17^ 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Marcs 4, 1899. 
This brook plunges over a sheer precipice of at least 40ft. 
directly into the waters of the lake, without any, or> 
scarcely any, space intervening. The immense catch of 
salmon recorded could not therefore have been taken 
while they were attempting to reach their spawning 
grounds, but were found near the shore, although in the 
open waters of the lake. They must necessarily wander 
through the lake in schools, but this is the only case which 
I have been able to trace where they have been captured 
except in streams or in the act of entering into them. 
These facts, which might, I think, be accumulated by a 
large catalogue of similar incidents, are sufhcieiit, it) my 
judgment, to sustain the proposition that the waters and 
the tributaries of Lake Chaniplain were teeming at a 
former epoch with salmon to an extraordinary if not 
unexampled extent. 
The Disappearance of the Salmon and its Causes. 
Unhappily, another fact, alike regretted by the sports- 
man and the political economist, is equally clear— the 
total disappearance for many past years of this prince o£ 
fishes from the region. * * * 
The Hon. Thomas B. Watson, of Peru, Clinton county, 
communicates to me the following statements, which he 
received from an aged matt, whose whole life has been 
devoted to fishing."* * * He said that he was en- 
gaged in 1838 in capturing between fifty to sixty salmon 
in the Au Sable River, and that no salmon had appeared 
in that stream for the fifteen years preceding. * * ^• 
The quiet the salmon constitutionally delights m and 
its sense of security have been invaded, with conse- 
quences still more effective, by another agency, which be- 
came augmented by the increase of population. I re- 
fer to the persistent and inexorable hunting that not only 
assailed them by the net and the jacldight and spear, but 
pursued them in their gravelly beds and breeding grounds, 
and there not only ruthlessly slaughtered the mothers 
and millions of the embryo, but drove innumerable multi- 
tudes in panic and alarm from the waters, probably never 
to rettirn to their former haunts. * * * _ 
Another qualification of the waters which is essential 
to the comfort and enioyment of the salmon is that it 
should be pure, and in the words of Judge Watson, high- 
ly aerated." The rapid erection of saw mills, until they 
occupied almost every water power, literally extinguished 
in almost every stream this native condition. The saw- 
dust stained and polluted the water, and the sediments 
and debris of the mills settled largely on the gravelly bot- 
toms, which had been so alluring to the salmon changed 
their character, and revolted the cleanly habits of the fish. 
Mr Arnold mentions another effect from this cause 
which may have exerted a greater influence. He has 
observed in his own experience that the sawdust with 
which the water was charged was necessarily inhaled by 
the fish with the fluid, and that particles of it was not 
ejected but remained adhering to the gills. This me- 
chanical effect must have produced annoyance to the 
creature, with succeeding suffering and possible 
death * * * 
The popular excitement became at length so deeply in- 
ilamcd by acts which were then regarded as encroach- 
ment on public immunities that the grand jury of Clinton 
county. New York, were impelled in the year 1819 to pre- 
sent an indictment against the proprietors of the dam 
erected at the mouth of the Saranac River m Plattsburg. 
the indictment, among other averments, alleged that pre- 
vious to the erection of the dam "salmon were accus- 
tomed to pass, and actually did pass, from Lake Cham- 
plain into and up the Saranac River tor a distance ot 
twenty miles," * * * "and that before^ the dam was 
built salmon were seen above the site ' ; and that after it 
was built many were caught at the foot of the dam but 
none above it; that salmon begin to ascend the nver fron^ 
the lake in June and July, but largely in August and 
'September." It appeared that the dam was 14ft. high, and 
die sluiceway 40ft. long, and arranged at an angle oi 30 
degrees. * * * 
The Au Sable River. 
An aged man is still living who informed Dr. George 
F Bixby, of Plattsburg, that in his boyhood he was m 
the habit of carrying a torch of jacklight for a sportsmaa 
to spear salmon in this stream, and that they killed them 
often weighing 20lbs. They would descend the high bank 
and enter the river near the head of the natural canal and 
wading in the water toward the fall, found the fish lying 
upon the bottom, who, either dazzled by the light or care- 
less in their refuge, would allow the spearsman to ap- 
proach them sufficiently near to strike. He represented 
the fish as appearing when the torch light was reflected 
from their mottled backs like bunches of hay sunken in 
the water. * * j-..^„„„„<. 
