IBO 
ment, and they tired us out; they carried their point, and 
walked the whole way home. 
"I tell you," said the Doctor, "a mule knows a heap. 
That team knew that if thty should trot another wheel might 
hreak down, and it is their duty to get the wagon and Bob 
home safely. Yes, a mule knows more than some men.^' 
"Present company not excepted." # 
"Correct; the more you study a mule — ^whoop! There's 
another snake!" 
The gads were playing on a rattler 1 ke flails on a barn 
floor a second later and the dissertation on mules was never 
cornpleted, and thus much knowledge, which might benefit 
mankind — or mules — was irretrievably lost, all on account 
of a miserable little rattlesnake which was valueless as food, 
of no account as a motive power, whose oil is of doubtful 
value for rheumatism, and whose sole mission seems to be 
confined to scaring huckleberry pickers, causing some sports- 
men to carry "remedy for snake-bites," and Jurnishing in- 
spiration to Ed. llott to write "Old Settler" stories for the 
New York Sun. Perhaps this is reason enough for its exist- 
ence. Who will deny it? 
It was in 1888 — I like to be exact — that the B. G. Park 
Association, through Dr. Nash, invited me to be the judge 
in its fly-casting tournament in October, and Nash and'l 
fished Lake Oiles with fly, minnow, dobson and fiddler crab 
— which I brought from salt-water — for two days snd never 
took a bass, althotigh we saw them in great numbers and of 
large size nosing aroimd our baits. It was a new experience 
to me, but Nash talked as though it was the usual thing on 
Lake Giles. 
I have no record of the fly-casting at hand. Memory has 
only recorded the fact that the distances and accuracy com- 
pared favorably with such amateur casts as had been made 
at Harlem Mere, but the measuring line was unique, and the 
device of Dr. Nash is worthy of record, for it is the best 
thing of the kind I ever saw. It was made of wooden strips 
3 or'4in. wide and 12ft. long; the ends dovetailed together 
and secured by a bolt which allowed them vertical motion. 
On these strips were the distance marks. When we consider 
ihat our cotton lines would shrink when wet, and that the 
wood only shrinks or swells across the grain, to any appre- 
ciable extent, we get the value of this measuring line and of 
its record in tournaments. 
Some seven years ago Dr. Nash organized "Thfe Fresh Air 
Club," of a dozen or more members, and they would go by 
_ rail to some place twenty or thirty miles away and then start 
for the city on foot and across lots, over hill and through 
meadow on a straight line, and each season they visited me 
on Long Island, shook hands and were off, with the motto: 
"The hind wagon pays the toll." This and an annual vaca- 
tion of three months in the Adirondacks, where he is at the 
present writing, keeps the doctor in rugged health and 
strength, and he is naturally a strong man. 
As we sat in the boat on Lake GUes, trying to induce the 
bass to take flies and various baits without getting them to 
notice our lures, he said; "I took my first fishing lessons 
from Reub. Wood, when a boy in Syracuse, N. Y., but even 
Reub. couldn't catch a bass in Lake Giles, and those boy- 
hood days with 'Uncle Reub.' are so long ago that I begin 
to think I'm as old as the hills or as the valleys between 
them, for I think they are twins, but, anyhow, I'm getting 
old." 
"Yes, you are old. Old enough to be called in. When 
did you fish with Uncle Reub. ?" 
"In 1861, when I was sixteen years old, and that's a long 
lame ago." 
"Well, yes," I answered, "it's long for a boy like you to 
remember, but I fished with him in 1840, when I was seven 
years old, and that's only a short time ago. Please never 
speak about your getting old in my presence. Even the fish 
refuse to bite when you talk in that way, " 
The Doctor thought a moment and replied: "Old is a 
eomparative term which changes its meaning as we advance 
in life. When I was thirty-eight and just a trifle gray I re- 
visited the village of Cazonovia, where I lived between the 
ages of eight and sixteen, and chanced to see two boys fish- 
ing at a spot where I fished when about their ages and 
caught the grandest suckers and bullheads that ever made a 
little boy's heart glad. I mentioned the fact to the boys that 
I used to fish at that spot when a boy and passed on, but be- 
fore I was out of hearing I heard the question: 'Sav, John- 
nie, who is that old duffer?' I did not get the reply, but 
never regretted it. If I was an old duffer five years ago I 
must be an older one now." 
Thinking this over after writing it, I can only hope that if 
I organize a party to go to the gold fields of Alaska and the 
Klondike next spring, that one of the party will be Dr. 
Nash. Not that I fear a need of his professional services, 
for my wisdom teeth have not only been cut, but shed some 
weeks ago, but for the sake of his genial companionship, his 
knowledge of camp life, and his unfailing good nature iti the 
presence of misfortune or incident. Our acquaintance began 
in storm, ripened into a warm friendship in later years, and 
at the rare intervals when we meet we are boys again. 
