14 
FOREST: AND STREAM. 
[Jan. 7, 1905. 
The tide was just serving rightj and I was kept busy. 
An interval occurred, and I turned to look for Fusty, 
as I came to christen him. I finally discovered his 
figure, small and dim in the distance, and took it that 
he must be disgusted with such dredging after having 
caught the lordly ouananiche. But, "if a man can't 
eat meat, he must eat soup;" and that was my case 
I enjoyed it, too. I now shifted my position, going 
further down, where, the distance of a long cast, several 
huge boulders lie along the tide-way. A fine place for 
fish, but a bad place lor tackle. I began taking them 
in again and didn't notice anybody near me, until I 
heard somebody move out near me on the next string- 
piece. I was reeling in and could not look. After 
landing my fish, I looked over and there beheld Fusty, 
sitting astride the string-piece, with a handline of many 
short lengths knotted together, a sinker of about six 
ounces weight, and five fiddler-crabs. He had gone for 
his tackle (this sort of thing was only fit for boys- 
remember). 
His , first cast threw everything overboard, reel- 
block and all, and there he sat, while the surf swept it 
tantalizmgly near, they sucked it further and further 
away. Seeing his predicament, I reeled in, and from 
where I stood overcast the floating block and restored 
his line, minus two fiddlers. He didn't thank me — 
just snififed, and with boyish enthusiasm (he could only 
see four-pounders) rebaited and, following my sug- 
gestion, made the block fast to a bolthead and cast over. 
This time he didn't lose his tackle, but took in a 
one-pound fish. He wore a smile, such as we used to 
do, when little boys, we played "hookey" — I mean, be- 
fore we were detected. My heart warmed to the old 
fellow, as I saw the "little boy" in him coming un- 
consciously to the front. 
He was very proud of his fish. But a fall is sure to 
follow pride. The fish squirmed, and the fisherman, 
not having a fair hold on him, flopped out of his hand 
and overboard with a splash. Fusty' looked chagrined, 
and I thought he would go over after the fish. I pushed 
my can of fiddlers over to him and he baited again. 
Meanwhile, with my penknife, I made him a "fish- 
stringer" out of a couple of pieces of wood and a double 
length of line. You see, age rendered him less sure- 
footed, and it required all his faculties to preserve his 
equilibrium. He now had another fish, which I put 
on the stringer for him. He got some more that day, 
and he had a good time, too. He never said any more 
about ouananiche, nor disparaged blackfishing. He, 
too, ate soup. 
Tide had changed again and night was coming on, 
so I put my tackle away and started for home, just as 
the watchman was making his round to examine per- 
mits. As I started away, I saw him hustling Old Fusty 
off the wharf, as he had no permit. It seemed mean 
to chase him away, seeing he did no harm. Fm glad 
he had his fishing anyway, and that I, at least, con- 
tributed to his pleasure, even though he didn't thank 
me — for what are thanks compared to the pleasure one 
can afford one less fortunate. Did I joke him about his 
"come down" from ouananiche to tautog? Not I; we 
both ate soup, and I failed to see where one had the 
advantage of the other. I enjoy trout fishing; but I also 
enjoy a hard-pulling salt-water fish in between, so 
where's the harm. V 
Fusty and I trudged side by side that night, the red 
sun sank in the west and we parted on the borders of 
civilization, where the odor of the roasted "frank- 
furter" and the steam from the hot-corn man's kettle 
interrningled ere they waft outward over the sea. 
"Nature renders compeers of us all — 
In deeds and words, and in our inmost thought, 
Working unconsciously — but true withal, 
Bound by the sportsman's bond, securely wrought." 
G. W. Beatty. 
A Hard Luck Story. 
' There were four in the party — Will, Bruce, Jim, and 
myself, and we started one day late in May from our 
-homes in a village of Central New York to fish for trout 
in a stream which flows among the western foothills of 
the Catskill Mountains. A couple of hours' car ride 
brought us to a small settlement about five miles from 
the headwater of the creek, at nine o'clock in the even- 
ing, -and here we were to stay over night, driving the re- 
maining distance in the early morning. 
On the day of our start the weather had been propi- 
tious for trout fishing — warm, cloudy, and no wind — an 
ideal atmosphere for filling fishermen with hope, so our 
spirits were accordingly high. Our hotel was modest, 
but neat and comfortable, and it was decided to "turn in" 
early, and so be prepared for the rather vigorous day 
ahead of us. We could only be supplied with one room, 
but as that was large and had two beds, we made it 
answer. Soon all hands were under the blankets, and 
I could hear the others sleeping, but was slow in joining 
them myself. I bunked in with Will, who is a very large 
man, while I am of but moderate size, and as the bed 
stood against the side of the room, and I had gotten in 
first, there was solid wall on one side of me and that 
great two hundred pound mountain of flesh on the other. 
