82 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Aug. 1, 189C. 
ON THE SAN GABRIEL. 
It was an imposing cavalcade, I am told, that rattled 
"through the quiet streets of Azusa, Cal., soon after the 
arrival of the train from Pasadena, early in the morning 
of May 5, bound for a two weeks' trip to the West Fork of 
the San Gabriel River. 
Five men had racked their brains for a month in order 
that no article of necessity, comfort or luxury might be 
overlooked, and the result of the combined memoranda 
made loads for eleven burros, which were started ahead 
in charge of a driver loaded with eleven kinds of oaths 
for each burro for every half mile of the eighteen miles 
between Azusa and the upper cabin of the Pasadena Bait 
Club. 
Following this outfit came Judge Rose mounted upon a 
young horse never before in a mountain cafion, that made 
a point of stumbling over every boulder in the trail and 
making tremendous plunges when he struck those under 
water at the frequent fords en route. 
From the back of a large rock-scarred roan L. C. Tor- 
rance watched the gyrations of the Judge with an equa- 
nimity only obtained after years of buffeting at the head 
of Pasadena's electric light system. 
H. L. Storey, the youngest man of the party (although 
wo accidentally discovered later, when speaking of the 
discovery of America, or perhaps it was some other event 
of long ago in which he had participated, that his age 
was sixty-five), followed upon a snow-white charger 
which did not make a false step upon the trip. 
But don't for a moment think because I mention A. H. 
Conger, cashier of the First National, at the tail end of 
the expedition, that he occupied that position per- 
manently or more than in body, for his masterly mind 
ever came to the front with suggestions that swept away 
diflficulties which hung over. us like a cloud, leaving us 
standing under a clear sky. It was he who nerved the 
Judge to re-establish the prestige of our camp: a camp 
that prided itself upon the belief that no wandering 
philistine could lay over us in any line. 
If a party passed our way and felt inclined to sing dur- 
ing the festivities that followed such occasions, we imme- 
diately called upon our home talent and gave them a soul- 
lifter. 
If they thought for a moment that a respectable-sized 
fish had ever become attached to their lines, and dared 
mention it in our presence, we immediately showed 
evidence of one that could swallow their fish, fish line and 
sinker. 
If they advanced some particular method of camp 
cookery , we simply looked benignly upon our specialist 
in that line, who immediately proceeded to paralyze the 
embryonic chef; all this tmtil we had begun to think our 
camp well nigh invincible. This particular evening of 
which I write, however, was one of gloom. Great oak 
logs in the mammoth fireplace sent out a genial warmth 
and cheerful glow, but it had no effect upon our spirits, 
for at sundown our camp had been invaded by one who 
excelled in a line far beyond the tried powers of any mem- 
ber of our party. Perhaps you have never heard a genu- 
ine burro-train driver confidentially discourse upon the 
events of the day. He had led a string of five saddled 
horses and ridden a sixth over the rocky trail eighteen 
miles, forded the stream fifty-four times, and after mak- 
ing nose bags of the gunny sacks, which contained rolled 
barley rations sufficient to last each animal for the 
trip, he was seated at the table outside, crowding down 
the food and relating the incidents of the trip to our camp- 
keeper; at least a word of such incidents sandwiched be- 
tween numerous oaths. Our attention was called to it at 
a point in the narrative wherein a couple of the steeds 
had turned on the trail, necessitating a run over the 
boulders for several miles before being overtaken. Such 
a string of oaths came flying through the chinks of the 
cabin that the logs seemed to fairly smoke (although we 
afterward discovered that it came from the fireplace). 
For half an hour we sat in silence; a feeling of dejection 
coming over us, which gradually gave place to one of 
indignation. Should we sit passively by our own fireside 
and endure this complete overthrow of our supremacy? 
"We looked from one to another, and finally with one ac- 
cord all eyes rested upon the Judge. Here the masterly 
mind of our retiring friend came into play. There was 
no hesitation, no "we ought to do this" or "we ought to 
do that," but a direct "Judge, go out and give that fellow 
a whirl." A moment's hesitation gave us all a chance to 
repeat, "Yes, give him a twister," and that man was al- 
ready squelched. The Judge disappeared through tbe 
door and entered the circle of light from the table. No 
guilty wretch ever fixed a more helpless gaze upon a 
judge at the bar than did our veteran burro driver after 
the first outburst of five minutes, followed by three 
other distinct utterances of equal length which ex- 
hausted all the Judge's knowledge of Scriptural quo- 
tations, ending up with the query, "What are ycu 
swearing about?" Then he retired with dignity with- 
in the cabin, where the seat of honor awaited him. 
