Oct. 6, 1894.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
291 
and as I couldn't emigrate very well as I'd made a pay- 
ment and a small clearing, I 'lowed I'd either capture 
him or drive him away. But jest how to do the job I 
couldn't make out; the water was too deep to spear him, 
the hooks and lines I had were no good; he'd either break 
or bite 'em off. I told Bill, one of the fishermen down at 
the mouth, about my trouble. 
'"Oh," he said, "it is easy enough; here, take these big 
hooks and this new line; they'll hold; needn't be afraid 
of 'em; go home, get a piece of small wire 'bout 
two feet long; shove one end of the wire through the eye 
of one hook; then double the wire. This will bring the 
hook in the center of it. Then hand over hand twist the 
wire tight for about four inches; then slip on the other 
hook; then twist the wire together the hull length, and 
fasten it well to the line. He can't bite the wire off nor 
break that 'ere line. Git a good, strong, short, stiff pole; 
be sure the hull rig is well fastened together. Then take 
a tough piece of pork rind about five or six inches long; 
cut it as near as you can into the shape of a minner. 
Into the head of your bait fasten well the upper hook. 
Stick the other hook fast where it happens to come; and 
when he comes fooling around agin give it to him. 
When he takes it, don't be in a hurry, let him have it for 
about five minutes; he'll go to the bottom to enjoy it; let 
him get all the e"omfort he can out of it. When you do 
pull, give her a good hard yank to set hook in him good. 
He'll thrash round a good bit, but will soon tire hisself 
out. Don't be in too big a hurry 'bout gittin' him into the 
boat; take yer time, he's your fish." 
"I went home feeling first-rate and the next day rigged 
up according to directions and rowed out to the old place 
and started in fishing for perch; got a few, then they 
quit biting. I put my perch rig in the bottom of the 
boat and dropped my hand-made bait overboard. It 
hadn't been in the water threo minutes when I could feel 
something were at it. I slacked up on the line; he gob- 
bled the bait and slowly went to the bottom. I kept still 
as long as ever I could hold in, all the time a-chucklin' to 
myself how slick I'd got him and what fun I'd have kick- 
ing him when he were in the boat. With a yell I 
couldn't smother and a yank that fetched him to the top 
of the water, I started the circus. 
Corn cobs and grasshoppers! how he did go on! That 
'ere blarsted pickerel acted as if it were a thirteen-ringed 
show, that he was the only actor able to be out, and with- 
out any help he'd got to do the hull performance alone 
and keep up the reputation of the greatest show on earth. 
Round and round, up and down, this way and that, he 
made all the figgers in multiplication table, all the letters 
in the alphabet, United States and Chinee. I stood up in 
the boat and encouraged him best I could. I hollered and 
cheered, swung my hat and yelled 'Go it, old feller; 
you're a good un. Hu-rah! that's the boss jump. 
Ah, you're a dandy; for pigeon wings your equal ain't on 
earth nor in the water. Oh! yes, you've got good teeth, 
needn't show 'em; but yer can't phase that are wire, and 
you're my huckleberry and I knows it. Won't let me 
ketch perch here, eh? Don't you wish you'd emi- 
grated? What! giving up. are ye? Gittin tired, eh? er 
•have ye got some new devilment to trick me with? 
Going to the bottom to rest? I guess not; reckon I'll take 
ye in out o' the wet,' 
'•I started to pull him in; couldn't budge him. I pulled 
and pulled this way and that; it was no go. I made the 
line fast to the boat, pulled up the anchor, and rowed; 
all the same I couldn't raise him. I took hold of the line 
and pulled the boat right over him; I could see he had 
wound and twisted that line around so many weeds, had 
got it so tangled up with them during that circus per? 
f ormance, he could'nt git away, nor could I pull him up. 
I worked till I got tired, then reached down as far as I 
could, cut the line and pulled ashore feeling dreadful tired 
and mad enough to do murder. 
