FOREST AND STREAM. 
49S ' 
silent, quick moving canoe can he made use of. As it 
glides on its way, one watches for either a deep pool, or 
perhaps is fortunate in locating a spring hole,- where if 
the sun shines brightly an army of feeding trout can be 
seen. The canoe can be held quietly, protection gained 
from the growth of bushes or long grasses of the banks, 
and the place cati be well whipped. The splashing of the 
trout that rise to the flies only seems to incite their 
comrades into a frpnzy of biting, and excellent sport is the 
result. 
Every section of fishing country abounds in such moun- 
tain streams all in a way different, each bordened about 
by purple hills, each one having a familiar look, each ap- 
pealing strongly in the possession of inviting pools, rapid 
waters, still flowings where broader they become, and all 
abounding in the same marvelous dainty, strong, beauti- 
ful, fickle, elusive, tempting, wonderful and fascinating 
form of life called the trout. In the hours when the 
sun shines too vividly, or when the fish are not anxious 
for their feeding, come the charm and joys in the keen 
realization of the greatness and all satisfying gifts of 
natTire. Before a fire, that has dwindled into hot embers 
on the sharpened joints of a prolonged branch are thrust 
some of the catch, that have been cleaned and are hard 
and cold. Beside their very cradle, they are transformed 
into such delicious morsels that the appetite craves 
nothing but a sufl&cient quantity. Perfection in food and 
fit for the gods, a stretch* on the grass, after such a 
repast, the comfort of a good smoke, all seems too good 
to be real, and forgotten are the weary journeys, hard- 
ships, and all that may have annoj^ed, in the life of one 
perfect day like this. Body and mind rested and strength- 
ened, a better feeling toward all humanity comes to us. 
No harm have we done, no suffering have we caused. 
Back to camp are taken only such a number of fish as 
can be put to use. The day has been well spent, and in 
slumber we dream again of the victories that skill and 
patience gave to us. 
Lines to a Trout* 
Oh, bit of dainty gorgeous birth. 
That sprang from icy waters clear. 
In restless searchings, far and near 
Coloring gained, of untold worth. 
Did rainbow lend to thee its charm. 
Or sunset give thee rays, to keep. 
And weave, when in the waters deep, 
Or, were they stolen, from the dawn ? 
Oh, pretty thing, 'tis joy to look ' 
Upon thee, lying, trembling still; 
The waters near forsaken mill 
Had eA'^er been thy home and nook. 
A tempter, resting on the stream 
Lured thee on, eager for thy kill 
By sportsman, stronger in his skill • 
Than thou couldst ;mderstand or dream. 
In young strength, life was hard to yield, 
The battling proved thee strong as steel. 
Conquered by force of rod and reel 
Thy death throes, seeking all to shield. 
F. M. Johnson. 
CHICAGO AND THE WEST 
Carping Again. 
I must carp a little carp again. The current issue of 
Munsey's Magazine is the cause this time, and the 
colored picture of two snowshoers on the front cover is 
the specific charge. If any one will look at the aforesaid 
picture, he will observe that the snowshoers, a male and a 
female, wear their shoe straps directly across the middle of 
the foot and not across the toe, where any snowshoe man 
knows it ought to go. Neither do these folk seem to know 
that the heel rises when one walks on snowshoes, for they 
seem pasted to the floor of the shoe, and the shoe pasted 
to the earth. This grieves me very much, and I wish Mr. 
Munsey would adjust it, by calling in the edition if 
need be. 
The Siggest Bass. 
I mentioned some time ago the very large small-mouth 
bass taken in November, 1898, in Mendota Lake, Wis. 
This fish weighed 8 pounds 10 ounces. Its owners had it 
lithographed and are doing a good turn of business selling 
the lithograph, life size, and a series of affidavits estab- 
Hshing the weight of this extraordinary fish. With each 
lithograph of the fish there goes the notary's statement 
and the signatures of several citizens of Madison, and 
to make all secure, the Secretary of State appends the 
great seal of Wisconsin to the statement that the notary is 
a good man and true and known to him to be a legal 
notary. All in all, I think this fish story is the most con- 
clusive of any I have ever seen. There is no doubt about 
the bass, and to give an easy idea of its size, I may state 
that I laid my arm out over the lithograph, which is 
reported to be life size, and I found that the picture of 
the bass was as long as my arm. Now, when you have 
caught a bass as long as j'our arm it will be time for you 
to go after affidavits, and to enter the lists against this 
monster of the Madison Lakes. 
