May 23, 1896.] 
• '. 
willingly to work in unloading the boat and securing 
tho entire outfit and erecting the two tents and flies. 
i It was rapid work, and in less than fifteen minutes every- 
thing was under cover. The boat now had to be se- 
cured from the battering waves, and soon we had it 
high up the rocky shore snug and tight, but dripping 
with the steadily falling rain. My assistance in this 
matter caused me a very severe wound on my right 
shin, by slipping on some smooth and sharp-edged rocks, 
which took two good months to completely heal, and 
which has left a scarred imprint larger than a silver 
dollar, which I am positive will remain with me while 
life lasts as a visible reminder of that particular trout- 
ing trip. 
We quickly sought our tent after the boat had been 
made safe from the violence of the vicious waters, and 
there remained until the rain was over, which ceased in 
a short time. The wind also began to fall, bub the waves 
thundered on, and the spray rose up in slender columns 
around the exposed sides of the diminutive island. 
A stream of summery fragrance that contrasted 
strangely with the wild tones of the storm now poured 
forth from the resinous forest, refreshing everything o'er 
which it passed and soothing the rugged rock-brows of 
the Bhore with a gentle touch and gesture wholly divine. 
Kenosh and his son came to us at this favored condition 
of the elements and requested the loan of a rod and land- 
ing net, stating they were positive they could catch from 
the craggy bluffs of the north wall of the island a nice 
mess of trout for our supper. As the rocks were too wet 
and slippery for a "pale face's" feet and the bushes too 
heavily beaded with moisture, we thought it prudent just 
then to do our angling by proxy, and so putting a rod in 
good condition we turned it and the net over to the half- 
breeds, who immediately started off and began breasting 
their way through the moist bushes that surrounded us 
and over a treacherous and flinty surface that none but 
a moccasined savage or half-breed could then safely 
traverse. 
After the absence of a full hour they returned, dripping 
wet, with two handsome trophies, one being a 2-pounder 
and the other a fraction or two less. Kenosh said that 
the largest one, which he had coaxed to the surface with 
a brown hackle, rose three times hefore he impaled it. 
The waves which were beating so fiercely against the 
shore confused the trout in his grabbing greed, but on its 
last and fatal rise the fly was very slowly drawn and hap- 
pily secured the victim on the snowy crest of a surging 
swell. 
They were surpassing lovely in their gold and ver- 
milion dyed robes, and as the checkered rays of a stray 
sunbeam fell upon them, we fully realized why the poet 
declared them the 
"Most beautiful in shape and hue 
Of all that swims the waters blue, 
Fairer than the plumes of the bird, 
Or fur of the wild forest herd." 
It now being time for the preparation of the evening 
meal, the axe was immediately brought into service, and 
then the chips began to fly, the smoke to upward curl, 
and the blaze to snap and sparkle, and the slaughtered 
beauties to send forth a savory fragrance indicative that 
they were to be the crowning dish of the approaching 
feast. 
Our first meal in camp was a royal success and tempting 
enough for the most fastidious appetite, but as ours were 
inclined to be ravenous, no rich sauces were required to 
sharpen them, for as that hackneyed quotation asserts, 
"Good digestion wait on appetite, health on both." 
That evening the sun set in a rich bank of rosy clouds 
tinged and streaked with lines of burning crimson. The 
night with dying twilight softly came, the stars brilliantly 
spangled the skies, and then cooling winds came from the 
sea that made the fire a cheerful companion. But what 
of the approaching morn? Will it bring us the delightful 
south wind with its fragrance of flowers, or will the north 
wind come with its arctic breath and tossing seas? We, 
however, will wait for realities and with hopeful hearts 
seek our restful beds and let the gentle waves as they beat 
against our rocky ramparts sing us to sleep and sweet 
forgetfulhess. Alex. Stab buck. 
ITO BE CONTINUED.] 
SANTA CATALINA ISLAND. 
Pasadena, Cal.— "Look out!" Zee! zip! zee! "Stop 
him!" Zip! "Clap on your thumb- brake!" Z z e-e-e-e! 
"Lookout!" Zip! z-e-e! "Gone, by thunder!" and a very 
hot and red-faced man, bis hands and arms trembling 
with exertion and excitement, swung a much-strained rod 
into the air with its swinging 4ft. of line — all that was 
left of 600ft. of tarpon line, at 1 cent a foot. 
"Now, what was that, a cyclone?" asked the fisherman 
of the Santa Catalina boatman, who, with a suspicion of 
a smile, had been giving instructions to the novice. 
