110 
because it is the wisest and tberwfore the best fisher of 
them all. The Germans call this animal the "wash bear," 
from its habit of washing things before it eats them. 
As the coon is omnivorous, it ma3 r be questioned if it 
washes birds, and I know that it does apt wash green 
corn, the "roastin' aar" of the South. The old darky 
song says: 
"Ole Mistah Coon's a mighty man, 
He carry a bushy tail; 
He steal ole massa's onwn at night, 
An' he husks it awn dc rail. 
i ■ De squirrel hab a bushy tail, 
An' stumpy grows de hair; 
De ole coon's tail am ringed all 'roun', 
An' de possora's tail am bare." 
Here is a condensed natural history, and such simple 
songs made negpo minstrelsy popular forty years ago, 
but what they sing to-day is characterless. 
Next to the fox, if not before it, the coon ranks in 
cuteness. I saw one wade in on a riffle and go up 
stream, turning a stone with one forepaw and grabbing- 
any fish or crayfish which might dart out with the 
other. It was in the summer, when the streams were low 
in Louisiana, and I had been fishing, but at that time 
was sitting on a log taking a bite* at noon. A bunch 
willow concealed all but my head, and when the coon 
came in sight I suspended mastication and tried to sup- 
press breathing, for a felloV may be out for years and 
not get a chance Jfc- see a wild animal search for its 
food as if it vjdMHfe -served. There was no desire to 
kill the C0011 jB3§ffiR ;s midsummer, and neither flesh 
nor skin w c r c jSuHP™ then I'm that sort of fellow that 
when not pres^SPwOT meat would spend half a day to 
see a chipmunk dig its hole, and think the time well 
spent. 
The coon proceeded cautiously with one paw re-ady 
to grab .before a stone was disturbed; then the stone 
was quickly upset and a grab made and a crayfish was 
captured; just how I could not see, but in a way 
that avoided the two great pinching claws, which were 
then broken off, and th* crustacean scrubbed and eaten, 
as some darkies eat peanuts, shells and all. This ac- 
counted for the number of these claws seen on the 
riffles: I wonder if all coons break off the claws from 
crayfishes before they wash and eat them. 
Coons also kill and eat the small pond turtles, the 
painted and spotted ones of the northeastern United 
States, and perhaps the larger "sliders" of the South. 
I have never seen them eat a turtle, but have seen the 
empty shells picked quite clean along the shore, and 
usually surrounded by coon tracks, forming good cir- 
cumstantial evidence. 
White fishing in Kansas a coon came out of the 
woods and washed a frog *within 30ft. of me, and 
scrubbed it well, and went back into the brush. 
"Oh, Mistah Coon's a cunnin* t'ing, 
He ramble in de dark; 
An' de only t'ing dat 'sturbs His mind 
Is to hear ole Ringo bark." 
A Fishing Cousin's Letter. 
New York, July 26. — Editor Forest and Stream: The 
inclosed letter from my cousin, A<V. H. Young, of Tren- 
ton, N. J., to me has b&en read with so much pleasure 
by several of my friends and myself that I thought others 
who love to read a good letter about fishing would be 
glad to see it in your paper. If you use it you will give 
great pleasure to many of your admiring- readers. 
D. Jones. 
Trenton, N. J.. July 23, 1898. — My dear Dave: Well, 
old boy, I think I can now tell you a fish story that you 
will enjoy, first, because it is true, and secondly, because 
I had a hand in it. To go back a month of more — I 
forget the date, but it was in the "month of roses"— I 
had the great pleasure to land a bass from behind the 
identical rock at Goose Island where you caught one 
two years ago. I drifted down to just abore the rock, 
anchored and 'cast a helgramite behind the rock on the 
edge of the swirl of the current, and he took it at once. 
He made a fine fight and was very gamy, but my new 
line (for which I thanked you in my letter to you at 
Bridgeton, and for which I again thanked you while this 
beauty was on the other end of it) was true and held 
him firm. He weighed just 3^41bs., and so far is the 
Dewey bass at Nelson's boat landing. Have since then 
landed others of 1, i}4 and 2^1bs. But there is another 
one, a dandy, a daisy, the one I Stave been looking for 
all my life and c~«uld not find, but who was kind enough 
to look me up, and w« both were ready for business 
when the junction was made. On the r4th of this month 
I went to the Water Gap; Godley and wife were there, 
stopping with relatives, and I went to the hotel. We 
fished all day Friday and Saturday and caught lots of 
bass, but nothing over 1 and i^lbs. The baits used 
t'^re are helgramite, stone catfish and eels. 
