FOREST AND STREAM 
91 
July 29, 1905.] 
big cut-ofif, when in passing some old pine tops a 
large ;fawn - scudded from behind them, into the jack 
pines near. I wondered how a fawn could make so^ 
much noise in getting through the brush, when to my 
surprise and delight I came across a track that I in- 
stantly recognized as that of a bear. I thought it 
good fortune to be on a fresh bear track; for of all 
the game in that region, I especially wished to get a 
bear. Not knowing so much about bears then as I 
did two days later, I started out after him at my best 
pace, and could soon hear him as he tore through the 
brush which he seemed to have a special liking for. I 
shortly discovered that the bear was more favorably 
built for brush traveling than I, and as long as he in- 
sisted on staying in it, my chances for sighting him 
were very slim indeed. But the race went merrily on. 
Finally, however, he left the brush to enter a tangled 
tamarack swamp, and all his movements were plain, and 
some of his tactics were identical with those of ' the 
deer I had so successfully followed, all but the side 
lunges. At one place he began at the top of a fallen 
tamarack, which was several feet from the ground, and 
started to travel its length; when near the middle the 
loose bark slipped off and he fell broadside into the 
slush and mud^ leaving great nail marks on the log 
where he tried to save himself. 
Presently I discovered that darkness was fast ap- 
proaching, and I felt that I would not see camp that 
night. Taking a last look at that track, I wondered if 
man could out-travel a bear. Standing on a log I 
viewed the situation. Everywhere fallen tamarack 
caused by the terrible fires that swept that country 
the preceding seasons. Knowing no difference in 
directions, I struck for the most open looking country. 
Meanwhile it had grown dusk, and by the time I 
was fairly out of the swamp, the darkness was com- 
plete, excepting that I could distinguish objects on the 
snow. Expecting nothing but to lie out all night,’ I 
thought I might as. well build and maintain a good 
fire, as in that way I could get some much-needed 
rest. I gathered a large heap of pine needles, which 
heap I suspect is now the favorite nest of some rnouse 
or chipmunk, for look as I did through all my pockets 
I was unable to find a m.atch. The only thing then was 
to move on, as it was already getting cold; and after 
traveling over a ridge about half a mile, I came across 
two parallel strips of tall grass, which told me it had 
been an old toll-road. Thinking that by following this 
trail I might come to some shelter, I followed it for 
perhaps a mile, where it branched off and was lost. 
Looking to my right, I thought I discovered the out- 
lines of a roof covered with snow, and going there, 
found an old logging camp; but fire had made ruins of 
all the buildings except what had evidently been the 
office. 
This seemed to have been recently fitted up, as the 
door was barred on the inside and the place was 
deserted. A window in the end was nailed on the frame 
inside, and as I thought the situation warranted my 
getting in if possible. I pushed in the sash and crawled 
in. I was delighted to find a stove, wood, cooking 
utensils and provisions, and also noted, that the cabin 
was well located near a small lake, where I procured 
water, but it was only after a half hour or more of 
groping that I found matches. I thought then that 
my cup of good fortune was certainly full. Making 
myself comfortable, I decided to take up the bear trail 
the next morning, and so lay down on the straw bunk 
to rest. 
The first break of day found me on my back-track to 
where I had left the chase the previous night, but soon 
after dawn I sighted bruin’s nest, where he had passed 
the night among the soft branches of a fallen balsam; 
but on sighting me he beat a hasty retreat. I took 
up the chase, trying to cut off his retreat. Although I 
rushed the bear all day, his only sign of weakening was 
that his feet began to bleed. But just before darkness 
I came upon him, and with two well-aimed shots made 
him mine. 
After spending the night in the same cabin, I im- 
mediately started for our camp, and reached it about 
3 P. M. I found that my companions were very much 
worried about me after my second night’s absence and 
had sat up all night firing guns and keeping a fire 
burning. The luck my friends had I will tell another 
time. J. P. Fletcher. 
Gt OVERSVILLT’, N. Y. 
Apropos of the foregoing are these notes on the bear, 
written by a Maine hunter who has had large experience 
with the animal: Sportsmen and hunters- find it a diffi- 
cult business to hunt the bear, although it abounds in all 
the vast unimproved wilderness of our State, as well as 
the border settlements, and is not only unprotected by 
our laws but is even considered outlawed and has a 
bounty placed upon its head, making it the lawful prey 
to everybody at all times and places. 
If the poor beast strikes out into the open country to 
find food to appease his hunger the first person who sees 
him or even sees his track sounds the alarm, and at once 
.scores of men are after him with all sorts of weapons, 
and if he escapes back into the forest it is by his own 
shrewdness and not the fault of the tumultuous crowd 
of humanity. The poor creature is hunted to th-e death 
if possible. 
But bruin is no chicken nor tenderfoot; he is a tough 
customer, and most of those who hunt him find him .so. 
He; can creep through the dry brush with the least noise 
and calculate chances with the greatest precision pos- 
sible, besides being a creature used to a rough life. He 
will go where no herbivorous beast would dare to go, 
creeping through pucker brush and rabbit salid and the 
most dismal swamps, and winding and outwitting his 
biped pursuers and getting away with the most “cold 
lead” of any animal. 
