Feb. 9, igoi.J 
FOREST ^AND"^ STREAM. 
Ill 
hereafter. See wbat I am reading? He who has never 
read this Book under the greenwood trees has missed 
something of its beauties, of its grandeur, of its message 
to humanity. I am not a Catholic, but I have sympathy 
with a religion whose light before the altar is always 
burning and whose church door is always open. The 
religion that depends on Sunday for its salvation is not 
broad enough for me, though Sunday rightly spent may 
fill one's life with thankfulness and hope for many a long 
day. But we are too prone in our reverence for the in- 
spired Word to translate it so literally as to lose its 
message. How long has the six days of creation stood 
between science and religion? The hog is here declared 
unclean, but without bacon the world would suffer to- 
day, and so the law is unheeded, and this Christian 
country raises a hog for every man and woman in it. 
"Then in all ages man has resisted restraint, and none 
more innocentl}% perhaps, than the angler, who asks for 
nothing more than to be permitted to reach some soli- 
tude, where, disturbing none, he may himself be undis- 
turbed. It seems not much to ask of society, but ever 
since there has been a society there have been spas- 
modic efforts to curb this gypsy tendency, and there are 
localities not much disturbed by outside influences where 
even Sunday golf w^ould be frowned on. But in every 
large city, with its cosmopolitan tendencies and confined 
lives, there is a liberality in that regard bound to spring 
from such conditions. Then, too, a city need hardly 
concern itself about the angler, for his sins are principally 
beyond their jurisdiction, and his one idea is to get as 
far as possible from the madding crowd. Of course the 
wealthy need no recreation then, for theirs may be taken 
any time; the man who can spend a month in the woods 
may well rest on Sundays. It is for him who has no 
other day to spare from slavish routine, for it is not, 
only the man with the hoe whose lights are in danger of 
blowing out with toil. It is no Christian spirit that would 
deny to the starving lover of nature his one day alone 
under green arches by wimpling streams, and whose 
fault \yill hardly be discovered if some detective, recking 
not his own rede, have not wandered from the beaten 
path of strict observance. 
"Excuse me— I have a bite. * * * There, he is off. 
Well, so am I. We have spoiled each other's dav, and 
this is the real threat to Sunday angling — that it is get- 
ting to be the one day when there is no spot upon the 
waterside undisturbed. Five miles down this stream, be- 
low the falls, are two hundred and fifty men with rods, 
and thirty miles from town. Good-by." 
Henry Talbott. 
The Xog of a 6107016"^ Fishing: 
Trip —III. 
1 ■ " 
Thfoagh the Motiotaios of Virpioia and West Virginia" 
Edited from the Diary of Mr. George N. Beall 
hy the Commodore, F. R. Webfa. 
{Continued from page 90.) 
Wednesday dawned bright and fair, and early morn- 
ing found me on the road. Much to my surprise, I found 
the dirt road down the valley — for I leave the pike here — 
not much the worse for yesterday's rain, and in fairly 
good shape; so miich so that by noon I had easily fin- 
ished the familiar part of the road, and found myself 
climbing up Jack Mountain and into new territory. Near 
the top I got caught in the edge of a shower, and hastily 
unlimbered my waterproofs and put them on, only to as 
quickly take them off again, as I felt the hot sun on my 
head and shoulders. I had to work my way down the 
other side of the mountain slowly, for the road was slip- 
pery and soft; and finally I was compelled to dismount 
and lead my machine, for the whole country seemed to 
be afloat; the storm had evidently been heavy down this 
way. Fortunately, I was not far from my destination, 
Sinnett's on the Black Thorn, where I proposed to stop 
for a day's fishing. Arrangements for my stay were 
soon completed, but I got no fishing this evening, as the 
rain had swollen and muddied the stream beyond the 
fishing stage; so after dinner with the family, haA'ing 
nothing better to do, I sought a cool nook in the old 
barn, where, free from the frolicsome and inquisitive fly, 
I slept out most of the long afternoon. The people here 
are Germans, and live in a primitive, old-fashioned way, 
but everything is clean and fresh. Quite early in the 
evening I was taken to a big upper room containing 
three beds, which were piled, here and there, high with 
spare blankets, female wearing apparel, etc. Mine host, 
after lighting m.e up so that I might get my bearings! 
disappeared with the glim, leaving me to grope my way 
into bed in the dark the best I could. 