.Monday we were to come home on the 2:22 train, but of 
course we went fishing in the morning and started out 
at 7 o'clock. We floated down from the rapids above 
to the point of the island below the boat landing. There 
we anchored and still-fished and caught some. We 
changed our place three or four times, always a little 
lower down, and drifting to it. When we got in the boat 
Mr. Graves, the boat-keeper, put in two of his reed 
poles, saying, "If you strike a big fish these poles will 
set the hook better than your rods can, and I advise you 
to use them." So we had put catfish on and looked for 
results. We fished with bugs and caught six bass. About 
the time to pull up and go home my rod (the Graves 
pole), which had n 5in. catfish on (the loose line I had* 
run off and laid in the bottom of the boat), started off 
slowly, and I immediately took charge of that rod and 
all others came into the boat. The line still was moving 
off down the river, and I could tell by the steady pull 
that my friend had found me. I think 30 or 40ft. of line 
went out, and toward the last it went so fast that I had to 
let him take it himself from the red; then he stopped 
and turned it; and put it where it did him the most good. 
As he started off to look for more dinner, I gave him 
his check, reminding him that he bad not paid me for 
what I had furnished him; but ho tried to get away, and 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
tried so hard that I could not prevent him for a time. 
It seemed as though I had sunk the hook in a floating 
railroad tie, he was so heavy and irresistible in his 
rushes. The reel screamed and sounded like a buzz 
saw going through a saw log. He made at least a half- 
dozen fierce runs; of course I took him up between times 
or the line would have given out. He did not show 
himself once, but kept down deep. Once it seemed that 
he was on bottom and tugging away, just as a dog in 
playing with a rope in his mouth will brace himself and 
shake his head and pull back with all his strength. I 
had some difficulty to start him, but by taking up one 
anchor and swinging around I changed my position and 
put the strain on from a new point. Oh, what a relief 
to feel that he had started again, but I would have 
given something at that time to have seen him, for 
I knew he was the largest bass ever come to my rod. 
Godley was all anxiety, and watched with bulging eyes 
every move of the line as it cut through the water. He 
was kept busy changing the boat, and was full of devout 
good wishes for the successful boating of the "mystery," 
for the fish had not yet broken water. At length nature 
was compelled to give him to his captor, and the strain 
became less and less, and up he came slowly to the 
surface, saying a last good-by to the scenes of his child- 
hood as he passed them for the last time. As he lay 
on his side some feet from the boat, utterly unable to 
move that powerful tail, he did look to be a monster, a 
fit champion of the bass family of the Water Gap. 
Slowly and cautiously he was led to the side of the boat, 
while Mr. Godley tenderly raised his gills and laid him 
softly down, and we sat there and admired his beautiful 
proportions and graceful shape. Evidently he had swal- 
lowed the bait, for it was dead as a mackerel and had 
run up the line 6 or 8ft. The hook had caught him in the 
corner of the mouth, just under the skin, and he could 
not have broken away unless I had been cruel to him, 
which I was not. He was the fattest fish I ever saw; 
very thick through the body — 22^in. long, i6in. girth, 
and weighed just 61bs. He created a deal of excitement 
at the Kittatinny House, as we had to pass there to go 
to my hotel, the Glenwood. 
There, Dave, that is the biggest bass I ever expect to 
get, and I can say that I am satisfied. Let others have 
their turn, and I am willing now to take the ones of 
lesser degree. "I have dined and fate cannot harm me." 
W. H. Y. 
Michigan Fishing Waters* 
Detroit, 'Mich., July 20. — At East Tawas, a pleasant 
little town on Tawas Bay, in Iosco county, Mich., the 
central point of a remarkably fine trout country is 
found, and the place is convenient headquarters for 
scores of fishermen. The Au Sable is a few miles further 
on, and is too well known already to require even a men- 
tion. , The streams hereabout are all good streams and 
afford excellent sport. True, there are many who go 
up into this country to fish who are not fishermen. 
Everything that comes to their hook is fish. The finger- 
ling is eagerly chucked into the creel, and when a *%- 
pounder comes along they don't get him. The beautiful 
bay that spreads out before East Tawas, a part of that 
great lake of the painted Hurons, is dotted with sails, and 
the beach, a long stretch of gleaming white sand, finds 
plenty of bathers taking a dip at all hours of the day. 
