S90 
FOREST AND ^ STKeiAM. 
[May ig; 1906, 
CHICAGO AND THE WEST, 
Trout. 
Fairly encouraging reports regarding the trout fishing 
come down this week from the Prairie River of Wiscon- 
sin. Mr. Edward G. Tajdor went up the first week in 
May, and caught forty-one fine trout in his first day's 
fishing. Mr. Chas. Antoine, of this city, will go to the 
Prairie probably next week, and Mr. F. B. Orr, also of 
this city, and a devotee of that delightful little stream, will 
make his regular annual pilgrimage about May 20. 
Mr. William Cooke Daniels, of Denver, (Zolo., writes 
to-day that he is leaving Denver about May 13, on his 
-way for the Prairie River for a month's fishing. It will 
be remembered, as stated in these columns, that Mr, 
Daniels thought so much of the Prairie River that he had 
him a lodge built there, and purposes each spring to for- 
sake the streams of Colorado for this quiet little Wiscon- 
sin water. 
Mr. F. N. Peet, Mr. H. G. Hascall, Mr. Ashley C. 
Smith and one or two others left this week to join Mr. 
John Waddell, of Grand Rapids, Mich., on their regular 
spring trip to the Pere Marquette River. They will hit 
the stream at just about the right time, and they will 
surely have grand sport. 
Some of the J. D. Hawks party are back at their homes 
from the Alpena trip, but I do not purpose to forestall my 
story about that trip by telling what they did. 
The Saginaw Crowd is out with the special car, "W. B. 
Mershon." They left Saginaw last night and went north 
to a destination which at this writing is left secret. 
They will return next Monday night. Mr. Mershon sent 
me my regular invitation to join the party on their 
spring trout trip, and promised me the best trout fishing 
I ever had in my life. This stirely is enough to break 
one's heart. Personally, I believe it is much more im- 
portant to go trout fishing than it is to stay at home and 
do a lot of other things which are not quite so much fun. 
The worst part of it is yet to come. When the other 
fellows come back and tell you they struck it just right, 
that the trout were rising, that the weather was good, that 
each fellow filled his basket, that they got a lot of big 
ones, etc., then it is that anguish fills the soul of the fel- 
low who had to stay at home. This is a very wicked, 
miserable and unhappy world in which we live, when we 
have to stay at home. 
Bass Fishing, 
Our bass season is now on along the lakes at the head 
of the Fox River and in the upper Indiana lakes. It is 
lawful to fish in the lakes of Indiana, but not in the 
streams. The Kankakee River is so full of carp this 
spring there is not much room left for bass. Some few 
good catches of bass are coming in, but I do not think the 
interest in bass fishing is as keen as it was three or four 
years ago. The trout fishing has been improving in 
Wisconsin and Michigan for the last few years, and a 
good many of our boj'S are turning to trout fishing and 
giving up the big-mouths. E. Hough. 
Hartford Building, Chicago, 111. 
beats the one caught near Traverse City. It weighs 9 
pounds 6 ounces, and is the largest of its species ever 
caught in southeni Michigan. It measures a trifle over 
27 inches long, its largest girth is 15 inches and spread of 
tail 6 inches. 
These figures are not improbable when they are com- 
pared with those of previous seasons, which record the 
gradual development of the rainbow trout planted in 
Michigan waters. Jay Beebe. 
Toledo, O., May 12. 
On the Uppe* St, Mattfice, 
Rapid progress is being made toward the settling of this 
vast region, principally by the investment of large sums of 
money by American lumber firms. The fine scenery, 
the rare fishing and shooting to be had here are second 
to none in the whole Provmce. The start is from the 
Grande Piles, easily reached by the Canadian Pacific, 
whence a regular Ime of steamboats plies to La Toque. 
