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 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
mmm 
 
 wmmmfmi 
 
 MP 
 
THE 
 
 GAME FISH 
 
 OP 
 
 THE NORTHERN STATES AND BRITISH PROVINCES. 
 
 Wmi AM 
 
 AOCOUKT OF TUB SALMON AKD 8BA-TR0UT FISHING OF CANADA AND 
 
 MKW BRUNSWICK, TOOKTHSB WITH 8I1IPLK DIBSCTI0M8 
 
 FOR TTINO ABTIFIOIAL FUES, ETC., STO. 
 
 Br ROBERT B. ROOSEVELT, 
 
 AOTBOB or "SVPIUOB riBHIMO," "TBI OAlll BIIOS Off TBI HOBTB," T.tO, 
 
 '•^- 
 
 M^ 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 
 Carleton,. Publisher, 413 Broadway. 
 
 ■^^(y 
 
 U DCCC LXIX. 
 
^ 
 
 f. h ■: 
 
 ■ : ,1 '.- w. 
 
 sT 
 
 "'"'^v^ 
 
 ^^*'^, 
 
 Xptibbd according to Act of Congress, In the year 1861 br 
 Q. W. OARLETON, 
 
 I the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United SUtes for the Soolham DMrlal 
 
 of New York. 
 
 .,)^ 
 
 /•'■ 
 
 /*■ 
 
 j'f-' 
 
 .*"'■•' 
 
 * 
 
!** 
 
 
 .:i.V!.-ji»«^' 
 
 PAOI 
 
 Allowance of provigions 804 
 
 Attihawmeg 147 
 
 '-■-m 
 
 Bajaa, black 217 
 
 Otsego 161 
 
 rock 222 
 
 Baits for trout. 88 
 
 Black fly 289 
 
 Blue-flah 163 
 
 Boiestown 186 
 
 Camp life 289 
 
 stores 294 
 
 CentrarehuB ameus 222 
 
 faseiatus. 217 
 
 Cisco 149 
 
 Classification of fish 7, 821 
 
 Cooking 296-299 
 
 Coregontu tUbtu 147 
 
 OUego 161 
 
 Common carp 168 
 
 Crab bait 206 
 
 Curing fish 296 
 
 CypriniM earpio 168 
 
 Ephemera 284 
 
 Ssox estor 164 
 
 feuciatus '. 187 
 
 lueioidet 181 
 
 rctiei^atua 182 
 
 riaa 
 
 Seote tredeeetn radiatiu 184 
 
 Expenses to New Brunswick. . . 821 
 
 P. 
 
 Flies aid knots 265 
 
 for bass. 276 
 
 for salmon 268 
 
 for trout 16 
 
 French vocabulary 820 
 
 a 
 
 Ghoat of Deadman*s Landing. . . .126 
 
 story of Abraham 129 
 
 Glass-eye 224 
 
 Green-fish 168 
 
 Orytttea nigricans 217 
 
 Horse mackerel 168 
 
 Insects 277 
 
 Knots 265 
 
 Iiobrax lineahu 202 
 
 Landing fish... 28 
 
 LttVal 61 
 
 lake 77 
 
 note to 820 
 
 
INDEX. # 
 
 Laws of flsberies 
 
 Lueioperca cunmeana. 
 
 FAAI 
 
 .807 
 .224 
 
 MttMaUoYige 164 
 
 Ifascanonga 164 
 
 Marahpee 22 
 
 Miruniohi 120 
 
 MooM story 181 
 
 N. 
 
 Ktmopttra .'...288 
 
 New UraiMwiok, trip to 116 
 
 note 821 
 
 NipLdqoit.. . ^ 140 
 
 Ohio salmon 226 
 
 Otsego bass 151 
 
 P. 
 
 Ptrca lahrax 202 
 
 Jlaveseens 228 
 
 Perch, yeUow 228 
 
 Pickerel 168 
 
 common 182 
 
 Ereat northern 181 
 ong Island 187 
 
 Pickering. 224 
 
 Pike, federation 184 
 
 of the lakes 224 
 
 perch. ... 224 
 
 Propagation of fish 280 
 
 Phryganea 284 
 
 riai 
 
 Salmon 88 
 
 fishing. 92, 102 
 
 habits of 98 
 
 rirers 167 
 
 rirers, how to reach them 111 
 time for catching. . . .94, 308 
 
 place for catching 94 
 
 rod for 91 
 
 Ohio 226 
 
 Baltno talar. 88 
 
 tmttta marina 41 
 
 Seietia lineata. 202 
 
 Scollops 207 
 
 Sea trout 41 
 
 time for catching 808 
 
 Shrimp bait 205 
 
 Skipjack 168 
 
 Smoking fish 297 
 
 Snap-hook 176 
 
 Snapping mackerel 167 
 
 Spearing.^ 209, 816 
 
 Spoons 174 
 
 Report of Mr. Whitcher 816 
 
 Roe of shad or salmon 204 
 
 Rock-fish 202 
 
 T. 
 
 * 
 
 Temnodon salMor 166 
 
 Tents 293, 803 
 
 Thousand Isles 189 
 
 Transportation of fish 249 
 
 Trimmers for pickerel 177 
 
 Trout, American speckled, or 
 
 brook 12 
 
 fiies for 16 
 
 fly-fishing for 18 
 
 baits for 28 
 
 sea, white or silver 41 
 
 white, or Scoodic 146 
 
 fc,' 
 
 W. 
 
 White-fish U1 
 
 trout 146 
 
 _^^ 
 
 .*u-*^' 
 
 :'X 
 
 
 •■:• ■«;{»« 
 
 ■-."SP', 
 
^^ 
 
 GAME FISS 
 
 -• • • ■ 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 msTBuonoN. 
 
 I HAVE always considered a preface or introduction a 
 species of apology, and not intending that the following 
 sketches shall need any apology, I shall write no intro- 
 duction ; but an explanation of the scientific distinctions 
 and divisions of fishes may not only be appropriate bnt 
 highly instructive, if my readers be as ignorant as I 
 think them. i ,- >: 4 h* s ^;; 
 
 It has been a matter of serious reproach by the 
 naturalists against the sportsmen, that the latter, instead 
 of adopting a uniform nomenclature, call a bird or fish 
 in one section of our country by a different name from 
 that under which it is known in another ; that & Quail 
 md Black Bass at the Korth become a Partridge and 
 Irout at the South. The sportsmen, conscious of the 
 justness of the reproach, have submitted quietly to the 
 learned stones of reproof hurled at them, and scarcely 
 dared to suggest that their persecutors lived in the most 
 fragile of glass houses; that naturalists were liable to 
 
 
«♦ 
 
 6 
 
 INSTRUCTION. 
 
 ■^./v 
 
 l^i' 
 
 tlie Bame accusation, and that there is hardly a fish, bird 
 or beast that they have not called by several different 
 names. Are not the contentions of Ortyx and Perdrix 
 known to all) Is it quite certain, when we catch an 
 Otsego Bass, whether we catch a Coregonus Otsego or a 
 CoregonuB Albus, or even a Salmo Otsego ? Is it per- 
 fectly ascertained from a scientific point of view that we 
 catch anything ? Who does not know that a Tautog is a 
 Blackfish, or would be materially instructed by hearing 
 him called a Tautoga Americana? Scientific men vie 
 with one another in creating new names, the most use- 
 less things in Christendom ; while sportsmen are happy 
 to take them, the game, as they find them. The first are 
 guilty of faults of commission, the latter of omission. 
 The language of each is Greek to the other. 
 
 The writer of these sketches, knowing just sufficient 
 Greek to be a sportsman, and yet able to translate with 
 the help of a dictionary, offers, from the want of one 
 more worthy, to conciliate all differences. His plan is 
 to translate all terms that are translatable, and to omit 
 altogether those that are not, trusting that they will 
 never be missed. His intention at first was to write a 
 noble work on natural history that would carry his name 
 in letters of gold, as a public reformer and benefactor, to 
 latest posterity ; but finding, on reviewing his stores of 
 information, that he knew but little on the subject, he 
 fwas compelled to relinquish the idea. Being therefore 
 nothing but a gentle angler, instead of instructing the 
 universe, he is content to amuse a small circle of lovers 
 of sporting anecdotes, and, provided he receives it, will 
 be content with their approval. As, however, one fool 
 
 
INSTRUCTION. 7 
 
 can always teach another eomething, the writer feels 
 impelled to mingle a little instruction in doses to suit 
 the weakest stomach, that those who have not skipped 
 this chapter on account of its title, may at least receive 
 something for their perseverance. They need not sup* 
 pose for a moment that the writer pretends to insist upon 
 what he shall write as infallible, but where his readers 
 diiFer from him, is perfectly willing to admit that he is 
 entirely mistaken ; the buyer of a book is always right, 
 the author a taujourn tort. 
 
 He supposes — let there be no misunderstandings when 
 he accidentally uses a stronger word — that fishes are 
 divided into two great orders, and are distinguished as 
 having bony or cartilaginous skeletons; thus a quawl, 
 provided he be a fish at all, would be a very cartilagi- 
 nous one, and a catfish with his back fin erected, as the 
 writer has often learned to his cost, is a bony fish. 
 
 As the cartilaginous fish are of small account, the 
 reader may forget all about them if he wishes, but he is 
 requested to remember the useful division of those hav- 
 ing bony skeletons into the great classes, easily distin- 
 guished, of the soft finned and spiny finnied, called in 
 foreign languages by thfe horrible terms malacopterygii 
 and aocmthopterygii — terms unpronounceable except by a 
 Dutchman or a philosopher. These classes are distin- 
 guished, as the English words imply, by their having the 
 rays of their fins soft and flexible or hard and spine-like. 
 The investigator may determine their peculiarities by 
 pressing strongly upon the points of the fin rays; if 
 nature intimates that his organism is suiffering, the fish is 
 a ac<m^A<?p, etc. ; if not, why not. ;^- ^~ 
 
 W^f' 
 
^m^^mmw 
 
 8 
 
 iNSTBUOTION. 
 
 i?' „ ' k. ,•; '/.' 's *.*•»•'• 
 
 The location of the fins of the fish mark the snbdiyi- 
 sions of the families. The above diagram being supposed 
 to represent a fish, and a Trout at that, o is the first back 
 or dorsal fin, f the second — in the case of this species, 
 mere rajless, fatty matter ; e is the tail fin or candal— 
 the writer, as a married man, naturally avoiding the 
 
 •jij"- 
 
IXSTBUOTION. id 
 
 latter term on account of its Baggeativeness ; d is the anal 
 fin, for which the writer can offer no English substitute ; 
 are the two ventrals or belly fins ; b is the pectoral or 
 shoulder fin, having a complemental one on the other 
 side of the fish ; and a represents what in learned Ian* 
 guage are called hranohioitegoua rays, a name that, 
 being translated, means merely gill-rays. What is not 
 in a name I h is the lateral line. Then bearing in mind 
 the great divisions of soft and hard finned, the subdi- 
 visions &i*e distinguished by the fish having the ventrals 
 behind the pectorals and on the abdomen, giving them 
 the name of abdominal fish, or before the pectorals, 
 giving rise to the HBxne-Jtigular or throat finned, and 
 below the pectorals, giving the name ihordcio or shoulder- 
 finned fish. Philosophers pay little attention to the 
 dorsal and anal fins, and fish, without losing their iden- 
 tity, can have as many as they please. In caudals, 
 unlike human Caudles, they are restricted to one. There 
 are other fish, such as eels, denominated apodal or footless^ 
 because the lower fins or feet are wholly wa^tting. 
 
 Afker having examined the texture, number and loca- 
 tion of the fins, and counted the number of the rays in 
 each, the naturalist next turns his attention to the hard 
 bony portion of the head, which covers the gills, and opens 
 and shuts as the fish breathes, and which, with the excel- 
 lent common sense for which naturalists are notorious, 
 he calls the opercultmh. It is divided into the operculum, 
 or gill-cover proper, No. 1 ; the jpreoperffulum, or fore 
 gill-cover. No. 2; the inter-operoiUum, or middle gill- 
 cover, No. 3 ; and the siib-opercttlum,' or. under gill-cover, 
 No. 4. The head, in the foregoing diagram, is intended 
 
 1* 
 
 
 
10 
 
 INSTBUCTION. 
 
 to represeot the head of a trout, weighing a ponnd and a 
 half, caught at Phillipse's Pond, near Smith Town, Long 
 Island. The gill-rays are shown at No. 5. The divisions 
 of the gill-coyer are faintlj marked in the real fish, and 
 require some study. 
 
 Lastly, the naturalist examines a fish as a jockey does 
 a horse, hy looking at his teeth, and with about equally 
 satisfactory results. They both are bitten, whether the 
 term be used in a literal or metaphorical sense. The 
 writer once, after catching a large fish, having heard that 
 trout had teeth in their throats, proceeded to investigate. 
 Moved thereto by the spirit of inquiry, he thrust one 
 finger as far as possible down the trout's mouth, and 
 was not a little surprised, as well as pained, to find that 
 the throat was lined with teeth sharper t]»an a serpent's, 
 and arranged in the same manner. They inclined back- 
 ward, and once having penetrated a substance, would 
 not and could not let go. The writer having suffered the 
 agony that the pursuit oi science sometimes involves, 
 after exliausting gentle means of escape, and knowing 
 that he could no more wear a trout, than the old man in 
 the "Decameron" could the protecting ring, with a 
 wrench tore away his hand, a bleeding sacrifice to sci- 
 ence. Any reader wishing to ascertain the same facts, 
 may pursue a similar course. 
 
 On the foregoing diagram, which represents the 
 arrangement of teeth in the salmon tribe. No. 6 is the 
 upper jaw, and No. 7 the lower ; ISo. 8, the outer teeth 
 in the upper jaw, superior maxiUa/ry ; No. 9, the same 
 in the lower jaw, inferior maxUlary / No. 10, the inner 
 row of teeth of the upper jaw called learnedly the j^oZo* 
 
^m 
 
 INSTRUCTION. 
 
 11 
 
 tine ; No 11, the teeth on the tongue, and No. 12 those 
 on the roof of the mouth, or vomerine. The trout the 
 writer has examined had no visible teeth on the roof of 
 the mouth ; they had either suffered from toothache 
 in early life, and applying to a piscatorial dentist, had 
 them drawn, or the teeth had clipped down and settled 
 round their throats as the writer has already mentioned. 
 The reader, therefore, if he wishes to ascertain the 
 scientific designation of a fish, should in the first place 
 determine the number and location of the fins, the num- 
 her and quality, as soft or hard, of the rays, the number 
 of gill-rays, the chafacteristics and position of the teei^, 
 the formation of the gill-cover, and lastly, as every num- 
 scuU, the drawing teachers assure us, who can write can 
 draw, a drawing of the fish, or at least an outline, 
 should be made. The latter can be done simply by 
 laying the specimen on a sheet of paper, spreading out 
 his fins and running a pencil round him. And then the 
 would-be naturalist will ascertain whether or not he 
 belongs to a class so very liberal as to include salmon 
 and smelt in the same category. Ho must not forget 
 that it is much more important to study the nature, 
 habits and food of the denizens of the water than to store 
 his memory with their names,^' for our philosophers hith- 
 erto, instead of studying their nature, have been em- 
 ployed in increasing their catalogues, and the reader, 
 instead of observations or facts, is presented with a long 
 list of names that disgust him with their barren super* 
 fluity." ■' ■- y ^\'' --"",■ ■■-' ;■ •■■ f^' ^\ 
 
 .:.■■ .'"■:• r.- '"-' .i", ' ,«. '"' ' ' -' ' ' ' ' ■ ■' '"''V^ 
 
■iii 
 
 19 
 
 THE AMXBIOAN TROUT. 
 
 < '•^i»;s. '■r^if^' 
 
 if..; ^K.l^rir. 
 
 ,-.>. •■•• 
 
 »i*i, 
 
 CHAPTER n. 
 
 ■.l.^if 
 
 THB AMBBIOAN TBOUT. 
 
 ,'«i>."i-.»'jKVii'l.'f 
 
 •;r^ 
 
 Thb Brook Trout — The Neio York Charr — 8aHmo 
 fontvMdM, — Salmon tribe; veutraU in abdomen, rays 
 soft. '" 
 
 Hie sliotilder and first back fins Lave each eleven rays ; 
 the second back fin is mere fatty matter and rayk <is, the 
 characteristic of the salmon tribe ; the ventral has eight, 
 tLe anal fifteen, and the tail nineteen rays. The back is 
 dusky green, mottled with yellow spots ; growing lighter 
 on the sides, where the spots have irregularly a beau- 
 tiful blue or carmine speck in the centre; the belly 
 is silver white, with a roseate tinge as it fades into the 
 darker colors of the sides ; the shoulder fins are yellowish 
 at the base, the ventrals yellowish red, the anal reddish, 
 and in all the rays are dusky. The gill-covers have no 
 defined spots. ^- . v» 
 
 The body is covered with delicate scales that will 
 escape all but the strictest observation. The teeth are 
 on the tongue and throat, but none on the roof of the 
 mouth discernible to the naked eye; there is an outer 
 row on the lower jaw, and an inner and outer row on the 
 upper jaw. This fish is so well known to the public from 
 its extensive distribution through the northern States, 
 and so totally dissimilar from the Perch and Bass, mis- 
 
THE AMERICAN TROUT. 
 
 13 
 
 called Trout at the South, that a more particular descrip- 
 tion does not seem necessary. 
 
 Another iish taken at the North in the smaller lakes is 
 called Bed Trout, and attains the weight of twenty-five 
 pounds. It is rare, and would appear to be an unde- 
 Bcribed species, differing from the trout of the brooks 
 and lakes, and not generally known even to sportsmen. 
 A fish of a somewhat similar character was on exhibition 
 at an eating-house in this city, but appeared to have 
 been scaled. It was three feet six inches long, and 
 weighed eighteen pounds. The back was very dark, the 
 sides being of a lighter neutral tint, without any si>ots. 
 There were a number of vomerine i»eth, and the fin- 
 rays, as far as could be ascertained by a cwaory 
 examination, were — .-.,»; ..;..,,,.: ... 
 
 Br. 12 ; D. 13 ; P. 11 -V. 8 ; A. 11 ; C. 19f . 
 
 This fish was said to have been taken in Maine, and 
 differed entirely from the ordinary brook and lake trout. 
 The fin-rays of the brook trout as scientifically given 
 by De Kay, are — 
 
 D. 13-0 ; P. 12; V. 8; A. 10; 0. 19|. 
 
 Trout are in season from the first of February to the 
 first of September in the Long Island streams ; from April 
 to September in those streams of the Kew England States 
 that communicate with salt water ; and from May till 
 September in the upland waters of the middle and east- 
 ern States. There is but one mode of taking them— 
 namely, with the fiy ; although it is said poachers and 
 pot hunters capture them with worms, minnows, nets, 
 and even with their own roe. These villanies are not 
 at present punished with death nor even imprisonment 
 
14 
 
 THE AMERICAN TROUT. 
 
 for life ; but our legislature is looking into the matter, 
 and there is no telling how soon such statutes may be 
 passed. ^- ' ' 
 
 How splendid is the sport, to deftly throw the long 
 line and small fly with the pliant single-handed rod, and 
 with eye and nerve on the strain, to watch the loveliest 
 darling of the wave, the spotted naiad, dart from her 
 mossy bed, leap high into the air, carrying the strange 
 deception in her mouth, and turning in her flight, plunge 
 back to her crystal home, with the cruel hook driven into 
 her lips by a skillful turn of the angler's wrist ; to meet 
 and foil her in her fierce and cunning efibrts to escape, 
 paying out the line as she rushes away resistless, meeting 
 her in emergencies firmly and steadily, till the tip crosses 
 the but, when she insists upon, reaching the old stump 
 or the weedy bottom ; to slack the line when she leaps 
 into air, trying to strike it with her tail ; and above all, 
 to watch the right moment, and keeping her head well 
 up, to bring the beautiful prize quickly and steadily to 
 the net I There may be others who have killed more and 
 larger trout than myself, there may be others who can 
 cast a longer line and lighter fly ; but there are none who 
 will work more steadily or who can enjoy it more 
 intensely. 
 
 There are innumerable rules applicable to trout fishing 
 and innumerable exceptions to each; neither man nor 
 fish is infallible. A change of weather is always desir- 
 able : if it has been clear, a rainy day is favorable ; if 
 cold, a warm one ; if the wind has been north, a south- 
 erly one is advantageous ; a zephyr if it has been blowing 
 a tornado. Generally, in early spring, amid the fading 
 
THE AMERIOAiT TROUT. 
 
 15 
 
 Buowc and blasts of winter, a warm day is very desirable ; 
 later, and in the heats of summer, a cold, windy day will 
 insure success. Dead calm is dangerous, although many 
 trout are taken in water as still, clear and transparent 
 as the heavens above. The first rule is never to give 
 up ; there is hardly a day but at some hour, if there be 
 trout, they will rise, and steady, patient industry disci- 
 plines the mind and invigorates the muscles. A south- 
 erly, especially a southeasterly wind, has a singular 
 tendency to darken the surface, and in clear, fine waters 
 is particularly advantageous ; a southwester comes next in 
 order ; a northeaster, in which, by the by, occasionally 
 there is great success, is the next ; and a northwester is 
 the worst and clearest of all. Give me wind on any 
 terms, a southerly wind if I can have it ; but ^'ve me 
 wind. It is not known what quality of the wind darkens 
 the water, it may be a haziness produced in the atmos- 
 phere, although with a cloudy sky the water is often too 
 transparent; it may be the peculiar character of the 
 waves, short and broken, as contradistinguislied from 
 long and rolling ; but the fact is entitled to reliance. 
 
 Slight changes will often affect the fish. On one day 
 in June, in the writer's experience, after having no luck 
 till eleven o'clock, the trout suddenly commenced rising, 
 and kept on without cessation, scarcely giving time to 
 cast, till two, when they as suddenly stopped. There was 
 no observable change in the weather, except the advent 
 of a slight haze, the wind remaining precisely the same. 
 I was much disappointed, not having half fished the 
 ground and being prevented, by the numbers that were 
 taken, from casting over some of the largest fish that 
 
w 
 
 Id 
 
 THE AMERICAN TROUT. 
 
 broke. As it was, I caught seventy trout in what if 
 ordinarily considered the worst hours of the day. But 
 in this particular, also, the same rules apply as to the 
 warmth of the weather. In early spring it is useless to 
 be up with the lark, even supposing such a bird exists ; 
 no fish will break the water till the sun has warmed the 
 air ; but in summer, the dawn should blush to find the 
 sportsman napping. In fact, trout will not rise well 
 unlv^sa the air is warmer than the water. They do ndt 
 like to risk taking cold by exposing themselyes to a 
 sudden draught. a. >.: - ; x '. • 
 
 There is a very absurd impression, that trout will not 
 take the fly early in the season ; this is entirely unfound- 
 ed. As soon as the ice disappears they will be found 
 gambolling in the salt water streams, and leaping readily 
 at the fly. At such times, on lucky days, immense 
 numbers are taken. In March they have run up the 
 sluiceways and are in the lower ponds, lying sullenly in 
 the deepest water ; then is the cow-dung, politely called 
 the dark cinnamon, the most attractive fly. In April, 
 May and June they are scattered, and entrapped by the 
 hackles, professor, ibis, and all the medium sized flies. 
 In July and August they have sought the headwaters of 
 navigation, the cool spring brooks, and hide around the 
 weeds and water-cresses, whence the midges alone can 
 tempt them, .rvv; ^-^ , - - , . , 
 
 Any flies will catch fish, cast in any manner, if the 
 fish are plenty and in humor to be caught. A few fea- 
 thers torn from the nearest and least suspicious chicken, 
 and tied on an ordinary hook with a piece of thread, 
 will constitute a fly in the imagination of a trout, pix>- 
 
THE AMEMGAN TROUT. 
 
 17 
 
 vided he follows, as he sometimes appears to do, the 
 advice of the young folks, shuts his eyes and opens his 
 mouth. I cannot recommend such tackle, being con- 
 vinced the most skillfully made is the best ; but 1 do 
 advise simplicity of color. One of the best of all flies 
 is the female cow-dung, made of a dark cinnamon color, 
 and after the pattern used in England ; there is a green- 
 ish abomination unjustly foisted upon American inven- 
 tion that is worthless. The hackles are in my opinion 
 altogether inferior, except the black-winged hackle, 
 which, of a bright iivarm day, is irresistible. The ibis 
 and professor, dressed d V Americaine, with yellow floss 
 body and red tail, are both excellent flies. The coach- 
 man is the best evening fly, and will attract trout long 
 after the angler can see to strike them, and when the 
 sound of their plunge alone entices him to continue his 
 eflbrts. The May and stone flies are good, and of late years 
 a fly of mixed red and black, with wings, called by some, 
 from his colors, the devil-fly, has come into vogue. The 
 palmers are only to be despised and-avoided. In sum- 
 mer, of the midges the yellow sally, the alder fly, the 
 little cinnamon, the black gnat, the black arid red ants, 
 and in fact all others, are attractive. The water is then 
 covered with myriads of many-colored flies, and there is 
 hardly any Artificial but will find its representative among 
 the real life. 
 
 These are but a few of the flies that can be pur- 
 chased in the. shops, which yearly invent new varie- 
 ties, regardless of truth to nature or the recommend- 
 ations of experience. Many have no names whatever, 
 ftnd in others the workman has given his fancy such play 
 
18 
 
 THE AMERICAN TAOUT. 
 
 that they are nnrecognizable. In these pages, when tlio 
 name is given of any fly described in Bonald's " Fly- 
 Fisher's Entomology," it is intended that it shall be 
 dressed after the directions therein contained. A more 
 full description of the various flies, both in use and to bd 
 found in our waters, will be given hereafter with some 
 directions for tying them ; but a great deal must be left 
 to the practical experience of each fisherman, according 
 to the range of waters he is in the habit of Ashing. 
 
 Good luck,*that synonym for all the virtues, does not 
 depend so much upon the kind of flies as the skill in 
 casting, and a poor fly lightly cast into the right spot 
 will do better execution than the best fly roughly cast 
 into the wrong place. The lure must be put where the 
 fish habit, often before their very noses, or they will not 
 take it ; and when they lie, as they generally do in run- 
 ning streams, in the deep holes under the banks, where 
 the bushes are closest and cause the densest shade, it 
 requires some skill to cast properly into the exact spot. 
 Sacrifice everything to lightness in casting ; let the line 
 go straight without a kink if you can, drop the fly into 
 the right ripple if possible, but it must drop gently on 
 the surface of the water. An ugly splash of a clear day 
 in pure water, and the prey will dart in every direction, 
 and the angler's hopes scatter with them. ? r : 
 
 A beginner may practise a certain formula, such as 
 lifting the line with a waive and a smart spring, swinging 
 it backward in a half circle, and when it is directly 
 behind him, casting straight forward ; but as soon as ho 
 has overcome the rudimentary principles, he should cast 
 in every manner, making the tip of his lod cut full oir- 
 
 m- 
 
THE AMERICAN TROUT. 
 
 19 
 
 cles, figure eights, and all other fignres, behind him, 
 according to the wind ; bearing io mind, however, ever 
 to make his flj drop as gently as a feather. He should 
 use his wrist mainly, and practise with each hand, and 
 should never be otherwise thai ashamed of a bungling 
 cast, though he be alone, and none but the fish there to 
 despise him. If the line falls the first time with a heart- 
 rending splash all in a tangle, it is useless to make the 
 next cast properly. The fish have found out the trick, and 
 know too much to risk their necks in any such a noose. 
 
 A skillful fisherman can cast almost any length of line, 
 but practically, fifty feet, counting from the reel, is all 
 that can be used to advantage. Some English books say 
 only the leader (gut links) should alight in the water ; but 
 this is nonsense, for at least one half the line must fall 
 into the water, unless the fisherman stand on a high 
 bank. With a long line the difficulties of striking and 
 landing the fish are greatly increased ; in striking, there 
 is much slack line to be taken up ; in landing, it requires 
 some time to get the fish under control, and he is apt to 
 reach the weeds or a stump. ^ 
 
 That most excellent fitiherman and learned scholar, Dr. 
 Bethune, in his edition of Walton, Part EL., page 73, 
 says that candid anglers must confess that nine out of ten 
 trout hook themselves ; this may be so in streams teeming 
 with fish, where a dozen start at once, frantically striving 
 to be the first f but in clear, well-fished streams, not one 
 fish in a thousand will hook himself; and on Long Island 
 an angler would grow grey ere he filled his basket if he 
 did not strike, and that quickly. Striking, to my mind, 
 is by far the most important point, and hundreds of fish 
 
20 
 
 THS AMBRIOAN TBOUT. 
 
 have I seen escape {f^^ want of quickness. It mnst bo 
 done quickly but Bt(^r Ijr, and not with a jerk, as the 
 latter is apt, by the double action of the rod, to bend the 
 tip forward and loosen instead of tightening the line. 
 There are days when fish cannot be struck, although they 
 are rising freely ; whether they are playing or over-cau- 
 tious, I never could/ determine ; whether they are not 
 hungry or the water is too clear, they put man's capacities 
 at defiance. Their appearance must be signalled to the 
 eye, by that reported to the brain, which then directs the 
 nerves to command the muscles to move the wrist ; and 
 ere this complicated performance is completed, the fish 
 has blown from his mouth the feathery deception and 
 has darted back to his haunts of safety. A fish will 
 occasionally leap up, seize the fly, discover the cheat, and 
 shaking his head, jump several feet along the surface of 
 the water to rid his mouth of it, and do this so quickly 
 as not to give a quick angler time to strike. How often 
 fish are caught when they rise the second time, as then 
 the angler is more on the alert, whereas on the first rise 
 he was off his guard I How often fiph rise when the 
 angler's head is turned away from hip. line, or when he is 
 busy at something else, and how rarely are they caught 1 
 In my experience it is so gi^eat a rarity, that it might 
 almost be said they never book themselves. In the lan- 
 guage of youth, the only hooking they do is to hook off. 
 Dr. Bethune, page 97, says the rod should not exceed 
 one pound in weight. Indeed it should not, and if it does, 
 it exemplifies the old maxim, so far as to ha\o a fool at 
 one end. J£ we could fish by steam, a rod exceeding a 
 pound and measuring over fourteen feet might answei 
 
THS AMERICAN TROUT. 
 
 21 
 
 well) but in these benighted days, while wrista are made 
 of bone, muscles, cartilages and the like, the lighter the 
 better. A rod, and if perfection is absolntoly indispens- 
 able, a cedar rod of eleven or twolye feet, weighing nine 
 or ten ounces, will catch trout. Cedar rods can only be 
 obtained in America, and then only on compulsion, but 
 this wood makes the most elastic rods in the world. Tliey 
 spring instantly to every motion of the hand, and never 
 warp. They are delicate ; the wood is, like woman, cross- 
 grained, but invaluable if carefully treated. The reel 
 shonld be a simple click, never a multiplier, but large 
 barrelled, and fastened to the but with a leather strap. 
 The line, silk covered with a preparation of oil, tapered 
 if possible at each end, and thirty to forty yards long. 
 The basket, positive, a fish-basket ; the angler, compara- 
 tive, a fisher-man. 
 
 Thus equipped, go" forth mildly approving where the 
 writer's opinions coincide with yours, simply incredulous 
 where they do not. Ere you begin, however, you may 
 wish to know the size of the fish you can catch, a matter 
 of no little intricacy, for though we all know the size of 
 the fish we have ourselves caught, there is always some 
 one else that has caught larger. My largest trout, at 
 the time thic is written, was taken on the Marshpee 
 River, on Cape Cod, and weighed three pounds and 
 fourteen ounces. But it is said there were inland 
 .brook trout exhibited at the New York Club by a mem- 
 ber in the year 1867, the two largest of which weighed 
 cleaned six pounds and a half each. *'I have my 
 doubts." These fish should have weighed, when first 
 taken, nearly eight pounds, double the size of any trout, 
 
2S 
 
 THE AMSRIOAN TROUT, 
 
 other than sea trout, I have eyor seen or before that 
 lieard of. In my opinion, they were lake trout, caught, 
 perhaps, from a small pond, and bright colored. It wai 
 claimed they were taken with the fly, which lake trout 
 will not ordinarily touch; but, unfortunately, it was 
 also said, that two weighing about five pounds each 
 were caught and landed on one cast, and that this was 
 done twice. Now confidence in our neighbors' truth 
 is the framework of society, but there is a limit to 
 human credulity, and catching two five pound trout at 
 one cast, is at the very verge of that limit. No one, 
 except by the most incredible good fortune, could kill 
 two such fish on any ordinary fiy-tackle, with any ordi- 
 nary fiy-rod. The hooks would almost certainly tear 
 out, and no strain could possibly be kept on the lower 
 fish, which, by slacking up his line and then darting 
 away, would probably go free. But great luck alone 
 could enable a person to land two such fish ; the lower 
 one would never drown, being at perfect liberty — ^by the 
 by, trout, never die in the water, they always save 
 enough' life for one final rush — ^and when the upper fish 
 was landed or gaffed, the lower would go off in a jiffy. 
 When a person claims to do this twice in a day, he must 
 De pronounced a lucky man indeed. 
 
 "We caught our big trout in the Marshpee, and we 
 will tell you how we did it, though the words make us 
 blush as we write them. "We were young then, and it 
 is to be hoped innocent ; and having gone to Sandwich, 
 on Cape Cod, in search of untried fields, discovered a 
 jolly, corpulent landlord, named Teaaedale, who, with 
 bis friend, Johnny Trout, so named jocosely, wero the 
 
THE AMERICAN TROUT. 
 
 fishermen of the neighborhood. That was before the 
 stream was preserved for tlie benefit of the " Poor 
 Indian," and poorer fishermen mulcted, as at present, in 
 five dollars a day for th . ];^nvilege of fishing. We drove 
 to the stream, almost six miles, Teasedale enlivening the 
 early June moniing with snatches of hunting songs, and 
 when there plunged recklessly in. Oh I but the water 
 was cold — a dozen large springs poured in their freezing 
 contents — and the blood fairly crept back to our hearts. 
 The stream ran through a narrow defile, overhung witli 
 the thickly tangled vine and creepers, rendering a cast 
 of the line impossible, and had worked its way far under 
 the steep banks, making dark watery caverns, where the 
 great fish could lie in wait for their prey. "We removed 
 the upper joint of our fly-rod, which was heavy and 
 strong, and leaving the line through the last ring of the 
 second joint, we put on a bait next co the fly in beauty 
 and effect, the minnow. The water was freezing cold — 
 the closely entwined boughs and leaves shut out the heav- 
 ens above, and we were alone in the shadowy darkness 
 I with the tenants of the deep. The herring frequented 
 [the brook, and pursued by the large trout, darted in 
 Bhoals between our feet. It is always a good sign when 
 the herring are running, and we had excellent luck. 
 
 There are several ways of putting on a minnow, and 
 [if a person from ignorance or necessity must poach, let 
 lira poach well. There is the gorge-hook loaded with 
 lead, the snell passed by the baiting needle at the mouth 
 )f the bait and out at the tail, bringing the hooks which 
 re double at the mouth. It is highly recommended by 
 >me English books and their American imitators, but 
 
iPiPPPUPW^PPIWW^IP^lWPP^iPWI 
 
 24 
 
 THE AMEftlOAN TSOUT. 
 
 in my experience is more useful, unbaited, for catching 
 snapping mackerel, young blue-fish, than for any other 
 purpose. There are the gangs of hooks, consisting of 
 two or more small hooks back to back, one of which 
 is inserted in the side or back of the bait, with another 
 small one further up on the line, which is inserted on 
 the lip or nose. It answers well for some kinds of fishing, 
 and for large bait, but does not work well with small 
 fish. The bait is not bent sufficiently, and does not spin 
 readily. ^^^ ■'•^*'''^ '*'-■■• -^^ ■ ' ■"*■' '=''* '''■' ''^ ^rim-^'>'^ '• '-^ 
 
 Then there is the old-fashioned large single hook, 
 thrust through the mouth, down the fleshy part of the 
 back and out at the side, or out at the gills and back 
 through the mouth into the side. The objection is that 
 bait is apt to work down on the bend of the hook, or 
 the trout is apt to take off the tail of the bait without 
 being hooked. '. 
 
 ' The other, and I think the best plan of baiting with 
 dead bait, is the same as the last, with the addition of a 
 small hook to thrust through the nose, that tends to 
 retain the fish in its place, and allow the hook to be car- 
 ried down further toward the tail, and still make the bait 
 spin well. Minnow is never properly baited, unless it 
 spins freely with every motion of the rod, and it must 
 ever be kept moving. Of course the line must be armed 
 with the swivel-trace, and in baiting with dead minnow 
 a Limerick hook should be used, under any other circum- 
 stances never. • - 
 
 The dead minnow is preferable for rapid water. In 
 ponds the minnow should be alive, in which case the 
 hook is to be inserted in front of the dorsal ^, and the 
 
THE AMERICAN TBOUT. 
 
 point may be left under the skin, or exposed, bb the 
 poacher pleases; I prefer it covered. It should not 
 penetrate the flesh. 
 
 In the Marshpee I was using a single hook, keeping 
 the bait well ahead of me, and creeping cautiously in 
 the freezing water, watching the tiny float as it danced 
 its merry course along, now borne swiftly over the rip- 
 pling current, anon caught in an eddy and returning on 
 its track, and then again resting motionless in some dark 
 and quiet pool. It was scarcely visible beneath the dens^ 
 shadows, and once in a while it would disappear from my 
 straining sight ; then followed a sharp blow with my rod, 
 a fierce tug, a short fight between fear, despair and cun- 
 ning on the one side, and strength, energy and judgment 
 on the other. Tlie prey once hooked, and skill there 
 was Tiot ; it was a mere contention of two brute forces, 
 in which the weaker went to the basket. An exhibition 
 of skill or tenderness would have resulted in an entangle- 
 ment round the nearest root, and the loss of fish, leader 
 and hook. Still, there was excitement; the situation 
 was romantic, the narrow gorge, the deep and rapid 
 stream, the closely matted trees and vines, the ever- 
 changing Eiirface of the current, which adds beauty to 
 the tamest brook, all combined to lend enchantment 
 to the scene. The fish were large and vigorous, fresh 
 run from the sea, where they had, the Winter long, 
 been a terror to the small fry, and early death to 
 juicy and imsuspicious shell-fish. Tliey fought fiercely 
 for life and liberty, their homes and their household 
 gods, and, alas! too often successfully. The risk of 
 their escape added to the interest of the occasion, and 
 
ililppn^^iinM>u>..i i"jj««w»!pi 'T^ — 
 
 THE AMERICAN TROUT. 
 
 the number of hening darting past gave continual 
 promise of the presence of their arch enemy, the trout. 
 
 I had half-filled my basket, and had met with wonder- 
 ful escapes and terrible heart-rending losses, mingled 
 with exhilarating successes. I had made about half the 
 distance, as well as we judged, and felt proud and happy 
 as no king upon his throne ever did or will. My rod, 
 though a fly-rod, was whipped every few inches with silk, 
 and thus strengthened had stood the unequal conflict 
 admirably. Still hoping for better things — who will not 
 hope for the impossible ? — I strode on. Below me the 
 current made a sudden turn at a bend in the stream, and 
 eddied swiftly under the overhanging bank. The brook 
 almost disappeared in what was evidently a vast cavern 
 deep in the bowels of that bank. In such watery palaces, 
 amid the worn rocks, the tangled roots, the undulating 
 moss and weeds, fierce eyed, monstrous trout delight to 
 dwell. In such fortresses they await unwary travellers, 
 and dark deeds are done in the congenial darkness — 
 outrage, riots and murder stalk boldly about. The 
 migratory herring, harmless and unsuspicious, peers 
 in and starts affrighted back, then peers again, at last 
 ventures forward, and then, compelled by instinct to 
 ascend, tries to dart hastily by ; there is a sudden rush, 
 a frantic struggle, a piteous look entreating mercy of 
 pitiless hearts ; for an instant the water is dyed with 
 blood and then flows on, washing all trace of the deed 
 away. . ' 
 
 I approach the den carefully, the feather-like float 
 dancing merrily far ahead over the rippling tide, and as 
 the line is paid out, swaying from side to side, close in 
 
 
THE AMERICAN TRdtTT. 
 
 front of the roots that fringe the bank, still not a sign ; 
 a step forward — the water carries it nnder the bank out 
 of sight. I stand still, expectant ; nothing yet ; I creep 
 cautiously to the very bank, and thrust my rod in the 
 water, aye, under the bank its full length. What's that I 
 Ah I what a tug I I have him, the monster, the Giant 
 Despair of the wayfaring herring. How he pulls! I 
 must have him out of his retreat ; it is a great risk but 
 my only chance. I strain my rod, my line, almost my 
 arms, to the utmost ; he comes, disdainful of surreptitious 
 advantages, relying on his great strength ; he has not 
 taken protection of weed or stump. Now, my boy, 
 do your utmost; yes, leap from the water, dart down 
 with the current ; I must give to you a little ; no line 
 can stand that strain ; but you will never reach your 
 lair again. Turn about, head up stream, that is what 1 
 want ; there is a sandy bank above us, can I but reach 
 it and land you there. Ah I you perceive the danger or 
 have changed your mind ; how you fly down stream 
 with the slackened line hissing through the water behind 
 you. Well, go, you will soon turn again. Already, 
 beautiful, you have passed the bank ; now, rod, be true ; 
 line, do your duty. The pliant ash bends, the upper 
 [joint has passed below the but in a wide hoop. He 
 I comes, his head is up ; if I can but keep it out of water I 
 he dashes the foaming waves with his strong tail ; one 
 [more effort ; bend rod, but do not break ; he is out of 
 rater ; I have him. He is dancing on the yellow sand 
 lis last dance in mortal form ; his changing hues glancing 
 fn the mild light, his fierce mouth gasping, his bright 
 udes befouled with sand and dust, his glittering scaler 
 
m 
 
 28 
 
 THE AMERICAN TROUT. 
 
 torn off by the sharp etoiies. His efforts grow fainter, 
 the flashing eye dims, a few convulsive throes and he is 
 quiet ; the grim hand of death has pressed upon him. 
 
 He is indeed the prince of monsters, tlie paragon of 
 giants ; so thick, so deep, with so email a . head for so 
 large a body ; such brilliant hues : the fins so red, the 
 blue and carmine spots so numerous and delicate. I 
 wash him off and stand gazing at him in my hand 
 regardless of further sport. I have captured the king, 
 and care not to follow his subalterns. I lay him gently 
 in my basket ; he will not lie at full length. I cover 
 him with moss, filling the little room left, and forcing 
 my way through the overhanging bushes, and, reaching 
 the broad light of day, proudly await the arrival of my 
 companion. Then the moss is carefully removed, and 
 the beauties of my darling are unveiled, and flash and 
 gleam in the sunlight. * .' ' ^ * '»'. 
 
 There are several ways of landing a trout, Vnt not all 
 equally sportsmanlike. Large trout may be gaffed, 
 small ones landed in a net, and where neither of these 
 means is at hand, they must be dragged out of water, or 
 flirted up among the bushes, according to the taste of 
 the angler and the strength of his tackle. 
 
 A tyro was once fishing on the same boat with me, 
 using bait, when he struck his first trout. One can 
 imagine how entirely misspent had been his previous 
 existence, when it is said he had never taken a trout, 
 no, nor any other fish before. It was not a large fish ; 
 such luck rarely falls to the share of the beginner, and 
 in spite of what elderly gentlemen may say to the con- 
 traiy, an ignorant countryman, with his sapling rod 
 
THE AMERICAN TROUT. 
 
 29 
 
 and coarse tackle, never takes the largest lish nor the 
 greatest in quantity. Were it otherwise, sportsmen had 
 better turn louts, and tackle makers take to cutting 
 straight saplings in the woods. My compauion, never- 
 theless, was not a little surprised at the vigorous rushes 
 the trout made to escape, but his line being strong and 
 rod stiff, he steadily reeled him in. Great was the 
 excitement ; his whole mind was devoted to shortening 
 the line, regardless of what was to be done next. We 
 had a darkey named Joe with us to row the boat and 
 land the Ush, and our luck having been bad during 
 the morning, he was delighted at this turn of affairs, and 
 ready, net in hand, to do his duty. The fish was being 
 reeled up, till but a few feet of the line remained below 
 the top, when, with a shout of " land, Joe, land him," 
 my companion suddenly lifted up his rod, carrying the , 
 trout far above our heads. There it dangled, swaying 
 to and fro, bouncing and jumping, while the agonized 
 fisherman besought the darkey to land him, and the 
 latter, reaching up as far as he could with the net, his 
 eyes starting out of his head with wonder at this novel 
 mode of proceeding, came far short of his object. Never 
 was seen such a sight ; the hopeless despair of my friend, 
 the eagerness of the darkey, who fairly strove to climb 
 the rod as the fish danced about far out of reach. What 
 was to done ? The line would not render, the rod was 
 so long we could not reach the tip in the boat ; and the 
 only horrible alternative appeared to be my friend's 
 losing his first fish. The latter, however, by this remark- 
 able course of treatment, had grown peaceable, and 
 when he was dropped back into the water, made but 
 
80 
 
 THB AMERIOAN TJ'.OUT. 
 
 feeble efforts, while my companion, as quietly as he 
 could, worked out his line till he could land him like a 
 Christian. Great were the rejoicings .wlven the prize 
 earned with so much anxiety was secured. That is the 
 way not to land a trout. 
 
 One afternoon of a very boisterous day, I struck a large 
 fish at the deep hole in the centre of Phillipse's Pond, on 
 Long Island. He came out fiercely, and taking my fly 
 as he went down, darted at once for the bottom, which is 
 absolutely covered with long, thick weeds. Tlie moment 
 he found he was struck, he took refuge among them, and 
 tangled himself up so effectually that I could not feel 
 him, and supposed he had escaped. By carefully exert- 
 ing sufiicieut force, however, the weeds were loosened 
 from the bottom, and the electric thrill of his renewed 
 motion was again perceptible. He was allowed to draw 
 the line through the weeds and play below them, as by 
 80 doing tliey would give a little, while if confined in 
 them he would have a leverage against them, and could, 
 with one vigorous twist, tear out the hook. When he 
 was somewhat exhausted, the question as to the better 
 mode of landing him arose. The wind was blowing so 
 hard as to raise quite a sea, which washed the weeds 
 before it in spite of any strain that could be exerted by 
 the rod, and drifted the boat as well, rendering the latter 
 almost unmanageable, while the fish was still so vigorous 
 as to threaten at every moment to escape. I besought 
 the boatman, who was an old hand and thoroughly up 
 to his business, to drop the boat down to the weeds and 
 let me try and land my fish with one hand while holding 
 the rod with the otlier. He knew the dangers of such a 
 
rHB AMERICAN TROUT. 
 
 m 
 
 course, and insisted upon rowing slowly and carefully 
 for shore at a shallow place sheltered from the wind, 
 although I greatly feared the hook would tear out or the 
 rod snap under the strain of towing both weeds and 
 fitjh ; once near shore, he deliberately forced an oar into 
 the mud and made the boat fast to it, and then taking 
 up the net, watched for a favorable chance. He waited 
 for some time, carefully putting the weeds aside, until a 
 gleaming line of silver glanced for a moment beneath 
 the water, when darting the net down, he as suddenly 
 brought it up, revealing within its folds the glorious 
 colors of a splendid trout. That was the way to land a 
 trout under difficulties, although I still think I could 
 have done it successfully by myselfl ,: - w; ^. j^ .' 
 
 Generally, the utmost deh'cacy should be shown in 
 killing a fish, but there are times when force must be 
 exerted. If the fish is making for a stump, or even 
 weeds, he must be stopped at any reasonable risk of the 
 rod's breaking or the fly's tearing out. A stump is the 
 most dangerous ; one turn round that, and he is ofi', leav- 
 ing your flies fast probably in a most inconvenient place 
 and many feet below the surface of the water. Bui 
 remember the oft-repeated maxim of a friend of the 
 writer's, who has been with him many a joyous fishing- 
 day, that " One trout hooked is worth a dozen not 
 hooked." Small trout are more apt to escape than large 
 ones, because the skin round the mouth of the latter is 
 tougher. With either, however, there is risk enough , 
 the hook is small, and often takes but a slight hold ; the 
 gut is delicate, and frequently half worn through by 
 continual casting. 
 
 /'■ 
 
SSI 
 
 THB AMERICAN TRODT. 
 
 "Fibtk are, in a majority of inetances, hooked in the 
 comer of the npper jaw, where there is but a thin skin 
 to hold them ; by long-continned strnggle, the hole wears 
 larger, and finally, to the agony of the fisherman, the 
 hook slips ont. 
 
 There are occasions when force must be exerted, and 
 then good tackle and a well-made rod will repay the cost. 
 At dnsk one night I cautiously approached the edge of a 
 newly-made pond that was as full of stumps as of fish, 
 both being about the extreme limit, and casting into the 
 clear water, struck a fine fish of three-quarters of a 
 pound. Not one minute's grace did he receive, but I 
 lugged and he fought, and after a general turmoil I suc- 
 ceeded in bringing him to land, in spite of weeds and 
 stumps and twigs, which he did his best to reach. The 
 same was done with seven fish after a loss of only three 
 flies, and with a rod that weighed but eight ounces. 
 
 A rod is not so apt to break from a fair strain as from 
 a short twist ; of course, if you strike i large fish as you 
 raise to cast, or catch in the bushes behind you when 
 your line is extended, any rod may break. This, how- 
 ever, rarely happens, and you are as likely to break tlie 
 tip by trying to pull the line through the rings with your 
 hand, or by lifting a small trout out of water and swinging 
 it in past you, as in any other way. In drawing a fish to 
 shore when you have no landing net, step back and 
 bring the strain evenly on your rod, and it will rarely give 
 way. If you find the fish takes down the current and 
 you are unable to hold him, follow him if you can, and 
 if not, point your rod toward him and bring the strain on 
 the line. The hook may tear out, or the gut may break, 
 
THE AMERICIN TROUT. 
 
 33 
 
 or even the line may be lost, but you will save your rod, 
 wliile otherwise you would probably lose both. 
 
 In laudhig a fish, wait till he is pretty well exhausted, 
 bring his mouth above water and keep it there till he is 
 drawn into the net, and warn vour assistant to remove 
 tite net at once if he gets his head down. Vy diving 
 after hini with the net/ the assistant would certainly not 
 catch tlie fish and might tangle one of your other flies. 
 The fish should be led into the net, and the latter kept 
 as still as possible ; he knows as wel) ag you do what it is 
 for, and if his attention is drawn to it, will dart ofi* as 
 madly as ever. 
 
 Th<^re are occasions and situations where a fly cannot 
 be used, and a minnow — called down East, from the Indian 
 name mummychog, a mummy — cannot be obtained. In 
 such cases it becomes necessary to fall back upon first 
 principles. A grasshopper, twitched along the surface of 
 the water in a way called skittering, is an eflective bait, 
 although an imitation grasshopper, as well as an imita- 
 tion minnow, does not answer and will not deceive trout. 
 Salmon and trout roe are used, and it is said, contrary to 
 the writer's experience, with great success. Gentles, 
 which are grubs hatched in meat that has been fiy- 
 blown, are a favorite bait in Europe ; but, in spite of 
 their beautiful name, are horrible objects and not in 
 vogue with us. Caddies, or the larvae of the Phry- 
 ganid<B in their cases, are also in use there, but not 
 here. We must, therefore, have recourse to the angle- 
 worm. 
 
 The finest worms are to be found in tanyards ; they 
 should be placed oa the top of damp moss, left for a 
 
 2* 
 
m 
 
 M 
 
 Tin AHEBIOAN TROUT. 
 
 night or two to work themselves clean, and then placed 
 in other moss sprinkled with milk. They become strong, 
 light colored and lively, and should be threaded on a tine 
 hook by passing the point in at tlie head of the worm 
 and out half-way down the side ; then in, half up the 
 Bide of another, and forced nearly to the head. Worms, 
 if cast as in fly-fisl^ing, are very attractive, -and will fre- 
 quently kill an immense number of fish. There is much 
 skill in casting so as not to tear off the bait, and yet to 
 cover an extent of water 
 
 In rapid streams, whether with bait or fly, always fish 
 down stream ; there is less noise, the line is kept taught, 
 the fly looks more natural, and unless the wind is strong 
 against you, it will be much easier and pleasanter fish- 
 ing. Move the bait continually; keep it in motion 
 under all circumstances ; this is the great secret of bait- 
 fishing. 
 
 I have also heard of shrimp preserved in whisky 
 being used, and think they might answer for fish that 
 have just run from the salt water; but as frequent 
 experiment with the live shrimp has proved their inferi- 
 ority to minnow, I have little faith in them. 
 
 The trout is admitted to be the most beautiful of all our 
 fish ; not so large nor powerful as the salmon, he is much 
 more numerous, abounding in all the brooks and rivulets 
 of our northern States. He lives -at our veiy doors ; in 
 the stream that meanders across yon meadow, where the 
 haymakers are now busy with their scythes, we have 
 taken him in our early days ; down yonder in that wood, 
 there is a brook filled with bright, lively little fellows; 
 and away over there we know of pools where there are 
 
THB AMBRIOAN TROUT 
 
 86 
 
 splendid ones. Who has not said or thought such words 
 as he stood in the bright summer's day under the grate- 
 ful shade of the piazza running round the old country' 
 house where he played, a boy ? * . 
 
