Oct. 3, 1897.] 
AMID THE SCENES OF BOYHOOD DAYS. 
"Ah! iiajlpy years 1 once more -who wouldj3otb&a boy?" 
A FULL score years have passed since as a happy, bare- 
foot boy I trudged the dusty streets of that quiet little 
village where ohce again I stand — a man, with a man's 
thoughts and a man's ambitions. And, as I seek to roll 
away the mists of years, there comes a picture ot the boy- 
hood days, and for a moment I see myself again the hapj)y 
yotmgster, who roamed the woods and fields, knowing ho 
cares and no burdens, light-hearted and gay. But the 
illusion slips awa}"- as quickly as it came, and with a sigh I 
turn to follow the narrow, grass-grown street to where it 
enters the picturesque old grove, at the foot of the hill; 
there used to be a well-worn path across the hill when I 
wks a boy, but it is fenced in and boarded up now, and I 
go around by the road. Climbing the barted gate and 
entering the pasture, which is a sort of a prelude to the 
grove, I strike the old quarry road and am presently 
clambering down the precipitous walls of limestone which 
inclose the deep, dark pool where George and Les and 
Arth and Milt and the rest of us used to go in swimming 
in the old days. It looks just the same now as it 
always did — cool and inviting, and I am almost inclined 
to' strip and take a plunge. But I resist the temptation, 
and making my exit from the quarry by an easier route, 
saunter on through the grove, listening to the chatter of 
the saucy squirrels, and watching the flitting of the robins, 
jays and "high-holers" from tree to tree.. The birds and 
squirrels seem to recognize me; at least they are very 
friendly, although, to tell the truth, there was a time when 
the ancient army musket (my first gun) compelled them 
to keep a respectful distance. 
A few minutes' walk and, leaving the more open grove, 
I enter thicker timber, where the young trees and under- 
brush have grown wild, almost obliterating the old wagon 
trail which, after interminable twistings and turnings, 
eventually comes out near the "swimrain'-hole" at the 
''big creek," where we boys used to go of Saturday after- 
noons and catch bullheads; there were occasions, too — 
events of our lives then — when one of us would catch a 
small grass pickerel. I well recollect the firet one of these 
pickerel caught by myself; I promptly inserted two fingers 
in those vicious-looking jaws to remove the hook, and — 
well, the result was exceedingly painful. 
A cottontail jumps up and bobs off down the path in 
front of me as I slowly pursue the old trail, and as I 
chuckle lightly at bunny's needless alarm he stops for a 
moment and whirls around to inspect me before proceed- 
ing, probably wondering in his own amazement, "What 
manner of thing is this?" 
The sunlight shimmers through the arched and inter- 
lacing branches of the trees, which form a canopj"^ over- 
head, and the air is pure and sweet — fragrant with a thou- 
and perfumes of the woods and fields. Presently I arrive 
at the creek, and here, alas! as elsewhere, things have 
changed; the channel of the once familiar stream has been 
dredged out so that it is deeper and swifter, and its mossy 
banks are heaped with rock and dirt not yet disguised by 
the hand of nature. Withal there is little here to remind 
me of the haunts of my youth, and with a dull sense of 
disappointment I turn back. 
Leaving the stream by another route, I emerge, after a* 
few minutes' brisk walk, into the country road, and soon 
stand beside a little mound of earth in a lonely and de- 
serted graveyard. There are not many new graves here, 
and this is not one of the newest; beneath the small ex- 
panse of sod there 'ies all that was mortal of a true friend 
of my youth. The flowers have grown wild, and the stone 
is broken and mossy with age, yet, like a sweet incense, 
there still lingers in my memory a recollection of kindly 
councils given by one of nature's noblemen. I dot! my 
hat in reverence, and, leaving the mound again in the 
keeping of the flowers, the bitds and the bees, am once 
more in the little village. 
