and riveted his atten- 

 tion, I also was attracted, and met a sight that was 

 enough to make an angler almost wild with excitement. 

 At the report of the guns there came up out of the deepest 

 water a dark mass like a black shadow, that evolved itself 

 into a dense body of black bass that had been attracted by 

 the noise. There they were, all along the shore as far as 

 we could see on either side; great big fellows, crowding 

 each other out of place, and rolling their big eyes at us. 



It is hardly necessary for me to say that we hurried our 

 preparations for supper, after which we pushed our boat 

 into the water, and for the next two hours, or until after 

 dark, were taking bass as fast as we could handle them. 

 We kept three for breakfast and returned all the others to 

 the lake. After this evening's record I was prepared to 

 believe any kind of a story anybody might tell about 

 catching bass in these lakes. I was simply tired of catch- 

 ing them; and after this performance, with the exception 

 of an occasional fish for food, did not try the bass again 

 while in Wisconsin. I have not the slightest doubt that I 

 can go to the several lakes we visited and kill from 200 

 to 3001bs. of bass a day and not count any that would 

 weigh less than 24 lbs. Indeed we caught no small bass. 

 I don't believe I hooked a bass that weighed less than 21bs., 

 neither did I catch any that were larger than 43 bs. 



As indicated above, this was my last assault on the bass 

 during my trip, the sport had become tame and I looked 

 in other directions for entertainment. The fact is, bass 

 fishing in Wisconsin is too easy for sport. Of course the 

 angler does not have to take any more than he desires; 

 but in the midst of the excitement the insane propensity 

 to kill will take possession of him, and he goes on killing 

 until weary. As I reflect over the events of our outing I 

 find one source of satisfaction, viz. , I did not kill one bass 

 more than we had use for as food. 



We spent the night in camp at Anderson's, and at sun- 

 rise on Tuesday morning started on our trip through the 

 lakes. How can I adequately describe this journey? A 

 man and two boys, alone with nature, in a wilderness not 

 ■one foot of which had ever been seen by any member of 

 the party, for even Clark had never been here. However, 

 guided by his native instinct he proved a valuable guide, 

 never wavering for a moment in directing our course, and 

 was an intelligent, companionable fellow. 



Nature is very prodigal here in two respects, viz, 

 woods and water. The woods have not as yet been sub- 

 jected to the encroachments of commerce, but stand as 

 they came from the hands of the Creator in all their 

 primeval grandeur. The latter, beautiful in tranquillity, 

 are like diamonds set in a field of verdure. Imagine us 

 then in an unknown country, threading our way through 

 the maze of these innumerable lakes, each turn in our 

 course revealing to us new beauties and disclosing the 

 locked up mysteries of nature. From Anderson's Lake a 

 short carry through the woods landed us in Spring Lake, 

 a pretty body of water ; but the least beautiful of all we 

 saw. Leaving Spring Lake by a thoroughfare of three 

 miles in length, which winds a sinuous course through 

 the forest, Lake Mamie bursts upon our view, a crystal 

 gem. Then Zephyr Lake, with its irregular outlines, pre- 

 sents its mirror-like bosom for our inspection. We loiter 

 on our way through these lakes, for the scenery is fine 

 and we wish to feast our eyes upon its loveliness. At the 

 jhead of Zephyr we find another thoroughfare of about a 

 anile, through which we pass to Big Lake. From Big 

 Lake a short passage leads us into First Lake, thence into 

 Deer Lake. From Deer we enter into Thousand Island 

 Lake by quite a stream of clear, running water perhaps a 

 a mile and a half or two miles long. These waters were 

 all lovely and worthy of notice. In Thousand Island 

 Lake we pass island after island as we traverse its length, 

 all heavily covered with timber. The water iB deep and 

 clear and this is said to be the home of lake trout. As I 

 viewed the environments of this lovely body of water, 1 

 could not dispute the fact that deep down in those mighty 

 channels mighty specimens of lake trout were disporting 

 themselves. Here I called a halt and decided to remain 

 until we should retrace our steps toward civilization. 



Selecting a beautiful site we established our camp upon 

 an island, prepared our supper and then started out on a 

 tour of inspection of our temporary home. In the quiet 

 of a beautiful evening we floated on the surface of this 

 the most enchanting lake I ever saw. 