Feed SIatheb. 
AN IOWA OUTING CENTER. 
Editok C. H. Loomis, of the Bellevue, Iowa, Herald, 
Sends us his illustrated souvenir, "Where Proudly Flows 
the Mississippi," devoted to setting forth the commercial, 
residential, and outing characteristics of Bellevue. The 
town is on the Mississippi River, in northeastern Iowa, and 
is reached by'the Bellevue- Cascade branch of the Chicago, 
Milwaukee & 8t. Paul R.R., and by the Chicago, Bur- 
lington & Northern Railway. Of the fishing and shooting, 
Mr. Loomis writes ; 
"It has been said— and truly — that there are no better 
fishing grounds along the Mississippi than at Bellevue. 
Here is caught every species of fish known to the river — 
and in abundance ; a fisherman with an empty string being 
of rare occurrence. N'^arly every variety of bass is caught 
here, the best season for them being from June to September 
inclusive. Some of the best spots for bass fishing are in the 
sloughs and small lakes opposite the city — especially at the 
mouths of Lilly and Yonkers lakes; excellent bass fishing 
can also be had at the new government dams below town. 
The spoon and live minnows are preferable as bait, and as 
the bass is a capricious fellow, his prospective captor will 
do well to provide himself with each. A species of the bass 
family locally known as 'croppies' will take worms. 
"Another of our best game fish is the pickerel, frequent- 
ing about the same localities as the bass, and taking the 
same bait. Jack-salmon and pike are caught in greatest 
abundance in the fall of the year; they take the minnow 
readily, and some of the best places for catching them are 
the rock bars north and south of the city, and on the Illinois 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
shore a short distance south. The several varieties of cat- 
fish, perch, sturgeon and eels are also caught here in num- 
bers. Bellevue and vicinity certainly affords plenty of sport 
for the piscatorially inclined outer, whether he be of indo- 
lent or ambitious disposition. 
"From 1843 to 1869 this region was the resort of wild 
game of all sorts and varieties indigenous to the countrv and 
climate. Our veteran sportsman, M. G. Hyler, has to his 
credit over 500 deer, hundreds of wild turkeys, and num- 
berless ducks, geese and prairie wolves killed during that 
period and later; and Mr. Hyler, as may be imagined, is not 
the only one who killed game. This country, however- 
like all other sections of the United States where primitive 
nature has fallen back before the advance of the woodsman's 
axe and the plow of the husbandman— is in the ware of its 
glory as a game country. Yet good shooting can still be 
had here, as in their proper seasons the sloughs and lakes 
are the home of thousands of wildfowl, such as ducks, 
geese and snipe, while quail, pheasant and woodcock are 
found in the Iowa blufts and on the Illinois side of the 
river. The recently enacted Iowa game laws place some 
restrictions, however, upon the killing of the last mentioned 
class of game. In furred game—rabbits, squirrels, coons, 
foxes, prairie wolves and wildcats are yet to be found in 
abundance by the sportsman who will learn their haunts. 
"The Mississippi River has been termed the home of the 
camper, and anyone who has taken a journey of any length 
upon it, or upon one of the lines of railroad which follow 
its curves, will fidly appreciate the trath of the saying. 
During the camping season its shores and islands are dotted 
with the white tents of campers, and the pleasant odor of 
fried eggs and 'sow-belly' is wafted upon the breeze to the 
nostril of the passer-by. And. while generally speaking, 
the Mississipi is the camper'o home, it is peculiarly so in this 
immediate vicinity; scenery, climate, the excellent facilities 
for boating, fishing and hunting, the nearness of the camper 
to supplies- all combine to make this one of the most 
pleasant and convenient of locabties for the spending of a 
few days, weeks or months amid the scenes of nature. 
Suitable spots for locating a summer camp are so numerous 
in this vicinity that a detailed description of them would 
occupy pages of this pamphlet; suffice it to say that anyone 
coming here for that purpose can readily secure any and all 
necessary information on the subject. In closing, we say : 
Come to Bellevue, the ideal summer resort of the Mississippi 
River." 
A DAY ON BEAR BROOK. 
Chaelestowt^, N. H.. Aug. y).— Editor Forest and Stream: 
Looking over my last epistle as to bait fishing, size of hooks, 
etc., etc , and recalling the cj[uestion as to closing waters en- 
tirely for a period, and then opening them on a fixed day to 
be raided by every angler for miles around, has brought back 
to my memory a day on Bear Brook many years ago, when 
a couple of hours changed the score of the day. 