Next morning early I shouldered my rod and wended 
my way up through the meadow, intent on the trout. It 
was on this stream I made a great catch several years 
ago, and it was not without some fair degree of hope 
that I sallied forth this morning. The water proved to 
be quite cloudy, notwithstanding my afternoon's wait, 
and I was doomed to disappointment, for by ii o'clock 
f had fished carefully a mile and a half of the stream 
and had on!}' seven fish to show for my work. These,^ 
however, were of good size and looked well in my creel!^ 
I succeeded, though, in working up a good appetite for 
dinner, and did the same suflicient justice to please the 
generous host of mine. Having by this time grown bet- 
ter acquainted, I ventured to make myself a little more 
at horne and risk my afternoon nap on my downy couch 
tip stairs. The air was cool and pleasant, and by squelch- 
ing an occasional fly, which sought too close an ac- 
quaintance with my sunburned nose, I enjoyed a- luxuri- 
ous siesta. With limbs and hope refreshed. I took an- 
other turn on Ihe stream before supper, and reeled in 
four more beauties, one of which was at least I2in. long. 
The trout is an ideal fish, and his capture is one of the 
bli.ssful moments of a fisherman's experience. The farm 
hands, busy in the harvest fields, had slipped in for their 
suppers and set out to work again until dark. A hard, 
pushing drive they have of it. from dawn until dark at 
this season of the year, as every moment must count. 
In the evening I surprised the folks somewhat bjr' 
srrapine out a few tunes on the old three-stringed "fid-- 
die" which hangs on the wall, Th^ nigbrt>etng cool, i 
small blaze was started in the gigantic fireplace, which 
occupies pretty much all one side of the large room, and 
as the shadows flicker around the room — for there was 
no other light save the waverrng firehght — I could easily 
imagine myself in some coittage in a far-off clime. 
Everything was so quaint and old-fashioned — the high 
mantelpiece, the pipe box in the corner of the fireplace, 
the three-cornered cupboard in one corner of the room, 
with its little diamond-shaped panes of glass and the old 
blue china shining within; the festoons of herbs and 
tobacco hanging from the smoke blackened rafters over- 
head, and the quaint old people with their heavy shoes 
and homemade garments— giving a general air of an- 
tiquity to the scene. T ccduld have lingered until late to 
enjoy the novel experience^ but, feteling that all were tired 
after the long, hard day's work, I thought best to efface 
myself, and, biding good-nrght to all, I sought my room, 
where opening my curtains wide I sought ray couch by 
the light of the moon. 
Early next morning I oiled up my machine and began 
to climb Jack Mountain again, toward Sugar Grove, 
with intent to stop at Riser's, a few miles below, on the 
South Fork of the Potoma(c, where I proposed tackling 
the bass for a change. My brake hand grew weary long 
before I reached the vallej' on the other side, and a cool, 
shady turn of the road invited me to stop for awhile and 
rest. I found a house close by, and the pretty blue-eyed 
maiden who showed me to the spring wonders yet, no 
doubt, at my inordinate thirst; but I was drinking in the 
beauty of the modest little mountain violet, and lingered 
longer because I might longer linger. I had a great 
•many questions to ask about things I was already familiar 
with, and the maid finally took a gigantic "tumble" and 
T fear what good impressiort I had succeeded in making 
was swept away. At Sugar Grove I got on Che outside 
of my two letters in short order, but, in the language of 
the poet, "the letter that I longed for never came." 
Pocketing my disappointment along with my two letters, 
I savagely pushed the pedals and went jouncing along 
over the rough river road, somewhat to the relief of my 
feelings. Hearing tliat there were some Staunton people 
camped "below," I kept a lookout for their tents, but 
found that they had literally pulled up stakes and left. 
Reaching Kiscrs, I crossed the rough river bed with 
my machine under my arm, and surprised the natives in 
the topmost brandies of the cherry trees down by the 
lane. I carelessly turned my head until the female por- 
tion of the assaulting party had landed on terra firma, 
and in the meantime interviewed the "old man" in regard 
to my stopping a day or two. He replied that he 
"couldn't jes' 'zajckly tell, for as how as the boys ar run- 
nin' the farm now," but, on remaining until dinner time, 
I had no trouble in convincing the "boys" that I was 
harmless and had no ulterior designs. My visit in the 
neighborhood last year with the Staunton Greenbrier 
Club fortunately paved the way, for I was quickly re- 
membered and made welcome and in due time installed 
in the spare room. A harv^est dinner of pork and fresh 
string beans and a big. hot cherry pie, washed down 
with plenty of cream, niade me feel like a youth again. 