My next visit is to the little, time-scarred brick school- 
house, where, under the guidance of good, old-fashioned, 
flogging "school masters," I had the mysteries of the 
"three lis" duly instided into me, and unlimited propen- 
sities for "devilment" partially (I speak advisedly) 
thrashed out of me. Here it was that I took my initiative 
steps in journalism by composing marvelous and hair- 
raising accounts of bear hunts and Indian massacres; my 
heroes were always dead shots and more than matches 
mentally, morally and physically for anything in animal 
or human shape which stalked the earth, while — needless 
to say — my heroines were invariably pinks of perfection 
in all respects. 
There is the table at which Sat in awful majesty several 
well-remembered pedagogues, and as I walk slowlj' down 
between the rows of battered old seats, I have no trouble 
in finding the ones occupied by myself at diflerent periods 
of my youthful schoolroom career. There is one, and on 
its edge I can see some well-defined marks made while 
trying the cutting edge of a new jack-knife; and, unlessmy 
memory fails me, that identical performance wound up 
with a visit to the private audience chamber in company 
with the teacher and a tough twig. 
But 1 leave the schoolroom ana am out in the sunshine 
again in the big yard, where we boys used to play "one- 
old-cat," "goal" and "cross-tag." And, passmg on out into 
the dusty street and through the little village, I wave a 
second sad good-bye to the scenes of boyhood. As I draw 
the curtain, the man is a man again and no more a child, 
but who would not live his youth once more, even if for 
but a few brief hours? " Clahke Helmb Loomis. 
"Men I Have Fished With." 
In a recent issue Mr. J. S. Yan Cleef kindly suggested that 
I write up the men I haven't fished with. That would be a 
ta'-k, but if I undertook it i would prob.^bly begia with 
Judge Van Cleef. tiimself, as oae who tias a great stock of 
angling- lore as well as of law. But the Judge made another 
remark, and it was the latter which started me to write this. 
He said, speaking of me : ' 'It seems to me he has fished with 
more men than any person 1 ever knew of.'' 
Let us consider mat remark. I have fished every year 
since 1840, with the exception of 1864. Tnat gives fifty-six 
j-ears of fishing of all kmas, and up to date I have written of 
exactly that numher of men, an average of one to each year. 
That IS not a great number, surely, and it is safe to say that 
Ma-. Yau Cleef has fished with ten times that numher. This 
month I fished witli two men, Mr. Jeremiah Sullivan, of 
Oonioy's, and a regimental comrade, Mr. W. A. Olaxk, of 
FOREST AND STHEAM. 
Newark, IST. vT.; and during the summer I have fished with 
several more. 
If Mr. Yan Cleef will make a mathematical calculation of 
"Men I Have Fished With," he may readily hefleve that 
there are more than 1,000 of them, while I think that figure 
would not cover half of them. I hope these fi.ffures will not 
appal him, for in many cases there was no incident which is 
remembered or worth recording,-. Boyhood companions 
were very numerous, because we fished before school and 
after school and at other times, often in parties ^f half a 
dozen, 
My work in fishculture brought me in contact with many 
noted anglers whom I never would have known but for that, 
and it was this work which gave me three opportunities for 
angling in Germany, and many in other places. If it had 
been my good fortune to have fished with Judge Yan Cleef 
1 would take pleasure in trying to sketch him, although such 
a man gives no quaint salient points to portray as others, like 
Port. Tyler, Bflly Bishop, John Atwood, Autoine Gardapee, 
Alvah jjunning, ISIed Buntline and others of that kiud afford. 
My most diflBcult work has been on Francis Eodicott, Col. 
Charles H, Ptaymond, Gen. Chester A. Arthur. Mr. E, R. 
Wilbur, and gentlemen of that kind. Fred Mather. 
Cayuga Lake Fishing. 
Ithaca, iST. Y.— Probably the finest catch of fish taken 
from Cayuga Lake in recent years was scored Sept. 22 by 
Charles E. Courtney, Cornell ITniversity's famous rowing 
coach, assisted by a few congenial friends from Ithaca end 
Union Springs. The magnificent score was made in the vi- 
cinity of Union Springs, and between 8 and 11 A. M. Tne 
catcii consisted of muscallonge, pike and pickerel and 
weifrhed Sllbs. The three heaviest muscailonee ^iveiehed re- 
spectively: 16, 11 and 81bs. Charley Carr, of Union Springs, 
took the 16lb. one, and Coach Courtney the lllb. and 8lb. 
ones. The heaviest pike was listed at olbs. ; the heaviest 
pickerel at 4lbs. And to make this httle paragraph a com- 
plete history of one day's angling, it may be said — Mr. 