At Alpena, which lies at the head of Thunder Bay, you 
may be prepared to hear of some of the big black bass 
catches. Long Lake, a fir?e, large inland lake, some six 
or seven miles from Alpena, is the favorite black bass re- 
sort, A fine macadam road leads to this place, and 
there are plenty of boats and boatmen. Speaking of this 
road, it is worthy of mention that, as a piece of busi- 
ness sagacity which other localities would do well to 
imitate, the county has constructed these macadam roads 
in various directions radiating from Alpena, for which 
purpose the county was bonded for $100,000, and they 
never_ made a better investment. The farmers are bene- 
fited incalculably, and the mercantile community shares 
the immense advantage of direct and quick communi- 
cation with the district tributary to this county town. 
Long Lake is a great fishing ground and a most at- 
tractive spot. The small-mouth bass caught here last 
August and September were the largest and handsomest 
specimens of this great game fish that I have ever seen, 
not even at St. Clair flats have I seen their equal; while 
the pike and pickerel and muscalonge afford the most 
exciting sport. I wish Fred Mather's article on the 
relation of rods and lines, in the Forest and Stream 
of May 28, could be read by every fisherman who fishes 
for bass in these great natural homes of this magnificent 
game fish. But is it evident that what he says is not 
known to many of them. It is a great mistake that those 
who profess to be so fond of fishing and shooting do 
not subscribe for and read regularly some first-class 
journal devoted to these sports. Half the pleasure of 
these is lost by losing the interchange of views and ex- 
periences of those who are intelligent and careful ob- 
servers. A man may think he knows all that 
is worth knowing, but here is where he gets badly 
left. "Everybody knows more than anybody." And " 
sometimes a kid, such as El Comancho writes so charm- 
ingly of, can give a veteran points that will amount to a 
revelation. 
The fish hatchery of the U. S. Fish Commission, located 
at Alpena, has been enlarged and improved since my last 
visit; a change has also been made in the superintendent 
or foreman. Mr. Tulian, who was formerly in charge, is 
now in charge of Colorado hatchery, and Mr. S. W. 
Downing succeeds him. Mr. Clarke,' of the Northvillc 
hatchery, now has both this and the Alpena hatchery, 
From Mr. Downing I learned much that is interesting 
relating to the operations at this point, among others 
that he planted in 1896 35,000,000 whitefish fry, and in 
1897 ^2,000,000, which were distributed as follows: 
Frankfort, "-Mich., 2,500,000; Manistique, 4,000,000; 
Warehouse Point, "North Shore, Lake Mich., 2,500.000; 
Straits of Mackinac, 2,50o7oob; North Point Lighthouse! 
4.000.000: Hammond's Bay, 2,000.000; Crow Island, 2,- 
000,000; Sugue Island, 2,000.000; East Tawas, 2,000,000; 
Beaver Island, 3,000,000; Thunder Bay, 3,000,000. Mr. 
Downing is putting everything in fine shape for next 
season. - '• 
- There are said to be no less than three distinct species 
[Aug. 6, 1808. 
of lake trout in Lake Huron. I have seen two of them, 
which vary materially, while there are many variations" of < 
color, according to the runs and locality from which they 
are taken. The Mackinac species predominate, and 
these the local fishermen here say are the true namaycush.- 
Next in number seem to be the "buckskins," as they 
are called; this species varies from the former in that if 
has a tough, leathery skin, which gives it its name, and 
is also lighter in color and weight. Then come "the 
racers," which are growing scarcer every year, and when 
they are utterly extinct no one will complain — certainly 
not the fishermen, for they are a perfect terror to all 
other species; just what has caused the rapid decrease is 
difficult to tell, for there is no known fish that can get 
away with them in an evenly matched open fight. They 
are reputed to be terribly destructive; have a head and 
mouth of immense proportions — altogether dispropor- 
tionate to the size of the body as compared with the 
other species. Ketjka. 
The Sea Lion Case. 
The sea lion which has been on exhibition at Asbury 
Park in the summers since 1896, and in the winter of-' 
1896-7, was on view at the Smithsonian Institution in 
Washington, with the card, "Kindly loaned by Mr. James 
A. Bradley, of Asbury Park," was the subject of a 
long and interesting argument on escaped animals yes- 
terday before Justices Beekman, Giegerich and Gilder- 
sleeve, of the Appellate Term of the New York Supreme 
Court. 
