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FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Dec. 29, 1900. 
There's Enchantment There. 
There is a region in Northern California that ap- 
pears to be exceptionally enthralling. It is not, on first 
observance, particularly attractive or fascinating, but it 
has had a sort of hypnotic influence upon men. 
It is a region of mountains, forests and streams — 
broken, picturesque, bright and hospitable, or blea'k, drear 
and cold as moods and conditions determine. 
It is a region to which the early pioneers were at- 
^ trficted by the discovery of gold, thousands of hardy and 
brave men ventured half a century ago, and to 
which thousands have come and gone with the years. 
Gold, gold was the quest of most, and in their sordid 
haste aiid slavish toil for the valued metal, that has upon 
it a tinge of blood and death, few of the many really 
saw the white summits, the blue and shadoAV}'- forests, 
the crystalline springs of the sweetest water in the world, 
the rushing streams that broaden into rivers paved with 
golden litter. 
The gold is merely an incidental substance, brought 
down by erosion and the thundering winter torrents, to- 
gether with other refuse and waste' from the mighty 
mountains. No animal except civilized man ever found 
gold of consequence. A handful of vegetable soil, de- 
cayed bark and leaves that will spiking to renewed life in 
the valleys below, was worth it all. 
There were pioneers, giants among the strongest, the 
hardiest and most venturesome of the world, who looked 
about them and coming under the influence of their magic 
surroundings forgot the sordid desire for gold and the 
influence and power of which so many dream. These 
saw the beauty of the mountains and forests, breathed 
the nectar of the air, tasted the purity of the distillery of 
heaven, and felt the freedom of absolute immunity from 
that wonderful, questionable blessing, civilized society. 
There were a thousand hermits in the blue realm of the 
Shasta Mountains — men of brain and brawn, and many 
with the knowledge and culture of the polite. They would 
be found (and rarely may yet may be found) in secluded 
nooks of the mountains, in the most primitive cabins, 
furnished with the simplest necessary food, and the uten- 
sils by which they might maintain existence. In a dec- 
ade, or a score of years, these men, while retaining 
their knowledge and their polite attainments, had re- 
verted to the primitive tastes and inclinations of savages 
in many things and were seemingly as happy and content 
as the red natives that for unknown generations had 
lived and died in these mountains. Perhaos it was rather 
indifference than content, but indifference and content 
are not easily separated. These men were under a spell, 
but it was nothing more mysterious than the instinct or 
intuition that beckons men into the woods and wilder- 
ness, back to where they were originally placed, where 
they may properly belong. 
The mountains and forests, the uncontrolled torrents, 
shimmering and unsounded lakes, the bounding deer, 
crashing bear, and all the life and struggling and de«th 
of animate creation appealed to them. The possibility 
of perils in remote cafions and upon unexplored heights, 
the triumph of subsisting against every kind of privation 
and denial, were things not lacking in gratification to 
them. Sometimes they had printed books and the mid- 
night lamp might glimmer from rocky glen or mountain 
side — but the implemeaits of defense or aggression, the 
rifle, axe and knife were invariably at hand, and of more 
frequent use and certain utility. Among these are tan- 
gible influences that have shaped the lives and careers 
of many men, and that have given character to the nation 
itself. 
By tourist and traveler who do not always comprehend 
or judge by true standards these solitary men were passed 
over or pitied and condemned. They did not conform to 
the conventional or the fancied and were too unique to be 
classified and catalogued, save perhaps as some land sur- 
veyors have classified some of their mountains upon the 
Government's maps, "Unsurveyed, broken and worth- 
less." In many instances they were men of invincible 
character and the bravest of the brave, daring to stray 
from all custom and tradition and act according to the 
dictates of their own souls, living and dying in as near 
absolute freedom and as near nature as man can ap- 
proach. 