I had often heard of Bear Brook more than fifty years ago, 
when living in Lowell, Mass., as a young man, and where 
some of my piscatorial friends from the English colony 
which first settled in Lowell, went up to Hooksett, N. H , 
quite near the brook, for a week, and sent home some beauti- 
ful trout; but I had never seen the brook myself until the first 
year of the late Civil War, when, in the general stagnation of 
all business which followed the outbreak of the war. the 
works in which I was engaged were partially stopped for a 
short time, and one of the employees, who was an ardent 
angler, proposed to me to go up to the brook and try for 
some trout. 
Another of the engravers joined him, and, piloted by a 
friend of ours, the market- ma q, who supplied us all with beef 
and mutton, and who knew the brook well, we started one 
bright morning in May for our drive up the Merrimac, and 
then up the Simcook River, some fifteen miles to the mouth 
of the brook. 
We arrived at the old Ely Place (a huge farmhouse with 
numerous and enormous outbuildings, which had once been 
the headquarters of a great lumber industry) somewhere be- 
tween 8 and 9 o'clock in the morning, and putting up our 
horses, started for the brook. 
By the advice of our guide, we did not begin in the mea- 
dow near the house and the road, which he thought had been 
too much fished "by the boys," but bore up a pasture road, 
reaching the water about a c^uarter of a mile above. Here 
we began, and scattering, worked up the brook. As I al- 
ways fish new waters rather deliberately, I got behind the 
rest of the party for some time, and had very poor lucK, until 
I overtook them at the head of the meadow, whtre the brook 
made a number of short turns under the shadow of a piece 
of old woods, along whose edge it ran and made a number 
of deep holes, filled with old logs, where they were having a 
great time and had got some fair fish. They had "skimmed 
the cream" of it though before I reached them, and soon we 
all worked on up the brook. It came out bright and hot 
with no air stirring, and by noon, when we reached a saw- 
mill far up the brook, we were very willing to sit down on the 
logs and rest. 
The men at the mill told us that the meadow above was 
good fishing, but there was not a sign of a tree or bush, and 
the sun was blazing down with full power, so we concluded 
not to go any further, but ate our lunches at our leisure, and 
smoked otir pipes, and then stt out homeward down the 
stream, which is the way I always prefer to fish with bait, 
and in so doing added a few more fish to our creels. 
When we reached the deep holes under the shadow of the 
woods — but not in the shadow then; for the sun had "swung 
half round the circle"— my companions all "slacked speed," 
to work them over again. Now, I never like to fish the 
same waters over again the same day, unless the weather 
changes, and do not believe in waiting for trout. I have 
always found that if they were at home, and "on the feed," 
they would respond as soon as you "dropped them a line." 
I accordingly worked slowly on down stream until, just as 
the sun was setting, I reached the bridge where we had 
begun in the morning. Now, as I said in my last, I was 
"loaded for bear." 1 had on a 1.0 hook, with plenty of bait, 
and the first cast I made in a bend of the brook, a few yards 
below the bridge, where it swirled under a hollow bank, 
was answered by such a tug as I had not felt all day, and 
resulted in placing a i-pounder in my basket. Then my fun 
began. Every fresh bend in the brook gave me a fine fish 
from 6 to Sin. long, and when my companions overtook me 
in the meadow just below the house, when it was so dark 
I could scarcely see my line, I was trying vainly to get an- 
other rise from" a big fellow which I had once lifted just out 
of water, and probably pricked, from striking too quick. 
We all concluded that it was too dark to fish longer, and 
went up to the house, where, to the surprise of my compan- 
LAuG. SI, 1897. 
ons, the contents of my basket overbalanced their three. 
So much for an hour after sunset on a bright, clear day. 
Suffice it to say that we had a pleasant drive home by moon- 
light, and that two of my neighbors enjoyed a bountiful 
trout breakfast the next (Sunday) morning, as well as my 
own family. I shall never forget that last hour's sport 
Von W. 
BASS IN THE VIRGINIAS. 
The Potomac River. 
Theke is a fact which seems to have escaped the notice of 
a majority of the fishermen coming here from a distance 
which I would call your attention to, for the benefit of a 
very few. 
The Potomac is touched by the Baltimore & Ohio R R. at 
Harpers Ferry, W. Va., and Hancock, Md. , where it is fishecl 
by city anglers. Between these two points there is, I should 
judge, about thirty-five or forty miles of water that is seldom 
tished by any except local fishermen, and a very few who 
come from Hagerstown, Md. 
_ There are some places on this river one could safely call 
virgin waters, between the two places mentioned. Numer- 
ous dams make deep waters. The principal one being dam 
No. 4, about five or six miles west of Shepherdstown, W. 
Ya. A camping party could fiad excellent sport and recrea- 
tion along this stream. 
