June i, igoi-l 
FOREST AJNi> STREAM, 
427 
sailed by vermin, it is the fattest. The greatest weight 
is 48 pounds." 
Then and Now. 
In reading the above extracts in the light of modern 
knowledge of the salmon and its habits, it ma}' be said 
that there are many errors concerning the life history of 
the fish in Clinton's letters, but to me, knowing how 
long it has taken to arrive at what we now know posi- 
tively of the fish and its habits, and how many questions 
concerning it are yet unsolved, it is surprising that Clin- 
ton should have been able to arrive so near the truth as 
he did. Undoubtedly he depended upon hearsay evidence 
to a certain extent as to the habits of salmon in certain 
places, and some points are now explanable, but for one I 
cannot understand why it was reported that salmon ran up 
.Salmon River from the lake in August and returned in 
September. It is easier to understand why it .should be 
understood that salmon spawned twice a year, for there 
may have been an early and a late run of fish, as in some 
Canadian streams to-day, and therefore assumed that the 
early run spawned and' returned before the late run. 
Within my day I have heard the belief that salmon once 
remained all the year in Lake Ontario, and I think the 
late D. W. Cross, of Ohio, so declared it on- the statement 
of some old resident, and this was probably handed down 
fcom the same source from which Clinton obtained it. 
There is no question that Clinton would be an ardent ad- 
vocate of fishways were he the Governor of New York 
to-day, for apparently he saw the necessity for them and 
how the' erection of dams cut the fish off from spawming 
grounds. His reference to the "bloom" or "blossom" of 
the lakes, and the fish not biting at sucli times, is rather 
novel. That the "bloom" of fresh waters should consist 
of the eggs and skins cast off by aquatic insects is de- 
cidedly nov-el. His account of the birth of the May fly 
is incorrect if taken literally, for though the eggs are 
deposited in the water, they sink to the bottom, and 
there for at least two years the insect is in the larvaj form 
before it rises to the surface, bursts the skin — the tegu- 
ment he mentions — and emerges a perfect fly to reproduce 
and die as he states. 
More About Salmon. 
In another letter than the one from which I have 
already quoted. Clinton v/rites more about the habits of 
the salmon, and I quote in part as follows : 
_ "The science of ichthyology is pregnant with instruc- 
tion and amusement. The migration of fishes, their occa- 
sional appearance and absence, their habits, etc., are sub- 
jects of interesting inquiry. The most remarkable cir- 
cumstance in their natural history is their extreme 
longevity and rapid growth. A salmon weighing 7.54" 
pounds was taken on Feb. 7 at Warrington (England) 
and marked with scissors on the back fin and tail, and 
turned into the river, and was again taken on March 17 
and was found to weigh 173^-^ poitnds. Some of the sal- 
mon (T mean the salmo salar of Linnjeus) staj-- in the 
Western lakes all the year. But these maj"- perhaps be 
considered estrays. The history of this fish is involved in 
much obscurity, and so indeed is that of all erratic fishes. 
Pennant says that every species of salmon is found in 
the rivers of Kamtschatka. It is observed that each shoal 
keep apart from others of different species, and frequently 
prefer a separate river, notwithstanding the mouths may 
be almost contiguous. Everj^ species of salmon dies in 
the .same river or lake in which it is born and to Avhich 
it returns to spawn. In the third year male and female 
consort together, and -the latter deposits its spawn in a 
hole formed witl>its tail and fins in the sand. A fish of a 
year's growth continues near the place, guards the spawn 
and returns to the sea with the new-born fry in Novem- 
ber. The salmons of Kamtschatka spawn but once in 
their lives; those of Siberia and Europe, the rivers of 
which are deep and abound with insect food, are enabled 
to continue the first great law of nature frequently during 
the period of their existence. 
"The common salmon of the Western waters spawn, it 
Is said, twice a year; also the brook trout. Linnaeus emi- 
merates between forty and fifty dift'erent species of the 
salmo. I have reason to believe that there are several 
in this country. Besides the common salmon, the salmon 
trout and the brook trout, there are, I think, different 
species of trout in rivers and lakes which are confounded 
under the general name of salmon trout and common 
trout. I have seen two kinds of the common trout which 
are considered as of the same species, but which are 
specifically distinct. One species generally inhabits 
streams, although they go into the shallows of lakes in 
the fall and conceal themselves in the grass. They have 
red spots on the body and square tails. The other kind 
have yellow spots and forked tails, and never leave the 
lakes. I am told that Oneida Lake is filled in July with 
a small substance called lake blossom, which is un- 
doubtedly the exuviae or ova of insects. I have seen on 
Lake Baikal, the greate,st lake in the old world, vast 
quantities jOf the skins of the Onischus trachurus. a species 
of insect which abounds on the rocky shores of the lake, 
and is the food of the salmo lenok and sig. The salmo 
salar' and its congeners are probably attracted into these 
lakes by the vast quantity of insects. * * * Along 
the canal' I have been regaled with the salmon and pike in 
great perfection. The salmo fario, or common trout, is 
visible in various places in the canal." 