"You can bet I were ashamed to take that line back 
and tell how I come out, but it had to be done. Bill said, 
'Let him rest a few days; he'll work the line free; then 
ef you'll row the boat, do as I tell ye, and give me a bas- 
ket of taters next fall, I'll ketch that fish and you may 
have him; no fish no taters.' I took him up mighty 
quick; ef he'd said ten bushels I'd a bargained with him, 
1 felt that vexed and put out. 
"About a week arter Bill come up; he'd jest such a rig 
as I'd used. I rowed him out to the spot and anchored 
the boat. Says he, 'How's the water over thare?' 'Shal- 
ler and full of weeds', says I. 'How is it over yander?' 
'Pull of deadheads and snags.' 'Well, what is it over 
that way?' 'Forty feet and clear as a quill.' 'All right; 
now let's get some perch.' 
"They bit lively till we'd about half a bushel; 
then quit. 'He's here," says I. 'Good,' says Bill; 'lift the 
anchor, take the oars; hold the boat still until I tell ye to 
pull away; then, man, if you can row, row for all there's in 
ye; make her jump for that deep water; don't stop, keep 
her a-going, ef ye have to go round and round in a ring.' 
"Bill made two or three throws and wriggled the bait; 
then it were plain something was after it. Mr, Pickerel 
grabbed it, Bill let out line, Mr. P. went to the bottom to 
en'joy it; he were let rest about three minutes. 
" 'Are ye ready?' says Bill. 
" 'All right,' says I. 
" 'Then pull away,' and I did. Jest as the boat started 
Bill gin a powerful yank and my old enemy came to the 
top in great style. 'Hurrah!' says I. 
" 'Sbet yer mouth and row, pull. Make her hump, lift 
her out of the water ef yer can,' yelled Bill. 
"Pur as much as ten minutes he kept me hard at it; all 
the time he held Mr. P. right up to the top of the water; 
wouldn't let him dive a bit. At last I were told enough 
and I was glad to hear it, fur my wind was gone and I 
was wet with sweat as ef I'd bin in the lake. 
" 'Now,' says Bill, 'he's out of wind. I'm going to pull 
him alongside. You stand ready with that gaff hook, 
and mind you git a good hold on him well up to his tail, 
and then we'll lift him into the boat; and as soon as he 
touches the bottom of the boat whack him over the head 
with that club; don't give him a chance to jump, but 
knock the flip out of him.' 
"Bill worked him alongside. I got a good hold and we 
lifted him into the boat. Pound him? Well I guess I 
•did; forgot all about being out of wind a-rowing. I gin 
him a dozen powerful whacks on the back' of his head. 
He were a dead fish. 
"Bill said he were a beauty, biggest pickerel he'd ever 
seen, would weigh nigh to forty pounds, and said, 'Now 
ye can git yer lost hooks, for there's a piece of the wire 
,-n his mouth, 5 Bill pried his jaws open with the club, 
I stuck my hand in, got hold of the wire and pulled out — 
what? Jewsharps and jumping jacks! a hull handful of 
wiggling, twisting, squirming, nasty hair-snakes!! The 
line I'd used was a hair line and every hair had turned 
into one of them blasted, slimy little cusses. Some of 'em 
were five or six feet long. Oh! but I were tired. I'd 
jest strength enough left to tell Bill to take the oars. 'Set 
me ashore quick as ever yer can, take the hull mess out 
of my sight and I'll make yer taters ten bushels if it takes 
the hull crop.' 
"I hurried home, drank about a quart of tansy tea to 
distract my attention and to switch it off on to another 
subject, but I didn't quit dreaming about snakes for 
more'n a week, and for much as a month when I'd think 
of 'em in the daytime my knees 'd wabble and them 'ere 
web-footed spiders would have a free-for-all race all over 
me. Geewhitaker but I do despise the hull lot of 'em." 
A. W. 
§<tg m\A §nn. 
MASSACHUSETTS AND MAINE. 