• It is not always deep snows that drive him to his den, 
but the scarcity of food will have the greatest influence. 
There is no set time of year that all bears go at once to 
their long winter home; neither do they always go back 
to their former den, but are governed much by circum- 
stances. Sometimes they find a more comfortable chance 
to house up and sometimes find companions who seem to 
invite them to share their winter quarters with them. 
They do not seem to be fastidious as to the lodging- 
place. A turned-up tree root, or a hollow log or stand- 
ing tree is acceptable ; or more commonly a cave in a 
ledge_ under or above the earth, in some solitary moun- 
tain in the deep recesses of the forest where no other 
creature will stay. In such a lonely, dismal spot the bear 
sleeps away the long, cold eastern winter. 
Do we think bears are diminishing— growing less year 
by year? Well, no; not in Maine. They appear to hold 
their own wonderfully, and about as many are killed each 
year. - ' 
We respect the old fellow for his tenacity of existence 
in spite of his weakness for mutton; corn and apples, and 
forgive all his shortcoming and overdoings. 
Fly and Bait-Casting as a Game. 
One of the commonest remarks heard by those who 
attend fly and bait-casting tournaments comes from 
anglers who watch but do not take part in the contests. 
If asked to do so they will admit that they love to fish 
and do fish whenever they have an opportunity, but ex- 
press more or less ignorance concerning the fine points 
of casting for record or for prizes. If urged to try their 
skill they object to “making a show” of themselves, as 
they say. Some of them can never be induced to take 
part in any competition that is more or less public, and 
they say with more or less truth that fishing is one 
thing, but tournament-casting quite another. 
With the object of making tournament-casting a school 
of instruction for anglers, and teaching anglers to handle 
their weapons with greater skill, clubs have from time 
to time been formed in various places, and tournaments 
held. Despite these facts there is a class of anglers who. 
cannot be induced to take part, because of the publicity 
they dread and seek to avoid. They will look on and 
learn the little that is possible from watching others cast, 
but they will not take part in the events. 
In view of these facts I wish to point out a few others 
for the benefit of anglers everywhere, and will attempt to 
show them how they may obtain valuable practice at a 
minimum expense of money and preparation. 
Fly and bait-casting can be made a game, just as lawn 
tennis, golf or batting and catching a ball are, but with 
this exception — that it can be played by one person as 
well as ten, although at least two persons are needed to 
keep up the interest and make casts comparative. I hope 
other anglers will agree with me in this matter, and will 
take up casting as a game or pastime, for I can assure 
them that it is a very fascinating one in which a great 
deal of experience of real value in angling can be 
gained. 
Granted that any angler who wishes to- go into this 
pastime for his own amusement and benefit is the pos- 
sessor of a rod, a good reel and a suitable line, let us 
cast ' about for an equipment. In the first place, it will 
not be difficult to find a bit of water entirely suitable for 
the purpose, but if this is not obtainable, a lawn, field 
or pasture will do,, and some of the most enjoyable cast- 
ing I have ever had was on smooth ice or a light fall of 
snow. With this in view, the game can be made one 
for all the year. 
If there is a lake or small stream handy, a place can 
be selected without much difficulty, so that one can cast 
with the' sun at his back or side, and in a direction so 
that the prevailing wind for the season will also be at his 
back or side, preferably the former, as it is discouraging 
at times to try to cast continuously against a fluky wind. 
If there is a little boat house dock or float handy, use it 
for your platform, and lay out the course alongshore, 
where the water 'is shallow. The marks can be made in 
a dozen different ways, but the following method is sim- 
ple and will answer every purpose. To begin with, pro- 
cure a tape 100 feet or more in length. Then, wading 
in the shallow water, stretch a line from the casting 
platform to a stake fifty j'ards or more distant, and you 
are ready to set the marks. For this purpose a number 
of sticks will answer. The assistance of a friend on the 
platforna will be handy. Let him hold the tape, and reel- 
ing off fifty feet, push the first stake in the mud alongside 
the line and distant just fifty feet from the edge of the 
platform. The top of the stake should be at the surface 
of the water, although this is not a matter of much mo- 
ment, as one will seldom foul the stake .while casting. 
This stake should be provided with a square or round 
bit of plank that will float, to be used as an accuracy 
buoy. An air-tight tin can or a corked jar will serve the 
same purpose, however. 
Set the next stake at fifty-five feet, and the others 
every five feet, unless you do not wish to be so exact, in 
which case marks every ten feet will serve. Another 
buoy should be moored to the sixtj'^-foot stake, and it 
will be well to employ two more, at seventy and eighty 
feet respectively. At first the extreme mark need not 
be more than 130 feet distant, but in order to be able to 
closely measure the work you will do ' and you gain 
through practice, it wmuld be well to put stakes at least 
every ten feet up to 150 or even 160 feet. And in order 
to calculate the distance rapidly while casting, mark the 
stakes in some manner to distinguish one from another. 
