
740 
FOREST AND STREAM. 

[Nov. 9, 1907. 


people, so that mere hotels in the Ozark region 
would not be successful, and, indeed, are not. 
But if there were hotels along the rivers, to 
serve as stopping places at night and for occas- 
ional days of resting, with boats and boatmen to 
take the people from one such place to the next 
one, a day’s journey down stream, the delight- 
fulness and recuperative quality of the region 
would be beyond compare, and it would become 
what it was evidently intended for—the play- 
ground of the busy people of the middle Mis- 
sissippi Valley. The railroads devote their 
energies to extolling distant places, which can 
only be reached by the few, entirely disregard- 
ing the possibilities of the summer resort here 
within reach of the thousands who would patron- 
ize them every year if they were but properly 
exploited. The one little stretch of the Black 
River that N. and I covered in a week can be 
made in three days, and, by means of three in- 
expensive hotels, a fleet of small boats and guides 
and a couple of stage lines—one seven miles and 
the other five—could afford such trips to hun- 
dreds of people who, from May until November, 
would be glad to get such a taste of real moun- 
tain air. GEORGE KENNEDY. 

The Big One Got Away. 
Akron, Ohio, Oct 30.—Editor Forest and 
Stream: I have to report that the Aransas Pass 
Tarpon Club have awarded on Oct. 10, 11 and 
12, three silver buttons to Mr. J. E. Cotter, of 
Tarpon, Texas, and two silver buttons to Mr. 
A. W. Hooper, of Boston, Mass., for landing 
tarpon not less than 4 feet 6 inches on No. 9 
thread linen line, and with rod not less than 6 
feet long and tip not weighing more than 6 ounces 
according to the rules laid down by the club. 
The longest tarpon measured 5 feet 1 inch, which 
is slightly under the 5 foot 6 inch length, which 
entitles the fisherman to a gold button. At this 
writing no one has been successful in securing 
a gold button, but many have tried and are still 
trying. 
Mr, Hooper, who enjoys a reputation as one 
of the most expert of fishermen, being an active 
member of the Tuna Club and numerous other 
kindred associations, relates a very exciting ex- 
perience with a 6 foot tarpon on a No. 9 line 
a few days ago. He struck the fish near the end 
of the jetty at Aransas Pass and the fish imme- 
diately made numerous vicious leaps and plunges 
to release himself. When he found the hook 
securely fastened he settled down to fight it out 
and match his skill against the veteran at the 
other end of the line. The odds, however, were 
decidedly in favor of the tarpon, as all that was 
between him and freedom was a delicate line of 
18 pounds breaking strain, Evidently the tar- 
pon’s intention was to go into the bay by way 
of the pass, and after he had gone about 500 
feet he suddenly wheeled about and headed for 
the sea, leaping and plunging continually until 
he had nearly exhausted Mr. Hooper’s line 
supply. By putting all of the pressure possible 
on the reel the fish was fully stopped when nearly 
four miles from shore and well out into the sea. 
The water was very rough and the small rowboat 
was shipping water badly and in danger of being 
capsized. By reason of the thumb-drag on the 
line as well as the wear of same through the 
guides of the rod it began to weaken and broke 
with the tarpon within roo feet of the gaff and 
apparently conquered. 
Of course Mr. Hooper was greatly disap- 
pointed, but not discouraged. Had he been suc- 
cessful in landing the fish he would have secured 

that much coveted gold button which the club 
awards for landing a tarpon not less than 5 
feet 6 inches. J. E. PFLUEGER. 
Cor. Sec’y Aransas Pass Tarpon Club. 

STIMULATION WITHOUT REACTION. 
After a day of enjoyable sport, it is wise to 
choose a drink which helps to restore the vital 
powers rather than one which tends to deplete 
them, as in the case with many drinks. Bor- 
den’s Malted Milk is delicious, concentrated, 
nourishing, invaluable to the camper, made ready 
for use by adding water, hot or cold.—Adv. 
In Pennsylvania Waters. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
Contrary to expectation, angling in Penn- 
sylvania waters was not brought to a general 
conclusion on the first of October. There 
were some heavy rains the last week in Sep- 
tember that made the rivers muddy and com- 
pletely put a stop to fishing. It was expected 
that by the time the water cleared the weather 
would become too cold for enjoyable angling, 
but with the clearing of the waters came de- 
lightful weather. The bass, instead of seek- 
ing the deepest waters and going into winter 
quarters, kept on the move and developed a 
hearty appetite. 
Four to five-pound bass have been reported 
most numerous, the claim coming, as usual, 
from the North Branch of the Susquehanna. 
The dams in Lebanon county. yielded some 
good fishing, and so did the Delaware. 
The wall-eyed pike fishing is now at its 
height, and many fine specimens are being 
taken daily from the Susquehanna near Dau- 
phin and Sunbury, on the main river, aifd on 
both the North and West branches. A few 
blue pike are occasionally caught while troll- 
ing. Rock bass were never so plentiful as 
this year on the North Branch, above Lacey- 
ville, in Bradford county. 
Pickerel are very abundant in the lakes of 
northeastern Pennsylvania, but they are not 
biting well, and the catches have been poor. 
The muscallonge fishing in Conneaut and other 
muscallonge lakes in northwestern Pennsyl- 
vania has fallen off appreciably. 
The Department of Fisheries has nearly 
concluded preparations for its great fight to 
preserve the public character of several hun- 
dred streams in the State. It will be one of 
the most important legal battles that has been 
waged before the Superior Court, and it has 
all grown out of an apparently insignificant 
little county justice case, in which three men 
had another man named Foster arrested and 
fined for trespass in Wayne county, and yet 
the questions involved are of vast importance 
to every angler in Pennsylvania, and are also 
of equal importance to the lumber industry 
of the State. : 
It appears that beginning with the early days 
of the nation and until the enactment of the 
new Constitution, in 1874, the Legislature from 
time to time declared certain streams navi- 
gable public highways for logging and raft- 
ing, and sometimes for boating and other pur- 
poses. Many of these streams are compara- 
tively small and only navigable for logs dur- 
ing the spring months. These are streams all 
smaller than those which were public or navi- 
gable by common law, like the Susquehanna, 
the Delaware and the Allegheny. 
Among the streams so declared navigable 
highways was the Lackawaxen, a stream about 
forty miles long, flowing mostly through 
Wayne and partly through Pike, and empty- 
ing into the Delaware River at Lackawaxen. 
It is the longest stream in Wayne county. The 
act declaring it navigable went on the statute 
books in 1814. In 1895 the Legislature, at the 
behest of the coal companies, passed what is 
known as the Trespass Act, making it punish- 
able to an amount not more than $10 for any 
persons to trespass on land properly posted. 
Another law was enacted several years before 
providing that wherever any county bridges 
over a public stream were destroyed by ice 
or fire, the State should rebuild the structures, 
and several such bridges were built at intervals 
across the Lackawaxen, one at Aldenville, in 
Wavne county, just below the point where the 
Teoislature declared should be the end of 
navigation. 
A section of the act of 1cor extended the 
character of all streams declared public and 
navigable by enacting that fishine should be 
free in all such streams. Notwithstanding, the 
Legislature had declared the Lackawaxen a 
public navigable stream for logging and raft- 
ing purposes, and that fishing should be free 
therein, nearly every owner along the Lacka- 
waxen posted his land under the Trespass 
Act of 1905. 







































































































