* * * * * * 
A decade or more ago a man of about thirty years of 
age, having selected a spot evidently to his liking in the 
region so briefly described, built a cottage there snug 
enough for its kind, but with no apparent object and no 
notable judgment as to suitable location. While the place 
selected appealed to him could not be guessed, for there 
was no gold near it and no people near. It was miles 
distant from the settlement or traveled road, and there 
was little more level ground lhan enough to set the house 
upon. The fellow chopped away, making a clearing, 
where he planted a few fruit trees and pretended to make 
a small garden. • The place was so full of granite boul- 
ders, brought by some av.ilanche from the mountains sur- 
rounding it, and it was so thickly covered with matted 
briers and vines, he never succeeded in changing its ap- 
pearance much. 
A stream that came foaming over the boulders and 
through a jungle of alders and mountain shrubbery made 
such a continual roar that it was as impossible to hear 
much as it was to see much from the site of the house, 
surrounded as it was with the steep and thickly tim- 
bered hills. The felloAv kept a horse and a dog o'r two, 
and from time to time added cats and fowls and other 
domestic aggravations to his outfit. He was industrious 
enough to combat with his surroundings for awhile, ap- 
pearing to have means to provide himself, from the "out- 
side country, with the things he failed to produce. His 
garden was chiefly a fernery in which he probably dug 
un more gonhers and rattlesnakes than artichokes or 
other veeretablcs. while his hay patch Avas scarcelv a good 
pasture for his horse as were the undisturbed hillsides to 
which the horse always escaped. But the summers and 
winters passed an<i the fellow with his entire outfit some-r 
For about ten years the man lived in the secluded spot,, 
only disturbed by an occasional stock or game hunter, 
and giving no one any notable account of his affairs. 
The few marauders who encroached upon his premises 
could say little of him more than that he had books, 
guns and other traps, but never seemed to raise any- 
thing or kill anything to speak of. Others may have 
heard the crack of his rifle at daybreak, or the barking 
of his dog now and then on a midnight hunt for var- 
mints on the mountain sides. His shack was about out 
of sight in winter, for all that could be seen of it would 
be a stovepipe sticking out of the snow, or the light, of a 
lamp from a window by night, shining out' over the boul- 
ders and snow covered jungle. Sometimes in midsummer 
forest fires swept the cafion, but his fern patch and 
boulders were fireproof, and he was circumspect enough 
to keep the leaves and pine needles cleared away fiQiti the 
buildings and fences. 
A stranger taking a cut-of? trail" through the hills once 
passed the hermit and' asked: 
"Are you making a ranch here?" 
"No, sir," the man replied. 
"What are you going to do, then?" 
"I don't know," said he, and passed on. 
Probably the hermit spoke the truth according to his 
philosophy and his experience. After all the man, is 
very wise who knows what he is going to do. • 
Without much preparation and no notice to his neigh- 
bors, for he had none, the man left the hermitage and dis- 
appeared from the mountains. 
Some weeks ago, being anxious to see the place, I 
went some distance out of my way to look in upon it. 
The house was stilll there, its steep roof covered with 
moss, on the north side, and the porch strewn with leaves 
and fallen acorns and shells from an overhanging oak. 
The house was weather-stained and sim-burned until it 
had assumed the color of the huge granite boulders sur- 
rounding it. The antlers of a buck were fastened above 
the door, while the walls of an inner room we-re dec- 
orated with a dozen pairs of them and with numerous 
scalps, skins and other trophies. There was a gun case 
in which several guns were rusting in their racks, and in 
another corner a bookcase full of volumes that had been 
frequently if not roughly handled. 
In another room wood rats had made a pyramid of 
fanciful design of a hundred or more copies of 
Forest and Stream, bearing old date, in the midst of 
which they had stored a bushel of acorns, bits of bone, 
grains of wheat and corn, nails, cartridge shells and other 
treasures they had gathered without any special judg- 
ment. 
Outside a mottled cat scurried away, terrified to see 
any one about the deserted house, but nevertheless anx- 
ious to make himself seen. The garden had about suc- 
cumbed to the overpowering attack of native jungle. A 
small patch of strawberry plants alone seemed, to main- 
tain the contest with the ferns, thimble-berry bushes and 
sprouting alders and willows. 
