IvLa^ lib, lyoo.j 
40 
A party of fishermen at the Cinq camp were called hy 
a guide I'rom their breakfast one May morniHg to see 
;i moose that was swimming in the lake. It occured to 
them that it would be a rare adventure to capture him, 
and taking a stout rope they put out in canoes. It was 
easy for the guides to overtake the swimmer— a more 
difficult feat to iput the.rope around his neck— but it was 
done, and the captive M'as towed ashore, although not 
without vigorous opposition on his part, and some ex- 
citing incidents of travel. He was nearly exhausted when 
a landing was effected on the beach, but he resisted all 
efforts 10 make him walk.. He stood with his legs 
braced, immovable. The guides pulled on the rope with 
all their might,, but, like a balky horse, he would not 
budge, until the guardian's dog, who had been jumping 
around in a state of prodigious excitement, snapped at 
his heels. That was an indignity the king could not 
bear; he started to run, and-^^'as steered and pulled into 
a log stable, where he was made fast in a stall, and later 
set free. ■ ■ 
The Wessoneau camp, fronting on the river by that 
name, is hemmed in on the other three sides by the 
Laurentian forest. It is a drowsy camp. The sun shines 
into it; the tall trees on the hills at the rear protect it 
From the winds. The French guardian, Andree, and his 
wife, as kind-hearted old souls as ever enjoyed or endured 
the loneliness of a wilderness life, move about as quietly 
almost as the cloud shadows that drift over the sur- 
rounding tree tops. Bordering the opposite shore of 
the river is a wide bottom land, covered with coarse 
grass, which reaches to the forest beyond. Last sum- 
mer Andree told me that in June and July he counted 
ten moose and caribou that ventured out of the wood,s 
into the grass in full view of the camp. 
Looking westward up the shining river, a richly 
wooded point of land is seen projecting into the water. 
It is a favorite summer camping ground for an old Indian 
hunter and trapper. A few summers ago a fine bull 
moose was found dead in the close season, in August, in 
the rushes not very far from the Indian's shelter. No 
crowner's quest was had, butthclndian 
owns a rifle, is a famous shot, has so 
much respect for the game laws as 
suits his purpose, uses moose hide 
in making his canoes and snowshoes 
— a case of circumstantial evidence. 
The owls took note of the deed, but 
made no protest, although for days 
they assembled toward evening on 
the adjacent trees to consider the 
subject, winging their slow flight 
past our camp. 
New York. JOSEPH W. HoWE. 
[Every person who goes into the 
woods with rifle or rod is conscious 
that many look upon him askance as 
one posses.sed of strange taste in that 
he should be a sportsman. Those who 
have never experienced the manifold 
and diversified charms and interests 
that life in the woods affords, fail 
completely to comprehend what there ' 
can be in it, that so many should be 
lured into the wilderness annually, or 
perhaps more than once a year. The 
answer is found in just such ex- 
perences as are here related by Mr. 
Howe, and there is contained in the 
paragraphs he has written more than 
abundant justification for camp life 
and the pursuits of game and fish. It 
is, a very narrow, and, of course, alto- 
gether inadequate, view which makes 
of a shooting or fishing trip only an 
expedition to secure game or fish. The 
thousand and one incidents of the out- 
ing, the long, long days and the long, 
long nights filled with lore of the nat- 
ural world, as one may learn it when 
thus penetrating the "wilderness— all these make up a 
sum total which even the most facile pen cannot fully nor 
adequately put down in the cold record. Men go to the 
woods because there is entertainment there for those 
who have the eye and the heart to find it. There is in 
Mr. Howe's paper suflicient explanation of the_ hold 
woodland life has upon those who have tested it and 
proved its compensations and rewards.] 
The Paris Aquarium. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
One of the most fascinating spots of the Exposition is 
in the Cours-la-Reine, on the right bank of the Seine. 
Nothing is more beautiful than nature, nor than the re- 
sults in which she plays the largest part, so what could 
have been a more delightful conception than to place the 
great greenhouses of the city of Paris wherein man is 
aided by nature, where colossal plants and lovely flowers 
please the senses, directly over the cool enchanting 
Aquarium where again nature is called upon to help? 
Seated in the midst of this tropical forest or on the ter- 
races from Avhich broad stairs lead down with Claude Lor- 
raine easiness to the promenade by the water's edge, the 
eyes rest upon works exclusively man's own. There 
are the palaces of many nations. On the left is Italy, 
gorgeous in its pVoduction of the marvelous, and away to 
the right the row of buildings continues, each showing 
the " architecture of its own country — striking and 
picturesque. The panorama is splendid. 
I^nderneath the greenhouses and the garden lies buried 
the gem of the ocean, the gem of the Exposition — the 
Aquarium of Paris. Neither scientific men nor naval 
men nor commercial men have thus carried to perfection 
the idea of a salt-water aquarium in the heart of a great 
country. It Avas left to two of the most popular artists of 
all Paris to suggest it and to carry it out successfully 
according to their fanciful tastes, aided by the wonderful 
accompaniments that ocean depths lend to those who 
know how to make use of them. It is by Albert Giiil- 
laum.e that I am able thus early to give a short descrip- 
tion of this house of wonders. 