It may have been a consciousness of my limited sur- 
roundings or some other cause which I do' not know, but 
at any rate I could not sleep. The more I tried the 
wider awake I became, and the more restless and uncom- 
fortable. I tried to lie quietly and let the others sleep, 
but my foot got to itching and had to be scratched ; then 
my back itched, and then came a little feverish spot on 
my shoulder, which made me think of possible insects, 
after which I became feverish all over and generally 
miserable. I endured this state of things for a long time 
while the others slept peacefully, until Will, as my ears 
told me, began to sleep violently. This was the last straw, 
: and T determined Jo stand it no longer, deciding that it 
. would relieve the monotony of the situation if I should 
.'-kick him dut of bed. I took into account his size, 
strength, and good nattire, also about how much he would 
pummel me in return, and raising myself very gently in 
bed, worked around until my back was planted fi.rmly 
against the wall, and my knees drawn up so that my feet 
just touched his back. In this position I calculat^_ my 
streni**ti ■■.vould be sufficient for the purpose if l^shly 
used, so taking a full breath and straining every muscle 
for the effort, I shoved. Will never moved an inch in 
the bed, but the bed, being on castors, shot out into the 
center of the room, upsetting a washstand with frightful 
commotion in its passage. Of course I fell down behind 
it, nearly breaking my back in the performance, and Jim 
and Bruce jumped up, calling loudly to know what the 
trouble was all about, while Will explained what had 
happened as he lay crosswise of the bed, pawing in the 
darkness to find me. From the way he was talking and 
hunting for me, I knew there would not be a real sound 
bone in my body, if caught, so I rolled underneath and 
out the front side, making use of a window which had 
been left open to step out on the roof of a little veranda 
in the rear, of the house. That was a mistake, as they 
soon foimd me, and, promptly closing the window, went 
lo bed. I did not dare make any noise in an attempt to 
get back into the room, for fear of waking the other 
occupants of the hotel, though the air outside was damp 
and cold, and my attire not sufficient for the occasion. 
T was not very feverish then, but by my constant motion 
1 managed to keep from freezing during the half hour; 
that I had to- stay there until we were called to get ah:, 
early breakfast and make the three o'clock start. Break- 
fast over, we were soon on the road in a big, easy wagon 
drawn by a good team, driven by a colored man. The first 
two miles were up and across the valley of the west; 
EUGENE G. BLACKFORD. 
1839-I904. 
branch of the Delaware River, and it was too dark to see 
much, but riding in the cool morning air gave that de- 
lightful refreshing sensation which is only known to 
those .who have taken similar trips. 
After we had crossed the valley, the road_ led in a 
zig-zag course up the side of a long hill, and it was be- 
ginning to be light enough so that we could distinguish 
cattle in the fields, but only very dimly. Soon objects 
became more definite, and' we saw in one pasture a dairy 
of cows still sleeping. By the time we had reached the 
next farm a few cows had gotten up, and were slowly 
feeding toward the milking shed, while others having 
just arisen were stretching themselves. Another was in 
the act of rising, and had her hips in the air while yet 
her forelegs were folded under her, and more had made 
no move to get up. 
The grass was thickly covered with dew, which gave it 
a rather grayish appearance, except in those little oblong 
spots where cows had lain during the night and kept it 
dry. 
At another farm the cows were all up and working 
leisurely in the direction, of the barn, and here a shepherd 
dog stood on the door-steps of the house awaiting the 
appearance of the inmates. Beyond was another farm- 
house where a thin column of sinoke was rising from the 
kitchen chimney and a man was walking fronr the house 
(o the horse stable, followed by a dog, while from the 
stable came the expectant whinny of horses, which, hav 
ing heard the man coming, were looking for their break- 
fast. At the next place two men and a woman were 
going to the milking shed, with pails on each arm, and a 
dog was driving the dairy through the gate into the barn- 
yard, evidently having just brought them from the pas- 
ture. Now it was broad daylight, the daylight of a May 
morning, and turning to look into the valley which we 
had left, we found we had climbed quite a moufitain, and 
were well above the blanket of fog which covered the 
lower land. A little later this lifted, and we could see 
the stir of life about the farmhouses far below us along 
the river. 
A short half mile down the east- side of the rnountain 
brought us to the headwaters of the stream we intended 
to fish. Since the day had begun to dawn the hopes of 
good weather which had enliyened us the mght before 
had been fading slowly, as the sun was bright and not 
a clo-ad in the sky, while a sharp- breege had Bpninf up 
out of the northeast. When we got in sight of the creek 
Jt was apparent, that 4he showers of the past few days 
on \vhich we had depended to put the water in suitable 
condition for fishing, and which had done so on the other 
side of the hill, had passed the locality we were now in 
completely. The stream was not only too low, but very 
clear, and surely it was no day to fish for trout, but we 
had come a long way to get there, and might as well try. 
Our driver, who knew the locality, giving us the name 
of a farmhouse down the valley where he would wait for 
us, drove on, while we spread ourselves out along the 
brook and went at it, hoping against hope that some 
miracle might make the fish hungry, but it did not seem 
to be any better day for miracles than for trout, as we 
soon found. 