 He does not make the nerves thrill and tingle like the 
 salmon, he does not leap so madly into the air nor make 
 such fierce, resolute rushes, he has not the silver sides 
 nor the great strength ; but he is beautiful as the sunset 
 sky, brave as bravery itself, and is our own home dar- 
 ling. How he flashes upon the sight as he grasps the 
 spurious insect, and turns down with a quick little slap 
 of the tail I How he darts hither and thither when he 
 finds he is hooked ! How persistently he struggles till 
 enveloped in the net I And then with what heart-rend- 
 ing sighs he breathes away his life ! Who does not love 
 the lovely trout? With eye as deep and melting, skin 
 as rich and soft, and ways as wildly willful as angelic 
 woman — who loves not one loves not the other. Who 
 would not win the one cares not to win the other. 
 Strange that man should " kill the thing he loves ;" but 
 if to possess them kills them, he must kill. If women, 
 like the Epheraerm^ died as they often do in their love, we 
 should still love them. Such is man; do not think I 
 praise him. No one kills fish for the pleasure of killing ; 
 but they cannot live out of water, nor we in it, therefore 
 one of us must die. We would willingly save them ; 
 we have tried to bring them home alive, but it is not pos- 
 sible. They are too delicate. With wliat a feeling of 
 aft'ection we look upon a beautiful fish as he lies upon the 
 moss, the sunlight sparkling from his colors fading in 
 death! with how deep a sadness we see his strength 
 
T3B AMSfUOAN TROUT. 
 
 ebbing away, his breath growing Bhortor, his struggles 
 fainter 1 And when he has grown stiff in death, how 
 proudly sad we feel over a noble career cut short too 
 soon I ■■ " 
 
 The man who kills to kill, who is not satisfied with 
 reasonable sport, who slays unfairly or out of season, 
 who adds one wanton pang, that man receives the con- 
 tempt of all good sportsmen and deserves the felon's 
 doom. Of such thera are but few. 
 
 We seek this, our favorite fish, in early Spring, when 
 the ice has just melted, and the cold winds remind one 
 forcibly of bleak December, and when we find him in 
 the salt water streams, eepocially of Long Island and 
 Cape God ; but we love most to follow him in the early 
 Summer, along the merry streams of old Orange, or the 
 mountain brooks of Sullivan County. Where the air is 
 full of gladness, and the trees are heavy with foliage — 
 where the birds are singing upon every bough, and the 
 'grass is redolent of violets and early flowers. There we 
 wade the cold brooks, the leafy branches bowing us a 
 welcome as we pass — ^the water rippling over the hidden 
 rocks, and telling us, in its wayward way, of the fine fish 
 it carries in its bosom. With creel upon our shoulder and 
 rod in hand, we reck not of the hours, and only when 
 the sinking sun warns of the approaching darkness, do 
 we seek, with sharpened appetite, the hospitable country 
 inn, and the comfortable supper that our prey will fur- 
 nish forth. 
 
 The brooks of Long Island, especially on the south- 
 ern shore, abound with trout. But they are few in com- 
 parison with the hordes that once swarmed in the 
 
THR AMERICAN TROUT. 
 
 ^l 
 
 Btreams of Snllivan and Orange counties, and in fact all 
 the lower tier of connties in this State, before the Erie 
 Railroad was built, and opened the land to the crowd of 
 market men. I am proud to say I have travelled that 
 country when it took the stage coach twelve hours to go 
 twenty-four miles, and when, if we were in a hurry, we 
 walked, and sent our baggage by the coach. Now you 
 are jerked along high above our favorite meadows, 
 directly through our wildest hills, and often under our 
 best streams, at the rate of forty miles an hour, and yet 
 people call that an improvement. As well might you 
 lug a man out of bed at niglit, drag him, a dozen times 
 round his room, and fling him back into bed, and say he 
 was improved by the operation. No one wants to be 
 lugged out of bed, precisely as no one wanted to travel 
 beyond Sullivan County ; the best shooting and fishing 
 in the world was to be found there. 
 ' When the railroad was first opened, the country was 
 literally overrun, and Bashe's Kill, Pine Kill, the Sand- 
 berg, the Mon Gaup and Callicoon, and even Beaver 
 Kill, which we thought were inexhaustible, were fisncd 
 out. For many years trout had almost ceased from out 
 of the waters, but the horrible public, having their 
 attention drawn to the Adirondacks, gave it a little rest, 
 and now the fishing is good. ■%: 
 
 If you go there, stop at George Durrance's, in Wurts- 
 borough, and if he boasts of fishing, as he will, ask him 
 whether he remembers going to the Sandberg one day, 
 many years ago, to show a Yorker how to catch trout. 
 
 It was a bright sunshiny day, and as we drove up to the 
 edge of the bank, above a clear, rapid, sparkling stream, I 
 
PP!PPPPWW^''"WW 
 
 THE AMERICAN TROUT. 
 
 Baw a large trout leap hcaviij out of water, where the cnr- 
 rent swept with a swirl past a high rock. Aj I rigged up 
 my flies, George borrowed my knife to cut a pole, as he did 
 not have much faith in " them things," and while he was 
 gone, I crept cautiously up behind the rock, and cast 
 over the further projecting point. I could not see my 
 flies alight, but heard a splash, and striking felt I had a 
 splendid fish. He fought bravely, but by keeping him 
 in the upper part of the pool, the loWer end by the rock, 
 was not disturbed. After some trouble, I landed him, 
 having no net. Then approaching the rock with the 
 same caution, the performance was repeated, only this 
 time my rod was broken in endeavoring to land the fish, 
 and it was necessary to find George and obtain my 
 knife. 
 
 I discovered him under the bushes on the bank, in a 
 miserable state — it was oppressively hot — his rod was a 
 long sapling, and naturally heavy — the sky and water 
 were clear, and the .fish would not touch the worm, 
 which we could see from where he sat. He had only 
 taken two miserable little fish. He did no better all 
 day, arid while T rose and killed fish after fish, he did 
 not take another one. When afternoon came, £».nd he 
 impatiently urged me away, my basket was so full it 
 broke down, and he had his two fish. On i ^aching his 
 house, the boys spread our respective takes out on a 
 board, and to George's deep chagrin exhibited them to 
 the entire village. He has not taught a " Yorker" how 
 to catch trout since. -■•■- ^ - - 
 
 So much for your countryman, with his bed-cord for 
 line and stick for pole, and yet George was admitted to 
 
THE AMER)[CAN TROUT. 
 
 39 
 
 be the best fisherman in that neighborhood. A person 
 residing near a stream, and having fished it from infancy, 
 and acquainted with its every pool, has an immense 
 advantage over a stranger ; but there was only one coun- 
 tryman ever beat me trout-fishing, and he, after taking 
 nie to the stream, slipped off and waded it down ahead 
 
 All the streams that, taking their risie in or near this 
 State, flow into the Delaware or Susquehanna, are filled 
 with trout; the Tobyhauna, the Bushkill, Broadhead's 
 Creek and a thousand others, that the Erie and Lacka- 
 wanna railroads now make easy of access. While Hamil- 
 ton County, Essex, the region of the Adirondacks, Clinton 
 County with its Chateaugay and Chazy Lakes, and the " 
 Saranac River, and Franklin County with its innumera- 
 ble ponds, offer all the sport that the heart of man can 
 desire. AH the streams of New England, especially in 
 the neighborhood of the White Mountains, are filled 
 with small trout ; while the State of Maine, in Moose- 
 head Lake, the Kennebec, and its other fine rivers and 
 lakes, affords the finest brook trout-fishing in the world. 
 
 The angler may, therefore, seek his darling close to 
 his own summer-house, or may drop in at any of the 
 many w^ell kept taverns on the south side of Long 
 Island, where he will find every comfort and most of 
 the luxuries of the day, will meet other enthusiastic 
 fishermen, who will relate varied and interesting cwpe- 
 riences, and exchange views and fancies with him, 
 and will prove themselves, if real fishermen, the most 
 obliging and unselfish gentlemen in tlic world ; or ho 
 may seek the lonely hotel at Lake Pleasant or Moose- 
 
wpwmpp 
 
 "WPPW 
 
 40 
 
 THE AMERICAN TROUT. 
 
 head Lake, where he will still find comfort in a rougher 
 way, and wonderful good sport ; or he may boldly strike 
 out into the ti^ackless woods, commit himself to his birch 
 canoe and trusty guide, and then, if he be made of the 
 right stuff, I promise him such happiness as he will never 
 forget — merry innocent days and dreamless nights, 
 health in every limb, and contentment in his mind. 
 
 Tliere is no iish more difficult to catch, nor that gives 
 the true angler more genuine sport than the trout. His 
 capture requires the nicest, tackle, the greatest skill, t*;e 
 most complete self-command, the highest qualities of 
 mind and body. The arm must be strong that wields 
 the rod ; the eye true that sees the rise ; the wrist quick 
 that strikes at the instant; the judgment good, that selects 
 the best spot, the most suitable fly, and knows just how 
 to kill the fish. A fine temper is required to bear up 
 against the loss of a noble fish, and patient perseverance 
 to conquer ill luck. ^. ^sS? > >jt . 
 
 Hence it is that the fisherman is so proud of his basket 
 of a dozen half-pound trout, he feels that any one more 
 awkward or less resolute could not have done so well. 
 Jle feels conscious that he does not owe his success to 
 mere luck, but has deserved the glory. He feeU that 
 he has elevated himself by the very effort. Do not sup- 
 pose 1 mean that there is no skill in other fishing; 
 there is in all, even in catching a minnow for bait, but 
 nost of all in trout-fishing. ' ■ 
 
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 CHAPTER 111. 
 
 ■.:.,•>-, .u? 
 
 
 -■ I ^.^:- 1 
 
 • 8EA TEOUT. 
 
 ,.. , .,v,, _ 
 
 Salmo Trutta Marmor—Sdlrnon Troutr— White Trout, 
 This fish corresponds precisely with the description 
 given by Dr. De Kaj of the Speckled Trout, Salmo JFon- 
 tinalisy except in the following particulars : 
 
 I can find no teeth in the vomer or central part of the 
 roof of the mouth any more. than I can find them on the 
 common brook trout, and I have examined great numbers 
 of the latter for the purpose. The pectorals are nearly a 
 transparent white, slightly tinged with red at the origin 
 of the rays, except that the second ray is darkish. The 
 first ray of the ventrals is yellow, the second dark, the 
 third and the others orange fading into white ; the origin 
 of the ventrals is directlv under that of the first dorsal. 
 Hie first ray of the anal fin is orange, the second and 
 others dark green, growing lighter toward the tail, the 
 origin of the second and third rays being yellowish. 
 Tlie scales are very small, imbedded in the skin, and 
 there are neither scales nor defined spots on the gill- 
 covers. The fin-rays are as follows: ^ 
 Br. 12 ; D. 13 ; P. 13 ; V. 8 ; A. 10 ; C. 19^. '♦ 
 The branchial rays seem to difler sometimes, the same 
 fish having eleven on one side and twelve on the othei, 
 and the highest one is a half ray or small plate. The 
 
mm 
 
 42 
 
 SKA TRQUT. 
 
 anal, properly speaking, has eleven rays, but the first is 
 80 delicate and so lost in the fleshy part of the fin, that 
 it is hardly distinguishable. 
 
 The coloring of these fish differs greatly from that of 
 the common trout, but it is universally conceded that 
 color is no test or distinction of species. When fresh 
 run from the sea, and when still inhabiting the salt 
 water, they are gloriously brilliant ; their backs a liquid 
 bluish green, the under part flashing like molten silver. 
 The spots and scarlet specks on their sparkling sides are 
 of a purer tone, and the lower fins more slender <»nd 
 delicate. 
 
 Tliey are found in the bays of Prince Edward's Island, 
 in the harbors of Kew Brunswick, and in all the gulf 
 and river of St. Lawrence and its lower tiibutaries. In 
 Frank Forrester's " Fish and Fishing," a letter from Mr. 
 Perley, the British Commissioner of Fisheries, is quoted, 
 page 123, in which he says these fish do not ascend into 
 purely fresh water. In this I am reluctantly, out of 
 respect to his great experience as a fisherman and high 
 standing in scientific attainments, compelled to difi'er 
 from him. I have unquestionably taken these fish far 
 above tide water, and have the best authority for saying 
 that usually, if not invariably, the larger trout at leaet 
 ascend to the head-waters of the mountain streams to 
 spawn. I venture to say that no large sea trout are 
 taken in the tide water after the last, and rarely after 
 the first of August. It is probable that he has been 
 misled by the fact that there are trout in the same 
 streams that never descend to the sea, and there is a 
 marked difference in color between them and theii 
 
W'^- "T:; 
 
 Tff^nK' . '*"**W.'*7ir' - 
 
 SEA TROUT. 
 
 43 
 
 aymg 
 i least 
 
 M 
 
 ms to 
 
 
 it ore 
 after 
 been 
 
 
 same 
 
 
 » is a 
 theif 
 
 1 
 
 
 M 
 
 biethren, although I believe they are the same fish. For 
 the correctness of these views, reference can be made to 
 the experience of many authorities that would be satis* 
 factory to one that I esteem and respect as much as I 
 do my excellent friend aud brother of the angle, Mr. 
 Perley. While mentioning his name, it will not be 
 amiss to tender him, in the name of the -fishermen of the 
 United States, our thanks and grateful acknowledgments 
 for the invariable kindness, courtesy and good humor 
 with which he has answered the numerous questions 
 entailed upon him by his mention in Frank Forrester's 
 " Fish and Fishing," and the valuable aid and advice he 
 has furnished the wanderers from the States in their 
 search for piscatorial happiness. Combining as he does 
 the heartiness of an Fnglishman with the sociability of 
 our own country, wc are proud to claim him, while 
 he remains in our vicinity, as half an American. But 
 let me, at the same time, suggest to my countrymen, 
 that there is a limit even to tlie best of tempers, and 
 that, although each one may only put a few questions 
 and take up a little valuable time, the total combined 
 may be annoying, inconvenient, and even excessively 
 burdensome. 
 
 In addition to the positive fact of taking sea trout 
 above tide water, it is to be remarked as a habit of all 
 trout to ascend in summer to the cool sources of the 
 springy brooks, and our common trout will invariably 
 be found, after the warm weather i& at its height, either 
 in the rivulets that feed the ponds where they dwell in 
 winter, or at the head- waters of tho ponds. The sun's 
 rays are so powerful that they afiect any sheet of open 
 
ippiplil 
 
 mm 
 
 qppppmiiip 
 
 44 
 
 SEA TROUT. 
 
 vater, especially the harbors and bays of the ocean, and 
 the fish will not live there, but withdraw to cooler 
 regions. A remarkable case of this kind fell under the 
 writer's observation at Masapequa Pond, which is uni- 
 versally admitted to be the best preserve on Long Island. 
 It is rather small, and quite shallow except in the chan- 
 nel, and being entirely unsheltered, is liable to become 
 heated in hot weather. The spring had been remark- 
 ably mild, and in the middle of May, after a number of 
 days that reminded one of June, I viei'^ed Masapequa, 
 and, although the weather was favorable and a lively 
 ripple darkened the water, only two trout were killed 
 in the entire morning. I was much discouraged and 
 surprised, until happening to get my flies caught, I put 
 my hand into the water and found ic milk-waraa. The 
 explanation was simple, and I at once told the proprietor, 
 who had been more astounded than myself, that the fish 
 had run out of the pond into the brook ; and there, sure 
 enough, we shortly discovered them lying in the deep 
 pools in shoals. 
 
 If they cannot retire to cool, fresh, aerated water, they 
 will perish, as happened one dry, warm season in a pond 
 at Oyster Bay, which, although well filled with trout, 
 had no extensive head-waters. The fish crowded round 
 the flume, hardly disturbed by being touched with a 
 stick, remaining motionless, and evidently suflerlng. 
 They died and were picked up by scores. 
 
 If sea trout do not ascend the fresh streams, whore do 
 they spawn ? From the habits of all the salmon tribe, 
 w, know they must have a current of pure and cool 
 water to vivify the eggs, and they certainly cannot fiiid 
 
dEA TROUT. 
 
 *? 
 
 this along the shores and Days. Their eggs must be 
 deposited on a gravelly bed and not on sand, and as the 
 bottom of the salt water, which is purely sand, even if 
 appropriate spawrang ground, is peopled with all sorts, 
 shapes and sites of creeping, crawling and burrowing 
 things, from sand-worms to sea-eggs, the spawn would 
 be utterly destroyed long bei'ore it could come to ma- 
 turity. If, in spite of all thei^e difficulties, tlie eggs 
 should hatch, the young fry being entii'ely helpless for 
 thirty days, and little able to take care of themselves 
 afterward, would be annihilated by their elder brethren 
 or the first sea fish that came along. Young trout, in 
 their appropriate localities, hide carefully in little spring 
 rills and close along shore for months after they are 
 hatched, and not till well grown and active do they 
 trust themselves in the deeper places among the larger 
 fish. Nature has taught them that the latter have an 
 excessive fondness for them. ', ' .,, 
 
 Whether sea trout spawn earlier than brook trout, 1 
 do not know, but very possibly they may, as in cooler 
 countries fish usually spawn earlier than in warmer ones. 
 However, in August the roe is not developed to any 
 great extent ; no more so, apparently^ than with us, and, 
 although the Canadian Winter sets in earlier tlian ours, 
 trout do not fear the cold. The regions they inhabit 
 being extremely difficult of access in the freezing season, 
 this question may remain some time unsolved. 
 
 Whether sea trout should be ranked as a distinct 
 species, or whether there are any different species of 
 trout in America, has been a serious question. It is a 
 great misfortune that every naturalist, in his eager 
 
iffiplililipi 
 
 mmmmim 
 
 ■MP 
 
 40 
 
 SEA TROUT. 
 
 endeavor to discover new species and originate new 
 names, has caught at the slightest distinctions in appear- 
 ance, which are often only due to food or water, and has 
 immediately dubbed the fish a knight and endowed him 
 with a new name — frequently some horrible Latin per- 
 version of his own. Real distinctions are those perma- 
 nent ones that no change of food and water can affect, 
 nor the chance influence of a few shell-fish or a muddy 
 bottom. There are distinctions between these trout and 
 brook trout, of color, comparative size of different parts 
 of the body, formation of the head and fins ; but not 
 more so than one often meets with in fishing any of the 
 streams of Long Island that communicate with the sea, 
 or even in the different streams of the wild woods. The 
 sea trout of Canada certainly do far excel the ordinary 
 trout in size, being taken, with the fly, weighing nine 
 pounds, and the ordinary average being from three to 
 four; but otherwise they seem to have no permanent 
 peculiarity that should distinguish them from the com- 
 mon brook trout. All other distinctions fade after the 
 trout have been for somo time in fresh water, and a late 
 run of sea trout diffei*8 far more from those which have 
 ascended the streams a month earlier than the latter 
 from the brook trout. Indeed, some sea trout have 
 become domesticated in the fresh water, and never 
 returning to the sea, have settled down, although often 
 f great size, into the ordinary trout. ' 
 
 In Stump Pond, on Long Island, and the adjacent 
 waters, are four different varieties of trout: the old- 
 fashioned Stump Pond Trout, with a black mouth, a 
 long, thin body, a big head, and a wolflsh, hungry 
 
SEA TROUT. 
 
 47 
 
 look ; the Salt "Water Trout, with a small, sleepy head, 
 a deep body, and a rich coloring, small fins and red 
 flesh ; the Brook Trout, long, narrow, brightly marked, 
 gracefully shaped and lively; and a trout which has 
 appeared in a new pond, scarcely yet completed, with a 
 dark, strong coloring, very black on the back, a thick, 
 stout body, and a well proportioned head. Any one can 
 distinguish these fish at a glance, but must they each 
 have a different name, and a Latin one at that ? 
 
 The fresh run sea trout of the North have beautiful 
 silver sides, almost as bright as a salmon's, and in this 
 particular, at least, differ from the salt water loving 
 trout of Long Island and Cape Cod. Their heads are 
 small, delicate, and exquisitely shaped, and their lower 
 fins are small and almost transparent. The heads of the 
 males are larger, and the lower jaw more hooked than 
 those of the female, and these differences increase as the 
 spawning season advances. The head of the female 
 bears a comparison to that of a modest, refined lady, 
 while that of the male resembles the big head and ugly 
 jaw of the struggling, quarrelling, but protecting man. 
 A.t times their flesh is a bright red, often a dull yellow, 
 and rarely whitish. The shape of their bodies is grace- 
 ful and broad across the back, to a greater degree in 
 both particulars than the sea run trout of Long Island 
 and Massachusetts. But as they ascend the rivers, and 
 after they have been some time in their new abode, these 
 peculiarities diminish, the color of their backs turns from 
 a beautiful green to a dull black, the splendor of their 
 silvery sides fades, and the heavy spots and roseate tinge 
 appear ; their translucent fins grow opaque and strong 
 
SEA TROUT. 
 
 from greater use in the awift current ; their shape even 
 seems to alter, and they are altogether unlovely by com- 
 parison with their former selves. Are they, therefore, 
 " like Cerberus, three gentlemen at once," and entitled 
 to three distinct appellations, or are they simply our 
 dearly loved old friends, the Speckled Trout f 
 
 The change in appearance of these iiah cannot be 
 refuted by the suggestion that the ordinary brook trout 
 ascend the rivers and mingle with those of the sea, be- 
 cause the latter are to be caught in every stage, from the 
 brilliancy of the fresh river fish to the dull colors of the 
 oldest inhabitant. And it will be noticed that at the 
 heads of the rivers a bright-colored fish is rarely met with, 
 although they must be, with few exceptions, all sea trout. 
 
 The best trout rivet's of Canada are troublesome to reach, 
 difficult to ascend, and seldom attempted by any but the 
 salmon fisher. To the latter, the trout, attractive as he 
 seems to us, is a trial and a nuisance. Abundant and vora- 
 cious, he often rushes in advance of the lordly salmon, seizes 
 the fly, and then discovering his mistake, by his struggles 
 disturbs the pool, ruffles the fisherman's temper, and 
 frightens the larger game from its equanimity. He is 
 therefore little noticed by the frequenters of the head- 
 waters, except to be denounced, and his delicate peculi- 
 arities seldom considered and less esteemed. He is princi- 
 pally sought in the tide water along the shores, or from 
 boats in the open bays, but rarely followed to his summer 
 home. The statements, therefore, of Canadian fishermen 
 with regard to him must be cautiously received and care- 
 fully weighed ; their experience may not have been suf- 
 ciently extended. , 
 
 '^m 
 
 D'0'i:i; > 
 
 -;*«;« 
 
SEA TRO(/T. 
 
 49 
 
 Whatever be his name, he is a beauty, the fairest of 
 the children of the sea. There are others of more varie- 
 gated colors, of gaudier hues, of more slender shape, but 
 the trout is lord of all. He is the pet of the true fisher^ 
 man, whether taken by the name of Salmo trutta in the 
 bays of Canada, weighing fifteen pounds, or as Salmo 
 fontinaUsj in the mountain streams of Vermont, reach- 
 ing not one quarter as many ounces. In Canada, 
 sportsmen — and none others seem to fish — ^tak'e the sea 
 trout solely with the fly. In June, and earlier, they are 
 found in the tide waters, and there prefer gaudy flies. 
 Tlie scarlet ibis, or curry-curry of South America, dressed 
 as it is ordinarily done, or diversified by a little gold or 
 silver tinsel wound round the body, or indeed the entire 
 hook wound with tinsel alone, is by many preferred to 
 all other flies ; but the red hackle, the golden pheasant, 
 the professor, the grey drake, and in fact any gay fly, 
 will meet with approval. A much admired fly is made 
 of a red body and yellow wings ; but the more sober 
 colors must not be forgotten nor neglected, they are 
 often more successful than their gaudy relations. As 
 the season advances, and the fish ascend the clear, cool 
 rivers, especially if the water be low and the weather 
 dry, the sober flies are preferable. Then the cow-dung, 
 the alder-fly, the turkey-brown, the winged black ha \lc, 
 and in fact all the ordinary flies, are in demand ; a fly 
 invented by myself, of a blackbird's wing and a claret 
 body and legs, and called the early fly, has often proved 
 itself imcommonly killing ; and indeed all the flies usu- 
 ally employed in other waters are appropriate for the sea 
 ^out in Canada. 
 
 8 
 
mmmmm 
 
 ^ 
 
 mmnmmmm 
 
 mmmmmmmm 
 
 50 
 
 sejl trout. 
 
 Neither does tbe size of liook differ fi-om that ordi 
 narily in use ; it should averaj^e ahout a number nine, 
 with a few somewliat larger for rough water. It is 
 rarely desirable, on account of the enormous size of the 
 fish, to use more than one fly at a time, and generally 
 the trout will soon remove the difficulty by reducing 
 them to that number ; but at times, when fish are shy, 
 they seem to be attracted by seeing several. In order to 
 kill the largest possible quantity, without any regard to 
 humanity or sportsmanship, a heavy fly-rod is desirable, 
 as much time is lost in landing them with a delicate 
 rod. 
 
 For many hundred miles below Quebec, the majestic 
 St. Lawrence rolls its transparent waters in a f 1y 
 surge toward the ocean. Forward and backward L,^,os 
 the mighty tide, piling up the waters eighteen and 
 twenty feet ; but the steady current keeps on its course 
 toward the gulf. Into this wonderful stream, that can 
 only be likened to an arm of the sea, at every few miles 
 debouches from the granite hills a river, more or . less 
 extensive and more or less rocky and turbulent. These 
 rivers rise on the mountain tops, cold and clear, and 
 thunder down over falls and rapids, through chasms and 
 gorges split in the eternal rock, till they leap, tumble or 
 crawl into that outlet of a thousand lakes, the highway 
 of the Canadas. 
 
 • These streams the salmon and trout ascend, there to 
 disport themselves, there to make love, prepare their 
 nests, and perpetuate their species. The water is cool, 
 running from the frigid regions of the north or supplied 
 by icy springs, and the bottom offers every variety of 
 
BEA TROUT. 
 
 spawning beds. There is the stony pool for the salmon, 
 the pebbly one for the trout, and never do the two 
 spawn, and rarely even liye, in tlie same. The pool 
 where the salmon lie is deep and rapid, with a bottom 
 composed of dark limestones averaging about the size of 
 a bantam's egg. While the trout hide in a sluggish pool, 
 and often one worn away by the water and hollowed 
 from a clay bank. It is a tradition, but one by no means 
 well substantiated, that trout never eat young salmon, 
 nor salmon young trout. As trout are more fond of their 
 own species than almost any other delicacy, it is not 
 probable they would be fastidious about swallowing a 
 nice, juicy little salmon. 
 
 The country through which these streams run is very 
 peculiar : rough hills of granite rise almost perpendicu- 
 larly from the edge of the water, many hundred and 
 sometimes many thousand feet. Their sides ace bare 
 and bleak, and if adorned at all with verdure, it is with 
 a stunted pine and spruce, that only half hides the white 
 rock beneath. The streams wind in tortuous course 
 among the crags, and slowly gain a high elevation. 
 These bare, unprofitable hills extend back from the north 
 shore of the St Lawrence as far as the foot of man has 
 penetrated, and only at long intervals by the shore of 
 some of the larger rivers, where forty centuries of storms 
 have worn away and washed the detritus from the moun- 
 tain into some little bay, have half civilized beings been 
 enabled to build rough cabins and glean a scanty sub- 
 sistence. Thus are these waters, the home and nursery 
 of the trout and salmon, protected forever by nature 
 against the pervading destmctiveness of man. JudiciouB 
 

 ^'^H?^«P^^fipBPf^^*^*^'^ 
 
 'fSSMF TROfJT. 
 
 Viws have been passed and will be enforced by the Cana* 
 dian government, and the American fisherman may 
 find in neighboring waters what he will never again see 
 in his own, these noble fish dwelling in abnndance, and 
 protected from* worthless, wanton and unreasonable 
 destruction. 
 
 It is a burning shame, a foul blot on the character of 
 Americans, and tarnish on their reputation lor far-sighted 
 economy, that their only idea of the treatment of the 
 wild game of the woods and waters seems to be total 
 annihilation. " After me a desert," is their motto ; and 
 they never rest till, by planting snares and liming 
 streams, they have caught the last partridge and poi- 
 soned the last fish. Thus have they already destroyed 
 one of the most valuable resources of the country ; the 
 Hudson, the Connecticut, the Penobscot, and even the 
 Kennebec, yield no more salmon, and we yearly pay to 
 Canada enormous sums for what we once had, and might 
 still have, in plenty on our own shores. Kot many 
 years ago a person buying shad on the Connecticut 
 River was required to take such a proportion of salmon. 
 Now that the head-waters are covered with tanneries and 
 eaw-mills, and are crossed by dams without the simple 
 expedient of a flume that the fish could ascend, and now 
 that early salmon are worth a dollar a pound in New 
 York market, where are the former denizens of the Con- 
 necticut ? 
 
 All the timber cut on the streams would not pay for 
 the damage done to the fisheries. In Canada the people 
 have discovered, fortunately for them not too late, the 
 importance of stringent protective laws. The nets can 
 
'jK^i^cjl^RV--- 
 
 8EA I'ROUT. 
 
 only be set within a certain distance, and cannot extend 
 across the entire stream. In Lower Canada the net fish- 
 ing terminates on the first day of August, and the rod 
 fishing on the fifteenth of September, and spearing, the 
 most cruel, unprofitable and injurious mode of destruc- 
 tion, is forbidden altogether. 
 
 About one hundred and twenty miles below Quebec 
 the wondrous Sagnenay pours its dark waters and 
 fierce current into the placid bosom of the St. Lawrence. 
 It is one of the natural wonders of our still new and 
 scarcely explored country. Hills rise a thousand feet 
 sheer up, and its waters descend a thousand feet deep 
 at their base. The St. Lawrence^ at its mouth, is 
 only some thirty feet deep, but the bottom suddenly 
 descends at the entrance to the Saguenay, and becomes 
 from five hundred to a thousand feet in depth. The 
 breadth of the Saguenay is so great that the grandeur 
 of the mountains is lost to the eye, and the scenery is 
 remarkable more for ruggedness than beauty. At the 
 mouth of this river was the first station of the Hudson 
 Bay Company, a little village called Tadousac, which is 
 pronounced with the emphasis on the last syllable, and in 
 that village stands the mission church of the Jesuits, the 
 oldest in the country 
 
 Close to Tadousac, and almost adjoining at the back, 
 is a still smaller village called L'Anse 4 PEau, and 
 although great ships no longer lie at Tadousac, and the 
 houses are fast falling to decay, and the good men of the 
 olden days have long gone their last journey, and the trap- 
 pers are never more seen around the famous station, and 
 the glory of the Hudson Bay Company has departed, 
 
Plpppilp«^ 
 
 54 
 
 8BA TROUT. 
 
 the trout and salmon coast along the rocks and visit the 
 inlets as they did when priests promenaded the natui'al 
 terraces of Tadousac, and when the shortest road to the 
 Northwest was up the Saguenay River. The trout care 
 not though the iron horse has sprung two great leaps 
 across the water that they live in, and know not that a 
 woman, the only Catholic that can read, officiates as 
 high priest in the sanctum of the woman-haters, the 
 mission church of the Jesuits. ' 
 
 The St. Lawrence abounds with most delicious food 
 for troui; ; there are acres of small fish ; the sand eels 
 crowd the bays yards deep, the sardines, the mullet, the 
 capelin, the tommy cods, push and jostle their way 
 along, while shellfish innumerable cover the sandy bot- 
 tom. Flies swarm on the water, and the deep rivers in 
 Winter and the cool streams in Summer constitute the 
 ^SLeaSBe of the soUmanidcB. 
 
 Along the shores of the tide water, early in Spring the 
 trout and salmon make their appearance, and wandering 
 about pass the merry days of May, June and July in 
 feasting and junketing, in visiting new scenes and tast- 
 ing every variety of food, till instinct warns them the 
 waters are £dling, and tliey must hasten to their syl- 
 van bowers and eiyoy the pleasures of love and paternity. 
 Then slowly, the largest first, they leave the tide waters 
 and swarm up all th^ practicable streams, running the 
 rapids and steadily advunciug to their pebbly spawning 
 beds, which kind nature appears to have prepared in the 
 heart of these impassable mountains for their especial 
 protection. Through all tliis season, June, July and Au- 
 gu#t, the fishing is magnificent; they are in great 
 
SEA TROUT. 
 
 5$ 
 
 numbers, and of immenge size ; but after they baye 
 once left the salt water, the angler must accompany 
 them in their ascent if he would continue his sport, and 
 by day struggle in his canoe against the rapids, up which 
 lie hears them darting at night. 
 
 While the iish are still in tide water, and the fishei^ 
 man is fishing from the rocks, the head of some bay 
 into which flows a stream of fresh water, and the time 
 of the lower half of the tide, are both desirable. Tlie 
 former as furnishing a variety of food, and the latter as 
 contracting the fishing ground. The eddies of a swift 
 current, and the hollows of a rocky bottom are both 
 affected by the fish ; although they are often found 
 along a smooth sandy shore, chasing the miimows, and 
 now and then dashing at a fly or sand-hopper thrown 
 off the land. It is nothing unusual to capture a liun> 
 di^ed^fish in' as few hours as it will require to land them, 
 and often the only limit to the number will be the 
 sportsman's humanity. They are a difficult f sh to pre- 
 serve ; it se^iis sacrilegious to salt them ; they are not 
 good pickled in brine, and smoking is both injurious 
 and troublesome. The fisherman, if he would not have 
 them rot before his eyes, must put a bridle on his eager* 
 ness. 
 
 They run very largo, sometimes above a dozen pounds, 
 are often taken of five and six, and frequently a whole 
 day's catch will average three pounds. Tlioy are found 
 at tlie mouth and along the sliore of every river that 
 empties into the lower part of the St. Lawrence. They 
 ascend the Sagnenay, and arc taken at and near its 
 mouth in great numbers, and in fact everywhere in tb« 
 
 t^' 
 
C6 
 
 SEA TROUT. 
 
 m 
 
 lower St. Lawrence and all its tributaries they abound. 
 It would be more difficult to tell where not to find them 
 than where to find them. But the best trout-fishing sea 
 Bon is later, when they have followed the salmon and 
 retired to the upper waters of the mountain streams, 
 where they lie together in shoals, in the deep p' Is. 
 Then they may be traced by the wake their motion 
 leaves in the water ; then may the fisherman, casting a 
 l(mg line and careful fly, pick the finest and go on fish- 
 ing till heart and soul are satisfied. There, amid the 
 wild scenery, at the foot of the granite hills, by the 
 shade of the stunted spruce, he may take his stand upon 
 some point of rocks, near to a black pool, and deftly 
 wielding the slender rod, may bring to the net one after 
 another of the mighty denizens of the water. But even 
 then, if he would take the mightiest he must prove him- 
 self a sportsman by keeping out of sight and casting far 
 and straight. And when his sport is terminated by the 
 declining day, or his ample satisfaction, and he meets 
 his companions round the camp-fire, over a well cooked 
 supper improved by a vigorous appetite, he will exchange 
 experiences of the habits of fish or the arcana of the 
 angler's art. 
 
 K, however, he loves the " wet sheet and the fiowing 
 sea,'* a nautical anomaly, by the way, he may pursue 
 his prey in the open bays, and with a smart breeze and 
 long line, and gaudy fly dancing from wave to wave, 
 have great sport. Under these circumstances the fish 
 are almost uncontrollable and must be often followed 
 with the boat for a long way before they can be killed. 
 It is gloriously exciting, the bright waters sparkling with 
 
SEA. TROUT. 
 
 57 
 
 foam, the light boat leaping over the billows, the sky 
 magnificent in its depth of bine, iT e fresh breeze cool 
 and strong ; and the fish just hooked, furions, vigorous 
 and conrageoas, rushing hither and thither, plunging to 
 the bottom or springing high out of water. Then the 
 exciting chase as he takes off fortunately down wind, 
 and exhausts all but the few last turns of line on the reel 
 till it becomes a question of speed between hirn and the 
 boat, and at last his final surrender and capture. Truly 
 is it magnificent. 
 
 Eiyi^re du Loup, a little Canadian village situated 
 on the St. Lawrence, opposite the mouth of the Sague- 
 nay, is now connected with Quebec by railroad, and 
 is only a day and a . alf distant from New York, It 
 affords good accommodations, but there is no place any- 
 where on the Saguenay or at ltd mouth where the trav- 
 eller can stop. The Canadians, although generally will- 
 ing to offer such accommodation as they possess, are too 
 dirty in their habits, and often too much beloved of 
 creeping things to suit American taste. So that as there 
 is little or no trout fishing at Kivi^re du Loup, the 
 angler must make his arrangements for a camp-life, and 
 would do well to descend the St. Lawrence in a pilot 
 boat, which he can hire with a man and boy for two 
 dollars a day, and stop at the mouths of all the streams 
 that debouche into it. The river is over twenty miles 
 wide, and he must look out for storms, as these boats 
 are open and by no means good sea boats. At night he 
 can go ashore, build a fire, put up his tent, and call into 
 requisition the numerous luxuries this mode of travelling 
 will enable him to carry. ^ ^ au^ * r^. ^^ / .i^v 
 
 8* 
 
iiiR^i 
 
 mmm 
 
 58 
 
 SEA TROUT. 
 
 A steamboat ascends the Sagnenay twice a week, and 
 he can either take it at Quebec or join it at Biyidre da 
 Loup, and by this means enjoy a trip through the bold 
 scenery of that celebrated river, and can either return to 
 Bivi^re du Loup, or take a pilot boat at L'Anse k PEau. 
 l^re is a generous-hearted Englishman living at L'Anse 
 & I'Eau, but he has been compelled to refuse admission to 
 all strangers, as any infraction of that rule would have 
 led to his being ov^run. 
 
 Many of the streams of Lower Canada are leased to 
 private individuals, and there are few good accessible 
 salmon streams open to the public, but the sea trout fish- 
 ing along the St. Lawrence and at tlie mouths of most 
 of the streams is free to all. In Nova Scotia and New 
 Brunswick, and at Prince Edward^s Island, there is as 
 yet no restriction, and both salmon and trout are the 
 property of him who can catch them. Nowhere, how- 
 ever, can any salmon iishing or good trout fishing be 
 had except by camping out. Canadian canoemen can 
 be obtained, if not required to furnish canoes, for sixty, 
 cents a day, although the Indians, who are far superior, 
 command over a dollar, and where the angler is unac- 
 quainted with the water he is to fish, he had better take 
 the latter. They are, however, willful and exacting, 
 and sometimes stubborn and troublesome, while the 
 former are the best-natured fellows in the world, full of 
 fun, song and frolic, but often too fond of the liquor 
 case. 
 
 The best river of Lower Canada is the Mingan, but if 
 it is not already leased it soon will be. It can be reached 
 by steamer that leaves Quebec semi-weekly, stopping at 
 
SKA TROUT. 
 
 t» 
 
 Gaapi, at Bathurst on the Bay de OLaleurs, whidi is near 
 Nipifiiqnit, the best river of New Bninswick, at several 
 placea along the route, and finally at Shediac, whence 
 tliere is a communication with St. John or Halifax. 
 The steamer running at the time this is written is the 
 Arabian, and leaves Quebec every alternate Monday. 
 Tlie Nipisiquit is within a few miles of Bathurst, where 
 there is good accommodation, and boatmen can be 
 obtained without difficulty, or the fisherman may. con- 
 tinue his travels to Dalhoueie, at the mouth of the Besti- 
 gouche, and try either that or the Matapcdiac. Another 
 mode of reaching the fishing grounds, is to go to St. 
 John, and thence by steamboat to Fredericton, a^.i 
 cross over by land to the Miramichi, at Boiestown, where 
 there is excellent trout and fair salmon fishing. A list 
 of the distances from Quebec, together with further 
 instructions, is given under the head of salmon fishing, 
 as the rivers we have mentioned are properly salmon 
 
 rivers. ■:,..:'■:,: ^ ■■_:■,..;-:::, ■• . ^ %,:>;■,',, .;,., ■'-^...;.'^-, -.:;:,.;-,;/ 
 
 The sea trout fishing is so fine, that many persons 
 prefer it to taking the larger salmon, and can be indulged 
 in almost anywhere along the shores of New Brunswick, 
 Nova Scotia, Prince Edward's Island, Newfoundland 
 and Lower Canada ; and w^ere it not for the heavy fogs, 
 the Bay of St. Lawrence would be a favorite resort of 
 our adventurous yachtsmen. The Galway line of ocean 
 steamers now touches at Newfoundland, whose waters 
 abound with the finest fish. 
 
 The sea trout ascend to the head-waters of the Mira- 
 michi quite early, so that there are none of large size 
 to be caught in the lower section by the middle of 
 
60 
 
 yi^nq|IMqpippii^RpqfpiHiii|iiM i,iiiiii|iii|iwu. .iwninf 
 
 SEA TBOUT. 
 
 .}} ^m^iKv«vMmffmii^f^fi^m», lu mii 
 
 July. In that river they average from two to five 
 pounds' weight. But the Tabaeintac, a stream half-way 
 between Chatham and Bathurst, is* the most famouii 
 sea trout river of Kew Brunswick. I do not know of 
 any sea trout along the southern shore of Kew Bruns- 
 wick. 
 
 'i 
 
 < .. 
 
 f I 
 
 » i»i»^, ?< ^ 
 
 . Jf.i -Hi- 1 
 
 fi-f 
 
 ■V*' '?<> 
 
 "V, ^' 
 
 <,^ . ■ ,1. 
 
 ^^K ^ ^,pj^^ 
 
 ' i:- 
 
A TRIP to THE JJ. YAL. 
 
 61 
 
 .■:*k^^rr#.' 
 
 •f-SU. 
 
 -tV:-'- 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 '^;i%■>!:y■][^ 
 
 A TRIP TO THE LA YAL. 
 
 A beauhful breeze was blowing down between the 
 grand old hills of the majestic Saguenay on that first 
 day of August when Walton and myself started from 
 L'Anse 4 1'Eau in one of the oddly-shaped pilot-boats of 
 the St. Lawrence, for a visit to the Bon Homme la 
 Yal. The Bon Homme la Yal, a beautiful and roman- 
 tic stream that falls into the St. Lawrence about sixty 
 miles below the Saguenay, tradition asserts was named 
 by the pious Canadians in the early days of the country 
 after a beloved father confessor. But time and the 
 English, equally utilitarian, have contracted it into sim- 
 ply La Yal, and the origin of the name, together with 
 the piety that suggested it, is almost forgotten by the 
 present generation. The sun was shining brilliantly, and 
 the strong northwest wind curled the waves of the 
 ancient river, and crested them with foam; the dark 
 waters surged in their falling tide; the stunted trees 
 shivered in the blast; while the granite hills were as 
 immovable as they had been mid storm and calm for 
 many thousand years ; but the pretty little village was 
 all astir with our departure. 
 
 It is a fanciful place, with the white houses 
 perched in a nook between the whiter rocks, while the 
 
 .1 
 
fr^- 
 
 mfm^w 
 
 62 
 
 "iT'wwp'^WIPi'WIBP 
 
 A TRIP TO THE LA YAL. 
 
 ^ 
 
 graceful roofs and whitewashed walls shiuing in the 
 sunlight, produces a picturesque effect. The few English 
 families residing there, and their many friends on visit to 
 them, made an agreeable society, drawn closer together 
 by its seclusion from the world at large ; and bright eyes 
 looked brighter when there were none othei'S by. 
 
 The world of L'Anse a I'Eau was collected on the 
 wharf to witness our departure — the Canadians because 
 they had no better employment, the English that they 
 might bid us adieu. Our pilot-boat, called by the Cana- 
 dians chaloupe, an open boat some five-and-twenty foet 
 long by seven wide, was crammed full of onr numerous 
 traps, plunder or baggage, as it would be variously 
 styled in different parts of our land of freedom. The 
 fishing rods, and one gun, devoted to the destruction of 
 bears for lack of smaller game, were carefhlly stowed ; 
 small barrels, at present filled with meat, but destined to 
 return filled with fisli, lay side by side with baskets full 
 of more delicate provender ; tents, bedding and innumer- 
 able other articles occupied every inch of room. We 
 were experienced in woodsman life, and had no idea of 
 suffering the want of luxuries that could be easily car- 
 ried with us, and would never trouble us on our 
 return, unless they did it in spite of our teeth. There 
 were preserved soups, meats and fruits, sauces of many 
 kinds,, tea and coffee, the latter ground and in bottles of 
 essence ; there were brown, white and maple sugars, 
 concentrated milk, flour, Indian and oatmeal, barley, rice 
 and potatoes ; liquors of many kinds, and other things 
 too numerous to mention. For our protection from the 
 weather, we had two tents and waterproof cloth sufil- 
 
■J* iiM< III. 1 inwiium itniPi«pr"^qpnpiviP|I 
 
 mmm 
 
 A TRIP Td THB LA VAL. 
 
 ea 
 
 dent for a make-ahifb, two indian-rubber blankets apiece, 
 one coated on the side the other in the middle, water- 
 proof suits,' plenty of blankets, flannels, and warm 
 clothes; and such other things as a gentleman ordinarily 
 carries on a journey. As a defence against the mosqui- 
 toes, black flies, sand flies, and other like torments of 
 Satan's invention, these were veils, the oil of tar, and a 
 mixture of glycerine, turpentine and spearmint. Above 
 our treasures were carefully stowed our two canoes, 
 bottom upmost. In a heavy sea they cannot be towed, 
 as they are apt to fill and tear to pieces. 
 
 Few persons know how beautiful and delicate a canoe 
 is. It is manufactured only by the Indian; in that the 
 white man has never equalled him. The best is made 
 from a piece of white birch bark, stripped from the tree 
 in springtime, damped, and after being cut away to the 
 requisite extent, molded into the proper shape. The 
 inside is covered with gum, and a thinner piece of bark 
 fitted upon it, so that though the outer bark be torn, it 
 still does not leak. Over this are passed thin strips of 
 red cedar, lengthwise of the canoe, and crossing them at 
 every inch are ribs of the same wood. The gunwale is 
 formed of a stout stick of hickory or ash, laced to the 
 sides, and four strong but slender thwarts bind the whole 
 firmly together, and serve for seats or supports. Inferior 
 articles are made of but one thickness and of poorer 
 bark. The shape differs according as they are manufac- 
 tured by the Mountaineers or Micmacs, the two tribes of 
 this region, the former building a long, narrow and 
 graceful boat, easily capsized even for a canoe, and well 
 suited for travel in smooth water ; while the latter build 
 
IP 
 
 64 
 
 ▲ TBIP TO THE LA YAL. 
 
 a broader and flatter boat, drawing little water and bet 
 ter suited for ehoals and rapids. They are mostly 
 manufactured on the south side of the St. Lawrence, 
 birch< trees of the requisite size having almost disappeared 
 from the north shore. The bark is composed of innu- 
 merable layers, and is the only known substance that 
 would stand the rough contact with rocks that canoeo 
 experience. A volume could be written on the wondrous 
 qualities of birch bark, the woodsman's invaluable trea- 
 sure ; to him it is a boat, a tent, a table, a plate, a cup, a 
 basket, a pail, a basin, a frying-pan, a tea-kettle, a candle, 
 a flambeau, a cooking oven, writing paper, kindling 
 wood, and almost all the other conveniences or necessa- 
 ries of life. 
 
 The chaloupe being loaded, a long farewell sliouted 
 loudly that our spirits might n-"* *ail, and we turned our 
 backs on I/Anse h, l'£au, ibe pretty bay at the water- 
 side. The jib was set, and tbe ijra/de voiUy or foresail, 
 together with the tapecu, or jigger, while the mainsail, 
 called by the Oanadians mizzin — ^for we were a three- 
 masted schooner — was brailed up, not only to give us 
 more room, but because the open boat was then under 
 all the sail she could stagger to. The French are a won- 
 derful people; Btrange and incomprehensible are the 
 sailing vessels they have produced ; but in Canada, aided 
 by the antiquated notions of the English, the; sur^)r.8s 
 themselves and manage to combine in their pilot-boats 
 all the defects of which either system is capable. While 
 tiie rest '>f the world has discovered that tie more sails a 
 small boat carries the slower she will go, they have care- 
 fully cut up what should have been one sail into four; 
 
Mpp 
 
 ^''^^m^'mm''mimmmmmili'^lltmm 
 
 ▲ TBIP TO THE LA YAi; 
 
 Mid whereas a pilot-boat is mainly wanted in rough 
 weather, and should be capable of living in any sea, 
 tliey have built them open, and any heavy wave breaking 
 aboard would swamp them in an instant. 
 
 But of all wonderful productions of the human mind 
 the jigger excels; a mast is stepped alongside tho 
 stern-post, with a little spritsail lioisted on it ; a sta- 
 tionary boom, or out-rigged, is fastened in the stern and 
 projects aft into the water ; in the end of this boom an 
 augur hole is bored, through which is rove the sheet to 
 ^^^ figS^h *"^ the sail trimmed down or eased off. By 
 this ingenious arrangement all possible disadvantages are 
 combined without one conceivable advantage. How- 
 ever, not to condemn unreasonably, there are conve- 
 niences in this singular rig. The bowsprit can be taken 
 out and used to shove off from rocks or a lee shore, and 
 as these vessels are never known to go to windward, that 
 is important; the sprit of the jigger can be used to 
 boom out the mainsail when going wing and wing; any 
 passenger, finding a sail incommodes him, can reach up 
 and wrap it round the mast, out of his way ; and in fact, 
 if he were to pull it down and put it*in his pocket, no 
 one would miss it ; and finally, a Kentuckian might find 
 the mainmast useful, with a little whittling, as a tooth- 
 pick. It is also rather perplexing that the Canadians 
 should call the foresail the grcmde voile, which is the 
 proper name for the mainsail, and. then call the mainsail 
 the mizzin, in pronouncing which they endeavor to cheat 
 the last syllable of its vowel ; Avhereas, the jigger, if any, 
 is entitled to be called the mizzen. Instead of having a 
 cabin, like Christians, they have amidships, for it is a 
 
SPiW^' "." ■'"■ wjp^^jp;* J it«^i«' w,«i<iwi"»^!*»(>»«««») iiiwj«ii|ip;i»i!iJii.' ufflwpppspiWif'" '' ■*-»' ■ Iff Wf ». iPii 
 
 et 
 
 A TRIP TO THE LA VAL. 
 
 keel boat, what they call a hoite; and sure enough it is 
 a box, as long as the width of the boat, some seven teet, 
 about two and a half feet deep at the lowest part, and 
 rounding to the shape of the bottom, and three and a 
 half feet wide. Into that they crawl, and two men and 
 a boy have been known to sleep comfortably. 
 
 Such was the vessel that was destined to bear us sixty 
 miles down the broad St. Lawrence, and was soon tear- 
 ing along under the fierce wind that crested every wave 
 with foam. Fortunately, our course lay along the wea- 
 ther shore, for our open cookle-rshell would not have lived 
 a minute exposed to the full sweep of the blast and the 
 sea it must have raised on the other side of the river, or 
 even a few miles from shore. Once in a while, a little 
 dash of spray would come hissing on board, or fling itself 
 into our faces ; but as the wind was free, we could carry 
 ou sail as long as sue could keep above the waves, or 
 until she carried the masts out of her. Even that 
 ungainly vessel, driving on in the seething waters, car- 
 rying the canoes on her deck, and with her sails straining 
 in the blast, must have been more than picturesque. 
 
 On we tore, skirting the dreary, inhospitable coast past 
 the village of Tadousac, paat the Moulinbaud, the Esco- 
 main, a river once famous for its salmon, but no longer 
 so ; past the Patte de Lievre, a rock of the shape of the 
 hare's foot, where many years ago the sea gave up its 
 dead, and a cross now stands to mark the grave of the 
 lost nameless one; and the last puffs of the wearied 
 blast urged us quietly into the outlet of Sault de Cochoii. 
 At the mouth of this river there is a steep fall, down 
 Wl4<^ ^??*^®„* ^^& hastily descended much against her 
 
wmmmmmiKi^ 
 
 A TRIF TO THS LA f AL. 
 
 6T 
 
 yjx- 
 
 the 
 
 its 
 
 the 
 
 hen. 
 )vvn 
 
 will ; in her death covering herself with immortality 
 giving her name to the torrent that destroyed her. 
 
 Hastily launching one of the canoes, and rigging up our 
 rods, my companion and myself, eager for the fray, com- 
 menced tempting the -innocent inhabitants of the deep 
 with delusive baits. Evidently Mr. Red Hackle was not 
 one of their intimate acquaintances, and they took to 
 him amazingly. The god of day was already declining 
 behind the western hills, and casting long shadows over 
 the now placid water, but the fish leaped at the fly Jn 
 innumerable numbers, giving us such sport as we at least 
 never enjoyed before. At almost every cast a trout, 
 varying in size from a quarter of a pound to two pounds 
 and a half, plunging out of water, seized the fly fear- 
 lessly in his mouth, while often two or three were on the 
 line at once. Large or small, they were most vigorous, 
 making fierce struggles and mad rushes to escax)e, their 
 silver sides glancing tlirough the water, and their tails 
 lashing it into a foam. No dull, heavy, logy fish were 
 they, but active and lively, and excellent was the Bpoi*t 
 they gave ; so that when our men, having improvised a 
 kitchen on the rocks, called to us that supper was ready, 
 we were loath to leave our sport. It was then eight 
 o'clock; we had been fishing about three hours, and 
 over one hundred and twenty fish, averaging about half 
 a pound, were the net reward of our skill. 
 