The action was brought by James R. Mullett, a sea 
captain who has spent a number of years in capturing 
and dealing in sea lions, to recover the sea lion from Mr. 
Bradley, and in default of the animal $500 damages for 
converting it to his own use. The case came up origin-j! 
ally before Justice McKean in the Eighth District Muni- 
cipal Court, who dismissed the action, and Capt. Mul-' 
lett brought it up on appeal from that decision. 
Capt. Mullett testified that as the result of study and' 
experience he had ascertained that such sea lions cannot 
live in the Atlantic, and are never found there in their 
natural condition. They are caught off the coast of Cali- 
fornia, and he had found that the only ones that will 
live in captivity are those caught at the Santa Barbara 
Islands, in the Pacific, where the one in suit was taken. 
They have a sea lion at the Falkland Islands, but it is 
different from the California sea lions. The sea lions are 
lassoed on the rocks when asleep, a matter requiring 
much experience and adeptness. About 50 per cent, of 
those taken in captivity die, so that one which has been 
a year in captivity is much more valuable than one re- 
cently taken. Capt. Mullett said he has written accounts 
of these things on orders from the Government. When 
asked , about the intelligence of these animals, he said: 
'"They are the most intelligent animals in the world, and 
they make friends sooner than a dog or a horse." 
He testified that he took a great fancy to the animal 
in suit, beside which he had slept the fourteen nights 
that it took to bring it from San Francisco. It got so 
tame that it readily obeyed his call. He had lent it to 
William A. Conklin, formerly in charge of the animals 
at Central Park, and Conklin put it on exhibition at 
Glen Island. The animal escaped and was caught a few 
days later by some fishermen in a pound net opt in the 
ocean near Mantoloking, N. J., about seven miles down 
the coast. The fishermen sold it to James A. Bradley 
for $50. Capt. Mullett said that the sea lion is worth $500 
at least. Capt. Mullett did not learn until the summer of 
1897 that Mr. Bradley had his sea lion. He knew it 
because one of its flippers was injured. When he asked 
Mr. Bradley for his sea lion, Mr. Bradley "was very 
stiff" and said that he knew the law, was a lawyer him- 
self and that he would not give up the animal if it cost 
him $1,000 to retain it. 
The defendant contended that the animal was ferae 
naturae (wild), and that ownership was lost on its escape. 
Among the cases cited by his counsel, F. W. Mount, was: 
Bracton, De Legibus Anglise, Book 11, Chapter I., 
Section 2, edition of Sir Travers Twiss, Q. C, D. C. L., 
vol. I., page 65, reading: 
_ "The dominion over things by natural right or by the 
right of nations is acquired in various ways: in the first 
place, through the taking of those things which belong 
to no person, and which now belong to the King by civil 
right, and are not common as of olden times, such, for 
instance, as wild beasts, birds, fish and all animals born 
on the earth or in the sea or in the sky, wherever they 
may be captured, and wherever they shall have been cap- 
tured they begin to be mine because they are coerced 
under my keeping, and by the same reason, if they escape 
from my keeping and recover their natural liberty, they 
cease to be mine and again belong to the first" taker. 
But they recover their natural liberty then when they 
have either escaped from my sight in the free air and 
are no longer in my keeping, or when they are within 
my sight under such circumstances that it is impossible 
for me to overtake them." 
Quotation was made from Blackstone, who, after 
speaking of deer in parks, hares and rabbits in an in- 
' closure, doves in a dovehouse, pheasants and partridges 
in a mew, hawks that are fed and commanded by their 
owners and fish in a private pond or in trunks, says: 
"These are no longer the property of a man than 
while they continue in his keeping or actual possession; 
but if at any time they regain their natural liberty his 
property instantly ceases unless. they have the aimmtm 
revertendi, which is only to be known by their usual 
custom of returning." A further quotation by Black- 
stone was made: 
"If pheasants escape from the view or fishes from the 
trunk, and arc seen wandering at large in their proper 
element, they become ferae naturae again, and are free 
and open to the first occupant that hath ability to seize 
them." 
A case in 5 Coke, 104, was cited: "If a man makes 
coney boroughs in his own land which increase in so 
great a number that they destroy his neighbors' lands 
next adjoining, his neighbors cannot have an action on 
the case against him who makes the said coney boroughs, 
for so soon as the coneys come on his neighbor's lands 
he may kill them, for they are ferae naturae, and he 
who makes the coney boroughs has no properly in them, 
and he shall not be punished for the damage which the 
a 