The others were all ahead of me, and I puttered along 
down stream, fishing some, but more of the time looking 
at the country and admiring the beautiful herds of Jersey 
cows. These cattle were feeding in the pastures through 
which the creek flowed, and I enjoyed the curiosity which 
they showed as we went through their domain. That is, 
I enjoyed it for a time, until in one field I watched them 
a little too long, and was forced to try foot-racing with 
a bull. I won the race, but by not enough margin to speak 
of, and I learned afterward that the others in passing this 
place had noticed that the animal was rather irritable and 
had taken pains to torment him just as they were leaving 
sufficiently to make him give me a warm reception when 
' I came along, and he did. 
About ten o'clock I came to a bridge over the stream, 
and its abutments made excellent hiding places for trout. 
I stood for an instant above it, studying the best way of 
approach, and was looking at the smooth surface of the 
creek in front of me, when a good sized sucker shot out 
of the water with as much force and style as a trout could 
display, and seemed bent on duplicating a trout's per- 
formance of jumping from the water and entering again, 
after having described a neat half circle in the air. The 
sucker had put so much energy into his attempt that he 
went a good foot or more into the air, and my respect for 
the breed was rising fast, when, just at the zenith of his 
arc, his nerve gave way, and he fell with a great splash 
flat on his back into the water. If I am not saying much 
about fishing, it is because there was none. Every trout 
fisherman has had such days, and they always form a 
small part of his conversation thereafter. 
About twelve o'clock I found the others sitting on a 
log by the creek, just in front of a farmhouse, where, 
they assured me, they had made arrangements for dinner, 
and that it was already cooking I could tell by the odor 
of frying ham and eggs which came from the open 
kitchen door. 
The show-down developed the fact that each one in the 
party had two small trout. That I had no catch was not 
always sufficient to convict either fish, water or weather 
of being wrong, but when Will and Bruce had nothing to 
show for a half day's fishing, that settled it. 
We put our fish baskets on the shady side of the house 
and laid the rods near them, then washed in tin basins 
setting on a bench beside the kitchen door, dipping as 
much water as we liked from a huge trough which stood 
directly in front of it. 
The ablutions completed, I started to follow the others 
in to dinner, when just as I was entering I noticed that 
a cat— one of four which were loitering about— had 
tipped over my basket, and reaching her paw through the 
intake hole in the cover, had extracted one of the trout. 
I said nothing, but judged trout would be rather scarce 
there after dinner. 
The meal was just what one would get at every farm- 
house in the country at that time of year, fried ham and 
eggs, boiled potatoes, bread and butter, tea, and a pitcher 
of Jersey milk, if asked for. It was all good, plentiful, 
and well cooked, and it went fast after such a morning's 
work. We were nearly through when there came a short, 
sharp note of anguish from a cat, and the sound of rods 
being generally mixed up, and rushing to the door we 
found that one of the felines had taken to smelling of a 
fly attached to one of the lines, and in her movements 
had gotten another hook hitched firmly in one hind leg. 
She had started to go somewhere, and had succeeded to 
the extent of getting two delicate and costly rods mingled 
with a wood-pile. She and the tackle were captured and 
separated by the time someone discovered that every 
basket was empty excepting one, and that only contained 
the half of one trout, which, being a little larger than the 
others, and not so easy to pull out, had been eaten so far 
as possible from the tail toward the head. Those four 
cats looked happy and contented, excepting that one was 
licking a hind leg, and well they might, for, if the dis- 
tribution had been equitable, there were two fish for each 
cat. 
We learned that our driver and team were al the next 
farm, and all thought of further fishing being abandoned, 
Jim went after them. Soon we were on the way back to 
our hotel, but just as we broke over the hill which we 
had climbed in the morning, Jim and I decided to get out 
and taking a cross-lot course directly down the slope, 
fish another stream which ran in the valley below, and 
which would bring us to the station a couple of miles 
further on. 
This was only a makeshift to pass the afternoon, for 
wc could not get a train for home until evening, and we 
preferred this to sitting around the hotel. This creek- 
was quite wide, and Jim took one side while I followed 
along the other, or waded, as circumstances required, 
Jim had gotten a hundred yards ahead of me in a few 
minutes, when I was attracted by a whistle from him, 
and looking in his direction, I saw him just taking a trout 
from his landing net, which he held up a second, then put 
in his basket. That gave me courage, and I fished care- 
fully. A few minutes later the signal was repeated, and 
Jim emerged from behind a clump of bushes with another 
trout, which certainly was hopeful, for if Jim had taken 
two so quickly, my turn would surely come. He got a 
couple more and then waited for me to catch up and let 
me pass him. Soon there was a shout, and looking back 
I saw him standing at the head of a rift, his rod bent 
under the strain of a trout in the swift water. Still I got 
nothing, and began to fish more vigorously, but with no 
result, while wherever Jim went he got trout, and nice 
ones, too. By and by I got vexed with myself and fished 
viplently, but it was always failure. At length, just as 
Jim was wcffcing' opposit'E msj I felt a h^&^/y surge on tha 