After breakfast Wednesday morning I concluded to try 

 the trout; but having failed to add trout spoons to my 

 collection of fishing tackle, I was compelled to use a large 

 spinner which did not work well, and I found myself in 

 tne same relative condition that Lucius was in when he 

 needed a rifle and a shotgun. I had all the other necessary 

 tackles for deep water trolling and I cannot understand 

 how I came to overlook the spoons; but I did, neverthe- 

 less, and had occasion bitterly to regret it, for I had re- 

 peated heavy strikes but was unable to hook a single 

 trout; they invariably hung on for a second and then dis- 

 engaged themselves. This kind of work was very dis- 

 couraging and I gave it up. The day was perfect for en- 

 joyment and we spent the remainder of it exploring the 

 lake. There was such a labyrinth of channels, bays and 

 open spaces between the islands that Lucius and I were 

 both bewildered, and had we been alone would no doubt 

 have been lost; but the little Indian had no trouble in 

 bringing us back to our camp at supper time. I should 

 have enjoyed taking some of the big trout that I know 

 inhabit this lake, but we had a very interesting time 

 nevertheless. 



On our return we passed over the same course taken in 



going in until we reached Spring Lake. Here we camped 

 Thursday afternoon by the side of a delicious spring, 

 from which the lake takes its name, and remained until 

 Friday morning. At this spot an event occurred which 

 is worth mentioning. After pitching the tent Lucius 

 and Clark went in to the woods with their rifles to hunt 

 game. The tent was pitched on a knoll about 100ft. from 

 the water and there was a trail running past it down to 

 the lake. I started down the trail to go to the lake, I 

 saw an animal about the size of a cub bear, which it re- 

 sembled very much, cross the trail and run into the 

 bushes. I thought it was a cub and instantly made up my 

 mind that the mother was near at hand and that I had 

 my foot in it, so to speak. The boys had the two rifles, 

 but had left me the shotgun, which stood leaning against 

 an adjacent tree. I did not know how it was charged, 

 but I hastily got possesion of it and stood with bated 

 breath and shaking knees waiting for the onslaught of 

 the old gal. After a few seconds of suspense, hearing no 

 disturbance, I concluded to investigate the intruder. Pro- 

 ceeding down the trail ready for battle at close quarters, 

 my heart thumping like a trip hammer and my knees 

 quaking, I detected a movement in the bushes and halted 

 to take observations. I saw my visitor at the foot of a 

 big pine tree, and more than ever impressed with the idea 

 that it was a cub, I began to think discretion might be 

 the better part of valor and a retreat the best thing I 

 could do. By this time I was wrought to a state of ex- 

 treme excitement, and utterly regardless of consequences 

 blazed away at the creature and had the satisfaction of 

 seeing it roll over, make several spasmodic kicks and re- 

 main motionless. I must be strictly truthful in narrating 

 this event, and say that after I saw my victim apparently 

 dead, I did not have sufficient courage to approach it, for 

 I still feared the old one was in the vicinity, and if she 

 saw me bending over her dead offspring I might never 

 see my friends again. So I went back to the tent, re- 

 charged my gun with buckshot and awaited events. In a 

 few moments Lucius and Clark, having heard the report 

 of my gun, came running to the camp fearing I was in 

 trouble. I told Clark I had shot a bear, but was afraid to 

 go near it. He ran at once to the spot. I would like to 

 draw the curtain here and not tell the rest of the story, 

 but that would not be fair. As Clark saw the game he 

 made the woods ring with laughter, for he had the joke 

 on me in great shape. I had shot a measly porcupine, an 

 inoffensive creature that the children in the region kill 

 with clubs. 



I did not sleep well this night, notwithstanding Clark 

 had made me an extra thick bed of balsam boughs. We 

 were booked to remain nearly a week longer in the woods, 

 as the team, by arrangement before starting, would not 

 come for us until the following Wednesday. Here was a 

 dilemma. I woke up Friday morning quite feverish and 

 feeling badly, with a desire to get out of the woods greatly 

 increased, but how to do so was the problem that con- 

 fronted me. On our way into the wilderness the team 

 passed along the shore of Black Oak Lake. It occurred 

 to me that if we could got from Spring Lake into Black 

 Oak we could by our boat lessen the distance to the rail- 

 road station by six miles, and being that much nearer 

 something might turn up to help us out. But this carry 

 of half a mile was the stumbling block. As good luck 

 would have it, while we were preparing breakfast we 

 heard approaching footsteps and saw a man coming along 

 the trail. Where the human face is so seldom seen, as 

 is the case in this wilderness, there exists a bond of 

 human fellowship among all who meet, except Indians. 

