168 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
lAvG. 26, 1899. 
fish, and though they furnish food for other species of 
fish, and often, in some waters, suffer from an epidemic of 
«ome sort that destroys them by thousands, their num- 
bers never seem to diminish materially. Perch prey upon 
the young of other, fishes, and no doubt they contribute 
largely to the decrease of black bass, lake trout and bull- 
Jieads, for they have often been found with the fry of all 
these fishes in their stomachs. Lake George was specially 
exempted from the provisions of the ice-fishing law. It 
has both black bass and lake trout, and perch were found 
to be feeding on tine fry of both of these fishes, and Sec. 
133 of the fisheries law was amended to permit fishing 
for perch at any time by "angling." The serious objec- 
tion to a law which permits perch fisliing through the 
ice in waters containing trout is that the fishermen will 
catch trout — catch them deliberately by fishing for them 
where there are no perch, under the pretense of perch 
fishing — but this objection will not apply to waters which 
contain black bass and do not contain lake trout, for 
perch are not found as a rule in any waters containing 
brook trout. If this law should be amended to permit 
perch fishing through the ice in all waters that do not 
contain trout or landlocked salmon, it would work ben- 
fit to black bass. Yellow perch yield as high as 90,000 
eggs per fish, and being a spring spawner the eggs hatch 
quickly, and if it were not for the occasional epidemics 
which visit the species they would overrun the waters in 
spite of the numbers devoured by other fishes. In black 
bass waters there is scarcely any danger of perch fisher- 
men through the ice taking black bas.s, and the perch so 
taken are a benefit all around— to tlie men who catch 
them and to the other fish in the water. 
Big Tfoot in Canada, 
Dr. Wm. H Drummond, of Montreal, who writes the 
charming habitant poems, in a letter to my daughter 
saj's: "Tell your father that on Aug. 3 (warm day, but 
slightly overcast) T took on a fly (casting) at Lac Au 
Foin, two and one half hours' trip from Laurcntian Club 
headquarters, two dozen of the fish always termed by 
him_ in his Fore.st and Stream 'Atigling Notes' 
'speckled beauties' (perhaps you would better tell him 
through the telephone, for he may describe a parabolic 
curve that you will not wish to see) weighing from lYz 
to 3lbs. each. Eight were over 2l4'ihs., and I wish your 
father could have been there to see them, and I know he 
will agree that for Aug. 3 the sport was exceptionally 
good. I also inclose another item of interest for him. 
The fish mentioned were all speckled trout caught on a 
sunken fly, trolling." 
The item refers to a certificate Dr. Dritmmond inclosed 
which reads; "Caught in Lac a I'Eau Claire, May 24, 
1899, twenty-two speckled trout, weight I04lbs. ; one 
trout SValbs, girth i2r-Sin., length 28in. ; one trout 7lbs., 
girth isin., length 24111.: one trout 61bs., girth I3in., 
length 23in." 
This is certified to by two members of the St. James 
Club. Montreal, and the Doctor adds: "This lake is in 
the Laurentian country and is the property of George 
Washington Stephens, Esq., of Montreal." 
A year or two ago, when in Montreal, Dr. Drummond 
told m_e, if I am not mistaken, of a trout from the same 
lake that weighed over Slbs., and I went with him to see 
the fish at a taxidermist's, where it was being mounted. 
In the writer's list of big trout quoted above, the girth 
of the B^lb. fish is not given clearly, as one figure is 
made over another; but the figure seems finally to be 2, 
making the girth as I have given it— i2Hin. This is 
2j^in. less than the girth of the 7lb. fish, but the 7lb. fish 
is 4in. shorter than the 8%\h. fish, so that the larger fish 
could not have been in the best condition, for had it 
been it might easily have weighed lolbs. or more. This 
score is superior to one made a year ago last September 
in Triton Creek waters by Mr. Wm. F. Rathbone, of 
Albany, and the writer, when we killed twenty-five trout 
casting the fly that weighed ioiJ'2lbs. On that occasion 
the largest fish., caught by Mr Rathbone, weighed 7lbs., 
but it was not measured as to length or girth, as we were 
simply fishing for sport and food for our men and our- 
selves and had no idea we were making any record until 
we figured up the weights of the fish, which we had put 
down daily for eight days. 
The "Satarday" Salmon Fly. 