 The scene, as we took our supper upon the end of an 
 old tumble-down dock, was peculiar. The light of the 
 fires, making the surrounding darkness the deepe?, served 
 alone to illumine with lurid brightness the faces and fan- 
 tastic dresses of our n\en, while the roar of the cataract 
 
 
^mmm''-" ''wipi 
 
 «• 
 
 98 
 
 A TRIP TO THE LA YAL. 
 
 sliut out all other sounds. The chaloupe lay below us, 
 its outline just defined upon the dark water, while we, 
 seated upon a log, drank our tea and feasted right roy- 
 ally upon fresh trout and other comforts that ciyilization 
 had provided us. 
 
 Truly incomprehensible are the Canadian people. One 
 of the few inhabitants being without any eatable thing 
 in the house, having scraped the flour barrel till he had 
 scraped olF splinters of wood, and, except for our arrival, 
 without the prospect of a meal for the morrow, had 
 soothed his sorrows by inviting his neighbors to a ball. 
 Of course there was no supper ; but the music of one 
 fiddle, and the merry spirits of the Canadian girls made 
 up for the deficiency, and when we joined them, after 
 our tea, they all seemed as happy as though stomachs 
 never grew hungry or limbs tired. Being politely offered 
 the belles, we joined the festivities, our potables adding 
 to the merriment of the party, till, with the prospect 
 of a hard day's work on the morrow, we thought best to 
 retire to the dressing-room . and camp upon the floor for 
 the night. Although the bed was hard, and our rest 
 somewhat disturbed by visions of beautiful creatures 
 arranging their hair and dresses by the light of a tallow 
 candle, before the looking-glass in our room, and at last 
 donning their hats for a final departure, we slept toler- 
 ably, and the early dawn saw us on our feet, preparing 
 for our departure. 
 
 While the men were carrying out our directions, in 
 anticipation of a long absence from civilization, the 
 attractions of the finny tribe were too seductive, and we, 
 yielding to their enticements, again cast our lines in plea- 
 
A TBIP TO THE LA TAL. 
 
 09 
 
 ^B, ID 
 
 the 
 
 tant places, and again, in about three hoars, ca})tiired 
 over eighty of the speckled silver-sides. The largest 
 weighed two pounds and a half, and was the best fish 
 taken, thns far. 
 
 The barrels were arranged, the salt was purchased and 
 stowed, the canoes made fast, the sails set, and, blessed 
 by a still more favorable southwest wind, we got under 
 way for La Val. Its mouth was only about one mile 
 distant, biit we intended to ascend it as far as possible 
 with the chaloupc, on the rising tide, and were thankful 
 for the favoring wind. At its outlet lies an island of the 
 same name with the river, behind which' stretches a 
 broad, rocky, shallow bay. We escaped by grazing 
 several rocks, and entered a sluggish, canal-like, dirty 
 river, as unlike the La VaJ of a few miles above as any- 
 thing can be conceived, and ploughed our way through 
 crowding shoals of sardines, that rose so thick as to 
 tempt us to try to catch them with a scap net. But 
 where the rocks began to be visible as the water became 
 clearer, we drew the chai.upe to the shore, and anchor- 
 ing her stem and stem, loaded our canoes for the ascent 
 of the river. We took with us the essentials of our 
 camp life, intending to send back for the superfluities 
 after we had establisbed a permanent camp ; the river 
 being too low, our canoes would not carry a heavy load. 
 
 Armed with iron-shod poles to shove up the rapids, 
 and paddles for the deeper pools, our Canadians took 
 their places and we commenced our ascent. My com- 
 panion was an expert canoeman, but for myself it was 
 my first real lesson in the unsteady little shells, and 
 seated upon the bottom I awaited every moment a 
 
70 
 
 A TRIP TO THB LA YAL. 
 
 sudden bath. Here the water was comparatirely smooth, 
 an^ little was I prepared for the falls and rapids that 
 were ere long to steady my nerves for anything, and prove 
 what a canoe can do when it is well handled. 
 
 While our head guide, with the musical taste that is 
 inherent in the French nature, rang forth — 
 
 « jUmei-moi Nicolas,'* 
 
 nn- 
 
 the paddles were being plied vigorously, and we shot 
 into the narrow cleft that forms the bed of the La Val. 
 Straight up from the water's edge sprung the hills on 
 each side, their grey rocks scarcely half covered with 
 stunted spruce, pine and hemlock, and rM*ely leaving 
 margin enough for underwood to grow upon the bank. 
 The water, now limpid as crystal, poured down in an 
 ever increasing current, fmd here and there boiled 
 over a hidden rock. On we forced our way, a bald 
 eagle the only contestant for our sole occupancy of the 
 river, past tlie grey cliffs, the sombre trees, through dark 
 pools, up rapid currents, by banks of clay greyer than 
 the granite hills themselves. On, on, with steady exer- 
 tions, at every moment ascending toward the source of 
 the wild stream. The water became shoaler, the cur- 
 rents stronger, and the rapids more rocky as we ad- 
 vanced. 
 
 Poling up the rapids was strange indeed. Imagine a 
 torrent pouring, hissing and boiling down over rocks, 
 where the foam glistened and the spray danced into the 
 air. Sweeping through narrow channels and leaping up 
 and curling over in crested waves ; imagine a light, fra- 
 
W*!p^pip?i?|ii»,M •."i»i»^w,wn]P'"J''W5W!ppp«i!WUiii iiji! i|g,P,,iji»n| 
 
 A TRIP TO THE LA TAL 
 
 71 
 
 giio boat, that a man could lift with one hand, forced 
 against snch a current, between or even over the rocks, 
 Bwayed about, swept hither and thither, and once in a 
 while caught broadside on, and, unless quickly righted, 
 carried to instant destruction. Imagine the excited 
 efforts, the quick directions of the steersman, or forward 
 boatman, whose care it is to head the canoe straight, to 
 choose at a glance the deepest channel, and to keep her 
 clear as possible from the rocks. ^^Arritef avanoe/ 
 pou89e ! d droite I d gauche /" with a thousand others, 
 come streaming forth as she touches, swings round, or 
 tries to take her own head. At times she stops entirely, 
 and by main force alone is she pushed over ; the rock 
 being distinctly felt as it bends the thin bark, that by 
 its elasticity gives to the pressure and springs to its place 
 the next instant. The men stand erect, exerting all their 
 strength, and handle their poles like a Paddy his shille- 
 lah, first on one side, then on the other, then in front 
 and then behind, the iron taking a firm hold of the slip- 
 pery rocks. Such was our ascent, and deeply interesting 
 it proved to me, although at first it seemed inevitable 
 that the foaming water must ingulf us all, and, destroy- 
 ing our provisions, leave us, if we escaped at all, ship- 
 wrecked mariners upon a desolate coast. 
 
 I was glad, therefore, at every opportunity to quit the 
 canoe, and clambering as fast as I could over the slip- 
 pery rocks, post myself ahead upon the point of some 
 hatture or ledge of rocks, and cast the fly till the canoe 
 came toiling painfully along. Great was my success, 
 beautiful the dark pools, ever varying the limpid water. 
 The treacherous banks of clay, so slippery that it was 
 
72 
 
 A TBIP TO THE LA Yil^. 
 
 scarce possible to stand on them ; the dark pines casting 
 a gloomy shadow npon the water, the sombre depths 
 where the current had worn away a cavern for the 
 naiads of the watery realm, made together a pictare 
 never to be forgotten. While the innumerable trout 
 were enough to gladden the heart of any true sportsman. 
 
 The day was pacsed and yet our journey not half 
 done ; we halted for the night as ^* The shades of eve 
 camt) slowly down," and Walton joined me with his rod 
 w^jile the tent was being pitched and the fire lighted. 
 Glorious was our sport; many a brave fish rose and 
 sunk, and rose to sink no more ; either in that region tlie 
 parent trout had not learned the infant song that in 
 civilized localities they are accustomed to teach their 
 children, or else the mothers did not know the latter 
 were out ; for certainly they were not aware of the con- 
 cealment of the cruel hook under the seeming insect;. 
 They showed no fear and we no pity, till the call of 
 *< supper " found us with over a hundred fish, averaging 
 a pound and a half. 
 
 In conscious innocence and happiness we .retired; the 
 fire was bright, the night was warm, the woods were 
 still, the sand was soft, but oh t the sand fiies. They 
 came down upon us more innumerable than the locusts 
 in Egypt, and if Pharaoh had only been tormented with 
 them, he would have given up in one night. I tossed 
 and turned and rolled about, hid my head under tlie 
 blanket, and covered it up with my handkerchief. All 
 to no use ; they would still find some means of entrance, 
 the little, invisible things; and they bit till my face 
 seemed on fire. Their bite does not itch like a mosqui* 
 
# 
 
 A TBIP TO THE LA VAL. 
 
 1h 
 
 lU 
 
 to's, but bnrns, and I never again shall despise a Lbing 
 becanse it is small. Compelled to surrender all hope of 
 sleep, I gathered the dying embers of the fire, and add- 
 ing fuel, drove away the pests, while, at the same time, 
 with infinite relish, I scorched onr men, who, to my pre- 
 vious disgust, had been sleeping during my sufferings as 
 though they were in paradise. 
 
 By the earliest dawn I had waded into the river and 
 made the discovery that fish, unlike the proverbial birds, 
 will not take the fly too early. Just before the sunlight 
 tinged the mountain-tops, they, thinking to provide their 
 own breakfasts, provided me with mine, so that, when 
 the time came to leave off, I had taken twenty fish 
 weighing over forty pounds. 
 
 Immediately after the meal was over, we continued 
 our ascent as rapidly as possible, dreading another expe- 
 rience such as we had endured the previous night, and 
 hurried on to reach our regular camping-ground and 
 pitch a proper tent. On the way, I only had time to 
 catch fifteen, weighing thirty-seven pounds, the largest 
 being of three pounds and a half, and late in the after- 
 noon hailed with pleasure the information that at last 
 we had reached the spot that was to be to us for some 
 time our home. It was a beautiful location ; the stream, 
 by a sudden bend, forming a low, long point of land, 
 nearly level, which had been, by previous camping par- 
 ties, entirely denuded of underbrush and partly of trees. 
 In front, midway ip the river, was a large flat rock, 
 beyond which, extending to the further shore, and just 
 fairly within casting distance, lay a deep, black pool. 
 A dead tree leaned over this rock from our side of the 
 
 4 
 
ippllpilnpiniliplpil 
 
 wmm 
 
 r:: 
 
 74 
 
 A TRIP TO THE LA YAL. 
 
 river, forming a .perilous swinging bridge by wLicli one 
 could reach it dry shod. Directly across a cool spring 
 brook entered the La Yal at a place where the shore was 
 a mass of overhanging underbrush. A pathway had 
 been cut through the woods by some previous salmon 
 fishers to the pools above and below ; and with the polea, 
 benches, boards and other insignificant but useful articles 
 left by our predecessors, our camping-ground combined 
 every requisite with many luxuries. At five o'clock 
 the tent was pitched, our necessary part of the arrange- 
 ments, the head-work done, and "Walton and myself com- 
 menced fishing. We stood side by side upon the rock 
 already mentioned, and before dark had taken fifty-three 
 trout, weighing one hundred and twenty pounds. They 
 were most vigorous fish, and many a time did their con- 
 tinued runs almost exhaust our lines. We had fished at 
 Sault de Cochon with three flies ; on asoending the river 
 had diminished them to two, and now the fish themselves 
 coolly reduced them to one. Almost invariably, if we 
 struck two fish at a time, lio matter what pains we took, 
 one broke away with the hook. After a short time, wo 
 did not pretend to use more than one, and then had to 
 take great pains in removing it from the mouth to avoid 
 its being destroyed, so tough were the lips and strong the 
 teeth of these noble fish. Indeed, it was soon effectually 
 proved that any fiy with the hackle wound from the 
 shoulder to the bend was worthless, the first fish biting 
 away the hackle, which should have been only wound 
 close to the head. Heretofore the destruction of my fly 
 had been a minor consideration, but now I found that I 
 xniwt look to myself, or, although provided with over 
 
 ■^•. 
 
A TBIP TO THS LA YAL. 
 
 7b 
 
 ting 
 lund 
 
 fly 
 
 latl 
 )ver 
 
 thirty dozen, there might be danger of my falling short 
 As it was, the fish destroyed in the course of my trip at 
 least ten dozen. 
 
 A delicious night's rest was the reward of our efforts 
 at arranging a proper camp, and in fact, henceforth 
 there was no trouble from flies, mosquitoes, or any insect, 
 except to a slight degree during the day-time ; an annoy- 
 ance that a segar would effectually dispel. From a quarter 
 before seven to a quarter past eight next morning I alone 
 took twelve fish averaging over two pounds, and during 
 the day, while ascending the river for a short distance to 
 investigate what now became to us a serious question, 
 the depth of water, Walton and myself together caught 
 twelve, and in the afternoon twenty-eight more. In the 
 course of this day we established a rule to throw back 
 all fish weighing under two pounds, a rule we adhered 
 to till our last day in the river. The water proved to be 
 very low, and although at night we occasionally heard 
 the rush of a large fish up the rapids, the salmon had 
 passed above and were probably on their spawning 
 grounds, whither it now began to be very doubtful 
 whether we could follow them. It was late in the sea- 
 son, as we knew, for salmon, although we had come pre- 
 pared for them, and wished to catch at least a few. 
 
 We had picked up at Sault de Gochon, as a super- 
 numerary, a boy of about eighteen, who was one of the 
 most re'narkable beings the sun ever shone upon. He 
 would sit for hours with his mouth open and his hands 
 before him, and, unless told, would hardly ha^e sense to 
 eat enough to keep himself from starvation. After dark, 
 oar men, with a hook and line and the entrails of a trout 
 
mmmm 
 
 n 
 
 A TRIP TO THB LA YAL. 
 
 for bait, caught some eels, and ho, emulous of theii suo 
 cess, took the line after they had finished, and concluded 
 he would try his luck. Although he had been watching 
 their proceedings for an hour with the deepest interest, 
 he had no idea what they used for bait, and was forced 
 to inquire. They, with peals of laughter, suggested 
 alternately *' a cup of tea, a bit of biscuit, a little ale, 
 a lump of sugar," and such other anomalous baits. 
 Although he at last succeeded in ascertaining from them 
 what they used, it was not to be supposed that he would 
 catch anything; in fact, it is highly probable he fell 
 asleep over his rod and slept ti, morning. 
 
 The next day we prepa/ed for a portage of five miles 
 to the Lake la Val, a pond of some two miles in length 
 by one in breadth, formed by the river's spreading out 
 and filling a valley in the hills. Walton donned a heavy 
 basket, Joe, our chief canoeman, took the canoe, while 
 Frangois, the lazy boy, carried a bundle of bedding. 
 We crossed the river, and striking directly into the 
 woods, followed an Indian trail that had probably been 
 there before this continent Was discovered by Columbus. 
 The mode of carrying the canoe was truly original ; it 
 was reversed and mounted on Joe's shoulders, and his 
 head being entirely concealed, he steadied it by holding 
 to one of the cross pieces, and, at a distance, looked like 
 some strange animal with a huge trunk, supported by 
 two little legs. It was surprising how he managed it 
 through the trees and among the underbrush, and even 
 ascended places where we were compelled to give our 
 legs the aid of our hands, not, however, without strenu- 
 ous exertion, and the perspiration streamed from him 
 
A TRIP TO THE LA YAL. 
 
 77 
 
 when, after accor plishing abont a mile, he leaned \t 
 upon a fallen log and slipped from beneath. Then the 
 warning my friend had so often given me never to wet 
 the bottom of the canoe, because it augmented its weight 
 BO terribly, came forcibly to mind. Fortunately Franco i a 
 waked up, and having volunteered to carry the canoe 
 over the next stretch, and it being ascertained, to every 
 one's astonishment, that he knew how, proved himself 
 for the first time of any value, and shortened our jour- 
 ney considerably. During the portage we saw our first 
 game, a spruce grouse so tame that no efforts we made 
 could induce him to fly. He escaped death, primarily 
 because we had no gun, and secondarily because it was 
 out of season. At lust, after a trying journey for our 
 men, we passed a deserted lumbermen's shanty, and 
 found ourselves upon the sandy shore of the lovely Lake 
 la Val. 
 
 This beautiful sheet of water, lying amid high sterile 
 hills far from the abodes of man, has remained, and will 
 continue for centuries, unvisited except by the native 
 Indian or the adventurous sportsman. Romantic in its 
 location and appearance, it is remarkable for the num- 
 ber and apparently irreconcilable character of the fisb 
 that inhabit its waters. While the voracious northern 
 pickerel and giant mascallonge inhabit the upper part, 
 and the fierce, greedy and powerful salmon have appro- 
 priated the outlet, shad or mullet and lake trout, both 
 comparatively inoffensive, dwell in the centre, and 
 doubtless prove an easy prey and grateful food to their 
 natural enemies on either hand. Along the upper mar- 
 gin, weeds grow, and the bottom is in places soft and 
 
n 
 
 ▲ TRIP TO THB LA TAL. 
 
 mnddj, while the retidne of the shore and bottom is firm 
 white sand. The lake looked, in its broad expanse with 
 the sun dancing on its rippled snrface, lovelj to a\9 
 whose eyes had for a time been confined to a narrow 
 gorge or the blue sky above. 
 
 Hastily launching the canoe, we descended the outlet, 
 where the water poured over huge bowlders covered with 
 a long, weedy grass, the seeds of which had been washed 
 from the lake. Walton was standing in the bow of the 
 canoe, and shonted with delight, and waved his paddle 
 enthusiastically in air as salmon after salmon flashed up 
 through the water, and shot by, rapid as light. Tlie 
 sight made our nerves tingle, but it was useless to try 
 for them ; the water was too clear, and they were dark 
 and long run from the sea. At one point he frantically 
 shouted to stop, and hastily explained that he had seen 
 five salmon and numerous large trout in one deep hole. 
 In vain, however, did we cast our flies, they had been 
 frightened, and probably rushed down the stream, for we 
 could not stir a fin. Descending a short distance fur- 
 ther, we halted for dinner, after which, taking advantage 
 of a resting spell, I waded back to the same spot. 
 
 The pool lay close beside a little island covered with 
 alders, and by crawling cautiously I kept out of sight, 
 and reaching the head of the island, cast carefully and 
 lightly round it into the pool. The line went out straight 
 the full length, the fly fell like a snow-flake on the 
 water, there was an angry rush, a mighty splash, a quick 
 taughtening of the line, and an enormous fish was 
 fastened to my frail tackle. In his astonishment he 
 fortunately darted up stream, and by skillful manage- 
 
 
A TRIP TO THE LA TAL 
 
 in' 
 
 ment was led round into the otlier channel, whore, after 
 many a struggle and desperate eflfort to escape, baffled 
 only by prudence and care exerted through a long but 
 excitinaf half hour, I landed him by walking into the 
 water waist deep, and slipping the net under him. As 
 for leading him to shore, my rod, already bent double 
 would not bear the strain. He was a dark-backed, 
 yellow-sided river fiah, and weighed four pounds and a 
 quarter. Ho was our champion prize, and remained so 
 to the end. Tlie water not having been disturbed, I 
 made another cast, and was rewarded by another fish 
 that weighed four pounds. A brace of beauties, fit to set 
 before a king. The second one, however, so fought and 
 flounced, and kicked and slapped about in the pool, in 
 spite of all my persuasive efforts to induce him to leave 
 it, that the rest grew suspicious, and refused the most 
 seductive baits. My friend looked the least little bit 
 envious when I rejoined him, and mentioned his having 
 previously taken a sea trout at the Mingan that weighed 
 nine pounds. I smiled, of course respectfully. We 
 returned to the lake, having taken in all fifteen fish 
 averaging three pounds, and leaving the canoe on the 
 beach, wended our way through the woods back to our 
 sylvan home, where Pierre received us with a redoubtable 
 supper. Insatiable, however, I that evening took eight, 
 and next morning three, from our preserve, as we called 
 the pool in front of the tent. , 
 
 As we intended to return to the lake, and might per« 
 haps spear a pickerel, Joe made an egog, which appears 
 to be the Indian name for fish-spear, the Canadians 
 having not only adopted the word, but coined from it a 
 
 '.*■.." 
 
pp 
 
 mmm 
 
 mm 
 
 rjppnnpifi 
 
 'iMim^ji,i|iM 
 
 wppifrpiwsiw 
 
 *80 
 
 A TRIP TO THE LA VAL. 
 
 m 
 
 I ; 
 
 French verb, egogger^ to spear. Armed with it, and 
 provided with make-thift tenting materials, we has- 
 tened to the lake, and launching our canoe, tried its 
 virtues upon the pickerel. The latter, however, were so 
 scarce, that we rigged up the more effectual spinning 
 tackle, v'd took a pickerel and a mascallonge of about 
 twelve pounds each, and struck another of the latter 
 very large, weighing, as well as could be guessed, from 
 })is passing close to the boat, about forty pounds. That 
 night, provided with flambeaux, we went out for the 
 purpose of again trying to spear pickerel ; but, passing 
 by the outlet of the pond, were so attracted by the 
 numerous salmon, we could get no further. 
 
 It was a romantic sight ; the canoe, lit up by the 
 blazing flam oeau, that was fastened, high above our heads, 
 to a pole fixed in the bow, and by its glare made the 
 surrounding darkness the more impenetrable ; the silence 
 of the night was unbroken, excepts by the dip of the 
 paddle; and calmness of the water unruflled, througli 
 which the bewildered salmon lazily floated, following us 
 about, coming so close that we could touch them with 
 our hands, and occasionally jumping frantically into the 
 air, utterly out of their wits and at the mercy of any 
 poacher. Walton was excited, myself enthusiastic, but 
 Joe was frantic; '^ Egoggez done! egoggez doncP'' he 
 shouted, wildly pushing at the fish with his paddle, and 
 almcat ready to jump out of the boat. My friend held 
 the spear in hand — he was a splendid spearsman, and 
 could have filed the boat with salmon ; but it was ille- 
 gal as well as dishonorable to catch them in that maimer 
 — he wavered but a moment, and then with a sigh lay 
 
A TRIP TO THE LA VAL. 
 
 81 
 
 Jown the spear and took up his paddle, the greatest 
 example of self-command and honest sportsmanship I 
 ever knew. General Washington, when he refused to bo 
 king, was no greater. My friend was not rewarded if he 
 did not sleep happier for it that night in the old cabin on 
 the shore of Lake la Yal ; and if the falling pipe of the 
 rotting stove that nearly crushed his head had killed 
 him, he would have died virtuouSj respected and without 
 reproach. ' 
 
 Oh, that I had the pen of Julius Ceesar, Homer, 
 Shakspeare, or even Byron, that I might write an ode 
 to sapin, the balsam fir-tree ! Tree of the weary woods- 
 man, tree of the luxurious sportsman, tree of all men 
 whom the drowsy god catches in the woods and compels 
 to his embraces I A bed of thy leaves is softer than one 
 of eider-down, and far more comfortable. A prince 
 might sleep on thee and dream he was in paradise. 
 Thou preservest us from colds, from rheumatism, and the 
 many ills that flow from the evil humors of the cold 
 ground. Tlty leaves, growing in one directive from the 
 stem, will lie flat, and may be piled to any depth — a foot 
 of luxury, as in our permanent camp— and make a couch 
 that combines the softness of the feather-bed with the 
 flrmness of the mattress, and an elasticity purely thy 
 own. To thee, and to thy mate the hemlock, and thy 
 associate the white birch, I now, far from thee, waft, in 
 a cloud of tobacco-smoke, my love. Go on, increase and 
 wax great ; may often the one support me on the land, 
 the other on the water 1 • 
 
 When the next morning's sun had once more brought 
 round my birthday, the thirty-first that had ever dawned. 
 
m 
 
 PiHRipPilllliqpplMPPMPI^^P 
 
 83 
 
 A TRIP TO THE LA VAL. 
 
 k'v 
 
 we commemorated the fact by iindertaking to descend 
 the La Yal from the outlet to onr home ; a roundabout 
 journey of some fifteen mileb, in lieu of the portage of 
 five. It was to be a final test of the depth of the water, 
 as the course lay over bad rapids and falls, and we 
 entered upon the journey with great uncertainty. Pack- 
 ing our temporary bedding in a water-proof blanket, our 
 party embarked and sped gaily along for the first mile 
 or two, but soon found the bed of the stream one mass 
 of huge rocks, over which the canoe had to be driven 
 with sheer force, and which tore and strained the fragile 
 bark till it leaked terribly. 
 
 During this day our progress was necessarily slow 
 and laborious, and to relieve ourselves we fished continu- 
 ally. Tlie trout rose beautifully — iA fact, in one pool 
 they were so thick, sweeping round in shoals, that we 
 grew surfeited, and left it for a spot where they were 
 less plenty. Still it required a long line and light fly to 
 cull the largest — -which were the ones we sought — and 
 skill and patience to land them. We might have taken 
 hundreds had the time permitted, or our canoe been in 
 condition to carry them ; but every strain had increased 
 the leak till we could no longer keep it down by bailing, 
 and had to land from time to time to turn the water out. 
 In fact, it was a wet time altogether • there was a driz- 
 zling rain, the canoe was three inches deep with water, 
 we had both been wading part of the day, and had so 
 arranged our water-proof blanket that it projected be- 
 yond the temporary tent, and catching all the water that 
 drained off, would not permit it to soak through, but 
 collected a miniature La^e la Yal in the middle of our 
 

 ™!7TT!T-. ' ■<K—^~'."^T'Jf^'- 
 
 
 A TRIP TO THE LA VAL. 
 
 83 
 
 bed. I being the heaviest, had the most of it ; but by 
 the aid of a blazing fire, I slept warm and comfortable 
 till the morning air struck me, when the time came to 
 rise, and sent a shiver to my very bones, giving me at 
 first horrible visions of consumption, night-sweats and 
 early death. Our tally of fish taken during the day 
 amounted to fifty-three, weighing nearly two hundred 
 pounds, and I had captured the greatest weight as yet 
 taken at one cast, landing two fish, one of which weighed 
 two and the other three pounds and a half. A handsome 
 present the river gods made me for my birthday 1 
 
 The next day, after an hour had been spent in vainly 
 trying to attract the salmon, our journey was continued 
 to the camp, the river as we descended proving worse, 
 the rocks higher, the rapids fiercer, the water lower, 
 our canoe frailer, till it came almost to dragging the 
 latter over the bed of a current instead of floating com- 
 fortably along its surface. All hope of ascending to the 
 head-waters was extinct, the rapids above the lake we 
 knew must be worse than those below, and the latter 
 were totally impassable for a loaded canoe. In our 
 despair, we fished steadily at every breathing spell, and 
 might have taken unlimited numbers, for they rose 
 gloriously. 
 
 While walking unconsciously along, separated from 
 my companions, I was fairly startled at observing what 
 at first glance seemed to be a female figure seated on the 
 opposite side of the stream beneath the bank. The 
 impression was only dissipated by a close inspection. 
 Tlie rains had scooped out of the bank a dark niche, the 
 edges of which were ornamented with vines and mofls, 
 
 
W,^|P|ipiH,l.ii|... 
 
 ■l|!l»,W!l^!li|i|«»!B^PIW^"IF« 
 
 ijji)i.>i,|l iKiiiii^qfii 
 
 ^ 
 
 A TEIP TO THE LA VAL. 
 
 and in it was seated a figure of clay, worn to an aston- 
 ishing likeness of a woman with a gipsy bonnet on her 
 head. She appeared to be seated, and her bonnet, its 
 strings and her dress, were accurately imitated by the 
 curling white birch bark. The color of her face seemed 
 dark brunette, set off by the birch bonnet, that was 
 brought out in strong relief by the heavy shadow of the 
 background. Altogether, it was a startling apparition, 
 and conjured up to my eyes the wondrous sights of the 
 times of elfin power, when my spectre would have made 
 a most perfect wood nymph. 
 
 "Whether my elf gave me good luck or not, it is impos- 
 sible to say, buf, we caught thirty-seven magnificent fish, 
 and after a hard day's work, during which we had toiled 
 at the canoe and waded most of the way, the camp was 
 no unwelcome sight. It required Pierre's best culinary 
 efforts to restore our spirits, and soothe our disappoint- 
 ment at being unable to effect a further ascent, in which 
 our worst forebodings were confirmed by Jermain, an 
 additional guide who had followed us, and who reported 
 from his Indian friends that the upper stream was impass- 
 able, the water being a foot lower than was ever known 
 before. With sad hearts, therefore, the council of war 
 determined that advance was hopeless, and retreat ine- 
 vitable ; even our splendid sport could not console us. 
 
 It had been drizzling all day, and the next morning 
 we devoted to a general drying oif wet articles— the 
 camp looked like a grand clothes washing establishment, 
 with lines btretclied from tree to tree round a big fire, 
 and hung with (Jotiic-s. I tool: some seven trcu 
 dinner, but otherwise the fish had a rest until ihv. 
 
 I or 
 
 rjior- 
 
^^^^'mmimmi'''''''^i9mimmiimmmmmmmKlimm 
 
 A TRIP TO THE LA ViL. 
 
 85 
 
 row, which was to be onr last on the river, when we cap- 
 tured twenty-eight, a few of which, however, did not 
 exceed a pound and a half in weight. 
 
 The next day came, and good bye to the beautiful La 
 Val. Slowly and sorrowfully we struck our tent, sadly 
 we collected together, and stowed the many little arti- 
 cles that the occasion had hallowed to our hearts. "With 
 feelings of deep regret we embarked, and looking our 
 last look at the camping-ground that had been our home, 
 commenced a descent to our chaloupe. As there were 
 three canoes, and only five canoemen, including my 
 friend, I was gladly compelled to take the bow of one 
 and act as steersman. Of course my experience was 
 limited, for, with the exception of having once upset 
 Walton to his intense disgust, I bad taken little active 
 part in canoe management, and having for my stern-oar, 
 Joe, whose only idea was to push ahead under all cir- 
 cumstances, we performed manoeuvres that astonished 
 more than they delighted our associates. Ours was the 
 leaky canoe that had been patched up with gum and a 
 piece of a shirt for the occasion, and being utterly reck- 
 less of it, we shot down rapids and leaped over rocks 
 like a runaway race-horse. Wonderful were our hair 
 breadth escapes ; the rapid water, Joe with his ^^Ava7ice2 
 toiijours^^ gave me no time to see and less to avoid the 
 half-hidden dangers, even if my skill had been equal to 
 the task, and we darted along amid the foaming current, 
 or plunged headlong down cataracts, at a rate and in a 
 manner that would have surprised a locomotive off the 
 track. We succeeded, however, in keeping straiglit with 
 the current, and although once or twice our destruction 
 
wmmmmmm 
 
 S6 
 
 A TRIP TO THE LA VAL. 
 
 BCcuied inevitable, we finally arrived safe, though in a 
 leaky and dilapidated condition, at the place where we had 
 anchored our chaloupe. Tlie latter, left to herself, had 
 been trying what she could do on the rocks, arid had 
 succeeded, with the aid of u falling tide, in upsetting 
 twice, and so frightening the boy in charge of her that 
 he had fled for refuge to a shanty, which providentially 
 was near at hand. ^ • : .r ^^ ;. ^ 
 
 Joe had taken the opportunity during our last day's 
 fishing, on hearing of the misfortunes of his boat, to 
 remove her to the Sault de Cochon, so that we had to 
 paddle about two miles in the open St. Lawrence. Tlie 
 river was over twenty miles broad, and, under the influence 
 of a southwesterly wind, was so rough that our un- 
 steady bark danced, tossed and rolled about uncommonly. 
 1 could no longer stand up, as I had been forced to do 
 hitherto, and was brought to my knees at once, while 
 even Joe found it safer to sit down on the thwart. No 
 one who has not tried it can imagine what a canoe is in 
 the slightest sea-way ; it appears to bob from under you, 
 and rolls and dances so quickly as to render staying in 
 it almost impossible, even if it should not carry on t its 
 evident design to turn bottom up. Once at Sault de 
 Cochon and I again tried the fish, having takeri, on the 
 descent of the La Val, twelve, and was rewarded as I 
 deserved, by total failure. 
 
 The wind had died out, the water lay a perfect mirror, 
 and, crowding down into the narrow cock-pit, we slept 
 till two o'clock in the morning, when a favoring tide 
 helped us slowly along toward our destination. The 
 night passed, and the next day, and we drifted by place 
 
 
A TKIP TO THE LA VAL. 
 
 87 
 
 after place that we passed before with such rapidity, and 
 sunset again found us only thirty-thi*ee miles on our way. 
 We ran into a little bay at the mouth of the Escomain, 
 where, having built a huge fire and eaten a hearty sup- 
 per, we slept, on a bed of the softest pebble stones, 
 soundly and sweetly till the first grey light of daybreak, 
 when we continued our jouirney along a coast so poor 
 thaf'the best fed hogs are, as we were credibly informed, 
 light and weak enough to be blown over by a strong 
 wind, and mill-stones, to say nothing of the miller, 
 starve for want of grain. 
 
 Again the hills of the Saguenay rise to our view, 
 Tadousac rests calmly in its nook, and the sun shines on 
 the white houses of L'Anse k PEau as when we left. 
 Our trip is done. The La Yal will live in our memory 
 as long as we can cast a fiy — aye, and when gout or age 
 shall have laid us on the shelf. To you, my friend, the 
 genial companion of my trip, I give my thanks ; may we 
 meet again, and once more stand side by side upon some 
 projecting rock, as fish after fish rises to our fly. May 
 you long live to enjoy the sport at which you so excel, 
 and may you leave childi*en that can cast a iiy as well. 
 To the stately St. Lawrence, to the magniticenfc Sague« 
 nay, to the beautiful La Yal, a long farewell. 
 
 f 
 
 
8S 
 
 THE SALMON. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE SALMON. 
 
 . 1 
 
 Salmo Salar. — ^This celebrated fish is totally dilFerent 
 in appearance from the trout, having decidedly brilliant 
 scales, colored bluish black down to the lateral line, and 
 beautiful and white as glistening silver below. It has 
 on the gill-covers and upper part of the sides occasion- 
 ally dark irregular spots. The tail is more forked, and 
 proportionally more expanded than that of the trout, 
 while the fish is of a more slim and elegant shape. 
 
 The branchial rays are twelve, and the fin-rays are as 
 follf>ws : 
 
 D. 13.0 ; P. 15 ; V. 9 ; A. 9 . 0. 19f . 
 
 These splendid and valuable fish, whether regarded as 
 an object of the sportsman's skill or the epicurean's 
 taste, though once abundant in our State, are so no more. 
 Ilendrick Hudson, on ascending the river he discovered, 
 was particularly struck with their immense numbers, 
 and continually mentions the " great stores of salmon." 
 The last unhappy fish that was seen in the Hudson had 
 his adventurous career terminated by the net, near 
 Troy, in the year 1840. The rivers flowing into Lake 
 Ontario abounded with them even until a recent period, 
 but the persistent efforts at their extinction have at last 
 prevailed, and except a few stragglers they have ceased 
 
THE SALMO^T. 
 
 S9 
 
 from out our waters. The willful, stupid obstinacy in 
 building dams without fisliways, in crowding the riveis 
 with nets, and neglecting all measures fur tlieir protec- 
 tion, have annihilated the noblest of game fish. They 
 are now only to be found in Maine, and to the uortli- 
 ward of it. The rivers of Maine are no longer worth 
 the angler's attention, and if he would have good sport 
 he must proceed to the wilds of New Bi-unswick or 
 Lower Canada. 
 
 In the wild woods of those famed regions they 
 abound, and there, amid the solitude of nature, in its pri 
 meval grandeur, the writer has cast the fly over thou- 
 sands, has lured hundreds from their hidden depths, and 
 seen myriads moving about in their romantic pools, oi 
 darting away when disturbed ; has waited, casting 
 patiently, for their appearance ; has felt the vigor of 
 their first rush ; has seen them leap, maddened, high out 
 of water; Las experienced all the variations of hope, 
 the exultation of success, and, alas ! the agony of fail- 
 ure. He has known them to dart away resistlessly down 
 some impassable rapid, and leap for joy as they broke 
 his frail tackle, and he has seen them panting with the 
 gaff in their sides and the dark blood streaming over their 
 resplendent scales, as his quick-eyed assistant had secured 
 them at the moment the hook was tearing out. Aye, he 
 once had the good luck of having one that was thrown 
 out of water by the blow, the hook tearing out at the 
 same time, caught on the gaff ere he fell back into the 
 watery grave of hope. 
 
 The glorious sport I Ye delvers after the ore of gold, 
 hidden as it seems to be in boxes of silk or bales of cot- 
 
90 
 
 THE SALMON. 
 
 fr 
 
 ton, in bits of paper or leaves of ledgers; ye weary 
 crawlers through the streets of mammon, who think the 
 world is bounded by the four walls of your ambition ; 
 ye who have been brought up to work, as though work 
 were the aim of life instead of the means of its improve- 
 ment ; ye who have laid up a few hundred for some pet 
 dissipation, a visit to Saratoga or Newport, or a fight 
 with the tiger— that man-eater — and ye who must watch 
 every day over your accumulated millions, lest a penny 
 slip into a cranny and be lost, go to the woods, where 
 you will be surrounded by the sombre trees, where the 
 rocks will be your companions and the wind whisper 
 and the stream prattle to you. There you will leani 
 how little it takes to render man comfortable and happy, 
 how but for his reckless passions and extravagant desires 
 all might be satisfied and plenty crown the human race. 
 There, wliere nature speaks to you in her beauty, in her 
 grandeur, and occasionally in her stupendous power ; 
 where the wonders of the universe by day and night are 
 ever present, like old friends ; where there is naught but 
 the thin air between the Maker and his beings, you may 
 learn what will be more valuable some day than any 
 treasure of gold or silver. Breathe the pure air, shake 
 off every ill that flesh is heir to ; add to your life, if you 
 love it so well, a week for each day, and that a day of 
 never wearying enjoyment. Take rod and gun, aspire 
 to cast the line far and straight and light, feel the strug- 
 gle of patience, perseverance, skill, resolution, with brute 
 strength and cunning ; know the pleasurable anxiety of 
 the chase, the alternate hope and fear, and the final 
 glory of success. Learn the woodsman's art, the " gentle 
 
'"J^JI" 
 
 THE- SALMON. 
 
 «raft cf venerie," and wonder at the resources , of the 
 wilderness, and on your return thank me not, if you can. 
 But that you may do it well, read the following prosy 
 instructions carefully, for if they be not entertaining 
 they be useful. 
 
 The rod for salmon fishing should be from sixteen to 
 twenty feet long ; one of sixteen, or even fifteen, if well 
 made and elastic, will answer. It must be strong and 
 stiff, but not too heavy, and the further it will cast the 
 greater will be the success. Salmon are more wary than 
 trout ; if they see a horrible, ill-shapen being, like man, 
 lashing at them with a long whip, they lie close to tlio 
 bottom, and it is only by keeping well out of sight, and 
 never disturbing or approaching the pool, that they can 
 be tempted. A short rod, though it may be capable of 
 casting the requisite distance, will not give sufficient 
 command nor enable the angler to lift the fly with 
 facility. 
 
 The fly must be cast straight, light, and as far as pos- 
 sible ; it must be put exactly upon the right ripj^le, and 
 must fall like a snow-flake ; it should, if the water 
 is still, be allowed to sink a few inches and then drawn 
 up to and along the surface a foot or so, again allowed to 
 sink, and so on till it is raised for another cast. It is not 
 moved as rapidly, nor with precisely the same tremulous 
 motion as in trout fishing. Often a long time passes 
 before a fish, no matter how plenty they may be, v ill 
 rise; and when he does come, it is as often to play ^vitii 
 and slap at the fly as to take it. Nothing is more pro- 
 vokingly exciting than to have a magnificent fish rush 
 again and again at your fly, leap over and around it, 
 
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 IMAGE EVALUATION 
 TEST TARGET (MT-3) 
 
 
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 U£ 
 
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 Photographic 
 
 Sciences 
 
 Corporation 
 
 33 WEST MAIN STREET 
 
 WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 
 
 (716) 872-4503 
 
 
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■liiilWili 
 
 Sflil«p 
 
 THE SALMON. 
 
 break near it or strike at it with his tail, without, how 
 ever, showing the slightest desire to take it in his month. 
 
 A fish hooked foul, though he gives a great deal of 
 trouble, and often breaks the tackle,, does not afford half 
 tlie legitimate sport of one that has the hook in the 
 mouth. • ■• ' ^ ^ ' '• 
 
 When fish are playing thus, and it is fully determined 
 that they will not take the allurement presented them, 
 no matter how attractive, it becomes necessary to substi- 
 tute another, and continue so doing till their dftinty pal- 
 ates are satisfied. -^ > . - - 
 
 When they finally take hold, have a care for their first 
 rush ; the pain, if pain they feel, or astonishment, drives 
 them wild, and they dash and fling themselves about, 
 ' leap out of water, and carry on generally in a manner to 
 surprise weak nerves. Finding their efforts to escape 
 vain, they will dart down the nearest rapids, and here 
 they must be followed if the water is too shallow for the 
 canoe, by the angler, with the agility of the antelope. 
 He must have feet, hands, and eyes for everything. The 
 fish must be guided through the safest current, the line 
 kept clear of rocks, while the angler must pursue his 
 course through pools and over ledges and bowlders, slip- 
 pery with the water, and requiring the surencss of foot 
 of the chamois. On, on he must go, regardless of falls 
 or bruises, his reel making sweet mutic to the uncoiling 
 line, keeping within sight of his prey till the latter 
 reaches the next pool or resting-place. After an hour's 
 struggle in this, he may take down another rapid in the 
 same vigorous style. In these descents the angler will 
 find his gaff, if shod with iron, a great convenience in 
 
 I 
 
THE SALM027. 
 
 w 
 
 jcape 
 here 
 r the 
 lope. 
 The 
 line 
 his 
 slip- 
 foot 
 alls 
 ling 
 tter 
 Jur's 
 the 
 rill 
 in 
 
 
 i 
 
 steadying his steps, and heavy shoes w'ih 
 will in a measure prevent his slipping and will 
 stono bruises, although they are apt to 
 
 iron nails 
 
 obriate 
 
 break the 
 
 delicate knees of the canoe, and should be removed 
 before getting into one, and moccasins or slippers sub- 
 stituted. There is a well authenticated story of one fish 
 that was struck at six o'clock in the evening, followed 
 down through three rapids, and finally lost at half-past 
 ten o'clock that evening. v - - r ^ .. i : >. . r^r, 
 
 Salmon will sulk, remaining motionless at the bottom 
 for a long time after they are wearied with an unsuc- 
 cessful struggle, and must be aroused with pebbles, bear- 
 ing on the line, or in some other way. Many of the 
 pools in the Canadian waters have been worn out of clay 
 banks, and their sides under water are ofbn perpendicu- 
 lar or overhanging. When the fish sulks in one of these, 
 the line cuts into the edge of this bank, and is of course 
 broken to pieces by the first rush. 
 
 Gentleness will do much with fish, as with other rea* 
 Bonable beings, and a friend of mine saved a number in 
 a pool above an impassable rapid, where other anglers 
 had pronounced fishing impracticable, by striking and 
 handling the fish with extreme delicacy till they were 
 led to the head of the pool away from the dangerous 
 neighborhood. 
 
 There is no superlative salmon line made; the best, 
 probably, plaited silk, tapered and covered with a prepa- 
 ration to exclude the water; but that in general use is 
 of hair and silk plaited or twisted — a combination that, 
 as we elsewhere remark, is by no means advantageous ; 
 a plain hair line is preferred by careful anglers, and ehn* 
 
«* 
 
 THE SALMON. 
 
 pie silk will answer. The leader should be of single gut, 
 if round and strong, and may be colored in tea. Double 
 gut will break the rod but not save the fish. The flies, 
 contrary to the received opinion in Europe, should be 
 dark, especially clarets and browns, above all the impal- 
 pable *' fiery brown," and of rath^ a small size, with a 
 few larger for rough water. The reel should be large 
 enough to carry two hundred yards of line, although 
 with activity and a hundred an angler may make out. 
 
 As for the number of fish, even in the best streams, 
 those who read Lanmann must receive his statements 
 with, to use a moderate term, some allowance. Ten or 
 twelve fish in the course of a day is excellent luck, and 
 will keep the angler sufficiently occupied and (excited, 
 but the average good fishing through the season is not 
 half that number, and there are many blank days. The 
 upper shore of the St. Lawrence furnishes the largest 
 fish, but Kew Brunswick the most abundant. The rivers 
 in the former are mostly leased to individuals by the 
 government, and of course closed to the public except 
 by the consent of the lessees. That famous association 
 called the Hudson's Bay Company, a kingdom within a 
 kingdom, until a few years ago, were sole proprietors of 
 fishing rights, but having tak^^n pains worthy of our 
 emulation to destroy the fish, the government curtailed 
 their privileges, and passed stringent laws and regula- 
 tions, which are set out in the appendix, for the preserva* 
 tion of the fish. 
 
 The rivers of Kew Brunswick are still free. The 
 fly-fishing in Canada lasts till the first day of Sep- 
 temb^, and in I^ew Bruoawick till the fifteenth ; but 
 
^m^ 
 
 THE SALMON. 
 
 liled 
 
 le 
 
 but 
 
 the net fishing termin&tes earlier, and in Canada all 
 spearing or fishing by torchlight is stringently forbidden. 
 Tliese laws are, strange as it may seem to us, enforced 
 \vith comniendable energy in Canada, though in New 
 Brunswick our mode of letting the people override the 
 laws prevails. 
 
 The best river in Kew Brunswick beyond all com- 
 parison, is the Kipisiquit, emptying in the Bay of Cha- 
 leurs, and near it are several almost as prolific. In 
 Lower Canada the Mingan, the Moisie, the Busamito 
 stand preeminent, but have many rivals. Directions foi 
 reaching them have been given under the head of sea 
 trout fishing, but instead of taking a sail-boat, as there 
 suggested, from any port on the river St. Lawrence, the 
 same might be done either from Bathurst or Frinco 
 Edward's Island, both of which are nearer the lower 
 streams. 
 
 There are many excellent rivers on the coast of Labra- 
 dor as far as the Straits of Belle Isle, or even farther, and 
 they would be well worth a visit, either in one of our 
 clipper yachts or in a i'ast schooner. Many are entirely 
 beyond the real'^^is of civilization, and a pleasant party 
 night have a glorious time and abundant sport. 
 
 It would be necessary to take canoemen and canoes, 
 or what is strongly recommended, small, light flat-boats 
 that can be rowed or poled by one man, and which can 
 be purchased for five dollar^ apiece at most of the gulf 
 seaports. 
 
 Arm yourself, then, with two good salmon rods ; they 
 may be so made us to constitute a trou» rod as well, not 
 by any means one of those detestable nondescripts called 
 
wmmmm 
 
 mmmmmm 
 
 96 
 
 THE SALMOir. 
 
 a general rod, but two rods distinct with joints fitting to 
 each other. Take with you two good lines, pleiity of 
 flieSj extra gut and hooks, leaders and feathers, and a 
 strong hook gaff, but not that dangerous, unwieldy 
 instrument called a spring gaff. Thus equipped, go forth 
 conquering and to conquer, and may good luck attend 
 you. Seek any of the rivers we shall name, ascend 
 them in your fragile canoe, station yourself early in the 
 morning or at the approach of evefting, choose your best 
 fly, keep well out of view, cast far and light, and may 
 you many and many a time be rewarded with the fierce 
 rush of the mighty salmon, his struggle and final con- 
 quest, and may your sleep be sound and your heart at 
 rest amid nature's primeval hyis. May the black flies 
 and mosquitoes spare you, may the sand-fly not find you 
 out, may the heat be tempered to you by day and the 
 cold by night, may you not lose your footing too often, 
 nor fall too hard, and may your fish be the largest, 
 strongest and bravest that ever were taken. May you 
 receive that mercy which you show, never drawing one 
 drop of useless blood, nor causing one unnecessary pang. 
 The aid of all good men and true is needed both by 
 precept and example, to save the tenants of the water 
 from final extermination. By putting restraint upon 
 ourselves, never being guilty of wanton slaughter, by 
 steadily urging measures for the preservation of the 
 game, and by invariably obeying and compelling others 
 to obey such laws as should be passed, we may be able to 
 leave to our children a heritage of pleasure tliat bountiful 
 nature has abundantly provided for ourselves. No fish 
 are more defenceless and more readily destroyed than 
 
 i 
 
 
THE SALMON. 
 
 97 
 
 by 
 
 the 
 [lers 
 leto 
 liful 
 Ifish 
 
 trout and salmon ; there are certain prerequisites tu the 
 continuanoe of the .^ecies tliat must be complied With. 
 The fish must ascend ^.o the fresh water to spawn, and if 
 prevented by an improperly constructed dam, will quit 
 the locality never to return. 
 
 It should be known that, contrary to the usually 
 received opinion, salmon cannot surmount a fall of much 
 over ten feet ; this, probably, is the full extent of their 
 powers. And in effecting this, much depends upon the 
 depth of water at its foot ; the deeper it is the higher 
 they can leap. They do not take their tails in their 
 mouths, according to the ancient theory, to enable them 
 to spring higher, but rush with their utmost velocity 
 from the bottom, and are carried by their momentum a 
 considerable distance out of water. Such a leap or a 
 struggle against strong rapids weakens them, and they 
 must soon rest to recover strength for another ascent. 
 They thus congregate below each fall, and often make 
 many efforts before they overcome it. They usually 
 move at night or early in the morning. A dam of fif- 
 teen or twenty feet will effectually exclude them from 
 any stream, but may be rendered innocuous at small 
 expense by placing below the wasteway boxes of heavy 
 wood, with a fall of not over five feet from one to the 
 other. A salmon leaps from the river to the first, from 
 that to the next, and so on till he has overcome the 
 barrier. A broad sluiceway leading at a moderate 
 angle to the pool below, will probably answer as well. 
 
 The fish, as they enter the rivers, may be deterred 
 from entering, or all captured in nets spread entirelj' 
 across iiie mouth, and when those that do pass have 
 
 5 
 
n 
 
 THE SALMON. 
 
 ,i"' 
 
 reached the spawning beds, they are peculiarly exposed 
 to the cruel spear. At night, by this instrument, with 
 the aid of flambeaux, hundreds may be killed and many 
 more wounded and left to perisii miserably. If they are 
 to continue in reasonable numbers, nets must not be set 
 close together, the spawning beds must be undisturbed, 
 and the murderous spear utterly prohibited. With 
 these precautions and a regulation concerning the sized 
 mesh that is used, this valuable source of pleasure, health 
 and profit may not only be retained but - indefinitely 
 augmented; without such care the day is not far off 
 when " the places that knew them will know them no 
 more," when their bright sides will no longer gleam 
 beneath the waves or glisten as they gambol in the sun- 
 light, when the nets will cease to yield a return, when 
 the fishermen, longing regretfully for tlieir most valuable 
 prize, will find their occupation gone, and honest and 
 dishonest, fair fisherman and sneaking poacher, alike be 
 overw^helmed in one common ruin. Surely we have too 
 much good sense, too much public spirit, too much 
 energy and determination to submit to such a calamity ; 
 let us unite, then, in repressing unseasonable and unlaw- 
 ful fishing, in preserving and protecting the fish, and in 
 restoring rivers that h: ve been exhausted. 
 
 In the salt water, salmon never take the fly, and rarely 
 bait of any kind, although they feed on sand eels and 
 small fish in addition to shell-fish ; but as they advance 
 into brackish or fresh water, they either miss their natu- 
 ral food and become hungry, or get accustomed <o feed- 
 ing on grasshoppers and insects, and are deceived ^y the 
 artificial fly, and will at times take the bait. .- , x, - 
 
 4 
 
arely 
 and 
 
 ranee 
 »atu- 
 
 Ifoed- 
 thc 
 
 i 
 
 THl BALMOK. 
 
 99 
 
 Wheu thoy leaye the salt water, the sea-lioe that have 
 fastened to them fall off, frequently to be replaced bj 
 fresh-water parasites, and this is sometimes given as the 
 reason for their leaving the sea so earlj in the year, 
 although thej do not spawn till the Fall. While spawn- 
 ing they are unfit to eat, and after the operation are 
 utterly eichausted. In this condition, wheu returning to 
 the sea, they are termed kelts, the male being distin- 
 guished as a kipper and the female as a baggit. As the 
 spawning ' season approaches, a curious cartilaginoupi 
 hook grows from the lower jaw, which is supposed to be 
 a provision of nature to prevent an unfortunate termina- 
 tion to the many desperate contests between the males 
 at that period. 
 
 The habits of salmon are by no means determined ; 
 in fact, little is known positively about them. It has 
 been even suggested that grilse are a distinct species, 
 although it is hardly doubted with us but they are young 
 salmon. Their times of visiting the fresh water are 
 subject to peculiar individual exceptions ; in fact, it may 
 be said there are two opinions among fishermen, and 
 persons who have watched salmon for twenty and thirty 
 years assert that some are ascending while others are 
 descending. Izaak Walton says that salmon spawn in 
 August, which is directly contrary to the views of other 
 English writers, and certainly not in accordance with the 
 practice of our fish. Others ag-^in say they return to 
 the salt water in September, and reascend the rivers 
 later in the Fall. The young in all stages have been 
 disputed over, and called by divers names, such as pinks, 
 Bmolts, parr, brandling, samlet, peal, grilse, until ono 
 
mm 
 
 'nif^mim 
 
 ipi«i«iPMMilliiipiliiPi^ 
 
 PfBHP^ 
 
 100 
 
 TBI 8ALM0N. 
 
 hardly knows what sort of fish he reallj has captured. 
 Every writer has his theory, and the following is mine ; 
 it may be true or not, bnt the statements of fact are. 
 
