4B1 
experience it pans out that we can do nothing of the 
kind. Sometimes, of course, we get a good day, and if 
we have not we have no excuse to offer, as every help is 
assumed to be ready; but often as not we are again dis- 
appointed with the resuh of a day which looks and feels 
the very thing. It is, perhaps, well for us and for the 
trout that we do not known their humors. We estimate 
with the nicety of long practice the kind of weather most 
favorable tOAvard making a bag; but as time goes on, and 
with it come keener attainments and observation,- there 
is an imperative necessity for the exercise of such skill, 
even if all the prejudged weather conditions be deadly op- 
posed. Much rather should we lay down as a guiding 
line of conduct that the art of fly-fishing Hes in the poweV 
to induce fish to rise when they have not the slightest 
inclination to feed at all, and take the dfty when it comes, 
making the best of it. than to growl anff fret on the way 
to the river because the fates have sent tis weather which 
we read of as being dead against sport, We too rashly 
decide in our minds that we might as well,; 'and- better, 
be at horne. In the end it will be found 'that, about as 
good a fly as can be used is confidence.— -libndgh Field. 
CHICAGO AND THE WEST. 
The Trout Season, 
Chicago, '111., June 2. — From all appearances ' it would 
,seem that the best of the spring trout season is now nearly 
over; that is to say, the best of the fly-fishing season. 
After the grasshoppers have grown big enough to con- 
stitute a. staple article of food for the trout, they again 
begin to take surface food to an extent making fly-fishing 
more practical. Juljr and August are sometimes ver}- 
good months for liy-fishing, although the actual hopper is 
alwaj^s a better bait, of course, than the best artificial 
Jiy. Hopper fishing is delicate work, and if any sort of 
bait-fislimg is allowable in the trout game, this certainly 
is, dift"ering essentially as it does from the sinker-and- 
worm act. . - ' 
The toming on of warm weather has put the trout down 
on most of our earlier streams. The flies are beginning 
to hatch and in some of the streams the caddis grub lias 
been so extremeh' abundant that the trotit have been 
gorged upon it all the time, and for the last ten days 
liave not been on the feed to anj^ extent worth noticing. 
This has been especial h- the case ori.my favorite river— 
the Prairie^ — which one reaches from Merrill, Wis. , Our 
friend,' Edward G. Taylor, of ''Taylor system" fame, has 
been on the Prairie for over a ihonth, .and he reports very- 
bad luck for the last week or more. Previous to^ that 
time, he had splendid fishing, and on two daj'-s filled his 
basket in less than an hour, and after covering hardly half 
a mile of the, stream. 
Mr. F. B. Orr, of this city, has for some years been in 
the habit of spending a couple of weeks on the Prairie, 
going up about May 20. He made his usual trip this 
spring, l")Ut came home this week, after rather poor suc- 
cess with the trout for the past few days. He always 
stops at Delos Cone's farmhouse, about two miles this 
side of Dudley, out from Merrill. This part of the river 
ordinaril}-- produces larger trout than the upper readies, 
but last week the trout were; so full of ground food that, 
they did . not oft'er nmch encouragement to fly-fishers. 
This did not disturb Mr. Orr very much, since he is one 
of the sort who go out for a good, quiet time, and Avho 
only want trout enough to eat. Between Mr. Taylor and 
him.self the table was. always well supplied. 
Mr. Wifliam Cooke Daniels, of Denver, often men- 
tioned as a devotee of Prairie River, has been there for 
some tiine, living in . his little cottage, which was put 
up for him this spring by Dudley, just across the river 
from Dudlej^'s house. Mrs. Daniels has accompanied her 
husband, and the two will spend the month of June along 
the Prairie. ' Mr. Daniels goes out nearly every day, up 
stream or down, and practices his favorite art of dry-fly 
fishing, doing most of his work up stream. He is perhaps 
the most scientific flj^-rfisherman - that ever worked on 
the Prairie, and his enthusiasm never flags. He fishes aU 
day, and then ties flies all night. He tied over 400 flies 
last winter, and is giving all the patterns a good testing 
now. He is meeting all the success he cai-es for in the 
different parts of the stream, which he visits both above 
and below the Dudley bridge. 
I went up to the Prairie this week myself for one day, 
going as usual to Lossie Cone's place, where I met Mr. 
Taylor and Mr. Orr. Mr. Taylor had to go home the next 
morning, so could not fish with us, and as I had but the 
one da\''myself, the trip was not very conclusive, though 
very pleasant and very fairly successful. We got a 
cloudy, showery day, after a week of bright, warm 
weather, and Mr. Orr and I, who fished together, were 
able tO' give a fairly good account of ourselves. We 
brought in forty-five trout between us for the day, and 
I suppose each of us put back nearly as many as we kept. 
