142 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
fAUG. 22, 1898. 
MUNISING BAY. 
On the south coast of Lake Superior, about forty miles 
east of Marquette and juet west of the famous "Pictured 
Eocks," the shore curves in sharply, making a deep and 
broad harbor, across the mouth of which lies Grand 
Island. The bay is almost completely landlocked, gives 
shelter from all winds, and is well known as a refuge for 
vessels from Lake Superior's gales. In size, outline of 
shores and character of vegetation on them, it singularly 
resembles an Adirondack lake, and is as beautiful as any of 
them, peerless Placid perhaps excepted. 
Back in the fifties the charcoal iron industry flourished 
here, and quite a town sprang up on the east side; but the 
industry ceased to be profitable, the furnaces were aban- 
doned, the houses deserted one by one, and for over thirty 
years no one has lived there but a few fishermen and the 
keeper of the Government light. Within the last year, 
however, parties owning large tracts of timber lands have 
determined to develop their resources; a railroad has been 
organized and is under construction ; large tanneries, stave 
and hoop mills, and other manufactories are being 
erected; docks, switches, a bank, stores and dwellings are 
rapidly taking shape; a daily paper has been established, 
a city organized, and the vigorous tide of life has invaded 
this once peaceful region. I suppose all this is in the line 
of progress, and it certainly is for the good of the land 
owners; but it is now only a question of time when much 
of the peculiar charm must vanish, never to return. 
The Anna River Club, an organization largely composed 
of Marquette gentlemen, has been established for several 
years at the south end of the bay, just where the little 
Anna River joins it, and has built a cosy and comfortable 
log house for their accommodation and that of the happy 
mortals who are invited to partake of their well-known 
hospitality and share their peculiar privileges. It was my 
I saw almost no small fish, rarely taking one of less than 
lib. , while the usual size was rather larger, and fish of 3 
or 31b8., or even more, are common. They seem to gain 
a certain size before venturing out into the open water of 
the bay. All of these fish, even the largest I took, which 
weighed Sflbs. and rose fairly, were shm and shapely, 
and most magnificently vigorous, instead of being com- 
paratively heavy and loggy, as I have found most large 
trout to be in comparison with fish of lib. or under. 
Evidently the normal size of the Lake Superior trout is 
very large, and he does not begin to grow thick and 
heavy until he reaches 4 or 5lb8. at least, if then. Of 
course the open water, abundance of room and absence of 
obstructions give a great advantage to the rod, and with 
patience and care one should land almost every fish 
hooked, no matter how heavy and strong. 
I send herewith a few of the producte of my camera, 
taken on the spot, and can only wish my fellow sports- 
men the luck to see and fish the same waters before 
progress ruins them. A. St. J. Newbeirry. 
Clkveland, O. 
IN THE FAR NORTH LAND.-l. 
While journeying in the far north lands of British 
America 1 was impressed by the comparative scarcity of 
the "big game" which once abounded there. Great herds 
of buffalo formerly lived on the southern shores of Great 
Slave Lake and even as far north aa the Liard River. 
Moose were plentiful throughout the whole Mackenzie 
Basin, and immense herds of reindeer had their feeding 
grounds close to the Mackenzie River, 
When the Hudson Bay Company ceased to have ex- 
clusive right to trade in the country an indiscriminate 
slaughter of fur-bearing animals began, which at the 
present time bids fair to repeat the old story of the 
destruction of game on our side of the border. The com- 
pany has always before this refused to buy furs out of 
season, but their wise protective policy is of no avail 
AN AFTERNOON CATCH AT MUNISING BAY. TEN FISH, lOi^LBS. 
good fortune to be one of those favored individuals on the 
invitation of Mr. Fayette Brown, of Cleveland, well known 
as a thorough business men, expert fisherman and natu- 
ralist, and the best of good fellows; and on one of the 
golden days of early September of last year I began an 
experience not soon to be forgotten. 