These Madison Lake bass are peculiar in their way. 
They are thought to be the small-mouth, but they lack 
the markings of the small-mouth, and in color and in 
size of scales resemble very much the big-mouth. The 
largest specimens are usually taken late in the fall. Three 
of these bass taken on Oct. 26 were brought down to 
Chicago, and the three weighed 16 pounds here. It is a 
curious fact that, although these bass were taken m the 
late fall, just before freezing up time, they were all very 
full of roe, apparently about to be deposited. This is 
quite in contravention of the popular and scientific ideas 
of the spawning time of these fish. I can not say how 
general is this late retention of the spawn. It is perhaps 
but an individual case or so. I have myself taken a brook 
trout in early April on the Castalia trout stream which 
contained very well-developed spawn. Here are two ex- 
ceptions to the general rules. 
^ E. Hough. 
4S0 .CAXTOH BwitDiuG, Chicago, 111. 
"House Hunting/' 
1 HAVE lately sung the praises of Forest and Stream 
in answering the question where to go and what to do 
in the summer holiday, viz., to' the State of Maine or 
eastern Canada for hunting grounds, "far from the dreary 
sounds of crowded earth, the cries of camp or town," 
with a small tent or wigwam your sufficient shelter from 
sun or storm, the redskins your sure guides, fishing and 
shooting to your heart's content the things to do. How 
can I now, in view of this, preach "the gospel of re- 
laxation" in a minor key? 
I might say with advantage, in the words of Punch, 
to those who, having passed middle age, have had their 
share rof sport in many lands, from hunting fox and hare 
in Merrie England to stalking moose, caribou or red 
deer in North America, and are now about to engage 
in the unprofitable and difficult pursuit of "house hunt- 
ing" anywhere East or West — "Don't." Yet, if ex- 
perience teaches, why should I withhold the result of 
experience if it be of any value? 
There are those, too, who, like myself, belong to the 
small minority; men of leisure, who, in their day, have 
plied the laboring oar, and have, so to speak, "won 
their spurs" — the spurs of relaxation — by hard work-wjth 
head or hands or both. Why should we not cater for 
them? The world is now before them, and in no un- 
certain sound comes the absolutely necessary questions 
of such a man in search of a hobby — a fad — a home— 
"where to go, what to do." You may own the best 
house in Fifth avenue, New York, or in May Fair, 
London; the thirst for fresh fields and pastures new 
comes upon you; you cannot say with George Riddlar; 
Let fools go searching far and nigh, 
We bides at home, my dog and 1. 
You may, as in my case, know by heart Canada and 
the Northern States; you wish to go further afield for 
your new and temporary home. You "run" through 
Europe, in search of what you want, with Cook's or 
Gaze's tourist tickets, but without their family nurse as 
a. guide armed with Murray's "Guide" book. You find 
it too hot and conducive to fever in southern Italy in 
autumn. The mosquito (you know him by early ex- 
perience) is heard, seen and felt in the Riviera, and the 
climate is relaxing. You try Switzerland, its mountains 
and valleys. Here you find a delightfill resting place in 
autumn. It is, however, monotonous in its climate and 
pursuits in winter. The chief cities and towns of France, 
Germany, Holland and Belgium are only for those who 
like town life — not for the lover of forest and stream. 
The question still remains for the middle aged and man 
of leisure, "Where to go; what to do." 
By chance you take up Rudyard Kipling's latest, and 
there you find, "For the man whose work is done go to 
England." 
Nor are your troubles over when you fix upon Merrie 
England as your temporary home. You open a large 
correspondence with house agents from Land's End 
to John O'Groat's. You read diligently their books and 
pamphlets. Oh, what "word painters" are these house 
agents! How often you pack your portmanteau and 
take the morning train to see "the very thing to suit," 
as portrayed in the books of the house agent! You 
return with heavy heart, sadly disappointed. The "man- 
sion standing in its own grounds," is a semi-detached 
villa, with imperfect sanitation, and a perfect view of 
your next-door neighbor's internal arrangements. The 
"walled-in fruit garden" has but one slender plum tree, 
with half a dozen sickly-looking plums thereon. The "well- 
laid-out flower garden" is grown up in long grass, with a 
poor specimen of the scarlet geranimum tribe feebly 
trying to force itself through. You are about to catch 
a train for the hundredth time at the whim and caprice 
of the house agent, and to the complete disarrangement 
of your digestive organs, when a friend and brother at 
your elbow says, "My dear fellow, you will never get 
what you want in that way; I have learnt by experience. 