 Salmon are never found in our rivers except in three 
 stages : First, a little fish mnch like a trout, but with a 
 larger eye and richer colors ; they have no blue spots, but 
 have darker bands on their sides ; they weigh from half 
 an ounce to half a pound. Second, the grilse, which is 
 precisely like a salmon, except that it w3ighB from two 
 and a half to six pounds. Third, the salmon, which 
 weighs from eight to eighty pounds. Salmon first appear 
 in the fresh water about the 10th of June, and grilse a 
 month later. The main run of the former is from June 
 15th to August 1 5th in Kew Brunswick, and from June 
 10th to July 20th in Canada. The explanation of this 
 difference is simple: the Canadian fish are much the 
 largest, averaging double the size of their more southern 
 brethren, and as the waters fall during the hot months 
 of Summer, they must ascend earlier than smaller fish, 
 and before the spring freshets have entirely subsided, or 
 they would never reach the high waters at all. Strag- 
 gling fish, however, are running up at all seasons, early 
 and late, and a few probably remain in the fresh water 
 the entire year, or descend only when they are sickened 
 by a lengthened residence in an unchanged element. 
 Salmon do not spawn in Summer, but in Winter, com- 
 mencing not earlier, and often later, than October ; the 
 fish that ascend last probably spawn last. Then they 
 return to the sea ; but not at once, some remaining under 
 the ice through the Winter, others going immediately. 
 My theory, therefore, is that the young fidi, whether you 
 
TBI SALM<nr. 
 
 101 
 
 eall them fiy, or pinlcs, or smelts, or peal, go to the sea 
 nsuallj a year after their birth, I. > with no inyariable 
 regularity, and will then average six onn^es in weight, 
 many undoubtedly waiting till the Fall, or eighteen 
 months after birth; that they return the succeeding 
 July grilse ; that the grilse spawn the following Novem- 
 ber, and after yisiting the sea, reappear next Spring as 
 salmon. The young fish are taken with the fly through 
 the Summer in all the salmon rivers, and require a second 
 glance to distinguish them from young trout, although 
 they are very different, one decisive peculiarity being 
 that their backs are arched or bogged, and anotherj as I 
 have mentioned, that their eyes are large. The fry of 
 trout — and recollect grown trout are not banded — ^liave 
 light sides, and are found usually in more quiet water. 
 It would be well if sportsmen should call the fish in 
 questioli respectively salmon fry, grilse, and salmon, and 
 eschew all other fanciful names, as leading only to con- 
 fusion. 
 
 Salmon are never taken in fresh water with any food 
 in their stomachs; they are reported not to eat their 
 young, and do not apparently feed on flies. The fry 
 feed almost entirely on flies, and I have seen them pick 
 off one after another as skillfully as a trout ; but I have 
 never distinctly seen a salmon take a natural fly. When 
 they spring out of water, it is in play, and at such times, 
 contrary to the rule with trout, casting over them will 
 be in vain, they will not rise. Moreover* our flies do not 
 in the least resemble the natural flies of the rivers, which 
 are of a dull greien, and the salmon rivers afford very 
 few flies at best. Observe me, I do not refer to mosqui- 
 
102 
 
 THB SALHOir. 
 
 toes or black gnats, at neither of which would gentlo* 
 manly fish deign to look. My theory, therefore, is, that 
 salmon do not feed during the spawning season, but are 
 supported by the animalculse in the water, and have poor 
 commons at that, as their miserable condition soon testi- 
 fies. Many varieties of fish live without apparent food, 
 often with the additional disadvantage of infrequent 
 change of water, as goldfish in a globe. 
 
 When salmon first arrive in the harbors, they coast 
 along the shore, and are then taken in nets, which are 
 required by law to have a mesh too large to capture 
 grilse ; later, they leave the warm shallows, and follow 
 the cooler channel beyond the nets, which are only per- 
 mitted to extend a certain distance. The tide-water 
 fishing is therefore practically over by the 1st of August. 
 Ket fishing above the salt watei' is forbidden, or at least 
 subject to the same restrictions, which, if they were 
 enforced, would almost put an end to it ; but, discredit- 
 able as it may seem, and short-sighted as such conduct 
 unquestionably is, this l&w is totally disregarded in many 
 rivers, where of course the fish are rapidly diminishing. 
 They spawn over gravelly flats and pools, covering up 
 the ova after impregnation, and then descend slowly, 
 greatly emaciated, ugly and woe-begone, to the sea. At 
 finch times, although they will still take the fly, they are 
 unfit to eat, and while tliey notwithstanding frequently 
 fall a victim to the cruel spear of the murderous savage, 
 no true angler nor honest man will harm them. 
 
 Casting the fly gracefully and effectively is a peculiar 
 art, hard to acquire, and picturesque to witness ; it it 
 altogether different from slashing the water, and almost 
 
fHB SALMON. 
 
 103 
 
 At 
 
 48 difficult of mastery as the corresponding science 
 of tront fishing. The rod, being long and compara* 
 tively heavy, must be held in both hands, which are 
 changed occasionally so as to alternate that at the but, 
 and teach the angler to cast over either shoulder. The 
 line is lengthened to the proper distance, is raised with 
 a springing jerk, swung out straight behind, and then 
 again cast forward with the same springy motion. The 
 work has to be done with the tip, which, e^^ept in cast- 
 ing against the wind, must be kept'as elevated as possi- 
 ble. The stiffer the rod the more command the angler 
 has over his line in avoiding the rocks and making the 
 best of awkward places ; .but this is counterbalanced by 
 the disadvantages of excessive weight and a stiffness in 
 striking that frequently breaks the casting line. A rod 
 will cast four times its length beyond the tip ; one of 
 sixteen feet, therefore, will cast sixty- four feet of line, 
 ordinarily abundant ; and although one of twenty feet 
 will cover sixteen more feet, unless it is made of cedu it 
 is uncomfortably heavy. A cedar rod would be perfec- 
 tion, but it is not to be trusted in the hands of a 
 bungler. ■'■ ^ • ' 
 
 When there is any current, and it is rare to take 
 salmon elsewhere, the fly is cast across the stream and 
 allowed to swing over the fish, which invariably lie with 
 their heads up-stream. When a salmon intends to rise, 
 he generally separates himself from his companions and 
 waits till the fly approaches to the precise distance that 
 pleases him. Then ^^ ^^i: ■ - " • ^ ^^f 
 
 ■ v; f ■^i^?'*-'*". 
 
 " Strike for yoar altars and your homea,**. 
 
 !^-*M'^ 
 
iPRPipnriP! 
 
 ^nnipinipWPIIIIiiflWUIl IWIUHW HI . W?" w:;< 
 
 104 
 
 THE SALMON. 
 
 cot too hard, but as quick as the lightning £1*001 tne 
 Bky, and this although contrary to the English books, on 
 the ground that a salmon, if he rides once and fails to 
 touch the fly, will always coine again. If, however, he 
 has tasted the unappetizing morsel, and has not been 
 hooked, for he is quick to spit it out, you will see him no 
 more. If you fail to hook a fish on the first rise, it is 
 well; if you can keep youi impatience under control, to 
 rest him by casting elsewhere a few times, and if you 
 fail to strike him on the third rise, change your fly. 
 Salmon are extremely particular and dainty in their 
 tastes, and it is never advisable to fish too long with one 
 fly unless they take it well. 
 
 The great rules are — ^keep out of sight, change yoitl* 
 flies an^ rest the pools. The best time of a clear day is 
 early and late, and in the midday heat not a boat nor a 
 line should disturb the water; in fact, a pool that a 
 canoe has crossed is ruined for the day, and when there 
 is no rising, there is little good in castiiig. A pool that 
 is not disturbed at night would be found much better, as 
 a consequence, in the morning. 
 
 But after your fish is hooked, after he is played and 
 almost played out, after you have exhausted him, and 
 brought him skillfully and carefully to shore, he is not 
 yet in the pot ; nor will he be unless you have an assis- 
 'tant expert with the gaff. There are all sorts of direc- 
 tions about this important operation, some authors saying 
 a fish must be gaffed in the shoulder, others preferring 
 the tail, some the belly, and some the back, but, in fact, 
 one place is as good another ; the main points are not to 
 miss nor graze him, and not to jerk so hard as to throw 
 
 ■iilMaMM 
 
THE SALMON. 
 
 105 
 
 him off tiie gaff. To prevent this, where yon anticipate 
 finding only awkward aids, it is well to carry a gaff with 
 a small barb, like an ordinary hook, I have had the 
 indescribable pleasure of seeing my fish flang across 
 the boat, and dropped in the water on the other side. 
 The moment the fish is struck, the handle should be held 
 perpendicular, so that he cannot flounce off. 
 
 The best size for this implement is a length of nine 
 inches from the end of the shank to the middle of the 
 bend, from the latter four inches in a straight line to the 
 point, which should be delicate and sharp, and at least 
 two inches and three-eighths from the inner edge of the 
 shank opposite ; the bend should swell* out so as to be 
 three inches across at its widest, and the end of tho 
 shank must be bent back and sharpened ; the steel tapers 
 gradually from the point to a thickness of one quarter 
 of an inch. Being nothing more than a large hook, it 
 is easily carried, and when wanted for use, fastened to 
 any suitable stick by driving in the projection on the 
 shank, and winding the whole with stout cord. For very 
 large salmon, a stronger and larger gaff would be desir- 
 able, and for grilse a smaller one. 
 
 When fish run, and throw themselves out of water, 
 some writers direct yon to taughten your line ; but I say, 
 heed tihem not. Your line is well out and sunk to some 
 distance, the very jump of the fish will consequently 
 bring a great strain on the hook, without your aid, and 
 many a fish is lost by such usage. On the contrary, if 
 you give to him as he leaps, you diminish the tension, 
 and then the quicker you take up the line after he has 
 fallen back, the better. If, on the contrary, when he 
 
 5* 
 
PPPPipmiiniiiPi^HeniniP 
 
 106 
 
 THE SALMON. 
 
 leaps he is near by yon, and yonr line straight and out 
 of water, he will try and strike it with his tail to break 
 it, in which he may also be foiled by giving to him. 
 My experience is to this eifect, and you will soon find 
 out, if the fish are large and strong, how hard it is to do 
 other ivise. 
 
 It has been said that four times the length of the rod 
 beyond the tip is the utmost length of line that can be 
 handled with dexterity ; it is not meant that more can- 
 not be cast, for I have often cast five times the length, 
 but with an eifort that soon becomes wearisome, and, if 
 across a rapid current, without the requisite command. 
 It is best to fisli down stream, if possible, as otherwise 
 your line sinks, and even in fishing across there will be 
 considerable slack line. This is a second reason for 
 rapid striking. There is another mode of managing a 
 line, which is sometimes called casting, and by wliicli a 
 distance of eighty yards can be covered. The angler has 
 a rod as thick at the tip as one's little finger, and, a hair 
 line as thick as the tip. Of course no reel can be used, 
 as such a line wculd not run through the rings, or be 
 contained on the barrel. The line tapers regularly to the 
 fiy. It is usually used in rapid water, and to cast, the 
 fisherman waives his rod from side to side, lifting as 
 much of it as possible clear of the water, and then 
 throws out strongly with an underhand motion. The 
 line rolls, as it were, raising itself from, the water, as the 
 impetus advances, till the fly is taken up and jerked over, 
 BO to speak, at an incredible distance. When a fish is 
 struck he is drawn in by hand. I have not tried this 
 proceeding sufficiently to speak positively, but think that 
 
THE SALMON. 
 
 107 
 
 the heavy waxed lines now in general use WQuld answer 
 to a comparative degree. It is a difSoult though not 
 refined mode of fishing, and is the only way of casting 
 eighty yards. 
 
 Tlie following is a list of the principal salmon and 
 trout rivers of Canada and New Brunswick, with the 
 distances of the former from Quebec, and such informa- 
 tion as could be obtained concerning their character and 
 condition. Those marked in italics have been leased 
 to private individuals, but the others are open to all 
 
 comers. 
 
 ■fr-'-:. 
 
 -^(^^ 
 
 Tlie Jacques Cartier is the only river near Quebec 
 which, at the present time, affords any salmon. 
 
 From Quebec to Murray Bay is . . Y8 miles. 
 Here there is a river that furnishes a few salmon and 
 many fine trout. ^ 'ir* * 
 
 From Murray Bay to the Saguenay is 44 — ^120 
 There is excellent sea trout fishing in the Saguenay 
 and its tributary, the St, Marguerite, is a superior salmon 
 river. .^^^ , ^v-.;- t-^.'?- v-a>- -^ ,« ^.. '.--r^--" ■'■•'■'■/■ •'^s^ 
 
 Eiver Escoumain 23 
 
 Between it and the Saguenay are the two Bergeronnes^ 
 and both furnish a few salmon and many trout. |r 
 
 Portneuf 26 
 
 Plenty of trout and some salmon. 
 
 BauU de Cochon 9 "^"^ 
 
 Impassable for salmon, but affording excellent trout 
 fishing at its mouth. • ' 
 
 LaVal , . . . . . .2 
 
 Superioi salmon and trout river. - ^ 
 
t4l 
 
 THE SALMON. 
 
 Bersamis miles 24r^d4 
 
 Affording in its.tribntaries many fine salmon ; between 
 it and the La Yal are the Colombia, PloTor and Blanche, 
 all poor salmon streams. 
 
 Outardes . . . . . • .11 
 Haniconagan . . . .' . ,16 
 Mistassini . • . ' • « .13 
 
 Betscie . « • * . . • .3 
 
 Of these rivers I can obtain no satisfactory inform* 
 tion. 
 
 Oodbout . . . . . 16—67—261 
 
 A celebrated salmon river, one of the best in the 
 province. 
 
 Trinity • .15 
 
 Good salmon and trout fishing. 
 Little Trinity . . * . , .' . 10 4 
 Calamet « * 8 
 
 . Pentecost #14 
 
 Kot a salmon river. 
 St. Margaret . . . . ' * ^ • 86 
 
 One of the best salmon and trout rivers. 
 Moisie ..... 24—103—364 
 
 Fine large salmon are taken in this river, and it is 
 widely celebrated. 
 
 Trout * 7 
 
 Manitou . . * ' , . « .86 
 
 Good trout fishing; the salmon are obstructed by 
 falls. 
 
 Sheldrake . . . . • • .16 
 Magpie 29 
 
 Furnishes a few salmoD. . 
 
THE SALMOBT. 
 
 109 
 
 St. John .8 
 
 An admirable salmon stream. 
 
 Mingan . . . . . 16—101—465 
 Probably the best river in the province for salmon, 
 and excellent for trout. 
 
 Komaine . . . . . . .9 
 
 An excellent stream for both salmon and tront. 
 
 Wascheeshoo . . * , . .53 
 
 Pashasheboo . . . • . .18 
 A few salmon. 
 
 l^abesippi • • 
 
 Agwanns ..... 
 A fair supply of salmon. 
 
 Katashquan . . 
 Salmon fine and abundant. 
 
 Kegashka . . • 
 
 Salmon impeded by falls. 
 
 Musquarro 
 Affords good salmon fishing. 
 
 . . 7 
 . 6 
 
 • 
 
 14-,106— 571 
 . 28 
 . 15 
 
 Washeecootai . 
 
 . -^-^ 
 
 . .. 12 
 
 Olomanosheebo 
 
 • « 
 
 . 11 
 
 ' Ooacoacho 
 
 . 'K^^i- 
 
 . 18 
 
 Contains some salmon. 
 
 - 
 
 •■ 
 
 Etamamu 
 
 • • 
 
 . . 21 
 
 Fine salmon fishery. 
 
 Netagamu 
 A fine tront stream. 
 
 • • 
 
 
 Mecattina 
 
 • • 
 
 . . 4 
 
 Good salmon fishing. 
 HaHa . 
 
 .. ■li^il; 
 
 • • 9 '*■•■' 
 
 St. Angostitte • • 
 
 ij ^5>ii* » 
 
 . - t#vli^llpl 
 
110 
 
 
 THE SALMON. 
 
 Affords many salmon. . I 
 
 Esquimaux .... 14—149—720 
 An excellent salmon river, somewhat run down. 
 
 In New Brunswick there are salmon in the St. John 
 and its tributaries, but the best of the latter, the Nash 
 waak, has been closed with an ?.mpassable dam. From 
 St. John it is ear^y to take the cars to Shediac, and cross 
 to Prince Edward's Island, where there is magnificent 
 trout fishing, especially near Charlotte, and tolerable 
 accommodation ; or one can take the Quebec steam^^r to 
 Bathurst and fish the Nipisiquit, which is. admitted to be 
 the best river in the province, or the Restigouche and its 
 tributaries, an excellent stream, but much injured by 
 spearing ; or the Cascapediacs, which furnish some sal- 
 mon and innumerable grilse. The Miramichi, between 
 Sliediac and Bathurst, is a fine large stream. 
 
 The streams in Canada emptying into the St. Law- 
 rence from the south shore, are hardly worth mentioning 
 as salmon rivers, having been ruined by mill-dams, with 
 the exception of those that empty into Gaspe basin, but 
 they all afford superior trout fishing. I would here 
 remark, that where the name trout is mentioned in con- 
 nection with the British Provinces, the Salmo Trutta 
 Marina^ or sea trout, is always intended ; and the sal- 
 mon fishing spoken of is fly fishing. The rivers that 
 empty into Gasp4 basin, such as the Dartmouth, York 
 and St. John,, are leased, as also the Bonaventure, that 
 flows into the Bay of Ohaleurs. 
 
 As explicit directions for travelling through the 
 benighted regions called the British Provinces, ^e foL 
 
THE SALMON. 
 
 i/ in 
 
 lowing are ^ven from a somewhat unwillingly extended 
 experience. 
 
 Take the night train or any route that will bring you 
 to Boston before half past seven a.m., for at that hour 
 the boat leaves for St. John, not St. Johns, which is in 
 Newfoundland. If you are too late, you may still, by 
 means' of the cars, intercept the same vessel at Fort> 
 land. This boat does not leave daily, but generally 
 advertises in the New York and always in the Boston 
 papers. It touches at Portland, where you may take a 
 steamboat on its aiiival to Calais, and proceed thence 
 by railroad to the Scoodic Eiver, where there is fine 
 white, not sea, trout fishing, or stop at St. Andrews, 
 whence there is a railroad in progress to Woodstock, on 
 the St. John River. The Boston boat reaches St. John 
 in about thirty- two hours, or at three o'clock; the fare 
 is six dollars ; the meals extra, and, consequently, extra 
 good. . 
 
 The Waverley House, in St. John, kept by J. Scam- 
 mell, affords thB best, though poor, accommodation, at a 
 reasonable price. A train leaves on the arrival of the 
 boat for Shediac, and makes the one hundred and ten 
 miles in six hours, at a fare of three dollars. From She- 
 diac a steamboat that connects with the train carries you 
 to Chatham in twelve hours for three dollars and fifty 
 cents, the meals being extra and infamous. At Shediac. 
 John Q. Adams keeps the Adams House, and will fur- 
 nish information by letter as to the time of the starting 
 of the boats. Bowser's Hotel is the best in Chatham. 
 From Chatham to Bathurst, forty-five miles, you are 
 compelled to travel in s^ stage that only leaves three 
 
112 
 
 THE SALMON, 
 
 times a week, and never on the arrival of the boat, and 
 will occupy ten hours of your time at a charge of three 
 dollars and a half ; or you may take an extra for sixteen 
 dollars. If you hire one of Kelley, the stage proprietor, 
 make a tight bargain, for he is Biblical and takes in 
 strangers. In case you should be too late to reach 
 Bathurst the same day, or have leisure on your hands, 
 stop at the Half-way House on the Tabasintac, which 
 has the last syllable accentuated, and fish that night 
 and the next morning for s.ea trout. They are taken 
 from a horse-boat in abundance and of great size. 
 
 In Bathurst there is a good hotel called the Welling^ 
 ion, kept by Mr. Baldwin, with the efficient aid of Mary ; 
 and also a more private establishment, by Bela Packard, 
 which is the customary resort of Americans, l^iere is a 
 telegraph from St. John to Bathurst, and Baldwin will 
 meet at Chatham any guests that send him word, and 
 bring them to Bathurst for fourteen dollars. . In the 
 latter place, Ferguson, Bankin & Go. will furnish all 
 the heavy outfit, such as pork, biscuit, butter, tea, sugar, 
 tobacco, and will have them ready put up if written to 
 beforehand. As it is customary on the Nipisiquit to 
 loan the guides blankets, the same firm keep them on 
 band, and will lend them to those that buy stores of 
 them. Once or twice a month the Arabian leaves She- 
 diac and stops within a couple of miles of Bathurst, and 
 if you can manage to suit your time to hers,, you can go 
 direct and be ticketed through for ten dollars. Her 
 days may be ascertained at the office of the Boston boats, 
 but it is well to telegraph to Bathurst to have a canoe to 
 meet yon, as otherwise you may have difficulty in reach- 
 
 ■** 
 
THE .SALMON. 
 
 113 
 
 ing town from tbe landing. Tlie same steamcir and its 
 associate, the Lady Head, run to Dalhoneie, at the 
 mouth of the EeBtigonche, or a stage for that place 
 leaves Bathurst three times a week. Tlie Lady Head 
 docs not stop at Bathurst, on account of her draught of 
 water. 
 
 On the Nipisiquit it is customary to have a camp- 
 keeper or cook for the party, and two canoemen to each 
 angler ; they furnish the canoe and receive one dollar a 
 day each. The following are good men : John, Peter 
 and Bruno Chamberlain ; John makes a good fly, but is 
 sulky and willful ; Bruno is lazy ; Ned Veno and David 
 Buchet, both of whom are excellent and willing, and 
 Fabian Bodereau, who is a fair cook. To save your men 
 some heavy work, where you do not intend to fish the 
 Bough Waters, you 4rive with your stores to the Bound 
 Bocks, the Fabineau Falls, or, if you please, even to the 
 Grand Falls, but the latter part of the road is bad. 
 
 The only Ashing on the Miramichi is above Boiestown, 
 and to reach it you leave St. John in the night or day 
 boat for Fredericton, arriving thore in eight hours at an 
 expense of one dollar and a half. The night boat runs 
 three times a week. The best house in Fredericton is 
 the Barker House, kept by Mr. Fairweather, and in this 
 city you must get your supplies for the woods. The 
 stage leaves every Tuesday and Friday for Boiestown, 
 nominally at ten a.m., and reaches that collection of huts 
 nominally at six p.m. Tho fare is two dollars and a half, 
 and the ordinary charge for an extra is ten dollars, but 
 remember the stage proprietor is Kelley. The best 
 tarem in Boiestown is kept by Avery, but about five 
 
 ■<*; 
 
■"■^""""^"iplipiiip 
 
 nffPVwpapvmHPWPPMw^^iiHppilP^mi 
 
 114 
 
 THB SALMON. 
 
 I 
 
 miles np the river, at Cair helltown, is a nice, house 
 owned by William Wilson, im i the true plan is either to 
 write to him to meet you at Fredericton, or drive over 
 to his place. He will engage your men, aid you witli 
 the supplies, provide you with broad, besides making you 
 generally comfortable, and you have gained so much in 
 the ascent of the river. The stage from Boiestown runs 
 to Chatham, and by that means you may continue to 
 the Kipisiqnit, but there is no reliance to be placed on 
 it, and an extra from Fredericton to Ohatham, one hun- 
 dred and ten miles, costs thirty dollars. The stage fare 
 is seven, and there is no telegraph to Boiestown. 
 
 One of the most interesting ways of reaching the 
 various rivers of New Brunswick Is by portaging from 
 the head-waters of one into those of another. For 
 instance, a steamboat leaves Fredericton semi-weekly, 
 when the water is not too low, for the Grand Falls on 
 the St. John ; a few miles above, the Grand Biver 
 debouches, from the head-waiters of which a short port- 
 age of a few miles takes you into the Waugan, one of 
 the branches of the Bestigouche, or you may stop below 
 the Falls and ascend the Tobique, a noble river, full of 
 salmon, but which, strange to say, will not take the fly, 
 and from Lake Nictou, the source of the Tobique, you 
 can readily portage into Lake Kipisiquit, and by ascend- 
 ing the main forks of the latter, a short portage puts 
 you on the TJpsalquitch, a branch of the Bestigouche, 
 and abounding in salmon. Another confluent of the 
 St. John, the Shiktahauk, is crossed at its head by the 
 Boyal Boad, where a wagon can be had to convey* your 
 haggage to a. branch of the Southwest Miramichi, and 
 
Till SALKDN. 
 
 115 
 
 from Newcastle, at the month of the latter river, you 
 can ascend the Northwest Miramichi and strike the 
 Nipisiquit near the Grand Falls. These are but a few 
 of the simplest voyages that may be made, but a glance 
 at the map, or a talk with any old Indian guide, will 
 reveal many others. 
 
 .* 
 
«»"^»»wwp'»'™«^«^Bippminm 
 
 lli 
 
 ^^ BRUNSWICK. 
 
 CHAPTEB VL 
 
 2"BW BBUN8WI0K. 
 
 One bright nioonliuhfc mVi,* ; *i- 
 
 »«■•. « heavy wagon, d™w?bv ' "^'^ ^"^ "^ Sim.. 
 
 l-owli^g .long one .He Lr^rf"' '''"<'•> '''" 
 
 province of KewBrunswTek 17 T*' '"'"^' "^ «"> 
 t<-unk8 on the rack TJ^t """ '''«''«d down with 
 
 bundle. „:„ bVinnumtlwe 7n « t"' f"''""' «■"• 
 Jong leathern cases th.f "'* '"'"o". »nd two 
 
 "•ed thr^e men Te dr Tv^li;^ -"»- ^^' It ca^ 
 eye, and long, cnrly bw'tl^ ^ °^'"^' *'"' " »'''«'^d 
 
 eon.fortw1thfac., ;of"nl"',.''"''"'^« «■»' combined 
 • middle aged ^ItulT T""' ^" ">« t-^et seat. 
 
 yonth, and a younger ITL? ^"?'" "* "> J"'' earliest 
 hair and beard. Cir "1 ' , ^"'^ *"'' ""'^"^h 
 thrilling tales of dXro' 0^^: LL '""> """^ """^ 
 were told; vivid descrioLT f C^ """^ "^ *^« "''«««. 
 earibou, the red deer Trh .f ^'"" ""^ """^' "'e 
 «- ^Id boar, the rhSo^os Id rf'lf f '^ %-- 
 peaceful description of Mu',, T'^^ «'«?''''»» J or 
 fierce, striped base, or the t? *''"'"^"' *~"'. 'he 
 
 ti-eworepleasanVaJirZT'T:"''"^^- ^« 
 
 / way as tliey passed along between 
 
 * ■ ■ ' ■ ■ '■■ ' • ' ■ ' . 
 
 f 
 
NIW B1UN8WI0C 
 
 IIT 
 
 the Bombre lines of spnice and hemlock and jnniper, as 
 the J ran into the deep shjide or emerged into the open 
 moonlight till they came in sight of the Kashwaak, 
 seaming the dark earth like a Yuiu of silver, when a glo- 
 rious view presented itself to their attention. Far away 
 as the eye could reach, stretched the valley of Nashwaak, 
 silent as the repose of death ; not a sound but the rat- 
 tle of the wheels broke the still air, while the moon 
 bathed the rocks, the earth, the trees,* with its uncertain 
 light, formed weird shapes out of the foliage, or cast 
 strange shadows across the road. Still on, however, 
 scarcely piftusing — as every true sportsman must pause 
 before the beauties of nature — the party were soon lost 
 in the shady descent that led' toward the bank of the 
 stream, whose course they followed some miles, crossing 
 it beyond, over a high, substantial bridge. Tlie road 
 then branched off, traversing the unbroken wilderness, 
 where for miles not a habitation was visible, till mid- 
 night found thBm amid a heavy shower at McCloud's, the 
 half-way house from Fredericton to Boicstown. 
 
 The horses under the shed, a sound thumping on 
 the door brought out the host, who attended to the wants 
 of man and beast, and sent them on their way rejoicing, 
 as soon as the storm had abated. There was little vari- 
 ety in the scene; the road was mostly level and good, 
 the forest was of the same dull character, with many 
 dead trunks towering up amid it ; there were few houses 
 and no settlements, and the country was principally 01:0 
 vast plain. As the morning light began to streak the 
 east with grey, they came in sight of the peaceful Mira- 
 michi, and turning off from the main road across the 
 
m^o^^^mmm'iimm^f'mr 
 
 >9iiiPR!nppppp<pi 
 
 118 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 Taxes River, followed the course of tLo larger stream, till, 
 nearly opposite a beautiful spring, where they had 
 stopped to water their horses, they turned into a barway, 
 and in a moment more reached Wilson's, their prospec- 
 tive head-quarters. *' a< s^^ .^.^ ,--*> ; 
 
 Wilson's habitation was a quaint-looking log house, 
 perched on the edge of a bank overhanging what is 
 called the interval, or fruitful stretch of level land lying 
 between the river tod the hills, and its evident antiquity 
 bore testimony that it had belonged to one of the earliest 
 settlers. . ^ 
 
 A '■: U-stocked garden, An extensive bam, a large 
 drove of sheep and cows, suggested whut an industrious 
 and comely wife and daughter confirmed, that Wilson's 
 wag a well-to-do family. 
 
 As a general thing, the people of this region are of the 
 most short-sighted possible character ; they live for the 
 present, and an easy way of making a dollar is irresistible, 
 though it may entail the final loss of ten. The country 
 is slowly going back to a savage condition; farmers, 
 instead of attending to their farms, speculate in lumber, 
 because it enriches one man in fifty; mortgage their 
 farms, which are sold under foreclosures to strangers and 
 allowed to grow up with weeds and bushes. Tens of 
 thousands of acres are in this condition, and are being 
 fast rendered irreclaimable. Instead of encouraging fish- 
 ermen to come and spend money among them, although 
 they admit it is about the only money they see, they 
 annoy and overcharge at such a rate that they have 
 driven away all but a few from Fredericton. Instead 
 of preserving and increasing the fish, they obstruct the 
 
 HSffWniMll 
 
NEW BaUI>lSWlCK. 
 
 119 
 
 channel entirely with nets, striving by one grand haul to 
 destroy the supply forever. To this general rule Wilson 
 is the only exception, and may be relied on, not only to 
 do whatever in reason is required of him, but to do it at 
 a moderate price. His only extravagant charge is for 
 driving to Fredericton to meet his guests. 
 
 The guides were waiting for us, and after making the 
 requisite preparations and passing a comfortable night 
 in the old log house, we started next day on our journey 
 toward the head-waters of the Miramichi. Our canoes 
 were made of the log of a tree, and familiarly called 
 dug-outs, and were admirably adapted to the purpose. 
 Being extremely long, sometimes thirty feet, and nar- 
 row, they offer every convenience for poling, draw 
 but little water, and are not injured by contact with a 
 rock, that would pierce the thin bark of the delicate 
 birch canoe, and will hold their way better against a 
 strong rapid. They are made of the trunk of some tow- 
 ering branchless pine-tree that the adventurous woods- 
 man has marked during the winter for his own, and 
 which, after being cut down, is transported to a conve- 
 nient place, where it is hewn into the shape of the outside 
 of the boat. Augur holes are bored in the bottom, and 
 pegs, two inches long, are driven, to answer for guides as 
 to thickness. The inside is then roughly hewn away, 
 till the pegs are reached, when it is smoothed off, being 
 left two inches thick at the bottom, and a half inch at the 
 gunwale. Slender knees are introduced at proper dis- 
 tances to prevent its warping under the sun ; a brace is 
 fastened across from gunwale to gunwale, near the stem 
 and stern, and the boat is complete. It is worth about 
 
|) i iwjipuiyi p jw, i ^aaM,y,WP» ' u,pjiJUJ i uji: ii pa ^ 
 
 
 X20 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 * 
 
 twelve dollars, and having neither hraces nor thwarts, 
 but an open space its entire length, is convenient for 
 holding a long rod, and being steadier nnder foot, offers 
 many advantages over the birch canoe. It is particularly 
 excellent in descending a shallow river, where occasional 
 contact with rocks is inevitable ; but is too heavy to 
 portage comfortably. For rapid travel, either up or down 
 stream, it is invaluable. 
 
 Our baggage was stowed, a comfortable seat made 
 with the end of the tent upon the bottom of the canoe, 
 our rods were rigged out for an occasional cast, and we 
 commenced the ascent of the " Smiling Water." There 
 had been heavy and continuous rains, and quite a freshet 
 had now changed its ordinary placid exterior into one of 
 angry turbulence. The river poured down fierce and 
 wild, crested with foam and discolored with sand and 
 decayed matter. But we made swift progress ; starting 
 five miles above Boiestown, we soon passed the last 
 settlement, and entering among the mountains, amid 
 which flows the upper stream, trusted ourselves alone 
 to the dangers of the wilderness, to the mercy of the 
 black-flies for our comfort, and to our skill as sportsmen 
 for our support. 
 
 Ten months of close confinement in the city, years 
 amid the horrors of civilization, had well prepared us 
 to appreciate a return to man's natural state of savage 
 life ; long contact with vice and folly had made us eager 
 to taste once more of truth and purity, the communion 
 with nature uncorrupted and unsullied ; to feel the aii 
 blow through the waving trees instead of down narrow 
 streets ; to hear the water rippling over its native bed, 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 121 
 
 Hud not througli Croton pipes ; to see the sun shine from 
 out the blue sky, instead of being reflected amid murk 
 and smoke from heated bricks. 
 
 The spruce and fir-trees stretched in solid mass like a 
 green wall on either side; occasionally, a white pine 
 loomed above them, or a birch, with its satin bark, 
 broke the dull hue; or where the landscape was more 
 open, the graceful elm or willow stood forth in solitary 
 beauty ; and the juniper, with its endless names of hack- 
 matac, tamarack, larch or cypress, waved its weird arms 
 aloft ; or the light, quivering poplar, with itri never- 
 resting leaves, cast an uncertain shade. ■ ■ 
 
 The weather had been changeable all day, occasionally 
 bright and pleasant, the next moment dark and lowering 
 — now the sun shining bright and warm over the hill- 
 sides, then the rain driving in spiteful showers and veil- 
 ing them in mist. The storm no sooner forced on our 
 overcoats than the sunshine persuaded them off. Toward 
 night, when heavier and blacker clouds obscured the 
 sky, we determined to camp, and chose a point opposite 
 a little tributary rivulet called Sandy Brook. 'Jt^ 
 
 That evening and the next day were passed complet- 
 ing our camp equipage of tables, chairs, basins, and 
 various little articles, and in waiting for the river to fall. 
 During this time one of those pleasant incidents occurred 
 that are intensely enjoyed in rough woodsman's life ; two 
 gentlemen who had been up the river and were returning, 
 stopped and dined with us. Tliere was a grand discussion 
 over flies, resulting in a mutual exchange, and a general 
 mourning over the condition of the water, with, how 
 

 122 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 ever, the encouragement that the freshet had destroyed 
 the nets and let the fish up to the higher grounds. 
 
 Next day we killed our first fish of the season. I had 
 gone ahove the island at the head of the pool opposite 
 our camp, and was fishing slowly down, tpking occasion- 
 ally a brook trout, when there came a heavier rise, a 
 louder plash, and a fierce run that made my reel discourse 
 sweetly. The fish had struck me in the broken water, 
 and it was uncertain what he was till suddenly he sprang 
 twice his length out of water, showing the silvery sides 
 and gleaming scales of the lovely grilse ; again and 
 again he sprang in air, making the water fiy as he fell 
 back, and doing his best to break the line or shake out 
 the hook. Bravely he fought, taking advantage of the 
 current to run out lino, and rubbing against rocks to cut 
 it through. In vain, foiled at each attempt, his strength 
 rapidly diminishing, he was slowly brought nearer and 
 nearer, till a dexterous blow of the gaff finished the 
 struggle. 
 
 Joyful at the good omen, we hastened to our camp, 
 and were met by my companion, Dalton, who proudly 
 exhibited a similar trophy. There was a grand supper 
 that night, and strong hopes that the flood would abate, 
 hopes that were destined to a cruel disappointment when 
 next day the stream was found to be higher than ever, 
 and heavy clouds portended a second deluge. 
 • Our next camp was at Still Water Brook, a name that 
 the present condition of that streamlet strongly belied. 
 We did not, however, remain long, our spoii; being con- 
 fined to grilse, and not many of those, and when an Eng- 
 lish oflicer, who had been fishing above, called to say he 
 
MEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 123 
 
 had token all the fish he wanted at a station further on, 
 we l)rol< '.> up camp at once, to the great disgust of oup 
 lazy cook, who thought he had cut his " sprunghungle," 
 or stick that supports the kettle over the fire, for the last 
 time. We pushed on to Burnt Hill, a famous camping- 
 ground among all those that fish the Miramichi, and 
 there, on the open point near the rock at whose base is 
 the deep pool where salmon lie when the water is wani\ 
 we established our sylvan home for the last time. 
 
 Burnt Hill is so named from having been burnt over, 
 years ago, and is still a mass of dead and blackened 
 trunks, that tower in fantastic shapes toward the sky. 
 Next morning, having selected my choicest cariboo fly, 
 Abraham pushed the canoe across the boiling torrent, 
 so that I could fish near the rocky shore opposite. Hav- 
 ing made several casts toward the bank, he swung the 
 canoe in, and, running its nose on a rock, gave me a 
 chance to fish the centre of the channel. I had hardly 
 cast, when from out "the curling wave rushed a mighty 
 monster, which gleamed a moment in the sunshine and 
 disappeared. I felt a heavy, dull strain on my rod, the 
 fish swam deep and seemed unconscious of what had 
 happened. Then, suddenly aroused to his danger, a 
 magnificent salmon rushed down-stream and vaulted 
 high out of water. Abraham glanced at me ; I returned 
 the look, but not one word was spoken. The fish 
 returned to his former station, as though disdaining a 
 struggle with a fragile cord and contemptible fly, and 
 remained there some moments, heavily swimming roimd 
 and round. Suddenly he became alarmed, and away 
 he went, thirty yards at least, the line whistling through 
 
mmmm 
 
 ipp* 
 
 124 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 I 
 
 
 i ' 
 
 I ' 
 
 the ringg and the reel hissing with the speed. He made 
 a splendid leap and paused. 
 
 I had just time to tell Abraham to swing his boat of? 
 the rock where she was resting, when the fish started 
 again. Down he darted ; the rod bent, the line flying 
 through the water, and after him came the pursuers. 
 He hesitated an instant above the worst rapids, and then 
 sped down them ; once in a while I could see him amid 
 the foam and flying spray, as he rolled himself half out 
 of water over some heavy wave ; but my attention 
 was occupied in keeping the line clear of rocks, and not 
 exerting too much strain upon it. Admirably did 
 Abraham handle the canoe. He was alone ; the water 
 seethed and boiled round ns broken into a mass of fierce 
 waves, small cascades and gleaming foam. It poured 
 with raging current over high bowlders, and swept be- 
 tween narrow rocks. He stood erect in the stem, his 
 eye taking the measure of every falls, the strength of 
 every eddy ; he swung the canoe's head first one way 
 then another, easing her down over the higher waves, 
 that, curling against the stream, broke over the bow in 
 mimic showers, and pushing strongly through the circ- 
 ling eddies. Not a rock did he touch, not a moment did 
 the boat escape from perfect command, and when we 
 were launched upon the quiet bosom of the deep pool at 
 the foot of Burnt Hill Rapids, the fish was on the line. 
 "We each drew a long breath and again exchanged 
 glances. It was a beautiful spot to kill a fish. The 
 water, all white and raging above, formed a broad eddy, 
 that washed the base of the rock on which I now stood. 
 Although there was still a strong current in the centre, 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 125 
 
 an expanse of clear water spread out at our feet, into 
 which, after each rush, the fish could be easily led, and 
 where his mad leaps were the only risk. It was our 
 first fish, and I exercised the utmost care ; not till he 
 was almost dead did I force him to the surface, wfiere 
 Abraham, with one blow of his gaff, brought our prize 
 to land. 
 
 "What a beauty shfe was I The small, delicate head 
 pronounced her a female, the destined parent of myriads 
 cut off in her prime. The brilliancy of her flashing 
 scales gave token that not long since had she been roam- 
 ing free from danger along the shores of the seacoast, 
 and her broad back and deep chest announced her heavy 
 weight. Glorious in her outward appearance, our keen 
 appetites pictured to our imaginations the rich red flesh 
 in layers, with flakes of pearly fat between, the delicate 
 thin sides of the stomach, the depth of solidity in her 
 broad back. Our thoughts dwelt for a moment on the 
 fine juicy flavor her fifteen good pounds would furnish 
 for many a meal. But above all did we recollect with 
 pride how well both of us had done in killing the first 
 salmon in the Miramichi. » 
 
 Mr. Dalton had been watching the contest from the 
 bank opposite, and we returned together to the camp, 
 where libations were duly poured forth in honor of our 
 first capture, and preparations were made for a grand 
 entertainment. 
 
 That evening around the fire, after supper was finished, 
 and the genial pipe was soothing as well as invigorating 
 our minds, and after several personal adventures had 
 been related, Duncan commenced the following history of 
 
wmm. 
 
 mm 
 
 MiimnngF 
 
 12« 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 ■•ifitW'A ' 'f*J 
 
 THE OH08T OF DEADMAN b LANDING. 
 
 t n' 
 
 ' " You saw that point of land we came by the otheJ 
 day, where I told you a dead man was carried out from 
 the woods? Well, I was there when he was killed. 
 "We had been logging in the woods, and doing pretty 
 well till we tried to draw out an uncommon heavy stick 
 of timber. Sam Masters was with ns — we used to call 
 him Swearing Sam, from a bad habit he was given to— 
 and Sam had taken a great idea to have that stick of 
 timber taken out before night ; but the horses were tired 
 and it was late, and after we had dragged it part of the 
 way all. but Sam proposed to leave it till to-morrow. 
 But Sam insisted that he was not going to give up, and 
 when we all agreed to quit, he got mad and swore he 
 ivould have that timber out alone if he had to go to 
 hell for it, and work till the day of judgment. We 
 tried to persuade him off, but stay he would, and we left 
 him with the horses and returned to our camp, which we 
 had made at the lauding. After supper was finished, 
 and it began to be late, we became anxious about Sam, 
 and when he did not arrive, at near midnight, all hands 
 set out to look hini up. . . 
 
 ** We had not much trouble to find the horses ; they felt 
 cold and hungry, and were neighing for their supper, 
 but were surprised to see the log rolled off the truck, 
 and Sam gone. But the next thing we noticed was 
 Sam's head just out from the edge of the log, that lay 
 across his body. It was an awful sight ; the moon was 
 shining bright on his face, that was turned up toward 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 197 
 
 the skj*, but all swollen and discolored, with the eyes 
 wide open and starting out of their sockets, and his 
 tongue sticking out of his mouth, and the blood frozen 
 round his nostrils and the corners of his lips. He musi' 
 have been dead for hours. We had a hard time to roll 
 the log off, and then he was mashed all out of shape, so 
 we carried him the best way we could to the shanty, and 
 next day wrapped him in a blanket and took him down 
 the river. His wife was all struck of a heap when she 
 saw lim, for Sam was a good husband ; if he did swear 
 more than he ought, he never swore at her." 
 
 "He would have been squelched sooner if he had," 
 put in Dalton, aotta voce. 
 
 " We felt pretty bad," continued Duncan j " but after 
 a few days had to go back and finish hauling the logs, 
 for we had a lot cut. It was cold weather, and the wind 
 howled through the pines till sometimes, at night, we 
 almost thought we heard hallooing in the w^oods, but no 
 one cared to go out and see. About two weeks after our 
 return, I happened to leave my axe where I was chop- 
 ping, and as snow had begun to fall pretty fast, and it 
 might be snowed over, I went back after it. I had 
 forgotten precisely where it was left, and lost a good deal 
 of time looking about, all the while the snow coming 
 harder and harder, so that the track was soon covered. 
 That was not much matter, for I knew the country well ; 
 but it was growing dark, and the snow blinded me, so 
 that I could not see plainly. 
 
 " You may believe I did not delay any ; but after hm*- 
 rying on as fast as possible for an hour or two, thought 
 things looked strange; the trees grew tliick and the 
 
128 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 ground rough and steep, and I could not tell where X 
 was. I searched about for some landmark, but it was 
 almost dark, and after trying in vain, and having a heavy 
 overcoat with me, but no matches, I was about to crawl 
 under the roots of a dead tree and make the best of it, 
 when I heard somebody shouting in the distance. 
 
 ^^ There is no mistake, but I was glad, and sung out 
 back, and clambered over the trees and stones toward 
 the voice ; but wliat was my surprise, on approaching, 
 to see our own team, and one of the boys driving. Tliey 
 had no intention of hauling another log, and must have 
 been foolish to think of it in that snow ; but, stranger 
 than all, when I called, did not stop or take any notice. 
 To tell the truth, I began to feel mighty queer, especially 
 as the driver was shaped uncommon like Sam, and I 
 suddenly remembered that it was that night a month ago 
 when he hauled his last stick of timber. I followed 
 slowly along and never said a word ; the driver, whoever 
 he was, was riding on the log, and now and then his 
 voice shouted out what sounded in the storm mighty like 
 a curse. Suddenly the drag struck a stump, the horses 
 made a spring, the log started, the driver tried to jump, 
 but slipped, and the log fell on him with crushing force. 
 There was an awful shriek in the next blast that drove a 
 shower of snow in my eyes, and when I looked again, 
 hoi*ses, log and man were gone. I knew well enough 
 where I was then, and did not take long to reach the 
 camp, when the boys hardly knew me, I was so white 
 and dazed like." 
 
 "Let us see," said Abraham, holding his chin in a 
 thoughtful way; " it was after that you swore off liquor?" 
 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 129 
 
 " Yes," said Robert. " The other boys hardly knew 
 the liquor cask they had left in the woods next day, if 1 
 have heard right." 
 
 " You need not laugh, boys," said Duncan, solemnly ; 
 " there is no fun in seeing a ghost, and I had not taken 
 more than a few drinks. Besides, you know how, next 
 year, when Jake, and Dick, and some others were in the 
 same camp, they heard Sam's old chest, that we had left 
 there, creak as though some one had sat on it, and how 
 the shanty door was taken off the hinges and held 
 upright in the middle of the floor. And the black dog 
 that left no track in the snow, but used to run along the 
 ridge pole of moonlight nights, when nobody was in the 
 shanty; and, finally, how the roof was all taken off 
 when Tom's party was there, and although it was covered 
 with snow, not a drop fell inside. No, no, spirits are 
 no laughing matters." 
 
 " Especially prime spirits," suggested the cook. 
 
 "Jamaica or Holland, but I never heard of New 
 Brunswick spirits before," said Robert. 
 
 " Well, I can just tell you one thing," said Duncan, 
 aroused ; " there is not one of you dare sleep in that 
 shanty alone. Come, I will pole any of you down there 
 to-morrow that would like to try. Who will g^ ?" 
 
 A dead silence fell on the party, for, truth to tell, 
 though bold enough round the fire together, the dwellers 
 on the Miramichi are a good deal given to superstition, 
 and not one of the party but some time or other had 
 fancied he heard Sam's ghost shouting to his team of a 
 stormy night near the landing. 
 
 " Well," said ibraham, slowly, " I never saw but one 
 
 6* 
 
 
mmmmmm 
 
 180 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 ghost. It was a moonlight night, with a little snow on 
 the ground, and I was alone, crossing a cleared lot 
 wrliere the stumps stood pretty thick, when I noticed, 
 crouched down behind one of them, a figure of some 
 sort that looked like an old woman. It had no bonnet 
 or hat, nothing but a cap on its head ; it wore a long, 
 tattered dress, that blew about in the wind, while I could 
 just make out a pair of thin, white arms ; but her face 
 was black as a coal. It is no use to say I was not 
 scared, for I think I was. There were some crazy people 
 about at that time, who had escaped fi'om the madhouse ; 
 but I was pretty sure I could outrun any of them, 'spe- 
 cially a woman, and I knew it was no use running from 
 ghosts, so I concluded the best thing to do was to keep 
 right along and pretend to take no notice ; but, do my 
 best, I could not keep my eyes off the old woman. I 
 tried to whistle, but not a sound would come. I only 
 blew a little, and not very steady at that. I tried to 
 sing, but the first note I uttered made me jump ten feet ; 
 I thought it was somebody else's voice, as sure as fate. I 
 had sidled off as far as I could on account of a gully 
 there was, and did not like to go down that for fear she 
 should think I was afraid. TLie distance between us 
 was growing less and less, and as I watched her sharper 
 than ever, she appeared to make one or two moves, and 
 then stop ; but all of a sudden, she jumped up, threw off 
 her clothes, and started after me. I uttered one yell, and 
 turned ; but, as luck would have it, caught my foot in a 
 root under the snow, and rolled headlong down the stQcp 
 side of the gully. 
 ** I do not know what I said, I think I prayed ; but I 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 181 
 
 made coneiderable noise, anyway, and poked my head 
 into a bush, and tried to burrow under tlio snow. Tliis 
 lasted some time; but hearing nothing more, and not 
 finding myself killed, my courage returned ; I took ou 
 my head, and slowly crawled up the bank. Peering 
 carefully over the edge, I saw a stump where the old 
 woman had been crouching, burnt at the top, with some 
 snow on it; there was a dead bush and roots at the 
 bottom, while a little further off lay a quantity of dead 
 birch bark, waving about in the wind. * Abe,' said I 
 to myself, ^ you have been an awful fool to take a fired 
 stump, a little snow, and some birch bark for a ghost. 
 Never do so again.' And I never have, and have never 
 been so scared from that day to this." 
 
 After a hearty laugh at Abraham's fright, Kobert was 
 called upon, and responded as follows : 
 
 ^^ I cannot tell you a ghost story, but one of as scared 
 a man as ever was seen. It happened at this very place, 
 too, when we were camped on this spot, and was brought 
 to my mind by what you were reading to-day of the man 
 hunting a grizzly bear, and leaving off because the track 
 got too fresh. Jim Baker was with us. He had lived 
 most of his life in the settlements, and had only just 
 come among us, but could play the fiddle and sing 
 a song, and must have had a good ear for music, for 
 among the first things he did was to learn to call moose. 
 He was uncommonly proud of the performance, and 
 though he had never seen a moose, promised to keep the 
 camp in meat. Well, he kept calling all the time, and 
 sure enough one day, while we were camped here, a bull 
 answered. »; r ; .• ; • ^ ■ 
 

 132 
 
 NEW DRUNSWICK. 
 
 * " A good hunter might call till he was grey before he 
 conld bring a moose in broad daylight right up to t^ie 
 camp ; but it was a fooPs luck, and sure enough we soon 
 heard him rapping through the bushes, and then jump 
 into the brook and begin wading down. Jim had out 
 tlie gun, and started off to crawl along the edge in the 
 bushes to meet him. We could see them both; Jim 
 crept along as fast as he could at first, and the bull came 
 faeter yet down the stream without showing a sign of 
 fear. Soon Jim began to go slower, and finally stopped 
 altogether, while the moose kept right on toward him, 
 till he was within fifty yards, when he paused and took 
 a general survey. Jim raised the gun, but when he did 
 BO the animal seemed to have his curiosity aroused, and 
 advanced several steps toward Jim, who lowered hi6 gun, 
 and backed a few paces till the moose stopped again. 
 Jim again raised the gun, and again the moose advanced 
 and Jim retreated. This went on till the moose became 
 satisfied, and with a smort bounded into the bushes and 
 was gone. When Jim came back we asked him why he 
 did not shoot, and he said we need not think he was 
 afraid ; he intended to shoot, but did not know how the 
 gun carried ball." ; -i ; vji^^i •.,* «. . 
 
 ■ The next day my friend killed his first salmon, and 
 Flrange to Siiy, thus we continued to the end, each cat »h- 
 ing precisely the same number of fish. The days were 
 beautifully warm, and rather given to weeping, but fresh 
 and bracing ; whereas the nights were deliciously cool, 
 almost too cold for Summer, and demanded 'plenty of 
 warm blankets. Living in the most primitive but com- 
 fortable style, feeding off a rough table, and often cook 
 
NEW BRUNSWIOJ. 
 
 133 
 
 ing half the dinner ourselves, but with a glorious feeling 
 of entire independence, the heavens above, the earth 
 beneath, and all nature round us, we had a splendid time, 
 and many fish came to our net. ; t ^- , ^u^; * ^ 
 
 Thus the pleasant days flew by; the sport ever 
 honest, manly, invigorating and exciting, varying in 
 luck, at times abundant in its yield, and then utterly 
 unproductive — the uncertainty added zest; while the 
 evenings and hot middays were enlivened with the story, 
 joke or latest novel. Many an idle hour, when the sun 
 shone too resplendent for the hope of sport, did wo 
 while away, the men seated or stretched at length in 
 various picturesque attitudes, and one of us reading 
 aloud. But the time came when this was to end, and on 
 the eleventh day the edict was promulgated to break up 
 camp and return. , r? . , ^ ^^ ^ 
 
 The tent fell and was packed, the pots and pans were 
 huddled together, our camp s^Dres stowed, and we reem- 
 barked for the descent of the river. Keeping rods 
 ready for an occasional cast, we swept along ; the water 
 was high, our men were good boatmen, the canoes were 
 strong, and we rushed through the foaming torrent at a 
 gallant rate. 
 
