448 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[JimE 4, 1898. 
thereon, but a tribal Indian may Got be. — State vs. Camp- 
bell, supra. 
After the Indian title to the land within this reservation 
was extinguished, and before it was set apart for the 
Indians in 1867, the State owned the game thereon in 
trust for the whole people of the State, with the right 
and duty to make and enforce such laws as it deemed 
necessary for its protection and beneficial use. The State 
has never parted with the ownership and trust. It is 
therefore not true as a legal proposition, whatever may 
be the case ethically, that the Indians own the game on 
this reservation, for it belongs to the State, and its game 
laws are operative upon this reservation. But its 
remedies for enforcing them are imperfect in that it can- 
not punish Indians for violating such laws on the reser- 
vation. A white man on the reservation may be so pun- 
ished. 
It is unnecessary to, and Ave do not decide whether the 
State may or may not interfere with game which is un- 
lawfully in the possession of Indians on the reservation. 
But we do hold that when, as in this case, game is once 
oflE this reservation and in the possession of any person 
or corporation in violation of the law, it may be seized 
and contiscated by its proper officers, without reference 
to where or by whom it was killed. 
It is immaterial whether the shipment of the game in 
question commenced on the resen^ation or of¥ it, and at 
Detroit, for if it commenced on the reservation no ques- 
tion of interstate commerce can arise, for the reservation 
is a part of the State, and it has jurisdiction over it, ex- 
cept as we have stated. 
Order afhrraed.— Start, C. J. 
Sportsmen and Spostsmen* 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
I am greatly interested in the subject of game protec- 
tion, and therefore read everything pertaining thereto, 
which from time to time appears in your most excellent 
paper. 
It seems to me that there are a great many self-styled 
sportsmen who are eternally howling for game protec- 
tion, and are at the same time violating the simplest laws 
of the principle every time the chance presents itself. 
We hear much about market shooters, but we naturally 
expect nothing from them voluntarily, the only way to 
stop their work of slaughter is b}^ the strong arm of the 
law. But from the man who is supposed to be shooting 
for pleasure we have a right to expect moderation; and 
if he has the instincts of a sportsman he will invariably 
know where to stop. 
Your true sportsman is born, not made. If Ji& be 
fortunate enough to be rich, "more power to him," as he 
can then give a wider scope to his inclinations, and none 
of us will gainsay his right; and on the other hand, if 
he is poor, or in moderate circumstances, he will prove 
his devotion to rod or gun by self-denials in other direc- 
tions, in order to enjoy his favorite outing. 
Now I may be all wrong, but I have no use for the 
fellow who employs a retinue of serving people to do all 
the hard work (which to me is the source of much en- 
joyment), and himself sits at his ease in a blind, or at a 
crossing, to haA^e his game driven or decoyed up where 
he can easily slaughter it. Speaking of decoys, I never 
see one that it does not cause me to feel a strange anti- 
pathy to such things. Why do we not pass laAvs prohib- 
iting or at least regulating their use, on the same lines 
as laAvs regulating certain kinds of fishing tackle? It is 
not laAvful to hound or hunt deer with a jack light in 
some sections; why then is it right to decoy ducks and 
geese? I'll guarantee that you can get more keen de- 
light by bagging your game by stealth and strategy than 
to have it coaxed up where you can easily pick it off. 
The wav to protect game is to protect it. Stop the 
traffic, the' game hog (rich or poor), the pot hunter and 
market shooter, by drastic measures, for education to a 
higher moral plane takes too long. I believe the later 
day game hog is more responsible than any other one 
cause for our fast disappearing native game. I never 
could understand the creed of this individual. Is it a 
reckless, wanton desire to kill? a thirst for gore? or 
merely an ungovernable greed? 
Thinking of these things makes me turn back the pages 
—I shall not say hoAV many years— to a bleak November 
day, with a feeling of sleet or snow in the air. A certain 
boy was lending his puny assistance to two men in the 
not unpleasant task of husking the golden ears of corn 
which had been cut and shucked in the creek bottom 
land. Ever and anon the boy cast a wistful glance m the 
direction of the creek and marsh land from which 
would occasionally come floating the far-away honk of 
the noble wild goose. The boy was so constituted that 
he could onlv withstand that challenge for a certain 
length of time. He finally maneuvered out of range of 
the aforesaid men, then scooted for the house, purloined 
the old single-barrel muzzleloader, whose prescription 
was "a handful of powder, a wad of old ncAVSpaper, 
tamped until the ramrod bounded out of the muzzle, a 
handful of No. 4 shot, with more ncAvspaper"— no scien- 
tific load this, but it usually got there. Hoav carefully 
and stealthfully the boy picked his way through the ald- 
ers and tall reeds, and how studiously he kept his smal 
person concealed therein. And how his heart thumped 
against the roof of his mouth when a dark shadow sped 
rapidly athwart his vision. Ah! what a thrill when he 
raised his gun to pay a salute to a low flying squad. 
