312 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Apkel 17, im. 
appetites. The term 'fresh meat' in the 'woods tistially im- 
plies venison, and it was decided % lot tbat I should procure 
it. In compliance with this decision I started early in the 
afternoon for my nocturnal hunt, accompanied by two of 
our guides who carried one of our canoes on their shoulders. 
Our objeotiTC point was a small lake some four miles distant 
in the wilderness, where it lay completely surrounded by 
mountains. It was a famous locality for deer, but was ex- 
tremely difficult of approach, the path leading to it being of 
the roughest character imaginable, and an ascending one 
nearly all its length besides. I am a fairly good pedestrian, 
but my enthusiasm was at a low ebb before the tramp was 
ended, and I have always had a doubt concerning the length 
of those alleged four miles. 
"However, we reached the outlet of the lakie at last, 
although it took us until dusk to accomplish it, and we began 
preparations at once for the night. Placing the canoe in the 
water, one of the guides hghted a small fire and boiled the 
tea kettle, while I and the other picked hemlock boughs and 
laid them for a bed. 
"It took but a short time to accomplish this, and as soon 
as our supper was disposed of and we had a brief but enjoy- 
able smoke, we were ready to begin the hunt. It was now 
quite dark, there being no moon and the stars shining but 
faintly through the thin haze which arose from the water. 
"As many of you are doubtless aware, the 'jack' is a lan- 
tern very similar to some of the carriage lamps in ordinary 
use; it is attached to a staff in the bow of the canoe, and fas- 
tened behind it is a brightly polished reflector which causes 
an intense light to be thrown in front of the hunter in an 
ever-widening swath, leaving him and the boat in obscurity. 
"Our lantern was lighted'and placed in position, and we 
embarked, I sitting in the bow of the canoe with my rifle 
laid across my knees, and one of the guides taking his place 
in the stern. The other man, not being needed with us, re- 
mained at our camping place. 
"As we moved like a phantom through the outlet and 
npon the lake, impelled by the silent paddle of the guide, the 
scene was weird and beautiful in the extreme. The foliage, 
illuminated by the brilliant light of the lantern, gleamed 
like silver against the dark background of the forest, every 
leaf standing out bright and distinct. The gnarled and 
twisted trunks and limbs of dead trees assumed many singu- 
lar and fantastic forms, and ever and anon some wild bird or 
animal, alarmed at our presence, rustled away through the 
woods as we passed by. 
"Occasionally a muskrat swam alongside the canoe and 
inspected us, evidently wondering at our being in that re- 
tired spot. Twice we passed through families of wild ducks, 
our craft almost touching them as we went by. and once we 
drew so near a great blue heron, which was standing on a 
jutting point of the shore, that I could easily have touched it 
with a trout rod if I had one. The lantern gave none of these 
wild creatures the least alarm. 
"We had floated along the shore for nearly a mile before 
we heard our first deer. He was evidently in the water 
feeding upon the leaves of aquatic plants, and as he walked 
about the splashing he made could be heard a considerable 
distance in the still night air. Slowly and silently we drew 
near the sound, and in a short time he was plainly visible. 
' 'What a beauty he was ! how large he seemed as the strong 
light fell upon him! Closer and closer did we approach, but 
he paid no attention to us other than to occasionally look at 
our light, which, however, he regarded with as much indif- 
ference as he would the rising moon. So stolid did he seem 
that I had almost begun to regard him as being stupid, but I 
was soon undeceived, for as I was at the point of raising my 
rifle he gave a shrill whistle, turned about as quick as a flash, 
and with three magnificent leaps disappeared in the forest. 
What caused his flight I could only conjecture. I certainly 
had made no sound, and the movements of the canoe had 
been absolutely noiseless. Possibly in our close proximity he 
had 'winded' us, or perhaps the vibration of the paddle in 
the water had been felt by him. 
" 'Better luck next time,' whispered the guide, 'you waited 
a leetle too long.' 
" 'Yes,' I replied, 'I was not quite quick enough; the next 
one will not get away, you may be certain.' 
"The paddle was again resumed, the canoe following the 
sinuosities of the shore as it had previously done, and it was 
not long before we heard another splash in the water ahead 
of us. Drawing near the sound, we discerned two deer mov- 
ing around, but as we approached them I discovered that 
they were a doe and fa-^s^n, and of course declined a shot at 
them. 
"A little further on we found another feriiale with fawn, 
and it was not until we had seen at least a dozen of these 
that we discovered a buck. He was standing on the edge of 
the shore, his form showing plainly against the thick back- 
ground of alders, the le£ives Of which he occasionally 
cropped and ate. 