Five minutes later we heard coming through the chinks of 
the cabin the simple, forcible "Geel" as the driver came 
back to earth and resumed his meal. That ended swear- 
ing about camp, and our party resumed their cheerful 
feeling of supremacy. No, Conger was no tail-ender; 
that position rather fell to the writer. Being detained 
by unexpected illness in the famQy, and compelled to 
follow alone three days later — ^perhaps not alone, for one 
is rarely alone in these cafions, especially if he has a burro 
to direct and admire. This ill-shaped and ill-smelling an- 
imal, from the most abused and despised creature about 
the settlements, gradually rises in one's estimation until 
you feel like sharing your rations with him after a. day's 
hard work. Then other things come up which interest as 
they develop, for I remember I rode half a day before it 
occurred to me that the freshly fallen boulders and frag- 
ments of rocks along both sides of the canon must have 
been started by some recent earthquake which had not 
been felt in the valley beyond the mountains. Then an- 
oth6rpleasantoccupationwasnoting the different varieties 
of birds recognized, which in this case was sixty -seven. 
Then after following a trail whenever there was one to 
follow, and keeping along in the general direction when 
there was not, fordmg the stream until just as you record 
the fifty-fourth time a ringing shout is heard ahead, 
, o-nd four bearl^ baoijebakeg ^x^t fo^ ^t; tb© top gt ^Jj§ 
bank, and one forgets his sore and stiff joints in the wel- 
come of tried friends. 
The second day we had two callers from below, one 
sporting a fish pole and the other a shotgun. The latter 
fired twice at a fox in the brush not 80ft. back of the 
cabin and missed both times. Then excitement reigned 
in camp, and before dark we were boys again eager to 
try conclusions with the wariest of animals; but how 
about traps? Of course eleven burro loads of outfit in- 
cluded two traps, which we carefully concealed under 
leaves, hanging fragments of fish to the bush directly 
over the pan. Hardly had we gathered about the evening 
fire when a snarl and rattle of chain brought us all out of 
doors with a rush, where we soon found ourselves wound 
up in the brush. One of us hunted up a candle which 
wouldn't shed light, and right here Conger came to the 
rescue again with a brand new dishpan, which held be- 
hind the candle not only sheltered it from the wind, but 
sent a flash of light ahead like a small locomotive head- 
light. We quickly formed in line and soon worked our 
way to where the shining eyes located the fox. While 
dispatching this one another snarl and rattle from the 
hillside beyond indicated another catch, which proved 
to be fox number two, which soon joined its mate, hang- 
ing to the limb of a tree. The two traps were reset, and 
about 10 o'clock when every one was asleep we were 
awakened by a snarl. The candle was quickly lighted, 
the dishpan procured, and five bare-footed men in all 
stages of dress, or rather undress, felt their way through 
the brush to victim number three; and what a flashing of 
limbs and scattering when the chain was suddenly drawn 
forward toward the light by the wag of the party. Skins 
obtained under such circumstances will always be valu- 
able souvenirs. 
After midnight the fourth and last fox met with on 
the trip sprang one of the traps, but we were all too 
drowsy to venture out after our experience with the last 
one, and when the Judge appeared before him at the first 
streak of dawn he loosened his toes from the trap by a 
powerful spring and escaped. 
In order to get good fishing one must travel at least a 
day's journey into the mountains from any of the south- 
ern California towns, and the Pasadena Bait Club, with 
its twenty-five members (all of whom are not active), have 
located their upper cabin as far up as the journey can be 
comfortably made in one day. From this point the fish- 
ing is always good, and a catch of 12.5 trout per rod during 
the morning's fishing can be easily made; but it is rarely 
done, except, for instance, when our mail was brought in 
at the end of a week. That day we all fished steadily, and 
sent out by our courier about 100 each to our friends at 
home. Then a week later we spent the last day fishing, 
taking out as many more with us on horseback. 
Mr. Torrance showed up on that day with the largest, 
some 16in. long, which he avers was caught like a sucker 
by tying a stone to the line and sinking the hook to the 
bottom of the deep pool. However, the sucker simile 
went no further, for the fish when hooked acted like any 
other trout, only decidedly more so. It was agreed that 
the unkind hint that he fell asleep and allowed his line 
to sink should not be made a matter of record, so I won't 
mentiqn it. 