Those boats, which afford excellent accommodations, make 
two trips each week. On leaving the Piles we pass Point a 
la -Mine, whose high rocky bluffs are noted for their 
grandeur. The River Peche carries the water from the 
lake above of the same name, which is owned by the 
Laurentian Club, who have here one of the finest club 
houses to be found in the wilds of the Province. From 
here to Rat River is a route of continuous beauty, and the 
kodak fiend will enjoy himself. From Rat River to La 
Toque gives a repetition of the scenery below, excepting 
that it gets wilder, the woods more dense, the river 
narrower, the mountains higher and more picturesque. 
Now we are at the end of our trip, so far as the steam- 
boat is concerned. 
Here the Little Bostonnais River leads to the Big Lake 
Bostonnais, where the St. Maurice Club have their club 
house under the management of Mr. Allan. Here speckled 
trout are caught weighing from i to 4 pounds, and rare 
fish have been taken of even greater weight. This is a 
veritable fisherman's paradise. At La Toque one may 
secure guides and, with this as headquarters, make dailj^ 
excursions to the Croclie, Bostonnais and many other 
places where the angler or sportsman can enjoy quiet and 
rest and take good strings. The Croche, which is a 
river emptying into the St. Maurice about five miles above 
La Toque, should have an interest to the tourist, as 
here lives Jean Baptiste Boucher, the recognized chief of 
the remaining tribe of Indians now on the St. Maurice. 
Here can be seen at almost any time the' Indian method 
of preserving their game, such as moose and caribou 
meats, and possibly for a modest sum a fine pair of antlers 
might be had. Now we must leave the tourist to his own 
devices, to return at his own pleasure, and would strongly 
advise if he has the time to return to the Grande Piles 
by canoe, as he will be better able to enjoy the beauties of 
the trip. . ' C. C. 
Lafgfe Rainbow Tfottt. 
The larger trout stream.s of the lower Michigan penin- 
sula are proving most congenial homes for the rainbow 
trout placed in them during the past few years. Witness 
the appended paragraphs from the daily press of this 
week, the first one quoted evidently referring to the 
Boardman River: 
'Traverse City, Mich., May 10. — Geo. RafF, Jr., son 
of Postmaster Raff, broke the record Sunday by catching 
a rainbow trout 26 inches long and weighing 8 pounds. 
This is said to be the largest rainbow trout CA^er caught in 
Michigan. 
Manistee. — Joseph Belgard, Jr., while fishing in the 
Manistee River, caught a monster rainbov/ trout, which 
The Connecticut River. 
A PARTY of four, members of the Vesper Country Club, 
Lowell, Mass,, had arranged to take a trip down the Con- 
necticut River in two 'canoes from Wells River, Vt., to 
Springfield, Mass., but owing to two delays and the 
necessity of the members returning the first of the fol- 
lowing week, the trip was ended at the road bridge at 
Northampton. 
Acting upon the advice of a number Aw C. A, mein- 
bers, whose statements were fully substantiated by the 
rivermen met at French King Rapids, the trip north of 
Wells River was abandoned, as there would be no com- 
fort trying to paddle through the numerous rapids, and the 
carries, especially at the Fifteen-Mile Falls, would be 
exceedingly long and tedious. 
We would here acknowledge our gratitude to those 
members of the A. C, A. who so kindly Avrote us an ac- 
count of their experiences on the trip, and which was 
used to good advantage. 