The valued correspondent from whom I have fiequciit- 
ly quoted writes me that when a child he saw a man sit- 
tin'i in a boat at the head of one of the rapids I have 
described, and drawing in the salmon with great rapidity; 
that he cast a long line and a common hook baited with a 
niece of pork into the rapids, and that even before the 
hook touched the water the fish would seize it with the 
eagerness that is often displayed by the trout. This is the 
only instance that my inquiries have disclosed of salmon 
being taken in these waters by the hook. It was a com- 
mon sport fifty years ago to seek the salmon on the falls 
where they are speared in great numbers as they attempt 
to leap up the-precipice. 
CHICAGO AND THE WEST. 
Fist Benumbed by the Cold. 
A GENTLEMAN who returned to the city Saturday from 
Jacksonville, Onslow county, N. C, reports some remark- 
ably large catches of trout that were made m New River, 
below Jacksonville, after the unprecedented cold weather 
of the early part of the week. He says that there were on 
a conservative estimate at least 15,000 on the landings at 
Jacksonville Friday, varying in weight from 3 to islbs^ 
each They were brought to Jacksonville m boats and 
were sold in quantities as low as 4 cents each, taking the 
lots as they came. A large quantity of them were brought 
to Vv'ilmington. and the dealers found ready sale for them 
at rx to 7=; cents each. There were also quite heavy 
sir jments made to the Northern markets via Newbern 
and via Wilmington, Fishermen say the trout were be- 
numbed bv the cold and were easily scooped up m dipnets, 
and some were even caught by hand, —Wilmington btar. 
More about the Japanese Fly-Fishing. 
Chicago, 111.,. Feb. 23. — Mr. J. O. Averill's most in- 
teresting paper on Japanese fly-fishing continues to elicit 
interesting comment. Prof. L. V. Pirsson, of the Shef- 
field Scientific School, NeW Haven, Conn., is so good 
as to write under date of Feb. 18, in regard to the conr- 
munication above mentioned, and he adds to my col- 
lection of sporting treasures several little items which 
I value more than much fine gold, I .shall take the liberty 
of quoting very liberally from Prof. Pirsson's letter, since- 
il is of such interest to the wide Fore.st and Stream 
family. He goes on to say: 
"Your letter in the recent number of Fouest and 
Stream in regard to Japanese trout fishing methods 
interested me very much indeed. Some ten or fifteen 
years ago a friend of mine, an importer and dealer in 
Japanese goods, who was also very fond of angling for 
trout, obtained from Japan a number of trout flies used 
there and was kind enough to give me a half-dozen of 
each variety. Thinking from your letter that it would 
interest you to see them, I inclose one of each kind. You 
will notice the old familiar patterns, the brown, red' 
and black-hackles, and all tied 'buzz,' as you 'described in 
your letter. The small size is very noticeable, and I 
suppose they may be intended to represent ants. They 
vie in delicacy of tying, and in pattern with the finest 
English midges. For comparison notice the one I in- 
close; it is one of the large number given me a- number 
of years ago by an old angler, whose age had forced 
him to retire and who had obtained them over forty years 
ago from England. I had always supposed from these 
Japanese flies that the trout were rather small and well 
educated, compelling the Japanese to fish 'fine and far 
off,' but I have never been able in reading or otherwise 
to obtain any information on the subject until I read your 
letter. These flies would hardly do, I should think, for 
the method ynur friend describes; they would seem rather 
to indicate a 'dry fly' method. Perhaps there are two 
schools of fishing there. 
"You will also notice that lack of a barb and the pe- 
culiar turned-in shape of the round bent hook, which I 
suppose is intended to atone for it, by giving a turned- 
in fine of draft. It would appear that the Japanese have 
little to learn from us in fly-fishing, and could probably 
give us points. 
"Unfortunately the smells on these hooks are very 
fragile. I do not know whether this is original or whether 
they have deteriorated, but I have , never dared on this 
account to try them. I have always intended to whip 
a good piece of drawn gut on, and try them some time, 
but have never done so. On the other hand the beau- 
tiful gut on the English fly is as sound as a dollar, in 
spite of its age, and I have used them with great suc- 
cess on our streams. I have not had an opportunity yet 
to try the new method you advocate, but I shall cer- 
tainly do so when I do," 
Kekoskee Vindicated at Last. 