During the stay the camp easily consumed forty fish per 
day, requiring but little fishing by those so disposed each 
morning and evening. It will be readily seen that the 
total catch amounted to over 1,500, not one of which was 
wasted. I give these statistics freely, in spite of the fact 
that the securing of that number by a Northern party of 
fishermen recently brought out some unfavorable com- 
ments, and if such an one bobs up after perusing this 
article I have reserved for his especial benefit statistics 
showing how many pounds of fish are required per day to 
keep the btain of half a ton of enthusiastic humanity in 
normal condition; for the supremacy of the camp must 
be maintained even on this question. 
Frank S. Daggett. 
Pasadena, Cal. 
LABRADOR SKETCHES* 
VI.— A Caribou Hunt. 
fWritten for ForSst and Stream by Count H. de Payjalon, and trans- 
Jated by Crawford Lindsay.] 
I WAS provided with a tent, stove and cooking appara- 
tus, likewise a traine or toboggan and a strong dog re- 
joicing in the dissipated name of Brandy. I then looked 
for a guide and companion, for to go out hunting alone 
is most imprudent, as an accident, which would not en- 
tail serious consequences where one is near the settlements, 
might result in death when one is alone and helpless in 
the bush. 
I was fortunate enough to secure the services of a half- 
breed hunter named Paul, who owned a dog which, unlike 
mine, bore the temperance name of Coffee; a muzzle- 
loading gun. No. 10 caliber, of wonderful length and 
weight, concerning which he told the most astonishing 
yarns. 
The night before our departure there had been a heavy 
fall of snow and our progress was slow, as we had tr> beat 
a road for our dogs and frequently help them in hauling 
the sleighs which bore our tent, provisions and camp 
equipage. 
We walked in Indian file, the batter to harden the snow 
and make the work easier for our four-footed companions. 
Late in the afternoon we reached a hunter's log camp on 
the bank of a river, where we found two whites and three 
Indians who had been fishing in the lakes in the vi- 
cinity. We hung our moccasins on a spruce branch, 
stuck our guns and snowshoes in the nearest snowdrift 
and entered the hut, which was so full of tobacco smoke 
and so crowded that we had hard work to find room for 
our dogs and ourselves. 
We smoked in self-defense, and while inquiring as to 
our chances for hunting we boiled our tea and fried some 
slices of pork, which we ate with a good appetite. We 
then picked out a soft plank, and with our dogs for pil- 
lows soon dropped asleep. 
The following morning we set out an hour before day- 
light, at about 0 o'clock, and the weather being cold and 
bright, we walked briskly on the fro^ien surface of the 
river. The sun made its appearance over the tops of the 
trees as we got on the discharge of a lake, and at noon, a 
few miles from the first falls we had seen, we struck the 
fresh tracks of three caribou; they were going in a wept? 
eriy direction and could not be very far off. We though^ 
of following them, but were compelled to give up the 
Idea. b94 the wi»«J iu mr bapfes m<i it wpftld Jj»ye 
been impossible to get close enough to them, bo we re- 
sumed our journey, grumbling at our luck. 
A little further on we came across more tracks, not so 
fresh as the others, but much more numerous. Caribou 
seemed to be plentiful about there, so we decided to camp 
on the spot, as the animals seemed to be migrating toward 
some large barrens, called deserts or jardins by the 
French-Canadians and half-breeds, and which we knew to 
be some distance away. 
After having cleared out the snow down to the ground, 
with our snowshoes as shovels, holding the lower end in 
the right hand and the thong in the left, we set up oTir 
tent in a clump of spruce and sapins or balsam fir, which 
sheltered us from the cold winds, and in which we were 
safe from falling trees, a danger ever to be avoided in the 
woods. 
We spread a thick layer of sapin boughs on the frozen 
ground, and while Paul was putting up the stove and ar- 
ranging our things in the tent I went down to the river, 
cut some holes in the ice and soon returned with a pail of 
delicious water and seventeen splendid trout, I also set 
up about a dozen snares for hares. 
Paul was delighted to see the trout, which he Soon had 
in the pan with some slices of pork, and we made an ex- 
cellent meal. 
The sun set as we finished our dinner and it was time to 
turn in. We filled our stove with pieces of half-dried 
birch, lit our pipes and stretched ourselves on our bed of 
fir boughs with our feet to the fire, enjoying a feeling of 
blissful rest. 
