468 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[June 17, 1899, 
smallest oi the catch in that pool. A four-mile walk 
with a heavy creel of fish was the next incident of a good 
day's work, and an eight-mile horseback ride com- 
pleted it. Andrew Price. 
Maslinton, W. Va. 
The Aureolus in Vermont. 
Cold Spking House, Averill, Vt., June 2. — Editor For- 
est and Stream: A few days ago I read an article in 
your paper, from the pen of Mr. A. N. Cheney, on flic 
subject of the aureolas or golden trout, in which the 
writer stated that they were only to be found as inhabiting 
Sunapee Lake, and one pond in New Hampshire, and one 
pond in Maine. When I read that article I fully believed 
it to be- true. 
In this township in the northern county of Vermont, ly- 
ing about six miles from the Connecticut River, or 
boundary line between New Hampshire and Vermont, and 
about five miles from the line between Canada and Ver- 
mont, are three ponds in a chain, and only about one-half 
mile distant from each other. On the shore of the most 
easterly, or Leach Pond, is the Cold Spring House. This 
pond is inhabited by spotted or brook trout exclusively, 
and is one of the finest of the kind, and contains by actual 
measurement 114 acres. About one-half mile west of this 
is Great Averill Pond, containing 1,300 acres, and about 
three miles long, and one of the most beautiful sheets of 
water in New England. Southwest from Great Averill 
about one-half mile is Little Averill Pond (so called), 
which contains 800 acres, and is also a very beautiful sheet 
of water. Both of the so-called Averill ponds are very 
deep, soundings having been made showing over 200ft. 
of water. They have both been in the past for many 
years very prolific of large speckled trout. I have taken 
trout in the larger pond weighing slbs., and I know of 
one being taken in Little Averill which tipped the beam 
at a trifle over nibs. 
I never knew of any other variety of fish being taken 
in any of these three ponds except speckled trout, tmtil 
perhaps seven or eight years ago some of the natives of 
Averill (of whom there are few) and of Canaan, east of 
Averill, and Norton, on the west, began to tell of taking 
salmon from the two (so called) Averill ponds. I never 
believed that there were salmon in the ponds, and sup- 
posed that the large fish taken by the natives, and by them 
supposed to be salmon, were only very large trout Mr, 
Noyes came here to take charge of this sportsman's camp 
two years ago, and very soon after taking possession be- 
gan to tell me of the fine salmon that were being brought 
into camp from these waters. From the best description 
I could get from him, I at once came to two conclusions — 
first, that the fish was not a salmon, neither was it a 
speckled trout. I requested him to send me a speci- 
men. On May 25 last, he sent me a fine male specimen 
weighing, "dressed weight," 6V2lbs. At once on taking 
the cover from the box containing it, I exclaimed "Aurco- 
lus." After showing the fish to friends I sent it away. Two 
or three days after, I saw my colleague on the com- 
mission, Hon. N. Wentworth, and told him I had re- 
ceived a fine specimen of aureolus taken from the Averill, 
Vt., waters, and sent me by Mr. Noyes. He asked me for 
a description, anl when I told him of the coloring of this 
fish he told me I was mistaken, it was not an aureolus. 
Mr. Wentworth having seen hundreds of these golden 
beaitties to my having seen one, of course I was not too 
positive , but urged him to come here with me and look the 
matter up. We arrived here this afternoon, and imme- 
diately on our arrival Mr. Noyes, at our request, pro>- 
duced from his cold storage a number of fish, among which 
were several specimens of the natives' salmon. Mr. 
Wentworth at once and without any hesitation pronounced 
them aureolus. 
_ In less than an hour after our arrival, while we were 
sitting on the veranda discussing the question of how and 
when these fish could have got into or have been put into 
these waters, a man and his wife came, bringing in some- 
where about a dozen of these fish, weighing from i to 
4lbs., and one which weighed, dressed, Slbs. This fish was 
caught to-day by the lady in the Little Averill, and was 
taken trolling with minnow. We are wholly unable to ac- 
count for the presence of this variety of fish in these 
waters. There is no record of any being taken prior to 
eight to ten years ago. Certainly they were never put 
there by the Vermont Fish and Game Commission, for 
they obtained from us the past winter 10,000 eggs for the 
purpose of introducing them into Vermont waters. 
Wm. H. Shurtleff. 
Cold Spring House, Averill, Vt., June 2— Edilor Forest 
and Stream: My reason for doubting Mr. Shurtleff's 
statement that he received an aureolus from Vermont, 
was by the way he described the coloring of" the fish. The 
fish, weighing Slbs., was 2Sin. in length. It was not nearly 
so stocky a fish as those found in Sunapee Lake, for the 
reason that there are no smelt in these waters. In fact, all 
the specimens we examined showed plainly that they were 
ill-fed. Their coloring is beautiful, very nearly as brilliant 
as those taken from the spawning beds of Sunapee Lake 
in the fall. There is no question that these waters are 
teeming with them. Mr. Noyes tells me of one party that 
took 20olbs. of these beautiful fish in one day. It is some- 
thing wonderful that the fish have not been identified be- 
fore. I have seen thousands of these fish taken from 
New Hampshire waters within the last few years, and 
there is no question that the specimens we have seen to- 
day are the aureolus, Sunapee saibling or golden trout. 
