Oct. 12, 1907.] 

Never did it show the white feather; not once 
did it stop struggling or shaking its massive 
head; always bearing off, trying to break away, 
) hammering on the delicate line sturdy menacing 
' blows. 
But there is a limit to even a big trout, and 
|in a lucky moment the net slipped beneath it, 
rand struggling, gleaming like a real rainbow, the 
fish was lifted in, its misery ended, and held up 
that all might see its glories of tints and color. 
Then the scale was hooked into its mighty jaw 
and the pointer stopped at a little less than ten 
pounds. Glory enough for one day, week or 
year, for that matter, the only regret being that 
‘the game was not taken with a fly, the lure 
ibeing a little spinner which I had used for black 
bass in the St. Lawrence, and which was not 
much larger or more conspicuous than a shin- 
ing picayune. 
All the little rivers which flow into the head 
of Upper Klamath rise in splendid springs of 
icy water and afford good fly-fishing. One, Wil- 
liamson, called by its devotees the most beauti- 
ful trout stream in the world, has many famous 
pools, as Short Creek, Crystal Creek, Here one 
an cast from the bank or from a boat and have 
as_a boatman a genial native whose father was 
2 Portuguese, his mother of Irish lineage. The 
ood boatman married a Modoc squaw and has 
i large growing family whose strain should com- 
mend them to the traveling ethnologist. Not 
‘ar away is Fern cafion, of many charms, a knife- 
‘ike abyss, reaching away from the big crater, 
wbounding in thick forests and clustering trees 
which overhang the winding musical trout stream. 
| CHARLES FreperIcK HOo.per. 


A Legend of the Whitefish. 
| Newport, R. I., Sept. 25.—Editor Forest and 
ptream: | The inclosed story of the “Origin of 
ihe Whitefish” may be of interest to your 
readers. I found it in “Narative of an Expe- 
lition through the Upper Mississippi to Itasca 
~ake, the Actual Source of the River. in 1832,” 
y Henry R. Schoolcraft; New York, Harper 
« Brothers, 1834. This is now, I believe, a 
jather scarce bit of Americana, 
“ORIGIN OF THE WHITEFISH. 
| “In ancient times when the Indians were 
etter than they now are, when their laws were 
inforced by chiefs, and when every crime was 
romptly punished, there lived a noted hunter 
ind a just man, at a remote point on the north 
nore of Lake Superior. He had a wife and two 
ons, who were usually left in the lodge while 
/€ went out in quest of the animals upon whose 
lesh they subsisted. As game was then 
bundant, his exertions were well rewarded, and 
je lived in the enjoyment of every blessing. But 
lere was at this time a venom preparing for 
is heart, which was not the less poisonous be- 
ause it was for a time kept in secret. His 
vo little sons had observed the visits of a 
eighboring hunter, during the absence of their 
ther, and they ventured to remonstrate with 
jeir mother on the propriety of receiving 
andestine visits, but she was in no temper to 
| reasoned with. She rebuked them sharply, 
id finally, on their intimation of disclosing 
le secret, threatened to kill them if they made 
1y disclosure. They were frightened into 
lence, but observing the continuance of an im- 
‘oper intercourse, kept up by stealth, as it 
ere, they resolved at last to disclose the whole 
atter to their father. The result was such 
; might be anticipated. The father, being 
tisfied with the infidelity of his wife, took up 
war club at a moment when he was not per- 
‘ived, and with a single blow despatched the 
ject of his jealousy. He then buried her 
ider the ashes of his fire, took down his 
dge, and removed to a distant position, 
“But the spirit of the woman haunted the 
ildren, who were now grown up to the estate 
young men. She appeared to them in the 
adows of evening. She terrified them in 
eams. She harassed _ their imaginations 
1erever they went, so that their life was a 
e of perpetual terrors. They resolved to 
ive the country, and commenced a journey of 