The storm of Sept. 20 helped the shore birds a little, 
and a number of flights are reported. In the vicinity of 
Ipswich Bay and Parker River at By field there has been 
an abundance of rail within a few days and the gunners 
have been after them. A few teal are coming into the 
creeks and coves. The other day a flock of fourteen teal 
came into Parker River. They were at once met by Mr. 
B. P. Rogers, of Byfield, his son and his nephew. They 
approached the flock as carefully as possible, firing at a 
given signal. They took twelve birds out of the flock 
with first and second barrels. Mr. Rodgers is an uncle 
of Mr. Claude Tarbox, and like the rest of the family, he 
is a gunner and an excellent shot. Mr. Tarbox has been 
out one or two mornings after partridges. One of the 
first mornings after the season opened he tramped for 
Several miles and back almost home without a bird. He 
was tired and disgusted. But all at once up went a flock 
from right behind the stone wall, almost within gunshot 
of his own door. He got two of them, and then begun 
to make up his mind to gun nearer home. On Friday 
morning he was again out bright and early, with a little 
Yorkshire terrier he owns. That dog loves to hunt par- 
tridges. He put up one that morning and his master got 
it. This bird also was only a few rods from home for 
Mr. Tarbox. E. M. Gillam, commercial editor of the 
Boston Advertiser, has been out once or twice after par- 
tridges from his home in Reading. He has obtained a 
bird or two each time, but finds them very wild and hard 
to approach for young birds. 
Reports from Maine continue to show the excellence of 
that State as a shooting and fishing region. Mr. Henry 
Whitmore, of the Boston Herald, is back from Camp 
Alerton Lodge, Mooselucmaguntic Lake. He did not find 
the fishing all that the enthusiast might expect, but was 
well pleased, on the whole. His best morning out was 
12 trout that weighed 61bs. He landed doubles once, and 
Mrs. Whitmore, who was with him, did the same, a nice 
feat for a lady. Mr. Charles Keyo, of the Southern Pacific 
Railway office, is also back in Boston again. His vacation 
he spent at the Mountain View House, Rangeley Lake, as 
usual. His brother is employed there. He took his sister, 
a miss in her teens, with him this time. The young lady 
had the fun of seeing a deer. They went up the Kenne- 
bago stream in a boat in the morning, and there on the 
shore was a beautiful doe that gave the young lady a fine 
view of herself before taking to the woods. But speaking 
of deer in that section, brings to the front what I saw in 
a Maine newspaper the other day. Capt. Fred. C. Barker 
was coming down the lake with one of his steamers when 
they sighted a deer swimming in the water. At first 
they tried to catch her from the steamer, but the 
creature proved to be able to turn such short corners that 
the attempt was abandoned, and a boat was lowered. 
Capt. Fred, got in with Mr. George Bearce, of Lewiston. 
They soon overtook the deer and tried to secure her with 
a rope. But they could not succeed in that even. They 
then seized her bodily with their hands and soon had her 
in the boat, after being nearly capsized once or twice. 
They took her on board the steamer and up the lakes to 
Rangeley. The animal, once conquered, did not seem to 
be greatly alarmed. At the town she was admired by 
everybody as much as they desired, one New York lady 
desiring to take her home, but this could not be done 
legally, under the Maine game laws. After some hours of 
petting and admiration the doe was set at liberty and, 
with tail in the air, she disappeared in the woods. 
Mr. L. Dana Chapman, with Dame, Stoddard & Ken- 
dall, is back from the Megantic Club preserve, where he 
is much intererested as one of the directors in the new 
fish hatchery. He says that the club is having a most 
prosperous season, the club houses being full nearly all 
the time with guests, greatly pleased and desiring to come 
again. A very full quota of sportsmen is expected as soon 
as the season on big game opens, Oct. 1. No deer shoot- 
ing has been allowed during the close season, and they 
are very plenty. Partridges are also plenty. Operations 
at the new fish hatcheries will be commenced early next 
month. Charlie Barrett, of Rangeley, has been engaged 
to take charge of the business of obtaining trout and eggs 
this fall. Another lot of landlocked salmon from the 
State nurseries at Lake Auburn will be put in this season. 