 At Rocky Bend my friend struck five fine grilse suc- 
 cessively, and lost all but one, much to his chagrin. He 
 laid it to the size of his hooks, alleging they were too 
 large ; but what genius will arise to explain how it is that 
 Biilmon break away without any severe strain on, or 
 damage to, the tackle. Is it a defect in the shape of the 
 hook I If so, should it bend to one side, or curve in or out 
 at the point ? Or is it in the force of striking, or place 
 
134 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 where the hook holds ? The matter is so complex, that 
 the most careful investigation has left me even without 
 ft theory. Some of my friends swear by one of the 
 above plans, others by another ; I have tried them all, 
 and still the fish escape as frequently as ever. - /^ ^ 
 . As we approached a well-remembered spot where I 
 had taken a fine grilse in ascending, Abraham slowly 
 
 ii-Ay.*'^'*; 
 
 
 said : ^^r 
 
 " Take care as we come down to this pool, for I am 
 like the man that once shot a bear at a cleared spot just 
 below, and whenever afterward he came to the same 
 place, he clambered on the highest stump, and looked 
 around to see whether there was not another bear. 
 Wherever we took one fish, I always expect to take 
 another." ..-^-w. ,,;'.■:,, v, . .^ :,;-,■,■ ^j^i.,,.>v:.^.,. - . 
 
 I toid him it was somewhat the same with me, but in 
 that instance we were doomed to disappointment — there 
 was no second bear. . -^^i r- » > -v • -* ■> - - ^ ?s 
 
 At Sandy Pond we made our camp for the night, as 
 my friend had never seen a fish killed with the spear, 
 and, although admitting its unsportsmanlike character, 
 wished to experience how it was done. 
 
 When darkness had settled down, our men kindled a 
 flaming fire of pine knots, in an iron basket attached to 
 a pole that projected from the bow of the canoe, and 
 seating ray friend amidships between them, pushed off. 
 They pulled against the stream, the bright light bringing 
 out the stones at the bottom of the water in strong relief, 
 exposing everything within a radius of twenty feet. 
 Behind it stood the spearsman, erect, his quick eye 
 glancing in every direction, the firelight falling upon 
 
■'fe**5f:r 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 135 
 
 his reddened visage and illuminating his many graceful 
 attitudes. With rapid motion he swung the spear from 
 side to side as any passing object attracted his attention, 
 ready for the death-dealing blow. With perfect facility 
 he kept command of the boat, shoving her bow from the 
 rocks and guiding it through the proper channel ; occa- 
 sionally the spear was sent glancing through the water, 
 and in a moment a grilse brought struggling to the sur- 
 face and thrown into the bottom of the canoe, where the 
 fire rays were reflected from his scales like the liquid 
 gleam of the diamond. 
 
 It was a picturesque sight, the waving flame, the 
 active spearsman, the graceful canoe, and the intense 
 darkness around ; but it was cruel and barbarous, and 
 my friend desisted before many fish had suffered. 
 
 Next day returned us safe and sound to Wilson's hos- 
 pitable log mansion, where a hearty welcome awaited 
 us. Our extra stores were divided among the men, a 
 farewell spoken, the team once more harnessed, and we 
 set out to join the stage at Boiestown for Chatham, on 
 the . c ,'1 to the Nipisiquit. 
 
 A .! ••auge place is Boiestown ; built by an American 
 named Boies, it is a mere collection of unpainted shanty- 
 like houses but with Yankee shrewdness, located upon 
 a tine stream of never-failing water, with excellent mills 
 and water power, it might have been a thriving place 
 had not Boies, its presiding spirit, met with reverses. 
 The maelstrom of lumber speculation had ingulfed him, 
 and with him the prosperity of the town. There was no 
 native capable of filling his place, and the glory of Boies- 
 town had departed. 
 
136 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 t k 
 
 P 
 
 The stage was due at six o'clock, but at six o'clock it 
 did not come, nor at seven, eight, nine nor ten. "We told 
 Wilson to return for us in the morning, and retired to 
 rest in the nearest tavern, leaving word to be called 
 when it did come. * ■ 
 
 At midnight there was a pounding at the door an- 
 nouncing the arrival of the conveyance that was to cany 
 us and our baggage, two heavy trunks, seventy miles. It 
 was a light one horse-wagon. We went to bed again^ 
 and next morning found the stage-driver still at Boies- 
 town, having turned out his horse to graze. 
 
 Wilson, however, soon arrived, and we started on that 
 ' dreary road, following the descent of the Miramichi to 
 its mouth. There is one," and but one, pretty view in 
 the entire seventy miles, and that is as you ascend the 
 first mountain beyond Boiestown. Looking back, the 
 peaceful valley that we had just left, stretching away 
 to our camping-ground, lay basking in the sunlight. 
 In the distance, scarcely visible among the trees, were 
 the few houses that compose Campbelltown ; nearer was 
 the straggling village of Boiestown, and at our feet ran 
 the placid river, leaving broad intervals upon its banks, 
 and meandering between smiling islands. The hay was 
 ripening in the meadow, the oats were still luxuriant in 
 their fresh green, the bushes lined the occasional fences 
 or marked out the narrow swamps, while here and there 
 were dotted the majestic white pine, the towering spruce, 
 the noble elm or the graceful willow, and a dead tree now 
 and then stretched its ungainly limbs toward the clouds. 
 
 Beyond, however, we fell into one dull, dreary routine ; 
 civilization was behind us, the few farms once cultivated 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 137 
 
 were falling back into tlieir savage state, the houses 
 tumbling down, the barns in their last stages of dilapida- 
 tion, everywhere windows broken out, doois off their 
 hinges, huge cracks in roof or walls, told of general 
 decay. Tlie people had fled, no one knew whither ; and 
 of the few that, were left, the stupidity, avarice and 
 extortion were incredible. They impose upon and annoy 
 travellers and fishermen till they have almost driven 
 them away. The stages fail to run or to connect as 
 they undertaKe to do. No one appears to know their 
 times of starting or arriving. Boats advertise to leave 
 on days when they never have left, to stop at places that 
 are not laid down on the map, but are colloquially 
 applied to an entire district ; and omit places where they 
 do stop. No man knows anything except his own indi- 
 yidual business, and but little of that. The inhabitants 
 mainly draw their support from the river, and yet are 
 busy day and night endeavoring to ruin it; the nets 
 from opposite shores lap over one another or reach from 
 bank to bank, and are set week in and week out, while 
 there is a fish running ; the smallest mesh is used, small 
 enough to capture trout or herring. The few fish that 
 Jo reach the spawning beds are chased with the merci- 
 less spear without cessation till long after they are worth- 
 less as food. Yet the people think the river has improved 
 because the laws are partially enforced at its mouth. 
 Netters complain of the spearers, and the spearers of the 
 iietters, but neither do anything but harm. The upper 
 stream is alive with nets, although netting should be per- 
 mitted nowhere above tide water. 
 The only crops of the region are potatoes, oats and 
 
138 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 hay ; for nine months there is rigorous winter, and for 
 three months cold weather. The great productions are 
 black flies, midgets and mosquitoes. The Lord help 
 such a people, for the people will never help themselves. 
 Let my blessing remain with the land; I shall never 
 return for it. 
 
 The river itself is not only lovely to contemplate but 
 would afford to reasonable beings abundant support. In 
 May and June the Gaspereau or alewives, a species of 
 lierring, Alosa Tyramms, make their appeararce in 
 myriads, and ascend to the lakes to spawn ; in June and 
 July the beautiful sea trout appear in shoals and urge 
 their course to the head-waters and the cool brooks ; in 
 July and August come the splendid salmon, struggling 
 against every impediment that the wit of man, or want 
 of wit, can place in their way, to perpetuate their species 
 for that foolish man's support, and build their nests in 
 the broad sandy pools. Tlie lively, energetic grilse 
 come last, fighting vigorously to reach their sylvan 
 homes. Not one of all these races is taken fairly or 
 properly, nor when his destruction will do most good 
 and the least harm. 
 
 Having dined at Decantelon's, we reached Lynch's by 
 dark, where we supped and passed the night, and next 
 day, after breakfasting at Magee's, arrived at New- 
 castle by nine in the morning. Seeing a boy, my friend 
 inquired: . - ^ 
 
 "Boy, when does the stage leave that runs to New- 
 castle?" ■-- :...,-.--.•■ f-;- • - .- - 
 
 " A'most any time ; one has gone, but there will be 
 another going in an hour or two." - :; - -: 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 139 
 
 '* Whore does it start from ? We must inquire for our- 
 selves, I see." 
 
 '*0h, anywhere round the streets; up one street and 
 down another." 
 
 " Now that cannot be," continued my friend ijternly ; 
 <'it must start from some place, and wo do not wish to 
 miss it." 
 
 " Well, it will be along ; it goes all around." 
 
 " It has to cross that ferry, I believe," said my friend, 
 almost savagely. . _ 
 
 " Yes," said the boy. !>. 
 
 " We will wait there where it cannot miss us." 
 
 " Why, there it comes now ; don't you see it on the 
 other side of the river 3" 
 
 Sure enough, there it was ; and from that moment it 
 never escaped our eye. There was a popt-office near by. 
 
 " Postmaster," said my friend, " as you must know, on 
 account of your official position, will you tell me when 
 the Princess Royal leaves Chatham for Shediac." 
 
 " Oh, yes ; every Monday and Friday. It is advertised 
 in the paper." 
 
 " Now there is some satisfaction about this," and out 
 came his note-book. " Every Monday and Friday — ah, 
 
 yes, the paper says Why, the paper says Monday 
 
 and Thursday I" 
 
 " Impossible I So it does ; why she never sails on 
 Thursdays. There must be some mistake." 
 
 " Somewhere no doubt," said my friend, despondingly, 
 returning the note-book ; nor was he much relieved by 
 being afterwards informed by the stage-driver that she 
 sailed neither Thursday nor Friday, but only Monday. 
 
140 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 At Chatham, Mrs. Bowser received us hospitably and 
 noisily, and there we met some good sportsmen and fine 
 fellows. The sportsmen are the salt of New Brunswick 
 earth ; they have not a trait in common with the other 
 inhabitants, but are jovial, friendly and open-hearted. 
 One cannot know too many nor see too much of them. 
 We owed them many thoughtful attentions, which we 
 will repay to them or others of the race of fishermen, 
 passing on the obligation. 
 
 Forty-five more miles of weary road, crossing in its 
 course the Tabasintac, that splendid trout stream, and 
 we reached Bathurst, where we found the guides await- 
 ing us at the "Wellington House, having received our 
 telegram, and next day we began " life in the woods " 
 once more. v v 
 
 Our camp was. pitched at the l^ound Rocks, the lowest 
 fishing station on the Nipisiquit, whither we drove with 
 our luggage in a wagon, and met the canoes. Our rods 
 were hastily put together, and in Rock Pool, at the 
 second cast, I took a fine grilse. Others followed, and 
 next day came the salmon. Splendid fellows just from 
 the sea, their scales resplendent with the reflected light of 
 their ocean homes; solid, strong and brave, leaping 
 again and again, madly disdaining restraint, and fighting 
 fiercely till the last. The water was strong; in some 
 places the rapids were impassable. Sad to tell, the fish 
 knew it, and alas, too often darted down them, whisking 
 their tails in joy at their recovered freedom. Our sport 
 was magnificent. - ,^ "^ . " 
 
 After fishing the Round Rocks and the Bush Falls, we 
 ascended the river to the Pabineau Falls, where we 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 141 
 
 pansed only to exchange friendly greetings with two 
 fellow fishermen, and continuing through the dark, silent 
 waters of the Bittabock, dined at the Middle Landing, 
 where the stream pours seething in its narrow channel 
 between high rocky banks, and where it is said to be six 
 fathoms deep. We passed another angler at the Chain 
 of Eocks, and reached the Grand Falls and pitched our 
 tent on its precipitous shores by sundown. 
 
 Wild indeed is the scenery at the Grand Falls, the 
 highest point the salmon reach. The falling water, in 
 long ages, has worn away a channel between high bluffs, 
 and now, in ordinary seasons, poure through a narrow 
 gorge that once could be leaped across, but which has 
 been blasted to admit the passage of timber. The sheet 
 of water falls in a mass of foam some forty feet, the spray 
 rising in volumes, and producing in the summer's sun a 
 beautiful mist rainbow. The granite rocks have been 
 worn in deep holes by revolving bowlders, and in winter 
 the whole chasm, filled with ice and water, must be 
 grand and impressive in extreme. 
 
 There is a smaller, second fall, which the salmon occa- 
 sionally try to leap ; but they spawn in the pebbly beds 
 below, the whole course of the stream, especially at the 
 basin a short distance from the falls. 
 
 The principal natural fly of the Kipisiquit is about 
 three-quarters of an inch long, has a yellow body and 
 orange tip, two short whisks and two long, yellow 
 antennae, six thick yellow legs, a large, black head, a 
 thick yellow body with nine rings, and four reticulated, 
 dull yellowish, transparent wings. They are not very 
 abundant, but there are many small nocturnal flies, that 
 will be drawn together with a light in swarms. 
 
142 
 
 NEW BRUNSWIOE. 
 
 * - It is extremely interesting to stand on the rocks over" 
 hanging the river and watch the salmon, their every 
 motion distinctly visible, and their numbers readily 
 counted. When one is casting the fly, his companion 
 can see the fish move to take it, and call out when to 
 strike. Salmon seem to rise very slowly and deliberately 
 and can be observed of a bright day together in crowds, 
 holding their own against the current with a scarcely 
 perceptible effort. Not one in a hundred will notice the 
 fly ; ordinarily nothing but the fins are in motion, but 
 occasionally an individual will give a flirt and turn up 
 his side, which flashes like silver through the water. 
 
 We fished the Camp, the Falls, the Rock and Cooper's 
 Fools with great success ; the fish were numerous, fine 
 conditioned, large and strong. We had many a fierce 
 contest ; often was our line run out for seventy yards ; the 
 fish made splendid leaps and vigorous rushes, but we lost 
 very few, as there was but one bad place. That was 
 below the Falls Pool, where a stake had caught in the 
 middle of the current ; I found its locality by losing a 
 fine grilse and a casting line. -^ . r . 
 
 The days wore on most pleasantly ; salmon occupied 
 all our thoughts. The first thing in the morning we 
 looked for salmon, then we fished for salmon, then we 
 breakfasted on salmon, and then again fished for them ; 
 then made flies to catch them, next dined on them, again 
 , fished for them, and then supped off them, and lastly 
 dreamed of them. But the happiest and longest of sum- 
 mer days must end ; our time came to return, and the 
 camp was struck. , , v • ,■ 
 
 The river is quite evenly divided between the various 
 Btopping-placeB, and it is almost exactly three miles 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 US 
 
 between each. There are six good fishing places : the 
 Grand Falls, Middle Landing, Bittabock, Pabineau Falls, 
 Bound Kocks and Bough "Waters. 
 
 "We stopped at our original camp, the Bound Bocks 
 and there we struck our last fish. My friend hooked 
 in the middle of the current a noble specimen, that gave 
 such splendid play that I laid down my rod to witness 
 the contest. The bright sides of the fish, as he leaped 
 again and again out of water, proved that he was fresh 
 run and strong, an impression his fierce ruslies confirmed. 
 He was played with great care and delicacy ; but alas I 
 suddenly darted across the current, took a turn around a 
 rock, and returning passed round another. All hope was 
 given up, but when the canoe was skillfully pushed across 
 after him, he was found to be still on and the line uninjured 
 by the smooth rocks. My friend, greatly rejoiced, had 
 another severe contest, and foiled two determined efforts 
 at escape down an impassable rapid, and when compelled 
 to follow him through some very rough water, did it in a 
 masterly style, standing erect in the canoe, which was 
 ably handled by the two Chamberlains, and guiding the 
 fish through the safest channel. Nearly an hour had 
 been expended, and the fish, almost exhausted, made one 
 last effort to reach the next rapid, and being prevented, 
 came alongside, feebly turning ovfer and over. My friend 
 unfortunately had put on a double leader and could not 
 reel up short, so the salmon lay deep under water, dimly 
 seen, when John attempted to gaff him. At that instant 
 the fish turned, the gaff slipped, he made a rush into the 
 current, and one cry from my friend, " Tliere, he's off," 
 told the tale. The line sprung up into the air, we looked 
 
n'mm- wmimm^mmm/mmmm^iinin 
 
 144 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 at one another in silence ; the occasion was too sad for 
 words. My friend sat down upon the rocks in despair ; 
 I felt for, but had no power to console him. At last, 
 slowlj and sadly, he broke the mournful silence : " Let 
 us go home," he said ; and we went. 
 
 Good bye, lovely Nipisiquit, stream of the beautiful 
 pools, the fisherman's elysium ; farewell to thy merry, 
 noisy current, thy long quiet stretches, thy high bluffs, 
 thy wooded and thy rocky shores. Long may thy music 
 lull the innocent angler into day dreams of happiness. 
 Long may thy deep holes afford secure havens of safety 
 for the salmon, where they can bid defiance to the rapa- 
 cious net and murderous spear. Long may thy romantic 
 scenery charm the eye and gladden the heart of the artist 
 and welcome the angler to a happy sylvan home. And 
 often may I visit thee,, beautiful Nipisiquit ! 
 
WHITE TROUT OF THE SCOODIAO. 
 
 145 
 
 '> 1 i 
 
 /'• 
 
 *■ CHAPTER VII. 
 
 , , ' ._■..- t. V . ■ 
 
 WHITE TROUT OF THE SCOODIAO, OB BT. OBOIX. 
 
 I AM unable to give a scientific description of these 
 beautiful and delicious fish, and believe they have never 
 been properly described. They however closely resemble 
 a dwarfed salmon, and have been supposed to be these 
 fish landlocked, prevented, by a natural or artificial 
 obstruction, from completing their annual migrations to 
 and from the sea. The better opinion, however, is that 
 they are a distinct fish, and the color of their sides natu- 
 rally suggests the above appellation, although they have 
 no popular name. The name Scoodic is applied gener- 
 ally to the St. Croix Elver, its lakes and tributaries, and 
 in Maine they are known as the St. Croix Trout, in New 
 Brunswick as the Scoodic Trout, while Mr. Perley sug- 
 gests that they may be the Grey Trout. ^* 
 
 They are, however, extremely tame and numerous, 
 take the fly readily, afford excellent sport, and delicious 
 eating. They weigh from one pound to four, and may 
 be taken in hundreds. The season commences about the 
 first of June, and lasts throughout that month, and the 
 best files are the gay ones, composed mainly of feathers 
 from the golden pheasant. The scarlet ibis and Irish 
 lake flies are prime favorites. 
 
 Tlie steamer of the International Line, from Boston or 
 
 1 
 
'_"J i 1^^ttftf 
 
 P^pmippPMi 
 
 a.T— 'T:-U,^lf^"5"5SV«- f^iTc-^^f^PWMn?^ 
 
 ?«|^TiT^' ..^:- -.^ *T-^fT?nV«*_<.7M'^ - 
 
 146 
 
 WHITE TROUT OF THE SCOODIAO. 
 
 Portland, connects at Eastport witli a river boat for Ca« 
 lais, whence there is a railroad to Lewis' Island. From 
 Lewis' Island it is nine miles to the fishing-ground, six 
 of which are by water and three . by land. A man 
 named Goole will take the baggage over the portage, 
 and the best fishing is above the Grand Falls, between 
 the first two lakes. Inquiries must be made at the time 
 about the necessity of carrying the canoe across the por- 
 tage, as often no canoe can be obtained at the fishing- 
 ground. Of course the angler must expect to camp out, 
 and will provide himself accordingly. 
 
 Note. --Since tlie above was written these fish have been examined by 
 Professor Agassiz, and prjuouiiced to be sitlmou. 
 
white-fish. 
 
 147 
 
 CHAPTER Vin 
 
 WHITE-FISFT. 
 
 Voregonua Alhus — Attihawmeg. — Altliougli included 
 in the salmon family by having the second dorsal adi- 
 pose, and the fin-rays soft, this fish difibrs totally from 
 either the trout or salmon. It has minute velvet-like 
 teeth, scarcely perceptible to the touch, except on the 
 gill-arches, where there is a row of long and slim ones, 
 like bristles ; the scales are large and t!ie body com- 
 prcssed^ like that of a shad, and it has been called the 
 Fresh-water Shad. The mouth is very small, utterly un- 
 snited for seizing the prey on which the trout and salmon 
 feed ; the color of the back is greyish blue, and the sides 
 white. 
 
 Fin-rays, D. 13.0; P. 17; Y. 12; A. 13; C. 19f, the 
 second dorsal being adipose. 
 
 The proper appellation for this fish is the Indian 
 name, Attihawmeg, and if sportsmen would in all cases 
 follow the names used by the aborigines they would 
 show more sense than the common people of our coun- 
 try, who think every fish with a spiny back fin must be 
 a bass, and every other a trout. The Attihawmeg 
 abounds in Lake Huron, where it attains a weight of 
 twelve to fourteen pounds, and is tolerably abundant in 
 Lakes Eric, Ontario and Michigan. It feeds on mussels 
 
^,- j?iayrirtti i i i ir ia«Ma»»iawa«>rt-.-^,^^ 
 
 :'-Kff-H'-j''' 
 
 148 
 
 WniTE-FISH. 
 
 and shellfish, or on aquatic plants, and is usually taken 
 in nets. The general opinion is that it will take no bait, 
 natural or artificial; but it might be tempted by the 
 artificial fly, or perhaps the cray-fish. It is the finest 
 fresh-water fish of America upon the table, having no 
 rival that approaches it in excellence except the Otsego 
 bass. But being extremely delicate, it should be eaten 
 immediately on leaving the water, and is never in condi- 
 tion in the cities. If it has been frozen, as is always the 
 case in "Winter, the Attihawmeg is utterly wCrthless. It 
 is unsurpassable split and broiled, very similar in appear- 
 ance and flavor, only much superior to the shad. It is 
 not properly a game fish, whatever may be thought of its 
 delicacy of taste and appearance, but a description of it 
 is necessary to complete the series and to distinguish it 
 from certain others. 
 
CISCO. 
 
 U9 
 
 
 *? 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 CISCO. 
 
 1 BECOBD a description of this fish for the purpose of 
 caiHng to it the attention of those who have the requisite 
 knowledge to determine what it is, and beg naturalists, 
 if it is still undescribed, to leave it its own pretty, ori- 
 ginal name. It inhabits Lake Ontario, near its outlet 
 into the St. Lawrence, and is taken in the neighborhood 
 of Cape Yincent. It is one of the Goregonics group, but 
 neither the White-fish, Attihawmeg, Coregonus aU)VSy nor 
 the Otsego Bass, Coregonua Otsego. It may be related 
 to the Coregonus clwpeiformis^ although differing much 
 from the meagre description of the latter in the accounts 
 copied one from another, of Dr. Mitchill, Lesueur, and 
 Dr. De Kay. 
 
 The Cisco is not so compressed nor deep as the white- 
 fish ; the teeth are more delicate and velvety, and in the 
 gill arches are a few long, distfnct, slim teeth or bristles. 
 The mouth is smaller than that of the white-fish, and 
 when open, perfectly square. The scales are similar to 
 those on the latter, but the tail is so delicate as to mako 
 counting the rays mere guesswork ; the point of the 
 tongue is hard, the back colored green, the sides silver 
 white, while the first ray of the pectoral, ventral and 
 anal fins is darkish. The first dorsal has ten soft rays , 
 
. ^gjjl/^^ittmv**''.'- 
 
 150 
 
 CISCO. 
 
 the second is adipose ; the pectoral has fourteen soft 
 rays, the ventral eleven, the anal twelve, and the caudal, 
 as well as I could count them, fourteen. It is a very- 
 beautiful and delicate fish, more so even than the white- 
 fish. .■■■ ■ - :'^ .'■■-■■_ 
 
 The Cisco is taken at Cape Vincent, with the eel fly- 
 baited on a small hook and dibbled along the top of tlio 
 water, and is said not to notice any artificial fly. I unfor- 
 tunately had no chance to try, though I saw them rising 
 and taking the natural fly readily. They do not rise with 
 the rush of a salmon or trout, never springing out of water, 
 and simply show their heads as they seize their prey. 
 The eel-fly is a fat and sluggish fly, and it may be that 
 the fish rising slowly, as they naturally do, would disco- 
 ver the deception even if an imitation eel-fly were offered 
 to them. This fly, as I have elsewhere observed, is simi- 
 lar, both in appearance and habits, to the famous Euro- 
 pean May-fly. 
 
 The fish known as the lake herrings mlmo dupeifcr- 
 nviSf althouij^h very similar in appearance, has certain dis- 
 tinctive characteristics ; for instance, there are minute 
 teeth on the tongue, and the fin-rays, as I make them, 
 are — 
 
 D. 12 ; P. 16 ; Y. 11 ; A. 11 ; C. 19| ; B. 9. 
 
 According to Lesueur — 
 
 D. 12 ; P. 16 ; V. 12 ; A. 14 ; C. 19|. 
 
 In the lake herring I also found the first ray of the 
 dorsal the longest, although Lesueur says it is simple 
 and short ; the tail is deeply forked. The dorsal termi- 
 nates nearly opposite the ventrals, and the second dorsal 
 is opposite the centre of the anal. 
 
OTSEGO BASS. 
 
 151 
 
 .:'*-"' ;;.■ 
 
 
 CHAPTER X, 
 
 OTSEGO BASS. 
 
 Coregonus Otsego. — ^This fish must be carefully distin* 
 guished from the Oswego Bass, there beiug no resem- 
 blance except in the stupidity of confounding by name 
 one of the perch family, to which the latter belongs, with 
 one of the salmon family, to which this belongs. The 
 Otsego Bass is closely allied to tu j white-fish, but has 
 numerous dusky longitudinal lines on the sides. Its 
 mouth and scales are small, and it appears to have no 
 teeth except the bristles on the gill-arches. The lateral 
 lino is nearly straight, and the tail is deeply forked. 
 The back is a rich blue, fading into green, the sides bril- 
 liant with mother of pearl, and the belly gleaming like 
 molten silver. The rays are as follows: 
 
 Br. 9 ; D. 13 ; P. 17 ; V. 11 ; A. 11 ; C. 22. 
 
 The second back fin, as in all the salmon tribe, is adi- 
 pose and rayless. 
 
 These fish have as yet only been found in Otsego 
 Lake, where they are rapidly diminishing in size and 
 numbers. They are not known to take any bait, and 
 are presumed to feed on aquatic vegetation. Early in 
 spring they seek the shallow water for a few days, when 
 they are taken in nets ; but shortly retiring to the 
 deepest water, they remain till Autumn, wher they 
 
.;,^a{)(iJl*«ti«*».*i.-- 
 
 152 
 
 OTSEGO BASS. 
 
 again seek the shores to spawn. They never exceed 
 four pounds, and rarely two, and though undesirable 
 on table, are not a sportsman's fish, and have been 
 described only that they may be distinguished from 
 other species. ^, . ' 
 
 ■> ' 
 
TnS BLUE-FISH. 
 
 ^53 
 
 .'i»-' 
 
 \.,:: ^ 
 
 ■^.M, 
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 THE BLUE-FISH. 
 
 Temnodon Saltator — Soomler Plumleus (Mitcbill) — 
 Horse Mackerel — Oreen-fish of Virginia — Skijpjack of 
 South Carolina, ' 
 
 Tliis fish belongs to the mackerel family ; it has pro- 
 jecting teeth in the fore part of the jaws, and velvety 
 teeth on the roof of the mouth and tongue. The first doi*^ 
 sal lies in a furrow, and there are two minute spines con- 
 cealed under the skin before the anal. The scales extend 
 over the head, gill-covers and high on the fins ; the back 
 is bluish-green, and the sides and abdomen lighter ; the 
 pectorals, second dorsal and tail are greenish-brown, 
 while the ventrals and anal are white, tinged with blue. 
 The gill-cover has two indistinct flat points. • The fin- 
 rays are as follows, the spines being distinguished from 
 the soft rays. 
 
 D. 7.1.25 ; P. 17 ; V. L5 ; A. 1.27 ; C. 19f 
 
 These fish furnish one of the most remarkable instances 
 of the appearance and disappearance of species on our 
 co»ast. As in our day, with the Spanish mackerel, that 
 darling of the gourmand, so in former times, the blue-fish 
 appeared suddenly. He was first seen on the coast of 
 Massachusetts in 1764, and then not again till 1792 ; and 
 it is only since the year 1830 that he has been abundant. 
 
•js^mitifm,^"" 
 
 IH 
 
 THE BLUE-FISH. 
 
 He seems to have superseded another and larger fish of 
 the same name, and as his numbers augment, those of 
 the weak-fish, otolithus regalis, diminish. The bhie-fish 
 lias singular vagaries, sometimes crowding every inlet 
 in swarms, and then deserting us altogether, visiting in 
 one season one locality and in the next another, but ordi 
 narily frequenting our entire coast north to Massachusetts. 
 
 They afford excellent sport on a rod and line, being 
 among the strongest and boldest of their kind, taking 
 the fly readily, and making fierce and well-sustained 
 rushes ; but from the localities they usually frequent, 
 they are mostly taken with a hand-line from a sailboat. 
 An artificial squid of bone, ivory or lead, is trailed along 
 at the end of forty yards of stout line, from a boat 
 dancing merrily over the waves under the influence of a 
 fresh mackerel breeze. The boatman's business is to 
 watch for a shoal, which can be seen by their breaking, 
 and when he has found it, by repeated tacks to keep the 
 boat in or near it ; the fisherman's duty is to haul in 
 steadily and regularly immediately on feeling a bite, 
 and to get out his line again as soon as possible. The 
 fish dart forward, and throwing themselves out of water, 
 turn a complete somersault, when, if the line is not taught, 
 they will throw the hook out of their mouths. The dash- 
 ing of the waves and flying of the spray, the rapid exhi- 
 larating motion of the vessel, the fresh sea-breeze, the 
 rapid biting and fine play of the fish, make a day i)as8 
 pleasantly if they do not afford scientific sport. 
 
 Blue-fish attain a weight of thirty pounds, and the 
 largest being usually taken outside the bars, beyond the 
 breakers, are a source of much amusement to our yachts- 
 
THE IJLUE-FISII. 
 
 165 
 
 d the 
 id the 
 achts- 
 
 rnen ; but the arms of the fisherman soon v/eary, and 
 their hands, unless protected by leather gloveti, are often 
 seriously lacerated. The fishing can hardly be said to 
 begin till July, and continues till late in the Autumn ; 
 the smaller fish are taken early. , > ,<., 
 
 If cooked when just out of their native element, these 
 fish are excellent, but they soon lose their flavor. They 
 should be broiled, or split and nailed on a shingle and 
 roasted quickly before a hot fire. r v;^ rf. „^.;% 
 
 Undoubtedly they could be taken with the trolling 
 spoon, and a stout leader of double gut running on 
 swivel traces attached to a dark hand-line would add 
 greatly to the success. In fact, like all other fish, at 
 times they are shy and must be fished for with fine 
 tackle, and then the rod and line come into play. In 
 fishing with a rod from a sailboat, the moment a fish is 
 struck the sheet is eased off',-the boat run up into the wind, 
 and the fish killed at leisure ; if the boat were kept in 
 motion, the strain would be too great for the rod and 
 reel. 
 
 One of the favorite haunts of blue-fish, although they 
 frequent the entire length and breadth of the Great 
 South Bay of Long Island, is Fire Island Inlet; and 
 there, of a bright summer day, may be seen congregated 
 the white sails of fifty boats tossing about in the roll of 
 the breakers, clustering together as the shoals collect, or 
 scattering far out to sea in the hopes of better luck. 
 There, when the wind blows, they may be seen under 
 double reef, plunging along, throwing the spray from 
 their bows, or, if a milder day, under full sail, generally 
 a single one, sweeping over the quiet waters. Moderate 
 
156 
 
 THE BLUE-FISH'. 
 
 weather is the best, and it is no nse fishing nnless th« 
 fish are on, which means that their visits are variable. 
 At midday, when they generally cease biting, the adven- 
 turous fisherman may land on Raccoon Beach, immor- 
 talized by the genial wit of J. Cypress, jr., and either 
 cook his fish by a fire built from the waifs of the sea, 
 which I decidedly recommend, or get a fashionable din- 
 ner from Dominy or " t'other man " that keeps a hotel 
 there. At this time it will be found, and I note the fact 
 for the benefit of future generations, that a little liquor 
 containing condensed carbonic acid gas and vulgarly 
 called champagne, with water reduced to the tempera- 
 ture of freezing and commonly called ice, will be pleas- 
 ing to the palate and beneficial to the inner man. In 
 explanation of this episode, I may say I have just been 
 there. 
 
 ,";-*?;, 
 
 \ 
 
 \ 
 
 ^^^^ 
 
SNArriNG MACKEREL. 
 
 167 
 
 J 
 
 •■ H 
 
 * 'll"'' ■ ■ • 
 
 CHAPTEK XII. 
 
 SNAPPING MACKEREL. 
 
 Temnodon SaUator. — One of the gayest, merriest, live- 
 liest, little fish that chases and devours those smaller 
 than himself, and is chased and devoured by such as are 
 larger, is the Snapping Mackerel, the young of the pre- 
 vious species, but individualized from the voracity with 
 which he snaps at the live or dead bait. He is a bcau- 
 tiAil, silver-sided little fellow, weighing from an ounce 
 to half a pound, and makes his appearance in immense 
 numbere along our coast in the latter part of September 
 or fore part of October. 
 
 " Whence he comes, 
 Whither he goes, 
 
 Nobody cares ' ;p'- 
 
 And nobody knows." / 
 
 He must have just arrived, however, from the parents' 
 spawning ground, his diminutive size proving that he has 
 not been long out of the shell. He roams about, at first 
 in small numbers, but soon increasing to multitudes, and 
 gives active chase to the minnow and spearing, that may 
 be seen momentarily springing out of water in their 
 frantic efforts to escape his charges. He lurks in the 
 foaming water of a mill-tail or sluiceway, or in the eddy- 
 ing current of the receding tide, watching for his prey 
 
mm 
 
 mmm 
 
 158 
 
 SNAPPIXO MACKEREL. 
 
 as they swim or arc drifted along iinsnspicioiisly. He 
 makes one dasli, u dozen startled spearing leap into the 
 air, and swim for dear life ; but tlie victim is generally 
 "ajTied olf, a dainty and epicurean meal. 
 
 Spearing invariably swim near the surface; they haunt 
 the gates of tide-mills wlien the tide is rising, and are 
 drifted in with the current when the gates open before 
 the advancing waters. The snappers take the opportu- 
 nity, not merely to plunge among the shoals before the 
 gates lift, b*it afterward, when the spearing, who are 
 helpless in a strong current, are swept along, to pounce 
 upon them. 
 
 Of course ii- such places they can be captured with 
 most success. When they tiist make their appearance, 
 not longer than your forefinger, but tender and delicate 
 beyond belief, they may be found at low walev in the 
 rivulets of white frotli that run bnbbli/ig from holes and 
 leaks in the mill-gatcE. The best mode of taking them 
 at this time, for they are small and fastidi^^ns, is with a 
 salmon-rod and a tiny spearing on a Limerick hook ; by 
 making casts and drawing the bait along the surface of 
 the water and through the frothy eddies, the young inno- 
 cents are deceived, and thinking to prey upon their 
 weaker brethren, become themselves a palatable viand 
 for larger creatures. They break like trout, without 
 throwing themselves out of water, but with a noisy snap, 
 and if they ^niss th'> bait at first, will follow it resolutely. 
 It is no mean sport to stand upon tlie old worm-eaten, 
 weather-stained bridge, and wield the long rod, playing 
 your allurement over the water to the music of the rush- 
 ing current and the stefidy clack of the mill-wheel, and 
 
 
SNArriNO MACKEREL. 
 
 159 
 
 see one after another of the green-backed, silvery snap 
 pers dart from under the accumulated frotli, chase aj»d 
 swallow your bait, and no slight satist'action to observe 
 the increasing nuinbcr in your basket, and think of how 
 your friends will enjoy their supper that night. 
 
 There is one singular fact to be observed, that whereas 
 blue-fish invariably take the invitation squid, or artificial 
 fly, with voracity, the snapping mackerel, except in the 
 South Bay of Long Island, can rarely be tempted by it. 
 In Long Island Sound I have failed with th#fly and the 
 spoon entirely, and have found the gutta percha minnow 
 to work only passably, whereas in the South Bay they 
 are taken readily with a leaden squid, of a peculiar 
 shape, run on a large hook and polished bright. 
 
 Qlie spearing is their favorite food, but the extreme 
 sensitiveness of that remarkable little fish, that renders 
 keeping him alive impossible, injures the attractive- 
 ness of the bait. As has been elsewhere observed, 
 when small fish are used, it is desirable to keep them 
 alive if possible, and the snappers will often give the 
 preference to a lively killey, that by his efforts to escape 
 incites the eagerness of their pursuit, over a dead spear- 
 ing, that by his peculiar manner of resting in the water 
 arouses their suspicions. 
 
 As the season advances, the fish are found in all rapid 
 cuiTents of the salt water, and the barred killey is by far 
 iiie most killing bait. The best way of rigging your 
 tackle is to have a small float and light swivel sinker, 
 below which there is a short leader of gut. The latter is 
 fastened to the middle of a piece of whalebone or wire 
 about two inches long, to each find of which the hook, 
 
 ■ W '■'■'!;. 
 
160 
 
 SNArriNG MACKEREL. 
 
 .^^' 
 
 dressed on gut, is attached. As the teeth of these vora- 
 cious fish are sharp, and after being hooked they snap 
 continually, the silk whipping of the hook, as well as the 
 gut itself, is soon bitten through. Either a small quill 
 may be slipped down over the hook before it is attached, 
 and into this the teeth sink without damage, or care must 
 be taken to put a couple of half hitches with tlie snell 
 over the shank, as the whipping wears out. 
 
 A liguu rod and reel are necessary for this spore, and 
 there is the same skill and excitement in the repeated 
 uasts that lend to striped bass fishing one of its peculiar 
 charms. The morning hours, the last of the ebb and first 
 of the flood, are the most propitious times ; but as the 
 Fall advances, any hour, tide or place will furnish sport 
 in abundance. 
 
 I was once fishing with a friend whose experience is 
 greater with the pencil than the rod, on one of those 
 glorious evenings of what might be properly styled in 
 ou^ country "fiery brown October," and our success 
 made us unmindful of the fleeting hours that had bid the 
 sun farewell and welconaed the moon from her bed. 
 Cramped as we had been in a cockle-shell of a boat, we 
 had taken one of the thwarts and the oars, and placing 
 tliem, across the gunwale, had made two high but dan- 
 gerous seats. Tlie boat was extremely unsteady, and 
 many and solemn had been my unheeded warnings to 
 move as little as possible, and to exercise care in what- 
 evei' motions were unavoidably necessary. The fish were 
 out in force, and seized our bait frantically the instant it 
 touched waves, over which the moonlijfht glanced in 
 tiny ripples. A northeaster had been blowing, but, dying 
 
SNAFFINO MACKEREL. 
 
 161 
 
 away, left only a long, heaving swell, that was hroken by 
 neighboring projecting rocks, and in no wise added to the 
 steadiness of the boat. Our eagerness increased with 
 the increasing darkness, and when unable longer to see 
 our floats, we cast out and reeled in, finding generally a 
 worthy reward for onr pains. The fun grew fast and 
 faster ; at one particular place we were always sure of a 
 fish. To reach it was a long cast, and my friend, in an 
 effort to excel himself, leaned back for a vigorous throw, 
 lost his balance, and toppled overboard. His weight, as 
 he went on one side, careened the boat, threw me down 
 to leeward, and let the water pour in over the gunwale 
 in barrels. Down almost under water I saw the other 
 gunwale turned up and nearly over me, when my friend, 
 falling headlong out, gave the boat a lift, of which I 
 took advantage by getting back amidships pretty well 
 ducked, but not yet cast away. The water was nearly 
 i;p to the seats, but by careful balancing, I could keep 
 her afloat. Imagine my horror when my friend reap- 
 peared from the oozy depths to which he had descended, 
 and commenced madly trying to clamber over the side. 
 I begged and besought him to think of what he was 
 doing ; that I was still partially dry ; that my watch was 
 a patent lever ; that I had a family of small children ; 
 and that the boat would never, in her present state, hold 
 us both. Reluctantly he listened to reason, and allowed 
 me to bail her out with a bucket we had provided to 
 carry our fish. As I threw out the water I could just 
 see with deep regret, in the moonlight, the sparkle of 
 fish after fish that I was unavoidably throwing away, and 
 that I hoped would have served so different a purpose. 
 
IP 
 
 '' ^ 
 
 IIP^" 
 
 162 
 
 SNAPPING MACKEREL. 
 
 ■■ i 
 
 V. 
 
 !■: (-* :. 
 
 ^ 
 
 r 
 
 She was finally freed of water ; hats, oars and rod were 
 picked up, the latter by means of the float that was 
 calmly fishing all by itself; my friend, who had swam to 
 and was shivering on a neighboring roek, was taken 
 aboard, and we returned, solemn and sad, my friend very 
 cold and myself greatly disgusted. rf v. - 
 
 In fishing, therefore, for snappers, it is better not to 
 fall overboard ; but if, by yout awkwardness of doing so, 
 you half fill the boat, never try to climb in over the side, 
 but sacrifice yourself bravely. "W"^ were using on this 
 occasion a bait that, late in the season, is often more suc- 
 cessful than any other — a part of the fish himself. This, 
 in the early fishing, they will not touch ; but in cold 
 weather, frequently prefePi - - -^ - ^ ^ >. 
 
 It is a singular fact, that although blue-fish have always 
 abounded in the Great South Bay, snapping mackerel 
 were unknown there till lately ; whereas, while the latter 
 have been abundant in Long Island Sound from time 
 immemorial, the former have never been taken there to 
 any great extent. - > : 
 
*, 
 
 r 
 
 TEE COMMON CARP. 
 
 103 
 
 CHAPTER Xni. 
 
 THE COMMON CAEP. 
 
 Oyprinua Carpio. — ^This, as Avell as the goldfish, Cy- 
 prinus auratus^ is not a native of our country, but has 
 been introduced from Europe, and naturalists have sup- 
 posed that there is no native C!irp of any size in this 
 country. I have seen a fish called the Western Carp, 
 which, although I had no chance to more than sketch its 
 head, was certainly a true carp, and of four or five pounds' 
 weight. It had large scales, and all the fin-rays soft, 
 except the first anal, which was robust. 
 
 The common carp, which has increased with amazing 
 rapidity till it is found everywhere in the Hudson River, 
 has a small mouth, fleshy lips with nt teeth, large scales, 
 three branchial rays and teeth on the pharyngeals ; has 
 tlie first ray of the dorsal and anal fin serrated behind, 
 has two barbels at the angle of the mouth, and a smaller 
 one above on each side, small eyes, large nostrils, a high 
 back and radiating striae on the gill-cover. The color ii 
 a golden olive, lighter underneath. 
 
 These delicate fish, having become acclimated, and 
 finding the Hudson River suitable to their wants, are 
 increasing rapidly in size and numbers ; but none that I 
 have seen equal the western carp or are properly game 
 fish. 
 
f . 
 
 164 
 
 MASCALLONGB. 
 
 '■ 
 
 CHAPTEE XIY. 
 
 MA30ALLONOE. 
 
 I 
 
 l^ox Estor — Masqueallonge < — Mitshdlunge — Muscob' 
 Unga — Masquinongy — Maakinonge — Muscanonga, 
 
 The sidea of the body are marked with numerous 
 rounded, distinct greyish spots. Tliree bands of card- 
 like teeth are situated on the roof of the mouth, on the 
 palatines and vomer, converging to a point toward the 
 snout. There are long, sharp, distinct teeth along the 
 edges of the upper and lower jaw, and continued to the 
 extremity of the latter, althougli some authorities assert 
 the contrary. The gill-arches are also covered with 
 teeth. Mascallonge reach a length of about six feet and 
 a weight of seventy pounds, and the comparative length 
 of the head with the whole fish is as one to four. The 
 fin-rays are as follows : . 
 
 Branchial or gill-rays 20 ; Dorsal 18 ; Pectoral 16 ; 
 Ventral 11 ; Anal 17 j Caudal 24 ; according to my best 
 computation. * 
 
 Br. 18 ; D. ^-; P. 13 ; Y. 11 ; A. 21 ; 0. 19f — i>r. 
 De Kay. 
 
 D. 21 ; P. 14 ; Y. 11 ; A. 17 ; C. 26.— i??-. MitchilL 
 
 D. 22 ; P. 18 ; Y. 13 ; A. 20; C. 26.— Pw/. Agassis. 
 
 The lateral line is not continuous, the under jaw is 
 more elongated than that of the northern pickerel and 
 
 ssaeSR: 
 
 '*mm«MiMHi 
 

 MASCALL0X6B/ 
 
 ill. 
 mz. 
 is 
 land 
 
 some fisli have on tlieir sides dark spots on a light grey- 
 ish ground. 
 
 The name of this fish is derived from Masque allonge^ 
 long snout, which is a translation from the Canadian 
 Indian dialect, of Masoa-Twnga^ words which have the 
 same signification ; and from corruptions of these two 
 designations arise our numerous names. I took great 
 pains to ascertain precisely how the Canadian boatmen, 
 who are a cross of the Indian and Frenchman, pro- 
 nounced this name, although, in their French patois^ he 
 is ordinarily called Brochat^ and the best my ears could 
 make of it was Mae- or Muscailung, the latter syllable 
 being guttural. But as the most sonorous, expressive 
 and appropriate name is Mascallonge, it is desirable that 
 all sportsmen should employ it. "^ '* '^^ ^"^^^ 
 
 There is a dispute as to the size and weight that these 
 fish attain, and while some writers claim for them a fabu- 
 lous size, others entirely underrate them. Mr. S. D. Johns- 
 ton, the proprietor of the Walton House, at Clayton, a son 
 of Mr. Johnston, who was a prominent man in the Cana- 
 dian rebellion, and for many years forced to hide among 
 the Thousand Isles and live by his hook and spear, said 
 that the largest fish he ever saw was taken by his father, 
 who, in one night, speared two Mascallonge weighing 
 respectively sixty-three and forty-two pounds. Tliere is 
 plenty of authority to prove that there was taken near 
 Clayton, in the year 1859, a mascallonge that measured 
 five feet seven inches in length, and weighed fifty-one and 
 three-quarter pounds, that it was poor and thin, and in 
 good condition would probably have weighed over sixty 
 pounds. One fisherman caught in a single year twelve 
 

 
 mmmSSWSmBfm 
 
 I6d 
 
 l^ASOALLONQE. 
 
 r 
 
 mascallonge, ranging from twenty-one to forty-four 
 pounds. Larger lish and far greater numbers may per- 
 haps be taken in wilder waters, and, indeed, in some of 
 the lakes in . the remote parts of Canada these fish are 
 innumerable. 
 
 Their length, proportionally to their weight, is, in con- 
 sequence of their peculiar shape, excessive ; a fish of 
 twenty-five pounds' weight will measure forty-six inches 
 in length by six in depth, and a fish of seventy pounds 
 it is presumed would be over six feet in length. Although 
 this is not quite equal to the great pike of Pliny, that 
 weighed a thousand pounds, and was drawn out by a 
 pair of oxen, and caught on a hook attached to an ox 
 chain, it must be- regarded by the most fastidious as 
 respectable for the present degenerate days. If the 
 accounts we receive are reliable, the pike of Europe, of 
 which the old song erroneously says : 
 
 ■::'F 
 
 " Turkeys, carps, hoppes, piccarel and beer 
 Game in^o England all in one year," 
 
 vastly surpass ours in size, a fish being taken in a pond 
 near Stockholm with a brass ring round his neck, having 
 an inscription to the effect that he had been put into the 
 pond by the hands of Frederick the Second in 1230, or 267 
 year? before. He weighed 350 pounds, and measured fif- 
 teen feet, and his skeleton was a long time preserved it 
 Manheim. The ring was arranged with springs so as to 
 enlarge as he grew. The Shannon is said to have pro- 
 duced a pike of ninety-two pounds, and Lock Spey one of 
 one hundred and forty six ; but, when reading of these 
 accounts, I feel like the Yankee, who, when boasting of 
 
MASCALLONQE. 
 
 107 
 
 hie great country, and especially its great cataract, was 
 somewhat taken abac]c by being told his land produced 
 no volcanoes, nothing to equal Vesuvius or Etna, but 
 who, after thinking a moment, replied : " That was true 
 those were big fires, but he guessed Niagara had water 
 enough to put them all out." So I think our mascallonge 
 could eat up the biggest pike Europe can produce ; and 
 it will be a pity if, when our country is as old as Europe^ 
 we cannot tell as extensive stories. 
 
 :. IE 
 
 I 
 
 
 Head of Wettern Oupk 
 
168 
 
 FICEERELb 
 
 CHAPTEE XV. 
 
 PICKEREL. 
 
 In some remarkable and incomprehensible manner the 
 good old name of Pike has fallen into disuse, and is now 
 applied in this country to a fish that is not a pike at all, 
 but a perch, Ludo perca^ the Pike Perch, Big-eyed Pike, 
 or Glass Eye of the Lakes ; while the name Pickerel, 
 which is merely the diminutive of Pike, is appropriated 
 to the most gigantic and ferocious monsters of the deep. 
 There is no fish whose appearance is more appalling, and 
 whose appetite is more ravenous than the Great Northern 
 Pickerel, which is alleged to attain a weight of twenty 
 pounds, and which, in its fury, will 'pounce upon and 
 swallow almost any small moving object. Nor does it 
 much surpass the common pickerel of our ponds, which 
 has very similar habitS| and sometimes weighs as high as 
 ten pounds. 
 
 The pickerel family, like most of the fish of America, 
 have never been properly classified by the scientific, nor 
 named by the vulgar. In fact, they, with the exception 
 of the mascallonge, appear to have no specific names in 
 common parlance, while naturalists have vague or no 
 acquaintance with their peculiarities. Sportsmen and 
 others speak of catching pickere^, whether it be in the 
 St. Lawrence, Great Northern Pickerel, which seem to 
 
'*Pfi".*»'1^l"WSBf?'' 
 
 FICKEREL. 
 
 IGO 
 
 have bad no scientific designation till named by Agassiz 
 3sox Luoioides, or on Long Island, ^sox Faaciatua, or 
 on our principal inland waters, Eaox MetioulatuSj or in 
 some of tbe lakes of the Eastern States, where a fish is 
 caught, of which Dr. De Kay, in his "Natural History 
 j>f New York," doubts the existence, and which Dr. 
 Mitchill has dubbed the Federation Pike, Eaox Tredecem- 
 radiatus. In truth, the distinction between the Mascal- 
 longe and the Great Northern Pickerel is scarcely visi- 
 ble even to the eye of science, and to the unlearned is 
 marked only by a slight difference in the shape of the 
 head and the coloring of the sides. The light tint is yel- 
 low in the pickerel and white in the mascallonge, while 
 ill the latter at times the sides have dark spots on a 
 white ground instead of the dark network of the pick- 
 erel. It has even been doubted whether these fish are 
 not identical, and the difterenccs of size and color pro- 
 duced by local habits; but the views of all practical fish- 
 ermen lean the other way, and they can at once distin- 
 guish the smallest mascallonge from the largest pickerel, 
 although they are unable to point out the precise dis- 
 tinctive characteristics ; while scientific men do make 
 out that there is a difference in the number of the fin- 
 rays. For the latter, however, although I have given 
 the most careful attention that could be expected from 
 an amateur, my enumeration differs from that of all 
 others as they differ among themselves. My computa- 
 tion of the fin-rays gave — 
 
 Dorsal 18 ; Pectoral 16 ; Ventral 11 ; Anal 17 ; Cau- 
 dal 24. 
 
 While according to Dr. Mitchill they were respectively, 
 
 8 
 
 :: 
 

 170 
 
 PICKEREL. 
 
 ( 
 
 D. 21 ; P. 14 ; Y. 11 ; A. 17 ; C. 26. 
 
 And according to Dr. De Kay — 
 
 D. 21 ; P. 13 ; V. 11 ; A. 21 ; C. 19f \ t > , 
 
 And according to Professor Agassiz — /' ; • 
 
 D. 22 ; P. 18 ; V. 13 ; A. 20 ; C. 26. 
 
 This goes to show that eitlier it is very dlffi^^ult to 
 count the fin-rays, or that they differ ; to the latter of ^ 
 which suppositions iny belief inclines, as I think tlie 
 older the fish the more fin-rays are formed, or so hard- 
 ened as .to be perceptible. 
 
 The habits of this class of fisli are as similar as their 
 appearance, and whetlier you capture a tl pickerel with 
 your fly in some shallow Long IsLmd water, or entrap 
 the huge mascallonge with a treble hook half concealed 
 beneath red flannel and shining tin, they rush with the 
 same eagerness and grasp with the same determination. 
 I anmsed myself one evening on Long Island in casting 
 over a newly-made shallow pond with my ordinary trout 
 cast of flies, and seeing the ferocity with which pickerel, 
 varying from four to nine inches in length, would dart 
 ' upjn their anticipatcMl prey. 
 
 All pickerel inhabit sluggish water, and abound among 
 the long, grassy pickerel weed that thrives upon a muddy 
 bottom. The St. Lawrence, where it winds amid the 
 beautiful Thousand Isles and forms innumerable deep 
 and quiet bays, is their favorite home. The water, flow- 
 ing from the immense lakes and holding suspended the 
 seeds of aquatic plants, is favorable to the growth of 
 the pickerel weed, and is in every way suitable to the 
 fish themselves. The latter, however, have great power, 
 aud can unquestionably stem a strong current, for no 
 
 . 
 