•'Silently we drifted toward him, the canoe gliding with 
an almost imperceptible motion ; he stood quietly, but evi- 
dently regarded our light with curiosity. 
"At length, when we were, as I judged, near enough to 
insure a successful shot, I took careful aim and fired. 
"How the report echoed and reverberated among the 
mountains around usl Back and forth it rolled almost like 
a fusillade for at least a minute, growing fainter and fainter 
until it finally died away in the distance. 
"When we reached the buck we found he was quite dead, 
30 quickly and effectually had the bullet done its duty, 
"The hunting knife was now used in its allotted work, 
and placing our game in the middle of the canoe we re- 
sumed our course. 
"Following along the shore, we passed several does and 
fawns, and two more bucks, but 1 did not try to shoot either 
of them, for we had all the venison that could be used. 
"But 1 felt a desire to see as much of them as possible, and 
for an hour or two we paddled around, sometimes alarming 
them while a few yards away, but more often approaching 
so closely that in some instances I could almost have touched 
them with my rifle. 
'At length, probably greatly to my guide's satisfaction, 
my investigations came to an end, and turning the canoe 
toward the outlet we soon reached the landing place, where, 
after hanging up the deer, we quickly joined the other guide 
on his bed of fragrant boughs. 
"Before I fell asleep, however, m reviewing tlie events of 
the night, I arrived at the conclusion that I had not only no 
desire for any further experiences in 'jack-hunting,' but 
was convinced, judging by what I had witnessed of the ease 
with which the animals may be approached, and their utter 
unconsciousness of danger as they stand in the strong light 
f the lantern, that it is a method that all sportsmen should 
ondemn, destructive as it must be if practiced by reckless 
"jid unscrupulous persons. I 
"Our stay at the mountain lake was but a brief one, for 
we arose in the morning with the sun, and after partaking 
of a hasty breakfast, in which some choice bits of the veni- 
son played an important part, we started down the rough 
path for our 'home camp.' 
"Our welcome was a flattering one, but I received the con- 
gratulations of my friends with much greater equatiiraity 
than I would have felt had 1 killed the deer in any other 
way than by 'jack-hunting.'" 
The deep, rich tone of the gong in the great clock that 
stood in the corner of the room sounded the hour of 10 as 
the narrative came to a close. 
"Well, boys," exclaimed an elderly gentleman rising from 
his seat, "the evening has been a delightful one to me, but 
it is now my bed hour, and if I am to do any trout fishing 
to-morrow I think I had better retire now; 1 will therefore 
say good night and leave you." 
"Yes," said another, "we tiad all better turn in; 10 o'clock 
is good bedtime down here, and I feel tired enough to enjoy 
an all-night sleep." 
This example was soon followed by others of the group, 
and it was not long before the room was entirely deserted. 
Edward A. Samuels, 
THE NEW YORK BASS SEASON. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
Among the many proposed amendments to the fish and 
game law now before the Legislature is the usual one of 
making the open season for black bass commence on the first 
day of July, and it is understood that the advocates of this 
change claim that an extension of the present close season is 
necessary for the reason that black bass are usually on their 
spawn beds during the entire month of June and frequently 
until the middle of July. 
The black bass is the coming fish, not only of this State, 
but of most all of our Northern States. Our trout have 
been largely destroyed by the introduction of pike or bass 
in many lakes and. streams where they formerly abounded, 
and the gradual depletion of the water in many of our 
present trout streams indicates their gradual extinction in 
many waters in the near future. 
Within the last thirty or forty years the black bass has 
been so generally distributed throughout this State that a 
very large proportion of our streams, both large and small, 
as well as our lakes and ponds, are now stocked with this 
fish, where it furnishes not only sport for the skilled angler 
who takes it with the fly, or hy dragging or drifting, but it 
also furnishes both sport and food for thousands of our citi- 
zens who are limited to a day off now and then for fishing, 
and it should therefore be fully protected; but after my 
personal observations, extending through several years, and 
after obtaining the views of many others who have had a 
large experience, I am forced to the conclusion that as a rule 
black bass are through spawning in most of the waters of this 
State by June 1, and are rarely on their spawn beds for the pur- 
pose of brooding their young later than June 10 ; and the excep- 
tions to this rule are some of our lakes where the waters are 
deep, and remain cold until late in the season. 
I am familiar with the conclusion arrived at by Dr. Hen- 
shall in regard to the spawning season of black bass, and 
recognize him as the most eminent authority on this subject; 
but when he made his exhaustive examination into the habits 
of this fish, it appears by the books which he has published 
that his observations w^ere confined largely, if not entirely, 
to lakes, and he has not given us any facts in regard to the 
depth or temperature of the water of the lakes which he ex- 
amined. 
