Nov. 15, 1902-1 
F'bftEST AND STt^ElAM 
889 
drew nearer and neater. 1 had a teii of- twelve dilHpe; split 
bamboo, with a trout line, small hook and crayfish fdi" 
bait, and this I cast well out into them. It had hardly 
rfcaclied a foot below the surface when there came a strike, 
which I am convinced astofiished my rod. The fish made 
a fine run directly out, taking a hundred feet of n>v line 
to the music of the reel, and there wis no stdppihg Hiffl— ^ 
and no one wanted to. Around he rushed, directly ^t 
the surface, then turning, to plunge a few feet; then com- 
ing to the surface, to run in on me, turning like a ba-s, 
tmd piayihfe a sfcbfe of delightful tricks, all of which tesli- 
fied to Jts fine game qualities. If It had been a big lake 
trout, one might have told the Stor^' for Weeks, aiicl Hv.ed 
on it, but being only a whitefish, "putting lip its fegiiljir 
fight," no one thought anything about it. I landed the 
fish in about ten minutes, and I forced the fighting in a 
mean and underhand manner, I confess it, that I m ght 
have more, and to pay me, the next whitefish put up a 
run that broke thy lihe — hoW or why I know not, but I 
really felt happy to bring the rod out of thflt double rush 
alive. Three of us were fishing in this current, aild sdrile 
one caught a fish every moment, and we fished (tell it riot 
in Gath) until we had enough to supply the yacht and 
the old herder ashore, and then Ave brought the fish to 
I'et and carefully released them. Commend me to Cali- 
fornia whitefish, when taken in deep water and a swift 
cUi'tetlt ill the flood tide. 
We had expressed a wish to catdh all kinds of fish, and 
a few days later catne to anchor off a kelp bed Heat what 
is known as the fence, directly back of the tqwtl of Ava- 
ioh. on the west coast of Santa Catalina. The boattilarl 
pulled ih a big bunch of kelp, Whieh served as an arlchor, 
and we cast into open places ih the kelp bed, ilsiiig fairly 
stiff rods. Strikes came at once, from a fish that deriiori- 
strated its qualities by winding up my line in the kelp 
after a fine run of fifty yards, during which the reel 
made the music we had hoped to hear. It was cheaper to 
cut the line than waste time when such fish- were biting, 
and ten minutes later I had a sheepshead on, which gave 
me as fine a play as any striped bass I remember, and 
several fifty-pounders have fallen to niy gafi. The fish 
Was a "tackle-tester" in cvety serlse, and made so rapid a 
play that t Was breathing hard when 1 had the fish 
where I could see it, a itldst astoflishiiig creatufe, broad 
side on, bearing away from me with a fotce that made 
everything creak and really buckled my rod, when I fitiatly 
put on too much strength. Yet I landed the game aftet 
a hard struggle, arid if the fish had been taken clear of 
the kelp where I could have played it with freedom, it 
would take its stand with any of the fine gaftie fishes of 
America, as it was a continuous and rapid contestatlt, 
and never gave up, resourceful and tricky. But the ap- 
pearance of this game fish ! It had a blunt head like an 
old frigate Of 1760, a ram black as jet, yet the under jaw 
was pure white; the riiotith large and filled with sharp 
teeth, plugs of ivory. The body was bafided like a P9rgy, 
but the stripes were alternately black arid fed, giving 
the entire fish a most striking appearance. I or my boat- 
man had anchored over a convention of sheepshead, as 
the strikes came so fast and the runs so furious that I 
could have filled the boat in a short time w-'th these fine 
fish, I took several rock bass and half a mile up shore, in 
passing a little beach, we found a school of bass chasing 
sardines. They were within two or three feet 01 the 
beach, and taking a light rod I had my boatman back the 
boat in, keeping her head to the sea or rollers, and as she 
rode them well he put me within fifty or s xty feet of the 
school and I dropped a small smelt into the school, and 
every time took a fish, some very large, being heavier than 
the largest black bass I ever saw, and one must have 
weighed in the neighborhood of ten pounds, was a dark 
green hue, deep and thick. He made a splendid run and 
attempted to jump, not usually a trick of this fish, and 
cut through the waves in a most delightful fashion, an-.l 
what w.th his plunges and my efforts to retain my posi- 
tion, dropping flat in the boat when a large wave came; I 
more than once almost went overboard. It was exciting 
Import, but murder, as the bass were crazed with excite- 
nient, and bit at anything. They make excellent sport, 
liut give up much quicker than a black bass, to which 
ihey bear a marked resemblance, hence should be fished 
for" with very light rods and line— trout tackle. In the 
bays and smooth water the blue perch, medialund, is 
common, and with an eight-ounce rod and long leader 
fly-hook and crayfish bait, I had trout fishing in all but 
name. The fishes run from half a pound to two pounds 
and were very gamy. All these fish can be had any win- 
ter day, pre-supposing the right boatman is had, and near- 
ly all the men here are c!d-timers, but one, Mexican Joe, 
well-known by anglers, was bom on the island and knows 
everv rock. 