FKKEREL. 
 
 171 
 
 doubt they ascond the rapids of that miglity river, heing 
 *ound in the eddies ; but they prefer quiet water, where 
 they can lurk among the weeds, watching stealthily for 
 tlieir prey, or bask Hear the surface in the warm summer 
 sun. Both mascullonge and pickerel abound in the innu- 
 merable lakes of Lower Canada, and are bo abundant in 
 addition to being almost tasteless, as to be unsalable for 
 food. 
 
 In other waters pickerel are found in the summer 
 months among the lily-pads, often in water scarcely deep 
 enough to cover their backs. The federation pike I have 
 never taken, except in some of the remote ponds of the 
 wild woods of Cape Cod, near Sandwich and Wareham, 
 especially in the Little Herring Pond. And although at 
 the timO I had no knowledge of the scientific distinctions 
 of fish, I at once recognized the description which I saw 
 for the first time afterward, but had often sought in vain 
 among our works on ichthyology. All the pickerel 
 family are readily distingui8hal)le by their having but 
 one dorsal, and that opposite the anal fin and near the 
 tail, and the sportsman acquainted with one will readily 
 recognize all the tribe. . . , / 
 
 There are many ways of capturing ^his fish, and he is 
 not the least particular if he is offered anything that has 
 the semblance of food. He may be trolled for with dead 
 bait, generally a minnow, or better, a yellow perch, on a 
 gang of hooks, or fished for with a live bait and a float, 
 iind he will readily take a frog, provided the latter si uU 
 not, as described in the " Angler's Miseries," have the 
 intelligence to creep out upon a stone and watch the 
 fisherman, whi]e the latter watches his float; but the 
 
 *. 
 
172 
 
 nOKEREL. 
 
 
 1 
 
 true Way in open watei is to fish for liiin with a Bpoon. 
 Tho last is objected to as being too destructive ; but as it 
 is clean, requires no bait, and is little trouble, and as the 
 fish are utterly worthless either for sport or tho table, the 
 sooner they are destroyed and replaced by nobler sub 
 stitutes the better. 
 
 Among the water-lilies the only mode is to use a long, 
 stift* rod and short line, loaded with one buck-shot about 
 a foot from the hook, and baited either with a minnow, 
 the belly of a yellow perch, or better than all, a slip of 
 the skin of pork cut into something resembling a small 
 fish. THie latter never wears out, and can hardly be torn 
 off, while it often is preferred to more natural food. 
 The bait is dropped into the opening among the lily-pads, 
 and sinking rapidly, by the weight of the shot, toward 
 the bottom, is started up again by a twitch of tho rod, 
 and goes bobbing up and down till tho pickerel, ren- 
 dered frantic by such an absurd performance, can stand 
 it no longer, and with one furious rush determines to end 
 the gyrations of such a silly creature. Never wait for 
 pickerel to gorge the bait, discard such old fogy notions, 
 and by the aid of a strong rod and line, pull him out at 
 once. At least one-half the time fish eject the bait instead 
 of swallowing it, and no one who has ever eaten pork 
 can question their taste. Waiting five or ten minutes, 
 or till they make two or three runs, will not do in our 
 rapid country. I have seen fish that were corpulent with 
 over-feeding, and surrounded by their favorite food, 
 young herring, taken by a piece of themselves being 
 spun in this manner, when they would touch no othei 
 bait « 
 
PICKEREL 
 
 » « 
 
 173 
 
 But the most wonderful mode of all is that practised 
 in the St. Lawrence, and generally among the larger 
 waters of Canada and the northern States. Tlie fisher- 
 man places liinisulf in the stem of a light canoe-shaped 
 boat, with his face forward, the oarsman sits near the 
 hows, of course facing aft ; on each side of the fisherman 
 are pegs like row-locks, or grooves, in the gunwale, with 
 corresponding round holes in the stretchers on the oppo 
 site sides ; two short, stiff rods are laid across the boat, 
 projecting on each side like wings, kept in their places 
 by the pegs, and their buts supported by the holes. A 
 long line is let out from each rod, say forty yards, armed 
 with a spoon bait ; while the fisherman holds an ordinary 
 troUing-line in his hand, and is thus rowed about till 
 either he, or more frequently his oarsman, perceives from 
 the bending of the rod that he has a bite, or he feels a 
 dead drag on his hand-line. If it falls to the share of 
 the rod, he takes the latter up, ends it round till he can 
 reach the line, when he pulls the fish in by hand. If ho 
 uses a reel, it is a good plan to take one or two turns of the 
 line round it, so that it will just render. By so doing he 
 might save the rod from breaking, which would be apt to 
 happen with a heavy fish. Mascallonge invariably stoj) 
 perfectly still when struck. 
 
 In landing a fish by hand, which is always the prefer- 
 able mode, the reel only being used for an emergency, 
 hold the line very lightly between your fingers and give 
 to every jerk or rush. Innumerable large fish are lost 
 by an endeavor to pull them in by force, and I have seen 
 men, with their hands cut by the line, complaining that 
 they had lost § mascalonge of forty pounds. Pickerel 
 
■ : 
 
 174 
 
 PICKEREL. 
 
 never make many nor long-sustained rushes, but they 
 give powerful jerks and flounces that, if resisted, will 
 tear out or break any hook ; otherwise, they can ordina 
 rily be drawn through, or more properly over, the water 
 like a wet rag. The person who pulls thera in as though 
 it was a question of strergth between him and the fish, 
 deserves to lose tLoi i and have his fingers cut besides. 
 The moment, however, the fish is at the side of the skifl^, 
 he should be either gaffed or lifted over the gunwale 
 at once, as more are lost then than at any other time. 
 Their jaws are mere skin and bone, the skin tearing 
 away at once, and the bone forming no substance in 
 which the hook can imbed itself, the latter sometimes 
 slips out or more frequently is broken off. If you value 
 your fingers, never put them in a pickerel's mouth or 
 gills, which are armed with innumerable sharp and even 
 venomous teeth. The best weather for trolling is a light, 
 southwesterly breeze, and in large and deep waters a 
 bright sky ; in a heavy wind, it is impossible to manage 
 the boat. 
 
 The hook should always be on wiror or gimp, the 
 former preferable as the latter is so rarely what it pro- 
 fesses to be, and of course should be attached to the line 
 by not less than two swivels. The best spoon is the so- 
 called Buel's patent, with three hooks, either in one 
 piece, or soldered firmly together, and a small elliptical 
 piece of tin, copper or brass, made to revolve round them 
 by means of a shoulder on thf shank. This may be tin 
 on one side and red on the other, or copper and brass, or 
 copper or brass alone, to suit the angler's fancy, and the 
 shank of the hooks is wound with scarlet flannel, or 
 
 ^ 
 
■ ^5*#JT 
 
 PICKEREL. 
 
 ITS 
 
 covered with the ibis feather, or left uncovered, as expe- 
 rience shall dictate. Bright spoons are preferable on 
 dark days, and for mascallonge the oldest and most suc- 
 cessful fishermen use no feathers or flannel. Avoid 
 purchasing any spoon with small, dangling hooks, or with 
 more than three or less than two, or with any fastening 
 of any kind except wire or gimp. Nothing else will for 
 a moment stand the terrible teeth of these ferocious 
 monsters. I once had an expensive imitation pearl fish, 
 that was fastened with thin brass wire, bitten ofl:' by the 
 first pickerel that touched it. If you use a reel, you will 
 of course use your ordinary bass line ; if not, purchase a 
 common stout hand-line, and troll with from forty to fifty 
 yards out. Your troUing-rod must be short, stiff and 
 strong, not over ten feet long, and can be readily mado 
 by adding a stout top to your but and second joint; 
 while, for weed fishing, you must have a long, stiff rod, 
 and when the fish are heavy and tangle themselves in 
 the weeds, which their first rush will often do, you must 
 reach your line and draw them out by hand ; by taking 
 hold of the wire or gimp, you can readily land a ten- 
 pound fish. 
 
 These fish, both pickerel and mascallonge, can be cap- 
 tured in immense numbers in the St. Lawrence, at Capo 
 Vincent, Clayton, Alexandria Bay and many other 
 places ; in Lake Champlain, near Rouse's Point ; and in 
 all the lakes of Canada ; but they are dull sport in the 
 catching and poor food in the eating. Believe no one 
 who boasts of the fine flavor of the mascallonge , cook 
 him as you will, he is nothing but a dirty, flabby, taste- 
 less pickorel. And as for the sport, carry a blanket with 
 
 
176 
 
 PICKEREL. 
 
 you, take a tnm with the hand-line round your leg, and 
 Btretching yourselves as best you may in the bottom of 
 the boat, sleep comfortably till either a call from your 
 oarsman or a tug on your leg rouses yoa to the dreary 
 work of pulling in a wortliless, unresisting log. When 
 you strike and lose one fish, remain rowing round and 
 round ; if he is not much hurt, he will bite again, and 
 where there is one there are more ; remain at that spot 
 till, by passing over the ground once or twice without a 
 strike, you are thoroughly satisfied you have exhausted 
 the supply. There is sometimes great beauty of sce- 
 nery, and if your guide has anything to say, which 
 he rarely has, you can, as you should be able ever to do 
 in the open air, enjoy yourself. 
 
 The mode of fishing among the pond lilies that I h.avo 
 described is much more exciting, requiring continued 
 activity, some skill and no little judgment, while there is 
 greater risk of losing your prey. To avoid the latter 
 casualty, if the fish weigh not over four pounds, lift him 
 out at once, and proceed in the same way with larger 
 fish to the extent your rod will stand. As for snap- 
 fishing, that is, using a hook so constructed as to spring 
 open or shut the moment it feels the bite, and thus 
 grasping the fish or imbedding an extra hook in his jaws, 
 1 have only tried it suflficiently to be disgusted with it, 
 although probably it may work well in open water. If, 
 however, it touches a weed, it will be sprung, and then 
 you cannot catch a fish at all till it is reset. It was 
 invented to a,void the h ok'S coming out of the pickerel's 
 mouth, which, from the nature .of the latter, it is apt to 
 do, a difficulty which old, slow, poky, English punt- 
 
PICKEREL. 
 
 177 
 
 id 
 [)f 
 •ur 
 ivy 
 len 
 ind 
 and 
 jpot 
 it a 
 sted 
 8ce- 
 rhicli 
 to do 
 
 fisliers endeavor to remedy by allowing the pike or jack, 
 as they call him, to gorge the bait. A pickerel, like a 
 trout, rushes up, strikes his piey, and immediately returns 
 with it to his haunt ; he then ends it round, having gen- 
 erally struck it crosswise, and swallows it. This he takes 
 much longer to do than a trout, and the English works 
 on fishing direct you to wait five minutes or till he runs 
 again, and then, by striking smartly, you can fix the 
 hook into his gills or stomach, from which nothing but 
 the knife will remove it. The disadvantage, however, is 
 that the pickerel often eject instead of gorging the bait, 
 and when the fisherman, having impatiently awaited his 
 five minutes, comes to strike, he strikes naught but tho 
 thin water or the stem of a water lily. After a few such 
 disgusting results, he will probably determine, as the 
 writer has, to strike at once, unless, by one of those 
 exceptional cases to all good rules, some peculiar diffi- 
 culty forces him to proceed otherwise. The word spoon, 
 that has been so frequently used, is derived from the use 
 originally of the bowl of a pewter table-spoon, into one 
 end of which was fastened three hooks, and into the other 
 a swivel attached to the line, and which, by playing and 
 flashing through the water, attracted the fish ; the old- 
 fashioned spoon is now out of use, and entirely super- 
 seded by Buel's patent. Pickerel, especially the smaller 
 varieties, will take a fly, but not very readily ; and this 
 can hardly be said to be an established mode of fishing 
 for them. 
 
 There is another style of pickerel fishing which is 
 amusing, to say the least of it, and is practised exten- 
 sively throughout the State of New York. You take a 
 
 8* 
 
wmm 
 
 178 
 
 PICKEREL. 
 
 Bmall piece of flat board abont nine inches across, and 
 pass a stick through a hole bored in the centre so as to 
 project above and below it ; the lower end is then loaded, 
 and to the upper is attached a line of some twenty or 
 tliirty feet, that is baited with either a live or dead min- 
 now. The line is coiled on one side of the wood, and 
 leaving sufficient end for the baif to sink to a proper 
 depth is fastened slightly in a slit cut in the wood like 
 the thread of a spool. As many as you please to use 
 are then placed in the pond and left to fish while you 
 row r.bout or otherwise employ yourself. If a pickerel 
 takes the bait, the line is jerked out of the cleft, and 
 uncoiling, allows him to carry off and pouch the bait, 
 but when he undertakes to move away he is hooked 
 by the resistance of the wood against the water. The 
 motion of the float can be seen from some distance, and 
 it is quite interesting to chase one after another that go 
 " bobbing around," as fish after fish is hooked. A plan 
 somewhat similar to this is described by Walton and 
 other writers, and it is merely a modification of an old 
 invention. 
 
 The best season for pickerel fishing is after the first of 
 September, although they are taken at all times, includ- 
 ing their spawning seasons of February, March and 
 April, and are quite good, voracious and abundant in 
 July and August. The English pike is reported bo show 
 an abstinence from food in Summer that our fish never 
 exhibit, and, indeed, differs from ours in many particu- 
 lars, and none more to his credit than his scarcity. In 
 Summer our fish resort to^iho sli allow water, as they are 
 also said to do in their spawning season, and at botl 
 
PICKEREL. 
 
 179 
 
 tiii^Gfi llioy are sliot or speared without mercy. In fact, 
 the quick eye, ready hand and steady foot reqirred for 
 spearing renders it an exciting and reputable sport, 
 worthy of, and often unattainable by, the best of us. In 
 Winter, pickerel seek the warm, deep water, and are 
 caught through a hole in the ice by a live bait on a hand 
 line. This is said to be very exciting, provided a rude 
 hut is built over the hole, and a fire made in the hut, 
 and provided the fisherman, seated in a comfortable chair, 
 provided v,'ith a book, a segar and a glass of hot punch, 
 has an assistant to pull out the fish. It is alleged 
 that these fish are, " during the height of the season," 
 brilliant and beautiful ; if that is so with any, except the 
 Long Island Pickerel and the Federation Pike, the height 
 of the season must have been too high for me to reach. 
 
 The family of the Esocidm are truly typified by ilie 
 voracious and terrible Esox luceas^ wolf-fish, the true 
 pike, from which they take their name, and include 
 among their numbers the formidable Gar-pike, Esox 
 osseus of the Southern waters. Although their flesh is 
 hardly fit for the table, they are universally abundant, 
 and their capture affords that kind of pleasure always 
 derived from taking many and large animals of any 
 description. 
 
 The principal species known in this country are : 
 
 The Mascallonoe, Esox Entor. 
 
 The Northern Pickerel, Esox Lucioides^ both of 
 which inhabit tlie great rivers and lakes of the North. 
 
 The Common Pickerel, Esox lieticulati's, of the mi4 
 die and northern States. 
 
 "'^HE Long Island Pickerel, Esox Eaeciatus. 
 
180 
 
 PICKEREL. 
 
 The White Ficeebel, Hsox Vittatua, of the West, v 
 
 The Black Pickerel, Eaox Niger, of Pennsylvania 
 
 and of Saratoga Lake, New Tork, whicli Dr. De Kay 
 
 presumes to be only the young of the common pickerel. 
 
 The Fedeeation Pike, £sox Tredecem Radiatus^ of 
 
 the eastern States. > 
 
THE GREAT NORTHERN PICKEREL. 
 
 181 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE GREAT NORTHERN PICKEREL. 
 
 Esox Ztccioides. — ^Tliis fish is very similar to the mas- 
 eallonge, so much so that it is not mentioned in most of 
 the works on American Ichthyology, being confounded 
 with the latter. The principal differences in appearance 
 are, that the snout of the pickerel, the under jaw espe- 
 cially, is shorter and more obtuse than that of the mas- 
 callonge, the light tint of its sides is yellower; and it 
 never attains over twenty-five pounds. The markings 
 on the sides are somewhat different, the light, elongated 
 spots of the pickerel, being occasionally replaced in the 
 mascallonge by dark spots on a greyish ground, and the 
 fin-rays are not so numerous. 
 
 Dorsal 18 ; Pectoral 16 ; Ventral 10 ; Anal 15 and 
 Caudal 24. 
 
 Or, according to Professor Agassiz — 
 
 D. 21 ; P. 16 ; V. 11 ; A. 16 ; C. 17. 
 
 The principal color is dark grey, lighter on the sides 
 than on the back. 
 
 These fish are caught in all the sluggish waters of the 
 North, and on the same ground and at the same time with 
 the mascallonge, and coincide with him entirely in habits 
 and disposition. They exhibit the same ferocity, are 
 allured by the same baits, entrapped in the same manner, 
 and, in a culinary point of view are, if possible, inferior. 
 

 '^ fnT'-rtj^rrri " 
 
 182 
 
 ^'•v. 
 
 TIIS COMMON FICKEBEL 
 X 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 THE COMMON PICKEREL. 
 
 ^sox MeticulatxLS. — ^These fish, which are soraetimea 
 called by the learned, and none others, Pike, have on 
 their sides a network of dark lines upon a yellowish 
 ground, and are named by naturalists from this peculiar- 
 ity. The lines are sometimes longitudinal, and but little 
 reticulated. The fin-rays are — 
 
 Dorsal 18 ; Pectoral 16 ; Ventral 10 ; Anal 14 ; Caudal 
 19^. Or, according to Agassiz — , ; vi;^,>, . 
 
 D. 20 ; P. 16 ; V. 10 ; A. 20 ; C. 18. *^ : ......^ 
 
 Tliis fish rarely exceeds ten pounds in weight, although 
 he has been said to attain fifteen ; but in these instances 
 lias probably been confounded with the ^Northern Pick- 
 erel. He abounds all through the northern States, and 
 is emphatically the Pickerel, when the word is used 
 without other qualification. The darker, more sluggish 
 and weedy the water, the more he likes it ; old roots, 
 decayed trees and a muddy bottom are his delight, and 
 by his ferocity not a few ponds have been depopulated 
 of superior fish. Among a certain class of fishermen he 
 is a favorite, though utterly worthless for the table or as 
 sport, and the little enterprise our farmers have shown 
 has been in introducing this despicable fish into good 
 waters, where, in consequence of his rapid increase and 
 
THE COMMON PICKEREL. 
 
 183 
 
 voracious habits, he has soon exterminated all other varie- 
 ties. Even excellent trout ponds have been treated in 
 this way. 
 
 The largest of these fish within my range of informa- 
 tion, are taken in Long Pond, New Jersey, a large pond, 
 originally a natural lake, and rendered more extensive 
 by damming. The head-waters are filled with dead 
 trees, amid the roots of which pickerel hide and thrive. 
 There they wre said to attain ten pounds, and often exceed 
 five. Generally, however, five is the limit, and many 
 more are taken that weigh not over three. These fish 
 are not found in the waters of Canada, and are usually 
 captured with live or dead bait, or a piece of pork, 
 although in favorable water they would undoubtedly 
 take the spoon, like their congeners of the north. Their 
 habits are similar to those of the northern pickerel and 
 mascallonge. 
 
 ... 5 
 
',t»#'-f'* -*"•••"'-- 
 
 'W- 
 
 184 .. 
 
 FEDERATION PIKE. 
 
 ,• I > 
 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. ' 
 
 FEDEBATION FIKB. 
 
 JEsox Tredecem Radiatvs. — ^This fish, simply so called 
 because it has no name among fishermen and sportsmen, 
 is almost unknown to naturalists. Dr. De Kay doubts 
 itg existence, and it is described alone by Dr. Mitchill. 
 I take, therefore, much pleasure in adding my testimony, 
 so far as it goes, to its existence, although after all it 
 may be merely a northern or common pickerel so altered 
 by a change of food and water as not to be recognizable. 
 There were a large number taken in the Little Herring 
 Pond, on Cape Cod near Agawam, and the secret of 
 their existence being kept for years, we had excellent 
 sport before the natives found it out, and with their 
 spears and guns, fishing through the ice and killing them 
 on the spawning-beds put a termination to their existence. 
 A few may remain, and thus determine the question. 
 We caught large numbers, taking them of ten pounds' 
 weight, and readily killing in a few hours a hundred and 
 twenty-five pounds. The fish were peculiarly beautiful 
 in appearance, so much so that I made a rough outline 
 which is now before me, and marked in the colors for 
 the purpose of painting the picture of one. I afterward 
 found the undertaking difticult, on account of the dissi- 
 milarities of the common pickerel, which I purchased in 
 
FEDEUATIOJi PIKE. 
 
 185 
 
 inni'ktt and endeavored to use as a guide. Tlio water 
 of this pond was clear as crystal, and coinnnniicatud with 
 the ocean ; it was alive with herring, perch and other 
 small fish, as thick as the gold leaf in a bottle of Eau de 
 vie de Dantsicy and may have had a great effect upon 
 the coloring and shape of the fish. At the time I was 
 struck with their appearance, and examined all the works 
 on icthyology at my commaiid, but could find no satis- 
 factory description. 
 
 The head was that of the pickerel fjimily ; of the teeth 
 and fin-rays I remember nothing accurately ; the back 
 was dark brownish green, grow'ing greener on the sides, 
 where it was interspersed with numerous lilac spots or 
 scales, and shading off, as it descended on the sides, into 
 light green with yellow scales ; then into yellow with 
 brilliant silvery scalet, terminated on the belly in the 
 purest white. The dorsal fin and tail were dark green, 
 the anal burnt sienna, the ventral yellow, with, I believe, 
 the firsfr ray red, and the pectoral yellow and reddish. 
 The back of the head was dark green, the gill-covers 
 were partially covered with scales, the iris was yellow 
 shot with pearl ; between the eye and the nostril there 
 was a spot of lighter green ; the snout and tip of the 
 under jaw were dark green ; adjoining on the under jaw 
 was a warm lilac color, becoming purplish as it p.dvanced 
 toward the gill-cover. The lower part of the fore gill- 
 cover was of a pearly tint, deepening into purple as it 
 ascended ; the gill-rays were a beautiful warm light 
 mother of pearl, and behind them was a yellow tint. 
 These colors were all exquisitely brilliant, and bid defi- 
 ance to my palette. The sides were variegated with 
 
LP] 
 

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 186 
 
 FEDERATION PIKE. 
 
 I ! 
 
 irregular broken horizontal black lines, extending nearly 
 to the tail, which was forked. Toward the belly these 
 lines disappeared ; and the scales of the whole body 
 were small and numerous. The depth was unusually 
 large in proportion to the length, made greater probably 
 by my drawing the outline round the fish as he lay 
 on his side. I took three outlines ; but the best speci- 
 men weighed six pounds and a half, and was twenty-four 
 and a half inches long to the centre of the tail, and 
 twenty-three to the root, by five and a half deep, the 
 head having a length of seven and a half inches. 
 
 These fish were not only remarkably beautiful, but 
 were excellent on the table, and diflfered utterly in both 
 particulars from all other pickerel. Tliey were taken in 
 Summer among the water lilies, with the belly of a yel- 
 low perch or a piece of themselves, and surrounded as 
 they were by the most delicious food, visible to our eyes 
 in unlimited quantities, were naturally dainty. 
 
 The above desciiption accords wonderfully w4th that 
 of Dr. Mitchill, and there can be no doubt that the fish 
 are identical, although I did not count the fin-rays, which 
 Dr. Mitchill gives at — 
 
 Br. 13 ; D. 13 ; P. 13 ; V. 9 ; A. 13 ; C. 21. 
 
THE ^ONG ISLAND FICKEREL 
 
 187 
 
 ■=h.P 
 
 i.*,«.-' 
 
 . ,•=; .Vi,,v, 4, 1, . , 
 
 P-'^' V'/ 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 ■^f' 
 
 THE LO^G ISLAHD flCKERSU 
 
 Esox Fasciatus. — ^Tliis fish has no name whatever in 
 common parlance, and naturalists have dubbed him Va- 
 ried Pickerel, Mackerel Pickerel, and other terms which 
 are unknown except to their authors. He abounds on 
 Long Island, although he is found elsewhere throughout 
 the State, and probably the most appropriate name would 
 be Banded Pickerel, as his scientific appellation justly 
 suggests. Varied pickerel is appropriate to nothing, and 
 mackerel pike to the scornheT esox^ another fish altoge- 
 ther. This fish is distinguishable by having dark verti- 
 cal bands upon his sides, and being altogether of a darker 
 hue on the back than any other pickerel, while the pec- 
 toral, ventral and anal fins are lighter colored and some- 
 times reddish. A dark band passes from the eye to the 
 angle of the jaw, and the fin-rays are — 
 
 D. 22 ; P, 16 ; V. 10 ; A. 18 ; C. 18. Or, according 
 to Dr. De Kay— 
 
 D. 15 ; P. 16 ; V. 9 ; A. 14; C. 19f. 
 
 This fish never exceeds one pound in weight, and one 
 foot in length ; and although endowed with all the fero- 
 city of his family, does not apparently injure the trout 
 ponds of Long Island, where he has a local habitation 
 and a name. Probably he cannot destroy the larger fish, 
 
ipfupii 
 
 188 
 
 
 THE LONG ISLAND PICKEREL. 
 
 and- the young fry do not live wli^re ho resorts. It is 
 not from want of will but of power tliat he is harmless, 
 for he will take a small fly with the same ravenous eager- 
 ness that the mascallonge exhibits in seizing the deadly 
 spoon. He is fat and free from bones, and not a bad 
 pan flsh, and in these particulars, as well as in habits 
 and appearance, he sets his big brothers a good 
 example. 
 
 
 
 ,>V 
 
 
 ;. 
 
■■j^i^ *■• •*. ' •'0: ■' 
 
 THE THOUSAND ISLES. 
 
 189 
 
 .<%■■'•■- 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 THE THOUSAND ISLES. 
 
 ;,» 
 
 At the upper edge of the State of New York, where 
 civilization terminates and Canada begins, a mighty 
 river, the outlet of a hundred lakes and thousand streams, 
 flows amid innumerable islands in a -fierce crrrent 
 toward the sea. It bears upon its broad bosom in im- 
 mense rafts the wealth of the forests of the Northwest. 
 Enormous quantities of timber, collected from all its 
 tribuoaries, even from tlie region around Lake Superior, 
 are brought in large vessels, mostly three-masted schoon- 
 ere, to the head-waters of this stream, and there, at Capo 
 Vincent or its neighborhood, are bound together into 
 rafts,, preparatory to descending the rapids. These rafts 
 cover acres in extent, and sometimes have as many as 
 fifty shanties built upon them to accommodate one hun- 
 dred men for months, or until they shall reach Quebec or 
 Montreal. Launched upon their journey, they are car- 
 ried along by the current, and by sails when the wind 
 is favorable, and even without the latter, moving as they 
 do by the force of gravity faster than the stream, can be 
 steered to some extent. Bough oars are fastened on the 
 fore ar>d after part, by a vigorous use of which the raft 
 can be kept from danger and retained in the middle of 
 the stream. They press on with resistless force, some- 
 
♦' 
 
 100 
 
 THE THOUSAND IBLBB. 
 
 I \ 
 
 ■ : 
 
 times passing entirely over projecting rocks or small 
 islands, and in one instance carrying off a lighthouse 
 that had been located near their path. One end often 
 runs far on shore, when the other swings round and drags 
 it off; vessels of all kinds keep clear of them, if possible. 
 They are bound together with withes made by twisting 
 gaplings, and so strongly that they rarely give way when 
 rushing over rocks or descending rapids that are almost 
 cataracts. Sometimes they are composed of logs, some- 
 times of rough staves. Tlie latter are bound together in 
 cribs, and instead of three d/ams making one crib, as is 
 common in New York, three mbs make a dram ; and the 
 wood measure of the Korth may be said to be 
 1000 Staves make one Crib ; 
 8 Cribs make one Dram ; 
 20 Drams make one Bafk. 
 And no one has any scruples whatever, iot the country 
 being poverty itself, the people are neither elevated nor 
 moral, and eke out a scanty subsistence by rafting and 
 fishing. 
 
 The people use for fishing, boats on the plan of a small 
 whaleboat, built of tliin cedar, and the surprise of my 
 companions upon their first visit to this desolate region, 
 was by no means 5;mall on diaeovoring that they were 
 expected to fish with three lines at once, holding one in 
 Itheir hand and having a rod projecting from each side 
 . of the boat in addition. . "We had arrived the evening 
 before at Clayton, and, like true knights, finding there 
 was to be a ball given by the natives, had attended it, 
 and danced till the wee hours, with pretty little bright- 
 eyed girls, strange dances called by Indian names, among 
 
TUB THODSAXD ISLES. 
 
 191 
 
 r small 
 hthoxise 
 id often 
 \d drags 
 possible, 
 twisting 
 ray when 
 re almost 
 gs, Bome- 
 gethet in 
 jrib, as is 
 ; and the 
 
 wliich the most remarkable was Moneymust. It was in 
 the latter part of July, and the day after the ball being, 
 bright and beautiful, with a southwesterly breeze, we each 
 selected our boatman — for only one fisherman can go in 
 each boat — and started for a day's sport among the mas- 
 callonge and pickerel. We separated at once, some going 
 up-stream, others across by Powder-horn and Shot-bag 
 Islands, while I kept down along shore and ran into the 
 bay behind the old mill. 
 
 I had on the line of my right-hand rod. a Buel's patent 
 spoon, tin on the outside and red on the inside, bright- 
 ened, by being rubbed with pumice stone, till it shone 
 like burnished silver, and, with red ibis feathers wound 
 round the treble hook, it glanced and sparkled through 
 the water, visible at a great distance. On the left-l^and 
 rod the spoon was copper on the inside, and the hook» 
 were wound with scarlet flannel, while that in my hand 
 line had copper on the outside, brightly polished, but 
 neither feathers nor flannel round the hooks. We passed 
 down from the outer point of the island toward the 
 lower part of the bay without success, but when return- 
 ing inside, my right-hand rod suddenly bent, and the 
 line slowly unwound from the reel, over which I had 
 taken a couple of turns to prevent its rendering too 
 rapidly ; dropping the hand-line, which was made fast to 
 the seat, I seized the rod, and turning it round and reach- 
 ing my line, commenced to draw it in as lightly and 
 delicately, but steadily as possible, just holding it 
 between the tips of my fingers. The fish was large, and 
 when he was about half-way in, having come thus far 
 with no o^her ob^ect'ons than a few violent flounces, he 
 
192 
 
 Tins THOUSAND ISLEa 
 
 mado a fierce rush; instantly the line slipped with a 
 steady but slight strain through my finers, and he dashed 
 off for some distance, but soon tired, he allowed me to 
 pu?J him up to the side of the boat ; once there, grasping 
 the wire above the hook, I lifted him quickly over the 
 side and threw him on the bottom, where he flounced 
 about vigorously and with energy enough, if exhibited 
 sooner, to have broken almost any line. Taking the 
 hook carefully by the shank, 1 twisted it out of his 
 mouth, and weighing him with the scales that were 
 always in my pocket, found he weighed ten pounds. 
 
 Turning at the head of the little cove, we retraced 
 our path and struck another ^sh, and so over and over 
 again, some of them making violent but unavailing efforts 
 to escape, others slapping off just as they were being 
 lifted into the boat, others again coming in with their 
 heads out of water like a yawl towed behind a steamboat. 
 Sometimes it was the right-hand rod that bent, some- 
 times the left, then the hand-line felt the strain — often 
 two and sometimes all three at once ; it kept me busy, 
 to say the least of it. The reels were of little use, as the 
 boatman had to keep rowing to prevent the lines sinking 
 to the bottom and catchin^' in the weeds, which, in spite 
 of all precautions they sometimes succeeded in doing, 
 and the strain was consequently too great for them. 
 The bottom of the boat was filled with the long-bodied, 
 wolfish and ravenous devils, that snapped their jaws, 
 struggled about, their eyes gleaming with impotent fury 
 and merciless cruelty, as ugly looking a set as the sun 
 ever shone upon ; but as they were brought in, one after 
 another, my oarsman was d Hghted. 
 
THE THOUSAND IBJJSS. 
 
 193 
 
 ath a 
 iaslied 
 me to 
 asping 
 er tbo 
 ounced 
 Ijibited 
 ng the 
 of bis 
 it were 
 
 ids. 
 retraced 
 
 ind over 
 ig efforts 
 re being 
 itb tbeir 
 iamboat. 
 Lt, Bome- 
 n — often 
 le busy, 
 ie, as the 
 [s sinking 
 I, in spite 
 in doing, 
 lor tbem. 
 |g-bodied, 
 eir jaws, 
 itent fury 
 Is tbe sun 
 one after 
 
 We remained' on the same opot, rowing round antil 
 satisfied we should get no more, when we headed oyer 
 toward the Canadian shore, mto the far-famed region of 
 Eel Bay. The latter takes its name from a fly that is 
 found in the fore part- of July in immense numbers on 
 the waters of this region. It appears to one who lias 
 small claims as an entomologist to be the May-fly or 
 famous Green and Grey Drake of England. Some that 
 I pressed and brought to the city were recognized at 
 once by the English fly-makers, who were delighted to 
 see an old friend, and made a number of them for me 
 after the pattern, saying that there was but a shade of 
 color between them and what tliey had so often pre- 
 pared as the May-fly at home. These flies appear in 
 myriads; when the wind is northerly, the waves will 
 cover the dock at Cape Vincent with them several inches 
 thick. Their body is long and so heavy that in the early 
 morning, when their wings are damp with the dew, they 
 cannot rise to fly and are readily picked up by their 
 wiiigs, which project invitingly above their backs. Eel 
 Bay is named from the immense quantities of these ilies 
 that appear there ; they constitute the principal food of 
 the fish from which they derive their name, as well as 
 of the Cisco, black and rock bass, chubs, and probably 
 many others. They rise with difficulty from the water, 
 and fly heavily and slowly. 
 
 Our course carried us across the rapid current of the 
 St. Lawrence, where my boatman was glad to have me 
 haul in my lines, that dragged heavily, as there was no 
 chance of taking fish. We were soon in the bay, an 
 extensive reach formed by a bend in the St. Lawrence, 
 
• • 
 
 104 
 
 THE TnOUSAND ISLSES. 
 
 
 lying upon one aide, out of the force of the current, aridT 
 filled with innumerable islands. It probably holds within 
 itself a thousand isles. They are of all kinds, shape, 
 form and appearance, some half a mile in extent, consti- 
 tuting a cultivated farm, others a bare rock scarcely pro> 
 jecting above the surface, some covered with a ,dense 
 foliage, others furnishing a single tree, and many bare 
 of tree, bush or grass. There is immense variety of 
 appearance, but all are inconceivably picturesque. None 
 are very high, but at times the rocks run straight up 
 like a wall of stone, while others are long, low and flat. 
 They are clustered together, often affording barely 
 room for the boat to pass, and offer to the eye every 
 variety of shape and foliage. Amid them we now wan 
 dered, admiring their bewitching beauty as they lay 
 basking in the broad sunlight upon the calm bosom of 
 the river. Seldom are they inhabited, and most of the 
 primeval forest trees, having been cut, they have grown 
 up with a dense underwood, occasionally relieved by 
 some tall monarch of the forest that h&s survived the 
 fury of man. 
 
 Keeping close along, under the overhanging tree or 
 rock, or passing into the open water with ever-changing 
 scenery, we drew from the "vasty deep," where the 
 long pickerel weed could be seen reaching up toward 
 the surface, one after another of those savage monsters, 
 the Great Northern Pickerel. Without catching any- 
 thing of wonderful size, we had taken an unuc jal num- 
 ber, when the calls of hunger warned us that the hours 
 were fleeting faster than we thought. 
 
 Landing at the point of aa island where there was t 
 
THE THOUSAND ISLSa 
 
 195 
 
 a within 
 , Biiape, 
 t^ consti- 
 sely pro- 
 a ^dense 
 
 any ^^^^ 
 siriety of 
 
 e. 1^^»® 
 raigiit up 
 ^ and flat, 
 ng barely 
 eye every 
 , now wan 
 B they lay 
 boBom of 
 lOst of the 
 Lave grown 
 relieved by 
 irvived the 
 
 beautiful natural grove, we set to work to build a iiie and 
 prepare our fish for dinner. The pleasantest arrange- 
 ment connected with this fishing is that each boat is 
 provided with a basket of good cold fare, a frying-pan 
 and the necessary means of cooking ; and in the middle 
 of the day it is customary for several to meet at an 
 appointed island, and for the fishermen to have a jolly 
 dinner. Although we were first to arrive, our com 
 panions were not long behind us, and the best fish, 
 especially the black bass, were selected, cleaned, split 
 open, and fried in the grease tried out of a few pieces of 
 salt pork. Our provisions were combined and made 
 quite a handsome picnic set-out, rendered more, accept- 
 able to our sharpened appetite by a few glasses of iced 
 champagne. Of course we had our stories to tell : how 
 skillfully we had landed this fish, or how unfortunately 
 we had lost that; and one man, who had struck and 
 almost landed a mascallonge, was agitated with mingled 
 happiness and despondency. The days were long, our 
 boatmen had had a hard tug of it, the shade was grateful, 
 the champagne refreshing, our cigars excellent, and con- 
 sequently no one was hurried. The wind, however, kept 
 increasing, and after a couple of hours, pleasantly passed, 
 we once more embarked and bid each other farewell till 
 night. 
 
 My boatman struck well in toward the Canadian shore ; 
 but although we crossed places where he had had won- 
 derful success on many a previous occasion, and of which 
 there were extraordinary stories of mascallonge, our 
 luck had deserted us. However, perseverance was re- 
 warded ; suddenly my hand-line was taughtened as 
 
1^ 
 
 THE THOUSAND ISLES. 
 
 though it had Btruck a log ; for a moment it was still, 
 then I felt the motion of the fish. The boatman instantly 
 dropped his oars and reeled in as quickly as possible the 
 other lines— just in time ; for the fish, feeling he was 
 caught, made one rush directly toward us. I drew in the 
 line hand over hand, to have something to give out wlien 
 he should make away again, but not nearly so fast as he 
 moved. He passed close to us ; we could see the broad 
 bacic, the long nose, the fierce eye, the mighty length of 
 the mascallongo. 
 
 " Turn the boat broadside toward him," I whispered as 
 he passed. 
 
 Away he went, the slack of the line hissed through the 
 water as his increasing distance took it up, and partially 
 deadened his. way as he reached the end of it and camo 
 against the light though steady strain with which I held 
 it. Giving to him, at first readily then more sparingly, 
 I again turned him ; this time he did not approach so 
 near, but swung round well in-shore. Then, with a sud- 
 den rush, he came straight on, and flashed directly 
 beneath the bottom of the boat. If the line once touched 
 the rough surface, or caught in a splinter of the wood, 
 wo knew it would part like pack-thread. The oarsman 
 tried to swing her round ; there was no time ; hastily 
 gathering a few coils, I threw them into the water at the 
 stem, and passing the line over my head, anxiously 
 watched them sink. Suddenly they were taken up, the 
 line in my hand taughtened and lifted out of water ; it 
 had not caught, and that danger was past. The strug- 
 gle lasted long ; again and again he darted away ; once 
 he nearly exhausted my line, and compelled me to use 
 
THE THOUSAND ISLE& 
 
 197 
 
 coneiderable force, but generally I held the least possi- 
 ble strain on him. Finally, he made one grand rush, was 
 foiled^ allowed himself to be drawn alongside, and was 
 neatly gaffed by the boatman. 
 
 He was an immense fish, a triton even among pickerel 
 of ten pounds. Beauty he certainly did not possess, but 
 grandeur and ferocity marked every lineament. His 
 huge head, immense jaws, and terrible teeth, his long, 
 narrow body, large fins, and broad tail, and above all, his 
 fierce, gleaming, savage eye, marked him as the undis- 
 puted master of the fresh waters. His enormous size and 
 prodigious strength, the latter exemplified by his nearly 
 Bpnnging over the gunwale, indicated that he had no 
 match even in our cxteuBive lakes, while his merciless 
 ferocity, that would spare neither large nor small, friend 
 nor foe, was but too apparent. His weight, as afterward 
 ascertained, was thirty-five pounds, and his length was 
 excessive proportionally to other fish. Although he 
 fought well, he had not exhibited in the water the vigor 
 he did out of k. Now that his fute was sealed, he lashed 
 about, struggled and flounced as though his capture had 
 just commenced, and scarcely showed an intimation of 
 approaching death or surrender. It appears to be a 
 peculiarity of the pickerel family that they exhibit their 
 courage and strength too late, waiting till they are man- 
 acled before they fairly rouse themselves to the emer- 
 gency. Their efforts consequently afford little pleasure 
 to the sportsman or profit to themselves. 
 
 Having captured the master spirit of the stream, we 
 did not wish any of his smaller brethren, and while he 
 was dying we wound up the hand line and removed the 
 
193 
 
 THE THOUSAND ISLES. 
 
 Bpinning tackle from the others. I then took out a 
 twelve-foot salmon leader, or casting-line, as our friends 
 across the water express it, and fastened on it, at equal 
 distances, five large flies, the upper dropper and tail-flics 
 being dressed with white and ibis feathers mixed on a 
 large sized salmon hook, while the intermediate ones were 
 small, dark colored salmon flies. This leader, thus 
 equipped, being fastened to one line, and a similai* one, 
 except that a small, gay spoon replaced the tail-fly, to 
 the other, they were trolled thirty or forty yards astern, 
 so that they sank well as we moved slowly along. Then, 
 leaving the quiet bays, with their sluggish current and 
 weedy bottom , we struck out boldly into the rapid water 
 and sought the rocky shoals where black bass love to 
 hide and wait. 
 
 The wind had increased till there was quite a sea, and 
 it was difficult to manage the boat ; but that was soon 
 forgotten in the excitement. The fish were numerous and 
 in excellent disposition ; every shoal we crossed furnished 
 us with several ; we often took two or thsee at a time, 
 and occasionally had both lines engaged at once. They 
 were brave, vigorous and determined ; madly they darted 
 forward on feeling the hook, and threw themselves high 
 out of water to shake it from their mouths ; finding that 
 vain, they made rush after rush to escape, again and 
 again they leaped in the air, resolute and courageous to 
 the last ; not till they were in the net would they sni^ 
 render. "^ 
 
 Strange it was to note the different shades of their 
 colors. Their deep sides, for they are an awkward-looking 
 fieh, and their shape gives little indication of their 
 
 , I 
 
THE THOUSAND ISLES. 
 
 199 
 
 strength, were, in some, of that dark green, ahnost black, 
 from which their name is derived; in others it was a 
 light green, and again in others pale yellow. Whence 
 these variations are derived, unless it be from the shade 
 of the ground' they live on, to which all fish are said to 
 assimilate, is not known ; but it has often led to their 
 being divided into distinct classes, or mistaken for other 
 species. Their peculiarity of springing out of water is 
 remarkable. Salmon, and blue-fish do so frequently, 
 trout rarely, and other fish seldom or never ; but a black 
 bass of any sixe will invariably make one or more des- 
 perate leaps. It is a glorious sight to see his full length 
 above the watier, and a nervous moment till the line that 
 has been slacked is again taughtened by his strain. Such 
 leaps are his most eifective means of escape, by enabling 
 him to shake the hook from his mouth or strike the line 
 with his tail ; and though not so persevering as the trout, 
 generally, at the sight of tin net, he makes a final, dan- 
 gerous rush. 
 
 We coasted along by island after island, crossing near 
 one named after "Old Bill Johnston," memorable for 
 having taken an active part in the Canadian rebellion, 
 and long forced to hide from his English pursuers. 
 Johnston's Island, as it is called, was his favorite resort, 
 where he was succored and warned of danger by his 
 beautiful daughter, universally known as the Queen of 
 the Isles. What a theme for the poet or the novelist: 
 the father safe neither on the English shore, where ho 
 had waged unjustifiable war, nor among the Americans, 
 who would have been compelled to surrender him, lurk- 
 ing among tLose beautiful isles, then wilder and more 
 
200 
 
 THE THOUSAND ULB&, 
 
 ;^ 
 
 
 densely wooded than now, tnisting for his support to hia 
 rod and line — ^for he rarely dared to use his rifle— and to 
 the scanty supplies brought by his daughter ; the latter 
 residing on shore watching for any expedition that 
 might be Htf.ed out against him, and at the first intima- 
 tion darting off in her light canoe in spite of rain or 
 storm, in the daylight or impenetrable darkness, and 
 arriving at her retreat, perhaps just in time to warn him 
 of his danger and enable him to escape. Imagine the 
 woman's ready wit, ever at work, ever on the watch for 
 him ; imagine the father's joy on seeing her amid his 
 trying and wearisome solitude, and her anxiety till he 
 is once more out of danger. The thought that such 
 things had really happened so near to where we then 
 were, added to our excitement, and was only dissipated 
 on passing Whisky Island, which is in dangerous prox- 
 imity to the former. 
 
 Our boat was headed down-stream and driven betore 
 the strong wind ; we moved rapidly with varying suc- 
 cess till we arrived at one little shoal, the name of whicli 
 I have forgotten, or it never existed, and where we found 
 fish innumerable. Frequently every hook on both 
 lines was engaged ; often I landed three, sometimes four, 
 and once or twice five fish at a time. The sport was 
 wonderfully exciting ; first one rod bent, then the other ; 
 and then, while I was busy foiling the struggles of fish 
 BO numerous that they made the water foam, I would see 
 with a feeling of despair the other rod bend and the line 
 slowly render round the reel. It was impossible to' move 
 faster, useless to hurry ; but, as quickly as I could and 
 dared,- the fish were brought to net. This shoal wap 
 
THE THOUSAND ISLES. 
 
 201 
 
 to Ha 
 gmd to 
 latter 
 i tliat 
 iatinia- 
 rain or 
 J8, and 
 
 yoe the 
 fctcli for 
 
 7 till be 
 lat Bucli 
 ^e then 
 ifisipated 
 
 )U8 pro^- 
 
 expoged to the full fury of the wind, and the water 
 dashed in over the bow or broke against the side, while 
 the oarsman had all he could manage to row against the 
 blast. 
 
 Bound and round this spot we moved, ever with the 
 same result; the lines were not half out before they 
 would be seized, it was almost impossible to keep the two 
 rods in play. This lasted till we were both utterly worn 
 out with the excitement and the exertion, and were com- 
 pelled to give up from sheer exhaustion. My fingers had 
 many a bloody mark left by the reel-handle, that a sudden 
 rush had jerked from my grasp, and. being compelled in 
 the uncomfortable seat to turn my body round to reel up, 
 my back was almost broken. The man had rowed as 
 long as he could, but was forced to run down between 
 the Powder-horn and Shot-bag Islands and rest awhile 
 before breasting the storm homeward. 
 
 We had had gr«at luck, taking in the last hour and a 
 half seventy-three bass. It was a glorious sight when 
 we arrived at home to see our fish laid out side by side, 
 the mascallonge at their head, and tapering regularly 
 down to a half-pound black bass. The latter do not 
 average any great size, rarely exceeding three pounds 
 and never known to be taken over six ; but a day upon 
 the St. Lawrence among those beautiful Thousand 
 Isles, either in pureuit of the mighty mascallonge 
 tlie furicus pickerel, or, best of all, the spirited black 
 bass, will never be regretted by the poet or the sports 
 man, fr' -':.'■■"' -iX-^''' 
 
202 
 
 STRIPED BASa 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 STRIPED BASS. 
 
 Lahrax Lineatua-^Bockfish of Pennayloama and thi 
 South— Perca Lahrax (Smith) — Soiena Lineata (Black.) 
 
 This fish, which has a large number of scientific names 
 and several popular ones, belong to the Perch family, 
 has two spines on the after part of the gill-cover, and the 
 margin of the fore gill-cover rough like the edge of a 
 saw. Its color is bluish on the back, light on the sides, 
 and white on the belly. • The sides are marked by seven 
 to nine longitudinal dark lines, from which its name is 
 derived, the upper of which reach the tail, but the lower 
 fade out above the anal fin. These lines sometimes are 
 broken or consist of contiguous dots. The ventral fins 
 are below and somewhat behind the pectorals, and have 
 the first rays spinous. The fore part of the dorsal has 
 nine spiny rays, and at the interval between that and the 
 after part there is another small hard ray, while the after 
 part is composed of twelve soft rays. The pectorals 
 have sixteen soft rays, the ventrals one hard and five 
 soft, the anal three hard and eleven soft, and the tail 
 seventeen soft rays. 
 
 Whether the name Bass means Perch or not, I cannot 
 say, although there is no such tradition among my 
 Dutch ancestry, and I am unable to«find the word in 
 
 
STRIPED BASS. 
 
 203 
 
 a/nd thi 
 (Black.) 
 ic names 
 1 family, 
 ', and the 
 jdge of a 
 the sides, 
 by seven 
 name is 
 the lower 
 stimes are 
 jntral fins 
 and have 
 lorsal has 
 [at and the 
 le the after 
 pectorals 
 I and five 
 [d the tail 
 
 [t, I cannot 
 imong niy 
 le word in 
 
 their Dutch dictionaries. There could, however, be nc 
 more creditable derivation, and as many authorities 
 assert the fact, it is as well to let it pass. The fish are 
 found along the coast from Maine to Florida, although 
 they appear never to have visited Europe, and are the 
 gamesi salt water fish of our continent. In their season, 
 wiiich is at intervals from early Spring to late in Fall, 
 they are taken on the bars and in every creek of our ex« 
 tensive coast. The net destroys'the greater number, but 
 they bite freely and fight bravely for their lives. Great 
 skill and experience are requisite for their successful 
 capture when they are shy and scarce, but when abun- 
 dant or hungry, although always a dainty fish, they bite 
 rapidly and boldly. Like the squid of the deep seas, 
 these niay be said to be the largest and smallest of fish ; 
 they are taken from an ounce to a hundred pounds' 
 weight. 
 
 Tlie Striped Bass becomes an object of the angler's 
 attention in April, when he runs up the rivers to spawn. 
 He ascends into cool fresh water, until arrested by a 
 natural, or, too frequently, an artificial barrier. He is 
 taken under the Cohoes Falls in the Mohawk, and at Al- 
 bany and Troy in the Hudson, and reaches the very 
 head- waters of the Delaware, where he is known as Rock- 
 fish. Many, and those the largest, do not appear to 
 leave the salt water, and are found in the small bays and 
 inlets. la the fall, when the cold weather sets in, they 
 retire to the salt water coves and lagoons, where they lie 
 imbedded in the mud or hiding near the bottom, secure 
 aguinst danger, or discomfort from cold or storms. Ad- 
 vantage is taken of this peculiarity by the market fish* 
 
204 
 
 STRIFED BASS. 
 
 ermen, and there is a pond on Long Island, near Sag 
 Harbor, and others near Point Judith, that are a source 
 of great profit to their owners. The mill-pond at Stam- 
 ford having carried away the gates one Winter, and run 
 out nearly dry, striped bass of immense size were picked 
 up by cart-loads from the muddy bottom. 
 
 These fish can be confined to fresh water without 
 being permitted to vitit ^he sea, and they will not onlj 
 live and breed, but are said to be much improved by 
 the change. In September they appear o^ the coant in 
 shoals, and are taken both inside and outside of the bars, 
 and in the bays and inlets where they resort for food. 
 As they are much sought after and highly appreciated, 
 and as I have added largely to my ovvn knowledge by 
 drawing extensively upon the experience of my friends, 
 the following description of the numerous modes of tak- 
 ing them will be found rather minute. 
 
 When they first appear in April the shad are running, 
 and hence, in the rivers that the latter frequent, shad roe 
 is the best though most troublesome of all baits. In 
 places where shad are not to be found, the bass are sus» 
 picious of such bait. As it is most difiicult to fasten on 
 the hook, it must be cut with the skin that envelops it, 
 and tied on with tow, flax,' or floss silk. Stonehenge, 
 after eloquently defending the use of the salmon roe as 
 a bait, which is ordinarily considered a kind of poaching, 
 gives for its preparation the following directions, that 
 apply equally well to the shad roe : Boil the roe without 
 its envelope for twenty minutes ; bruise it in a mortar to 
 a uniform consistency ; add to each pound an ounce of 
 common salt and a quarter of an ounce of saltpeter ; 
 
 
STRIPED BASa 
 
 305 
 
 beat them together and store it an earthen jar covered 
 with a bladder. Frank Forrester recommends that the 
 roe be well washed and thoroughly dried in the air, 
 salted with two ounces of rock salt and 'a quarter of an 
 ounce of saltpeter to a pound of spawn, dried gently and 
 potted down, covered with melted lard or suet in earthen 
 jars. This, either fresh or potted, is a most effective 
 bait for striped bass, but I confess for trout my experi- 
 ence is to the contrary. 
 
