June 6, 1903.] 
FOREST AND •STREAM/ 
4Bi 
only has a most "beneficial effect in preserving to the 
sportsman one part of the great St. Croix S3'-stem that 
may not be depopulated by the bait fisherman, but also 
affords the only fishing in St. Croix waters after Sep- 
tember 15, the general date of close time for the river 
and tributary waters. This special regulation has been 
in force only two years, but already its beneficial re- 
sults are being seen and recognized. Grand Lake 
stream is two and a half miles long, and in that distance 
after leaving Grand Lake, drops 196 feet, its frequent 
falls affording a continuous chain of pools that always 
contain the delightful salmon of these waters, which 
are strongly claimed by many to be the actual 
ouananiche of Canada, and every whit as delicious and 
gamy. The ouananiche stay in the river all summer, 
and the day is most unusual when the fish will not rise 
to the fly at some time during the day. Of course, 
readers of Forest and Stream understand, when the 
ouananiche is attributed to Grand Lake and its outlet 
stream or river, that the same fish is to be found in all 
the waters of that system, among which are the Dob- 
sis lakes, referred to in the earlier part of this letter. 
Others of the same chain stocked with this fish are 
Junior, Scraggly, Pleasant, Pocompus and West Mus- 
quash. These are all beautiful bodies of water and 
fished comparatively little. It is noticeable, in this 
connection, that the salmon of Grand Lake and Grand 
Lake stream, are showing up. larger this last year or 
two, and now run from a pound to a pound and a half 
heavier than the}'- used to do. 
Herbert W. Rowe. 
Stag: Lodge. 
I HAD heard inueh of Stag Lake and Stag Lodge, and 
the wild country of northern New Jersey, where game 
and fish abound, but like very man}- others, I was per- 
haps a bit skeptical as to a full realization of the wild- 
ness and ruggedness of this particular section and of 
its natural beauty. 
Not so, however, was it with Justus Von Lengerke, 
who, a quarter of a century ago, found good shooting 
on the Jersey City meadows, and gradually, as he 
prospered in life's struggles, pushed his way further 
and further back into the wilds of Jersey until he in- 
vaded Sussex county. Here he found everything to 
his liking — flakes, mountains, brooks, game, fish and 
plenty of room and lots of seclusion. Even then there 
was born in his mind a possibilitjr, a probability, a 
hope of realization, which the years have enabled him 
to bring to perfection; money was needed and has 
been used, but the real success of Stag Lodge lay in 
the fact that the brain and muscle of its owner worked 
in unison and together. Where stumps and alders 
were, lawns and flowers are now. The shallow ex- 
tremities of the lake were filled with dead and dying 
bushes; these have been pulled up, cut out and burned; 
spawning beds have place there now. 
And this rough but gentle spot is within sixty short 
miles of New York. It seemed even nearer, thus does 
time speed in good companj'. We left New York in 
the middle of a hot afternoon and in less than two 
hours alighted from the train at Andover, Sussex 
county, N. J., where Carl met us with a span of horses, 
one of which is well bred and the other one just as good. 
They could and did go "up hill and down dale," while 
Teddie (just a yellow dog) sped along ahead or close 
behind, always alert, spying here and there, looking 
for an evening prowler by the roadside, be it chip- 
munk, cottontail or woodchuck; they were all his spe- 
cialties, and needed speed and cunning to dodge the 
natural hunter. 
On a beautiful rise in the road the team came down 
the hand he exclaimed, "Isn't this a shame?" There 
in the valley stood the sawmill that had consumed the 
draperies which nature had laid so daintily over those 
gray rocks and laid bare the mountain's nakedness. 
"Thank God, I have many acres over there, to which, 
as long as I live the woodchopper shall be a stranger." 
And speedily the horses carried us on, down and up 
again, only now at all times with heavily timbered 
frames to our pictures, cool, invigorating, lovely. In 
many places along this road can be seen heavy broken 
boulders that but a few years ago contributed to the 
substantiality, danger and discomfort of the road bed. 
This master of industry, however, showed his long 
training and battles in the powder business by sup- 
plying it gratuitously to the committee on roads for 
blasting purposes, until now 'tis an ideal road, thor- 
THE LODGE. 
oughly devoid of its former bumping monotony, yet 
lackmg in sameness at every turn. The drive of three 
miles and a half with the pure air and the ozone here 
at an elevation of 1,200 feet fits one for the feast that 
lies before him. 
The sun had not yet set, when a break in the tree- 
tops revealed Stag Lodge, but the palisade at one end 
of Stag Lake had cut off the sun's last rays, in order 
to give the right shadows, the right touch to this home 
in the wilderness. 
At the extreme east end of the lake is Stag Lodge, 
with its seventy feet of broad piazza, the center of 
which IS uncovered, so that the nightly visit of Arcturus 
should not be missed. A feature of the interior is the 
great fireplace of the reception hall, built of unhewn 
stones gathered on the spot; and the running water 
with which the house is supplied is piped from a 
spring on the mountain side. Much ingenuity has 
been manifested in making the most of the natural 
same sort of comforts of home. And still geriius 
dimmed not nor wearied, for as you -enter the grounds 
you pass an apple' and vegetable store house which in 
like manner is largely constructed by nature. 
