UtJLY IS, I90S. 1 
B2 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
Texas Tarpon. 
Kansas City, Mo., June 30. — Editor Forest and 
Stream: I have just received a letter from my friend, 
Mr. Robert E. Farley, the well known taxidermist of 
Tarpon, Tex., describing some fishing that they have had 
down there lately. He says the fishing is such as it never 
was before, all_ records having been broken. 
In one day fourteen sportsmen landed 118 tarpon. One 
of them landed twenty-four, quitting at 4 o’clock. This 
is the greatest tarpon catch on record. Some years ago 
an eastern gentleman fishing at Boca Grande, Fla., landed 
twenty-two fish in one day, and the greatest previous 
record for Aransas Pass was made last year by Mr. Ed- 
ward Cotter, who landed eighteen in one day. The gen- 
tleman who now holds the world’s record is a Mr. 
Murphy, ^ of Indiana. I fished with him at Aransas Pass 
some three years ago. He is a fine fellow and a thorough 
sportsman, and in spite of his years can handle as many 
big fish in a day as anyone I know. He fought in the 
American Civil War and lost an eye in the service. 1 
vvrote you once about the splendid tussle he had with a 
six-foot two-inch; tarpon, and told how the fish jumped 
six times to a height of twelve feet. I was close along- 
side of his boat at the time and stopped fishing to view 
the struggle. 
The Spanish mackerel have been slow in going into 
Aransas Pass this year, but the jewfishing has been good, 
one man having landed in a half day seven of these fish. 
Mr. Farley does not say how large they were, but I know 
they run very heavy down there. You may remember 
that nearly three years ago I broke the world’s record on 
jewfish landed with rod and reel by taking at that place 
a 450-pound specimen. Mr. Farley says the sharks are 
very bad in the Pass this year, being encouraged to go 
there by the number of crippled tarpon that escape the 
sportsmen or that are turned back after being beached. 
Mr. Farley favors beaching all tarpon and letting them 
lie there so as to discourage the sharks, for he thinks the 
supply of tarpon is practically unlimited. 
I have business that wdll take me to Texas several 
times this summer, and I expect to be able to run down 
to Aransas Pass with one of my sons in the near future. 
If I have any good luck I shall tell you and your readers 
about it. J. A. L. Waddell. 
A» J* Stone Explorations. 
From the press of the American Museum of Natural 
History has just been issued a limited edition of a folio 
publication of over fifty pages which is singular for its 
beauty, and interesting for the purpose which it serves. 
It is intended as an acknowledgment by the Museum of 
the generosity of those whose liberal contributions have 
made it possible for Mr. Andrew J. Stone to attack the 
zoological problems of the Northwest. The Museum 
wishes to make known more generally the scientific re- 
sults that have attended Mr. Stone’s efforts, and hopes 
that the example given of achievements gained through 
a combination of men ready to help with a man ready to 
do may result in the organization of other expeditions to 
other lands. The subscribers to the Stone Exploration 
Fund numbered less than twenty-five, but 100 numbered 
copies of this brochure have been issued and distributed 
to the subscribers to the fund, to men who, though not 
subscribers, have in one way or another given assistance 
to the expedition, and to those especially interested in the 
work which Mr. Stone set out to perform. The paper is 
fully illustrated by photographs of Arctic mammals, Arc- 
tic scenery and Arctic men. Of the latter four photo- 
graphs of Eskimo, facing four photographs of Loucheux 
Indians — the northernmost red men on this continent — ■ 
are especially interesting. Photographs of Grant’s and 
Osbom’s caribou, of the giant Alaska moose, and of vari- 
ous northern bears adorn the large and beautiful pages. 
Early in i^i steps were taken by friends of the Mu- 
seum to provide a fund for the systematic prosecution of 
Mr. Stone’s work in the North. This project was large- 
ly the thought of Mr. Madison Grant, Secretary of the 
New York Zoological Society, and of the Boone and 
Crockett Club, and through his interest in the matter and 
his energetic efforts in its behalf pledges were received 
for annual contributions sufficient to carry through 
these explorations for the period of three years. 
