FOREST AND STREAM. 
[May 13, 1911. 
740 
ped, and our captain, thinking that they intended 
to steal the boat, went out with his revolver in 
hand, whereupon they went on their way. The 
incident, though probably of no importance, ban¬ 
ished our efforts to get to sieep. 
In the early morning we bailed out the boat, 
and finding it to be tight, moved down river to 
a more secluded camping place. We caught fish, 
bathed and shot some birds, and were having a 
good time with only sheets for bed clothes. A 
thunder storm with prolonged rain afterward 
made the roads very muddy and we could not 
keep dry. One of our party deserted us and 
walked to the station to go home. We stood 
the rain another night, and in the morning moved 
about three miles into the Calumet feeder and 
went to our grandmother’s to get dried out and 
fed up ready to go back to Chicago. We gave 
her the boat, it being useless for our camping 
purposes, as it would not hold much more than 
our duffle. She traded it for a cord of fire¬ 
wood. 
The next summer we were more eager than 
ever to try camping again, so we hired a clinker 
boat in Chicago, and two of the boys took the 
duffle, 'now including a suitable tent, to the 
Calumet River by the lake and up a mile to 
the railroad where the senior and junior joined 
them. After a comfortable camp we loaded up 
and started, coming to a marshy stretch of river 
and a thunder storm. The fishing was good, but 
we had to look out for a camping place. We 
tried a small island which soon began to sink 
with us, and we went on and made camp on a 
decent bank. 
After a day or two we went on again, and at 
night came to a place where there were only 
low banks. We had to camp, as it was getting 
dark with no high land in sight, so we cut 
bushes for our beds to keep us from the damp 
ground, but in the morning the rain had flooded 
the bank so that we were in water. This was 
our last camp on low ground, as we had learned 
that we could not rely on dry weather. At our 
next camp we tried to cook some beans. We 
boiled them from time to time and could not 
get them soft enough to eat, as we did not know 
enough to soak them before trying to boil them. 
Our first effort to make coffee was the usual 
failure of the novice. We put the pot on the 
camp-fire to boil. Soon the nozzle dropped off, 
then the handle, and on getting the pot off we 
found nothing but burned grounds. About the 
only successful cooking we did was to boil 
pickerel, and one of our most enjoyable meals 
was had in this way, when we were quite hungry. 
TVe kept supplied by walking to town and also 
"by buying of the farmers. When we had grown 
tired of our inconvenient camp life,' we went 
down river and back to Chicago. 
Our third trip was planned for a more ex¬ 
tended voyage, being from Chicago to the Calu¬ 
met River, thence to the Calumet feeder, thence 
to the Illinois canal, thence to the Chicago River 
and thence to Lake Michigan, about one hun¬ 
dred miles. On this trip we had learned more 
about cooking and relied less upon farmers and 
village stores. We had waterproofs for our beds 
and warmer bed c'othes, but as yet no pillows, 
nor any of the essentials for comfort. One of 
our camps was in a marshy section, and one of 
our city visitors became alarmed by the mos¬ 
quitoes, as he could not sleep and they poisoned 
his hands so that our captain had to get a light 
and bathe his hands and face in salt water. 
When we reached the Chicago River a pass¬ 
ing tug nearly swamped our heavily laden boat, 
and we landed, taking a wagon for our duffle 
and sending the boat along to its destination. 
These trips were enjoyable, but could only be 
endured by those who could get wet, cold and 
hungry without becoming ill. They covered the 
times of our becoming acquainted with the items 
essential to a fairly endurable trip. 
William H. Holden. 
Minnesota Fish. 
Minneapolis, Minn., May 6 . —Editor Forest 
and Stream: It will probably be of interest to 
your readers to learn that from one small lake 
a mile wide and four miles long over fifty-seven 
carloads of buffalo, carp and sheephead were re¬ 
moved in two winters. This is Lake Tetonka, 
in the chain of lakes fed by the Cannon River, 
which empties into the Mississippi. This river 
feeds and drains Lakes Saber, Volney, Gorman, 
Tetonka, Cannon, Sakatah, German, Jefferson 
and other smaller ones near its head. 
A few years ago the game fish in these lakes 
were known to be disappearing, and every spring 
the buffalo came up in greater numbers from 
the Mississippi, the number coming up depend¬ 
ing upon the stage of water during their run¬ 
ning period. When the water was high, thou¬ 
sands could be seen. Lake Tetonka being very 
deep and rather suitable for them, seemed to 
hold them from going up further, and as a re¬ 
sult the spawn of all other fish suffer greatly. 