We fished about three or four miles of the river above 
Dudley's. This part of the stream is literally alive with 
trout, though they do not run so large as lower down 
the stream. They 'started in right well early in the morn- 
ing, and up to 10 o'clock offered very pretty fun. Mr. 
Orr sti-uck' a streak of feeding' trout below the Stub Pool, 
and said he made most of his basket after 3 in the after- 
noon. He found a grizzly-king and royal-coachman his 
best flies. I took nearly all of mine on a fly made for 
me by Fred Peet, of tliis city — a cinnamon-wing and 
yellow dubbing body. I found the jungle-cock very good 
"early in the morning, and took a half-dozen trout on it. 
but then lost the only specimen of that fly I had along. 
The trout seemed to be notional and streaky, and did not 
appear to be regularly on the feed. Seeing this to be the 
case. Mr. Orr came home with me the next day. Mr. 
Daniels thinks that the fly-fishing will improve there and 
be best in June, as the ground feed will then not be qitite 
so abundant. It is pleasant to add that every one is well 
at Dudley's, that Lossie Cone is as irrepressible as ever, 
Mrs, Cone as busy cooking trout as ever, and Chester, the 
ex-kid. now nearly as tall as a man, and become alike a 
skillful wielder of the fly-rod and an earnest dcspiser of 
the worm. Dudley had two or three different parties in 
at his house, and most of these were using worms and 
■plugging the stream heavily, something which we-did not 
like to see, as all of us have alwayit tried tQ keep this 
pleasant little river ^acred -to the fly. 
Movements of Western Anglers. 
On the way up to Merrill I found on the same train — 
the Milwaukee & St. Paul io ;30 evening train north — 
some gentlemen Avho were on their way up to the Plum 
Lake and Star Lake chain, something like a hundred 
mdes north of Mcrriil, on the St. Paul road. These 
were Mr. John McDonald and his friend Mrs. rGa}'., and 
my old-time friend, Mr. Geo. E. Marshall, of the Calumet 
Heights Club, of this city. Mr. McDonald has a summer 
home near Plum Lake, and is taking up his friends for 
a couple of weeks' fishing. I was glad to see Mr. 
Marshall going fishing, but sorry fo see him going tinder 
the circumstances of which he told me. It is the same 
old story, of the city man who has overworked hims*elf. 
Mr. Marshall was under sentence of banishment by hrs 
doctor, and will probably be absent from his place of busi- 
ness for some time. Pie seemed cheerful, however, and 
declared he was out for a good time and intended to have 
it. Mr. McDonald is thoroughly acquainted in all that 
country, and it is certain that his friends will find good 
sport. Mr. Marshall was taking up with him an old' 
Kankakee River guide, who will explore the Plum Lake 
countiy, and probably trap in that region next winter. 
Mr. Oswald Von Lengerke, of this city, with his 
|riends, Mr. Chas. Lester and Dr. Baxter, had a very 
j)leasant trip this past week, from which they returned to- 
day. They went in on Sand Lake by way of Hayward", 
'Wis., being the first party to fish Sand Lake this spring. 
They found A^ery good fishing, indeed, and brought home • 
a splendid lot of muscallunge. Their largest fish weighed 
38 pounds, and is quite the largest reported yet this- 
season from any Western water, and is very apt to prove 
the, record, for the season.. It is a long fish, and not 
very fat. so that in size it appears a A'ery monster. It 
was displayed to-day at Von Lengcrke'.s' store, witli other's 
of the catch. Several fish of 12 arid 14 pounds were 
taken, and the party simplj^ quit fishing for bass because 
they were too easy to catch. The local fishers think 
I hat Sand Lake will be better in a week or so than it is 
now. and this lake is Avell worth keeping in mind. It is 
said it produced a 42-pound muscallunge last year. 
.Attorney-General Aiken, of Illinois, leaves to-night for 
a trip after muscallunge to 'Mr. C. H. Fetry's- place, near 
the Tomahawk Avaters. 
Mr. McDonald, Avho spends a great deal of time each 
summer in the Plum Lake country, says that he believes 
the big St; Germaine Lake is the "best muscallunge water 
in Wisconsin noAv. This lake Avas hit. hard for many 
years, but every once in a Avhile it turns, out a lieaAy fish. 
,Tf one wanted to get a big 'lunge in Wisconsin, he could 
hardh- do better than stick to this water. 
The Squirrel Lake Avaters, via Minocqua. are doing 
wefl this spring-, according to report. This water seems 
to have a great many small 'lunge, though one rarely 
hears of a fish heavier than 20 pounds. It is a good sport- 
ing water. 
The Minnesota muscallunge season should be good 
noAV, and a great many Chicago anglers are headed that 
way for this AA-eek or next. 