It is not all wilderness at Stag Lodge, for 300 feet of 
hose are required to reach to the edges of the lawn, 
and here and there are flower beds; and on one side 
is the vegetable garden; and a half mile back the old 
deserted farm, where all supplies for man and beast 
can be raised. 
In front of this most modern lodge lies the lake, 
sixt}' acres in extent. At one end a palisade rises 350 
feet high. From its summit one can see Culver's Gap 
in the north and the Delaware Water Gap in Pennsyl- 
vania, 25 miles away in the west. Here the master of 
Stag Lake and Lodge points in all directions with nat- 
ural pride, and shows one the vastness and wild gran- 
deur of his domain, 500 acres in extent, and declares 
"he will live to enjoy it a hundred years." 
In the lake are to be found pickerel, large and small- 
mouthed black bass, yellow perch, sunfish and "catties." 
As the shadows died away, and the curtain of night 
closed upon the beautiful view, a whipporwill 
mounted a rock near the house and gave, its call; an old 
frog of gigantic proportions asked for his "last drink," 
and the great horned owl announced his daylight once 
more, while the crickets chirped their supremacy in 
numbers, and even Teddy grew quiet as though im- 
pressed. 
At the earliest dawn, when the palisade took on a 
golden hue, Mr. Von Lengerke was seen emerging 
from the lake, while Ernst, his son, cast a long shadow 
over the duck pond, where in front of him played 
many young ducks, darting over the surface after the 
early rising insects. The day was full of charm and 
interest. I was, perhaps, most impressed by the 
thought- of the many days of manual labor done here 
by my host. Every improvement bears the stamp of 
his own handiwork. A prominent object in his gun 
cabinet is his hand-made ax. I asked Mr. Von 
Lengerke about the game, and he told me that he has 
woodcock, grouse and occasionally ducks, but he rarely 
kills a grouse, for he would "rather hear them drum 
than eat them." Then I became impressed. 
T. E. B.\TTEN. 
Angling and Charitable Deeds. 
Sunday morning came at last, and our annual fish- 
ing trip to White River started about 6 o'clock. Mr. 
F. H. Josslyn, of Oshkosh, and the writer, after pack- 
ing fishing tackle, wading boots, old clothes, lunch 
and many other things into the wagon, started on our 
42-mile drive to Benjamin's farm, which was to be our 
home for a few days. At about 11:30 we stopped for 
1 nch at a place which had been dubbed on one of 
orr earlier trips, "Hotel Josslyn." The hotel is nearly 
all out of doors, being simply a very beautiful elm 
tree, which afforded abundant shade for ourselves and 
horses. After giving the team a chance to rest, we 
started on the "short half" of our journey, reaching 
Benjamin's about 3 o'clock. As it was Sunday, we did 
not fish, the more so that we found Dr. Milburn— the 
pastor of Plymouth Church, of Chicago — had arrived 
a little earlier than we expected. We talked over what 
"had been" and what we hoped might be our luck on 
the morrow, and spent an enjoyable afternoon and 
evening. 
Clarence Young and George Lawrence, of Mil- 
waukee, had secured the services of Owen Goodwin 
(the man who has always held the record for best 
catches in the White River country) to pilot them to 
the places where the bi.g ones are found. Mr. E. W. 
Gillett, of Chicago, had Mr. Will Goodwin for his 
THE LAKE. 
to a walk. Here a view in every direction could be had, 
yet one made sad b^r the devastation caused by the 
woodchopper. Large stumps of trees only remained, 
that but a short time ago supported trees that met 
over this mountain road, shading it in summer and 
ameliorating its bleakness in winter, like a vast throne 
denuded of its splendor. It was here that Justus Von 
Lengerke first revealed to me his very close relation- 
ship to nature, his love of God's gardens, his reverence 
for the giants of the forest, recalling to my mind Coop- 
er's "Pathfinder" or "Deerslayer." With a wave of 
conditions at Stag Lodge. Just back of the main 
building is the ice house, in the side of which is a nat- 
ural refrigerator. Across the lawn, still in the rear, 
stands a modern barn, to the right a chicken yard, 
which is a "dug out" with the mountain on two sides 
and a three-foot stone wall on the other two sides; 
overhead are heavy timbers covered with earth, and 
over the door screened ventilators; here a hen can 
keep her mouth shut all summer and scratch and lay 
and hatch in summer attire all winter. A duck house 
by. the side of the lake affords these fowls all the 
"the boss." 
guide. As for Josslyn and myself, we had fished with 
Owen Goodwin so many times before we felt that 
we needed no guide. 
Dr. Milburn and all the others came in Monday 
night with very excellent catches. After supper we 
again gathered in the big living room and talked it 
all over. 
Just before turning in for the night Owen Goodwin 
made a hit with every one by telling a story on Josslyn 
that put him to the "blush." It seems last year they 
had -made tip a purse for an old lady in tjie neigJibQ|-- 