The tournament of the Tuna Club this season was a 
particularly interesting one, though no great records were 
made. Never in vears did the fish bite so well as m the 
past season. The prize for largest tuna went to Mr. 
Ernest Ford, of Phcenix, Ariz., a gold tuna button. Sec- 
ond tuna was a tie between F. C. Winter and R. F. Stick- 
ing ISO pounds, prize silver mounted rod. Smallest tuna, 
Cof. John Stearns. Los Angeles, 65 pounds. Col. Stearns 
was awarded a prize for the first tuna of the season, taken 
March 11. This was a very unusual catch, four months 
ahead of the regular season. Prize for the largest black 
sea bass silver cup, gold medal, and silver-mounted 
rod went to Dr. H. T. Kendall, of Pasadena, who now 
holds the world's record, 419 pounds. Artemus Ward. 
Jr of New York, took the booby in this class (55 
pounds), an infant phenonrenon. Prize for largest white 
sea bass, silver-mounted rod, 45 pounds, went to Miss 
Florence Haas, of San Francisco. For largest yellow- 
tail 47 pounds, gold medal, silver-mounted rod. Dr. S. 
H Trowbridge, Fresno, Cal. Largest albicore, silver- 
mounted rod, 35^2 pounds, F. Fallon. Nevv York city. 
Largest bonita, 24 pounds, Fised C New. Denver. Colo., 
rod Largest sheepshead. 28 pounds. Col. John Stearns, 
Los Angeles. Whitefish, 7 pounds, gaff, John E. Stearns. 
The boatman's prize for first tuna of the season went to 
Harry Elms. Following this tournament, the boatmen 
gave one themselves. Del Rey. 
Mrs Youngwed— "And what are these?" Dealer—' 'Salt 
mackerel, rauml" Mr&^ y,-^"Afe they quite fresh?" — 
Chicago Daily N^ws. 
A Pearl River Gamp.— IV. 
{COntiilued /torn page 878,} 
Our tackle was abotlt the. same as that usei^for bream, 
except that we now used a lafgef hook. 
The boat was propelled- by a small paddle at the stern, 
used with one hand and kept submerged, and oUf casts 
were in tOwai'd f^he bank among the cypress knees and 
overhanging limbs. Walter had the first strike, taking a 
white perch of fair size. Will then hooked a fish, but lost 
it by becoming excited and jerking too hard as he swung 
it over the boat and out in the lake on the other side the 
full.kngth of the line when the hook tore out. 
Jim eonsidered this so funny that he stood up to laugh, 
and Will, ieaning ovef to secure a fresh minnow, tipped 
the boat, and losing hjs balance, Jim went overboard. 
The water was quite deep, .§o all hands rushed to the 
rescue. Walter had the paddle, and with rare presence of 
mind swung the boat around in the direction Jim had 
taken, calling to us to kneel in the boat and catch him 
when he came up, as, although he could swim some, the 
matter of clotheg and probable strangling would be a 
dangerous handicap. He showed signs of being badly 
strangled as he struggled to the surface, and I nearly 
went over in a desperate effort to catch his arm or hair; 
but before I could do so Will grabbed a foot, and in 
spite of all we could do, would not let go, nor could he 
alone pull him in. I finally got to him, and together we 
dragged our nearly drowned companion into the boat. 
His first actj after reheving himself of about half a gallon 
of water, was to offer to knock the head off of whichever 
one of Us it wa§ that held his foot so that he could not 
swim, thereby nearly drowning him. 
We lost sotne little time by this accident, but as soon 
as we had ptlt Jim ashore so that he could go back to 
camp and get into dfy dlothes, we resumed our fishing. 
After taking several fish all found, I had a vicious 
strike, and after a short, hard fight, landed a big, ugly, 
flat-headed fish, with little beady eyes. None of us 
knew what it was; but as we supposed all fish were good, 
and as it was large, we hailed it with delight. The only 
other event was the large trout that Walter caught. It 
weighed probably three or four pounds, and put up a 
fight such as none of us had ever seen, jumping entirely 
out of the water several times. There was no science in 
the way we finally all together dragged that noble fish 
into the boat, but he was a most welcome prize. 
Our fish box held an abundance of fish for supper and 
breakfast, when we paddled to the landing guided by the 
hght of the fire Jim had kindled, and we soon had a sup- 
per served that lacked nothing except variety. We ate 
fish as long as we could keep our eyes open, all hands 
being tired and sleepy, especially Water and I, and when 
we could eat no more, turned in and slept soundly the 
night through. 