CONTESTANTS IN THE SECOND FOX 
many days toward the south. They at length 
came to the Poiwateeg Falls (St. Mary’s). But 
they had no sooner come in sight of these falls, 
than they beheld the skull of the woman (their 
mother) rolling along the beach after them. 
They were in the utmost fear and knew not 
what to do to elude her, when one of them ob- 
served a large crane sitting on a rock in the 
rapids. They called out to the bird. ‘See, 
Grandfather, we are persecuted by a spirit. 
Come and take us across the falls, so that we 
may escape her.’ 
“This crane was a bird of extraordinary size 
and great age. And when first descried by the 
two sons, sat in a state of stupor in the midst 
of the most violent eddies of the foaming water. 
When he heard himself addressed he stretched 
forth his neck with great deliberation, and then 
raising himself on his wings, flew across to their 
assistance. ‘Be careful,’ said the crane, ‘that 
you do not touch the back part of my head. 
It is sore, and should you press against it, I 
shall not be able to avoid throwing you both 
into the rapids.’ They were, however, atten- 
tive on this point, and were both safely landed 
on the other side of the river. The crane then 
resumed its former position in the rapids. 
“But the skull now cried out, ‘Come, Grand- 
father, and carry me over, for I have lost my 
children, and am sorely distressed,’ 
“The aged bird flew to her assistance, but 
carefully repeated his injunction, that she must 
by no means touch the back part of his head, 
which had been hurt, and was not yet healed. 
She promised to obey, but she soon felt a 
curiosity to know where the head of her carrier 
had been hurt, and how so aged a bird could 
have acquired such a bad wound. She thought 
it strange, and before they were half way over 
the rapids, could not resist the inclination she 
felt to touch the affected part. Instantly the 
crane threw her into the rapids. The skull 
floated down from rock to rock, striking vio- 
lently against their hard edges, until it was 
battered to fragments, and the sons were thus 
happily and effectually relieved from their tor- 
mentor. But the brains of the woman, when 
the skull was dashed against the rocks, fell into 
the water in the form of small white roes, which 
soon assumed the shape of a novel kind of fish, 
possessing a whiteness of color peculiar to it- 
self; and these rapids have ever since been 
well stocked with this new and delicious species 
of fish. 
“The sons meantime took up their perma- 
nent abode at these falls, becoming the pro- 
genitors of the present tribe, and in gratitude 
to their deliverer adopted the crane* as their 
totem.” DANIEL B. FEartno. 

*The crane is the totem of the reigning chiefs of the 
band of Sault Ste, Marie, 

RIVER TOURNAMENT. 
In Pennsylvania Waters. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
The great drouth has been broken, Rains have 
swept the State, the streams are full, and the 
danger of further destruction to trout life is 
past. Prior to the coming of the rains the bass 
fishing was everything that could be desired. 
There were good catches reported even from 
the lower Susquehanna, while on the North 
Branch the sport was unprecedented. Pine 
Creek, which has achieved fame both as a trout 
and a bass stream, the trout dwelling in the 
upper reaches and the bass in the warmer waters 
below, yielded throughout September better sport 
than has been known for years. 
Tulpehockon and Perkiomen creeks have borne 
off the palm during September for bass fishing. 
The upper waters of the Neshaminy also yielded 
good sport. Good reports were also received 
from the Allegheny, although that stream is by 
no means what it ought to be owing to the pol- 
lution of the water and dynamiting. This crime 
against the fishing has become so bold that 
nearly half of the wardens have been sent into 
that territory and they are almost daily captur- 
ing miscreants who endeavor to depopulate the 
streams by means of explosives. Within the last 
four weeks nearly $2,000 has been collected from 
dynamiters. 
The pollution of some of our streams has 
grown to be such an evil that at length the peo- 
ple have become aroused and are hastening to 
the assistance of the Department of Fisheries, 
the State Board of Health and the Pure Water 
Commission, and Pittsburg is preparing for a 
big fight to clear the Ohio, Allegheny and Monon- 
gahela from the filth and poisons which are being 
emptied into them by conscienceless manufac- 
turers. 
Game fishing in Presque Isle Bay is now at 
its height. Some good muscallunge are also 
being caught and in this connection it may be 
said that Conneaut Lake and Edinboro Lake, as 
well as LaBoeuf, are holding their own in this 
respect. Several fish ranging from 20 to 25 
pounds were taken from these waters the last 
week in September. 
Dr, Joseph Kalbfus, secretary of the Game 
Commission, recently notified the Department of 
Fisheries that a shad about 20 inches long had 
got into his fish basket. The fish was in a half 
starved condition, having a large head, but very 
thin body. Millions of small shad are now on 
their way down the Susquehanna and are re- 
ported as far north as Williamsport, indicating 
that this year at least the shad managed to make 
their way above the new dam at McCall’s Ferry 
which is not yet completed. Young shad are 
also very abundant in the Delaware. 
The superintendent of the Torresdale Hatch- 
ery recently caught a number of smelts in his 