One member of the party left Lowell, Mass., Saturday, 
July 22, 1899, on the 9 A. M. train out oi Bgstoa ; stopped 
over at Warren, JNl. H., about half aia hour and reached 
Wells River, Vt., shortly after 3 P. M.; put up at Hale's 
Tavern, which, by the way, was the nearest and had the 
best cuisine of any hotel met on the trip. The other three 
took a sleeper on the 8 P. M. train out of Boston, were 
side-tracked at Woodsville and remained there until about 
6 o'clock the next morning. Breakfast was had at Hale's 
Tavern, after which we look a carriage for the freight 
depot, about a mile down the track. The depot is about 
200 feet from the river, so this makes the first carry very 
easy. The two canoes, which were shipped the Tuesday 
before, were wrapped in canvas, and had arrived safely 
on Thiirsday. They had been gotten into shape the 
afternoon before, and were left in the freight house, as 
some one is there all Sunday. The start was made at 
9:25 A. M., Sunday, July 23, 1899. There had been heavy 
rains a few days before, which raised the water in the 
river and made a very acceptable current. We had no 
means of determining the velocity, but it must have been 
between three and five miles an hour. The river drivers 
had taken advantage of the high water and were sending 
down the logs, which were more or less of a bother until 
we reached the first dam at Olcott's Falls. At 11:42 
A. M. we passed under the bridge at the South Newbury 
(Vt.) railroad station. At 12:35 P. \i. we stopped at a 
farm house on the New Hampshire side for some milk, 
but as our dress was far from being immaculate we were 
probablj' taken for gentlemen of the road and were told 
that there was no milk in that vicinity. We' walked back 
to the canoes rather disappointed, and floated down 
until 2:10 P. M., while we ate our lunch, which we had 
taken from Hale's Tavern. This was the only lunch we 
had to take on the trip, as other days we had dinner at 
hotels. 
At 2:40 P. M. we passed our first rapids just below 
Bradford. There is a channel around to the left of the 
rapids, forming an island, and as logs were running, we 
chose the smooth water rather than to risk being upset. 
At 3:30 P. M. we passed what we termed the "Palisades," 
on the Vermont side. The very bold side of a mountain 
comes down nearly to the water's edge, with just room 
enough for the almost ever present railroad tracks. These 
steep sides are seen for quite a while before they are 
reached, owing to the many curves in the river, but when 
they loom up, after rounding the last bend, the view' is 
grand. At 4:10 P. M. we passed under the road bridgfe 
between Orford and Fairlee. North Thetford was reached 
at 5:25 P. M., and a great mistake was made in not stop- 
ping there for the night, as the town boasts of a fairly 
decent hotel. There is a good chance here to land at 
the saw mill and leave the boats in the mill; but instead 
we pushed on to East Thetford, where we arrived at 
6:05 P. M. We left the canoes on the bank and carried 
our baggage and paddles about a quarter of a mile up 
to the so-called hotel, or Turner's House. Mine host 
informed us that the woman was out, but as soon as she 
came back supper would be served. "We sat down to sup- 
per about 9 with healthy appetites, and shortly after we 
retired. 
Monday, July 24, 1899. 
After a fair breakfast we were driven to the river and 
started down at 8:30 A. M. We stopped at Pompanoosuc 
at 9:3s A. M. for a short while, and tried to get a small 
boy to take our photos, but he held his hand over the 
lens when he snapped, so we had the usual amateur luck. 
At 11:10 A. M. we passed under the bridge between Nor- 
wich and Hanover. A few boat houses and one boat 
being rowed were the first signs of life on the river we 
had seen. The scenery in this locality is very picturesque, 
but not as grand as we had seen the day before. We 
reached Olcott's Falls, Wilder, at 11:50 A. M. The 
canoes were taken out on the east side of the river by 
advice of the rivermen at work on the logs, and with the 
aid of two boys, who carried our bags, we made the carry 
in twenty minutes. Just below Olcott's Falls are some 
small rapids, around which we floated the canoes, and 
started paddling again at 12:50 P. M. We reached White 
River Junction at 1:10 P. M., where we had dinner at the 
railroad station. At the lunch counter the head waitress 
kept her eye on us, as if she expected us to "jump our 
board," and she seemed very much pleased when we had 
settled for our litnch. 
We left White River Junction at 1:50 P. M., and at 
3 P. M. we stopped to take a ride on a current, or over- 
head wire, running between Hartland and Plainfield Ferry. 