I inclose ypu pjiper pattern of the large one taken here 
to-day. Nathaniel Wentworth. 
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On Trout Lake. 
"In the spring a young man's fancy 
Lightly turns to thoughts of love." 
That may have been true in the olden times, but now 
the young man's fancy turns to crystal lakes and babbling 
brooks, and the gamy muscalonge, bass and trout that 
lurk therein and whose pursuit and capture afford many a 
pleasant hottr's anticipation and discussion before the 
winter fire. 
A few springs ago this fancy turned the eyes of the 
writer, his brother Tod and a small mittual friend, an 
M. D., toward Trout Lake, Vilas county, Wisconsin, the 
most beautiful lake on the Chicago & Northwestern sys- 
tem. We shipped our tents, provisions and canoes a week 
ahead. Our guides portaged them over from Woodruff to 
the lake and prepared our camp. A wagon road had just 
been opened to the lake, a typical piny woods road. 
When half-way across it began to rain; later it turned 
cold, and we got to the lake more dead than alive. W^e 
SQUAW .i>.i) PAPPOOSE. 
found a nice camp, warm fire, splendid supper and most 
comfortable balsam beds awaiting us. We thawed out 
and then we ate, and then how we did sleep ! 
Next morning bright and early we started, and each 
came in happy with a fine lot of trout. They were all a 
fisherman could ask for either game qualities on the hook 
or flavor on the table. It turned quite cold — the water 
froze in our buckets, but the colder it got the better the 
trout bit and fought. Tod had never caught a musca- 
longe, so the third day we portaged to Muscalonge Lake 
and he caught his first one — an 8-pounder. How his eyes 
running the rapids. 
popped out when it struck and left the water. He 
fought it well and soon brought it to gaff. Two others 
followed, and we returned to camp happy and satisfied. 
The next day while trolling for, trout in the Upper 
Lake, Tod got one of those quiet gentle strikes in which 
a muscalonge sometimes indulges. We had seen no one 
who caught a 'lunge in Trout Lake, so of course, not 
dreaming of such luck, he snubbed it as if it were a small 
trout. But he was deceived. While it fought deep and 
would not come to the surface, it pulled, as he expressed 
it, "like a yoke of oxen," and kept him very busy for 
fifteen minutes. We were all speculative — a giant trout 
we declared. Finally it broke water and came out fully 
2ft., and .soon the handsomest 'lunge I ever saw was his. 
It weighed i81bs. Continuing round the lake off the big 
bar we struck quite a school of trout, and trolling with a 
small spoon on the end of the leader and two bass flies 
above it, on two occasions we landed three trout at once, 
and thrice we landed doubles, and on our return to camp 
we forwarded a barrel of these delicious fish to our good 
friends at home. 
The next day was Sunday. No fishing was agreed. A 
party of Indians having camped on the old Indian clear- 
ing near us, we visited them and secured good pictures of 
the buck, squaw and pappoose who comprised our in- 
teresting neighbors. They were shy at first, but our small 
friend, the physician, has a way about him that neither 
man, woman nor child was ever known to resist, and they 
socri became quite friendly. We went ovei; itv our boat,. 
On our way back Tod began skylarking, when our small 
friend proposed we tip the boat over. No sooner said than 
done— over I turned it in about 3ft. of water. The Doctor 
was half-way round and struck the water head foremost. 
His feet may have escaped wetting the first plunge, but 
I'm sure no other part of him did. Tod and the guide 
Hank were wrestling in the bottom of the boat, and I 
saw the water close over their heads as they went in 
clasped in each other's arras. Holding the camera above 
water, 1 made for camp on the double quick. My gun 
alone, T think, saved me from something awful. It was 
cold — so, so cold ! They had to change their clothes- 
They have not forgiven me yet, but a cup of coffee and 
some lunch partiall}"- reconciled them, and we discussed! 
our plans for the morrow. 