Comments. 
In Clinton's letter there is a curious mixture _of fact 
and,. I was about to say, fancy, but I suppose in his day it 
was most difficult to arrive at the actual truth in regard 
to the habits of- fishes, and hearsay evidence, or belief 
handed down, was accepted, in the absence of practical 
investigation, as facts. A myth given currenc}^ for years 
will in time arrive at the dignity of a positive truth, and 
it will require more years to dispel it. Note in these 
letters I have quoted about the laborers stipulating that 
they shall not be fed too often on salmon. This myth 
was located on the Connecticut, again on the Hudson. - 
which never contained salmon imtil they were planted ; 
then it dated back to England before this continent was 
peopled by the white race, and not long ago an English 
writer traced it back to a hieroglyphic inscription of the 
stone age, cliff dwelling or drift period, or something 
of that soi't. To-day we are not of one mind regarding 
-thp life history of the Atlantic palmon m all 4?t^ilsj mi 
■I- 
to me the wonder is that Clinton should have come so 
near to the truth in so many things. The influence of 
English literature regarding the natural history of fishes 
is often apparent in his letters — in fact, he could have 
had no other ichthyological guide at that time. He refers 
to the conunon trout as Salmo fario, a common error in 
the early history of our country, as the specific name of 
the English trout was applied to our native fish before 
investigation proved it to be a charr and Mitchell had 
designated it S. fontinaiis. The reference to'yearling sal- 
mon guarding the spawning beds and "returning to sea" 
with the new-born fry in November is very obscure, but 
there is no diiSculty in recognizing the two common 
fronts, as he describes the red spots and square tail of 
the fontinaiis and the yellow .spots and forked tail of the 
lake trout, or namaycush. By what process of reasoning 
he confused certain habits of the black bass, as vi^e now 
know them, with the sea-going habits of the salmon, and 
sends the salmon fry to salt water in November and 
returns yearling from the sea to fresh water, will prob- 
ably never be known. That he understood the habit of 
the Atlantic salmon of returning to the streams of its 
birth is apparent, though" he locates the fish elsewhere, and 
the now known fact that salmon in the Columbia River 
die after spawning, he seems to have a glimmering of, 
though as in the former matter the location is moved a 
peg or two. To me the letters are very fascinating, as 
doubtless they will be to others interested in our fish 
and fisheries, as a voice from the past. 
Black Bass. 
I have always contended that the black bass was not 
native to any waters of the State of New York, except 
Lake George, unless the waters had direct connection with 
Lake Erie, Lake Ontario or the St. Lawrence River, and 
so far as I know no one disptites this, except that some* 
years ago an old gentleman told me that Lake George was 
stocked with black bass from Saratoga Lake. He had 
no evidence to .support this, and I believed then and 
now that he had confused Lake George with Schroon 
Lake. Of the black bass, Clinton says: "This. fish in- 
habits all the western and northern waters." I find that he 
named it for Dr. Franklin, Perca franklima. and adds : 
"This fish formerly abounded in. Lake George, where he 
exercised dominion without a rival, there being no pike 
to contest his ascendency; but in late years he is said to 
diminish in number and to have retired toward the foot of 
the lake, and that scarcity is observed in all the other 
fishes, and is imputed to the erection of so many saw 
mills and to the burning of the pine forests on the moun- 
tains, which, it is supposed, frightens the fish into deep 
water. 
"The waters of Lake George are, I am told, impregnated 
with lake blossom in June and July. This is undoubtedly 
the ova and exuviae of aquatic insects, from which fish 
derive at certain seasons their principal subsistence. How 
easy to mistake for this food the saw ditst which is un- 
questionably the principal cause of the destruction of 
fish, although the increased angling has a tendency to 
thin their numbers, or to terrify them from the hook."' 