Courtney will vouch for the truth of the statement — that the 
largest fish seen on the trip was pulled to the surface, flirted 
his monstrous fins at the parly, shook the steel from his 
mouth and was lost. 
The fishing was done in that part of the lake given con- 
spicuous mention by Mr. Mather in his charming chapters, 
'•Men I Have Fished With." That particular part of Cayuga 
Lake has furnished, and is now furnishing, some notably fine 
muscallonge, pike, pickerel and bass fishing. 
Union Springs, from whence this good npgliug may be 
quickly and conveniently reached, is on the Auburn division 
of the Lehigh Yalley R. R. Bait, boat and all the other 
necessary furnishings which the sportsman angler may wish 
for are readily obtained. Everything considered, it holds out 
greater inducements to lovers of the gentle art than any other 
point along the lake, and in respect to muscallonge, pike and 
pickerel fishing it cannot be surpassed, if equaled, in central 
New York. At the Ithaca end of the lake some exceedingly 
fine creels of bass are being taken opposite the Esty Lookout. 
Good bass fishing may be counted upon for that locality until 
cold weather shakes the angler's hand. The high hook from 
that point is credited with twenty-two small-mouth bass as 
an afternoon's work. M. Chill, 
Iowa Bass Waters. 
ChA-kles Citv, la., Sept. 34. — The Shellrock and Cedar 
rivers in this county (Floyd), have produced more and larger 
specimens of black bass and wull-eyed pike this summer 
than in a great many years. One party of three brought in 
from the'Shellrock ISOlbs. of black biss, thiity-thtee of 
them averaging iJ^lbs. a piece, the largest tipping the scales 
at o^lbs. 
Sept. 20 a string of seven bass, weight '2Slbs. .taken from the 
Cedar near Floyd dam, was credited to H. W. McElroy and 
party. Four or these splendid bass averaged oilbs. a piece. 
Two thoutand pounds would be a small estimate of the 
weights of black ijass taken from a stretch of water no 
longer than two miles — along the Shellrock, since the middle 
of July. 
Smce July 22, a friend and I have caught fifty-two fish, 
weighing 181 lbs. Forty-one of them were wafl eyed pike, 
weighing loOlbs,. the seven largest, SOAlbs. Tiie eleven 
pickerel ran much smaller, from l-l to 31bs. The score is the 
result of seventeen fishing excuraons half-mile from town, 
two hours' trolling constituting one trip. 
The Mdl Company are repairing their dam here, and State 
Fish Warden Uelevan has submitted plans to the company 
tor a new fishway through this (at present) impassable bar- 
rier. No doubt the command will be complied with, as in 
years gone by, but to maintain a suitable runway is more 
than this or most corporations care to do, or wfll do. 
YaNE SIMM03SD3. 
Iiong Island Salt-Water Fishing. 
The fishing in this vicinity has been exceptionally good 
all season. Last season was the poorest in the memory of 
the old fishermen hereabouts, and tne tine sport which can 
now be had is fully appreciated by them and the salt-water 
fishermen generally, 
Biuetish and weakfish have been so numerous that but 
little attention has Ijeen paid to the smaller nsh: blackfish, 
fluke, porgies, etc. Striped bass, which have always been 
scarce here, are now caught daily in large numbers. 
On last Friday, John"0"Neil, of Sheepshead Bay, caught 
seventeen AtripeU bass in a lew hours' fishing. The largest 
of these tipped the scales at 71lbs., and tbe balance weigbed 
from 2 to 4ibs. each. On Saturday, W. .J. Fox and T, F. 
Kane, of Brooklyn, captured a dozen in a short time. These 
few tilsh were all caught around the jetties ofi' the Manhattan 
Hotel, on Manhattan Beach. Tney were caught by trolling 
with a spoon and blood-worm. 