The mills of the gods grind slowly, but their breakfast 
food comes out all right when they get done. I presume 
a great many readers of Forest and Stream remember 
the original publication in these columns of the Kekoskee 
fish story, and remember also the derision with which 
it was received as merely a gigantic fish lie. With 
meekness as became one of worth, I bore the contumely 
which was heaped upon me as inventor of this tale, in- 
sisting ever that it was no myth, no invention, but only 
part of the Saga of Wisconsin, one of the monumental 
occurrences in the history of the land. One by one proofs 
of the accuracy of my statement have come to light, 
gradually proving the truth of the old saying that truth 
is mighty and will get there in time. In Dr. Lake's let- 
ter, to which I have above referred, I find the following 
very, interesting advice: 
"Imagine my surprise the other evening while calling 
on an old friend of mine who used to live in Wisconsin 
during the 50s to hear him tell me that 'Kekoskee Fish 
Story' that you so graphically related some time ago in 
Forest and Stream. I laid low and quizzed him close- 
ly as to the particulars. He saw fourteen sleigh boxes 
loaded one afternoon. Said a farmer could get a sleigh 
box filled for a quarter. Had heard how one of the boys 
had walked across an opening in the ice, below one of the 
mills, on a solid mass of bullheads. 
"He had never heard of old 'Santa Anna,' which was a 
great grief to me, as otherwise the story was quite com- 
plete. You can imagine how much I desired to hear him 
tell all about 'Santa Anna' because that story has worried 
me some. Then to get such testimony from an entirely in- 
dependent source confirming every particular but one. 
Well, it was too bad! Still, I shall never worry any 
more when I take up Forest and Stream and turn to 
'Chicago and the West' colunm." 
I trust that Dr. Lake will carefully investigate the re- 
liability of his informant. Any man who has seen the 
bullhead volcano at Kekoskee, and not heard of old Santa 
Anna the horse that lived on fish, has a character that 
needs' looking into. Yet on the whole, as I have re- 
marked before, we must regard this matter as being 
direct proof of the accuracy of a story whose huskmess 
needs but small support. 
Bass Fishing in the South. 
My friend Joe Irwin, of Little Rock, Ark., is appar- 
ently in a hurry to have the winter close, so that he can 
go bass fishing. He wrote up last week in great agita- 
tion, and said that he wanted a casting reel,, and now I 
have his letter stating that the one I had sent to him 
is all right. It seems that the Japanese-Taylor cult is 
in process of catching on in the South, for Mr. Irwin 
writes: , 
"I expect to cover some bass ground this season by 
casting that should bring many good fish that I have been 
unable to reach heretofore with 'the fly,' as I have long 
since given up bait-rod fishing and use fly-rods ex- 
clusively I am greatly interested in the trout fishing, as 
Mr Taylor and Mr. Arnold, the Japanese friend, but 
would like to see something of this kind on taking the 
bass "We are planning to have a good time with the 
bass by moonlight this .season, and will write you about 
it. _ I have had one catch by moonlight, using a large 
while buck-tail fly below a mill dam, where I took over 
thirty from one pool. I find this fishing is practiced 
largely by anglers on the Upper St. Francis. They lay 
up in the heat of the day, and then go out when the 
moon gets good and bright. One friend I know took 
fifty-six small-mouth one night before 11 o'clock (Geo. 
R.^ Mann, St. Joseph, Mo.) 
"Live bait is hard to get here, but if we had those 
cast nets like they use down at Aransas Pass to catch 
mullet with, which is the bait for tarpon we would have 
better luck. Do they have them in Chicago? If so, 
'kindly get one for me. We have no frogs to speak of, 
as they do up North; so we must depend on phantom 
and spoon bait for bass. 1 prefer to cast live minnows, 
as you get so much better sport with a single hook than 
with the spoon, which holds the mouth of the fish open." 
I have from time to time spoken in these columns 
of the success my father and myself had fly-fishing in 
the early evening along the Wisconsin lakes, but I have 
never tried the bucktail, which is hardly to be called a 
fly at all. Mr. Irwin will no doubt catch more fish cast- 
ing with bait than he would by using the fly, and I very 
much doubt if the Taylor method of trout fishing would 
work so well with bass, since the lying ground is so 
different with bass from that frequented by trout. I 
reckon I can get Mr. Irwin the casting net he wants, 
but I am very much pained to have him say there are 
no frogs in Arkansas. When a country gets so poor 
it can't support frogs it is pretty hard up. We are told 
that even Egj'pt frogs were now and then very abun- 
dant. 