The reader is of course aware that on an expedition 
such as that which I am describing one does not burden 
himself with many candles, so that, as a rule, his active 
life begins with the day and ends at dark. If one returns 
late he must be satisfied with the light from the stove of 
with a torch of birch bark, and a candle is lighted only 
when a valuable skin has to be put on a stretcher. 
When we awoke next day the sky was overcast and the 
weather much milder. This meant snow, perhaps rain. 
This was a bad prospect for us and prevented our moving 
away. We therefore resolved to take advantage of this 
to catch more trout, set new snares, kiU some partridges 
if possible and lay in a sufficient stock of fuel to last us 
while there. 
I undertook the first part of the programme, leaving 
Paul to cut the wood and pile it near the tent, and went 
to the snares I had set the previous evening, where I found 
three hares. The Labrador hare is the same as that found 
elsewhere in Canada, the Lepus americanus or hudson- 
icus, brown in summer, white in winter. In some years 
it is found in great numbers, at other times it disappears 
entirely without any apparent reason. Finally, the 
hunters here say that it can change its sex. This of 
course is absurd, but it is nevertheless a fact that at cer- 
tain seasons you catch only males and at other seasons 
only females. 
Leaving my lines and snares, 1 went into the woods to 
look for partridges. After walking about three-quarters 
of an hour I flushed a covey of sprude partridges on the 
shore of a small lake and treed them not very far oiE. 1 
had left my gun behind me for fear of frighteniflg the 
caribou, so I determined to noose them. I cut a long pol& 
of white birch, fastened a piece of wire with a slip-knot 
at the end of it, and carefully approaching the partridges, 
which were looking at me wit i curiosity, I slipped the 
noose over the neck of the lowest one. I then took the 
nearest and so on until I got seven out of the eleven on 
the tree, the others being too high for me to reach them 
without alarming them. These stupid birds are shot in 
the same manner; the report of the gun does not alarm 
them, but they are frightened by anything falling from 
iibove. 
I got some more trout on my way back, so that, adding 
the trout, hares and partridges to the pork and butter we 
had brought with us, we had a supply of excellent pro- 
visions for several days, and were at liberty to look after 
the caribou. 
Just as we finished cleaning our gUns the snow began to 
fall in heavy flakes, and we knew we were in for a three 
days' storm. We were not mistaken, and for two days 
and three nights we did nothing but turn out to removg 
the weight of snow from the tent and to get water. After 
the storm there was a light thaw, and then it froiie hard, 
which was just what we wanted. We began to get ready 
at 8 in the morning, and two hours before day we were 
on our way, followed by our dogs, which ran easily on the 
crust, over which we skimmed with our snowshoes. 
We went in a westerly direction, and, as we expected, 
we soon came upon a ravage of caribou; that is, a place of 
several acres in extent where these animals had pawed the 
snow, crossed and recrossed each other, browsing on the 
lower twigs of the birch trees and.on the spruce and older 
sapins. 
The gang or herd must have consisted of at least thirty 
individuals, among which were several fawns. They evi- 
dently had quitted the spot quite recently, and by 
circling around it we found fresh tracks where they had 
left it. 
We followed, keeping our dogs behind us and taking 
advantage of the wind. An hour's march brought us to 
the edge of a small and narrow lake, in the middle of 
which were our caribou, about twenty-seven in all, some 
lying in the snow, while the young fawns played about. 
They were 200yds, away, just the range for my Marlin, 
but a great deal too far for my companion's heavy, slug- 
loaded gun. This was too bad. I had brought my rifle, 
relying upon my man for shots at close range. With my 
rifle I could not expect to hit more than one, while witn 
his he could hit three or four. It was impossible to get 
closer without being discovered. I therefore fired and hit 
one, which, although mortally wounded, ran away with 
the others, while we started in pursuit. Near the wood 
we came upon the one I had shot, we gralloched it, stuck 
a small fir tree near it to mark the spot, and continued on, 
the hard crust giving us an advantage over the caribou. 
About 3 in the afternoon we saw seven in a glade and 
got two, a large buck and a doe. It was then getting late 
and we had to give up the pursuit, as we had to gralloch 
the dead animals to reduce their weight, which we could 
not have done had they become frozen, and to make 
arrangements for camping before it got quite dark. We 
shoveled out the snow with our snowshows, piling it up 
to windward, made a lean-to with poles covered with fir 
and spruce boughs, strewed a thick layer of the same for 
a floor, and crawled under shelter. 
Although we kept up the fire, we could not sleep for 
9f?ld, We gmofeed, doused, cba-tted, drajok Iq^ gt tee^ 