The bay is bordered by a belt of shallow water, ex- 
quisitely clear and clean, and deepens very gradually for 
about 75yds. from shore, when it is 10 or 12ft. to the bot- 
tom. Thence it plunges off very rapidly, reaching a 
depth of 50 to 100ft. within a few rods. Along this ridge 
or shoulder flourishes a growth of water weeds, rising 
nearly to the surface and broken into clumps, promon- 
tories and depressions, in and around which the trout lie. 
The fisherman, anchoring his boat according to the direc- 
tion of the wind on one side or the other of the belt of 
weeds, lets it drift within good casting distance and then 
uses his fly or bait with perfect convenience. 
A favorite and fatal method of fishing is to use rather a 
large hook, well covered with angle worms, and with a 
split shot at the base; make a long cast with a strong fly- 
rod and then gradually draw in the line through the rings. 
When the line tightens a strike is apt to develop a very 
big troutj and considerable sport will ensue before he gels 
near the landing net. Although a fly-fisherman by pre- 
disposition and inheritance, it seemed to me best to follow 
the local customs; but, after having messed with worms, 
strained my rod and nearly put a hook through my ear, I 
determined to catch those trout on the fly or go without. 
The hated worms and bullet came off, and a leader rigged 
with a coachman, Montreal and Parmachenee on No. 4 
hooks took its place, and I began diligent work. Several 
spots were tried without success, but finally, near the 
mouth of the little river, a place was found where the 
weeds were much broken into clumps and there I took 
my first trout on the fly. After this I always began fish- 
ing at this point and moved only when nothing developed, 
and this was not uncommon, for these trout were 
especially freaky and uncertain in their tastes. Many a 
time I have cast diligently for hours without a rise, while 
the surface around me showed no sign. Suddenly there 
would be a great splash as a 2-pounder left the water close 
by, and then for an hour fish would rise all about me, 
while never a one would touch the fly. But patient 
waiting and work, such as my old friend Fuller, of 
Meacham Lake, calls "stick-to-it-iveness," would always 
win in the end, and when success came it was always very 
satisfactory and generally abimdant. 
By far the most successful fly, though I tried about 
every usual pattern, was the plain coachman. This 
would be selected from the cast by fully four fish out of 
five, and they generally seemed to prefer the upper drop- 
per of my three flies, I suppose because this fly was most 
on the surface and moved most naturally. When trout 
would not come to the surface at all I sometimes caught 
them by making a long cast, letting the flies sink quite 
deeply, and then very slowly andjerkily reeUng them in. 
when fur traders are ready to purchase furs in any con- 
dition at any time of year. 
The plains buffalo in its wild state has entirely disap- 
peared from Canada, only a few tame animals remaining 
in the hands of private owners. A small number of 
wood buffalo still live in the great triangle formed by the 
Peace River on the south, the Liard on the north, and 
Great Slave Lake and the Mackenzie on the east. Esti- 
mates of the size of this band vary from 180 to 300. 
Sometimes five or six animals, detachments from the 
main band, are heard of near Fort Vermillion on the 
Peace, or Forts Smith and Resolution on Great Slave 
Lake. 
The country is exceedingly difficult of access; the 
muskegs, widely separated water courses, and, above all, 
the mosquitoes, forming insurmountable obstacles to 
summer travel, while the great distances and uncertain 
food supply protect it from invasion in the winter. Still, 
should there come a winter of deep snows, when the 
buffalo were within hunting distance, the Indians on 
their snowshoes could easily pursue and slaughter the 
helpless animals. 
The Indians of the Southern Mackenzie district are not 
mighty hunters; they prefer to fish and hunt rabbits and 
reindeer, rather than incur many hardships in the pur- 
suit of big game. They possess few rifles, and their short 
guns cannot be used for long range shooting. These 
facts, and the one that the Hudson Bay Company does 
not encourage the killing of the buffalo, have served to 
protect the animals from extermination. But the opposi- 
tion fur traders have no scruples about the matter. They 
snap up eagerly every robe brought in, and with the in- 
creasing number of traders the wood buffalo will soon be 
a thing of the past, unless the Canadian Government takes 
immediate measures for its preservation. The Canadian 
National Park at Banff is well suited for a game preserve, 
and a small band of wood buffalo once introduced and 
protected would no doubt increase rapidly, like our littlQ 
herd of plains buffalo in Yellowstone Park. The wood 
buffalo seems more alert and timid than that of the plains. 