The next morning after breakfast we started out for a 
tramp in the woods, carrying the guns in hopes of find- 
ing some game. We hoped for a shot at a wild turkey 
or perhaps a bear, but had no intention of refusing small 
game. 
A yellowhammer was the first game sighted, and 
almost precipitated a personal encounter between Jim 
and Will as to which should have first shot. Neither 
would yield, and we finally had to cast lots, spitting on 
a chip and throwing up "wet or dry.',' This resulted in 
Will's favor, but was an empty victory, as the bird flew 
off while the contest was being waged. A little later 
we put a fox squirrel up a tree standing alone, and after 
several ineffectual shots brought it safely to bag. Very 
much elated by the prospect of a change of diet, we 
moved on. Another squirrel was sighted in a tree, which 
we at once surrounded. It was Walter's shot; so, taking 
his gun, he began to slip around the tree, looking up for 
the squirrel. He had reached the opposite side from us, 
when glancing down to see that the way was clear, he 
gave a yell and jumped as high and far from where he 
had been standing as he could. 
"Snake!" he shouted, and dropping his gun grabbed a 
stick. Catching up the weapons nearest to hand, we 
rushed to his assistance. The snake lay in the shape of a 
circle, and was very large, and perfectly still. We closed 
in on it, and could not understand its not moving, until 
a close inspection proved it to be but a freshly shed skin 
of a snake, evidently larger than any of us had ever seen. 
Stretched out, it was, by estimation, fufly two feet longer 
than Walter, who was five and one half feet tall. 
The squirrel made its escape while we were engaged 
with the supposed snake, and we concluded that we 
would like the hunting better away from that locality. 
Noon was approaching, the sun growing hot, and we 
verv hungry, so a return to camp was in order. It bid 
fair to be a light lunch, one squirrel for the four; but 
just before camp was reached, a young rabbit was started 
wbich was-halted by a seductive whistle and shot; so our 
spirits rose somewhat. 
The cooking was not wholly above criticism, but we 
did not leave any meat on the bones of either squirrel 
or rabbit, and could easily have been persuaded to eat 
more had it been on hand. 
Our breakfast had been light, owing to the fact that 
we found my large fish of the beady eyes not in the 
edible class. Our dinner had not been at all of the but- 
ton starting kind, so essential to a boy's happiness, and 
now the larder was entirely empty, except for the meal 
and bacon, the former being of use only to roll our fish 
in, and the latter so scarce that it was carefully saved to 
fry with. Corn bread we did not try to make, suppos- 
ing that it was necessary to have eggs, soda, milk and 
other ingredients, which were not to be hand. 
In an after-dinner discussion, we concluded that_ fish- 
ing and hunting was but work, when we had to do it for 
something to eat. We were living literally from hand 
to mouth, and hustling for each meal. 
The serious situation was the subject of long and ear- 
nest discussion, but our determination to stick it out did 
not waver. We finally concluded to go down to the river 
that afternoon and put out some set lines in hopes of 
taking some large catfish, quantity being what we es- 
pecially longed for. We had some heavy set lines and 
large hooks, and these we prepared by cutting the line 
into pieces about six to eight feet long, putting a hook 
on each, and baiting with a minnow, proceeded to tie 
out in the river to snags and overhanging limbs and 
roots. It was hard work paddling up and down the river 
\i\ the swift current, but we persevered until we had out 
twenty or more lines, and then feeling sure that we could 
depend on some one of them for our supper, paddled 
down to a nice sandbar, took a swim and loafed through 
the remaining hours of the afternoon until time to ex- 
amine our lines. Visions of a bountiful supper on large 
fish that would not need careful eating to avoid bones 
filled our minds as we toiled at the p^iddles to get the 
heavy boat back up to where the lines were set. The 
fir. St one was hanging limp, with the bait gone, but no 
fish, as was also the second, third, fourth, and so on to 
the end, with the exception of one of tbe last taken in, 
which had one of the same kind o"f flat-headed, beady- 
cyed fish that we had thrown away in the morning.. 
Thoroughly disguusted, we knocked it on the head 
with a paddle and tossed it back in the river. 
It was evident that in trying to. get out as many lines 
as possible, we had cut them too short, and the bait had 
beaii taken by gar and other worthless scavengers, in- 
stead of catching the fish we wanted, which were bottom 
feeders. 
As we silently paddled back down the lake to canlp in 
the stillness of the twilight, our disappointment was too 
deep for words. Hungry as boys could be, there seemed 
nothing for it but to go supperless to bed, and we were 
certainly too hungry to sleep. 