^ I am indebted to Mr. Charles Stewart Davison, of New 
York city, for a specimen of the "Saturday" salmon fly, 
who writes: 
"You ask for a fuller description. It may amuse you 
to inspect a 'Saturday' salmon fly tied in the old-fashioned 
Scotch manner, and in accordance with what I cannot 
but deem the jocose intentions of the writer of the arti- 
cle. As you justly observe, any amount of looking 
through English and Scotch fly-tiers' lists and hasty turn- 
ing over of indexes of books on salmon fishing produces 
no reference whatever to any such insect. But, never- 
theless, to see what such an article would look like, I 
asked Conroy about ten days ago, having read the article 
in the Sun, to have a fly tied as per description and sent 
him the clipping from the article which you copy. The 
result I inclose. I see.no reason why such a fly should 
not take salmon, as it embraces all the elements of half 
a dozen salmon flies (including what is probalDly of most 
value m any salmon fly — a topping). I agree with the 
writers statement that modification of the genuine Sat- 
urday are still to-day the most valuable of a large col- 
lection/ " 
The fly that Mr. Davison sends me looks more like a 
Scotch Ira trout fly than it does like a standard salmon 
fly, but, as he observes, it would probably kill salmon. I 
once gave the late Col. F. S. Pinckney a black bass fly 
as unlike a salmon fly as one could imagine and still be a 
fly, and yet he rose and hooked a salmon on the bass fly 
in a Canadian salmon river. I am indebted to Mr. Davi- 
son for his courtesy in permitting me to examine the 
famous Saturday in all its glory. 
A. N. Cheney. 
Fishing Up and Down the Potomac. 
A Washington Fishing Lodge. 
He who was at the World's Fair in Chicago, or who 
reads Walton and Cotton, will remember the quaint little 
sentry box of Cotton's, of which he wrote: "I have built 
a little fishing house * * * dedicated to anglers, over 
the door of which j^ou will see the two first letters of my 
Father Walton's name and mine twisted in cypher." 
One can sympathize with the sentiment which treasures 
a splinter from its woodwork, while deploring the van- 
dalism that could deface it even in its decay" But the 
subject does not appeal to all alike. Some men there be 
"cannot abide a gaping pig," and there are individuals- 
sour visaged sure — who are such turkey cocks they would 
prance on being confronted with a cardinal virtue, with- 
out other color of reason than that its name suggested 
red-handed vice. 
Hear what such a one said of Walton in 1822 in Col- 
burn's Magazine (v. 4, p. 491) : "The book is much more 
talked of than read, and it is read more than it deserves. 
* * * Angling as a mere amusement is not to be justi- 
fied. I will, for the sake of human nature, suppose that 
no one will ever attempt to justify it. I even question 
if anyone ever seriously set his wits to seek an ejccuse 
for it." And this man was pretending to review Walton, 
whose whole life was an excuse for it. No wonder he said 
the book was more talked about than read. 
The very next year, in the London Magazine (v. 7, p. 
634), another reviewer, and an automobile to a wheel- 
barrow — he was the jollier fellow— said of the same book: 
"We can only say, that those who love a delightful book, 
delightfully got up, ought to have Major's edition of 
Tzaak ^yalton.' At the same time we must say that the 
purse will not close with the purchase of this completest 
edition of the 'Compleat Angler' ; for we will defy the 
ton; with the Hess and the McCauU opera companies; 
and since 1885, and now, with the Joe Jefferson Com- 
pany. 
Galway, though not so long, has skipped no years since 
in '68 he entered on an .eleven years' engagement with the 
Baltimore Stock Company; and since with Jefferson, 
Maggie Mitchell, Evans and Hoey, and Heme, with whom 
he created the character of Joel Gates in "Shore Acres," 
and now with Brady's "Down East." 
Here, summer after summer, between seasons, they 
spend their days literally on the water — ^indeed, their night- 
too, since the cottage is built over it; never so happy 
anywhere else, for the tides bring the fish to their door 
and they are prouder of a big bass now than in getting a 
hand on opening night. 
The dining room, which looks out over the pool, is a 
gem. Sherwood, who was property man at z\lbaugh's, and 
now at the National, is an artistic decorator, and this was 
his handiwork, in which he took much pride. From the 
wainscot the walls are of papier-mache in heavy relief, 
and colors in imitation of the marsh beyond, showing the 
tall sedges, vv^ith great cranes stalking about, while the 
frieze is of lions' heads with chains festooned between. 
Two or three cranes from the same marsh stand about as 
if they had just stepped from the wall, and in a rack are 
creeping paddles and other implements of the water chase 
ready for instant use. 
A bust of the veteran Forrest is the presiding genius of 
the place. From top to bottom the other rooms are filled 
with souvenirs and curios. Here hangs a sword used by 
poor McCullough in "The Gladiator,"' in his first star en- 
gagement in Washington ; there Joe Jefferson's white silk 
hat, which has seen seasons on Bob Acres, Paintings, 
too, by Jefferson, hang on the walls, and by CharUe 
Armour, and others, and sketches by a score of artist 
friends. 
_A sombrero from Mexico, a buckskin suit with a bloody 
history, bows and arrows and pottery from the Western 
THE LODGE AT FOUR-MILE RUN. 
Black Bass fof Stocking. 
We shall be obliged on behalf of inquirers for reference 
to sources from which young black bass for stocking pui'- 
poses may be had. 
reader after perusing it and dwelling on the illustrations 
to avoid buying a rod, a reel, a line, a plumb, a dozen 
hooks, gymp, guts and a gentle box. * * * We will 
defy him to sleep quietly in his bed on a likely morning 
when the wind is south and the May-fly is expected to un- 
furl his cowslip-colored wings over the waters." 