Knowing nothing about holding ahead theoretica ly, but 
instinctively grasping the principle, when he pulls trig- 
ger he scores a miss, but causes a fcAV downy feathers 
to float gracefully down to the water, encouragingly. 
Was that boy a born sportsman? I am of the opinion 
that he was. And what Avould that boy not give now to 
live that afternoon over again, to be as he then was, as 
nature made him, there along that creek bottom m the 
marsh? But the wildfowl no longer haunt that spot 
as they were wont to do in those times. What has be- 
come of them? Has the boy and his prototype deci- 
mated their numbers? Or is the horde of unthinking 
sportsmen with their decoys and murderous breech- 
loaders, and a desire to blow about their great bags on 
their return to town, responsible? This is something for 
us seriously to reflect on. I am afraid it is too late to 
do much else. Pen Feather. 
PiTTSBlJKG, Pa. 
Fishing Up and Down the Potomac. 
The Richland Seine. 
We had last season, on several occasions, made a ten- 
tative engagement to attend a hauling of the second 
herring seine on the Potomac, but after the fly-fishing 
began be begrudged the holiday. 
Early this month, however, we found the long-looked- 
for opportunity, and taking an afternoon train for Wide 
Water, nearly fifty miles down the Virginia shore, 
reached there while the net Avas still two hours of 
landing. 
We walked up the beach after supper to the fishing 
shore, Two turnstile horse pOAvers with four horses in 
each were hauling in the quarter lines, and when they 
were in a crew of fifty men gathered about the net, slow- 
ly hauling at both ends and laying the "in" upon the 
sandy beach. When the net had been shortened to 
tAventy fathoms the lead line was brought under to shore, 
and the remaining net cupped by the crew raising the 
cork and lead lines w^aist high, and slowly shortened to 
50ft., inclosing a struggling mass of herring, shad, 
etc.; those on the surface kept up a spattering fusillade 
that can be heard several rods in the quiet night, and 
sprinkled muddy water and fish scales on everything for 
several 3'ards about. 
To one who had not seen large seines operated, 35,000 
fish seemed something tremendous, and it Avas almost as 
much of a surprise to find the catch a disappointment 
to those most interested, Avho saw in it such serious signs 
of falling off as to indicate the threatened close of the 
season. The morning haul had been between 50,000 and 
60,000. 
To the outer edge of the net a rude fish scow was 
dragged and the cork line hung over pegs on the gun- 
wale. We Avere carried out to the scow on the shoulders 
of stout fishermen to get a closer view of the proceed- 
ings. Four men stepped into the net with two nets on 
hoops holding near a bushel each, and the fish Avere 
dipped and emptied into the deep boxes of the scow, of 
which there Avere tAvo with a well betAveen. In each 
box stood tAvo men with small dip nets, Avith which they 
skillfully scooped up shad or other stray fish and placed 
them in baskets. When the scow Avas filled to the depth 
of a foot or more, and in danger of grounding in the 
shalloAV water, it was pushed off to the landing above 
and another brought in its place. 
The dim moonlight struggling through the hazy 
clouds, tlie lanterns on the beach, or torches of waste 
net dipped in tar, the crowd of idlers lounging about 
the sands, attracted by a curiosity like our own, the 
chaffing of the creAv, the shouts of orders or inquiry, 
the singing of the net crcAv,. the bewildering collection 
of fish such as Ave had never seen, all served to form a 
weird picture never to be forgotten. The net crew has 
been spoken of. All assist at the haul, but so soon as 
the net is in the little army divides into squads, and 
one company becomes the fish crew to dispose of the 
catch, another takes its place in the sheds, Avhere the 
fish are stored, or takes care of the horses, and another, 
the net crew, must at once secure the miles of net and rope 
upon the beach and carry it out to the seine boat and coil 
it doAvn ready for next day's paying out. This, to those 
engaged in it, is a simple routine matter, but to the un- 
initiated it is a complex problem, so intricate in its 
disposition as to take rank Avith an engineering feat. 