"That's a tuna, sir," he replied, handing over a fresh 
line for the reel. 
"Well," said the New Yorker, a well-known patron of 
sport, "I have fished in every water under the sun, I was 
going to say, but I have never had so much bottled light- 
ning on a line before. That reel gave one scream and 
threw up its hands. Never mind, I'll have one of these 
fish if it takes all summer." 
The line was Boon reeled on, this time a 20oz. bass rod, 
used something like the tarpon rod, and putting out 
about 100ft. the oarsman renewed his oars and pulled up 
the abrupt shores of the beautiful island, a huge jumble 
of mountains rising out of the water; twenty miles Joff 
Los Angeles county, on the edge of the warm Japanese 
current, a region where big fish congregate in summer, 
coming up in great bands from Magdalena Bay and other 
localities in Lower California, where they winter in 
warmer waters. , 
The fisherman was taking his first trial, and with two 
rods out was watching the straDge panorama of mountains 
and cliffs as they moved along. 
"So Cabrillo discovered this island 350 years ago, did 
he?" 
Zee-e-e-e — ze-e-e! came an answer from the reel, as 50ft. 
of the delicate fifteen-strand line was torn off in succes- 
sive jerks. 
The fisherman had the rod in a second and clapped on 
the extra leather brake, thus stopping the tremendous 
rush of the fish, that threatened to repeat the maneuver 
of ten minutes previous. This stopped to a degree, and 
10, 20ft. came in on the reel, and the fisherman was con- 
gratulating himself that it was not so dangerous a fish 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
after all, when the oarsman shouted, "Look out! he's 
coming in for a rush." 
And so he was. No sooner were the words uttered than 
the fish turned, and zee-e-e-e — ze-e-e, screamed the reel. 
The fisherman, unused to such tactics, was not quick 
enough, and the handle, revolving so fast that it was in- 
visible, struck him on the hand, tearing off the flesh. 
"Stop him, sir; stop him!" cried the oarsman, as yard 
after yard of line flew out, threatening to overrun. 
Again the big leather brake was brought into play, and 
this time the fish rounded to so that the reel could be used. 
Then came the fine play of the desperate game. It tried 
all the tricks known to fishdom; dived deeply into the blue 
water and pounded on the line, hammering with its head in 
regular blows, then dashed away to the wild accompani- 
ment of the click, click. Checked, it darted to the surface, 
glistening in the sun a moment and displaying all the 
splendors of the rainbow; then dived deeper and deeper, 
to sulk 150ft. in the heart of the blue channel, bearing 
against the line with all the power of a big salmon; lift- 
ing, rushing, pulling, bearing down, turning quickly — all 
the tricks known to fish and played before it was finally 
reeled within reach of the boat; and then, mad with 
fright and rage, it dashed away with a splendid effort, the 
zeee— zee-ee of the steel click rising like the wail of a lost 
soul. 
But it is the last rush and it is well that it is so, as the 
fisherman, in the twenty minutes' struggle, is shaking 
like a leaf. Up the fish comes, looking nOw like a great 
blaze of silver against the deep blue. One more turn and 
the magnificent fish sweeps alongside, the sun playing 
over it in a thousand tints; then the gaff lifts it strug- 
gling, quivering, into the air and the fisherman drops the 
rod, and breathing hard, gazes with admiration at his 
first Santa Catalina sea bass. 
"Magnificent!" he exclaims. "How much will he 
weigh?" 
"Thirty pounds," replied the boatman, and 311bs. was 
its weight later on. 
Another smelt is hooked on and the little boat goes 
gliding over the waves. Soon some large fish are seen 
following them. They have a golden hue and seem to 
slide down the waves,, "Yellow -tails!" said the oarsman, 
looking over the shoulder of the fisherman at the fish not 
10ft. away; then the water seemed to take on a golden 
glow and great fish divided, as the boat passed, and fairly 
filled the water. 
"A school of yellow-tails," again said the oarsman; 
"lood out for the rods." 
There were hundreds, apparently thousands, of fish 
from 15 to 501bs. that actually colored the surface. 
"Look out for the rods," repeated the oarsman, and at 
the moment the reel sounded the alarm. Bravo! what a 
rush! 
The New Yorker had gotten the hang of it and the light 
rod was bending, the lighter line singing musically 
through the water. Every rush was met, and the gamy 
fish turned this way and that. It plunged deep into the 
ocean, then rose like a flash of fight, dashed along the sur- 
face to plunge again like an arrow and sulk, and sulk, 
and sulk. 