A black shepherd dog, grown old and gray about his 
eyes and muzzle, took his place on the leaf strewn poixh 
of the house, patiently whining his impatience, and wag- 
ging his bushy tail as he followed me with his anxious 
j-ellow eyes. From a distant hillside a gray horse whin- 
nied musically as he detected hfe about the house that had 
been deserted for so many months. There were deer 
tracks in the very dooryard, and the whole place was in- 
fested with birds, mice, chipmunks and squirrels. The 
bee-hives in the yard were empty of bees and were now 
the homes of wasps, moths and ants, the bees having 
probably moved to the hollow black-oaks of the forest. 
I was interested in these things, for I have not been able 
to forget them. I built the house and fences and had 
struggled with that garden. The horse, the dog, the cat, 
the chipmunks and birds, the surrounding forest and 
mountains and the noisy stream were old friends, as- 
sociates and familiars. Through close communion with 
them during the years I learned to know why there have 
been so many hermits in the Shasta hills and mountains. 
A man may live such, a life for ten years and possibly 
break away, but I do not know that it is worth the 
effort. ' ' Ransacker. 
California. W^ff^ 
The Doubter. 
Once on a time a subscriber wrote to Forest and 
Stream a truthful tale. He was proud of a reputation 
for veracity and there was nothing impossible or even 
improbable in his story of a lost leader and its subse- 
quent recovery, but the doubter was abroad and from far 
and near the story was jumped upon with a great jump 
and the relator concluded that the telling of a very few 
such things would utterly destroy the cherished reputa- 
tion. To doubt, however, is human, and the almost uni- 
versal habit of disbelief in stories pertaining to fishes 
and fishermen, their doings and experiences, dates back 
a few years further than any of us will claim to remember, 
and when for the edification or the entertainment of his 
fellows one does a tale untold, though it may be attested 
by many witnesses, he is sure to be doubted by some, no 
matter how good may be his repute for honestj^. Even 
Jonah, with a ship full of observers to substantiate the 
facts of his adventure, found but few who would accept 
his story, and in this enlightened age almost any strange 
happening or any odd experience which may be told is 
at once characterized as a "fish story." 
A man may go fishing, but if he desires to maintain 
a reputation for veracit.y he must never tell about it- 
there is sure to be some one who will doubt him even 
though he confines himself to the simple statement that 
he went. Some men live and act upon the theory that 
it is never safe to believe an3fthing they hear and only 
a portion of the things they see, but fortunately for the 
rest of mankind the sect is not large, for if it were then 
all fish stories might better remain untold. Once in a 
while an individual of this kind has an experience of his 
own that serves to broaden his views and teach him that 
things which appear strange and reniarkable may yet 
be true, and the following is a nlain statement of how one 
such was converted from his doubting habit. 
It was in March, that season of our discontent filled 
with frost and thaw-fog and rain, influenza and grip, 
the."Jdes of March" against which the nohk Roman 
was warned, that dismal season when it is good for the 
inhabitants of the Greater New York and the surround- 
ing country to get away from it and wait for a month or 
two before being enthusiastic about "Home, Sweet 
Home." Three congenial spirits, by profession a phy- 
sician, a lawyer and an engineer, sat before a cheering 
open fire in a cozy room discussing and "cussing" these 
evils. 
"Doctor and I have just decided to get away on an- 
other trip to the South and are going to sail next week 
with our old friend Capt. X. Now, you old cynic, you 
doubter of all things reasonable, just drop your cross- 
examinings and legal care and come along. We will 
show you a lot of odd things, broaden your narrow 
minded little intellect and give you a good bit of sea- 
sickness to benefit your spleen. Come now, you daren't 
go and see a bit of the tropical world." 
"Well, if I should see one-half of the wonders I have 
heard you fellows lie" about for the last three years I 
would write a book that would discount Munchausen. 
You had better not invite any truthful man to go along, 
for your string of fairy tales will be exposed. As to 
being seasick, that is aU nonsense. It stands to reason 
that any one who expects it and looks for it will probably 
get it, but it is simnly an example of the influence of 
mind over matter, and a man who determines that he 
won't be sick and has any mental strength will have no 
trouble. 
"You are, no doubt, absolutely right and will never 
have a better chance to demonstrate your theory, but 
if you have the courage to pack your summer clothing 
and come along I will back your stomach against your 
brain and bet you a good dinner for the three of us that 
you will change your mind. 