_ The present paper gives an account of these explora- 
tions so successfully conducted by Mr. Stone. 
Fishing in Erie Harbof. 
Erie, Pa., July 8.^ — Editor Forest and Stream: The hook 
and line fishing in Erie harbor was never better than it 
is this season. Large strings of fish are caught every 
day both from boats and from the channel piers. The 
largest fish I have seen for several years here was taken 
by a dock laborer with a rather crude outfit of hook and 
line ; it was a maskinonge measuring twenty-seven inches. 
I did not have a chance to weigh it, but estimated it at 
40 pounds. 
The fish pirates that have spoiled the fishing time 
and again are being watched closely by the new 
harbor master ; he has been given the fish warden’s office 
in addition to his own, and he proves to be the right man 
for the place. He gives Misery Bay an examination every 
day or two, and has found a number of nets this season. 
His last find, a few days ago, was a large net and a long 
night line, both of them set in the bay. Some of the nets 
that he has found and destroyed have the names of fish 
companies here stamped on the floats and sinkers. The 
companies claim that these nets have been stolen from 
them. They could easily have been stolen by anyone so 
minded, but the companies when they missed them should 
have reported it. That would have cleared them of all 
suspicion. 
An old man, an amateur fisherman, was arrested a few 
days since for using several hooks on a night line instead 
of one hook. This is a rather common practice here. I 
noticed several different men last season using these 
gangs of hooks, strung on the line, one above another, 
but I did not consider it to be an offense grave enough to 
be reported, while the nets and night lines are. But if 
Harbor Master Jordan keeps up his good work — and he 
will— the nets will have to go. Cabia Blanco. 
— # — 
Last Winter^s Forestry Congress. 
In January there was held at Washington, D. C., a 
meeting quite extraordinary in character and of especial 
interest to all Americans. This was the meeting of the 
American Forest Congress. It was attended by a great 
number of delegates and others, of w.hom the most im- 
portant was the President of the United States, who de- 
livered an address on “The Forest in the Life of a 
Nation.” There were present also experts in all branches 
of forestry, as well as in all those trades and interests 
likely to be especially affected by the preservation or the 
destruction of the forests. 
It is but a few years since the foresters stood alone, 
while the lumbernen, the miners, the railroads and other 
industries especially intere.sted in lumber and timber took 
absolutely opposite points of view as to forest treatment 
and were bitterly hostile to the foresters on forestry 
questions. Happily they understand each other better 
now, and realize that what is for the advantage of one 
interest is also for the advantage of the other. It is un- ' 
derstood now that the forests must be preserved for their . 
use to rnan, and not simply on sentimental grounds. On 
this basis all can cordially work together. j 
The sessions of the Congress, which was held under ( 
the auspices of the American Foresti-y Association, ex- jj 
tended over four days. They dealt in a broad way with i 
a number of subjects — the importance of forestry to the \ 
nation in respect to agriculture, irrigation, the lumber |i 
industry, the grazing industry, the railroads and the ? 
mines, and closed with a discussion of what should be ) 
the forest policy of Nation and of State. i 
A short time after the adjournment of this Congress, | 
the Federal Legislature passed a law transferring the j 
care of the Forest Reserves from the Secretary of the 5 
Interior to the Secretary of Agriculture, following which I 
there came into existence on the ist of July, 1905, the j 
Forest Service Of the United States, which is described 
in the address given at the Congress by Mr. Gifford j 
.Pinchot, Forester of the United States. The passage of | 
such a law has long been desired by all who were best 1 
informed on forestry matters. | 
While it is impracticable to give any general notion of j 
what was done at, the Congress, it is certain that it ac- 1 
complished much good. It was summoned to establish a j 
broader understanding of the forest in its relation to .the \ 
great industries depending upon it, to advance the con- 
servative use of forest resources for the present and fu- i 
ture needs of these industries and to stimulate and unite ] 
all efforts to perpetuate the forests as a permanent re- j 
source of the nation. It may fairly be said that the Con- i 
gress contributed largely to these good ends by bringing | 
about a still better understanding between people whose 
ideas in the past have been very diverse. It brought to- | 
gether from all parts of the country experts and business 
men, no one of which we fancy left the Congress without ' 
having added something to his knowledge and having be- i 
come broader in his views. And of the delegates who, 
at the close of the sessions, dispersed to their respective 
homes, carrying with them the memories of this Congress 
and its proceedings, there are few, we venture to say, who ' 
have not become missionaries to spread the doctrines ad- 
vocated by the Congress and the American Forestry ■ 
Association over the length and breadth of the land. 
