March i8, 1899.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
211 
the nntscular energy I had in me went into that clutch. 
He squealed and kicked and squirmed as I rained blow 
after blow with my fist on his head. At last his efforts 
grew feebler, and it was none too soon, for my strength 
was giving out. But still I pounded in a dreamy me- 
chanical way. He was now quite still, and I could feel 
his warm blood on my hand, but I did not propose to 
take any chances. Still clutching his limp body, I 
rolled out of bed, and taking my cane, proceeded to 
mash his head into jelly. It was only when sheer ex- 
haustion overcame me that I stopped. Life had long ago 
left him, that was sure. But even if he was an in- 
carnation of the devil, I did not propose to lose any more 
sleep that night, and so the mangled and battered corpse 
was locked up in a strong wooden box to await the 
morning and to bear witness to the truth of my tale, 
which I felt sure would not be believed by itself. It was 
as I had expected, but a glance at the blood-soaked 
sheets and the mangled form of my would-be destroyer 
served to convert even the most skeptical. The story 
has now become a school tradition, and the luckless 
mortal who happens to be assigned that famous room 
is always Avaited on by a delegation whose duty it is 
to make him feel perfectly at home by relating what 
once happened to a former occupant. 
A. E. Si'EAKNS. 
Andovbk, Mass. 
Proprietors of fishing and hunting resorts will find it profitable 
to advertise them in Fokkst ahd Stkxau. 
A Summer at Seabreeze. 
Our summer at Seabreeze, on the east coast of Florida, 
was a pleasant one. We went over there in May. The 
vicinitjr of the ocean was indicated while we were yet 
miles away by the bent-over forests, in which each tree 
trunk has been sprung into a curve leaning from the coast 
by prevailing winds during the stormy seasons, a result 
T never noticed elsewhere near the Atlantic border. Our 
first glimpse of the ocean oft Seabreeze was through a 
depression at the termination of 'the main street between 
side banks covered with silver palmettos that made a 
pretty framing for the picture beyond of wide beach, 
white surf, and miles of turbulent blue water. Our cot- 
tage, which was a few rods to the right of the main 
street, was shaped like a V. with legs expanded coastward. 
An upper and a lower veranda, that might have been 
quarters of a wooden pie, more than filled the angle. 
While sitting on these and watching the surf, we often 
felt as if we were on the stern of a steamer with some- 
what of a wake behind it. An average tide did not come 
within 150yds. of our front steps, but one of extreme 
.height came to the bluf¥ only loyds from them. 
• We spent much of our time out front entertained by 
what we saw on the beach or out at sea. Often the 
coast was a thing of wheels. On rare occasions, when 
it was deserted, trick riders performed for our sole 
.amusement. Day after day bathers bathed and fisher- 
men fished, all of them tumbled and tossed by the surf. 
Waves like large aprons with white frills would rush 
in for a while to tear up along shore. These would often 
be followed hy a period of immense rollers that pound- 
ed and roared in lines of high breakers. At times the 
water beyond the surf would be a vivid blue; at others as 
green as young wheat; and at others any one of a num- 
ber of delicate tints; and the fish, large and small, tarpon 
and small fry, sought the pretty color spots to dance on. 
The miles of coast in sight formed a straight line. As 
the windj^for some cause, was either up or down this 
coast a great part of the time, swift currents had formed 
inshore channels that became dangerous places where 
the water swept out to sea and promising holes for fish 
where the trend was toward the beach. The topographj 
of the bottom was changed, too, by extreme tides and 
pounding storms; but I easily learned it again by making 
long casts and then keeping abreast of my hook in the 
wash of the current. Channels where the outward flow 
carried line from my reel were considered by me places 
to be avoided. Days when there were no currents were 
the best for fishing. 