"Great sport!" exclaimed the sportsman after the tenth 
rush, "the greatest I've ever had;" adding, "it's a pity to 
kill so game a fighter." 
In it came, making great rushes to and fro as the fisher- 
man turned it, finally succumbing to the gaff; 281bs. of as 
game a fish as ever swam. 
These two fish were types of the principal game fishes 
of Santa Catalina Island, Southern California. The sea 
bass (Cynosciori) is an ally of the weakfish of the East, 
and runs from 20 to 601bs.; it is a rich golden bronze in 
color. The yellow-tail (Seriola dorsalis) runs from 3 to 
4^ft. and from 15 to 601bs. ; the average being 201bs. In 
general appearance it looks something like the bluefish, 
the upper portion being a rich, iridescent blue, while the 
fins and tail are yellow, giving the fish a beautiful ap- 
pearance in the water. The fish is caught with light rods 
and tackle, the oarsmen or fishermen being noted for 
their skill and endurance, and it may be truly said that a 
new sport is born. 
A St. Augustine Drum. 
A St. Augustine correspondent sends us this report of 
drum fishing, from the Herald of that city: 
Messrs. Taylor, of the Casino, and Frank Dodd, Gardner 
and Bowers, went drum fishing yesterday, assisted by 
three wards of the nation whose duty it was to prepare 
bait and bring the fish home, but the gentlemen named 
did .the fishing, and deserve all the credit for the big catch, 
which consisted of six drum, of which Mr. Taylor caught 
three. These three, after being dusted off, and having 
their scales combed down, their wounds hidden from 
view, and otherwise made to look as pretty as possible 
for the inspection of the ladies, were placed on exhibition 
at the Alcazar, with their weights marked on card board 
stuck in their mouths, and looked so much like they were 
telling the truth that nobody had the heart to doubt the 
figures, which were 82i, 52J and 36. Mr. Taylor thinks 
that the drum must have shrunk fully 18 percent., which 
statement is entitled to consideration anyhow, and no 
one can disprove it. But it isn't the fish that were 
caught, that are entitled to extended notice, so much as 
the one that wasn't caught, which was one of the most 
accommodating and versatile drums on record. All of 
the gentlemen agree that it was the largest one they ever 
saw, and although it was brought to the surface several 
times it could not be landed, because its body was im- 
penetrable to the gaff hook, and even a set of grappling 
irons which were brought into use were of no avail. 
This was on account, it is said, of a thick growth of 
oysters which had attached themselves to the body of the 
fish. From the size of the oysters, it was judged that 
they had been growing on the fish for at least eighty or 
ninety years. Another peculiarity of his drum was that 
it would, when brought to the surface of the water, stand 
erect on its tail, flap its fins and drum for a minute at a 
time, much to the delight of the audience and apparently 
to itself. There is not another case on record where a 
drum fish ever gave utterance to its unusual sounds while 
out of the water, and the gentlemen say that there was a 
peculiar musical harmony about it, not unlike the effects 
of the kettledrum in the grand climaxes of the works of 
some of the famous composers. Another peculiar thing 
about this fish was that after giving a performance of 
nearly three quarters of an hour, it got tired and slid 
off with hook, line, gaff hook, grappling irons and all. 
It is really a pity that it was not caught. 
417 
ANGLING NOTES. 
"My Guide had a Strike." 
I have just read an angler's letter to a contemporary 
journal, in which he says: "We had been out but ten 
minutes when my guide had a strike. Then we were all 
excitement until we landed our first salmon." 
I do not know as it is the acme of sport, but it comes 
pretty near it, to pay a guide $3 (or such a matter) a day 
and board, with extras for bait, boat, dogs, etc., and have 
him catch the fish or kill the deer, as the case may be; 
but there are a few men in this wide world who do not 
enjoy second-hand bliss any more than thev enjoy a sec- 
ond-hand shirt, and the man that I am most intimately 
acquainted with of all the inhabitants of the globe is one 
of them. Perhaps it is a mere matter of taste— and mat- 
ters of taste should not be introduced in this column— but 
anyone who objects can, with this advance notice, skip 
what I will write. After all, the frankness of the writer 
whom I have quoted excites my warmest admiration, for 
instead of saying "me and Betsy," he says, "we landed 
our first salmon," after admitting that it was the guide 
who had thejstrike. There are men who would have used 
the first person singular in that sentence and let it go out 
to a receptive public without any notice of copartnership, 
as required by law. 