The peg-board of a life saving line simplifies the mat- 
ter, but here are miles of net, and cork, and rope, and 
quarter lines, and buoys, and brails, piled in methodical 
confusion, that must drop of its own weight into the 
water Avithout an instant's hitch or delay. 
We had a beautiful illustration Avith this one of the 
popular idea that fly-fishing is purely a matter of skill 
in Avhich luck has no chance to enter. We only had an 
hour at the pond, as we had accepted an invitation from 
the proprietor of the net to dine on a freshly-caught 
shad — planked. One of us had had his turn at casting, 
for Ave Avere alone in the boat, and the other made only a 
cast or two and found that the long winter and a steam- 
heated room had shrunk the tip and loosened it from 
the ferule, but it did not drop out. The extra tip Avas 
in the case at the landing looyds. away, and it Avas time 
we were going back. It was awkward, but passing the 
rod back the tip was forced into the ferule hard, and a 
dozen casts made, Avhen again the ominous click. With 
a promise to reel up after one more effort, the rod Avas 
again passed behind and again the tip pushed home, 
Avhen suddenly there Avas a boil at the sunken fly; hastily 
catching up the rod a little twitch seemed to fetch up 
against a log, but there was a rush and the fight was 
on. DraAving in the line too quickly, the leader knot 
was drawn through the tip-eye and would not go back. 
The fish took refuge under the boat, and the muddy water 
was an advantage, as he did not see much of us. The 
rod pointed back to the man with the paddle, who made 
frantic eftorts to get the leader knot out, and the tip 
under his manipulation looked like a letter S. The bass 
settled the matter by rushing out, and for some minutes 
he played a fair game, with the end of the rod under 
water most of the time. He finally came near enough 
to net, and the hook was in his cheek. One might im- 
agine we Avould sometimes boast of the skillful perform- 
ance at least A\'hen Ave are alone, but we don't; it is 
only given as another proof of there being no such thing 
as aAvkwardness and luck in fly-fishing. Only science 
and skill can get a fish with a fly. But the chance to get 
planked shad, and such planked shad, was luck, and Ave 
took a short cut through the May Avoods to the house 
of our host. A yacht Avas down from Washington with 
a party of friends, but they were picnicking at a spring 
on the beach, and had already eaten their shad planked 
on the sand, and Avere lying about in the shade smoking 
and enjoying the soft air and blue sky which had been 
altogether too scarce this spring. 
Plank shad, so well knoAvn all along the Potomac 
shores, may not be a familiar expression to all your read- 
ers, and a brief description is hazarded. A freshly caught 
shad is split down the back and nailed flesh side out 
to a stout oaken plank, which is first heated, and to hold 
sufficient heat to help cook the under side a plank of a 
couple of inches in thickness is generally used. This is 
tilted up^near a mass of live coals, and the fish kept 
constantly basted with Worcestershire sauce and drawn 
butter until it is thoroughly browned, and served hot. 
It is a toothsome dish, and no one in this country 
has ever been heard to say it was not good. Indeed it 
would hardly be safe. It has but one fault— bones. 
The Chippewas and half-breeds of Canada cook trout 
in a somewhat similar manner; the split fish is skewered 
with peeled twigs like kite sticks to hold it stiff. It is 
then stuck on a stout stick, which is thrust into the 
ground near the open fire, the stick permitting its easy 
turning to brown both sides; but the trout cooked so is 
a very dry dish as compared with the shad. 
After dinner and our smoke, we accept an invitation to 
accompany the seine boat to see the laying out of the 
net. Our host, who had not made the trip in years, but 
contented himself with watching the operation from his 
house on the hill, went with us for good company's sake. 
The boat, rudely constructed, has banks for two dozen 
rowers, and looks much like the pictures of the ancient 
galleys. 