I have long been familiar with Lake George, and never 
saw the water in blossom. There is a flight of Maj"- flies 
at the lake, and after they rise the teguments are blown 
on shore and make a windrow of filmy matter. The 
"bloom" mentioned so often in Clinton's letters is not the 
eggs of insects, as he supposed, for the eggs of aquatic 
insects, like the May fly, sink to the bottom, but it is 
generall}' conceded to be the seeds of water vegetation 
floating in the water. Strange it is, but true, that the 
growing scarcity of fish is attributed to everything but 
the real cause. Clinton charges it to saw dust and forest 
fires, but the men who settled this countrj', and those who 
descended from the settlers, to the present generation, 
have fished without ceasing with all sorts of devices in 
season and out of season, taking fish at the spawning 
season and from their spawning beds, and the engines of 
destruction have grown more numerous and formidable 
as the population has increased, and the demand for fish 
has increased with the popitlation, with never a thought of 
the future on the part of those who are waging the war 
of extermination. A. N. Chenev. 
CHICAGO AND THE WEST. 
Fishing Season Slow. 
Chicago, 111., May 25. — The Western fishing season is 
starting off very slow, if. indeed, it may be said to have 
started at all. To-day the weather is semi-Arctic in its 
quality, and barring two or three torrid days, the whole 
season has been backward and cold, too chilly to invite 
fish to the surface of the waters or anglers to the banks 
thereof. How long this state of affairs is to continue 
one cannot tell, for spring is due here now. and past due. 
Let us hope that within the next ten days we shall have 
milder Aveather and better fishing. Thus far, with the 
exception of the bass fishing at Cedar Lake, Ind., which 
early flurry is now about worn out, there have been no 
very good takes of fish made in this immediate vicinity. 
For Trout. 
Several of our Chicago anglers tried the Pere Marquette 
a few days ago, in the hope of being able to transact some 
business with the rainbows, but they failed utterly of 
any sport. Messrs. F. N. Peet, A. C. Smith and'L. H. 
Chadwick made up the Chicago party, and were joined 
on the banks of Pere Marquette by John Waddell, Mr. 
Stuart aiid others of the Grand Rapids anglers. A great 
many fish showed, rising at .some sort of feed on the 
surface, but utterly refusing to take the fly. They rose 
even during the progress of the severe snow storm which 
was one of the pleasant incidents of the trip. 
Messrs. H, E. Warner and A. N. Fuller are now ab- 
sent in upper Wisconsin after trout, but they have not 
sent back any word of success. Mr. E. Critchfield is 
another north-bound trout fisher, and he is at this writ- 
ing located at Dudley, on the Prairie River. 
The faithful little Prairie River seems to be about the 
only one to show any trout fishing this spring worth men- 
tioning, or at least during the first two weeks of May. 
Mr, .Edwfjrd G. Taylor, who regularlv opens the season 
9fl tW? strfam fit DelQS Cone's pl^ce, fcejg^Y Du4ley, 
better sport this year than he had last. He and Chester 
Cone took forty trout in one day, and they" had very 
fair fishing during Mr Taylor's stay. 
Just as Mr. Taylor left the Prairie, Charlie Antoine, of 
this city, went up to Cone's place, and has ju.st returned 
from that point, where he spent two weeks. Mr. An- 
toine had very fine fishing this time— that is to say, he 
caught a very nice class of fish. On one day he took 
sixteen, and had nothing less than 10 inches, with several 
up to a pound and a quarter. He brought home fourteen 
fish, and out of the lot, four picked up at random weighed 
over 4 pounds. These are very good fish for the Prairie. 
Mr. Antoine reports the stream very low and clear, and 
fishing difficult, as the trout are working 'on ground 
feed. He was alone oti the stream, except for Chester 
Cone, that very industrious young flj'^-fisherman, who 
can give many a city angler tips on big trout. The two 
had very good sport. 
It is much to be regretted that the fish hog is beginning 
to search out this delightful Httle river, which a few of 
us have tried to enjoy and keep sacred to fly-fishing. Last 
week a party of four bait-fishers went in above Dudley, 
stoppmg at Bates' place. They broueht out over 500 
trout with them, all taken on bait. The'' trout in this part 
of the stream are smaller than they run below, but big or 
httle, .such destruction is greatly to be deplored on this 
little river, which can soon be fished out by such work 
as the above. It is much to be hoped that Mr. Dudley will 
stop that sort of thing, or pretty soon he will find his 
part of the river without any visitors. 