The landlocked salmon that were put into some of the 
ponds of the Megantic preserve last season have been 
heard from. Several been caught this summer by the 
guests of the club, but liberated after being examined. 
They are found to have made good growth. 
Mr. A. R. Justice, of Philadelphia, had the excellent 
luck to shoot a bear on the club's preserve the other day. 
I am told that it was not shot from a trap either, as some 
of the feats of bear shooting are often managed, to the 
great credit (?) of sportsmen. 
Mr. N. G. Manson, Jr., of Bellows & Manson, has been 
back from Camp Leatherstocking, Richardson Lake, for 
a few days, but has returned to camp again. He had an 
important case in court on his hands, that had to be 
attended to. He reports the season a very quiet one at 
the head of the lake. Mr. Sam Betton, of Philadelphia, 
for so many years a camper there, has not been there this 
season. Dr. Haven, with his friend, is in camp. J. Par- 
ker Whitney, who wrote those admirable articles on 
salmon fishing in salt water for the Forest and Stream 
last winter, is at his beautiful camps at Mosquito Brook. 
I understand that he is to remain a few weeks longer 
only. There are a number of guests at the upper dam, 
and they come and go. Occasionally a big trout is taken 
from the pool below the dam. Otherwise little fishing is 
done. Mr, Manson knows where to find them and has 
had all the trout desired for the table. Partridge shoot- 
ing has been good for such hunters as are reasonable and 
want a few for the table. He will probably remain till 
the open season on big game. His friend Mr. Bynner and 
wife of Cambridge, will come out, and their places will 
be filled by other guests. 
Mr. J. A. French, of French's Hotel at Andover, and for 
several years manager at the Upper Dam Camps, is now 
reckoned as the champion sight-seer of the region. He was 
coming out from the South Arm the other day, with one 
of his teams. When near the top of CedarUIill a moose 
with a fine pair of antlers appeared in the road ahead of 
the team. He moved on ahead for a short distance and 
turned out into the woods. Mr. French passed the spot 
and got off for another look. The moose appeared again, 
within easy gunshot. Alas! it was in close time, and 
besides Mr. French had no gun. The big tracks of the 
moose have since been shown to guests as proof of Mi- 
French's statement. 
Camps and camp companies are the order of the day in 
Maine, and a good many such companies are being 
formed. One of the latest mentioned is not yet named, 
but it includes some of the brightest dry goods merchants 
in the trade. Indeed it might well be called a dry goods 
camp, though it promises to be considerably larger than 
a dry goods box. As for the goods that go into the 
camp, it is fair to suppose that they will all be dry goods, 
for the gentlemen who make up the company are all 
temperate men. The camp is to be located at East Sebago, 
on the beautiful shore of Sebago Lake. Mr. Wm. H. 
Fisher, with Harding, Whitman & Co., says that the 
camp is to be purely for hunting and fishing, but that it 
will be thoroughly furnished in the direction of hunters' 
and fishers' comfort. Each owner is to have his own 
room and locker. The best of spring beds and mattrasses 
are to be provided. The company includes G. W. Snow, 
with Jordau, Marsh & Co.; C. A, Deane, vice-president 
of the Hollingsworth & Whitney Paper Co.; William 
Whitman and Edgar Harding, of Harding, Whitman & 
Co.; C. R. Benson, of R H. White & Co.; Herbert Du- 
maresq, son-in-law of Eben D. Jordan; Charles B. Gookin, 
of Joy, Langdon & Co.; Judge S. A. Bolsten, municipal 
judge of the Roxbury District: Wm. A. Paine, of Paine, 
Webber and Co., and Wm. H. Fisher as mentioned. The 
camp is being completed, and is to cost a specified sum, 
still probably not a man in the company will be content 
till it has cost double that sum. 