You require system in your folly. Take a memo of 
requirements with you." And here it is. House hunting 
conditions necessary : 
1. Supply of water. 2. Drainage. 3. Aspect of house. 4. Soil. 
5. Gardens. ' 6. Lawn tennis grounds. 7. Stabling. S. Gardens 
and conservatory. 9. Number and size of rooms. 10. Basement, 
if any. 11. Amusements. 12. Hunting, shooting, fishing, golf. 
13. Distance from town, church, station. 14. Price of coal, meat, 
forage, eggs, etc. 15. Price of wages. 16. Society. 17. Scenery. 
18. Sea or river near. 19. Situation— healthy or relaxing. 
Even when armed with these clear-cut instructions in 
pursuing to the end the game of house hunting we found 
that difticulties had by no means' disappeared. Oh, for 
the technical education of the plumber, mason and car- 
penter respectively, as well as for the knowledge of the 
skilled architect and civil engineer, not to mention the 
training in endurance of the soldier, the practice of "how 
to keep your temper" of the parson. All this, and 
much more than this, as requirements, we found in our 
search. 
How often we looked up and down, and shouted up 
and down the chimneys of the various houses to as- 
certain whether smoke was likely to ascend or descend. 
How often and how much we exercised our nasal organs 
to find out whether the drains, if any, performed their 
proper functions! How often we mounted a house roof 
and thus endangered valuable life in its examination. 
The perfect house of our search is not the model 
dwelling — -"type de maison moderne" — a palace, or that 
kind of residential hotel which the rich or those who 
imagine themselves rich sometimes foolishly build, 
chiefly for the benefit of others, with a smoking room 
got up in lapis-lazuli, or a Turkish bath with fittings 
of silver. No: our ideal, perfect, house is a dwelling 
place, which reasonable persons with moderate incomes 
could comfortably inhabit— of any style of architecture 
except the bad style, so constructed that "the winds 
of March could not whistle between flimsy layers of 
bricks linked by courses of porous mortar," nor the rays 
of midsummer's sun stab fiercely through its insufficient 
roofing. Its woodwork Avould be fitted so that yawning 
clefts did "not appear in window frames or balustrades, 
nor would doors rattle on breezy days or jam on wet 
ones. That necessary equipment described by the house- 
holder as "the pipes " would give no cause for anxiety. 
And so on in detail. ' l i 'jiSiaiS 
At last, when fooled' for the thousandth time by 
the over-zealous house agent, accident— mere accident, 
so-called — brought to our notice a fair specimen of the 
"perfect house" in the most picturesque part of England. 
Its situation remains a secret. All the requirements 
above referred to appeared to be in evidence. Cathedral 
and market towns within easy reach; four packs of 
hounds in the neighborhood, good neighbors in abun- 
dance, an ideal landlord. Here we settled down to rest 
and be thankful. Here we could draw a long breath and 
expand the chest under those enviable, apparently un- 
attainable, circumstances, with "no more worlds to con- 
quer." But our luck soon turned. Scarcely had we 
settled down than, with the eye of the landscape gardener, 
about to open a vista, and obtain a lovely view of a 
distant mountain, in removing some underbrush — Oh! 
with a big O — not so distant, at my feet, under my 
nose (both eye and nose were opened), a heretofore 
hidden cesspool is revealed. Pipes, drains and sanita- 
tion have vanished. That which much disturbed my 
olfactory nerves alone remains. Would that it would 
fly to the Avinds! My "type de maison moderne" has 
become a veritable harbor for groups of bacilli and 
germs of the worst kind. I am in despair, and if the 
skilled plumber and the ideal landlord — those rare mor- 
tals — had not appeared on the scene to relieve me in 
my distress. I should end these notes as I commenced 
them, with the advice, in answering the question "Where 
to go and what to do," to those about to take a summer 
holiday in the State of Maine or eastern Canada, not 
"don't?' but "do." Mic Mac. 
i 
U. S. Fish Commission Notes. 
Advices dated Tahiti, Oct. i, 1899, report the jteamer 
Albatross in that harbor with all well on board. Rich 
collections from the interlying points are reported. Cap- 
tain Moser has made some important hydrographical ob- 
servations, and an extensive basin in the central Pacific, 
extending over thirty degrees of latitude, has been out- 
lined and named in honor of the captain Moser Basin. 