Arrived at camp. I began to cast about in my mind 
for some means of providing supper, and finally, in 
desperation, coritluded to try to make a soup. Getting 
out our iron pot, a two-gallon affair. I washed it as well 
as I could with cold water, and putting in the rabbit and 
squirrel bones left from dinner, together with a bit of 
bacon rind, set all to boiling merrily over the fire. Cut- 
ting a long stick, I stirred the mixture occasionally, and 
was delighted when it began to give off a faint savory 
odor. The boys sat around the fire in an expectant, 
though skeptical manner, watching my experiment, oc- 
casionally trying to tell how hungry they were, reaching 
a climax'when Will declared he could eat a raw dog with 
the hair on. It was pretty poor soup, but I had done 
my best, and went to get the salt, concluding to season 
and serve without further delay, when my eyes fell upon 
our half sack of meal, and I had an inspiration. Fflling 
a pint cup with meal, I stirred it slowly into the boiling 
soup, and the result was a cross between a soup and 
gruel, that was really quite good. 
We were four pretty comfortable boys that rolled into 
bed as soon as supper was over, and not one drop of 
soup was left. At about what I judged to be midnight 
I was wakened by Walter, who asked, "Ain't you 
hungry?" 
"Yes, I am," I replied, as soon as I got well awake. 
"I have been awake nearly an hour, too hungry to 
slaep, and trying to think of some way to get something 
to eat," said he. 
We discussed trying to fish, but finally concluded it 
was no use.. Then we tried to think of some way to 
hunt at night, but to no purpose without dogs. Our re- 
sources next came in for discussion, and when we came 
to the meal, I said, "Mush is made of meal, and it is 
good, too." 
"Mush!" said Walter, springing up. "The very thing, 
and I know how to make it. Get that fire made while 
I bring some Avater." 
We made the big pot nearly full, and it was good 
mush, but there ws none left to fry for breakfast, for 
the other boys joined us at the first invitation to come 
eat, and for the second time we retired, full and happy. 
There was but a faint streak of gray in the east when 
I awoke next morning, and taking my gun slipped out 
to try for a breakfast. A perfect stillness prevaUs in the 
woods at daybreak ?.nd noon in semitropical or the 
lower latitude of the temperate zone; but the morning 
awaking is sudden and glorious. Nature seems all but 
breathless as the night-prowlers seek their various hiding 
places, and the birds are waiting in silence for the wel- 
come light that makes it safe for them to begin their 
morning songs without the fear of discovering them- 
selves to their enemies that hunt in the darkness. It was 
almost too dark to see the path as I followed the bank 
of the lake down into the woods; but before I had gone 
far I began to hear the early birds beginning their low 
calls to each other. They seemed to be exchanging the 
most confidential communications, in monosyllables; 
but as the gray dawn spread down through the trees, the 
low talk grew into a chatter, which gradually increased 
until the birds were all singing. It was now light enough 
for the squirrels to begin to move, and I was in a favor- 
able location, where the woods was thick. I heard the 
swish of a limb in a nearby beech tree, but could not 
locate the game, so continued on along the lake bank, 
hoping to surprise a squirrel seeing its morning drink. 
I soon heard another out a little in the woods, and stantd- 
ing still to get its direction, found it coming my way, 
jumping from tree to tree. In a large white oak, near 
enough for a fair shot it stopped to look about, and tl>e 
next moment I was retrieving it with a hungry haste th.at 
was far from sportsmanlike, but fully in keeping with my 
feelings. A liMle further along I was startled by a noisy 
rush of something up the trunk of a tall cypress tree that 
grew under a high bank on which I was standing, which 
took shape as it mounted well up toward the limbs, and 
proved to be two squirrels in a wild frolic. They were 
going so fast the-y seemed almost flying, and throwing 
up my gun, I fired both barrels at them in a hasty hope- 
for-some-result way, killing both as nice-ly as any crack 
shot could have done. 
To sa}"- I was pleased is to put the case very mildly; I 
was half wild. Dropping my gun, I dashed down the 
steep bank to get them, almost going into the lake in 
my excitement and no prouder or happier boy lived than I 
was as I scrambled back with a fine young gray squirrd 
in each hand. Gathering up my gun, and not so much 
as stopping to load, I pu,t ou* for camp. Three squ*rels 
and the sun not yet up was a feat to be proud of, and I 
Avanted to see the boys open their eyes soon as possible, 
■ Leaving the path and striking aoross thpough the 
woods for a short cut I ran on another squirrel in a tree 
on which grew a grapdvftie, and although I worked with 
feverish haste to get my gun loaded, it made good its 
escape before I could do so; but did riot leave me alto- 
gether inconsolable, for on closer inspection I found 
the vine to be a muscadine, full of grapes, and soon had 
my hat full of them to carry to camp. It was a warm 
welcome given me by.the boys when I got back, and We 