A few years ago a friend of mine, a well-known New 
York angler, was fishing at a resort on Lake Champlain, 
and one evening he told me that he was tired of waiting 
on his boatman, and the next day he would insist that 
the boatman should leave his rod on shore. He did so, 
and for one day this boatman waited on the man who 
paid him for his services and that night he threw up his 
job, for he would not row unless he could fish. I once 
had the same experience in West Virginia. On the other 
hand, when I was fishing at Parmachenee Lake in Maine 
I one day handed my rod to my guide to cast for a while, 
as my right shoulder was lame from a fall following a 
dislocation, and I had to urge him to cast while I rested; 
but John Danf orth had the best trained guides to be found 
in all my experience, as they had to serve an apprentice- 
ship under his personal supervision before they obtained 
a diploma to guide the visitors to Camp Caribou. 
I must except one man in this general round-up, John 
Cogswell, peace to his ashes! who served me as guide and 
friend in Wyoming and Utah nearly thirty years ago, but 
he, perhaps, was more friend than guide, which made him 
so unlike the average guide of this day. There are guides, 
however, who do not expect to get a per diem job of row- 
ing and then do most of the fishing for the men who 
employ them, but they are the exception if I may judge 
from my own experience of fishing resorts. 
Naturally a guide will understand his home waters far 
better than the visiting angler, and if he is one of the 
kind who wishes to have the best fishing for himself he 
will be quite apt to get it. 
Such a guide once anchored his boat very carefully and 
prepared to fish, when the angler quietly told him he 
would change places in the boat with him, and he did. 
The boat was anchored over a wall of rocks running at 
right angles to the length of the boat, and the bow offered 
good fishing and the stern did not, but the angler would 
not have known of the situation had he not been warned 
by a previous victim of the guide's enterprise and love of 
fishing where the most and biggest fish were to be found. 
It is always safe to change places with the guide if he de- 
velops a fondness for getting his hook first into the water 
and the last out, and has no time to pass the bait bucket. 
Fortunately all guides are not of this pattern, and the 
others are devoted to the interest of those who employ 
them, and if they fish their fishing is an incident and not 
the principal feature of the day's outing. It is funny, 
but one rarely sees the guide's score in print, or if it is 
printed I must have overlooked it, and that is what made 
the words I have quoted at the head of this note seem so 
queer to me when I read them. 
Special Fish and Game Protectors. 
One amendment to the game law of New York is 
chapter 284 of the laws of 1896, approved April 17. I am 
specific about this, for I happen to have business in 
Albany, where they know something about game laws, 
new and old, and it was stated in one of the departments 
that this amendment had not become a law, but I found 
in the office of the Secretary of State that it had become 
a law under the title I have given. This amendment pro- 
vides that the Board of Fisheries, Game and Forest Com- 
mission may, in its discretion and at pleasure, appoint or 
remove a person recommended by a majority of the 
supervisors of any county, or by any incorporated game 
club for the protection of fish and game as special pro- 
tector and forester, who shall possess the same powers 
that are enforced upon the State protectors and foresters. 
Such special protectors and foresters shall receive no com- 
pensation from the State. They shall make similar re- 
ports to those required from the State protectors and for- 
esters. 
Before the passage of this amendment, special protect- 
ors and foresters could be appointed only on the recom- 
mendation of a board of supervisors at their annual ses- 
sion. 
Acting under the new law, the Fisheries, Game and 
Forest Commission at their last meeting appointed John 
Commerford, of Bisby Lake, and James H. Miller, of 
Honnedaga Lake, special protectors and foresters, upon 
the recommendation of the Adirondack League Club. 
John Callahan, of Hamilton county; George A. Monk, of 
Eossie; Fred Apple, of Cedars; Chauncy Shaven, of Turn- 
wood, were appointed special protectors and foresters 
upon the recommendation of the Black Lake and Alder 
Lake clubs. 
Squat Net. 
A correspondent asks what a "squat" net is, and says he 
cannot find it in the Century Dictionary. I do not know 
as a squat net can be found in any dictionary, for I never 
have looked for one in a dictionary; but they can be found 
a-plenty along the Hudson River and elswhere, and many 
of the State game protectors could produce a number of 
them if they have not been destroyed. The net is a 
square, nearly flat net, supported by sticks arched from 
opposite corners and crossing over the center of the net. 
A rope is fastened at one end to the sticks or the place 
where they cross and the other end is fastened to a lifting 
pole. It is operated by lowering the net into water and 
lifting it again. The man or boy sits on the shore end of 
the pole as the fulcrum, his hands grasping the pole in 
front of him is the power, and the net is the weight, alj 