The i81b. 'lunge had fired Tod's ambition. The guide's 
reports of gi'eat catches in Boulder and Crooked lakes 
fanned it to a fever heat. Dock concluded that his state 
of health would not permit him to make the four-mile 
carry between Trout and Boulder lakes, so Tod and I, with 
Hank and two other guides, started at daybreak on Mon- 
day. We reached Boulder by i o'clock, and fished it and 
Crooked until dusk, and the next morning until 12 o'clock, 
when we turned homeward. I had caught thirteen 'lunge; 
Tod seven, but his were the largest. I wanted a 20lb. ■ 
'lunge, and kept my spoon in the water up to the last 
moment. Just as we entered the Manitoish River some- 
thing took my spoon with such force as to nearly upset 
me. The channel was contr.acted here by bullrushes to a 
width of 12 to isft. Out of the water he came, and I 
saw I had hooked the fish I wanted. All the guide couldl 
do was to pull our Peterboro into the bullru.shes and hold 
us there by grasping them in his hands. I stood up and 
made the fight, and it was the grandest I ever saw. Six 
times he left the water, and the narrow channel seemed 3 
mass of foam to my excited imagination. Finally good 
tackle and perseverance conquered, and we brought to 
gaff a 'lunge rising iglbs. in weight, and home I started in 
that good humor which none but the successful fisher- 
man can knoAV. 
After a hard pull and hard work, we made the carry 
and intervening lakes and reached our camp about 9 
o'clock, tired, cold and hungry. Approaching our sleeping 
tent wc heard the most unaccountable exclamations from 
our small friend — ^the mildest of which was, "darn the in- 
fernal thing." Hurrying in we took one look and then 
threw ourselves on the ground and laughed till the tears 
came . "Oh, now, boys, come help me," finally brought us 
to his assistance and relief. The Doctor, though called 
our small friend, is 6ft. 2in. tall, and weighs over 30olbs. 
I alone of the party possessed a sleeping bag. The devil 
tempted the Doctor to ti-y it. He got half in, tlv^n 
stuck, and there he was imable to extricate himself. Lie 
was pretty sore over the matter, but his unfailing good 
nature soon set him to laughing with the rest of us. The 
expression on his face when we entered the tent has- 
brought many a lattgh 'tis my lips in the years that have 
passed. 
Next day we shipped out fish, and two days later a busi- 
ness engagement of the Avriter's compelled us to break 
camp and terminate one of the most pleasant and success- 
ful outings of my life. Bob Ridley. 
An Adirondack Trout Record. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
I returned last evening from a short trip through the 
Adirondacks, which were never more beautiful than now, 
the dark evergreens standing out in bold relief against the 
light green of the deciduous trees. To the lover of 
flowers the purple azaleas, moccasin flowers, laurel aud 
trill iums are a continual source of delight. The carriage 
road north of the Fulton Chain of Lakes, extending east 
from Old Forge and connecting with the Durant road 
and other highways, is now in excellent condition for both 
carriage and wheel. I am told that the old road from 
Boonville to Old Forge via Moose River has been im- 
proved so that a wheel ride over that route is feasible, 
most of the road being good, and but two miles so poor 
as to make pushing the wheel preferable. This makes 
possible a delightful trip from civilization to Racquette 
Lake and beyond. 
The lakes and streams in this section are yet high, and 
the fishing will be better a little later, although good 
catches are already reported. That genial angler ,of 
Fourth Lake, Robert Perrie, gave me an interesting bit 
of information in regard to the rainbow trout, which were 
planted at the foot of Fourth Lake by the Caledonia 
Hatchery, March 10, 1899. They were 3in. in length 
when placed in the water, and now take the fly readily. 
Last week Mr. C. L. Chapman, of Clayville, caught a.nd 
returned two of them which measured sin. They are 
evidently growing rapidly, and their early activity and 
gaminess promise Avell for the sportsmen of the future 
who shall angle on the Chain. Several large catches have 
been made on Seventh Lake and vicinity. Four troxit 
weighing i3lbs. is the record so far. Less building is in 
evidence this year, but the many hotels and camps are 
ready for the season at hand. 
Fewer deer are fotmd in this locality that* usual. The 
winter was severe, but the reason is largely local per- 
haps. Very heavy blasting has been done in connection 
with the road building, and this has doubtless driven 
the deer away. The Pneumatic Railroad from Lake 
Clear, the first station north of Fulton Chain to a point 
near Sam Dunnigan's camp on Fourth Lake of the Ful- 
ton Chain, is well under way, and will be in operation the 
present season. This will make still easier the journey to 
Racquette and Blue Mountain lakes from the west side 
of the woods. A carriage road from Fourth Lake to Big 
Moose is also nearing completion. These highways will 
not tend to increase the number of deer and ga'ue general- 
ly, but the pleasure which they aft'ord in delightful drives 
and rides makes for them a welcome even with the most 
conservative. 
The fishing about Tupper Lake is also reported excel- 
lent, and many good catches have been made. The 
large mill there is not in operation, which does not con- 
duce to the business prosperity of Tupper Lake village, 
but gives the inhabitants a chance to fish, which they 
are improving. 
Mr. F. W. Loomis, of Saranac Lake village, xvho knows 
everything about fish and how to catch them, gave me the 