When the last fish scow has been towed to the landing 
it is already late, and to give the crews any chance for 
sleep before the next tide the catch must be quickly dis- 
posed of and lights out. At the landing is a string of 
wagons from the country, some from forty miles inland, 
who have come for their winter's supply of "Potomac 
Robins." They pay as highly for them as they could buy 
them for in the market, but they get their fish alive and 
in town they would be iced and stale. When the wagons 
are loaded and gone the balance are scaled, a three-min- 
ute operation, hardly understood by the novice without 
explanation. Two men are still in each box of the scow 
Avith their short-handled nets and long rubber boots. Two 
others come down from the fish-house with a bushel bas- 
ket, which they fill with clean sand from the beach and 
scatter over six or seven thousand fish in one of the 
boxes. The shad have already gone to the ice-box, and 
only herring are left. These are stirred with the nets 
and trampled Avith the soft boots, which never break a 
fish. Then come two men with a tub haAang a pole 
through it. This they dip full of Avater and splash over 
the herring in one corner of the boat, and as they dash 
the water on the men in the boat stir rapidly with their 
nets, and in this way rinse off the sand, which with 
practically all the scales passes through the false bottom 
of the scoAV to the Avell in the center, to be afterward 
pumped or scooped out. The fcAv fish in the corner 
which have been rinsed are dipped into the tub and car- 
rie'd up to the fish vats, where other men salt them down. 
The boatmen stir up more fish and push another tubful 
to the handy corner where the carriers may splash them; 
in an incredibly short time the fish are all in vats and 
hidden under salt. In this one fish-house are nearly half 
a million herring, corned or salted, and they have the 
reputation among their consumers of being "equaled by 
few and excelled by none." 
The next morning the net was out long before we 
were, and the brail nearly in by breakfast time, but we 
had plenty of time to Avade out to the fish boats and 
watch the details of the landing to better advantage than 
in the semi-darkness of the evening before. 
There Avere great silver eels squirming among the her- 
ring, but no lampers, as it is yet early for these. Some- 
times as the season closes a few are taken. The fisher- 
men amused themselves and us by picking up the wrig- 
gling eels and laying them on their backs in trenche,'; in 
the damp sand, drawn Avith the finger, Avhere the eel lay 
as still as if dead. They invariably, religiously as it 
were, made a cross at the head of the trench, as if 
the sign was a necessary part of the performance. We 
saw the experiment repeated with half a dozen of the 
largest, Avith ahvays the same result. It may be the 
sudden chill of the damp sand to the dorsal nerves, but it 
was suggestive of the old mountebank's trick of hypno- 
tizing a chicken Avith a chalk line. 
There were many odd creatures in the net — silver gar 
and pickerel, perch, yellow and white; catfish and slid- 
ers, or smooth pond turtle, Adcarioxisly diamond backs; 
and the odd soon interested us, and ahvays the crew, 
more than the herring, for these are treasure trove. 
After the landing we took our fly rods' for a mile stroll 
through the woods to the Richland Mill Dam, to see if 
the bass were up, and caught three, though the Avater 
was far from clear. , 
The spawning was OA'er, and there is no close season 
for the ponds, but Ave were afraid the young bass needed 
their care, and returned them to the Avater after petting 
the largest, something over 2lbs. 
The great net was coiled or laid in the stern in a pile 
30ft. long and 10 deep. The selection of the time for the 
laying of the net is a delicate matter of judgment and re- 
quires long study and experience Avith wind and tide. It 
is laid at last of flood and far up the river, so that the 
first of ebb brings it down and opposite the landing. If 
not calculated well, and the tide carries it beloAv, it is 
called a runaway haul, and means. much additional Avork, 
danger, and loss. They haA'^e not had one this season 
here. The superintendent, aa^io has been at the business 
for twenty-six years, seems to decide b}*^ instinct rather 
than by the many signs Ave do not recognize, and does his 
work so nearly mechanically as to have the appearance 
that it would do itself if he should happen to be asleep. 
The boat is rowed up the shore for a couple of miles 
past the famous duck blind, Avhere our host entertains 
our sporting Presidents. The channel of the river is 
narrow and close to the Maryland shore, and all this 
broad middle ground is shoal Avater, Avhere the padddle 
Avheels dare not come and the ducks are undisturbed; 
besides, the proprietor feeds them throughout the sea- 
son, and has long had one of the most famous shooting 
grounds on the river. 
Just before we reach the blind comes out from the 
shore a roAA'boat with a great coil of rope in the stern. 
Coming close, it fastens to our net line and shoots back 
to shore, the line paying out as they go. Here the line 
is secured, to be hauled down by horses later, when the 
net is out and the tide starts it doAvn the river. Now they 
fasten it, and as the end is reached out goes the rope 
from our boat. Then the great mast of a brail drops, 
staggers and stands upright, and the net is spinning out 
over a 20ft. roller on the stern. Coil after coil, and roll 
after roll, and layer after layer; will it never stop? And 