Reports come down from Twohy's place on Eagle Lake, 
Waukesha county. Wis., that bass fishing is better than it 
has been for years. Mr. Thompson, Avho has been 
there for the past week, is having A^ery fine bass fishing. 
.\ pleasant little party of friends will go up to the 
ManitOAvish Avaters this coming week, after their annual 
trip for muscallunge and bass, prominent among these 
being Mf. Geo. E. Cole. President of the Municipal 
League ; Mr. C. S: Dennis, of the Wishininne Club; Mr. 
J. B. Clark, of the Hibernian Bank ; Mr, Geo. H. Walker, 
etc. These gentlemen should meet A'erj- good success at 
the time of their trip, and they Avill be gone a couple of 
weeks. 
Mr. H. E. Gobel. agent of the Hartford Building, of 
this city, and his friend. Mr. C. B. Cleveland, Avith thr.ee 
or four others, Avill leave next week for High Lake, 
Wis., via State Line. From, all appearances they Avilj 
strike it just about right for their purposes. 
On yesterday CA-ening a good sized party of Chicago 
anglers left for Winnebago Lake, Wis., going to Neenah. 
Among these are Mr. Geo. Jenny and Mr. William John- 
son. They may find some bass fishing, and they Avill 
have plenty of boating and a good time. 
Dr. R. B. Miller, of this city, is planning a trip , for 
himself, Avife and child, to some good Western fishing 
country this summer. He has in mind the YelloAvstone 
Park, and I have given him the address of Billj- Hofer 
out there, as the best man to tell him about that country 
and to take him to the good places. Mr. Hofer's ad- 
dress. I may state for the benefit of any other possible 
inquirers, is Ehvood Hofei-, Gardiner, Mont. 
Mr. Jos. Irwin, of Little Rock, Ark., Avas in Chicago 
for a short time this Aveek. ■ Mr. "Irwin is planning for 
his regular summer trip to the White River. Colo., and 
this time he is going loaded for bear. 
Chicago Fly-Casting Club. 
The practice meeting of the Chicago Fly-Casting Qu.b 
is in progress this afternoon at Garfield .Park, north 
lagoon. The Aveather is cool atid pleasant; The at- 
tendance should be good and the occasion a nice one. 
Some Grayling Left, 
..From an Alpena, Mich., paper sent to me by Mr. J. D. 
Hawks, of Detroit. I observe that Mr. and Mrs. Harry 
R. Morse, Jr., and Mr. and Mrs. W. B. Dobson returned 
this AA^eek to .\lpena from a trip after grayling, and that 
they brought home "several grayling ove.r . 10 . inches in 
length." They seem to have gone on some stream tAA'enty 
miles northAvest of Valentine, but I do not know what 
this stream Avas. 
Condition of the Minnesota Park Bill, 
Chicago, HI., June 2. — ^^The success of the Lacey Bill in 
Congress last week has meant a great deal to the sports- 
men of the West, and they feel that Mr. Lacey" s success 
has been their OAvn. Such is their elation over this good 
outcome of a A"aluable measure, that it fits them very 
illy for bad ncAVs regarding another project dear to the 
.Western sportsman's heart, that.of,t4ie Minnesota Na- 
tional Park. At this Avriting it cannot.be said that the 
park measure is an assured fact. Speaker Henderson 
tAV'i days ago had ^tifl declined to name n day for- the 
consideration of this bill. Congressman Lacey is re- 
ported to have urged the Speaker to reconsider his deci- 
sion not to take up the park bill this session. It is sure 
that Mr. TaAvney, of Minnesota, will leave no effort un- 
tried to get the measure before the House. Meantime, 
the editors of one or more prominent Chicago daily news- 
papers have Avritten to the Speaker urgmg the appro- 
priateness of taking action at this session. Col. Cooper 
has not yet gone to Washington, and it may or may not 
seem necessary for him to do so. 
There is. an emergency to be considered in the case of 
the Minnesota National Park. This very Aveek a num- 
ber of the big lumbermen of the Northwest have written 
to the Secretary of the Interior, asking permission for the 
Indjans'to put "their reservation timber on the market. 
These big lumbering corporations have been rUaking a 
quiet but \'ery strong fight to block' or kill this park 
measure. They have Avritten, in all probability, to officials 
high in power at Washington, and they will leave no 
stone unturned to make the ■ passage of this bill more 
difficult^ Avith every passing month. With them every 
month gained is so much capital and so much oppor- 
.tunity, since it allows them to go on Avith their devastat- 
ing operations on these Indian lands. They will us6 
threats, cajolery, or' anything else Avhich they can find as 
a Aveapoh, atid they will stop that park if they are able 
to do so. " ' ? ' 
^, It is to be remembiired as an offset against this proposi- 
tion, that there is every reason to suppose the park bill 
Would be brought up at the next session of Congress, and 
that it ^^ould then pass. This is some comfort, though it 
Avould mean a year's time lost. Really, the greatest safety 
for the'- park" measure lies in the personal attitude of 
Ethan " Allen Hitchcock, the. Secretary of the Interior, 
-yvho has .'Stopped th^- estimating of the timber on the In- 
dian lands and who has declared that the lumbering shall 
be stopped uhtil the matter has been looked into. 