 Our visitor proved to be a squatter living somewhere 

 away over in the woods. He appeared to be a very 

 decent sort of a fellow. I told him of my desire to get 

 into Black Oak Lake and that as I was not feeling very 

 well I did not like to undertake the labor of moving our 

 traps with ouly the two boys for assistants. "Well," he 

 said, "if that is what you want you shall get into Black 

 Oak Lake almost before you know it. Now, you just sit 

 down on that log, and when your guide and I have packed 

 up your traps we will carry them over to the lake, and 

 all you need to do is to carry yourself over there." I was 

 very glad to accept his friendly aid I can assure you. 

 Clark and Bane, for that was the man's name, hustled 

 our things over to Anderson's, where we embarked and 

 rowed across, and then they repeated the performance 

 into Black Oak. Our quondam friend here bade us good- 

 bye, refusing to accept any remuneration for his services. 

 We proceeded along Black Oak Lake, arriving at the foot 

 about noon, where we again pitched our tent. 



If Thousand Island Lake is beautiful, Black Oak Lake 

 is grand and imposing. I could not help thinking that it 

 was a great pity that such a grand body of water should 

 be so far removed from civilization. As we traversed it 

 on our way to its foot the water was like a mirror, deep 

 green in color, showing great depth. It is said to be full 

 of lake trout, but I did not try them, remembering my 

 failure in Thousand Island Lake. While making our 

 camp a stiff breeze sprang up from the northwest, and the 

 waves began to roll up on the sandy beach in front of the 

 tent. We were camped in a very beautiful spot just back 

 of the beach, which was composed of clear white sand 

 such as I have seen only at the ocean. The waves as they 

 came rolling in formed a surf which was so inviting that 

 Lucius and I could not resist the temptation to take a bath 

 in them. It was the most delightful swim I think I ever 

 enjoyed. After dinner, refreshed by the bath, we rowed 

 to thAnd of a deep bay that looked very inviting, on a 

 tour of exploration. Here we found a trail leading into 

 the woods which we followed a short distance, where it 

 terminated at another lovely little lake. This we could 

 not explore, as I did not care to drag the boat to it, but 

 there were evidences of its being a fine fishing water, as 

 we found an old raft with fishing-poles and fish-boxes on 

 it, all going to decay, showing that at some remote time 

 some one had been in the habit of coming here to fish. 

 We afterward found the frame of a shanty near the local- 

 ity on a branch trail, that Clark said had been occupied 

 by fishermen. I thought it might have heen a lumber- 

 man's shanty, but Clark said it was too small for a lumber- 

 man's camp. He was certain that the place had been the 

 shelter of fishermen who have spent their vacation on 

 Black Oak and other lakes in the vicinity. Rambling 

 around in these out-of-the-way places is full of interest to 

 the novice in the wilderness. And in this way we spent 

 the afternoon. 



Returning to camp we had our supper, after which we 

 started out to visit other portions of the lake. The intense 

 solitude of these sequestered spots, especially as evening 

 begins to draw the curtains of night about one, is almost 



awe-inspiring; and I expect one must live a long time 

 under such invironments before he can shake off the feel- 

 ing of oppression that takes possession of him. The wind 

 subsided as the sun went down, and again the surface of 

 the lake was like a mirror. Under the shadow of rocky 

 bluffs we pursued our way, marveling at the handiwork 

 of nature that had carved into fantastic shapes the huge 

 bowlders that lined the shores and in other places had 

 laid up a wall of rock as though set in masonry, so smooth 

 and symmetrical was it- 

 Here occurred an incident that I shall always remem- 

 ber, as its weird effects are ineradicable. We noticed that 

 our ordinary tone of voice in conversation was taken up 

 by the echo over the nearest shore and increased in vol- 

 ume, was thrown across the lake, and from that point 

 carried to the other portions of the lake, or other lakes 

 perhaps, for it would continue to roll on and on until dis- 

 tance alone prevented our catching the sound. If an or- 

 dinary tone could have such an effect, I wondered what 

 would be the result produced by the discharge of a gun. 

 Acting upon the suggestion Lucius fired his shotgun and 

 for fully five minutes the sound rolled from one shore to 

 another and from one lake to another until it seemed as 

 though a fierce battle of musketry was going on for miles 

 and miles around us. We remained on this lake until a 

 late hour awakening the echo with voice and guns, and 

 then to bed. 