There was good fishing four miles up the coast, where 
a three-masted schooner had washed ashore stern first 
with bow far out among the breakers. Long strings of 
small fish were taken from the hold and great bunches oi 
large fish were caught from the forward deck among the 
breakers. The forecastle was used frequently as shelter 
either from passing showers or from the rays of a burn- 
ing sun. This grand old ship, the Nathan Cobb, after 
years of cruising, may be to all parts of the world, when 
she saw that her days of sailing were to end, had set- 
tled herself on shore exactly where she would be most 
useful to man to the last moment of her dissolution, a 
commendable deed that led us to esteem her as a faithful 
-friend. The fish caught up there were "whiting," weak 
fighters, not unlike the white suckers of Northern 
streams, but their flesh made delicious food. As better 
tackle was unnecessary for such sluggards, stout bam- 
boo rods and coarse lines were used. While we fished 
unusual waves broke against the bow and sprayed us, 
the aspect of the ocean changed many times, fish-hawks 
dropped every moment into the broad belt of surf along 
shore in sight, eagles came over the green hills of the 
peninsula to rob the hawks and at times to venture plung- 
ing into the sea — ^we had more amusement than the spo'-t 
up there. 
Most of the fishing, however, was done directly in front 
of our cottage. Nearly every day there was a sturdy line 
of bounding fishermen out neck deep struggling with the 
breakers and fish. Each sport wore a large straw hat. 
When extended in long rows they were not unlike some 
of the inner parts of a piano. Oblique waves caused the 
hats to bound successively as if scales were being run. 
Waves parallel to the coast resulted in a simultaneous 
upward move of hats as if a grand "prelude" had been 
struck. Choppy seas and fast running waves often brought 
about the wildest confusion of scattered hats and pathet- 
ically struggling fegt if §9me enormous Paderewski 
had hold of this hiUnan piano and was doing his worst 
for it. Fishing in the surf had peculiarities of its own. 
I never tired of watching those hats. 
A man from the interior of the State moved into the 
cotiage next door soon after we arrived. Froni some 
source he had received an impression that I knew all 
about the salt water fishing, a fallacious belief which I en- 
couraged, and it was not long before he made overtures 
for me to show him around. He mentioned an assort- 
ment of tackle which he thought might be useful to us, 
and offered to furnish the necessary bait. We went. 
Neighbor had not brought a bathing suit with him, so 
he costumed his person in shirt and overalls. As tlie lat- 
ter were 8 or loin. too long for him they protected his 
feet from the blistering sand above high-tide. He wa> 
a veteran of the Civil War, and their bright blue color 
gave him rather a soldierly appearance. It was something 
of an honor to introduce my hero-like friend to the 
breakeis. 
For awhile my pupil listened patiently to warnings in 
regard to dangerous cnn-enls and to instructions about 
the proper way to fish. He did not become obstrep- 
erous till he saw that he was catching the larger share of 
our fish. Success spoiled him. He would march a.shore 
with each fish, his head set, his eyes shining, and the 
surplus of blue trousers beyond his toes fluttering wildly 
as he walked. I thought it an unnecessary display of van- 
ity. Perhaps my ill success made me envious. 
We gradually worked our way down the beach. It 
was rather unpleasant out in the ocean chin deep, nearly, 
hopping at every incoming wave to keep mouth above 
water and performing athletic leaps at the approach of 
a large "curler." Some times we had to dive to escape 
annihilation, then search widely for hat and rod when 
we came up. So much exertion and the steady pounding 
of the waves were exhausting. I found sufficient amuse- 
ment near shore, where the breakers were less violent; 
but my friend ventured further and further out, heedless of 
my warnings. I might as well have called to the porpoises 
to come ashore. Perhaps that chap felt as if he knew 
as much as these lumbering fish concerning the ocean. 
At last an immense wave rolled in. It really towered up 
sky high. I could have counted 150 while my friend was 
extracting his feet from the air. His trouser legs mean- 
while were like two blue signals of distress shaken vio- 
lently. It was some time before he would venture out to 
recover his hat and rod. From then on he was more 
docile. He was quite upset by his mishap; but a surf 
fisherman must expect such reverses. 
Very few sea bass were caught during the summer. 
The whiting were plentiful. The latter were the prey 
of the "fish hog." Morning after morning specimens of 
tills creature wandered over to the beach with rods to 
fish the ocean out; night after night they tried to dis- 
tribute their loads among the residents along the bluff. 
Some of them even tried to sell whiting, as if it was not 
a kindness for us to accept their fish as a gift. It must 
have been discouraging, though, to the man who wanted 
fo catch everything to fish the surf so often and dis- 
cover each time that the sport was just as good as ever. 
Why some of his kind did not give up trying or perish 
of vexation was more than I could understand. 
