34 
THROUGH WONDERLAND . 
boat, either down to the lake, a further distance of ninety miles, or up into the 
mountains. Complete camping outfits may be obtained from Spokane Falls, 
the nearest town on the line of the railroad. 
That the waters of Clark’s Fork and Lake Pend d’Oreille are full of fine fish of 
many varieties, is established by overwhelming testimony. The want of a com¬ 
mon nomenclature, however, is somewhat embarrassing to one whose oppor¬ 
tunities for personal observation have been limited. Perhaps, therefore, it will 
be best to allow the local anglers to tell their own stories. Beginning with the 
town of Thompson’s Falls, to which reference has already been made, we find 
a recent correspondent of the American Angler claiming for Clark’s Fork an 
abundance of salmon trout, of a species of large lake trout, and a species of 
whitefish, known locally as “squaw fish.” Salmon trout are, he says, caught at 
all times of the year, .except in midwinter and during high water in the month 
of June. They average from one-half to two pounds each, and the fishing is 
best during early spring and late fall. Lake trout have been caught weighing 
as much as eighteen pounds each; but the average is about six pounds. The 
“ squaw fish ” is said to be gamey, but of comparatively little value for the table. 
The same correspondent says that the mountain streams emptying into Clark’s 
Fork in the vicinity of Thompson’s Falls, afford excellent mountain trout fish¬ 
ing, and he quotes large scores made by local anglers. At Heron, which, by 
the way, is a divisional terminus of the railroad, with a first-class hotel operated 
in connection with the dining car department, trout is said to be so abundant 
as to be thought nothing of ; “ grayling,” sometimes reaching ten pounds in 
weight, are almost as plentiful; and it is said to be no uncommon thing to see 
them jumping out of the water, pursued by large whitefish. Bull river, eight 
miles distant, yields salmon trout weighing up to twelve pounds. The waters 
of Lake Pend d’Oreille contain, in addition to the common lake trout, a species 
weighing from five to ten pounds each, and occasionally caught weighing as 
much as twenty pounds, speckled on both back and sides, and generally resem¬ 
bling Mackinac trout. They are a fine table fish, being much superior to lake 
trout. The “squaw fish” of this lake are said to resemble the pike. They 
weigh from one pound to five pounds each. From about the middle of August 
until the snow flies, the trout fishing is “the best in the world.” There is also 
a fish resembling the herring, found in one part of the lake in immense shoals. 
Soon after leaving Lake Pend d’Oreille, the line enters a dense forest con¬ 
taining few settlements, and little that is interesting or picturesque, beyond the 
beautiful Lake Cocolala, a long but narrow sheet of water on the north side of 
the track. On the borders of the forest the train pauses a moment at Rath- 
drum, the nearest point on the railroad to Fort Coeur d’Alene, on the lake of 
the same name. This lake even rivals, in the beauty of its waters and the 
grandeur of its mountain scenery, its more accessible neighbor, Lake Pend 
d’Oreille, while its conveniences for boating and fishing are equally good. 
At the station of Idaho Line, the train enters the Territory of Washington, 
pursuing its way in a southwesterly direction across the great Spokane Plain. 