_ The American Forestry Association has recently pub- ; 
lished a large volume containing the full proceedings of i 
the Congress, and it were greatly to be wished that this 
volume, which is very inexpensive, might have a wide 
circulation. 
Recent Scientific Papers. 
Among the papers extracted from the Bulletin of the 
American Museum of Natural History, and recently sent 
out, are several which, though quite technical, are of much i 
interest to naturalists. One of these is an illustrated ac- 
count of the “Ants of the Bahamas, with a List of the ' 
Known West Indian Species,” by William Morton 1 
Wheeler. Notes as to the life habits of a number of the : 
species are given. 
Mr. Oliver P. Hay has two papers on fossil turtles, dis- ■ 
cussing the groups Toxochelyidce and Amphichelydia. 
Several new species of fossil turtles are described, and 
there are remarks op the origin and relationship of the ' 
suborders, superfamilies and families of the Testudines. , 
Besides many cuts in the text, a chart is given expressing i 
the author’s views as to the descent of the turtles from : 
Permian time. i 
Bulletin No. 2, of the Connecticut State Geological and ■: 
Natural History Survey, contains a preliminary report on j 
the “Protozoa of the Fresh Waters of Connecticut,” by I 
Prof. Herbert William Conn, Ph. D., of Wesleyan Uni- I 
versify. It is illustrated by tlairty-four beautiful plates. I 
Yachting: Fixtwfes for 1905. 
Members of Race Committees and Secretaries will confer a favor 
by sending notice of errors or omissions in the following list, and 
also changes which may be made in the future: 
JULY. 
12. Seaside Park, club. 
12. Sea Side, open. 
15. Royal Canadian, club. , j 
16. New Rochelle, club. j 
16. Knickerbocker, one-design power boats. 
15. Seaside Park, club. , . i 
16. Country Club, Detroit club. 
15. Edgewood, club. ; 
15. Bensonhurst, Bellows challenge cup. 
16. Keystone, club. : q , J 
16. Atlantic, Underwood cup. 
15. Beverly, club. 1 J 
15. Boston, cruise. 
16. Corinthian, club. 
17. Edgewood, N. B. Y. R. A., open. i il j 
18. New Brunswick Y. R. A. regatta. Prudence Island. 
18. East Gloucester, club. ; ■ ! 
19. Seaside Park. club. ; 
19. Rhode Island, N. B. Y. R. A., open. 
20. Rhole Island-Sachem Head, team race. i ! 
20. Royal St. Lawrence, Seawanhaka cup. 
21. Fall River, N. B. Y. R. A., open. 
22. Knickerbocker, power boat race to Marblehead. 
22. Knickerbocker, one-design power boats. 
22. VVinthrop, M. Y. R. A. j 
22. Bristol, N. B. Y. R. A. i 
22. Rhode Island, cruising race. 
22.' Seaside Park, club. 
22 Kuyal Canadian, Canada’s cup trials. 
22. Beverly Y. C^ club. 
^ Marine and Field, second championship, Y. R. A. G. B. 