Some of the fishermen contrived subterfuges with 
which to overcome the surf difficulties. A few of them 
built four-legged pyramids 8 or loft. high, with seats on 
top. Such affairs swayed like immense rockers out in 
the surf. The largest waves would knock these perches 
over and cause occupants to dodge for life to escape such 
dangerous drift. Floating timbers were cast ashore by 
the wash of breakers with terrific impetus. Four sports- 
men brought out two immense trestles and lashed a cross- 
board to them. The perch up there was high and rather 
precarious. The trestles cavorted and plunged as if 
frightened horses. It must have been difficult to main- 
tain an equilibrium on a seat of that sort. The rollers 
were thoroughly aroused. Each wave reached for that 
board. At last one caught it and overthrew the entire 
outfit. For an instant everybody near was in flight to 
escape death from wreckage. Such new ideas were all 
right for those who wanted to try them; but standing up 
against the breakers in the usual way was fishing enough 
for me. - 
But I tried a different method on one occasion, Masses 
of leaping fish out at sea tempted me out there in my 
canoe — the Field's craft. The flow of the surf had been 
careftilly studied and a plan to obviate danger had been 
decided upon. I experimented one afternoon, when there 
was only a single line of breakers. A number of pas- 
sages were made through this without mishap. But it 
was rather disconcerting to find that the eruption oc- 
curred at times near shore and at others far out. I soon 
discovered that I must take the wash end-on to avoid a 
catastrophe — knowledge that was useful to me later. 
I tried my luck a few mornings afterward. There were 
two lines of breakers when I went out. The first of these 
was passed safely by hard paddling at the right moment; 
the second by pausing an instant for a roller to crash in 
front and then urging my canoe ahead. Either through 
my tactics or the aid of a kind providence I reached 
safe water, where there were only large swells. Once 
my canoe had stood nearly on end, with bow pointed at 
a feathery cloud near the zenith. 
Much paddling was required to go only a short way 
seaward. Long distances became insignificant in such 
an expanse of water. The canoe headed up one side of 
the large swells and down the other, much as if con- 
stantly leaping a single spot in the ocean. From a mile 
out the town of Seabreeze, on the bluff, had an unfa- 
miliar appearance. Sometimes I saw it from the crest 
of a very high wave; at others I hid from it in private 
deep valleys of my own. 
Besides the regular ocean swells, cross-seas had been 
raised by a side wind, and the combination gave my 
canoe the erratic motion of an agitated corn-popper. 
Soon I had a bursting headache and a severe pain in the 
region of my stomach, as if I had been dealt a hard 
blow there. Other saltwater fishing had not been like 
thi,'!. 
My coming in through the breakers was all wrong. 
There were four distinct lines. I paused at the outer one 
of these till a large wave broke, arid then tried to follow 
the wash in. Though my pursuit was terrific, I could 
not ov©rUk« that eseaping mass. On the way in at least 
a dozen old-time breakers, all of them larger than houses, 
broke around me. There were precipices to look over 
and precipices to look up at. That 200yds. toboggan 
slide through a snow of surf was lightning. For a single 
instant my canoe had swerved, to be righted by frantic 
back-jerks on the opposite side with paddle. I crashed 
'up on the beach with the hair of my head erect. For a 
few minutes nervous exhaustion prevented me from dis- 
embarking. But I had brought my canvas canoe, built 
after a^plan suggested by Parker B. Field, through all 
that wild surf astern without mishap. There was less 
than a cup of water in it when I reached shore. 
I had caught very few fish, so after landing T dug co- 
quinas, clams as small as grains of corn. Great areas 
of these could always be found imbedded in stratas along 
the beach between tide marks. Profitable soil was washed 
in the surf for these clams. Cullenders, sieves, tin pans, 
anything that would hold coquinas, were used. It was 
like washing for gold. One citizen had built a cylinder 
2ft. in diameter and 4ft. long to fill with beach sand 
and then haul through the surf with a horse. Coquinas 
were popular. Several quarts of them, if washed in fresh 
water and then covered with it, after boiling for ten 
minutes, shells and all, yielded a supply of juice that 
made a delicious pot of soup for a large family. 
Some days, we had shrimp, or prawn, served in abun- 
dance. The local variety measured from 4 to 6in. in 
length. I had overcome a prejudice against them formed 
years ago because of their resemblance to the crysalis 
left by a young locust, and found that their tender flesh 
was far more delicious than the meat of lobster or crab. 