 In streams that the shad do not frequent, striped 
 bass are taken early in the season with' slirimp threaded 
 on longitudinally, by passing the point of the hook 
 under the back plates ; as the season advances, and 
 ciabs shed their coats, with the shedder, or better, 
 soft crabs; and in the Fall with shrimp, the bass, or 
 barred killey, and the spearing. In fishing with shrimp 
 — and it is a good bait all the season through, and must be 
 tried when others fail — use a float fastened about three 
 feet above a swivel sinker, to the lower swivel of which 
 are to be attached two distinct gut leaders, one of three 
 feet, the other of two. Single gut, if large, round, and 
 true, is decidedly preferable to double, and the hook 
 should never be a coarse, clumsy Limeriok, which has 
 such an undeserved reputation, but a delicate Carlisle, 
 ■with a broad, round bend. If very large fish are ex- 
 pected — ^and they rarely are — use No. ; but gener- 
 ally No. 8 is large enough. With crab the hook must 
 be larger. I prefer a,lway8 to have the point of the hook 
 covered,. and recommend that the shrimp should be 
 bunched on till they hide the hook entirely, and form a 
 round, attractive bait, composed of so many shrimp as 
 no bass ever before saw together. 
 
piw«llPiiifwwwwwpp|Pi»!npiP^Pifpwpp(ni»BP!^^ 
 
 •fW 
 
 206 
 
 STAIPED BASS. 
 
 In JiinC) and throughout the Summer, the crab is a 
 better bait ordinarily than the shrimp. I prefer the soft 
 crab, because it does not dull the point of the hook, as 
 will sometimes happen with a shedder that is not quite 
 ripe ; it is easily cut up into proper baits, whereas the 
 shedder'has to be skinned, or, more properly, shelled — 
 a long and nasty operation ; it is always in good order 
 whereas others, unless carefully selected, and kept just the 
 right time, will tear to pieces in the course of preparation ; 
 and finally, the skin of the soil crab, especially as it 
 verges toward the buckram, enables the hook to retain 
 its hold. Judging from human nature, I fancy the fish 
 must prefer a nice, soft, plump bait, to one that is jagged 
 and half full of pieces of shell. 
 
 Most writers say, fish with crab on the bottom, be- 
 cause there it is naturally found ; I say, fish with it near 
 the top, because ho sensible fish can imagine that a quar- 
 ter of a crab long since dead and dismembered has any 
 control over its own motions. In fact there is no unbend- 
 ing rule for fishing ; the only way is to try all plans, 
 and if the fish will not notice your crab suspended in 
 mid-water, take off your float and swivel sinker, put on 
 a running sinker, as it is called, -made like a piece of 
 lead pipe with a small hole in the centre, tie a knot in 
 the line to prevent its going down on the hook ; use a 
 single bait of a good-sized piece of crab and cast well 
 out from you, and the first eel that comes along will 
 astonish, not to say disgust you. The line being free, 
 though the lead lies on the bottom, you can feel the 
 first touch of a fish, and strike at once ; whereas if tlie 
 sinker were the old-fashioned deep sea lead he would 
 have to drag its weight some distance before the fisher- 
 
STRIPED DASS. 
 
 207 
 
 man would bo aware of his proceedings. A man, by 
 fishing on the bottom, although justified by a philosophy 
 which establishes the fact that bass ought to look for 
 crabs there, and not dangling about in mid-wat \*, will 
 surely catch three eels to one bass. The truth is, crabs 
 are not found on the bottom in such places, generally 
 strong foaming currents, whicli they never frequent un- 
 less carried away by the force of the water, and soft 
 crabs are by their natural enemies, and many other 
 causes, often torn into pieces and borne about by the 
 tide. 
 
 The bait should be kept in continual motion : this is 
 the first law of all bait fishing. It is done by twitching 
 the rod, and induces the fish to seize the prey, which they 
 imagine is about to escape. I have seen them time and 
 again dart at a bait when in motion, that they had 
 smelt round contemptuously when still. Crab is uni- 
 versally regarded as the preeminent bass bait in Summer, 
 although its reputation is disputed by that wondeiful 
 production of the sea, the squid. This horrible monster, of 
 which sailors tell such astounding stories, has illuminated 
 the tales of olden time, and been a pet forecastle yam 
 with ancient and modern mariners. There are accounts 
 of ships seized by its arms, that reached to the mast- 
 heads, and sunk or only saved' by prayers to the Virgin 
 Mary and the vigorous use of axes on its many muscular 
 and boneless limbs ; of grateful mariners presenting pic- 
 tures of the dreadful encounter to the shrine of Onr 
 Lady ; of huge pieces of the arms of this fish, indicatinj^ 
 that they must have been sixty or more feet long, found 
 in the maw of the whale, whose food they are ; and hor 
 
203 
 
 STRIPED BASS. 
 
 rible Btories whispered with bated breath, of men in 
 bathing drawn down by even tiie emaller of the monsters. 
 Tliongh there must be soraethfng in it, I doubt if this is all 
 true, notwithstanding the squid is ugly enough for any- 
 thing. With us the squid or cuttle-fish is liarinlcsB except 
 to the sight, and in his native element is glad to hide him- 
 self in the obscurity of a dark liquid that he has the power 
 of emitting, when pursued. Tlie on\y bone in his body is 
 in the middle of his stomach, and what it is put there 
 for unless to give him an accurate idea of indigestion,* r.o 
 one knows. For the present it is enough to say he is 
 good bait, although not handsome, and may be used 
 cither in trolling or still iishing. 
 
 Another excellent bait early in the Fall, although no- 
 where mentioned in the books, and, I believe, my own 
 discovery, is the scollop. My attention was first called to 
 it by some men opening them for the table and throwing 
 the many-eyed skins into the water. The bass collected 
 at once and rushed eagerly to the very dock, almost 
 springing out of water to seize the coveted mor&el. 
 Upon this hint I acted, and by great care, for tho scol- 
 lop is extremely tender, and by passing the hook several 
 times through the skin, I succeeded in keeping the bait 
 on while I cast very gently. My success was astonish- 
 ing, and then and afterward I took the largest fish 
 under the most unfavorable circumstances with it, when 
 they would not touch the most tempting crab. The 
 lieurt of the scollop is pearly white, and is attractive and 
 so good that no wonder the bass should be crazy for it. 
 It is difficult to manage and easily washed off the hook, 
 but if any fisherman shall see bass, as I have often, lying 
 
'Tjr^^'* 
 
 STRirCD MiASS. 
 
 209 
 
 in a deep pool, occasionally leaping out or slnggiBlily 
 showing their back fins on the surface and refusing all 
 allurements, let him try scollops, and he will think of 
 mo in his dying hour. 
 
 As the days grow colder and the crab rcassumes Lis 
 impenetrable coat and dangerous pincers, shrimp again 
 come into play, and on many occasions the belly of tho 
 white soft clam will attract the bass even earlier in the 
 season. But in August I have had excellent sport cast- 
 ing, if I may use the word, for him with the spearing. 
 Early in Summer a delicate little fish an inch or two 
 long, pearly white and semi-transparent, witli a black 
 eye and a white band along tlie lateral line, makes its 
 appearance on the shores of Long Island Sound and else- 
 where, and has come to be called the spearing. It is 
 a beautiful fish, and properly dressed might rival in 
 delicacy the far-famed English w^hite-bait ; but it is never 
 brought to market till later in the season, when it has 
 grown several inches long and is comparatively tasteless. 
 Being too small in the early summer to take a hook, 
 they are diflScult to catch ; but an excellent net, both for 
 them and killey-fish, can be made of mosquito netting 
 stretched double between two hoop-poles, with a stout 
 cord run along the top and bottom to receive the leads 
 and floats respectively. The netting being of extra 
 width, can be doubled together with the lead line laid in 
 ^tlie bag, or, as sailors would say of a rope, in the bight, 
 and the leads being small pipe, fastened at short intervals, 
 will keep the net close to the bottom — an important par- 
 ticular. It should be five to six yards long; and two 
 men, taking each a handle, can sweep a considerable part 
 
 
 tt 
 
210 
 
 STRIPED BASS. 
 
 of the shore, and often fill a pail with minnows or spoar 
 ing at one haul. 
 
 The killey-fish, bo called by our ancestors from being 
 caught in the kills or creeks, and which, by the by, are 
 at least of three kinds without counting sticklebacks, 
 will rush about and try to creep under the net ; but spear- 
 ing, which always go in shoals, when once in the net do 
 not seem to be able to escape, and will stay there as long 
 as it is kept in motion. No fisherman living near the 
 water should be without this contrivance, as nothing is 
 BO annoying as to be unable to get bait ; he will soon 
 acquire considerable skill in its use, and if he is as boy- 
 ish as a fisherman ought always, though grey-headed, to 
 be, he will experience much excitement in the pursuit 
 even of his bait. If spearing cannot be had, though 
 that is rare, the barred killey, vulgarly called the bass 
 killey, is the next in beauty and attractiveness ; it is the 
 Fandvilu% foAciatus^ or striped killey-fish of De Kay, 
 and if it cann6t be had, the ugly green killey-fish. Fun- 
 dulus viridescens, may be used, but with doubtful suc- 
 cess. 
 
 ^o cast with spearing in the manner here suggested 
 8v jcessfully, a stout long salmon rod will be requisite. 
 A small hook is run through the spearing's mouth and 
 out at his side, for he is long since dead, and a cast is 
 made into the foaming torrent of a mill-tail or rushing 
 tide. The bait is vlrawn irregularly over the surface of 
 the water, and again cast and played like the fly. The 
 bass strike it as trout or salmon take the latter; and 
 there is the same skill and uncertainty in the pursuit. 
 
 I was once fishing in this manner for snapping mack* 
 
STRIPED BAS& 
 
 211 
 
 erel, the young of the blae-finh, Tenmodon saltator, with 
 single gut half worn through, and the lightest tackle. 
 I had been quite successful, much to the disgust of older 
 men who were fishing in the usual manner with live 
 killey and no luck, and finally made a cast right among 
 a number of their floats. Suddenly, from the turbid 
 depths, shot a huge bass, gleamed for a moment in the 
 sunlight, and disappeared beneath the surface carrying 
 my spearing in hid mouth. It was a splendid fish, and 
 my skill was tried to the utmost ; many a run I was 
 forced to give to, and only the great lengtli of line I had 
 on the reel saved him ; after a good half hour's excellent 
 sport I brought him to the net, and my companions were 
 still more disgusted at their want of luck. I again made 
 a few castf^ catching several snappers, when another 
 bass, full as large as the first, struck me and was landed 
 after an equally spirited contest. Tin's was early in Sep- 
 tember, and before the fish were taken by trolling in 
 that neighborhood. 
 
 In June and October, bass of great size are captured 
 off Point Judith with half a mossbunker, otherwise men- 
 haden, hard-head or bony-fish, the Alosa menhaden^ 
 thrown from the rocks by rod or hand into the surf. The 
 bait is ordinarily tied on the hook, which is large, and 
 thrown without float or sinker as far into the sea as its 
 weight will enable the fisherman to cast, and then slowly 
 reeled or drawn in. Similar fishing is pursued at New- 
 port, and bass are frequently taken of over forty pounds. 
 
 A favorite mode of catching these fish is by trolling 
 from a boat either with rod and line or hand-line and 
 with the natural squid, or the imitation made of pewter, 
 
iiil 
 
 212 
 
 STRIPED BAS3. 
 
 I ' if ■■» 
 
 tin or bone. In this mode verj large fish were once 
 taken at Hell Gate, but the glory thereof has departed. 
 Where squid cannot be obtained, the large spearing or 
 barred killey will answer well. 
 
 There is this redeeming quality about taking striped 
 bass with the float and sinker, that the fishing generally 
 being done in a rapid, and at times, boisterous current, 
 the bait has to be kept in motion, and it is necessary to 
 reel in and cast out every few minutes. As great skill 
 in casting can oe obtained, and there is an immense 
 advantage in throwing into the exact spot, it is truly a 
 sportsmanlike mode of procedure. A good fisherman 
 can cast thirty to forty yard?, or even more, into the size 
 of a hat, without tangling the line or jerking the bait, 
 while the tyro will generally fail reaching half the dis- 
 tance, and will frequently leave his baits on the way. I 
 can cast better and further from the left side, and have 
 heard many old fishermen say the same, but you must be 
 able to use the rod on either side. '^^^^^' v^^^^^ 
 
 , As there are persons ro ignorant as not to know how 
 to cast at all, and as I once found one stopping his reel 
 with his first finger, I will say that to make a cast the 
 line is reeled up till the float touches the tip, or in 
 case no float is used, till the bait is within a foot of it, 
 the right hand grasps the rod at the reel, which is turned 
 up, and the thumb placed upon it to regulate the escape 
 of the line ; the left hand is near the but ; the point of the 
 rod is then carried back behind the fisherman, and witii 
 a steady, springy notion is suddenly brought forward 
 and the line delivered. A jerk, or the fouling of the line, 
 which will surely happen if it is allowed to overrun, will 
 
a,. 
 
 STRIPED BASS. 
 
 218 
 
 once 
 irted. 
 ig or 
 
 briped 
 erally 
 irrent, 
 lary to 
 it skill 
 imense 
 truly a 
 aerman 
 the size 
 le bait, 
 the dis- 
 way. I 
 id have 
 must he 
 
 LOW how 
 his reel 
 cast the 
 or in 
 Dt of it, 
 turned 
 escape 
 Lt of the 
 ^nd witiv 
 forward 
 |the hne, 
 •un, will 
 
 tertainly tear off your baits, and perhaps your float and 
 sinker ; the siiiker must strike the water in advance of 
 the float, or the leader is apt to bitch round the upper 
 point of the latter. 
 
 The most scientific and truly sportsmanlike mode of 
 taking striped bass must be admitted to be with the fly ; 
 which, unfortunately, can only be done in the brackish 
 or fresh water. Like salmon, they will not take the fly 
 in tlie salt creeks and bays, and thus, though the sport is 
 excellent, it is confined to few localities, and those diffi- 
 cult of access. Fly-fishing may be done either with the 
 ordinary salmon rod, or in a strong current with the 
 common bass rod, by working your fly on the top of the 
 Water and giving a considerable length of line. The 
 best fly is that with the scarlet ibis and white feathers 
 mixed, the same as used for black bass ; but bass may 
 be taken with any large fly, especially those of gay color. 
 Excellent sport is frequently had in this way from off 
 some open bridge, where the falling tide, mixed with the 
 fresh water, rushes furiously between the piers. 
 
 It is generally conceded that the best time for bass 
 fishing is at night, especially if the moon be bright. 
 The "most favorable wind is a southwesterly one, strong 
 enough to make a good ripple on the water, and the 
 right time of tide from half-ebb to half-flood. In the 
 shallower ir^ots the neap tides are preferable, as they 
 do not drain the water so low as to alarm the fish. 
 
 In bass fishing, whether for trolling or casting, the rod 
 should be eight to ten feet long, stiff and light, but with 
 a certain amount of elasticity. A rod made of a piece 
 of bamboo, cut in two joints, will, until some awkward 
 
m 
 
 mm 
 
 ■m * 
 
 214 
 
 STRIPED BISS. 
 
 
 friend steps on And breaks it, answer ia well as any other, 
 and one that costs three dollars is in every particular as 
 good as one worth forty. The light bamboo jointed rods 
 of our ancestors are no more to be had ; the makers say 
 it is impossible to get the cane of the proper taper, and 
 rods of ash and hickory have come into fashion. The 
 latter will answer every purpose, but as they are sure to 
 warp, the guides should be double, so that the line can 
 be shifted from one side to the other. - Patent standing 
 guides are all the fashion with us, though the English 
 use the old-fashioned rings made large. Of course we 
 prefer our own invention. The funnel-top should be 
 large, and for a valuable rod, or a particular gentleman, 
 should be made of agate. They are infinitely superior 
 to the old-fasliioned ring-top still used in England. Avoid 
 having many guides; they create friction, and three or 
 four will answer every purpose. 
 
 If you are a gentleman and a man of fortune, of lavish 
 hand and open heart, you should use what is called a 
 grass or raw silk line, buying a new one every two 
 weeks, by which time it will be rotted out. It does not 
 kink or over-run, works beautifully, and will enable you 
 to cast ten yards further than with any other; but it is 
 not strong at best will rot immediately if not dried after 
 the least exposure, and costs money. If you are a poor 
 or a careless man, buy a new flax line every year, and 
 throw it away in the Fall, after being disgusted with it 
 all the season. If you are neither of these, buy a plaited 
 silk line of one hundred yards ; be sure and get a new 
 one, and take care of it. 
 
 lines may be preserved from rotting by being dipped 
 
 * :. 
 
 -i^^ 
 
**^' 
 
 ■;-«* 
 
 STRtt^ED BASS. 
 
 215 
 
 other, 
 lar as 
 i rods 
 jrs say 
 sr, and 
 . The 
 jure to 
 ne cau 
 banding 
 English 
 arse we 
 auld be 
 itleman, 
 superior 
 , Avoid 
 three or 
 
 hi a mixture made of one pound of printer's yamish, 
 half a pound of siccity, and one gill of spirits of tur- 
 pentine, warmed up together, or in the ordinary drying- 
 oil sold at the paint shops, and although they do not 
 render quite so easy, I have all mine, trout and bass 
 lines, so prepared. I cannot take the trouble to dry my 
 lines after every exposure, and if once forgotten, without ' 
 being so protected, they are ruined. A well-made silk 
 line is strong enough to hang oneself by, if the angler 
 should be disgusted with life by his ill luck, and coated 
 in this manner they will last a long time. They do not 
 get saturated or take up water in casting, and do not 
 stick to the rod as they otherwise would. Lines for fly 
 fishing, prepared in a similar manner, are sold in the 
 fishing-tackle stores, although the makers are opposed U 
 an improvement that will diminish their business. The 
 line is dipped in the preparation when warm, and left in 
 all night ; it is removed next morning after the mixture 
 has been rewarmed, and is stretched in a garret or other 
 place not exposed to the sun or rain, and the superfluous 
 varnish wiped oflT, and after it is thoroughly dried, it is 
 well rubbed. . This preparation cannot be used with linen 
 or cotton lines, as it will rot them. 
 
 In striking a bass you cannot be too quick, and when 
 fishing with a float your line will sink in the water and 
 enable you to trip the float and fix the hook at once. 
 Tlie fish must then be kept well in hand; but never 
 exhibit severity unless compelled by circumstances ; be 
 rough, and the fish will be rough ; be gentle, and he will 
 come to you like a friend. Keep him from the rocks and 
 bottom if possible ; but give to his willful rushes till he 
 
 •?*■- 
 
■Pipllpiiiiiiiiii 
 
 * 
 
 216 
 
 STRIPED BASS. 
 
 is content to listen to reason. By this course you will 
 avoid feeling often that sinking of tLe heart that follows 
 when the strain suddenly ceases on your line, and you 
 know he has escaped. 
 
 That fine game fish of the southern States usually 
 called bass or red-fish, belongs to another family, and is 
 the Corvina ocellata^ or branded corvina. It is distin- 
 guished by a peculiar black spot, like a drop of ink, near 
 the tail. It furnishes noble sport and excellent eating, 
 abounds in the neighborhood of the Chesapeake Bay, and 
 is highly prized at southern tables. 
 
 ■'1' 
 
 'f^ 
 
BLACK BASS. 
 
 £17 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 BLACK BASS. 
 
 Griatea NigHcana (Agassiz) — Cenirarchus Fasoiatua 
 (De Kay). 
 
 This fish has innumc rable scientific names, while it can 
 scarcely be said to have any distinctive popular one. 
 Bass, either alone or with some additional appellation, is 
 applied by common usage to almost the entire perch fam- 
 ily, one of the largest among the American fislies, while 
 scientific men are at as great a loss for appropriate nomen- 
 clature or accurate distinctions. There are probably 
 several species classed under the same name as this fish, 
 and itself differs greatly in color and appearance, accord- 
 ing to its food, water or locality. There is no doubt that 
 all fish, and more especially trout, change their hues 
 according to the color of the water they inhabit, or even 
 to the light or shade of their favorite haunts. It is sup- 
 posed that they assimilate to the bottom where they are 
 found, a provision of nature to protect them from their 
 enemies of the air. Unquestionably the same species 
 present a very different appearance in clear, limpid 
 streams, and in muddy, sluggish brooks. Black Bass are 
 Baid to possess of themselves the power to change their 
 color at will, and have been known to do so repeatedly 
 when confined in a vessel of water. They are found to 
 
 10 
 
mm 
 
 r^'mmmtm''^^ 
 
 ■HPPVPP 
 
 mm 
 
 2X8 
 
 BLACK BASS 
 
 Iiave black, green and yellow sides, according to circum- 
 stances, and often within a short distance of one another, 
 though their backs are generally dusky black. 
 
 The gill-cover has two flat points, the teeth are minute, 
 while the back fin, though single, is partly divided into 
 two. It contains ten hard 'and fourteen soft rays ; the 
 pectoral has eighteen soft rays, the ventral six, the first 
 one almost spinous, the anal three spines, the first very 
 short, and twelve soft rays, and the tail sixteen soft rays. 
 This fish has been confounded with the Lake Huron Black 
 Bass, JIuro nigricans, which is now supposed to be a 
 different variety, characterized by two longitudinal lines 
 or stripes running the entire length of its body. 
 
 The gill-rays are six and the fin-rays, as given by Dr. 
 De Kay, are as follows, but I think liable to consider- 
 able variation. 
 
 D. 9.1.14 ; P. 18 ; Y. 6 ; A. 3.12 ; C. 16^. 
 
 Black Bass, belonging as they do to the perch family, 
 have many of the habits and can be captured in the 
 same manner as their congeners. Bat, as they are infi- 
 lutely superior in flavor, they are equally so in game and 
 sporting qualities. They will take minnows, shiners, 
 grasshoppers, frogs, worms, or almost anything else that 
 can be called a bait, and like all fish, prefer the live to 
 the dead. Tliey may be fished for with good stout 
 tackle, gut leaders, a reel, and an ordinary bass rod, in the 
 same manner as fish are generally captured by boys and 
 blockheads. In June they aflect the grassy bottom in 
 water fifteen to twenty feet deep, but as the season 
 advances they resort to the rocky shoals and rapid cur- 
 rents, where they are taken on and after the middle of 
 
ilri 
 
 BLACK BASa 
 
 219 
 
 July by sportsmen with tho fly. They may be captured 
 by casting the fly as for sahuon or trout, and this is by 
 far the most sportsmanlike way, but the most destructiye 
 and usually resorted to is trolling. For casting, a two- 
 handed seventeen foot salmon rod is preferable, while for 
 trolling, a short bass rod is the thing. By anchoring 
 your boat to the windward of a shoal, or by walking out 
 on some point of rocks, you can command a great extent 
 of water witli your fly-rod, and have royal sport alone, 
 whereas for trolling an oarsman is indispensable. 
 
 The flies to be used are the ordinary small-sized salmon 
 flies, not too gaudy, though the first dropper and tail fly 
 may be larger and made of white and ibis feathers 
 mixed. In casting you will use your ordinary cast, but 
 in trolling you may attach five or six flies to a long sal- 
 mon leader at equal distances, and will frequently take 
 several fish at a time. My experience has convinced me 
 that a number of flies attract fish, whether trout or bass, 
 and the more you can conveniently use the greater will 
 be your success. 
 
 Black bass abound in the northern waters, where they 
 are invariably trolled for with two rods, one on each 
 side of the boat, in the same manner as in taking pick- 
 erel, but two rods are a great additional trouble, lor 
 when a fish strikes one the other has to be reeled up by 
 your boatman, lest the hooks sink to the bottom. If the 
 boat is kept in motion, it is almost impossible to reel in 
 a large bass, and would make a labor of a pleasure, even 
 if he should be eventually captured. 
 
 A small trolling spoon is excellent bait, probably pre- 
 ferable to the fly at all seasons except the middle of 
 
 1^ 
 
mm 
 
 m 
 
 inpp 
 
 220 
 
 BLA\;K BAS9L 
 
 July, when the eel-fly, the principal food of the bass, is 
 jast disappearing, and the artificial fly is then a luxury. 
 In case a spoou is used, the shank of the hook is usually 
 wound with ibis feathers, and a Buel's patent is the 
 favorite. It has been recommended at times to fasten a 
 forked piece of pickerel tongue on the bend of your fly- 
 hook, but like a similar direction as to a worm" on a trout 
 fly-hook, I have no faith in it. Another successful bait 
 that has, in my opinion, more reputation than value, is 
 the Tcillrdevil, a creature that is beyond my powers of 
 description, and must be seen to be appreciated. 
 
 The hours and days favorable for fishing are, in the 
 main, similar for all fish ; if the water is deep or turbid 
 there may be an exception, but generally a southwesterly 
 wind, a cloudy sky, and the morning and evening hours, 
 will yield the best sport. This is so for black bass, and 
 the more wind the better, until it becomes difficult to 
 row and manage the boat. In thf western wilds, where 
 deer are plentiful, an attractive fly is made by tying a 
 white and red tuft of deer's hair along the shank of the 
 hook ; the thread being passed round the middle of the 
 tuft, allows the upper part of the hairs . to be bent back 
 by the motion through the water, giving an appearance 
 of life to the bait. 
 
 An ingenious mode of proceeding is suggested ia 
 Brown's Angler's Guide, that is worthy of young Ameri- 
 can genius, to which it is attributed. A boy having 
 caught a sun-fish, runs his hook through its nose and out 
 at its mouth, covering the point with a lively worm. 
 Other sun-fish^' seeing their fellow have all to himself a 
 fine, fat worm which he seems unable to master, collect 
 
 
BLACK BASS. 
 
 221 
 
 round him, and by thoir nnmbers attract the bass, who 
 dashes in among them, and while the rest make off, 
 swallows the one with the worm, and of course himself 
 falls a prey to the ingenious young fisherman. This 
 like the use of cray-fish, mice, swallows, and many othei 
 baits, may be excellent, but I have never tried it or 
 them ; so* long as the fish will take a fly, I fish witli 
 nothing else ; it is infinitely more exciting to kill one fish 
 on the fly than ten with bait. 
 
 Black bass are taken among the Thousand Isles in 
 immense numbers, but not of any great size, rarely 
 exceeding three poun-^s. In Lake Ohamplain, near 
 Eouse's Point, and in the lakes of Canada, they gro^ 
 larger. The largest, probably, never exceeding eight 
 pounds. They are taken in most of the waters of the 
 northern and northwestern States, especially in the 
 Niagara and Detroit rivers. Lake St. Clair, Lake Erie 
 and Lake Huron. They make their appearance from 
 deep water in May and June, grow to great excellence 
 in July and August, but are in their best condition in 
 September and October. They are a fine, noble game 
 fish, and where trout are not to be had are well worthy 
 of the sportsman's attention ; when captured, which can 
 only be done by skill and care, they prove an excellent 
 addition to the table. 
 
 The fish usually known as trout at tlie South, idbeit 
 that name is applied to many varieties, is a species of 
 black bass, and is taken by trolling with a rod and short 
 line before the boat as it is rowed aloilg. 
 
 ^nfes^ii:;- 
 
■■•'.■« V' ipmniMipippipiii 
 
 BOCK BASS 
 
 CHAPTER XXin. 
 
 BOOK BASS. 
 
 CentrarchvA ^neus. — ^Tliis is an entirely distinct spe- 
 cies from the Black Bass, though, being somewhat similar 
 in color and shape, is often confounded with them. The 
 same may be said of the Os^7ego Bass, which is now 
 ascertained to be equally distinct, though commonly 
 known as bass, and supposed to be identical. The fish 
 under consideration must in no wise be confounded with 
 the Rock-fish of Pennsylvania, which is the Striped Bass, 
 Lahrax Uneatua^ and which the benighted Pennsylva- 
 nians would oblige us by calling by its right name. 
 
 The Rock Bass has two flat points at the angle of the 
 gill-cover, and is distinguished from the variety last de- 
 scribed by six or seven spines and eleven soft rays in the 
 anal fin. The dorsal has eleven spines, and ten or twelve 
 soft rays ; the pectoral fourteen soft rays, the ventral one 
 spine and five soft rays, and the gill-rays are six. The 
 fin-rays are given by Dr. De Kay as follows : 
 
 D. 11.12 ; P. 14 ; Y. 1.5 ; A. 6.11 ; C. ITf. 
 
 This fish is found in much the same waters as the 
 black bass, and, like the latter, made its way on the com- 
 pletion of the Champlain canal through it into the Hudson 
 River. It takes any of the ordinary baits, preferring, 
 however, the cray-fish, Astacita JBartoniy and can be 
 
ROCK BASB. 
 
 223 
 
 captnrod even with the flj, but not readily. In the St. 
 Lawrence River it feeds mostly on the eel-fly, so long as 
 that lasts, choosing, I believe, the dead ones; and in 
 July I have found them filled with that fly. They never 
 attain the size of the larger black bass, although they 
 are taken of over three pounds, but are a brave, vora- 
 cious fishyand excellent at table. 
 
 m 
 
 % 
 
m 
 
 ^m^^f^m^m^^ 
 
 224 
 
 THE PIKK PERCH. 
 
 
 
 . , ' ' -. 
 
 ■,• ■, ,,;;• ■: :,' :".''■ .v>'^>Y-'"; A'-'/^A >> ' 
 
 
 : .1 f 1 '■•, :■■.-'■ ..:;>>; '':■ . ,fH;i,; • ^uj:;;^' ,■■■'',- 
 
 , J ii ',■',•' 
 
 f -i 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 THB PIKE TEROH. 
 
 ( , ..«.■;>,•'' ■, «• V " 
 
 Lucioperca Americana.— ^\h fish is mentioned more 
 on account of the absurd misnomers that have been 
 applied to it, to warn persons against similar errors, than 
 on account of its sporting qualities. There appears to 
 be some confusion among naturalists concerning this 
 family ; there is probably an undescribed species. Dr. 
 De Kay mentions a bluish fish which he regiirded not as 
 A distinct variety, but as an aged specimen. By a close 
 comparison of the two, I am satisfied that although tlie 
 scientific peculiarities are wonderfully alike, there are 
 substantial difibrences. 
 
 The Pike Perch is called the Glass-eye, the Big-eyed 
 Pike, the Pickerel, Pickering, and Pike of the Lakes ; 
 whereas a simple suggestion will establish the difference 
 between it and the pikes or pickerel. The latter has all 
 the fin-rays soft, and the ventrals in the centre of the 
 abdomen, whereas this fish, which is a true perch, has 
 many spinous rays, and the ventrals close beneath and 
 just behind the pectorals. 
 
 The Pike Perch is of an olive color on the back, yel- 
 lowish on the sides, and white beneath. It attains a 
 weight of thirty pounds, and is distinguished particularly 
 by the peculiarity of having the membrane attached tc 
 
THE PIKE PERCH. 
 
 225 
 
 the last two rays of the first dorsal jot black, whureaa 
 tliat attached to the other rays is yellow. The lower 
 edge of the gill-cover has been described as smooth, but 
 I find the fore part of it slightly serrated ; the posterior 
 part has one flat spine, beyond which there is a pointed 
 membrane, and above a rudimentary spine. Tliere is a 
 sen'es of sharp teeth on both jaws and the gill-arches, 
 two in the front of each jaw being long and conspicuous. 
 The base of the tongue is roughened but toothless, and I 
 can find no teeth on the vomer. The scales are not large, 
 and have the edges marked out by a series of dots. 
 
 The fins, as I make them, are — 
 
 Br. 7 ; D. 13.2.20 ; P. 10 ; V. 1.5 ; A. 1.14 ; C. 17|. 
 
 But according to Dr. De Kay they are — * -"^ 
 
 Br. 7 ; D. 13:1.21 ; P. 16 ; Y. 1.5 ; A. 1.14 ; C. 17f. 
 
 The color of the anal is reddish yellow ; of the ven- 
 trals light yellow, and pectorals yellowish olive. Tliere 
 are scales on the gill-covers ; those on the fore gill-cover 
 being scattered and few. Beyond these differences my 
 examination found the ordinary pike of the lakes to ac- 
 cord with the description of Dr. De Kay ; but the other 
 species that I have mentioned was very different both in 
 color and appearance, and is, as I conceive, the true 
 Ohio salmon, a name that has been applied to the spe- 
 cies just described, f ^ t. , ^^ti -^ - ^> ? ^ ^ ^ » . ^ ^^^ 
 
 As for the color in the latter species, that was totally 
 different, being so far like the salmon as to have no 
 doubt given origin to the name. It is bluish grey on 
 the back, greyer on the sides, and white on the abdomen, 
 The only part of membrane of tlie dorsal of the salmon 
 that is black is that attached to the last spine alone of 
 
 10* *i. 
 
m 
 
 226 
 
 THE PIKE PERCH. 
 
 the first dorsal. The shape of the fore gill-cover k 
 slightly different, and the spines on its edge are more 
 distinct and regular, like teeth. There are no bars on 
 any fin except the dorsal ; there are no scales on the gill- 
 cover, and the fins are all light and transparent. There 
 are minute teeth on the base of the tongue. 
 
 The fish that this description is taken from were found 
 in New York market on the 25th day of February, and 
 may have "been altered by their winter dress ; but they 
 were unknown to the fish-dealers, one of whom called 
 my attention to them and inquired their name. They 
 did not weigh over a pound, and the largest was fifteen 
 inches long, of which the head was four. Of tho dorsal, 
 the second, third and fourth rays were the longest. 
 Being but a sportsman, I mention these matters to attract 
 the attention of the learned, who would do us a favor if 
 they would seek out the old Indian names to apply to 
 our tinonymouB fish. 'i\?^- -/^ 
 
 There is a third described species of ludoperca or pike 
 perch, as the word means; lueiqperca griseaj that is 
 found in the limits of New York, as well as the ^wm- 
 perca canadensis^ which helongs to Csinsida. '' ^" 
 
 It is t ' be observed that Dr. De Kay puts the length 
 of tLe Iticioperca america/na at 14.5, but says they ar,^ 
 occasionally much larger ; whereas the fish known as the 
 pike of the lakes is taken in immense quantitiep m Lake 
 Ontario, in April, of twenty pounds' weight, and rarely 
 falls below five. There is a small pike perch known as 
 the sorga, with the same general characteristics, but with 
 the membrane attached to the last spine-ray of the first 
 doroal alone black. Tlie back is yellow mottled with 
 
THE PIKE PERCH. 
 
 227 
 
 black, and shaded down the sides to white on the abdo- 
 men; the first dorsal is yellow with dusky spots; the 
 second dorsal and tail yellow with dusky bars ; the gill- 
 cover is scaled and the fore gill-cover partly scaled. It 
 is precisely the shape of what I call the Ohio salmon 
 but of a totally different color. Its length is about 
 twelve inches, and its weight does not exceed a pound. 
 Tlie fin-rays are — 
 
 Br. 7 ; D. 12.1.18 ; P. 12 ; V. 5 ; A. 1.11 ; C. 17f . 
 
 There are unquestionably at least three distinct varie- 
 ties, besides the grey and the Canadian pike perch; 
 they are popularly known as the pike the sorga, and the 
 Ohio salmon, and all are highly esteemed for the 
 table. 
 
mmm 
 
 MPW 
 
 228 
 
 THE YELLOW PERCH. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 THE YELLOW PEECH. 
 
 Perca Flaveacens. — ^The Yellow Perch has, as his 
 name indicates, a predominant yellow color on his 
 sides; there are a number of dark vertical bars over 
 the back, and the pectorals, ventrals and anal are 
 orangv*). The gill-cover is serrated beneath and armed 
 with a long spine, and the fore gill-cover has a toothed 
 margin. There are two dorsals ; the ventrals are be- 
 neath and slightly behind the pectorals, and the teeth 
 are minute. The greatest weight is four or five pounds. 
 The fin-rays are as follows — 
 
 D. 13.2.15 ; V. 1.5 ; A. 2.8 ; 0. 17|. 
 
 Unfortunately, this fish, equally despised by the 
 gourmand and the sportsman, abounds in our fine ponds 
 and lakes, that ought to be devoted to his noble con- 
 gener, the black bass. He will take the fly if it is 
 allowed to rest in the water, and after hooking a trout 
 that had fouled in the weeds, I have found a perch on 
 the second fly. He spawns in April of May, seeking 
 the sandy shore, near projecting roots, where there is 
 a depth of a foot of water. I have seen them crowd- 
 ed together, male and female, jostling and following one 
 another round and round through the roots, pressing out 
 milt and spawn^ and so busily engaged that they could 
 
THE YELLOW PERCH. 
 
 229 
 
 6e taken witli the net or the hand. In mere wantonness 
 and desire to diminish their numbers I destroyed all I 
 could, hanging them on strings with the spawn stream- 
 ing from them. The eggs, which were almost trans- 
 parent, were in the water in masses, kept together by 
 a glutinous substance, and each marked with a thick 
 spot, and could be taken up in the net, straining slowly 
 through the meshes. 
 
 Yellow perch will take worm or minnow, preferring 
 the former, and it is probab]3 destroy numbers of 
 young trout. Their flesh is coarse, white and tasteless. 
 They are pursued only by boys and ladies. 
 
 tA -■ ■ V* 
 
 
 '%:._ 
 
 Jti.: 
 
230 
 
 PROPAGATION OF FISH. 
 
 CHAPTER XXYL 
 
 ■ '\-;> f! . >-« 
 
 PROPAGATION OF FISH. 
 
 There is no subject more important to the material 
 welfare of our country, or that a persistent and willful 
 disregard of the laws of nature has rendered more neces- 
 sary, than the culture of the various tribes of fish that 
 were once abundant in our rivers and lakes and along 
 our coasts, but which are rapidly diminishing, and 
 threaten soon to become extinct. How sad it is to think 
 that once the glorious salmon leaped and frisked in the 
 quiet waters of our noble Hudson, and sought bowers of 
 love in its cool sources ; that they were formerly so plenty 
 in the Connecticut, as I have already mentioned, that a 
 person buying shad was required to take a proportion of 
 salmon. How great the loss, not merely to us sports- 
 men, but to the long-headed political economists, who 
 calculate to a penny all that a natioa would bring if put 
 up at auction, and look at everything as a tjurce of 
 wealth. 
 
 Thousands of dollars are sent yearly to Nova Scotia 
 and the Canadas to pay for salmon that even there are 
 rapidly diminishing, whereas, with a little public spirit, 
 they might abound at our own doors. There is no doubt 
 that all these streams might be restored, and many othera 
 supplied with salmon, at little expense and less trouble 
 
PROPAGATION OF FISH. 
 
 231 
 
 in fact, the sportsmen would take the affair into their 
 own hands, if the proper legislation could be obtained. 
 But 80 long as private individuals are allowed to dam 
 the water-courses by an obstruction so constructed that 
 the fish cannot surmount it, so long will private enter- 
 prise and public effort both be in vain. A dam, no mat- 
 ter how high, is rendered entirely harmless by be'ng pro- 
 vided with a narrow sluiceway or flume, a few feet wide 
 and leading to the water beneath, or by boxes placed 
 one below another, making a number of small leaps. 
 This the salmon can surmount, even with a moderate 
 depth of water, and will, if left undisturbed, readily 
 ascend at night. It occasions no loss to the proprietor, 
 is built at little expense, and yet the want of it has cost 
 our State alone millions. It is now required in the dams 
 of Lower Canada, where effective laws have lately been 
 found necessary to preserve the fish even there from 
 annihilation, and could be introduced on all our streams 
 for one-tenth the annual tax we pay to the British Pro- 
 vinces for salmon. With the destruction of the forests, 
 saw-mills, those enemies of fish-kind, have greatly dimin- 
 ished, and could easily be so regulated as to do no harm, 
 and as the same thing may be said of the tanneries, there 
 need, be nothing to drive the fish away were the waters 
 replenished. Tliis we sportsmen will undertake to do, if 
 our legislature will, for a few moments, forget Republi- 
 can and Democrat, and attend to the interests of their 
 constituents by passing laws similar to these enacted for 
 tlie Canadas. 
 
 It is strange indeed that, while we pay a heavy bounty 
 to our countrymen engaged in the cod fisheries, we 
 
mm 
 
 232 
 
 PROPAGATION OF FISH. 
 
 should be unwilling to adopt the simplest legislation tc 
 preserve, foster and protect our other fishing interests. 
 Cod are not generally considered equal to salmon or 
 trout, and although at present more numerous, a few 
 years of culture might bring the latter extensively into 
 competition. I am not in a position to give statistics, 
 but the salmon that are sold in our markets fresh and 
 smoked, to say nothing of that which is pickled, must 
 amount to millions annually. No one single subject is 
 so important and so capable of adding to the wealth of 
 our country as the re-stocking our rivers with their 
 natural inhabitants, s * : ii, ^^ ;?s<v "' .^ - • >j;3^- h-r * v^^r.\ 
 
 TlierJB is a very erroneous impression, encouraged, too, 
 it is shame to say, by Smith, in his work on the fish of 
 Massachusetts, that the w^ild creatures of the woods and 
 waters must, in the nature of things, disappear before 
 man. Now, although this is a lamentable fact, it is not 
 a necessary consequence, and there is nothing in man's 
 capturing fish or killing game, properly and reasonably, 
 that will seriously diminish their numbers. Fish and 
 birds prey on one another ; for every large trout a man 
 takes he saves a hundred small ones ; for every hawk he 
 catches hovering over his barnyard, and kills, he saves a 
 hundred quail, and thus, although he kills them himself, 
 he preserves them from vermin, from one another, and 
 from birds of prey. If he will add to this a veiy little 
 care and protection of the young, he will increase the 
 supply a thousand fold. = -kv...v- ^,: .^ « j^- . <^i>v m 
 
 It is calculat J that the roe of one shad or cod would 
 stock the world, but that not one egg in a million arrives 
 at maturity. The lowest calcuhition of I he roe of a 
 
 «^ 
 
PROPAGATION OF FISH. 
 
 233 
 
 pound trout is five hundred, and I believe it frequently 
 exceeds a tliousand, and salmon have many more. Con 
 ceive, for a moment, if each female trout produced one- 
 hundred mature fish, which in three years would eacli 
 produce one hundred more, the incredible number that 
 would exist. 
 
 Hie waters of the earth are capable, if as well tilled, 
 of supporting as many as the land ; and there is no 
 reason why they should not be cultivated. Nothing is 
 simpler ; as with the land a savage may scratch up the 
 earth sufficiently with a stick to support Jjimself and 
 family, a scientific farmer, with proper tools, would in 
 the same ground support a hundred times as many ; so 
 with the water, a careless, lazy person will get one fish 
 for ten eggs, while a thorough-going, careful laborer will 
 bring to perfection almost all. 
 
 Tliis may be done with only the labor, which, in fact, 
 is the greatest of pleasures, and at the small expense of 
 feeding the fish. Young fry require fine food, such as 
 meat or fish grated, but as they grow older, de^ur 
 almost anything. Konalds, the author of the " Fly-fisher's 
 Entomology," having dosed them with cayenne pepper 
 and mustard, found it not in the least disagreeable or 
 apparently injurious. 
 
 If this were an attempt to introduce fish where they 
 had never before existed, there might be some doubt of 
 its success, but it is merely following a course adopted in 
 England and France with astonishing results, by which 
 many streams that had been as totally depopulated as 
 the Hudson, and none could be more so, have been 
 entirely restocked, and are now sources of great profit to 
 
234 
 
 TROrAGATION OF FISH. 
 
 their owners. There is nothing, therefore, in the least 
 startling or original about the undertaking, and it 
 requires public aid only because rivere are never here 
 owned, as in England, by one great proprietor. It 
 applies to all our fresh water and most of our salt water 
 iish, and is in full operation upon some of the smaller 
 ponds in this country. Where the fish are open to all, 
 there is not sufiScient interest for one person to under- 
 take their culture, and as this must always be the case 
 with salmon, their production must be made either a 
 question of public interest or private enthusiasm. Tlie 
 latter, with the sanction of the former, will bo fully suf- 
 ficient for the purpose. 
 
 One invariable peculiarity of the American people is, 
 that they attack, overturn and annihilate, and then 
 laboriously reconstruct. Our first farmers chopped down 
 the forests and shade trees, took crop after crop of the 
 same kind from the land, exliausted the soil and made 
 bare the country ; they hunted and fished, destroying 
 first t^e wild animals, then the birds, and finally the fish, 
 till in many places these ceased utterly from off the face 
 of the earth; and then, when they had finished their 
 work, that race of gentlemen moved west to renew the 
 same course of destruction. After them came the re- 
 storers; they manured the land, left it fallow, p.ut in 
 practice the rotation of crops, planted shade and fruit 
 trees, discovered that birds were useful in destroying 
 insects and worms, passed laws to protect them where 
 they were not utterly extinct, as with the pinnated 
 grouse, of Pennsylvania and Long Island, and will, 
 I predict, ere long re-stock the stream^, rivers and 
 
 f 
 
PROPAGATION OP nSH. 
 
 235 
 
 ponds with the best of the fish that once inhabited 
 
 them. ■• -'" ■ -w .i* ' r-. r' '. ,'nr ■,<i,'i':t.! ,,A» i.-'-r«^i - . kfV^"'i:- *>Hi •♦" 
 
 Another utterly erroneous impression exists that steam- 
 boats and river craft frighten away the denizens of the 
 deep, and the disappearance of striped bass in Hell Gate 
 is brought forward as an evidence. But the proof docs 
 not sustain the proposition ; it cannot be doubted that 
 the fish have diminished, but in Hell Gate the change 
 was produced by blowing out Pot Rock and destroying 
 the best eddy. It may be well to remark, for the bene- 
 fit of the benighted individuals who do not reside in the 
 city of New York, that Pot Rock was situated in the 
 centre of Hell Gate, and being only some seven feet 
 under water, was as much admired by the bass as it was 
 dreaded by the steamboats, till the United States Govern- 
 ment employed a French gentleman to blow it to pieces 
 with gunpowder, so that there should be twenty-one feet 
 of water over it at low tide. Since this was done the 
 bass have left in disgust, and the steamboats have had 
 the better of it, which they never would have had unless 
 aided by gunpowder and a Frenchman. Of course, fish 
 are not so numerous as they were fifty years ago, when 
 there was little market for them, but the net is to be 
 blamed rather than the steamboat. 
 
 The first attempt at artificial fish-culture in Europe 
 was made by Messrs. Gehen and Remy, in France, 
 although it appears to have been known to and prac 
 tised by the Chinese for centuries, and by tlie Germans 
 a hundred years previously. In 1850, the attention of 
 the French government was called to their eftbrts, and 
 M. Milne Edwards was appointed by the Minister of 
 
 W- 
 
236 
 
 PROPAGATION OF FISH. 
 
 Agriculture to examine into the subject. His report was 
 BO favorable and so fully confirmed by subsequent inves- 
 tigation, that the government took tlie matter under 
 their own care, established extensive works, stocked to 
 repletion many of the rivers, and now supply all France 
 with impregnated egg or young fry of the best vaneties. 
 
 In England, that land of sportsmen, the discovery was 
 hailed with enthusiasm, and put in immediate and suc- 
 cessful operation. Millions of trout and salmon were 
 hatched, and the results were truly wonderful. Rivers 
 that had ceased to afford a single fish were made to teem 
 with them, and large revenues were obtained from the 
 fishing rights. Over a million fish were introduced into 
 the waters of one company, and surprising discoveries 
 were made as to their growth. In Scotland, a large 
 number of young salmon or smolts, being one year old 
 and averaging an ounce weight, were marked by cutting 
 off' the adipose dorsal fin of every hundredth fish, and 
 allowed to descend to the sea. They returned in two or 
 three months, the smallest weighing three pounds and a 
 half, and the largest nine pounds and a half. Suppose 
 that one hundred thousand out of the three hundred 
 thousand hatched returned, having gained an average 
 weight of five pounds, and worth in New York market 
 forty cents a pound, will some one that is good at figures 
 please calculate the hook and net profits. ^ t ' 
 
 Very confused ideas of the growth offish are popularly 
 entertained ; numerous contradictory statements are to 
 be found in the books and to be heard from sportsmen, 
 but the truth is generally missed ; in fact, everything 
 depends upon the food. A strong fish grows the. fastest; 
 
PROPAGATION OF nSH. 
 
 237 
 
 the larger he becomes the more he is able to seize and bear 
 away from his brethren. Hence, in the same hatching, 
 I have seen trout at one year of age, the largest of which 
 was six inches long and the smallest less than three. In 
 two years, with good feeding and a variety of food, snch 
 as is always to be found in a newly-made pond, they will 
 grow to weigh three-quarters of a pound. In overstocked 
 streams, like our country brooks, where there is little on 
 which to feed, tr<jut never attain any considerable size ; 
 the greater number will not exceed a few ounces, and a 
 pound fish is looked upon with awe. 
 
 The migratory trout that go to the sea in Winter grow 
 much faster than those that remain in the fresh water, 
 and will frequently gain a pound in one season. With 
 this explanation, these differences of opinion are perfectly 
 reconcilable, one observer having drawn his conclusions 
 from individuals luxuriating on the fat of the land, or 
 rather water, and another drawing his from some poor, 
 half starved specimens. Range of water is indispensable 
 to the attainment of great size ; there is no species but is 
 puny in confined limits — a result that follows naturally 
 from tlie first statement ; in large streams and lakes 
 there is greater variety and abundance of food ; but they 
 will increase rapidly if well fed, no matter how restricted 
 their dwelling-place. Frequently a trout kept in a 
 spring will attain several pounds in weight in conse- 
 quence of being well served by the children of the house- 
 hold. A gourmand will find his advantage in having 
 them stall-fed, if possible, before being killed for tlie table. 
 
 Three-year old trout spawn, and it is said tliat small 
 trout have sm\ller eggs than those of greater size and 
 
238 
 
 PROPAGATION OF nSH. 
 
 age, tliat the young of the latter are larger and grow 
 faster than those of the former ; but my observation has 
 not convinced me that this is the case. Tlie spawning 
 season commences abont the middle of October, and lasts 
 nearly two months, some fieb, like hens, laying and hatch- 
 ing earlier than others ; a great convenience to the 
 breeder, who is not hurried by their coming in all to- 
 gether. Of course, the young appear at different times, 
 the first about the ninth of January and the last in 
 March ; they take about sixty days to hatch, according 
 to the weather and water. When they first appear, the 
 body of the egg, like a bag, adheres to the abdomen, 
 and its absorption forms their support for thirty days, 
 after which they must be fed with pieces of worm, of 
 raw or cooked fish, and of raw or cooked meat grated or 
 pounded fine or with boiled blood. They eat, also, small 
 animalculfls in the spring-water, flies or insects that float 
 upon its surface, and are especially fond of the micro- 
 scopic animals in stagnant pools, and I should suppose 
 of the minute worms generated in boiled flour allowed 
 to turn sour. But contrary to the generally received 
 opinion, I warn breeders to keep frogs from their trout 
 ponds ; as these live on the young fish. Although the 
 trout may fancy frog's spawn, which is questionable, tlie 
 latter more than return the compliment by preferring 
 the young fish entire. My attention was particularly 
 attracted to the fact that around the pond where the fry 
 lived, the frogs were abundant, while there were none in 
 the preserve of the big fish. I concluded they were 
 afraid of the latter, till one day I caught and threw a frog 
 to thorn, and found, much to my surprise, they would 
 
PROPAGATION OP FISH. 
 
 239 
 
 nd gro^ 
 Eition has 
 (pawning 
 and lasts 
 nd hatch- 
 le to the 
 in all to- 
 ent times, 
 ie last in 
 according 
 ppear, the 
 abdomen, 
 lirty days, 
 worm, of 
 ; grated or 
 lalso, small 
 that float 
 ;ho micro- 
 d suppose 
 ir allowed 
 received 
 lieir trout 
 ougb the 
 mable, the 
 preferring 
 ,rticularly 
 bre the fry 
 ji*e none in 
 [hey were 
 rew a frog 
 ley would 
 
 not swallow him. Being some hnndrods together, they 
 struck at him as they would at a stick if thrown upon 
 the water, but immediately dropped and let him escape 
 to land. Although I tried the experiment over and over 
 again, they had found out what he was, and now would 
 not touch him. 
 
 To complete my enlightenment, I only wanted an 
 experience which was destined soon to be furnished. I 
 had an aquarium in which were kept, among a quantity 
 of small minnows and other fish, a frog that had ex- 
 panded from a tadpole, together with several ta' poles 
 *hat were expanding rapidly. The frog had attained a 
 
 ipectable size, and was a great favorite, from the readi- 
 ness and suddenness with which he seized and devoured 
 flies ofifered to him, and was endeared to our hearts by 
 several hair-breadth escapes, such as jumping out of the 
 aquarium and being lost for days round the room, and 
 even falling out of the window, through the area grating 
 into the cellar. He was wondrously solemn, but had a 
 way of darting on a fly that was invariably fatal. We 
 began to observe, however, that our small fish disap- 
 peared strangely, "leaving not a wreck behind," and 
 always at a time when the frog seemed to have suddenly 
 grown in circumference. This continued till my suspi- 
 cions connected the two together, and one day we abso- 
 lutely saw him seize and swallow a minnow half as long 
 as his own body. His plan was to remain perfectly 
 motionless till his destined prey swam near, when he 
 would make one spring, and devour it at a gulp- In 
 spite of his cannibal propensities, we kept him, although 
 we could often see the shape of a fish under his extended 
 
ipiiipi 
 
 240 
 
 PROPAGATION OF FISH. 
 
 sides, and our aqnarinm was nearly depopalated, till at 
 iaet he Bwallowed one of his brother tadpoles, and our 
 eense of justice cotistrained us to banish him to the 
 country. 
 
