Dec. i, 1906.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 869 
Banks a little without the Harbor, and fished 
for Cod; but it not being a proper time of tide, 
we only caught two, with w’ch, about i o'clock, 
we returned to town.” 
His visit to Lexington, to which I have 
alluded, took place on his return toward New 
York. He had intended to go to that historic 
locality while he was yet in Boston, but on the 
day appointed, Monday, Oct. 26, his record is: 
"The day being Rainy and Stormy, myself 
much disordered by a cold and inflamation in 
the left eye, I was prevented from visiting Lex¬ 
ington, where the first blood in the dispute with 
G. Brit’n was drawn.” 
Returning from Portsmouth, he left that place 
on Wednesday, the 4th of November, passing 
through Exeter, Haverhill, and Andover, where 
on the 5th he was received and escorted by the 
Hon. Samuel Phillips, Jr., President of the 
Senate of the town. He made a short visit to 
Mr. Phillips, who attended him as far as Lex¬ 
ington, where they "dined and viewed the spot 
on which the first blood was spilt in the dispute 
with G. B. on the 19th of April, 1775.” His 
further route was continued through Watertown, 
and by what was known as “the middle road” to 
Hartford, Conn. Fie arrived in New York on 
Friday, the 13th November. 
Future research may or may not reveal par¬ 
ticulars of these fishings in the Schuylkill and 
the Delaware or their tributary streams, the 
character and weight of the catch, the methods 
of the sport in those days, and all the incidents 
which crowd such fleeting hours of charming 
recreation. I am content to have been the first 
to claim for George Washington his rightful 
place as an angler—a genuine disciple of Izaak 
Walton. 
Washington’s Fishing Tackle. 
By courtesy of Mr. John A. Anderson we ar.e 
permitted to give the accompanying illustrations 
of treasured relics of Washington, which are in 
possession of a nephew, Mr. Torbert Coryell, 
of Lambertville, N. J. Mr. Anderson sends us 
the following description of the tackle and some¬ 
thing of its history: 
The relics consist of a number of fish hooks, 
some silk thread, a piece of hair line and some 
bits of wax,with the box originally containing them. 
This box, with the contents, was presented by 
General Washington to his physician, Dr. James 
WASHINGTON’S FISHING TACKLE. 
Photo copyright, 1906, by John A. Anderson. 
Craik, by whom they were presented to George 
Coryell, of Alexandria, Va. The latter gave 
them to his nephew, Lewis S. Coryell, of New 
Hope, Bucks county, Pa., in April, 1S10, from 
whom, at his death, they came to his son Martin 
Coryell, by whom they were mounted in the man¬ 
ner shown in the photograph. Upon his death 
they came into the possession of his son Torbert. 
The box is. oval, of japanned sheet iron, 4 l /i 
inches long, 3 inches wide and 34 of an inch deep, 
being of size and shape convenient for the pocket. 
There are nineteen hooks, varying in length from 
3 inches to 34 of an inch. The most of them 
have the shank flattened at the end. Some have 
the shank plain and roughened, and one has a 
ring for attaching the line. The hair line is but 
a short piece. A note by Lewis S. Coryell, with 
the articles, states that some of the hair was 
given to a friend. 
George Coryell, to whom these articles were 
given by Dr. Craik, was acquainted with Wash¬ 
ington and was a member of the same Masonic 
lodge with him. He was born at Coryell’s Ferry, 
now Lambertville, N. J. He was a worker in 
iron and upon Washington’s seeing in Philadel¬ 
phia a gateway which he had made for Benjamin 
Franklin was invited by Washington to take 
up his residence and his calling at Alexandria. 
The closing years of his life were spent at Cor¬ 
yell’s Ferry. His remains lie in the ground at¬ 
tached to the Presbyterian Church of that place, 
the spot being marked by a modest monument, 
bearing the following inscriptions: 
East side: 
Here lies the body of George Coryell who died 
February 18th, 1850, aged 91 years. 
South side: . 
The poet has told his character, 
“A wit’s a feather, a chief a rod, 
An honest man the noblest work of God.’’ 
West side: 
A brother member with Gn. Washington of 
Lodge No. 22. 
North side: 
The last survivor of the six men who laid the 
Father of our Country in his Tomb. 
The last inscription is slightly erroneous. Upon 
the occasion of the funeral of Washington there 
were six colonels of the Virginia militia desig¬ 
nated'as pall bearers and four lieutenants for 
carrying the bier, bearing the body from the man¬ 
sion to the family vault. One of the latter, Lieut. 
William Moss, being a delicate man, gave way 
under the weight and Mr. Coryell took his 
place. Mr. Corvell did survive the six pall 
bearers, but outlived only one of the men with 
whom he was associated in carrying the remains. 
The Coryell familv was of Huguenot descent 
and settled at and established Coryell’s Ferry in 
t 732 - 33 . Washington, with portions of the 
Patriot Army, was at least twice at this point, on 
the New Jersey side of the Delaware, where the 
dwelling which he occupied is still pointed out. 
On the Pennsylvania side of the river is New 
Hope, also formerly known as Coryell’s Ferry. 
Here and in the vicinity the army under Wash¬ 
ington was encamped prior to the movement 
which resulted in the crossing a few' miles below 
and the victory at Trenton on Christmas Day, 
1776. 
A Visitor from the Tropics. 
New Bedford, Mass., Oct. 25. —Editor Forest „ 
and Stream: A short time since, while walking 
along the shore at my summer home near here, 
I discovered in a pool left by the receding tide, a 
small fish of which I would like to learn some¬ 
thing. I annex a crude sketch with dimensions. 
■In color it was a bright scarlet. The fins are 
almost transparent, and of a pearly color. The 
scales were quite minute. The eyes, after placing 
them in a pail of water in the dark, shone like 
phosphorus. I should imagine it a deep sea fish 
from tropical waters. F. S. P. 
[The fish inquired about is the Pseudopriacan- 
thiis altus (Gill). Descriptions of this fish can 
be found in Oceanic Ichthyology, p. 242, fig. 239 
and 240; in Bulletin 47, U. S. Nat. Mus. p. 1239, 
pi. CXCV., fig. 512, and elsewdiere. The largest 
specimen of this fish observed on our east coast 
was eleven inches long, and was taken at Charles¬ 
ton. S. C. Small individuals are occasionally 
caught near Narrangansett and Buzzard’s Bay. 
The red or crimson color of the body, and the 
large glowing eyes, are characteristic of this 
beautiful species. As suggested, the fish conies 
from tropical writers, its home being in the West 
Indies.] 
Restocking Maine Waters. 
Sportsmen who maintain summer cottages or 
camps in Maine are elated at the activity of the 
Federal fish hatchery men, who have been stock¬ 
ing the principal lakes with -young trout. Sev¬ 
eral soecial fish cars have been operated since 
mid-November, and it is understood that the 
work will be continued as long as practicable 
this season. 