The ocean was kind to us. It supplied us with so 
much good food. Not only that, but it was also such a 
delightful companion. It washed the smoothest sort of 
path for our wheels, and dug holes near shore for us 
to fish in. It was sublime to look at under all condi- 
tions. We played with it. At times parties of us grown- 
up folks would build sand forts on the beach, and the 
ocean would reach out with tiny waves to level them. 
When we went out to bathe it would toss us high, as 
if we were little children. Some times it would be rough 
and would stand us on our heads to catch our wandering 
feet afterward and sling us at the beach. 
There were days when the ocean carried on a hot 
weather conversation with the bluff; and there were other 
days when it was decidedly out of humor and not fit to 
hear. Its voice always cheered us on at our meals, sung 
to us through the day, and lulled us to sleep with lulla- 
bies when we woke up at night. Every window of our 
cottage gave a view of the ocean, and stormy days. I 
wished for eyes enough to look out all of them. We 
were fascinated by the turbulent Atlantic. We feared it 
and yet exulted in having it so near us. It was a great 
life, of which each one of us seemed to be an infinitesimal 
part. 
Forests and Trout Streams.— IL 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
I send you the substance of an article read before the annual 
meeting of the Minnesota State Forestry Association, by Frank 
H. Carleton, of Minneapolis.— Geo. W. Str.«ind, Secy. 
One of the sources of food for fish in the beautiful lakes 
and .streams of Minnesota are the Crustacea, or small 
shellfish, which once were so abundant on the sandy and 
pebbly bottoms of^ lake and river beds, but the great 
freshets, by bringing in the large quantities of rich soil 
from the land, have made a deposit of mud and ooze, 
which has destroyed the Crustacea, and so another great 
source of food for fish has been destroyed, and the tiller 
of the soil and the angler have both been injured. The 
volume. of water has been reduced not only by the evap- 
oration and drying up of springs and other sources of 
water supply, of which we have spoken, consequent on 
forest destruction, but the water bed has been filled up 
from the bottom and rendered shallower. And can we 
wonder that our streams and lakes are growing shal- 
lower, and that some have ceased to exist altogether, 
when we consider tha't two factors tending to reduce the 
water supply are constantly at work on our lakes and 
streams at the same time, one to fill up from the bottom 
and the other to reduce the quantity of water at the sur- 
face. 
Have any of you gentlemen ever waded a trout brook- 
in a region where the trees have mostly been destroyed, 
as the once famous Kinnikinnick, whence so many trout 
were taken twenty years ago, and notice that the once 
deep holes have been mostly filled up with the deposits 
of soil from the neighboring fields, and that now the 
water for the twenty miles of its course is nearly of uni- 
form shallowness, while once it had its great variety of 
shallow and deep places? Compare such a stream as this 
with its monotonously even depth of water with the few 
streams of northern Minnesota and Wisconsin where 
the axciman has not felled the timber, and note the dif- 
ference in the depth of the water bed. I have waded 
the Kinnikinnick for miles in my hip boots without once 
geting out of the water or even getting in over my boot 
tops, while in forest streams of northern Minnesota or 
Wisconsin 'of half the volume of water I have been forced 
to get out of the water every few rods on account of 
the impassably deep holes. I was always willing to get 
out, for in these deep holes we get the trout. But a few 
more years of forest destruction in Minnesota and Wis- 
consin will soon cause the deep holes in the streams to 
be filled up and the trout will disappear rapidly enough. 
It is a conceded fact that a treeless country, whenever 
it has rains, has freshets and inundations. Without for- 
ests to hold back the water it at once runs off in torrents, 
filling the streams more than bank high, and with its re- 
sistless current sweeping spawn and young fish away 
from their habitats, leaving many on the shore to per- 
ish with the receding waters and carrying others to the 
larger lakes .and rivers, where they are readily devoured 
by the larger fish, One sweeping . freshet in a trout 
brook will often work such serious loss to the spawn 
and smaller trout as to seriously injure the fishing for 
3'ears. And you know how the flooding of logging 
streams will in a few years- almost exterminate the trout. 
The diminution of the volume of water in our lakes 
consequent upon forest destruction also militates against 
the fish in two other very serious ways. First, as the 
water becomes shallower, often freezing- nearly to the 
bottom, fish havs kis freedom and air Sipasc "b^-" 