The latter was without doubt a welcome guest at many 
a fishing lodge in those days, and it was always the 
brighter for his coming. In these modern days the club 
houses and fishing lodges are more elaborate affairs than 
then, and it is one of fliese pictured above. 
A dozen years ago four men of Washington, whose fre- 
quent meetings behind the scenes and fishing trips to- 
gether across the Potomac had developed hearty friend- 
ships and a love for the locality thej-^ frequented, built a 
cottage on the banks of the pool at Four-Mile Run, just 
inside the arches. 
They were Morgie Sher\vood, George Denham, John 
Williams and Walter Williamson. 
Later the two latter dropped out and their places were 
taken by Walter Allen and James Galway. Then Allen 
and Sherwood built another cottage adjoining, and Den- 
ham and Galway kept the original. 
This is now among the show places of Washington, and 
here they have entertained many of their actor friends, for 
their playhouse is always open when the others in the 
city are closed. 
Here may sometimes be seen a grave-looking gentle^ 
man fishing as if his life depended on it, and one would 
not suspect his life's mission was "funny business" and 
that he can set an audience in a roar much easier than he 
can catch a fish. Who would believe the lady teaching a 
jolly party how they dress inch-long minnows in her own 
stmny Spain, and that all vote is beyond compare, is rest- 
ing her little feet that have danced around the world, and 
their owner into their hearts of millions? Even a staid 
English review called her the greatest of living dancers, 
who, as "great writers write and great painters paint, 
dances because she must." Or that a jovial fellow the life 
of the party, guying and being guyed, is a man who when 
at work has his visage creaming and mantling "like a 
standing pool" ? For his forte is the heavy villain and he is 
guilty of more mimic crimes than a pirate king, now wast- 
ing all his arts of deception in vainly trying to circum- 
vent a little white perch, Sometimes it is a painter, who 
leaves as a souvenir of his holiday a valued picture of a 
leaping bass upon the wall. 
Not the least interesting of the attractions at the fish- 
ing house are the hosts. Denham, who comes of a 
theatrical family, has trod the boards for all of a busy 
life. With the Worrells. Wallaces and Chapman Sisters": 
eleven j-^ears with John Ford in Baltimore and Washing- 
Indians: piles of packing cases of wardrobes and prop- 
erties; pistols and swords, antique and modern, are scat- 
tered everywhere, and fastened against the wall the drill, 
guns of the Olympia Quartette, whose coherence for a 
quarter-century gives warrant of their excellence. Ante- 
diluvian programmes, and prints of old-time footlight 
favorites; relics of the chase, some captured, some pur- 
chased, including half a dozen pairs of horns of the 
practically extinct bison. (These were once found on the 
banks of the Potomac, and an old French account tells of 
trips by Canadian traders to this very region for buffalo 
skins. Since then they have been swept across a continent, 
and a few miserable survivors at the Zoo brought back to 
keep the type from perishing.) Whichever way one turns 
is something to catch the eye and arrest the attention, and 
should it rain and you needs must stay indoors there is a 
well-selected library of histrionics, including specimens 
old and rare, of the workshop where they build and rig 
their boats and repair the tackle which daily use impairs. 
A pleasant hour is to sit upon the western porch as even- 
ing closes in, with sometimes gorgeous sunsets across the 
distant hills and, mark! a flock of summer ducks are 
passing over to the head of the marsh to dabble in the 
shallows and flying low as if they knew that opening day 
was still a week away. Up go imaginary repeaters and 
Bang ! Bang ! and not a duck would escape if 
The bats are circling in the dusk and skim the glossy 
pool for their invisible prey, and as the darkness grows, 
the fireflies set their signal lamps till all the valley is aglow 
with countless points of phosphorescent flashes that rival 
those everlasting twinklers far above, and on the banks 
the glowworms' steadier blaze marks the water line 
around the pool with a rim of yellow light like gilding to 
the basin's lip. 
And there is music in the air too, to glad an angler's 
heart, for beneath the nearby arches the perch and rock 
are feeding on the minnows as they hug the walls in 
fear, and the chug of the big ones sounds plainly in the 
evening's silence, as if some urchin were dropping bricks 
from the parapet, and directly the boys can stand it no 
longer, and out come the rods for a half-hour's try for a 
striped bass for breakfast; and it is well our pleasure lies 
most in the trying, for there is not always bass for 
breakfast, but nobody seems to mind. 
It is little wonder that they love the place, or that that 
friend counts himself as lucky who finds himself their guest. 
Every day a little fishing while summer lasts ; every day. 
though within sight of the monument, away from the noise 
and bustle of the city, and with long nights of quiet, it is 
such a retreat as -Walton himself would have loved. Sky 
and water and little else, and who needs more for rest? 
Henry Talboxt, 