"If I can arrange to get away I am very much tempted 
to go and I tell you now that one great argument in 
favor of it_ is to see for myself how much real truth there 
is in all of the stuff yoH two have been telling about and 
expecting your friends to believe." 
In the end the prospect of a good time aided by the 
climate and some persuasion won; and the party sailed 
for Jamaica and the coast of South America. 
The others were hardened sailors, but the lawyer was 
on his maiden voyage, and being naturally of a skeptical 
.disposition and feeling his inexperience he was disposed 
to accept with a great deal more than the proverbial 
grain of salt all of the tales they related of their travels 
and of the interesting things in store for him. His 
experience of the first three three days convinced him 
that no description of seasickness can be overdrawn 
and he abandoned his theory of will power versus 
stomach power and rendered a verdict in favor of the 
defendant, but he still doubts the doctor's prescription 
of liver and bacon or ham and eggs as proper 
diet. He was no fisherman and they were both 
devotees of the rod and reel. When they swapped 
stories of their remarkable exploits and strange experi- 
ences he admitted that he knew httle of fishes and fish- 
ing, but it must be a sucker that would swallow such 
stuff, and he wished it understood fhat he wac nof nF t^-'- 
varitey. On the subject of flying fish he was particularly 
skeptical, but was good enough to admit that a fish with 
wings was quite as probable as some of the fish stories 
they had already told, and some of the other passen- 
gers were inclined to agree with him. No doubt many 
people had seen fish jump out of the water, and carried 
along by the wind for some little distance it would not 
require a great stretch of imigination to call it flying, 
but to assert that they really had wings and the power 
of actual flight was too absurd for argument. 
The captain Avas a jovial old salt, full of fun and good 
stories and parliculrly fond of a good joke. It was de- 
cided to refer the matter to him, so at the dinner 
table he was asked the question. He laughed heartily 
and then said, "Why, I thought everybody knew that — 
why, of course there are fish with wings, and of course 
they really do fly — and you will all have no doubt about it 
in a day or two if you have any eyes, and very likely will 
call them very good eating, too, if you care for fish just 
out of water and into the frying pan." 
"How do you catch them, Captain? Do they take 
bait?" 
"Well, I really can't say about the bait. We are no 
pot fishermen and do not resort to hand lines or nets. 
We always get them on the fly." 
"Oh! oh! Come off. Captain." 
Every one at the table joined in the laughter, and the 
lawyer continued: "I was prepared to accept without 
question any statement you might make on the subject, 
but it won't surprise me now to be told that these won- 
derful fishes come on board and roost in the rigging, 
build nests in the boats and do a lot of other things 
that nobody ever heard of, but for the sake of your con- 
science. Captain, I haven't the courage to ask any more 
questions, though the temptation is very great." 
"Well, then, if I am on the the stand and under ex- 
amination I shall have to say that I have never known 
them to roost in the rigging or any other place, nor to 
do any other bird tricks, but they certainly do come on 
board at full speed, and that is why I said we get them 
on the fly." 
During the day when we put them up they fly away 
from the ship, as you will see, but at night when we 
happen to run near a school I believe the lights attract 
them, for it is not at all rare to find enough of them on 
the decks some morning to give us a dish for our break- 
fast or a fish course at dinner." 
So much had been said that everybody was on the look- 
out, and a day or two later when the ship neared the 
Bahamas the sighting of the first flying fish was quite 
an event, for several of the passengers besides the legal 
gentleman were very much inclined to regard the whole 
thing as a hoax. Their doubts and his doubts and the 
wind theory arid all other questions about the reality of' 
flying fish were settled in short drder. They saw them 
get up and go_ scurrying away in aU directions, many of 
them flying right into a dead head wind and keeping 
on the wing as long as the eye could follow them. AH 
agreed that for speed of wing movement nothing short 
of humming birds were in the same class, and the fish 
and the patches of brown gulf weed Avere the chief topics 
of the day. Next morning the chief steward exhibited 
a pan Cqntaining som^t1;i|ig rtiore than a 4o?,en of the lit- 