22. Unqua Corinthian, Molineux cups. 
22. Corinthian, club. 
26. Seaside Park, club. 
27. Eastern, power boat races. 
27. Sea Side, club. 
28. Eastern, power boat races. 
28. Seaside Park. Bay Head and Island Heights, cruise. 
28. Sea Side, open. 
29. Eastern, power boat races. 
■ 29. New. Rochelle, ladies’ race. _ ■ - c ITT..’ 
29. Chicago, race to Mackinac. 
29. Country Club of Detroit, race to Mackinac. 
29. Seaside Park, open. 
29. Edgewood, club. 
29. Knickerbocker, cne-design power boats. 
29. Hampton Roads, cruise. 
29. Rhode Island, cruising race. 
29. Royal Canadian, cruising race. 
29. Beverly, club. ' 
29. Corinthian, club. 
29. Boston, club, Marblehead. 
29. Indian Harbor, annual. 
29. Bensonhurst, Childs trophy. 
Log of Gauntle' in B Y, C. Race. 
From New York to Hampton Roads, Virginia. 
BY JAMES D. SPARKMAN. 
The contestants in the race from Coney Island to 
Hampton Roads, under the auspices of the Brooklyn 
Y. C., started on Thursday, June 28, in their long race 
down the coast. 
Five little vessels responded to the starting signals, 
a fairly good showing, but not up to expectations. The 
measurement rule barred a number of yachts with 
records for speed and seaworthiness, but no rating rule 
has ever been devised that is perfect, and on the whole 
•it worked fairly well, three new boats ha-ving been built 
under it during the winter, Tamerlane, Lila and Gaunt- 
let, the first two being yawls about 30ft. waterline and 
40ft. over all, while Gauntlet was designed to get the 
maximum allowance, her dimensions being 27ft. over 
all, 22ft. waterline, loft. beam' and 6ft. draft. 
The start was made promptly at 10 o’clock in a light 
N.W. wind, tide fi ebb. The boats crossed in the fol- 
lowing order : Lila, Mopsa, Tamerlane, Gauntlet and 
Bonita. Off East Bank thq wind backed to S.W., mak- 
ing a beat tO' the Hook, which was passed at 11.30, , 
Bonita leading and Gauntlet last, about of a mile : 
astern. At this point we are well within our time allow- ] 
ance. Wind shifted to W. by N. Set ballooner at noon 
and chose watches. At i o’clock wind backed again to 
S.W. Headed off shore; course, S by E., good, al- ' 
lowing for leeway and set of current. At 4 o’clock ' 
tacked ship and took in topsail,' wind freshening. Sloop! 
Nomad and schooner Sunshine, which started lom. be- ' 
hind us, are about 2 miles dead to leeward; the rest of 
the boats are closely bunched 3 miles ahead. Barometer 
30.10 and shows no drop for S. wind. 
Too rough to do much cooking. Coffee-pot trying; 
to do a jig on the stove, so had to lash it to stove pipe 
to keep it right side up. Wind dropped about 10 
o’clock, leaving ai nasty slop of a sea and remained ; 
calm all night. • i 
Friday, June 29. — Barnegat Lighthouse bearing W. \ 
about 7 miles. At daylight the fleet was hull down 
ahead of us. We are now 50 knots^ from the start — a i 
poor showing for 20 hours — but the conditions are mostl 
unfavorable. A nasty head sea bothers us, but does; 
not seem to affect the larger boats so much. At noon,; 
the wind increased to 10 knots, and we are able to head'; 
S.W. or about 3 points to leeward of our course.: 
Gauntlet was nicknamed “Virginia Creeper” early in herj 
career, and the name seems to fit. For a boat 22ft.i 
waterline, however, she has done well, and is dry and* 
comfortable under all conditions, the crucial test fori 
offshore work.. Atlantic City abeam at 4 o’clock. [ 
Wind much stronger, and sea making up. Took inj 
topsail at 5 o’clock. Sunshine is hull down astern of' 
us. . . ; 
Saturday.--At midnight we made^ a long board off 
shore, and' on the next inshore tack, picked up Five' 
Fathom Lightship 20 miles to sea. Wind fresh and- sea; 