These brothers Guillaume — Albert and Henri — are sons 
of a former architect of the Louvre, and not to know them 
is not to know the men of the dav — the men the most in 
view at this moment in Paris. They not only conceived 
the idea of the Salt- Water Aquarium, but also that of the 
little marionette theater called after them, and where they 
To Control Illegal Netting of- Fish. 
New York, May 14. — Editor Forest and Stream: On 
several occasions when visiting the interior of NewlTork 
State, near lakes in which netting of fish is prohibited 
by law, I have learned definitely that gill nets were 
owned and used at night by a large number of people 
who were otherwise law abiding. The spirit of the people 
was generally in opposition to the law. 
A proposal' for remedying the trouble is this: License 
a certain number of nets, and employ the proceeds for 
restocking every year. The effect of this plan would be 
two-fold. A fund for restocking would be assured, and 
the licensed netters would not allow others to fish. The 
n€tters know one another, and the licensed netters would 
be much more efficient than other wardens, because seli- 
interest would be brought into play. 
Robert T. MorrIs. 
Fred Mather's Library. 
On Monday, June 4. there will be sold at Bangs' auction 
rooms, 91 and 93 Fifth avenue, a collection of books, in- 
cluding the library of the late Mr Fred Mather, of the 
U. S. Fish Commission. 
To persons interested in angling, fisheries and fishcul- 
ture. this sale will present unusual attraction, and no 
doubt here there will be opportunities t9 complete sets oi 
works which have long been out of print. Besides this, 
Mr. Mather's library contains many works relating to the 
war of the rebellion 'of i86t-'65, together with other Amer- 
icana, such as tracts, local histories, old almanacs and so 
forth. There are besides pieces of rare sheet music. The 
lisr contains also many presentation copies and works of 
modem authors on a variety of subjects, Catalogues may 
be had of Bangs & Co, 
IN OCEAN^S DEPTHS — ^THE PARIS AQUARIUM- 
have popularized themselves by calling it the "Bons- 
hommes Guillaume." Artists to the very tips of their 
fingers, their enterprises represent all that is dainty, ex- 
quisite, airy, fantastic, effective and practical. 
No sooner was the idea hatched than the capital came 
in a few hours, and soon after came a man than whom 
none better could be found, as he had been for years 
quietly studying the same subject in his own laboratory. 
Ichthyology, fishculture, the arrangement and care of 
aquariums have no secret for Monsieur Bouchereaux, 
formerly Director of the Exposition at the Jardin d'Ac- 
climatation. And for two years, night and day, these 
three men have worked to offer us the surprises that 
await us. 
No city in Europe at a distance from the sea, except 
Frankfort and Berlin, possesses a salt-water aquarium. 
The water for this one is picked up in mid-channel, pure 
• and salt as nature makes it. Freight boats from London 
were in the habit of filling certain cisterns on arriving at 
Havre so as to sink deep enough to pass under the bridges 
of the Seine, and they pumped the water afterward into 
the river on their arrival at Paris. These tanks were 
thoroughly cleansed and now the salt water is taken in 
far out at sea; the boats stop at the Aquarium wharf, 
where the water is pumped into the Aquarium reservoirs. 
Five voyages are necessary to bring the quantity required 
to fill them. 
The floor of the Aquarium is 7 feet below the normal 
level of the River Seine. The work of making the 
whole structure water tight was long and very^ costly. 
The process is interesting, but would take too long to 
describe. Suffice it to say that the work is thoroughly 
well done. Every possible accident has been foreseen, 
and this Aquarium is not only water tight. but_ the large 
panes of glass used in the interior are fortified in so 
ingenious a manner that no danger of an inundation 
exists. The weight of these glass fronts, about 800 
pounds each, and the weight of the water, were serious 
elements to deal with. Some of the tanks contain nearly 
300 cubic feet of water. The panes are held in place by 
iron frames covered with a special cement to prevent 
oxidation. After many fexperiments gutta-percha was 
found too expensive on account of the quantity required, 
and it was also discarded because of the unequal pressure 
of the water on the panes^ At the top the pressure was 
nil, while at the bottom it varied between 40,000 and 60,000 
pounds, depending upon the size of the tank. Therefore, 
the gutta-percha would be unequally operated upon, and 
breaking of the glass was feared. A perfect substitute 
was found in .strips of very resinous pitch pine, with a 
thick coat of carbonate of lead. The iron borders are 
lined with these strips of wood and the glass is inserted as 
a picture is placed in its frame. Similar strips are placed 
inside the glass to hold it uprght in case the tank is to 
be emptied, but when the tank is full it is the weight of 
the water pressing the glass against these pine 
cushions which hermetically seals the compartments. 
These panes are sufficiently strong to support a weight 
three times as great as that which they are called upon 
to sustain, and the public may rest in perfect security. 