If a shot is fired at a band, it is away at a sharp pace, and 
does not rest till a great distance is placed between it and 
the hunter. The animal is larger, has longer legs, and the 
fur is darker and finer than that of the plains buffalo; 
but these differences are no doubt caused by its environ- 
ment, and are not important enough for it to be classed 
as a separate species. 
The next animal in size is the moose, which is found 
throughout the Mackenzie Basin to tree limit near the 
Arctic Sea. It forms an important pjart of the food sup- 
ply in the far north; most of the Indians along the Mac- 
kenzie being classed as "moose eaters," in distinction 
from the "caribou eaters" of the Barren Grounds and 
the country east and north of Great Slave Lake. The 
skin makes the best winter moccasins, and the meat, 
dried or fresh, is always in demand at the company's posts. 
But during the last few years the moose has become com- 
paratively scarce, except in very inaccessible hunting 
grounds, a fact which renders more serious the important 
question of living in that severe climate. We saw only 
five moose on the journey to the Delta, two being killed 
by members of the brigade. 
In 1885-6 Mr. Wm. Ogilvie explored the country be- 
tween the Alaska boundary and the Pfel and Mackenzie 
rivers. Atone point, in latitude 65° 25', and at an alti- 
tude of 3,000ft. above the sea, he found a fine, rolling 
country covered with a stunted and scattered growth of 
trees and fine short grasses. No Indians had visited that 
part of the country for many years; moose were abun- 
dant and remarkably fearless, and caribou abounded in 
great numbers. Bighorn sheep and mountain goats lived 
on the rocky heights and many beaver were seen, a sig- 
nificant fact to the hunter, who knows that the beaver is 
the first animal to leave the districts invaded by white 
men. 
This district and a portion of the wood buffalo country 
already alluded to are probably the best game districts 
now remaining in the north. 
Both bighorn sheep and mountain goats are fairly 
numerous in the mountain ranges almost to the coast. 
The flesh of the latter animal is especially good in the 
north, and the Indians who trade at Forts Simpson, Good 
Hope, Norman and Peel's River often bring it in, fresh 
and dried, to the posts. Neither the sheep nor the goat is 
found in the spurs of the Rockies east of the Mackenzie. 
The mountain sheep is a variety of the bighorn of the 
more southern portion of the range, and has been recently 
named Ovis montana daJlii, or Call's mountain sheep. It 
is rather darker and smaller than the southern variety, a 
fact which seems strange when we consider that it is an 
Arctic animal. But the snowfall of the north is small 
compared with that of the Selkirks or more southern 
Rockies. No glaciers are found north of latitude 54°, the 
air being clear and intensely cold. The slight snowfall 
disappears rapidly in the spring under the continued 
action of the sun's rays, and even at the Delta I found the 
last spurs of the Rockies almost bare on July 15. 
The grizzly bear is f otmd in the Peace River coimtry, 
but in the extreme north its place is taken by the smaller 
fiercer Ursm arctos, the silver tip or Barren Groimd bear. 
Mr. Macfarlane, of the Hudson Bay Company, reports 
the latter animal not uncommon in the Anderson and 
Wilmot Horton River neighborhoods and in the moun- 
tain ranges of the lower Peel and Mackenzie rivers. It is 
said to resemble the brown bear of Europe, but Mr, Ogil- 
vie speaks of its gray color, with white throat and beard. 
The Esquimaux and Indians generally avoid it unless 
hunting with a large, well-armed party, for it is as fierce 
as a grizzly, and is said to attack a hunter without provo- 
cation. 
THE ANNA RIVER. 