It is well understood that the black bass remains in a dor- 
mant or sluggish condition during the winter season, and 
does not emerge from this condition and work toward the 
spawning ground until the waters are warmed to some ex- 
tent in the spring, and for that reason the spawning period 
is not at all uniform, and in this particular the black bass 
seems to be a fish sui generis. 
It was noticed by the warden of the Blooming G-rove Park 
Association some few years ago that in one of the ponds 
under his charge, which was 75ft. in depth and fed by springs 
from the bottom, the bass were on their spawning grounds 
until about the middle of July; but the grounds of this Asso- 
ciation are about 1,500ft. above tide water, and the lakes are ■ 
sometimes not free from ice until quite late is the month of 
May, and the surrounding hills are frequently snow-clad 
quite late in the month of April, and this simply emphasizes 
what is claimed as to the habits of this fish — that it does not 
make for the spawning grounds until there is a change in the 
temperature of the water. . , 
In our rivers and streams the water becomes more or less 
warm, as a rule, at least two weeks earlier than in our lakes 
and ponds, except those where the waters are shallow, and as 
most of our streams and lakes which abotind in this fish are 
shallow, the open season, if the law is made uniform 
throughout the State, should commence when the bass in 
these waters have left their spawn beds. If it is claimed; 
however, that the open season as applied to these waters 
would result in the destruction of the bass in deep lakes and 
ponds, then as to them an exception should be made, either 
specifically or a general exception as to all deep, still waters; 
but such exception should not be made without the fullest 
investigation as to the habits of the bass in the waters to 
which it is to apply. 
Without stating at length the sources of my information, 
it is enough for the purpose of this article to say that there is 
a pond in this county, covering perhaps 600 acres, in which 
I have fished frequently on May 30 or 31. The waters 
in this pond are shallow, and I have never seen but one bass 
on the spawn beds on those days. 
1 have in my charge a large, shallow pond in Ulster 
county which abounds in bass, which I visited on May 30 a 
few years ago, and did not find a single bass on the beds, 
and this corresponds exactly with the information I have 
gained in regard to other like waters in this vicinity and 
throughout the State. 
I am also advised that in Canada, where the lakes and 
streams are ice-bound at least two weeks longer than in this 
State, .the bass are through spawning, as a rule, by June 15 
or 20, and there should be a difference of at least the same 
time between Canada and the State of New York in the 
period of spawning. 
If the above views are correct aa to the time when black 
bass usually spawn throughout the State, then a uniform 
law extending the close season to July 1, or even to June 15, 
would practically defeat itself. Such a law would be com- 
monly regarded as arbitrary and prohibitory and wholly un- 
necessary for the purpose of proper protection. 
Thirty-five or forty years ago it was practically impossible 
to enforce any fish laws in the counties comprising the lower 
water-shed of this State (where trout at that time were very 
abundant), for the reason that all the inhabitants claimed 
that all the streams and lakes were free, and that they had 
a natural right to fish when and where they pleased. "Juries 
would not, as a rule, convict on the verj' best of proof, and 
an attempt to collect the penalties prescribed by law fre- 
quently resulted in the destruction of some of the finest 
ponds, where the trout were destroyed by pike which had 
been placed in these ponds as an act of retaliation or in a 
spirit of revenge. A gradual but decided change of senti- 
ment has,- however, taken place not only in this region, but 
also throughout the entire State; the rights of riparian 
owners are now respected, and the general sentiment is in 
favor of observing the law, because its provisions and re- 
strictions in regard to the taking of fish meet with general 
approval, and the necessity for the protection of our fish 
during the spawing seasons is commonly recognized. 
If the close season for taking black bass is extended as 
proposed, it, will be regarded by our people generally as un- 
necessary for protection, and instead of meeting with popu- 
lar approval it will be met in a spirit of defiance, and efforts 
to enforce the law will generally fail, because the spirit of 
approval which now exists will have given place to one of 
hostility; and in that case many who now respect the law as 
to the present close season would disregard it wholly, and the 
bass would in many places be deprived of the protection 
which they now have. J. S. Van Cleep. 
PouGHKEEPSiE, N. Y., April 10. 
THE CASTALIA CLUB. 