On our way into the wilderness on the preceding Mon- 

 day we had passed near a large lumber mill about three 

 miles from where we were then camped, and Saturday 

 morning I sent Clark there to see if he could hire a team 

 and wagon to take us to State Line. He returned vpry 

 soon with the conveyance and we reached State Line just 

 in time to take the noon train home. Thus we left the 

 wilderness five days sooner than we had expected to do, 

 and it was none too soon either, for I was quite upset with 

 the rough experience I had, and was very glad to get 

 back to my comfortable bed and regular rations. To 

 thoroughly enjoy a sojourn in what I consider this wilder- 

 ness to be, a paradise for the anglers, it would be folly to 

 go as I did. The companionship of a boy is very delight- 

 ful under some circumstances; but in such a place as this 

 one wants congenial associates. This given, all the rest 

 of one's pleasure can be plucked hand by hand as you 

 gather the rich fruit from your vines. With a select 

 party of kindred spirits one would find every placid lake 

 a storehouse of pleasure, the balsam ladened atmosphere 

 would be more exhilarating, the grand exhibition of the 

 works of Nature more imposing, and the camp-fire more 

 entertaining. Man was not made to enjoy these things 

 alone. 



It was our aim to follow the chain of lakes through to 

 Mamatoish on the other line, but as we could not secure 

 guides to take us through we had to abandon the project. 

 This is the trip to take, for I am told we did not see the 

 most beautiful portion of the country or the prettiest 

 lakes. Were I to undertake this trip again I should want 

 a jolly party of fellows, say three or four, three guides 

 capable of doing all the heavy work, and to go through 

 the thirty or forty lakes in the chain mentioned above. 

 A rapid journey can be completed in five days, but two 

 weeks spent en route would be none too long for such a 

 party to enjoy every minute of it. A wall tent 12x14ft. 

 for the party, a smaller tent for the guides, a strong flat- 

 bottom boat for camp equipment and supplies and two 

 birch bark canoes would constitute about all the necessary 

 appliances for the journey. En route the party would 

 probably like to camp for a day or two each on such lakes 

 Black Oak, Thousand Island, Palmer, Whitcomb, Aurea, 

 Flora, Crab and Manetowish; and it would be the event 

 of a life in outdoor sports. With such guides as Louie 

 and Oliver Thomas, and John Draper, all of whom know 

 the country thoroughly, the trip could be made in com- 

 fort and every minute enjoyed.- If you should ever de- 

 sire to catch fish until weary of the sport, join such aparty 

 and visit the lakes of Oneida county, Wis. I will guar- 

 antee that you will not have to work hard to find where 

 the bass are located, and the result of a day's fishing will 

 be a revelation to you. All the bass have to do in these 

 lakes is to multiply, for not enough of them are taken out 

 to make a mark. There are plenty of lakes where a line 

 has never been cast and they are alive with bass. 



Frank. 



The Mastigouche Waters. 



We have had from time to time enticing reports of the 

 trout fishing enjoyed by the Mastigouche Fishing Club in 

 their waters some eighty miles from Quebec, and an im- 

 pression has been given that the Mastigouche was not open 

 to outsiders. This is a mistake. Some of the waters are 

 reserved, but there is an abundance of territory free to all; 

 and from what a Montreal correspondent tells us, the 

 Mastigouche region offers decided attractions to trout fish- 

 ermen. He says: "The Mastigouche House opens about 

 May 20, the ice usually going out of the lakes from the 

 13th to the 20th, according as the season is early or late. 

 Fly-fishing begins as soon as the snow broth runs off, and 

 is very good the last week of May and first week in June; 

 in fact it is good all through June, but the black flies and 

 mosquitoes begin to get in their work in great shape early 

 in that month, and keep it up until about August 1. 

 A person can have a good comfortable time with good 

 fishing, and stay at the main camp; but if one wants to 

 rough it, he can take tent, guide and canoe and go to 

 some of the lakes a few miles distant. Any of the trout 

 flies used in the Adirondacks are suitable for our waters. 

 A person wishing to go to these lakes had better go to the 

 Canadian Pacific Railway Co, here, and ask for return 

 ticket to the Mastigouche House, fare $6.70 for the round 

 trip, including buckboard from St. Gabriel, the railroad 

 station, to club house and return to St. Gabriel. On 

 arrival at the latter place by rail about 9 P. M., the driver 

 of the buckboard, who meets the train, will take the 

 checks and baggage to the hotel and be ready next morn- 

 ing to start for the house at any time passengers may desire. 

 The scenery is fine, perhaps not so grand as some parts 

 of the Adirondacks, but it has a peculiar charm of its own 

 that is very delightful. We do not catch any of those big 

 8 and 10-pounders that the Rangeley sportsmen tell about, 

 but an occasional 3 or 41b. trout is not altogether a rarity 

 in our waters." 



Mr. E. M. Copeland is in charge of the club house and 

 hotel; the post office address is St. Gabriel de Brandon, Que. 



Tfie 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. 