Singing Mouse No. J2, 
"By the way," Prof. Pirsson adds, "when I was a 
boy we also had a singing mouse in our house for a 
time. We thought at first it was our canary, but as the 
notes and singing seemed strange we investigated, and 
discovered it was a mouse. He was around for several 
weeks, and heard on a number of evenings. I have 
seen this trait of mice alluded to in a natural history some- 
where, but I cannot now recall where. If I happen upon 
it I will let you know." 
In regard the flies which are thus so generously shared 
with me, I must say that they equal in delicacy any 'that 
I have ever seen, and need in no Avay take a place be- 
hind the workmanship of the fine English fly which 
Prof. Pirsson incloses with them. Yet they have a 
bizarre, acro.ss-the-ocean, other-world sort of look to 
them, which gives them an indescribable character not 
to be conveyed by a black and white drawing, although 
I have jealously loaned one or two of them to the 
editor of Forest and Stream for tlie purposes of an 
engraving, should anything so small be visible in print- 
ers' ink. I regret very much that the snells of the curious' ' 
little flies are reported to be too delicate for actual use, 
for I should dearly love to try them on real trout. 
At first sight it would appear that the barbless hook 
of these curious flies would have no holding power, since 
it is merely a bit of needle-pointed fine wire. Wishing 
to discover the theory of this hook. I tried it on my 
finger, and found that it holds perfectly. Indeed, in 
some ways T should think it might hold nearly as well 
as our fine barbed hooks. After the point sinks into 
the flesh, a continued pull gives it a tendency to turn 
and come out again, the round end of the hook acting 
as a fulcrum to this end. When the hook has thus en- 
tered and come out, it embraces a narrow strip of 
flesh, from which it would not easily be released on a 
reasonably taut line. The hook which I tried was one 
with a, round bend, but perhaps the square bend might 
work in something the same way. One of the hooks 
inclosed has the shape of Kendal] sneck, but the others 
are unlike ' anything I have ever seen. At first sight 
they look like hooks from which the barb has been 
broken, but closer observance will show tliat the point 
of the hook turns up until it is about opposite the half- 
way point on the shank. It is not often that one takes 
from the mail a letter inclosing such valuable curiosities 
as these, and also mentioning an instance so rare as 
that of the discovery of another singing ' mouse. As I 
have so often before had occasion to remark, the Forest 
and Stream is a great developer of curious and interest- 
ing facts in natural history, and in all the details of out- 
door things. I shall very closely guard my little Japanese 
treasures, and I am very willing to agree with Prof. Pirs- 
son when he says there seems, to be little that we can teach 
the Japanese anglers. 
E. Hough. 
1200 Bqyce Btrii-DiNG, Chicago, 111. 
The Taylor System, 
Charleston^ N. H., Feb. 24. — Editor Forest and 
Stream: Mr. Averill's very interesting letter, as inclosed 
in Mr. Hough's last, on "Fly-Fishing in Japan," com- 
bined with Mr. Hough's former account of Mr. Taylor's 
system, combined with an experience of my own, has led. 
me to think that there may be something in this method 
of "challenging the trout" worth remembering and ex- 
perimenting with another season. 
The experience to which I refer was this: Some fif- 
teen years ago I was up at Amasa Waed's Camp, on 
Greenough Lake, in Wentworks Location, N. H., accom- 
panied by my youngest son, who was taking some of his 
first lessons in fly-casting. 
He had begun the year before at the Diamond Ponds 
and "caught the nack" readily, and been quite successful. 
It was a bright sunny day, and we had been very unsuccess- 
ful. I had taken one good trout early in the morning, and 
had not had another rise. Two others in our party had 
only caught one or two trout each, and my son had got 
one. Toward the end of the afternoon we were up at 
the upper end of the pond, furthest from the camps, where 
the bottom was very rough, large rocks rising often nearly 
to the surface, and now and then protruding themselves 
above it, making capital lurking places for the trout, and 
diligently whipping the water in all direction, when my 
son had a rise, but "failed to connect." He cast again 
in the same place, with the same result, and repeated the 
operation, until on the seventh strike, he hooked and 
landed the fish, a fine trout of about ^Ibs. The other 
boat was close to us, ancj all four were casting near to- 