The motive power is compressed air and it serves the 
double purpose of driving the machinery and of oxygeniz- 
ing the water. It is the best system possible, because no 
coal is needed, no smoke is made, and there is no odor. 
It is noiseless, for the escapes pass off into the sewer. It 
drives the electric motors which are placed on the solid 
masonry of the dock outside, so as to avoid any trembling,. 
The plumbing is in lead, copper and brass. All other 
filters have been rejected, and the ones chosen consist of 
sea gravel, powdered, about 14 inches thick. The filters 
are lined with glass so they can be more easily kept clean. 
It is owing to the size of the tanks, to the perfect filtration 
of the water, to its oxygenation and renewal that the fish 
and marine animals find all the necessary elements of 
life in their transparent prisons. Going behind the scenes 
in such a complicated installation is in itself an education, 
and permission to do so is easily obtained by those who 
care to ask for it. 
The Aquarium of Paris does not resemble in any sense 
the similar establishments to which we are accustomed. 
No long lines of tanks and no sloppy floors await ns. It is 
in a realistic dream of beauty that we visit under water the 
different regions of our globe. It is intended .that the 
illusion of being at the bottom of the sea shall be severely 
felt. From the moment of entering we are in an immense 
sea grotto copied from those on the 
savage and turbulent coast of Brit- 
1 taiiy. The constructors even brought 
from Quiberon the material of which 
it is largely cornposed. The first 
tank is placed in the upper grotto so 
that from the very beginning the vis- 
itor may associate a work of art with 
a work of nature, and it contains a 
fine statue called the "Triumph of 
Amphitrife," by Henri Gauguie. The 
goddess appears standing in her open 
shell surrounded by Tritons and wa- 
ter nymphs, while the water boils 
and foams around the group.;- We 
then descend by a darkened passage 
still further into the bowels of the 
earth, and we emerge into a large 
cave capable of holding 500 person.s, 
where we are surrounded by wat-r 
seen through openings in the groitr-, 
Everywliere is the sea, with its my.*- 
terious depths, its varied colorings, 
teeming with life, in unceasing move- 
ment. The further side of each com- 
partment is also of thick glass, be- 
hind which the decorations, aided by 
•reflective mirrors, cunningly placed, 
exhibit astonishingly wonderful ef- 
fects of obscurity, of light and of per- 
spective. To further carry out the 
scheme, -the separations between the 
compartments are concealed by ar- 
rangements of basaltic rocks, sea 
weed, coral or huge stalactites of ice, 
and to heighten the illusion the ceil- 
ing represents the ocean. Over our 
heads we see the fish prowling about 
and executing the most graceful 
curves as they swim in all directions, 
in the middle of this cave and deeply embedded 
ill the sand is the forward part of a vessel named 
Count Bismarck. She was run into and sunk in 
the harbor of Cherbourg by a steamer which sank 
also alongside of her. The Aquarium bought the 
hull and brought it to Paris, where it was carefully 
put together again. The deck sinks sufficiently to allow a 
passage, and the remainder of the vessel rises again in an 
adjoining tank. At the bow is the original' figure head in 
the form of a siren, and the name may be read on the life 
preservers. Behind the glass the deck and poop stretch 
away, covered with wreckage, masts and cordage, and 
the smokestacks lie groveling in the sandy bottom. 
Divers descend into the hold at stated intervals, and the 
\yhole life and goods saving apparatus is put into opera- 
tion before us. , In another compartment pearl and coral 
divers are at work, surrounded by the fish, who are 
curiously interested in what is going on. Further on we 
find ourselves in the polar regions. Legions of icicles 
hang from the top, while immense jagged blocks of ice 
carelessly heaped seem to extend almost to infinity, so 
skillfully are the mirrors and lights placed. No vegeta- 
tion exists here— it is but a wet, cold desert. The chairra 
of this basin in the middle of the Aquarium is not due 
alone to its arrangement, but also to the purity of the 
water and the clearness of the perspective. 
Volcanoes exist at the bottom of the ocean as well as 
on the land, and some exceedingly fine effects are pro- 
duced by submarine explosions; an eruption is success- 
fully carried out. To illustrate these, Fingal's Cave has 
been chosen, an exact imitation of which serves for the 
interior of another tank. Sometimes a rock may sud- 
denly open, a column of flame will dart upward in large 
glowing bubbles which swiftly reach the surface and the 
astonished inhabitants execute, a very lively dance in try- 
ing to escape from the unexpected turmoil. On these 
occasions the hermit crab is quite funny, as his move- 
ments are naturally impeded by his burrowed hut. 
One of the most attractive basins is known as the sub- 
marine ruins. The shores of the Bay of Pouz^oles, near 
Naoles, were once submerged by the waters of the gulf, 
and the temples of Neptune, of the Nymphs and of 
Seranis were destroyed. MM. Guillaume have restored 
the latter, which v^as only exposed to view after the 
eruption of Vesuvius in 1538. and finally uncdveresd' 