The ferry consists of the usual flat-bottomed scow, at- 
tached by means of a rope at either end to a wire trolley 
rope, fastened on each side of and about 20 feet above 
the river. AVhen the ferryman wishes to start across he 
draws in the bow line, la©sens the stern line, and with 
the aid of lee boards the boat is propelled swiftly across 
the river. We reached Hartland, or Quechee Falls, at 
3:50 P. M. Here we had to carry again, but this took 
us less than half an hour. It seems odd that out of the 
five carries that were made on the trip three came in one 
day, and the other two were made in wagons. Windsor 
was to be oin- stopping place, and we reached there at 
5:30 P. M. We put our canoes in a yard near the river, 
and walked up to the Windsor House, which is quite a 
little jaunt with heavy luggage, after the hardest day we 
had on the trip. Windsor is one of the old aristocratic 
New England towns. On each side of its main street are 
colonial residences, set well back from the street, with 
lawns and plants in front. In rear of the town is an 
artificial pond belonging to one of the estates. 
Tuesday, July 25, 1899. 
We were driven from the hotel to the river and started 
down at 9 A. M. It had been threatening weather all the 
morning, and at Claremont Junction, which we reached at 
11:15 A, M., it began to rain, and rained all the rest of 
the day. We reached Charlestown at 1:30 P. M., where 
•"ve had dinner at the Eagle House. After stopping for 
an hour and a half for dinner, etc., we pushed through to 
Bellows Falls, getting there at 4:45 P. M. Before Bel- 
lows Falls is reached, there is a boom over a mile long, 
with an opening for the passage of boats at the last crib 
pier in the middle of the river. Rivermen are constantly, 
at work here, and will direct where to go. We left the 
canoes and paddles in the boat house of the Canteen 
Club, which did not appear to have a very active member- 
ship, but a man who is Avet and hungry Is not apt to be 
too critical. We had paddled since before dinner in a 
hard southeast storm right in our faces, and with prac- 
tically no current in the river to aid us. We stopped at 
the Rockingham House, and in the evening were enter- 
tained by the Mount Kilbttrn Wheel Club. 
'Wednesday, July 26, J899. 
It rained hard till almost noontime, and we fooled away 
the time around the hotel. After an early dinner we had 
a team carry our canoes to the lower end of the rapids, 
where we started at 12:45 F- ^I- We stoped at Walpole 
from 1:30 to 2:05 P. M., and about" 5 P. M. we had a 
swim. At 5:45 P. M. we had landed at Ware's Ferry, 
plying betgeen Putney and Westmoreland. There is a 
very short walk from the ferry to the Putney depot, and 
we were fortunate enough to be in time to take the stage 
to the village, over a mile away. The Kendrick House 
is the hotel of the place, so, of course, we stopped there. 
Ptitney is a small town of about the usual 500 inhabitants, 
but can boast of being somewhat of a manufacturing cen- 
ter, as it contains a paper mill and toy factory. It also 
has quite a number of stores and two barbers. In the 
evening we visited the Kickapoo Indian camp and saw 
a first-class entertainment given with the biograph. 
Thursday, July 27, 1899. 
At 8:30 A. M. we took the stage for the depot and 
started to paddle at 8:55 A. M. We stopped at Chester- 
field at 10 A. M. for a little while and reached Brattle- 
boro at about 11:40 A. M, About three-quarters of a 
mile above Brattleboro is a fine suspension bridge with 
quite a little rapids just below the bridge. A short way 
from these rapids a good view is had of Kipling's man- 
.sion on the Brattleboro shore. We landed on the east 
side of the river at Brattleboro, left our baggage at the 
old toll house (the bridge is free now), walked across 
and had dinner at the Brattleboro House. After dinner 
we took a ride in the electric cars to West Brattleboro, 
and the scenery is well worth the trip. We stayed under 
the bridge during a thunder storm and started down at 
3:15 P. M. At 5:3s we passed into Massachusetts, and 
at 6 P. M. we stopped at the bridge at Northfield. We 
left the canoes on the bank, covered with brush. After a 
short walk toward Northfield we came to the creamery, 
from which place we telephoned to Northfield for a car- 
