1226 
FOREST AND STREAM 
Remarkable Photograph of Two Minnesota Wolves-Both Are in a Frozen State, as 
Brought in by the Trapper. 
trail-cry of the gr?at timber-wolf, followed, a 
few seconds later, by a chorus of savagely mel¬ 
odious bays as the pack-leader nosed the tempt¬ 
ing trail, and, as he afterwards expressed it, 
“legged it” for the stand. 
W HILE I have been reading the Govern¬ 
ment weather reports of the height which 
the heat waves recorded in the different 
northern states, I have wondered if the suf¬ 
ferers from heat in the north ever looked at 
the weather reports from the East Coast of 
Florida, and if they did, if they doubted the 
truth of the reports. Will your readers say it 
is utterly impossible that Stuart, on the East 
Coast of Florida, in that sub-tropical zone, al¬ 
most down to the Tropic of Cancer, has not 
seen a day this summer of a higher temperature 
than 92 degrees? Yet such is the fact, and as 
this is my third summer here I know that it 
has not been above that mark for three years, 
and yet we are on the same parallel of latitude 
as Cape Bodahor nearly 300 miles south of the 
Strait of Gibraltar. Our immunity from ex¬ 
treme heat is due to the trade winds that have 
a sweep over 4,400 miles of the Atlantic, no land, 
all water, from the coast of Africa to the East 
Coast of Florida, making it cool and pleasant 
in the shade, even at noon time, and demanding 
a thin bed covering during the hours of slumber. 
I often think of my brother anglers in the 
northern states and pity their lot and wish they 
could be with me, as I sit in my skiff, driven by 
an out board motor, and troll over the waters 
of the St. Lucie River. I have 50 miles of 
tidal salt and brackish water beginning right 
at my door. What pleasure it is to fish in this 
manner, and the pleasure is increased by the 
uncertainty of the catch, which at this season 
of the year may be a pompano, bluefish, Spanish 
mackerel, cavallya, barricuda, mangrove-snapper, 
ladyfish or (ten-pounder) sergeant or (snook), 
sea-trout or (weakfish), sea or striped bass; 
anyone or most of them are liable to hit the 
copper Del-Ray trolling spoon in a half day’s 
Peering through the shadowy spaces among 
the great pine-bales, the Judge saw his approach, 
while his pursuers were still far to the north, 
and called a low voiced welcome. 
The Doctor waved his hand in greeting, grinned 
By W. F. Rightmire. 
trip in the water along the various sandbars, 
if you troll in the deep water at the edge of 
the bar. The weight of the fish may be from 
two to 15 pounds for a sergeant or sea-trout. 
For this kind of trolling I use a tarred linen 
line of not less than 21 thread, and while I 
may lounge on the seat enjoying the breeze and 
the comfort of the old French-briar pipe, when 
I get a strike, it is then all action, pulling in 
the three or four hundred feet of line, hand 
over hand, as fast as possible to keep the fish 
from throwing out the hook; and it is quick 
action that is required if the catch is a five 
or more pound sergeant or sea-trout, for he 
comes to the boat on the surface of the water, 
with mouth open, leaping and shaking his head 
and body to free himself from the hook. 
Even when brought into the boat it is not 
safe to sake the hook from his mouth until you 
have killed him, by a blow, or the use of a 
knife, or he may leap out of the boat. 
Several persons are making good and satis¬ 
factory wages catching fish by trolling, but as 
soon as I secure enough for home use, and to 
give to a few neighbors, I draw my fish up to 
the boat and take a good look to determine his 
classification, and then slacken the line so that 
he unhooks and escapes. While we have a great 
plenty of tarpon, the silver king of fishes, and 
have an organized tarpon club of which I am 
the secretary, yet tarpon fishing has never had 
the lure for me, that this trolling for miscel¬ 
laneous fish, or the fishing for black bass has. 
Tarpon fishing must have an attraction of its 
own that I know not of. As an example, three 
weeks since, the city clerk of Lake Worth came 
here for tarpon fishing and in two days, while 
he hooked several, he only landed one of 45 
pounds weight; two weeks ago he returned and 
both his appreciation of the situation and his 
delight at the timeliness of his arrival, and, 
within a moment or two climbed, panting, to the 
rock’s broad pinnacle, and threw himself down 
behind the brush screen, with gun in readiness. 
Three—four—minutes passed, with the chorus 
growing eagerly nearer, then the Judge gripped 
the Doctor’s shoulder, and, raising his head and 
stealthily peering through the screen the Medico 
saw seven big timber-wolves, their leader nosing 
th fresh laid trail and running silently, while 
the pack kept up the clamor. 
“Ready! Wait until they are within thirty 
yards before you show yourself; aim at a big 
wolf in the right of the bunch, as they halt. I’ll 
fire into the left, then—get all you may, while 
they’re scattering—now 1” 
As the two rose to their knees and swung 
their guns to position, the pack halted, bunched, 
and as the powder and charges found their 
billets two of the seven fell, kicking and snarling; 
the rest turned and leaped for shelter. 
Too late, however, was the move, for by 
natural coincidence, the lefts from both Doctor’s 
and Judge’s guns found “centers” in the great 
dog-wolf who had for two seasons lorded that 
portion of the great north woods—a:-id but four 
thoroughly cowed creatures, straggled leader¬ 
less into the windfall’s cover as the night ’wind 
rose and sung requiem among the stately pines, 
which, could they have known, and spoken, might 
doubtless have told far more interesting tales of 
savage tragedy within their ken. 
FLORIDA 
hooked several, but only landed one of 126 
pounds, and Thursday, August 17, he made his 
third trip, and after hooking several, was suc¬ 
cessful in landing one of 145 pounds in weight, 
putting in over two hours of strenuous work 
on each fish landed; perhaps if I had not passed 
the 68th annual mile post I might enjoy tarpon 
fishing, but I doubt if it can give the genuine 
solid pleasure I find in a trip to the headwaters 
of the South Fork after black bass. 
Just go with me on one trip. We will leave 
Stuart in my skiff at 1.30 P. M., and with the 
motor set at slow speed, we will troll to our 
destination, catching salt and brackish water 
fish on the first ten miles of water, then for 
five miles of fresh water we will take black 
bass and large one and a half pound bream or 
black sunfish, all the way for the last five miles 
of the trip, enjoying the beautiful landscapes 
unfolding before us as we round bend after 
bend. 
It is true that I cannot point you to sculptured 
rocks, mountains or lofty sycamores, birches and 
elms, like those that border our northern 
streams, but on one bank you can see stately 
palms standing in a footing of flowering shrubs, 
such as hibiscus, palmetto and many others, 
while trailing vines like the wild pea, Virginia 
creeper and clematis, in full flower, hang in 
festoons, draping the perpendicular ten feet high 
bank down to the water’s edge; while upon the 
other bank are many veteran and venerable live- 
oaks, with their hoary locks and flowing beards 
of the Spanish moss, standing against a back¬ 
ground of lordly yellow pines. The rays of 
sunshine filtered through such tree growths upon 
the water give such changing scenes as no- 
kaleidoscope can ever equal. The enjoyment of 
(Continued on page 1254.) 
ALWAYS FISHING TIME IN 