A bit of board nailed on the top of a stake and numbered 
will be the best plan, or the ninety-foot mark can be 
daubed with red, the loo-foot mark white, the iio-foot 
stake blue and so on. so that one will soon know the dis- 
tance by the color of the nearest stake. Various schemes 
may be employed to prevent counting the distance from 
the beginning, stake by stake, for each cast made. 
Now you are ready to begin. All the accessories to 
the garne are at hand save the weight to be employed. 
For bait-casting it is the custom at the present time to 
use either soft rubber frogs or wooden weights. The 
frogs are_ specially made for this purpose, and are fitted 
v/itli a ring at the nose, but no hooks. The wooden 
weights vary, but perhaps the best form, is in the shape 
of a bullet, with a ring or small eye at the butt end. 
Some are made with an upholstery tack in the nose to 
keep them point on. As silk lines will wear out and part 
in time, and one’s enthusiasm often runs- away with his 
caution, his bill for frogs may in time become somewhat 
like Bill Nye’s expense account for razor strops when 
he began to shave himself. The next best thing is to 
whittle an old rubber eraser down until its weight is just 
a half ounce (or a quarter ounce). A bit of some heavy 
wood, like bethabara or hickory, if rounded and elon- 
pted; makes an excellent weight, but it must be borne 
in mind that longer casts can be made with smooth, 
dense weights than with rubber frogs, and one must not 
imagine that he is doing better work with his weights 
than are the expert tournament-casters with their soft 
rubber frogs, although weights are fair enough, since 
they are used in some tournaments, but not all. The line 
should be reversed bn the reel often, to prevent exces- 
sive wear on the free end. 
For the benefit of beginners a few words in relation to 
casting may not be amiss. In the first place, stand as 
near the water level as possible and do not try to cast 
from an elevation, merely seeing that there is nothing im- 
mediately behind you to catch the line and perhaps 
break a tip. Face the line squarely, with the feet spread 
a trifle. Grasp the rod close up to the reel with the right 
hand, with the thumb on the spool. Drop the tip of the 
rod until it is lower than the knees. Turn the rod over 
until the reel axle is vertical, and see that the line lies 
entirely in the guides, and does not touph the i?od at any 
point in its whole length. Let a little line out, sO' that 
ffie frog or weight is eight to ten inches from the tip 
Hold It perfectly still until you see that the hand is in its 
proper place and the line free from kinks. Then impart 
a swaying motion to the bait— gently, like the pendulum 
oi a clock, forward and backward, and when it is on its 
forward swing, raise the tip, so that the weight will 
begm its upward and backward sweep without any jerky 
motion. It must be stopped and started forward without 
touching the water or the platform behind you, and at 
the same time the pressure on the spool is decreased but 
never entirely taken off. At first it will be best to use 
little foice in the forward sweep of the rod, and to aim 
at a spot less rather than beyond fifty feet, letting the 
bait describe a high curve and move slowly. The height 
of the curve may lie increased without additional force 
by letting the line slip a trifle just as the forward curve 
begins, but if the cast is to be made with some force the 
line IS not released until it is well up on the forward 
sweep. In no case should the tip of the rod be lowered 
below the waist line in the forward curve; in fact it 
shou d stop exactly in line with the unreeling line, and 
should be stiff enough to be rigid at that time, as vibra- 
tion of the tip serves to stop the line from running free- 
ly through the guides. 
At fiist the inclination will be to let the spool take 
care of itself during the cast, and to stop it short after 
the weight stiikes the water. "With a good reel, how* 
possible to thumb the line quite forcibly 
throughout the ca.st, increasing the pressure as the weio-ht 
approaches the watei, the reel spinning' freely even un- 
der pressure _ This requires practice, of course. Some 
reels have friction devices or drags capable of adjust- 
backlashing. Whatever is used, however 
It will be round best to have the reel always the same so' 
that one may devote his efforts toward eliminating 'the 
personal error, and depend on his own skill rather than 
upon mechanical means. 
— Liiau uc Lan casr nity te( 
or more four times out of five without trouble with th 
reel, he should try five casts at the fifty-foot buoy an 
note the^ result. Then he may aim for higher marks pul 
ting a bit more force into his casts, and lowering the trs 
jectory of the weight. Most of the force is put into th 
cast just as the forward sweep begins, but the line i 
not released so soon as when a high trajectory and les 
force is desired. More care, however, is necessary t 
stop the rod without tip vibration, and to prevent bach 
lashing. Nor should the spool be too full of line A ver 
good way to decide j ust how much line to use is’ to win 
the favorite line on the empty reel, then over it wind 
cheap cotton or other line, as a dummy. When enoug 
of the dummy line has been wound on to fill the spoc 
two-thirds or three-fourths full, cut the line, unwind i 
on the grass, and when both lines are off, wind the coars 
line on the spool and the fine line over it. A braided sil 
line of H size will give the best service at first but bet 
ter work may be done after a little while with a reeula 
tournament line, quite a bit smaller than H Enamele 
lines will not answer at all for this style^ of casting 
It is well to combine a series of casts for distanc 
with say five each at two or three buoys, and especial! 
when two or more persons cast together. Keeping scor 
will prove very interesting and at the same time shm 
how much improveinent all are making. Little contest 