Mr. King Taylor has just returned from a couple of 
weeks' outing in Maine, where shooting and fishing were 
his chief sources of amusement. He had good luck. C. 
H. Cook, with Bliss, Fabyan & Co. with his friend Mr. H. 
F. Lowell of Boston, has just returned from his vacation 
in Maine. They went to Cathance Lakes, some 15 
or 20 miles northeast of Machias. There are two lakes 
of that name; Little Cathance and Big Cathance, at 
the head of the Cathance River. They had very fair par- 
tridge shooting, though the trees were" thick with foliage. 
They saw several deer but did not shoot them, for it was 
not yet open season. Mr. Cook believes that deer can 
easily be taken in that part of the country in the open 
season, and is only sorry that his vacation could not have 
been extended till after Oct. 1. 
Great expectations are hovering over the open season on 
big game in Maine, commencing Oct. 1. Hundreds of 
Maine, Boston and New York sportsmen will avail them- 
selves of the shooting privileges in that State, if we may 
judge by the reports from the camps and hunting resorts. 
Many of the accommodations are already full, at the 
more noted resorts. I hear it mentioned every day 
among sportsmen who have visited that State almost 
every year for a long time, that they are afraid to go 
there for hunting this fall; the woods will be so full of 
gunners, many of them careless and inexperienced, espe- 
cially near to the more noted and more accessible resorts. 
Many of the old hunters will seek for some quiet nook 
that the local papers have not yet made famous. 
Mr. Daniel Gunn, the veteran printer and lover of the 
rod and line, went to his former fishing grounds in Nova 
Scotia for sea trout this year. He went by rail to Anti- 
gonish, and then crossed over the country to the vicinity 
of New Harbor. Here he found his usual excellent sport, 
fishing only with the fly. He took eighty sea trout in all 
and all of them of good size. He landed five doublets! 
but does not mention any startling catches, such as 
the Forest and Stream has before heard from him. The 
country fishermen, and some of the sportsmen who come 
there— be it said to their shame— take trout any way they 
can get them, with bait, or with nets or spears. Mr Gunn 
usually surprises them with his success, and he believes 
that his lessons m fishing the better way have not been 
wholly lost upon the natives. Concerning the would-be 
sportsmen he has not as much courage. 
Some men are fishermen always, and they manage to 
get a good deal of sport out of it, be it fishing for cunners 
off the rocks at the seashore, or be it angling for trout at 
the Rangeleys, or even for the lordly salmon iu New 
Brunswick. Mr. Charles S. Robertson, of the insurance 
brigade in Boston, is one of these sportsmen. One of his 
latest exploits is fishing for smelt at Hull. A couple of 
Saturdays ago he went in the afternoon with the result of 
seventeen dozen alone, and the Saturday previous, with a 
couple of friends, thirty-seven dozen were taken. 
_ Special. 
"The Art of Wing Shooting." 
For the small sum of 7 cents, the cost of mailing Air Alex S 
Thweat, Eastern passenger agent of the Southern Railway will mail 
a copy of -'The Art of Wing Shooting," by William Bruce Leffingwell, 
to any address. This book, which is described by its author as "a 
practical treatise on the use of the shotgun, illustrating by sketches 
and easy reading how to become an expert shot," does all that is 
claimed for it. In the hands of a beginner, one who is anxious to 
learn, it will of course accomplish more than if the reader were a 
shooter of some standing; but Mr. Lefflng well ti-eats of his subject scien- 
tincally and shows, by means of diagrams, that he is not merely an 
exponent of theories; hence, what he has to say is worthy of the 
attention of the more experienced hunter. The book is copiously 
illustrated by cuts of varying degrees of excellence, many of which 
hare long been familiar to the shooting public 
Mr. Thweat's address is i71 Broadway, New York city 
The Forest and Stream isput topress each week on lues- 
day. Correspondence intended for publication should reach 
us at the latest by Monday, and as much earlier aspracticab le. 