I presently walked leisurely up the stream, and 
threshed the pools with the seductive fly, to the end that 
I scored seven nice bass and had a royal aftei^noon's 
sport. 
Next morning, when all was quiet after breakfast, and 
the "hands" had disappeared fieldward, I leisurely packed 
my "horse." as the tnost of the people I meet call my 
bicvcle, and hied me away down the road along the river 
bank in search of fresh fi.shing grounds, or waters, rather. 
The morning was bright, and as I climbed the outlying 
stretches of slate hills an occasional glimpse of the river 
far below made my rod hand itch to be with the bass. 
The merry spin of a wheel over an unfamiliar road is in- 
teresting, and was doubly so to me on this occasion, be- 
cause my eves took in more than the pebbles immedi- 
ately beneath my tires, and were gladdened with new and 
strange scenery on every side; and throughout the moun- 
tain regiQns of the Virginias there is much to be seen 
that is very beautiful and interesting. A wayfaring man 
told me to stop at the mill; and as I pulled up behind a 
load of hay, the driver, seeing the beads of perspiration 
on my brow._ invited me to join him at the miller's cot- 
tage in a social glass of ice water. This seductive bever- 
age I had not tasted since leaving home, and as the cool- 
ing draft gurgled and sizzled down my parched throat I 
quite felt the eniovments of home again. 
After some deliberation on my part, I decided to stay 
with Mr. Hoover, the miller, for the remainder of the 
day and try the fishing here. I found the morning's 
sport quite good, and scored seven nice bass. The after- 
noon's sport was not so good, because, fishing below the 
mil!. T approached too near the village of Brandywine, 
and local sports had somewhat depopulated the stream. 
Just before_ dinner, as I was quietly casting my fly in a 
likely looking pool out of which I had just taken two 
bass, I noticed two fair country maidens approaching this 
same pool from the land side, with their arms full of 
some sort of mysterious feminine apparel. Being heavily 
sunbonneted. they did not observe me, but kept up a ring- 
ing string of small talk and chaff about some culinary 
operation about to be gone through with presently. I 
had some idea of the proceedings which were about to 
follow, and was undecided whether to shriek out in ter- 
ror or stand my ground like a brave man. and duck under 
if matters came to a focus. My embarrassment was 
g.rowang painful when I saw the party deposit the 
mysterious-looking bundle on the bank, and one — evi- 
dently the advance guard— approach ihe river edge to 
reconnoiter, and report if any dreaded men persons were 
m sight. She made a long and careful survey of the 
down-river stretch, and reported "all clear." She turned, 
and her eves rested on my manly proportions and hand- 
some features, half Submerored and not 30 feet away' 
Well! The expression wh'ch spread over her face was a 
studv! With a shriek of. dismav. with one accord, they 
grabbed their mysterious belongings and decamped 
.down thf .river as fast as their feet w6uld carry them. I 
jvas the innocent cause of trouble in -the bathroom! 
ANGLING NOTES. 
Mounted Fish. 
The reports of the Forest, Fish and Game Commission 
have referred to a collection of mounted fish that the 
Commission was prepar'ng. I do not now recall the 
language, but it was understood that fish were being col- 
lected and mounted to show the people of the State the 
kinds of fish that the waters produced or that the Com- 
mission propagated. This collection, if it can be so digni- 
fied, as it is far from complete, has been kept until lately 
at one of the hatchery stations, but has recently been 
moved to the offices of the Commission in the Capitol at 
Albany, and steps have been taken to complete it to a 
certain point, which will include the common food and 
game fishes, but it is not the intention to include rare 
fishes which are of interest only to the ichthyologist. At 
present the case contains brown, rainbow and lake trout, 
mascalonge, pike, pickerel, pike-perch, shad, yellow perch, 
white bass, cisco, and there my memory fails me. Mr. 
Denton mounted the fishes and now has in hand the brook 
ftrout, the large and the small mouth black bass and St. 
Lawrence River mascalonge — for the mascalonge now in 
the case is from Chautauqua Lake. All the fishes propa- 
gated by the State will be included in the collection. The 
specimens are not stuffed. The skins are removed, and 
dried over a form and then they are colored, as in life, by 
the artist. 