In the spring of 1906, shortly after the post- 
ing, a Mr, Foster, of Scranton, drove to the 
State bridge below Aldenville, entered the 
stream from the abutments and went to fish- 
ing. He was careful at all times not to step 
upon the banks on either side. He even atej\ 
his lunch from a rock in the middle of the} 
stream. Nevertheless, in the middle of _thef 
afternoon he was arrested by a_ constable 
charged by three of the owners with trespass. 
He was taken before a justice of the peace, 
convicted and fined in the aggregate of! 
$30. Mr. Foster at once appealed the case to} 
the Wayne county court, where after the casehy 
had been heard, the court handed down a de-\y 
cision déclaring in effect that although the) 
Legislature had declared the Lackawaxen to 
be a navigable stream, it was in fact not‘a\ 
navigable stream in the meaning of the term, 
and therefore was not a public highway, andi 
that the fishing privilege granted by the Leg-{i 
islature was of no avail; that the plaintiffs ji 
actually owned the land, and that the defendant, |i 
Mr. Foster, was a trespasser under the act of 1905. |r 
The court held that as the stream was notil 
in fact a navigable stream, the Legislaturel 
had no right to take it from the owners with-} 
out compensating them. During the proceed-\y 
ings, Mr. Foster was advised by the Depart- i 
ment of Fisheries, and when the case went 
against him, at the instance of the commis- 
sioner he took an appeal to the Superior 
Court. The case at once sprung into great 
prominence because of the important ques-| 
tions involved, and as it was not a fishing it 
case, but one of trespass, the commissioner|s 
could not use any State funds to defray thet 
expenses before the Superior Court. Heh 
therefore issued an appeal to fishermenii 
throughout the State for aid, and money is|\s 
being sent to him for that purpose, but he hasit 
not yet a sufficient sum, and would be glad tobi 
receive further contributions. The case comes | 
up before the Superior Court in the January 0 
term at Scranton. Several lawyers represent |c 
the department and Mr. Foster, and most of 
them have made names for themselves as con- 
stitutional lawyers. i 
The commissioner has announced that alla 
indications point to the various State hatch-|h 
eries being crowded with trout eggs. Thev 
four stations devoted to that fish now contain y 
about five millions of eggs, and the commis- |i 
sioner expects before the season closes to have y 
about fifteen millions. 
The Bradford county court has just handed 
down a very important decision, in which it is 
declared that the State laws relating to fish| 
cover private as well as public waters. This 
is the second court decision of the kind in the 
same line, but the great value in this instance 
is that it covers every phase of the subject. and_ 
was prepared to meet a possible appeal to the| 
Superior Court. | 
Most of the lakes in northeastern Pennsyl-| 
vania are owned by individuals, many of whom | 
have claimed the-right to fish when and how | 
they pleased, regardless of the laws. 
Riley, the special fish warden and deputy| 
game warden, who last summer was caught bv| 
other fish wardens and the State police vio- 
lating the fish laws by selling 130 undersize| 
trout, and in default of $1,300 fine sent to jail | 
for 1,300 days. appealed to the board of par-| 
dons for a pardon. The commissioner of Fish- 
eries, the secretary of the Game Commission, | 
and the State police entered strong written 
protests, and the board of pardons thereupon 
refused to grant the pardon. There has been 
some mistaken sympathy expressed for this 
man on the grounds that the punishment of 
1.300 days for selling 130 undersize trout was 
excessive, but the Department of Fisheries held | 
and so did the Game Commission and the State | 
police, that the man deserved all he got. He 
was a sworn Officer of the State, who betraved 
his trust, and they claim that there was ground 
for believing that he had done the same thing 
on numerous other occasions. BonIFACIUS. 
WE 




All the fish laws of the United States and Can- 
ada, revised to date and now in force, are given 
in the Game Laws in Brief. See adv 