Boats and bait can be procured at SheepsJead Biy, from 
whence the fishing grounds arc reached after a haru row of 
about an hour. It is not advisable to attempt this trip in 
rough weather, as it is an extremely dangerous place to fish. 
On Sunday, W. J. Fox and oue gutst, aboard the sluop 
Sly Fox, caught sixty-two blackfish. Blackfish, fluke and 
porgies are caught in large numbers by those who do not 
care to make the long trip to the Manhttlan, while that 
much-sought-for and game little fighter, the snapper, has 
done his snare in providing sport for the fisherman. 
a. F. DiKUL. 
Sheepshead Bay, Long Island, Sept. 27. 
lu Mennet 
FIXTURES. 
BENCH SHOVyS. 
Oct. 4.— Daubury, Conn., Agricultural Society. G. M. Euudle; 
Se<^'y, Danbury. 
Nov. 93.— iMeiropolitaii Kennel Club's second annual show, Brook- 
lyn, N. Y. 
FIELD TRLILS. 
Oct. 25. — Brunswick Fur Club's nincb annual trials, Barre, Mass. 
Nov. 1.— Dixie Red Fox Club's tbird annual meet. Waverly, Miss. 
Nov. 1.— NftwEnslaud Beagle Club's trials, Oxford, Mass. 
Nov. 2.— MonoDfcahela Valley Game and Fisb Frocective Associ- 
atJon's tria's, Greene couniy. Pa. 
Nov. a — Hoosier B-'ajle Clab'^ inauscural trials, Indiana. 
Nov. 8.— Union Field Ti-'als Club's trial-. Carlisle, Ind. 
Nov. 9.— Central Beag-le Club's trials, SLarpsburg, Pa. 
Nov. 9 —Peninsular Field Trial Club's trials, Leamington, Dnt. 
Nov. !&.— E V. T. Club's trials, Newton. N. 0. 
Nov. 1(5.— luternaUonal Field Trials CluD's eighth annual, triflls J 
Chatham, Out. 
Nov. 22.— U. S. F. T. Club's autumn trials, Newton, N. Q. 
1898. 
Jan. 10.— U. S. F. T Club's winter trials, Vfest Point, Miss, 
.'an. 17.— CioDtinental F. T. Cl"b's trials. New Albany. Miss. 
.Ian. 24 —Pacific Coast Field Trial Club s trials, Bakersfleld, Cal. 
SCHOOLING THE DOG.-XIII. 
If the dog be a successful finder of birds, it is necessary 
that he be able to locate their exact whereabout with reason- 
able quickness after he has caught the scent of them. The 
accomplishment of pointing stauchly is only useful accord^ 
ingly as the dog is able to find the birds to point. It is clear 
that if he cannot find he cannot point usefully. 
Generally speaking, setters and pointers follow the scent 
of bird<^ in two ways, that is to say by the foot-scent and the 
body-scent, resnectively. Colloquially speaking, the act of 
following the birds to find their exact whereabouts, is called 
"locating." It is clear that however stanch a dog may be 
on his point, he is very deficient if he is not skillful in the 
itseful supplementary accomplishment of "locating." 
In respect to proficiency in finding, dogs vary greatly. 
Some doprs trust to their speed and the consequent wide area 
of ground they can beat out to find birds, and pointing the 
birds fairly well when they come across them. They may 
have very inferior ability in following a scent, and yet when 
they find the bir ls under the right conditions for making a 
good point, they may do it well and make a good showing. 
ISuch dogs are generally overrated as performers, their wide 
range and high speed being accepted as indicative of high 
general ability. Such dogs are always poor finding dogs. 
Nor are they so few in numbers as one might think. The 
field trials in particular are a favorite haven for the wide 
and fast ranger whose heels are his greatest power. 
But if a dog is a good ranger and is also skillful in picking 
up light scents and following them up till he locates the 
birds, he is the correct thing in the way of an assistant to the 
gun. 