Young Shad in a Reservoir, 
The shad hatching station of the New York Commis- 
sion is located on the Hudson River just above Catskill, 
and the water for the hatchery is taken from the Catskill 
reservoir after it is pumped from the river. In fact, the 
pumping station is situated only a few feet from the 
hatchery. When the young shad are hatched they are 
taken in cans and the men row out into the streams and 
put them in the water. To-day I was talking with Chief 
Fire Warden Emmons, who had just been at Catskill, and 
he told me that he was going to surprise me. I replied 
if it was about fish I had ceased years ago to be sur- 
prised at anything reported of fish. He had called upon 
Wm. Kortz, of Ca' skill, and learned of him that great 
schools of small fish had been discovered in the Catskill 
reservoir, where they were previously unknown. One of 
the men employed at the shad station lives at Catskill. and 
he was called in consultation, and the fish were found to 
be young shad- of this year's hatching. I say this year's 
hatching, as they were from three to four inches in length. 
How did young shad get into the village reservoir? 
Simply by being pumped into it from the river. Un- 
doubtedly the fry had come within the influence of the 
suction of the supply pipe and had been drawn into it and 
then up into the pond above and there ihey had grown to 
a fair size, as large, in fact, as if they had remained in 
the river. Now fhe question is how to get them out. The 
reservoir is frozen over, but next spring the State will 
probably make an effort to rescue the young shad and put 
them where they will do some good in the way of supplying 
food. The difficulty to overcome is that shad are so 
delicate that they cannot be handled from the time they 
are born ttntil they are finally taken in nets for market 
without injuring their scales. It is doubtful if they can be 
netted without causing injury that will destroy them, but 
I doubt if the Catskill people desire to have their reservoir 
given over to the shad as a place of habitation, and they 
will consent to have the State try and remove them. 
A. N. Cheney. 
Fishmgf on the Florida Gulf Coast, 
Tampa, Fla., Feb. i. — Trout and redfish are running 
and some good catches have been made. Miss Marion 
Newman, the little daughter of Mr. Walter George New- 
man, of New York, has distinguished herself by capturing 
with rod and reel a 15-pound garfish. Duck shoeting is 
good. 
mnd. 
Fixtures* 
BENCH SHOWS. 
Feb. 19-22.— New York.— Westminster Kennel Club's twenty-fifth 
annual show. James Mortimer, Supt. 
March 6-9. — Pittsburg, Pa. — Duquesne Kennel Club's annual 
bench show. F. S. Stedman, Sec'y. 
March 13-16. — Chicago. — Mascoutah Kennel Club's eleventh an- 
nual show. John L. Lincoln, Sec'y. 
FIELD TRIALS. 
. February (First •Week).— Grand Junction, Tenn. — Championship 
Field Trial Association's annual trials. W. B. Stafford, Sec'y. 
. The Forest and Stream is- put to press each week on Tuesday. 
-Correspenileiice intended for publication should reach i^s ft ti* 
D«q«esne Kennel CIttB, 
The anmtal meeting of Duquesne Kennel Club, of 
western Pennsylvania, was held at their club rooms Jan. 
28. The following officers w^ere elected : President, J. B. 
Vandergrift ; Vice-President. J. A. Davison ; Sccretar}\ 
F. S. Stedman; Treasitrer, S. M. McElroy; Solicitor, J. 
D. McKennan; Delegate to A. K. C, G. M. Carnochan; 
Club Veterinarian, Dr. J. S. Lacock. 
Arrangements were perfected for their third annual 
bench show, to take place March 6, 7, 8 and g. entries 
for which will close Saturday, Feb. 23. The following 
judges have been selected, all of whom have accepted: Bull 
terriers, Mr. J. Lorillard Arden; pointers and fox hounds. 
Major J. M. Taylor; English. Irish and Gordon setters, 
Mr. W. S. Bell ; bloodhounds, mastiffs. Great Danes, deer- 
hounds. Russian wolfhounds, greyhounds, Chesapeake 
Bay dogs, sporting spaniels, bull dogs. Airedale terriers, 
French bull dogs, Scottish terriers, Pomeranians, toy 
spaniels and Italian greyhounds, Mr. Chas. H. Mason"; 
St. Bernards, collies, old English sheep dogs, poodles, 
Boston terriers, beagles, dachshunds, fox terriers. Irish 
<erriers. Black and Tan terriers. Skye terriers. Welsh 
lerriers, Yorkshire terriers, toy terriers, ptigs and mis- 
cellaneous, Mr. James Mortimer. - 
There will be a great many new specials, many of them 
to be won outright at this show. Among these is one 
(-valued at $ioo) for the best exhibit of six dogs d'f. oqe * 
breed, which should create 3 good deal of intertst, " 