Mr. J. E. GtTNCKEL sends us these notes from the Toledo, 
0., Bee ot the Oastalia Club fishing in March. We think 
likely he wrote them himself: 
It takes a very enthusiastic angler to follow the winding, 
icy bound trout stream of Castalia in the month of March, 
particularly if the weather is so cold that the line is covered 
with a coaling of ice and it falls heavily upon the water at 
every cast. Snow, sleet, rain, wind nor coldwerf known to 
stop the members of this famous club from fishing m the 
cold creek stream. The opening days in March, with excep- 
tion of cold, were followed by unusuallj' good luck, and the 
records show an increase in number and weight over former 
years. There must be something peculiarlv charming about 
these opening days at Oastalia, for Dr. Beeman one day, 
walking up the path, exclaimed as he stepped upon the 
veranda of the club house: "I have traveled over 1,000 miles 
to attend this opening." He did, for he came direct from the 
Bermuda Islands. 
Notwithstanding, in the pools, in the eddies and under the 
floats, can be seen thousands of trout, and very often the 
surface .seems perfectly alive with them in their morning 
and evening antics; but there are days, and many in suc- 
cession, when no bait, be it ever so tempting, and dropped 
ever so naturally before these finny beauties, not one will 
rise or even wink his eyelid. This is a case when the angler 
knows there are plenty of fish. As this is true here, so is it 
in the Maumee and adjacent waters. 
There is no question but what this stream, with its un- 
limited supply of running water, its many pools, tine spawn- 
ing beds, contains more trout than any stream of like 
dimensions in the world. The hatchery is one of the most 
complete in the country and they can turn oat as many 
trout after each spawning season as they desire. It may be 
of interest to the reader to learn a few points touching this 
method of fishing and why it is men are so soon weddedj to 
its enchantments. Why it is considered an art. 
The Castalia Association has not always sailed over peace- 
ful waters. The beautiful stream and its surroundings are 
the results of many hard-fought battles and considerable out- 
lay of money. In some cases even the Supreme Court has 
been appealed to, but just as everything seemed amicably 
settled, at the opening' of this season, and the storms had all 
passed over with clear sunshine and brighter prospects, 
another cloud hangs heavily over these fair anglers. Early 
in March it was discovered that the trout in some of the 
pools were unusually agitated. They leaped upon the water 
cress— some, through fright, even leaped out upon the 
ground. This was not confined to one pool, but to many, 
and Mr. Englert became greatly alarmed at what surely 
meant the total annihilation of the trout. The disturbance 
followed the pools up stream. Por many days Andy 
watched for a cause. One morning at daybreak, in Sweeny 
section, he saw the water foam, the trout leaping in every 
direction, and as he raised his head over the high bank he 
discovered the secret of the trouble. There, basking in the 
sun, he saw a monster muskalonge, that had found its way 
from the lake to this paradise. Seeing Andy, it quickly dis- 
appeared under a float in a deep pool. 
In spite of' his many years' experience as a fisherman, after 
trying every known art, he could not capture this fish. He 
could pick from any pool the trout he wished, but a monster 
like this was beyond his learning. He could do nothing 
with a net No bait tempted this greedy fish. A consulta- 
tion was held with several members present at the club house, 
but their efl'orts proved unavailing. By accident, some one 
hinted that, there lived a man m Toledo whose reputation as 
a truthful angler was unimpeachable, and whose record for 
successfully capturing large fish was unequaled. After 
another week passed, and each member took a trial to cap- 
ture this fish, using all kinds of bait, the board of trustees 
was caUed, and the meeting resulted in the following note 
sent to Toledo: 
Castalia, Ohio, March 10. — J. E. Gunckel, Toledo, Ohio: 
Dear iSir: In our stream there is a fish of monster size, who 
is devouring our young trout at a fearful rate. Knowing 
that you stand alone in luring these big fish, we most cor- 
dially invite you to our club grounds, and hope you may be 
able to capture this tormentor. The keeper will be pleased 
to show you the hiding places of this fish. The password 
to.be admitted on the grounds for '97 is "Gum." ., 
By OBDER OF THE TrTTSTBES. 
Gunckel accepted the invitation, and a few da:vs before the 
season opened he was at the club house. Then in the 
shadow of a willow tree, lying at the bottom of a favorite 
pool, rested a muskalonge which certainly would not weigh 
less than lOlbs. He was motionless, except an occasional 
movement of a fin. He was round as a balioon — the results 
of his having gorged himself with trout. Gunckel took in 
the situation, and after preparing his favorite rod he attached 
to the line a Harris floating meadow frog. Down the stream 
it floated several times — trembling as if alive, and by its 
nature expecting at almost any moment to fall the victim to 
some wary fish. 
At the third cast the lure floated directly over the appar- 
ently sleeping muskalonge — a terrible splash and the bait 