Whitefish.— In the Detroit River and the eastern end 
of Lake Erie there have been phenomenal runs of white- 
fish. The fishermen have made enormous catches, and 
the U. S. Commission will probably take 400,000,000 
eggs of this important fish. 
Trout.— Reports from New Hampshire and Vermont 
as to the condition of brook trout in the waters of those 
States are discouraging. Enormous losses of native trout, 
due to the severe drought that prevailed last summer, are 
reported. The work with landlocked salmon in Maine 
has been affected in the same way. B. A. Bean. 
Washington, U. C , Dec. 4. 
Through Rio Grande Canyons. 
Langtry, Tex.— Prof. Robert T. Hill, of the United 
States Geological Survey, and four companions, arrived 
here last night from their perilous voyage through the 
cations of the Rio Grande, their trip being the second suc- 
cessful one down the treacherous river ever attempted. 
The party left Presidio, Tex., over two weeks ago, and 
completed the 500 miles of the tortuous course of the river 
without seeing a sign of human habitation until they ar- 
rived here. The trip was full of adventure, and it is a 
wonder that the three boats were not capsized and all 
members of the party drowned while passing through the 
rapids which are found at frequent intervals in the deep 
and gloomy canons. At some places the perpendicular 
walls rise to a height of several hundred feet, and the 
narrow channel through which the river flows affords 
no landing or resting place for man}-- miles. At one place 
in the caiion there is a waterfall of x8o feet depth. It was 
with the greatest difficulty that the boats were lifted out of 
the caiion and carried around this fall. 
Prof. Hill and the other members of the party are 
enthusiastic over the results obtained by the trip. They 
made a complete survey of the river, and the remarkable 
geological formations revealed by the rock walls of the 
canon were closely studied. The carion passed through 
the heart of fifteen mountain ranges, and all along the 
course is found mineral-bearing rock. In several places 
veins of silver and gold were found cropping out of the 
sides of the canon walls and some of the members of the 
party are enthusiastic over the prospects of fortunes being 
made in developing these prornising prospects. 
There were positive indications found at several places 
in the almost inaccessible caiions that they had at one time 
been occupied by cliff dwellers, but it was found impos- 
sible to explore the ruins of these ancient inhabitants 
from below. 
James McMahon, who is the only person known to have 
ever made a trip through the canons previous to this 
Government expedition, was a member of Prof. Hill's- 
party. But for his knowledge of the location of several 
dangerous rapids and falls the present expedition would 
have met with disaster. Mr. McMahon is an old trapper 
who has hunted beavers along the Rio Grande for many 
years. 
Prof. Plill secured over 200 good photographic views of 
the scenes in the caiions, and these will form a part of his 
official report. The survey of the course of the Rio 
Grande gives him a basis for the remainder of his work 
of surveying and exploring the great Bloody Bend region 
winch is' formed by the tortuous course of the river. It 
will take several months to complete the work. — New 
York Sun. 
AS A CHRISTMAS GIFT. 
The Forest and Stream — in a year's subscription-^s 
an appropriate and sure to be appreciated gift for a father, 
husband," son, brother, cousin, uncle, nephew, or one's pas- 
tor, lawyer, pupil, teacher or friend. The giving will be for 
fifty-two weeks. And with the paper may well go, for this 
year's Christmas, one of the large engravings "Alert" 
(moose), "The Challenge" (elk), "What's That?" (ante- 
lope), "Listen" (blacktail deer), "Close Quarters" (Mr. 
Osthaus' painting of Ripsey on point). These are on 
plates I2l4 X ig inches, on paper 22 x 28 ("What's That?" 
is slightly smaller) . Price of engravings $3 each, or by a 
special rate the Forest and Stream for one year and any 
one of the engravings will be sent for $5.50. _ 