Persons desiring hotel accommodations and fishing could 
secure about what they want by application to the En tier 
Hotel, at Shepherdstown, W. Va. 
Harper's' Ferry, W. Va. 
This historic town is located at the junction of the Shen- 
andoah and Potomac rivers, and can be reached by the 
Baltimore & Ohio R. R. Anglers can find any kind of 
water desired, as they have the two rivers to choose from, 
and either oners good. 
First class accommodations can be had at Hotel Courier, 
kept by Shepherd Gatrell, who will kindly answer any ques- 
tions. There are a number of parties who take fishermen 
out there and furnish good boats. The Blue Ridge Rod and 
Gun Club have their club house on the Virginia side, one- 
quarter of a mile east of the ferry. 
RIverton, Va. 
The village of Riverton, Va., is situated at the junction of 
the Norfolk & Western and Southern railways, being at 
the point where the north and south forks of the Shenan- 
doah River joins and forms the river proper. It is a favor- 
able place for black bass fishermen. On account of the 
Shenandoah River being muddy at times this point will 
recommend itself to all anglers, for the reason that on 
account of the two.forks coming together here one is reason- 
ably sure of clear water at all times. When one fork is 
muddy the other is usually clear, and when both are clear 
one has the preference of either fork or the main river below. 
There is a small hotel at Riverton where fishermen can 
find accommodations at reasonable rates. 
Overall, Va. 
This little village is situated on the southern fork of the 
Shenandoah River, about eighteen miles south of Riverton, 
and on the line of the Norfolk & Western Railway, ami can 
be reached either via Riverton, Va., or Shenandoah Junc- 
tion, W. Va. This point is recommended for bass fishing, 
as the water is remarkably deep and the natural advantages 
there render it all that could be desired for angling. The 
deep water is skirted above and below by fine rifl^le water. 
Fine stiings of bass have been taken there by Baltimore anel 
Washington anglers, some of the bass being remarkably 
large. Boats and lodging can be had by addressing Mantly 
Tripplett, Overall, Va 
I would recommend this place above all others, either on 
the Shenandoah or Potomac rivers, but would wire the rail- 
road agent at Riverton regarding the condition of the south 
fork before starting. Edw. 0. Dkawbaugh. 
THE WALLKILL RIVER AGAN. 
Sditor Forest arid Stream: 
I have just finished the articles of Messrs. J. S. Van Oleef 
and Fred Mather, taking me to task for my criticism of Mr. 
Mather's forty-ninth "Men I have Fished With." 
Mr. Van Cleef undertakes to convince the readers of For- 
est A>iD Stream that I have made some "setious errors," 
and that I have charged Mr, Mather with making statementis 
not contained in his article. In my article of July 15 I said. 
"The Wallkill rises in the township of Wantage, Sussex 
county, in the State of New .lersey, and flows thence in a 
northerly direction through Orange county and empties into 
the Hudson, or rather Rondout Creek, at Rondout, Ulster 
county, N. Y." Mr. Van Cleef says: "But it is incorrect 
that this river runs through Orange county until it empties 
into the Hudson, as argued by Mr. Wilkin;" and this is the 
manner in which he says I err: "The fact is that the Wall- 
kill River runs through both Orange and Ulster counties and 
finally joins the Rondout Creek a mUeor two above Rondout 
and empties into the Hudson." That's what I call a distinc- 
tion without a difference, and most other people would say 
the same thing upon a comparison of the two statements. 
I acknowledge that I was mistaken in my statement that 
Mr. Mather was to meet Mr. Ziegenfuss at Zach Dubois's 
fiotel at New Paltz, and right here tender to Mr. Mather my 
humble apology. I was three or four miles up stream too far. 
Zich kept tavern below New Paltz, while Hank held forth 
right at New Paltz. 
It seems to be the prevailing opinion and sentiment among 
the brotherhood of anglers, especially up this way, that some 
day- we will have Mr. Mather's very readable articles collected 
and published in book form; if this is so, we want it cor- 
rected before it gets into that shape. 
Mr. Van Cleef is right when he pays his respects to old 
Wallkill's superiority as a bass stream. The provision of 
the game laws whicn permits nets, fykes and the hke in the 
Wallkill only relates to that portion or end of the stream at 
or near Roundout, and it is unfair to hold all the members 
of the Legislature who happen to live in the districts through 
which the stream runs, responsible for such a condition of 
things; Mr. Van Cleef should be more explicit in his charges, 
and put the responsibility where it belongs. 
Mr. Van Cleef also reads with regret that I have placed a 
large number of bass in the stream this year, and thinks it 
hardly possible that among the lot there will be some large- 
mouthed bass. He may rest easy. They were all large- 
mouthed bass; and he need have no fears as to the futur-e of 