Mr. B. W. Goodsell. of Chicago, starts next week for an 
extended trouting trip on some of the better boating 
streams of Wisconsin and Michigan. He will fish first 
the Brule, then the Paint and then will camp where he 
can reach not only these two streams, but also Cook's 
Creek and Bush Creek. He will then strike the Ontona- 
gon River near Watersnieet. Later he will run the Michi- 
gamrac River, with boat, and here he expects to take his 
biggest trout. He says the fish in this stream are not so 
numerous, but they run from one to three pounds and 
give great sport. 
Mr. Fred S. Tinthoff starts this evening for Kalkaska, 
Mich., where he joins a friend from Jackson, Mich., for a 
trout fishmg trip among the different streams adjacent to 
that point. The Soitth Peninsula of Michigan is going to 
take a good many Chicago anglers this summer, and there 
is reason to suppose the trout fishing there will be better 
this year than it was last. 
For Muscallunge. 
" Mayor Harrison of Chicago leaves next Tuesday for 
Squirrel Lake, near Minocqua, where he will spend a few 
days trying for muscallunge and bass. This is one of the 
better nutscallunge waters of the Wisconsin region. 
Messrs. Frank Stuart, C. D. Bertolet, D. B. Butler and 
L. Young are billed to start to-day for Woodruff for a 
httle circus with the muscallunge. Mr W. T. Davis, the 
hustling representative of the Kansas City Star, at' this 
city, will head a party of fifteen friends who will start to 
Manitowish, Wis., after muscallunge early in June. They 
will either bring back fish or excellent reasons. 
For Bass. 
Mr. George Murrell, Mr. W. H. English, Mr. M A 
Devitt. J\Ir. J. B. Wallace and Mr A. Wolfarth all start 
for Lake Beulah, Wis., to-night. Mr. English takes with 
hmi his wife and child, and will remain for several days. 
They all expect good bass fishing. 
Mr. C. F. Hills, one of the veteran bait-casters of the 
Fox Lake Club, and one of the most successful fishermen 
of Chicago, starts to-night for some of his favorite fish- 
mg grounds on the Fox Lake Chain. Others to stop at 
the Lake Villa entering point are Harry Miner. Alex 
Friend, J. W. Law, F. E. Schall and Tom Waters.' Given 
a touch of warm water, all these should have fun. 
Chicago Fly-Casting Clofa. 
At this writing the members of the Chicago Fly-Casting 
Club are holding their first meeting for the season at 
Garfield Park. Practice will be had in "obstacle casting" 
to post the members up in overgrown-stream work. The 
team contest and the delicacy bait-casting contest furnish 
other features of interest. E. HouGH. 
Hartford Building, Chicago, III. 
The Adifondacks in J87Q. 
Thirty years ago the Adirondacks was almost a wilder- 
ness. Paul Smith's. Bartlett's and Martin's were the only 
hostelries, through several cabins entertained. It was a 
forty-seven-mile drive from the' railway terminus at Au- 
sable Forks to Smith's, on St. Regis Lake. Mr. Charles 
Hallock, who was there for the June trout fishing in 
1870, wrote to his wife on the 8th day of that month, as 
follows : "f have just returned this evening from Tup- 
per's Lake and a round trip through the wilderness. I 
took about 125 fish during my absence, but had better luck 
than any one else. The fishing so far — at least for three 
weeks — has been veiy poor on account of the weather, 
which has been very hot and dry. There has not been a 
heavy rain in this part of the country this spring. All 
that wet week previous to my departure from home it 
was about 90 degrees in the shade, and it was fully as 
hot during the first four days that I was out, so that I 
have come home so sunburnt and tanned that you would 
scarcely know me. Fires have been raging in all direc- 
tions through the woods, burning over an immense amount 
of timber, and some houses. The flames were leaping 
up to the tops of the trees in some places near where I 
passed. It was very grand, and somewhat dangerous. 
Once Steve Turner and I had to carry our boat through 
the still burning remains of a burnt tract. 
"There is scarcely any one in the woods now. At 
Paul Smith's, only Tom Denny, an old schoolmate of 
mine, and a friend of his. Now there are fourteen — seven 
of whom came to-night. There are three (antiquated) 
ladies here. At Bartlett's and other places there might ■ 
have been a dozen persons altogether." 
The FojuiST AND Stream is put to press each week on Twegday. 
CorrespQBdence intended for publication should reac]^ a| 