Three different corps of timber examiners under tl c 
Nelson la-vv have > been , emploA'ed by successive adminis- 
trations, ' apd; each' has been discharged ■ in turn. O1.1 
March '^30, 1 899, the Secretary of the Interior directed the 
last corps to be "turloughed Avithout pay until further 
notice.''. Let us Ijope that the further notice will be a 
long time in comipng. 
. Figures of Shady Sort. 
fJsually people ,do not care much tO; read about. Con- 
gressional action, and one must confess that the' interest 
in forestry is small in the West. Out here we have a 
child-like confidence that Congress will run itself and do 
everything that ought to. be done, and that the pine forests 
in some way will last foreA^er. Yet there is a very pretty 
story connected with this Minnesota Park matter, which 
jwould make very interesting reading to almost any West^ 
ern man who once began to take it up. The time may 
come, perhaps, when the operations of such lumber 
barons as our friend Tom Shevlin, the hero of the spUt 
Congressional train, Avill come to be generally understood. 
It is the Shevlin & Carpenter Lumber Company which 
has been operating most extensively on the Red Lake In- 
dian reserA^ation, this reservation not being - included 
AA'ithin the bounds of the proposed park. By the way, as 
an instance of the extreme innocence of Mr. Shevlin, it 
might- be stated that it Avas on his suggestion that the 
park Avas reduced in size and the Red Lake reservation 
left out. He said he Avould then help Avork for the meas- 
ure, and he Avas believed. He did help, as see the record 
of last fall, mentioned in these columns. 
It is well known that this firm bought 86,000 acres of 
the best of the, Red Lake reservation pine at a cost of 
about $1.76 per acre, less than $200,000. Suppose you 
cut but 10,000 feet of pine from an acre, and that you 
get but $10 a thousand for that pine. The difference be- 
tween the total and the original cost of about $1.76 per 
acre will leave you a handsome margin. In practice this 
margin is doubled and trebled. 
The only sale of land on the four reservations yet 
made was the sale of about 357 acres at the junciion of 
the two railroads at Cass Lake, Avhen, for the purpose of 
avoiding loss and hardship to a number of persons who 
had settled and built there, the Secretary of the Interior 
ordered the same sold at public auction under the dis- 
cretion vested in him by the Nelson laAv. The proceeds 
of sale Avere upAvard of $17,000. The appraised value 
made by the examiners for the GoA^ernment of the same 
tract, it is understood, was about $1,700. There be figures 
for 3'ou ! There Avas never a more outrageous piece of 
robbery perpetrated upon anA^ people than has been in- 
tentionally or unintentionally, honestl}' or dishonestly, 
committed upon these simple-minded Indians under the 
name of the law and under the supposed knowledge of 
the Government of the United States. It is inconceivable 
that an}- man Avoith}' of the name of statesman, or fit to 
serve in public office, Avould for one moment tolerate such 
transactions were the facts once knoAvn to him. Secre- 
tary Hitchcock knoAvs something of these facts. By the 
time that Mr. Tawnej^ has gotten through Avith his ex- 
'planation. Avhenever the Speaker consents to hear him, the 
-entire House Avill know the facts. • That means that- the'- 
'commission will be appointed, and if a half-dozen honest 
men once get up into that country, it may be considered 
certain that they will put an end to the old, ruinous, 
Avasteful squandering of the Indians' property. Lender 
the proposed park measure the forests will be practically 
left untouched, and yet they Avill produce tenfold as 
much money for the Indians as they haA^e done in the past 
when they haA'e been stripped utterly from the earth. 
Senator Nelson himself .sees the failure of his Avell-in- 
tended laAv of i88g, .and he will probably be one of the 
first to come out in favor of the park. 
Under these circumstances it is no Avonder that Western 
men are looking Avith great anxiety to Speaker Hender- 
son, and asking him to give a hearing to this measure, 
where an emergency exists. Avhere the relief a'^ked is a 
public benefit, and where the appropriation required is but 
the trille of $5,000.' 
Movements of Chicago Sportsmen. 
W. P, Mussey, of this city, starts to-morrow for 
' KabelcGua Caix\p, Minnesota, for a fishing trip of a week 
or .so, . , . , . . 
Mr. T. Edmond Strong and Mr. Selz. of Selz. Schwab & 
■ Co.. of this city, left last night for thr Am Sable Riv^v, 