Buffalo, carp and suckers are all spawn eaters. 
This one lake is now practically free from them, 
the seiners working under wardens having been 
unable to get more than a few fish at each haul 
with seines over a half mile long. The carp and 
buffalo removed from the lake were all iced and 
shipped to New York and other points where 
they are greatly relished by the Jewish fish eat¬ 
ers. In price they run from four to nine cents 
per pound here and the buyers stand about 
eagerly when the haul is being made, making 
bids for the catch. 
It seems as if the other lakes in the chain 
fed by this river were too shallow to keep buf¬ 
falo long, and all eventually came back to the 
deep lake, Tetonka. The State received a big 
fee for the privilege of getting the buffalo and 
other rough fish from these lakes, which money 
was returned to the fund that supplies game 
fish fry to the waters. In a few years the fish¬ 
ing for bass, croppies, pike and perch will be 
better, though now there are about sixty men 
who make a living fishing Lake Tetonka for 
croppies and sunfish during the season. The 
fishing opened May 1. 
Seiners are only allowed to draw’ their nets 
before a warden sent from headquarters. The 
game fish are not lifted from the water, but are 
slid over the top of the cork line and sent away. 
During the present spring there have been a 
great many arrests made for illegal spearing in 
the lakes about Minneapolis and St. Paul. Some 
who want everything they see in the water and 
do not care for the betterment of rod fishing 
will always be seen spearing or seining without 
licenses. They are after the game fish, which 
bring large prices at restaurants, though they 
cannot be sold legally. It seems as if the only 
salvation for the game fish is a stringent law 
and enforcement of same regarding the sale of 
fish. Personally I would like to see it made 
illegal to sell anything but rough fish. 
During the past term of the Legislature a law 
was proposed permitting the seining of bullheads 
for market. There are thousands of tons of 
them in many of our lakes. They are the poor 
man’s salvation when it comes to fishing for a 
living, and often on his table. They are tooth¬ 
some and wholesome and bring from eight to 
six cents per pound according to the season. 
They are the only fish we can ship outside the 
State and sell. 
Just now there is a lot of fry planting going 
on. It will soon cease as the days are getting 
warmer and fry cannot be shipped so easily in 
milk cans. The State fish and game commission 
this season is not sending cars out to planting 
points, as the funds available are too small, but 
cans of fish fry are going all over the State, 
sometimes with men in charge who give the 
planting instructions. All told, the game and 
fish situation is rather looking up. The true 
spirit of sportsmanship is becoming more of a 
stap’e article and the game hog is thinning out. 
Amos Burhans. 
San Francisco Fly-Casting Club. 
San Francisco, Cal., April 25. — Editor Forest 
and Stream: The medal contests at Stow Lake 
commenced March 25. There will be five events, 
each contest day, as follows: Long distance 
fly, accuracy and delicacy fly, accuracy fly, ac¬ 
curacy and long distance lure. The first five 
contests Saturday and Sunday are for the classi¬ 
fication of the contestants. The following aver¬ 
age scores are necessary for the different 
classes: 
Fly-casting—Accuracy: Championship, 98 2/3 
per cent, or over; first class, 97 2/3; second 
class, 96 2/3: novice class, under 96 2/3 per cent. 
Delicacy: Championship, 99 per cent, or over; 
first class, 98; second class, 95; novice class, 
under 95 per cent. Long distance: Champion¬ 
ship, 115 feet or over, or who in any contest 
has cast 130 feet or over; first class, 100 feet or 
over; second class, 85 feet or over; novice class, 
under 85 feet. 
Lure Casting.—Accuracy: Championship, 98 
per cent, or over; first class, 96 per cent, or 
over; second class, 94 per cent, or over; novice 
class, under 94 per cent. Long distance: For 
record only. Under the rules of the National 
Association. 
The winners in Saturday contests must cast 
off with the winners of the corresponding class 
in Sunday contests. The rules of 1909 govern¬ 
ing contests shall continue in force, except that 
in no event shall the leader be longer than nine 
feet. The club will furnish tackle in all events 
to those not possessing their own. Gold medals 
will be awarded to the winners in the different 
classes in each event, excepting that a con¬ 
testant shall be entitled to but one medal in 
one event, and providing also any member hav¬ 
ing been awarded a medal must thereafter win 
three times before being entitled to receive a 
medal. 
Members who have never taken part in the 
contests are especially invited to be present and 
participate in the same. Novices will be in¬ 
structed in all events. 
F. J. Cooper, Sec’y. 