Locating by following the foot-scent is far inferior to locat- 
ing by following the body-scent, and in respect to either 
method, there are good and poor performers. Superior 
intelligence and high functional powers of the organ of 
scent will enable a dog to make a good performance. On 
the other hand, if a dog be intelligent and his scenting 
powers imperfect or dull, or if his powers of scenting are 
very keen and his brain dull, he will be a poor performer. 
Why two dogs, intelligent and possessing good noses, 
should vary so much in their methods of locating, the one 
by foot-scent, the other by body-scent, is not known. Men 
vary quite as much in their choice of methods when pursu- 
intr game, hence it may be that such method as was first em- 
ployed, and being persisted in, became a habit However, 
whether the dog followed his birds by body-scent or foot- 
scent, the trainer can do very little to improve on the dog's 
methods, although he can do much to mar them if he be in- 
judiciously meddlesome or faulty in what he attempts to 
teach. 
Dog-5 of high intelligence, but of ordinary powers of nose, 
sometimes i)erform skillfully, their excellent reasoning 
powers enabling them to circumvent the birds whose habits 
and devices in evading pursuit they have learned to a nicety. 
.Some dogs, of inferior range, distinguish themselves as 
successful finders from their ability to successfully locate 
birds whose trail they have come across, and which wider 
rangers might pass over unheeded. Also a narrow ranging 
dog— one skillful in locating — may use his nose constantly, 
thus recognizing every game scent within his compass. 
Many wide ranging dogs are running fast vrithout using 
their noses or giving any heed to finding birds by any intel- 
ligent attention to the task of seeking. It is not at all easy 
for the novice to discriminate between the dog which is using, 
his nose and one which is not, and indeed some sportsmen of 
vride experience seem to be without this faculty of discrim- 
ination. They observe the wide, dashing ranger and can 
only see in his efforts the purpose of finding birds. Some 
dogs will range wide and fast on bare ground, and on the 
same ground day after day, for the reason that they like to 
run for the sake of running. The dog which is really seek- 
ing birds will soon learn what ground contains birds and 
what does not, if he have the opportunity to beat out the 
ground a few times, and he will not waste any effort on 
ground which he knows contains no birds. The dog which 
beats out a large scope of ground, using his nose constantly, 
all else being equal, will find more birds than will the nar- 
row ranger, but the reader will perceive that it is possible, 
and often it is really the case, that a narrow ranging dog 
may find more birds than his wider ranging companion. 
The dog which follows by foot-scent locates much slower 
than does the one which locates by the body-scent; The 
former generally carries a low nose and trails along by the 
tracks. Some dogs follow along very accurately and with 
reasonable quickness, but most dogs which locate by foot- 
scent do so in a more or less uncertain and dilatory manner. 
Tney follow the trail of a single bird of a bevy, lose it, pick 
up another, and follow it, making a little gain each time, 
sometimes losing the trail entirely, sometimes following it 
so slowly that ic becomes too cold for them to follow, and 
thus they lose the birds; and sometimes the dog which pot- 
ters and picks out the trail track by track goes slower than 
the birds run. so that he is unable to catch up with them and 
press them so that they will run to cover. The dog which 
follows by foot-scene locates his birds with uncertainty of 
their whereabouts even when he is quite near them, and he 
consequently makes many flushes which the more skillful 
dog, he which locates by the body- scent, readily avoids. 
The trainer should not tolerate any pottering on the foot- 
scent. Some dogs will potter around and around a tuft of 
grass or a growth of weeds where the scent is strong, and if 
they do road away they return repeatedly to where the scent 
is strongest. The dog should be encouraged to go on and 
follow the running birds. The habit of pottering on scent 
should not be tolerated. The dog should be prevented from 
pottering, if the trainer can possibly prevent it. 
On the other hand, if the trainer is continually meddling 
with a dog which is reading well, striving to have the dog 
do the reading in the manner in which he thinks it should 
be done, he may succeed in marring or spoiling the dog's 
method, instead of improving it. When the dog is picking 
out the trail and is actually going ahead, it is best to leave 
the matter entirely to him. Xo theory of the trainer as tQ 
1 