 The reason that the frogs collected round the breed- 
 ing-pond was now perfectly apparent, and doubtless" 
 hundreds of fish paid for their presence. Give the 
 fry something safer than frog spawn ; they obtain 
 so much from the water they need little extraneous 
 food. The first thing, however, is to get the young trout 
 to feed. ^ 
 
 It may be well to remark that salmon and trout are 
 the most difficult of all fish to breed ; they require more 
 care, and have to be watcbed closely in consequence of 
 certain unfortunate habits. For instance, they will eat 
 one another ; a trout of twelve inches will dispose of one 
 of six and think nothing of it, and this no matter how 
 well he is fed. Perhaps he has been offended, but 
 it rather seems to me an experiment to see how 
 capacious his swallow is. "When large and small 
 are together, the latter, being the most active, are 
 invariably first to seize the bait or food ; no man ever 
 caught at the first cast the largest trout out of a shoal. 
 While the smaller ones are busy with the food, the larger 
 seize them, sometimes even by mibiake, I fancy, in 
 making a rush at the same morsel, and if they are caught 
 by the gills, good bye to them. After a straggle, they 
 get ended round, and down they go head foremost, their 
 tails often waving out of the destroyer's mouth for hours, 
 a sad memento of their untimely fate. Fish of one year 
 will devoar those of the next, and a friend of mine lost 
 
** 
 
 PROPAGATION OF FISH. 
 
 241 
 
 ail at 
 
 id our 
 to the 
 
 breed- 
 abtless" 
 7G the 
 obtain 
 aneons 
 g trout 
 
 out are 
 e more 
 mce of 
 vill eat 
 of one 
 er how- 
 id, but 
 how 
 small 
 re, are 
 n ever 
 shoal, 
 larger 
 icy, in 
 
 thousands by a yearling happening accidentally to get 
 among the fry just hatched. 
 
 The ponds from which my experience is mostly drawn 
 I have no part nor parcel in, further tlian what may be 
 claimed from having furnished extensive advice ; but I 
 have taken a deep interest in their success, and if I speak 
 of them as my ponds and my experiments, the party tliat 
 really made them will understand and excuse me, and 
 the public will comprehend that no egotism is intended. 
 
 They are five, and will soon be more, built of gravelly 
 sand along a bank that is filled with pure, clear springs, 
 and about five feet deep. In the first place, the musk- 
 rats are annoying, having in one instance tunnelled a 
 dam and let out over a hundred breeders, and when the 
 ^xpense is not an object, it is well to put a fence of 
 boards or even stone-work in the middle of the dam. 
 Tliese ponds all communicate with one anotlier at the 
 surface of the water by a sluiceway that can be closed 
 at pleasure, and each can be drawn off dry separately. 
 In that which might be called the highest, and communi- 
 cates directly with the principal springs, are placed a 
 row of boxes about twelve feet square and ono foot deep, 
 divided into compartments by divisions of wood, with 
 openings cut to let the water circulate. The boxes are 
 kept on a level by being supported on stout pegs driven 
 into the sand, and are filled about half full of pure white 
 gravel, leaving the water about four inches deep. There 
 is an open passageway to the outside and through the 
 partitions, whereby the fish can enter, and doors, com- 
 posed mainly of wire, keep off leaves and twigs that 
 would foul the water, but can be lifted at pleasure. 
 
 Jl 
 
 m 
 
' ' ■■^^^'l^-^'^^--^^^^ 
 
 ?* 
 
 242 
 
 PROPAGATION OF FISH. 
 
 These boxes become more or less covered yeai \y with a 
 green aquatic growth that is always found in spring 
 water, and need a good scrubbing every Fall before they 
 are used. The gravel need not be changed, and the 
 water will carry off the sediment as the scrubbing liber- 
 ates it. 
 
 The fish, however, do not confine themselves to these 
 boxes, but spawn all over the pond in every little scour 
 that the spring water makes ; for as yet we have not 
 tried extruding the eggs artificially, having attained suffi- 
 cient success in the natural method. 
 
 The breeders, of which there are about three hundred, 
 occupy two of the ponds, and the others are used for keep- 
 ing the fish of the various years separate ; at the age of 
 two they are saf3 to be trusted and may be said to be of 
 full age, and even in twelve months have learned a great 
 deal about taking care of themselves. Some of the breed- 
 ers weigh about a pound and sc half, and anything less 
 than six inches lefb among them would be devoured at once. 
 They were originally taken on their spawning beds with 
 a scap-net, but are now kept over from year to year, 
 thriving well on minnow and meat, their principal food. 
 In order to spawn, trout seek the narrow and shallow 
 spring runs, where they can always be found' in pairs, 
 and, with a little skill, caught in a net or taken with the 
 fly — for I utterly deny that - ley will not feed when 
 spawning — and can be accumulated in tliat way from 
 year to year till a lai-ge number is obtained. While 
 tlie small trout are in the breeding-pond, the large 
 ones are rigidly excluded, but when they have been 
 removed, by drawing off the water into the lower ponds, 
 
 :|t'. 
 
PROPAGATION OP FISH. 
 
 243 
 
 and the epawniug season has arrived, the communica* 
 tion with the stew-pond is opened and the breeders 
 let in. They do all their pairing, making theirHbeds, 
 spawning and milting of themselves without human 
 help, and ar^ allowed to remain till about the first of 
 January, when the pond is isolated again and drawn off, 
 BO that they can be captured with a scap-net and 
 returned to their former habitation. Care must be taken 
 to handle them as little as possible, as handling rubs 
 away their natural slime, and induces a sort of white 
 fungus that will sometimes prove fatal. And you must 
 give heed to your steps while netting the fish, lest you 
 tread upon a spawning bed, which can be recognized by 
 its being free from mud and leaves. 
 
 The fish, when they have determined the locality of 
 their nest, clear away the sand and deposit the ova upon 
 the clean pebbles, the male impregnating them at the 
 same time. They will eat one another's spawn, and the 
 male is ever on the watch to guard his wife from such 
 an outrage. After the eggs have all been exuded, the 
 parents fan the sand over, covering them entirely from 
 sight. This is an important matter, which the artificial 
 breeders omit, and the omission of which, doubtless, 
 leads to the destruction of many eggs by fungus and 
 sediment. In artificial breeding, I should strongly 
 recommend that eggs covered with clean sand should 
 be tested in comparison with those uncovered. A num- 
 ber of the eggs, after having thus been deposited, were 
 removed and exposed uncovered to the water : they died 
 in a few days and turned white. 
 
 The eggs when first exuded are a brilliant golden 
 
244 
 
 PROPAGATION OP FISH. 
 
 orange, but when impregnated change to a pale, trans* 
 parent yellow, with a small black spot in the centre, and 
 on losing their vitality turn white. "When one dies in 
 artificial breeding, it communicates disease to the rest 
 unless it is removed, but in the natural method the cov- 
 ering of sand isolates them and appears to prevent this. 
 The water must flow steadily, and, if not sufficiently 
 fresh and abundant, should be allowed to fall in little 
 cascades, to give it life. As the operation proceeds, the 
 change in the egg can be readily seen with the micro- 
 scope, the cells of which it is composed clustering to one 
 side. Any one curious on this subject is referi-ed to Dr. 
 Garlick's interesting little work on fish culture. 
 
 Every old fish having been carefully removed, the 
 breeding-pond is refilled immediately, and the young, 
 awkward, unwieldy little infants, soon make their appear- 
 ance, and after their thirty days of self-sustenance are fed 
 on worms cut in small pieces, on grated or pounded fish or 
 meat cooked. Before Summer is over they are a few 
 inches long, and are driven down into their new home 
 by again drawing off the water of the breeding-pond 
 into the latter, and frightening them into it. 
 
 The number raised in this manner is perfectly surpris- 
 ing. From about one hundred breeders, male and female, 
 we produced over seven thousand fish, the latter fact being 
 determined not by guesswork but by actual count.' An 
 average of nearly one hundred and fifty young, in spite 
 of frogs and accidents. One is apt to under-estiinate in- 
 stead of exaggerating the number by guessing ; they are 
 so small and lie so quiet that they almost escape obser- 
 vation. " ",ev '■:>v,;;c, - ■:*'r- .•^.::v.;;^tvr:':->v*' W:.:e 
 
PROPAGATION OP FISH. 
 
 245 
 
 The foregoing is all that it is necessary to dj to raise 
 fish in abundance ; the main point is their protection, and 
 this is effected by not allowing them to enter the open 
 water till their second or even third season. Nothing is 
 more entertaining than to feed the full-grown fish, and 
 enjoy their breaking at sticks and weeds in their eager- 
 ness and confusion ; this they will often do one after ano- 
 ther for twenty times. Their slow motions till they per- 
 ceive the prey, and then the ferocity of their rushes, 
 assimilates them to the dreaded salt water shark. With 
 watchful eye they move cautiously abort, but woe to 
 the fly or minnow that touches the surface 1 A dozen 
 rush at it and fling themselves into the air, turn- 
 ing suddenly on their sides by a flap of their tails, and 
 disappear as instantly, one of them with the victim in 
 his mouth. 
 
 Tlie natural method of propagating fish, though abun- 
 dantly successful, and so simple that there is no skill 
 required to perform it, cannot be expected to equal the 
 results effected by artificial fecu'ndation. The latter, 
 however, requires considerable care, and although a total 
 failure is almost an impossibility, neglect will result in 
 great loss. Each trout should produce several hun- 
 dred young, and if a business is intended to be made of 
 it, the artificial method must be pursued. 
 
 The first consideration, therefore, is to obtain a male 
 and female fish, fully prepared to spawn. This is deter- 
 mined by the ease with which the eggs and milt can bo 
 pressed from them ; for if it requires more than the light- 
 est pressure, the spawn will not be mature, and the 
 parent's life may be destroyed if the operation is per- 
 
246 
 
 PROPAGATION OF FISH. 
 
 eisted in. The only entire failure I ever heard of was 
 effected in this manner, a friend succeeding in killing 
 several fish without raising one. 
 
 Where there can be made a convenient stew-pond, 
 with, a gravelly head-water or springy sides, there is no 
 difficulty, as the fish may be taken at any time, and may 
 be kept here till the proper season arrives. But it is 
 said, though on questionable authority, if there are no 
 appropriate spawning-beds at hand, the nature of the fish 
 changes, and they either delay or cease spawning altoge- 
 ther. The roe is incased in a skin, the rupture of which 
 will produce death till the time of maturity, when it is 
 absorbed and the eggs lie free in the abdomen and can 
 be readily extruded. 
 
 The female is taken in the hand when ready — and 
 observe that fish as well as other animals will be gentle 
 in proportion as they are handled gently — the abdomen 
 is pressed carefully with the other hand, the eggs are 
 forced out and allowed to full into a basin or pail of pure 
 fresh spring water. "When all the spawn is deposited, it 
 is as well to agitate it with a feather, and, if there is 
 extraneous matter, to pour ofl:' and renew the water. 
 The male fish is then taken and treated in the same wav, 
 the milt being allowed to fall into the same basin and 
 brought into thorough contact with the eggs by the use 
 of the feather again. The milt of one male will answer 
 for the spawn of several females, and it is said that the 
 milt will be renewed in the male in the course of a few 
 days ; but this, not corresponding at all wth the female, is 
 at least doubtful. The reason of the superabundance of 
 milt over the roe is a simple provision of nature to make 
 
PROPAGATIOX OP FISH. 
 
 247 
 
 up for the quantity that must inevitahly be washed away 
 by the water, without coming in contact with the latter 
 ill the natural process. 
 
 The impregnation of the' eggs may be ascertained by 
 their alteration in color, exchanging the orange for a 
 yellow tinge, and by the presence of the black spots, as 
 in the natural process ; when it is thoroughly eflfected, the 
 water is poured off and fresh supplied. Care should be 
 taken to preserve the^most perfect cleanliness; sediment 
 is very destructive to the vitality of the embryos. 
 
 There are several modes of disposing the spawn, 
 either in boxes, half full of white pebbles, with sides 
 perforated with holes, or in wicker baskets, either with 
 or without pebbles. It is nowhere recommended to 
 cover the eggs with sand ; but as the fish naturally pur- 
 sues thia course, and as great injury is produced by sedi- 
 ment and delicate aquatic plants, and as disease is com- 
 municated from one to another, I would decidedly advise 
 that it should be given a trial, and the comparativa 
 results observed. It \vould certainly presei-ve the eggs 
 from many of their principal dangers from water-bugs 
 and insects, from dirt and infection, and can do no injury 
 to the young fry, which, when hatched, readily make 
 their way through it to the pure water. 
 
 These baskets or boxes are arranged in various ways, 
 according to convenience, and will do well so long as a 
 pure stream of spring water, about 32 to 35 degrees of 
 temperature, flows through them, whether directly from 
 the spring or intermediately through one another. By 
 allowing a few inches' fall from one to another, the water 
 is aiiratcd and its vivifying powers increased. Care must 
 
248 
 
 PROPAGATION OF FISH. 
 
 be taken to remove the sediment, fiingns and minute 
 plants as they form, together with all eggs that turn 
 white and die. The boxes should be covered with an 
 open-work cover, either of lattice-work or wire, to keep 
 out leaves. A large species of sieve, of galvanized wire, 
 can be obtained at the stores, and answers well for this 
 purpose, and also to make doors to the breeding-boxes 
 and to be fitted over the outlets or communications be- 
 tween the breeding-ponds, to keep the fish separate. 
 
 The water should be four inches deep in the boxes, 
 and its temperature affects the rapidity of development. 
 A thorough examination should be made every few days, 
 and if the sediment increases beyond control, the eggs 
 may be bodily removed into a clean box. "When the 
 young appear they may be left in the boxes or allowed 
 to escape into the pond at large, and will take care of 
 themselves if there be no larger fish around ; in the lat- 
 ter case expect to see them no more. If regularly fed, 
 large numbers can be kept without trouble or danger in 
 narrow accommodations until they attain a respectable 
 size. 
 
 Since writing the above I have had an opportunity of 
 examining Fry's excellent and thorough little work on 
 fish-breeding, which, though principally a translation, 
 exhausts the subject in its present stage, and contains all 
 the requisite instruction. It is recommended to place 
 the fecundated ova on willow hurdles suspended in boxes 
 an inch or thereabout beneath the water, so that they could 
 be conveniently removed and examined. An excellent 
 substitute would probably be, what can be found univer- 
 sally throughout our country, a champagne basket. It 
 
PROPAGATION OF FISH. 
 
 249 
 
 oxes 
 oiild 
 Uent 
 iver- 
 , It 
 
 is asserted tliat the same water may be used over and 
 over again if filtered, and that it may be allowed to 
 pass from one box to another to an unlimited extent. 
 That in case aquatic vegetation makes its appearance, 
 the eggs can be transferred to a clean hurdle. The 
 reader is solemnly warned against heaping up the egge 
 upon one another, a fault entirely inexcusable consider* 
 ing the small space they occupy, and a good food is sug- 
 gested in the fecundated eggs and consequent young of 
 other species. 
 
 The transportation of fish is one of the most important 
 subjects that presents itself, and with full grown trout 
 is one of the most difficult to efifect. But the impreg- 
 nated eggs can be carried with care for hundreds or 
 thousands of miles with little loss and no inconvenience. 
 The best and healthiest looking spawn must be selected, 
 and if it can be left for a few days to mature after 
 impregnation, so much the better ; it may be deposited 
 upon sand or the leaves of plants found in tlie waters it 
 frequents, placed in a wooden or tin box, and covered 
 with similar leaves or sand, upon which another layer of 
 eggs and leaves or sand can be placed, and so on till the 
 box is full, when it is dipped in water and thoroughly 
 saturated. The lid is put on to prevent any motion of 
 the contents, and it can be carried almost any distance 
 if it is occasionally dipped in water at a low but not a 
 freezing temperature. Upon arriving at its destination, 
 the contents are poured out carefully, and the eggs 
 hatched in the ordinary way. 
 
 Young trout a few months old can be transported with 
 facility in water cooled with ice. For travelling by r^l« 
 
 11* 
 
250 
 
 PROPAGATIOX OF FISIL 
 
 road, the most convenient plan is to have round zinc cans 
 of about two feet and a half diameter and three feet in 
 depth, with the top projecting over on the inside, pierced 
 with minute holes, and carried down into the water for 
 a short distance, leaving a place in the centre of six 
 inches diameter, where the ice can be kept witliout dan- 
 ger of injuring the fish. On the upper edge of one side, 
 there is a small door through which the fish can be 
 poured. By continually renewing the ice, yearlings may 
 be transported without difficulty, fifty or more in a can. 
 It is supposed the cold reduces their respiration, or possi- 
 bly the dissolving ice communicates air to the water. 
 Trout of half a pound or over cannot be carried more 
 than a score or even a dozen together, or they will die 
 in spite of the greatest care in a few hours. 
 
 The cans have handles to which ropes are fastened by 
 broad hooks, and may be suspended from the beams of 
 the baggage cars, where they sway slowly forward and 
 back, and do not shake anxl jolt out the water as they 
 otherwise would. 
 
 It may be well to remark, for the benefit of those 
 desiring to stock trout ponds, that Mr. Aaron S. Vail, of 
 Smith town. Long Island, has devoted his attention to the 
 artificial culture of trout ; that he has been very suc- 
 cessful and is willing to stock ponds with any number of 
 young trout at reasonable rates, and has generally quite 
 a number of both young and old fish on hand. I believe 
 he charges for young trout of one or two months seven 
 dollars a hundred, but for larger fish of one year or more 
 he expects five or six dollars a dozen ; his expenses of 
 travel to be paid, but the fish to be charged for as dellv* 
 
■-^5":-^ 
 
 PROPAGATION OF FISH. 
 
 251 
 
 ered alive and healthy at the place of deBtination. For 
 more accurate information it would be better to commu- 
 nicate with him direct, and his breeding apparatus ig 
 well worth a visit. 
 
 Besides the trout and salmon the only other fretb 
 water fish worth breeding is probably the black bass. 
 There are many localities where the water is too warm 
 or quiet for trout, which demand cold and rapid currents 
 flowing from fresh springs. The black bass will thrive 
 in almost any clear pond with a pebbly or sandy beach 
 on which they can deposit their ova. Like all the perch 
 family, they spawn in April and May, and hatch in a 
 much shorter time than trout, or in about two weeks ; 
 they build their nests in the sand, and extrude the milt 
 and roe by pressing upon or between roots and stones, 
 and either cover or leave exposed their eggs. They may 
 be treated in the same manner as trout, but do not 
 require the running water nor one half the care and 
 attention. Tlieir increase is still more rapid. 
 
 Undoubtedly the mascallonge could be acclimated and 
 treated in the same manner, and the striped bass might 
 be introduced into and confined to the fresh water with 
 eminent advantage. 
 
 There is also an opportunity for novel and interesting 
 experiments in the crossing of various species, upon 
 which there is little definitely known except that it can 
 be done. The spawn of trout has been impregnated with 
 the milt of salmon and has produced young, but what 
 the young were, and whether they were capable of 
 breeding among themselves, is not settled. 
 
 Salmon give a much greater quantity of eggs than the 
 
mm^ 
 
 mm 
 
 m 
 
 252 
 
 PROPAGATION OF FISH. 
 
 trout, estimated at over 10,000 in a medium sized fiah. 
 The young, called usually pinks, remain in the fresh 
 water one year after hatching, when they are termed 
 emolts, and descend to the sea, returning in a few months, 
 generally about the middle of June, weighing from one 
 to ten pounds, and are then called grilse. After they 
 have spawned as grilse and again returned to the sea, 
 they are termed salmon. They grow with astonishing 
 rapidity in salt water, a large fish doubling his weight 
 in a little over a month, until a certain size is attained, 
 when their growth almost ceases. Smolts rise readily at 
 the fly, and may be mistaken for trout, which they some- 
 what resemble. I have taken great numl?era oi them 
 when fishing for trout in Canada, and was at first some- 
 what at a loss to tell what they were. Of course I 
 relieved them carefully of the hook, ana returned them 
 to their native element. 
 
 Salmon spawn in pools, on rough, gravelly beds, com- 
 posed of small stones about the size of a walnut, and ac- 
 cording to Eome accounts, require several days to deposit 
 all the roe and milt. They should be taken by the net 
 when engaged in this operation, and treated in the same 
 manner as trout, or placed in a tub where they can be held 
 by head and tail, and the spawn expresaed without 
 injury. This course may be pursued with all fish whose 
 weight would render them unmanageable out of water, 
 but will not generally be found necessary. Tliey spawn 
 in NovembCi oi December, hatch in March or April, and 
 next March or Apri! descend to the ocean. In other 
 particulars they do not difier materially from trout, and 
 the mles for the propagation of the latter will appl} 
 
- Vropaqation op pisn. 
 
 258 
 
 eqnally well to them. They remain in the fresh water 
 daring the Winter, descend to the sea early in the Spring, 
 and return in June. Tliey invariably return to the river 
 where they have bred, and in the course of their ascent 
 will overcome powerful rapids and considerable falls. 
 For a more full account of their habits, the reader is 
 referred to the appropriate title. 
 
l|Ppqp9ii!«iP<iliPiP« I . I U iV Jiilip-iu mmw 
 
 ■PBP 
 
 254 
 
 FLIES. 
 
ppppiililll 
 
 FLIES AND KNOTS. 
 
 255 
 
 CHAPTEK XXVII. 
 
 FLIES AND KNOTS. 
 
 It is generally considered that fly-making cannot be 
 taught by written instruction, but this depends some- 
 what on the intelligence of the scholar, who must not 
 undertake to conceive the result before he has waxed his 
 thread, but should be content to follow the directions 
 word by word. At all events there is something that 
 the experienced, and an immense deal that the partially 
 instructed beginner may add to his store of knowledge, 
 and if the following directions will not make a novice 
 perfect, they may aid him when he has had a few per- 
 sonal lessons. To tie a fly, the gut should be singed in a 
 candle or bitten at one end, and the hook and thread 
 waxed to insure the hook's not coming ofi^, which, when 
 a flne fish has it in his mouth, is a heart-rending casualty. 
 Take a few turns with the thread on the shank of the 
 bare hook, nearly to the head, then applying the gut, 
 whip it firmly on by working back to the bend ; under 
 the last turns at the bend insert whisks for the tail dub- 
 bing, floss or herl for the body, and tinsel if desired. 
 The floss, silk and dubbing are generally spun or twisted 
 in with the thread, and then wound back toward the 
 shoulder, but they may be wound on before, with, or 
 after the thread. Care must be taken that the turns 
 
ppiip«ilp 
 
 \'^'ifmi^i!i;mmm 
 
 '^'WlJ^piliPPil 
 
 256 
 
 FLIES AND KNOTS. 
 
 at the bend be firm, and when the material is earned 
 back, the body is finished with a couple of turns of the 
 silk, a hackle is tlien introduced under them and firmly 
 ly secured. Wind the hackle round the hook at the 
 place wliere it is inserted, and when it is suiSciently 
 thick, and the fibres which constitute the legs stand out 
 well, tie it down. Prepare your wings by stripping off 
 the requisite number of fibres, and tie them on, either 
 single or divided, and finish off. To make a buzz-fly, 
 that is, one with the hackles the whole length of the 
 body instead of only at the shoulder, insert a hackle at 
 the bend at the same time with the body and tail, and 
 twist it round the body after that is put on, and fasten it 
 at the shoulder. The wings are sometimes laid on point- 
 ing up the shank, and afterward bent down and brought 
 in their places. And thus, if any one desires, he may 
 make a fly. 
 
 Few people in this stage of civilization dress their own 
 trout flies, and although skill in the art will enable you 
 to make a better selection in your purchases, it is rarely 
 useful at the riverside. The bettei* plan is to have a great 
 variety, keep them safe from moths by the use of a linen 
 bag, and fish often enough to prevent the gut*s decaying. 
 I have flies that have been in my possession for fifteen 
 years, and yet seem to be as good as ever. You would 
 require a knapsack to keep all the articles requisite to 
 dress every fly, and would waste half your day in the 
 operation. Nor is it yet settled that by imitating the 
 natural insect you gain any advantage ; one half the most 
 skillful fishermen a&sert that the fly, as for instance, the 
 scarlet ibis, need resemble nothing on earth, or in the 
 
FLIES AND KNOTS. 
 
 257 
 
 waters under the earth, and that the shai-p-sighted fish are 
 never deceived by tliinking oura the natural insect, bui 
 take him for some new and undescribed species. As for 
 myself, to use the quaint language of the editor of the 
 " Knickerbocker," " sometimes I think so, and then again 
 I don't, but mostly 1 do." On certain occasions it would 
 seem that the closer the imitation the better, on others the 
 less the similarity the greater the success. Upon this 
 question my friends stand like the hackle on a well- 
 dressed fly, " every which way." At any rate, it is iro 
 time to be dubbing when you ought to be fishing, and 
 if you cast a long line and a light fly and the fish will 
 not rise, you may be sure they will not. 
 
 The various flies that appear upon the surface of the 
 numerous and varying waters of our country, from the 
 borders of Mexico to the confines of Labrador, would fur- 
 nish the subject for an instructive and interesting work. 
 
 The natural flies, whether hatched from the caddis at 
 the bottom of the streams, or froui the burrows in the 
 ground, or the knots on the limbs, or the cocoons, amid 
 the leaves of trees, are more numerous than those of any 
 European country. As a class, they are larger, the 
 ephemerae especially, and although often found to be 
 similar in general appearance, furnish many species 
 unknown there. They have never been properly de- 
 scribed and classified, and no satisfactory work has been 
 written, at all thorough and reliable, in which an attempt 
 is ir.ade to record their nature and habits. 
 
 Many of them do not return every year, but seem to 
 require several seasons to mature, and the earliest fly of 
 one season may not be t.hat of another. Every observant 
 
mmmi II itmvimmmmmmmmmimmiiimm^ 
 
 258 
 
 FLIES AND KNOia 
 
 fis ipiinan has noticed flies at one time that he may not 
 see again for a long periodj and has found his imitations 
 of them perfectly useless. 
 
 Tlie first tree that puts forth leaves in the spring is the 
 maple, and its buds are a bright scarlet. As they drop 
 into and are swept along the surface of the water by the 
 wind, the fish seize them, no doubt either decoyed by 
 their appearance or attracted by insects that may be con- 
 cealed upon or within them. The scarlet ibis resembles 
 these buds nearer than any other known thing, and is 
 probably mistaken by the fish for them. 
 
 "When commencing thi^i work, it had been my inten- 
 tion not only to describe the artificial flies in general 
 request, but to give the habits, periods and names of the 
 natural ones of whicli they were imitations, without 
 which latter information the former would have been far 
 from complete. But the obstacles in my way were so 
 numerous, the confusion existing as to names, localities, 
 and times of appearance was so utter, the difficulty of 
 finding any satisfactory work on the natural insects so 
 great, that I was almost in despair ; on the point, how- 
 ever, of making the attempt, rash as it appeared, I was 
 informed that the matter had been undertaken by a friend 
 of mine, who is every way equal to the task. Although 
 much relieved, there was still something to be done to 
 give a general idea of the flies in use with us. On this 
 subject, the only work existing of any value is the siip- 
 ]3lement to Frank Forester's " Fish and Fishing," written 
 by a gentleman who is a thorough sportsman, and along- 
 side of whom I have often had the pleasure of casting 
 the fly. The directions in the body of that work itself, 
 
PLIES AKD KNOTS. 
 
 25a 
 
 liko many other parts of it, are copied from the English 
 writers, and in our waters are utterly oralueless. The 
 author, although a splendid sportsman, was not as an 
 angler acquainted with our trout streams and ponds, and 
 the contributor of the supplement judged rather too 
 exclusively from his experience on Long Island. 
 
 The first and most striking difference to be observed 
 between the systems of the two countries is in the com- 
 parative size of the flies, those of America, following the 
 natural insect, being larger, and, probably for a similar 
 reason, gaudier. It is a remarkable fact that the most 
 gaudy of all, the scarlet ibis, is prominently successful 
 alone in the streams of Long Island and of the British 
 Provinces. As many of the Long Island trout yearly 
 migrate to the sea, in which peculiarity they resemble 
 the fish of the latter place, it may be that this fly is only 
 a favorite with sea-going flsh. A little tinsel wound 
 round the body is supposed to improve its efficiency, as 
 some fishermen suggest from a resemblance to the prin- 
 cipal Winter food of the trout, the salt water minnow. 
 
 The earliest fly on the Long Island ponds is a dark 
 water fly, with a brownish red body and legs, and black, 
 filmy, transparent wings. It is rather large, is wafted 
 along upon and occasionally rises from the water, and 
 never appears in any considerable numbers. It is usually 
 represented by the English or female cow-dung, which, 
 altliongh not similar in coloring, presents somewhat the 
 same general appearance. The wings, being transparent, 
 should not be imitated with a black feather, although I 
 have had great success when these flies were on the water 
 with a fly that had black wings and a claret body and 
 
wm 
 
 wm^mtmi 
 
 260 
 
 FLIES AND KNOTS. 
 
 legs. The orange dun, with a body tinged with brown, 
 "would be a good imitation. 
 
 "llie next natural fly, which is smaller than the last, is 
 of a greenish yellow, and is also caricatured by the cow- 
 dung. But it is decidedly recommended to make a more 
 faithful copy, which the writer has done with eminent 
 success^. In speaking of this matter, it is important to 
 add that the midges, such as the black gnat and others, 
 are out earlier, and it is to the larger flies alone that 
 reference is made. The earliest of the species mentioned 
 appears in ordinary seasons about the first of March, and 
 the next about a week later. At this period, and at all 
 periods, of a bright day a large black gnat with black 
 hackle, black or dark blue body, silver tinsel at the tail, 
 and dark wings, is usually successful. 
 
 Shortly after the greenish fly, come many others, 
 appearing almost together, and among them the cow- 
 dung and the yellow sally, the latter occasionally fairly 
 covering the water. About this time the professor an 
 Bwers well, although I have never discovered its proto- 
 type, if it has any, and shortly afterward an unimitated 
 brown fly, together with the blue blow and cinnamon, and 
 in warm weather innumerable others. In the latter part 
 of April and early part of May, the bushes and streams 
 are alive with the gay little beauties, of every color, size 
 and shape, and the fish make them their principal food. 
 But the waters are growing clear, the deception is becom- 
 ing apparent to the fish's eye, and the insects, though in 
 reality larger, must have more delicate substitutes. At 
 such times a small red bodied fly, with dun wings, has 
 proved extremely killing, and although large, white, 
 
FLIES AND KNOTa 
 
 261 
 
 wbite, 
 
 gelatinous ephemei*se swim upon the water, the midges 
 are on quiet days the most successful ; and when the sky 
 is bright, subdued colors are in principal demand. 
 
 In June there are prominent, among many others, 
 the black fly, with body, wings, legs and antennee all of 
 the same sable hue, busy the entire day dancing over the 
 water a veritable dance of death, for it is often terminat- 
 ed by the fatal rush of the watchful trout ; a dun fly, 
 with greyish dun mottled wings, grey legs, and light 
 green body ; another fly with similar wings, but red 
 legs, and a rich brown body — none of these having any 
 whisks in their tails ; another beautiful and delicate yel- 
 low fly, that appears generally in the morning and eve- 
 ning, and flies heavily and slowly from place to place, 
 till it falls suddenly, and is forever submerged in the 
 cruel waters. Its legs, body and wings are yellow, the 
 latter being the palest, and it has two short whisks and 
 antennsB of the same color. All the foregoing have four 
 wings, in the black and yellow varieties strongly reticu- 
 lated, and all but the last swim well under water. Tow- 
 ard night a frail whitisb fly makes its appearance still 
 more fragile than its yellow compeer ; it has two wings, 
 a thick body and long whisks. The eyes of the yellow 
 and white fly are black spots, and although T. never have 
 done much with a white fly, a small yellowir h drake was 
 successful- when the yellow flies were abundant. A bet- 
 ter imitation however could be made of pure yellow. 
 
 On one occasion I was struck with the fact that 
 although 1 did not know these insects were on the water, 
 my only successful flies were a yellowish fly, a green- 
 bodied, dun winged fly, and a similar fly with a brown 
 
P|iPiPMP**l"«PiPOT"<"<""^^R^ 
 
 ■^ 
 
 262 
 
 FLIES AND KNOTS. 
 
 body, and I hit on them accidentally after trying a great 
 variety. 
 
 Hackles, in our Long.. Island ponds, are, by nniversal 
 testimony, a failure, and the palmers worthless; and 
 throughout the breadth and length of our country, the 
 winged flies are vastly preferable. The hackles and 
 palmers are intended to represent the caterpillars, which 
 our fish very sensibly ignore alongside of the innumer- 
 able beautiful, delicate and gaudy flies, and which under 
 no circumstances are found except in the fresh-water 
 brooks. Through all the early Spring, the stomaclis 
 of the trout will be found filled with the shells of the 
 caddis, and these, if they could be obtained, would 
 doubtless be a killing bait Fortunately they cannot be, 
 and are not to my knowledge used here at all. 
 
 In our mountain streams the fish are generally 
 extremely numerous, though small, and will eagerly 
 seize any fly presented to them, vying with one another 
 to be first. The following is a good assortment, and will, 
 in addition to those already mentioned, be sufficient for 
 all waters : The alder-fly, English partridge hackle, 
 hackles of all colors, red and black ants, the devil-fly 
 with a yellow body, the tail of one red and one black 
 whisk, black hackles and red and black wings, dark 
 mackerel, red spinner, English blue jay, fern-fly, orange 
 dun, the camlets of various colors, grey, dun and black 
 liiidges, the coachman, the stone-fly, the. May-flies, 
 millers for night-work, the sand-fly, the various other 
 duns, the turkey brown, and a larg** light grey fly. 
 
 As each maker employs difierent colors and feathers 
 for the same fly, these descriptions are rather indefinite ; 
 
FLIES AND KNOTS. 
 
 2C3 
 
 Utiiers 
 inite; 
 
 but by taking a number of yarious shades, you can rea- 
 dily select the most effective. The well-known flies should 
 be dressed after Bonalds as far as practicable. It is to 
 be regretted that there is not more uniformity and pride 
 in, or practical acquaintance with, the subject among our 
 principal tackle-makers. With the English makers it 
 has always been an especial care that their flies should 
 be dressed well and with uniformity ; but here, anything 
 that can be palmed off on an ignorant or indulgent pub- 
 lic, or a barbarous country trade, is all that is desired. 
 It is better always to send a pattern, with instructions to 
 copy it precisely, and that no originality of variation 
 will be permitted. Then, and then only, can you obtain 
 what you wish. So much for trout-flies. 
 
 To make a salmon-fly, the following additional direc- 
 tions, most of which apply equally to carefully made 
 trout-flies, will be found convenient. Tie on the gut as 
 before directed; upon reaching the bend, fasten the 
 spring pliers on to the thread, and do not take them off 
 till the fly is finished. Take two turns with the silk over 
 a strip of tinsel, pass the latter several times round the 
 hook to form the tag, fasten it with the silk and cut it 
 off; introduce the floss for the tip, take several turns 
 evenly, tie it down and cut off the end ; introduce the 
 tail and then a piece of herl, wind the herl at the root 
 of the tail and fasten it ; take in .a new piece of tinsel 
 and a hackle by rubbing back all the fibres but a few at 
 the point ; leave both pointing from the head. Take a 
 small piece of mohair between your fingers, break it over 
 and over again into small pieces, lengthen it out and twist 
 it round tiie silk toward the left, as otherwise it will 
 
 ¥ 
 
HIHIlliI II.. nil I 
 
 ^nspp^pimiMHiRPP 
 
 ^^"if'mmmiKfKiif^ 
 
 264 
 
 FLIES AND KNOTS. 
 
 unlay in winding; wind the silk and mohair together 
 round the shank to the shoulder, leave a space of bare 
 hook sufficient for the wings. Wind in loose coils 
 first the tinsel and then the hackle, and fasten both at 
 the shoulder. Strip two wings from feathers that have 
 been taken from the opposite sides of the bird, place 
 them together, hold them firmly on the hook with the 
 left forefinger and tiiiimb, and fasten them securely. 
 Cut off the ends, insert a piece of herl, wind it over the 
 head and tie it down. Lay the end of the silk back 
 down the shank, and take three turns w* ^ the other 
 part over silk, hook and gut ; pass th . gut end through 
 the loop three times and draw the eilk tight. Two turns 
 of silk should hold the different parts during the entire 
 operation, and a couple of half hitches under the wings 
 at the shoulders are sometimes used to fasten off. The 
 feathers should be mated to make neat wings, and if 
 they are laid right side out they will close round the 
 hook ; if otherwise, they will stand out. Do not fail to 
 varnish at the head with wood varnish, or some other 
 kind that will dry rapidly. The hackle may be intro- 
 duced at the shoulder. Where herl or floss is used for 
 the body, it is wound on separately from the tying silk, 
 which is sometimes passed in loose coils afterward. A 
 second hackle of a different color, or a feather wound 
 like a hackle, may be introduced after the first, or after 
 the wings and before the head is finished, and is called 
 the lags. Tlie wings must be tied above the dubbing on 
 tho hook, or they are liable to turn, especially where 
 floss silk is used for the body. 
 The following is a list of Canadian salmon flies, copied 
 
FLIES AND KNOTS. 
 
 2d5 
 
 pi 
 
 ied 
 
 from the work on Salmon Fiehng in the Provinces, 
 edited hy Colonel Alexander, supposed to be by Dr. 
 A damson, with two of my Qwn added ; the latter having 
 been iurnished by a friend of extended experience, are 
 warranted excellent : 
 
 No. 1. Louise. — An extremely beautiful fly, having 
 wings composed of the golden plieapant's top-knt)t, breast 
 feather and tail, with sprigs from the green pan'ot, blue 
 macaw and kingfisher; the b )dy is of fiery b;own mo- 
 hair, with gold twist ; the head of orange mohair ; the 
 tail, a single feather from the golden pheasant's top-knot ; 
 reddish-brown hackle and jay legs. 
 
 No. 2. Edwin. — A much simpler fly and often equally 
 efficacious among the fins, the wings being composed of 
 the golden pheasant's tail feather with a dash of yellow 
 macaw; the body, yellow mohair; ribs, of black silk; 
 head, black mohair; tail, golden pheasant's top-knot; 
 hackle, yellow ; and scarlet silk tip. 
 
 No. 3. FoKSYTir. — ^Wings of tlio yellow macaw, with a 
 slight dash of mallard wings at each side ; yellow mohair 
 body, with black ribs ; head, black ; tail, g< 'Iden phea- 
 sant's top-knot ; hackle, yellow, with light blue silk tip. 
 
 No. 4. Stkphens. — ^Wings of golden pheasant's breast 
 feather, with slight mixture of mallard ; body of reddish 
 brick-colored silk, gold twist ; head, black ostrich ; tail, 
 golden pheasant's top-knot; hackle, red, to match the 
 body ; tip, blue silk. 
 
 No. 6. Ross. — ^Wings of mallard and peacock's herl ; 
 body, cinnamon-colored silk, gold twist ; no head ; tail, 
 green parrot j red and black hackles and black tip. 
 
 No. 6. The Parson. — This is a beautiful and efficient 
 
 m • 
 
 0^ 
 
266 
 
 VLIES AND KNOm 
 
 fly. The wings are mixed, and very Biinilar to those of 
 No. 1, but have a slight mixture of wood duck in them ; 
 the body is of very dark claret silk, with gold twist ; 
 head, black ostrich; tail, golden pheasant's top-knot; 
 hackle dark claret ; legs, blue, with a tip of yellow and 
 gola. 
 
 No. 7. Strachan. — ^Mixed wings, chiefly of golden 
 pheasant's tail, yellow macaw and jay's wing ; body of 
 crimson silk with gold twist ; head, black ostrich ; tail, 
 golden pheasant ; black hackle, with jay's wing legs ; tip, 
 yellow and gold. 
 
 No. 8. Langevin. — ^Wings, body, tail, hackle, legs, tip 
 all yellow, made of the dyed feathers of the white goose ; 
 the head of black ostrich, and the twist of black silk. 
 
 No. 9. "WuiTCHKR. — Mixed wings, of mallard and 
 hooded merganser, the latter being like the teal wing, 
 only more of a yellowish green, or the tail of the golden 
 pheasant may be used ; head, black ostrich herl ; black 
 hackle and black mohair body, with a thin rib of silver ; 
 tip, yellow silk ; and tail from the top-knot of the golden 
 pheasant. 
 
 No. 10. Grey Fly. — Mixed wings, of mallard, tur- 
 key, golden pheasant's neck and top-knot, and sprigs of 
 blue macaw ; head of black ostrich heel ; legs, carmine ; 
 grey hackle ; body of a grey mohair, with silver ribs, and 
 tip of silver and deep orange silk ; tail, mixed grey mal- 
 lard and tail of the golden pheasant. . v ; - 
 
 It will be observed that the foregoing are not imita- 
 tions of any natural insect, but merely fanciful combina- 
 tions of beautiful colors. The more harmonious the tints 
 the finer the effect. Some of them are gay flies, gaudiei 
 
 % 
 
FLIES AND KNOTS. 
 
 2C7 
 
 tur- 
 
 gsof 
 
 mine ; 
 
 , and 
 
 mal- 
 
 imita- 
 ibina- 
 tints 
 ittdiei 
 
 tlian I slioiild recommend ; modcgt colors suit the sal- 
 mon as they do the Uirlies of our country. For the rivers 
 of N"ew Brunswick more particularly, I would add tho 
 following, requesting the reader to bear in mind that 
 larger and more brilliant flies are permitted among the 
 rougher waters and heavier fish of the Canadas. 
 
 Ko. 11. Nicholson. — ^Wings mallard with sprigs of 
 blue macaw ; body, blood-red mohair, head of black 
 ostriclpherl ; hackles, one blood red and one dark blue 
 wound on together ; gold ribs and tip ; tail, mallard and 
 golden pheasant neck. This is one of the best flies ever 
 cast on the Mirumichi or Nipisiquit, and is simple and 
 inexpensive. 
 
 No. 12. Chamberlain. — ^Turkey wing, the lighter and 
 darker fibres mixed, or turkey and mallard ; head, black 
 ostrich herl; orange mohair body and hackle, yellow 
 legs, silver or gold ribs and tip and black silk twist ; tail 
 of golden pheasant top-knot. 
 
 No 13. Darling. — ^Wings of turkey and golden phea- 
 sant neck feather and sprigs of blue macaw ; head, black 
 ostrich ; hackles, black along the stem, but with reddish 
 ends ; tip, orange silk ; .tail, golden pheasant top-knot ; 
 thin gold ribs and tag and black mohair body. 
 
 No. 14. Majob. — ^Wings of mallard and turkey with 
 sprigs of blue macaw ; head, claret herl ; light red 
 hackle, and orange legs ; body, deep purple mohair ; tip, 
 blue silk : tail, golden pheasant neck feathers ; ribs and 
 tag gold tinsel. 
 
 No. 15. Captain. — ^Wings of turkey and golden phea- 
 sant tail and neck feathers and sprigs of blue macaw ; 
 head claret herl ; red hackle ; body, claret mohair ; tip; 
 
mimm'^W't''m^smmmm^ 
 
 ■wpinfiipii^ipwwiw 
 
 ^in 
 
 I 
 
 268 
 
 FLIES AND KNOTS. 
 
 orange Bilk ; silver tag, gold ribs, and tail of golden 
 pheasant top-knot. 
 
 No. 16. Cariboo. — "Wings of turkey and mallard with 
 sprigs of macaw, '^nd a few fibres from the golden phea- 
 sant's neck ; head of black ostrich herl ; claret -legs ; 
 grey hackle ; body of grey cariboo hair or mohair ; lowei 
 part of tip golden yellow silk, and upper part black silk ; 
 tail, golden pheasant top-knot, and gold tag. This fly, 
 with various modifications, is extensively ugod by the 
 resident fishermen of Fredericton. - %• • ; * ^i 
 
 No. 17. Emmet. — No head ; wv:g8 of black and golden 
 pheasant neck feather with sprigs of macaw ; body, black 
 mohair ; black hackl ) ; gold tip and twist ; a turn of 
 black herl taken just above the tail, . which is golden 
 ■pheasant crest. ■■':->- -/^- ^■-*- ^ir^*'---;,i^^ i-- , .^^'/v; '::^ . ,>■ ^v?^ ' -r- '■'' 
 
 Ko. 18. LiLLiE. — ^Wings and tail dark grey turkey ; 
 body, mohair of the same dull color ; yellow silk tip ; 
 red hackle, and no head. This is almost identical with 
 the stone fly, and approximates in color to the natural 
 fly, and is generally dressed on a small hook. 
 
 There is no limit to the list of salmon flies that might 
 be given ; artistic beauty is a great point to be gained, 
 but further than that nothing is positively ascertained 
 on the subject. I was once visiting a well known salmon 
 river with fifty dozen flies loaned to me by an ex"cellent 
 angler who was one of the oldest habitues of the stream. 
 Another excellent fisherman looked over my books with 
 an unapproving air, and after my return told me that 
 he was surprised I had taken any fish at all, for my flies 
 were totally unsuited to the river. It is, however, gene- 
 rally conceded that different waters require different 
 
mmmmmm 
 
 FLIES AND KNOTS. 
 
 269 
 
 ained, 
 tained 
 Balmon 
 tjellent 
 stream. 
 C8 with 
 that 
 ly flies 
 
 ', gene- 
 Lfferent 
 
 flies, and those in vogue in Canada are mnch gayer than 
 those of New Brunswick. In Great Britain it was once the 
 custom, as it still is in Wales, to use sombre colors ; in 
 England and Ireland the gayest are now the rage ; per- 
 haps it will be the same hero, and in tlie end we may 
 find that handsome, gaudy featlieis answer best. 
 
 The turkey wing is of various colors, but where no 
 other specific direction is given, the common mixture of 
 black and brown is intended. Some sportsmen pretend 
 to assimilate their flies to the sand-lance, others to the 
 shrimp ; as the salmon obtain neither in fresh water, 
 there is little tC' choose between the plans. 
 
 As will be seen, therefore, from the foregoing, salmon 
 flies are much more complicated than trout flies, and 
 require more skill in their manufacture. The wings are 
 ordinarily made of numerous fibres, frequently of dis- 
 tinct feathers, which are fastened separately upon one 
 another, and usually called toppings. The hook is often 
 first tied securely with thick silk and then varnished, 
 while a small loop instead of a length of gut is used. 
 This is allowed to dry, and finer silk, usually the color 
 of the intended fly, is employed to tie the feathers. 
 Occasional fastenings may be made by taking a hitch 
 over the whole, and varnish is applied, especially at the 
 head and tail. After the hook is tied on, the silk is made 
 fast at the bend, where the tinsel, the whisks, the body 
 and the hackle are inserted ; the latter may, however, be 
 introduced after several turns have been taken with the 
 body, and the body may be divided into sections of 
 various colors, in a manner that the least practice wiU 
 render easy. v 
 
 •f- 
 
I"<"«i:i 
 
 mm 
 
 i-wiw vmJii^ffim^'immi^ 
 
 •mm. 
 
 ^KWUP 
 
 iiiiiiiii.ij.i«iiyp^pngpi 
 
 S70 
 
 FLIES AND KNOTS. 
 
 It is no small matter to give a list of ♦he requisite fly- 
 making materials, bat the following are a few of the 
 most important : 
 
 Silk of various colors, wax, nippers, scissors, a bench 
 vice, picker, spring pliers, varnish, hooks and gut, tinsel 
 of gold and silver, twisted and plain ; hackles of all 
 colors, feathers of the mallard, teal, woodcock, golden, 
 silver and argus pheasants, turkey, macaws, curlew, 
 ruffed grouse, ibis, blue-jay, black-bird, fresh water rail, 
 guinea fowl, common chicken, and any and all other 
 birds that may come in the angler's way ; dubbings of 
 mohair, pig's hair, wool, seal's fur, rat's, mole's and squir- 
 rel's fur; floss silk of all colors, and peacock's and 
 ostrich herl. Dyed feathers had better be purchased of 
 the tackle makers, and should include blue, purple, 
 orange, yellow, brown, green, crimson and scarlet hackles, 
 and yellow wing feathers. -^v^^:, 
 
 There is a Limerick hook now made with the shanlc 
 turned over so as to form a loop into which the gut is 
 inserted and the trouble of tying the gut is avoided. 
 They have come into general use among the Irish and 
 Scotch fishermen, and are a great aid to the man that 
 ties his own flies. The gut in ordinary fly fishing wears 
 out just above the hook, a difficulty that if entirely 
 removed by this improvement, and it is by no means so 
 ugly or ungaialy as might be supposed. This is no new 
 discovery, but has beei-. practised with common Araeri- 
 ican hooks for a considerable period, and might be 
 advantageously used in many kinds of fishing, and ap- 
 plied to all hooks, rf - •,^,,,.wv 
 
 Hooks are numbered in the most singular manner, no 
 
 
FLIES AND KNOTS. 
 
 271 
 
 er, no 
 
 two makers agreeing, and some indulging in remarkable 
 eccentricities. But as Limerick hooks are generally 
 used for fly-making, the nurabere 2, 1, 1^, and Vq will 
 include all that is requisite. No. IJ- is my favorite for 
 ordinary purposes, but a few Vo may be desirable in 
 heavy water, with an occasional monster for foaming 
 rapids. 
 
 The charges for dressing trout flies in this country are 
 exorbitant, whereas in England thoy can be purchased 
 of the best makers at from seventy-five cents to a dollar 
 and a half per dozen ; we are charged from a dollar and a 
 half to three dollars, and generally furnished an inferior 
 article. There is an abominable article of wholesale 
 traffic sold foi fifty cents a dozen, that is beneath any 
 sportsman's notice. I have imported a great many, but 
 it is a troublesome operation, and the best way is to bear 
 the imposition meekly. "■ ^ 
 
 The English and Irish salmon flies are, on the con- 
 trary, expensive ; a great deal-^f the neck and top-knot 
 of the golden pheasant and of the wings of the blue-jay 
 is employed, birds which cost from ten to twenty-fivo 
 dollars a piece, and which only furnish twenty to thirty 
 pairs of each kind of feathers. The use, therefore, of 
 several long crest and neck feathers at fifty cents a pair 
 in the wing, and five or six from the top-knot for the 
 tail, besides other expensive materials and the employ 
 ment of the best workmanship, will make a fly dear jit 
 the original cost. Blacker, the great English rod and 
 fly maker, lias been paid two guineas apiece for his 
 finest. The reader may console himself by remembering 
 that salmon were taken with the fly before the golden 
 
272 
 
 FLIES AND KNOTS. 
 
 pheasant was heard of as one of the indispensable ingro- 
 dients. A little practice will enable the angler to mako 
 flies himself, and add to his sport the consciousness of 
 invention. 
 
 Except in that way, and except for salmon fishing, the 
 Bportsmen of our country have no tirxie to waste tying 
 flies. Tlie regular shops charge a heavy profit over the 
 amount paid the workman, and if the purchaser is capa- 
 ble of telling a good fly, the best plan is to go direct to 
 the latter, explain what is wanted, and show an interest 
 in the proceeding. A half dozen of each of the fore- 
 going specimens, firmly fastened on strong, round, even 
 gut, will last two months' daily salmon fishing in well- 
 stocked streams. An average loss of four or five a day 
 would be by no means surprising, although a single one 
 might kill a great many fine fish. Hooks are apt to be 
 broken at the bend by striking against a rock, from care- 
 lessness, or the awkward handling of too long a line. If 
 you find a hook broken in that way, lay it primarily to 
 this cause, and watch the sweep of your cast. 
 
 After the fly is made, tying it on to the leader and the 
 leader to the line is an important matter, and as it is 
 always desirable to put the right knot in the right place, 
 the following directions may do something toward ena- 
 bling one to effect that object, and after a little practice 
 will be found entirely intelligible. The gut lengths of 
 the droppers should be sliort, to prevent their fouling 
 round the leader. 
 
 No. 1 and No. 2 are both good ties to fasten xhc 
 leader to the line. No. 3 is a becket-hitch, and No. 4 a 
 double becket-hitch. No. 5 is a single water knot. 
 
It It- 
 
 I 
 
mm 
 
 274 
 
 PLIES AND KNOTS. 
 
 No. 6 is a double water knot. Tlie latter are used foi 
 tying lengths of gut together. But reeollect that before 
 .a knot is made in gut it must be wet, and had better be 
 soaked for some time in warm water. In using the 
 double knot, the ends need not be whipped down. 
 No. 7 shows how a dandy fastens his droppers to the 
 leader. No. 8 shows how a lazy man does the same 
 thing. 
 
 No. 10 is a reef, or square knot. No. 11 ia a granny 
 knot, and you had better not knot that knot as a reef 
 knot at sea. The former never slips, and yet never jams ; 
 the latter always slips and always jams. No. 12 is a 
 bowline, the best knot of all. 
 
 No. 13 is a wall. No. 14, a wall and crown ; follow 
 the strands round with the ends, and it is a double wall 
 and crown. No. 15, a Mathew Walker, is made by 
 unlaying the strands a sufficient distance, and carrying 
 one end underneath and through its own bight, then the 
 next underneath through the bight of the first and its 
 own bight, and then the third underneath through the 
 bight of the first and second and then its own. No. 1 6 
 shows the first strand passed ; No. 17 is the finished 
 knot. A diamond knot. No. 18, is made by laying the 
 strands back along the rope, then passing the first end 
 over the second through the bight of the third, the 
 second over the third and through the first, and so on 
 drawing all tight. It may be crowned like a wall. 
 
 No. 19 is a sheet bend. No. 20, a studding sail bend. 
 No. 21, a rolling hitch. No. 22, a timber hitch. No. 23, 
 a clove hitch. A whipping is put on as shown by No. 24, 
 by first passing the turns over one end, and then the 
 
FLTES AND KNOTS. 
 
 275 
 
 its 
 
 the 
 
 16 
 
 the 
 
 end 
 
 the 
 
 on 
 
 )end. 
 
 24, 
 the 
 
 other end under the last few tnrns, and drawing it close. 
 No. 25 is called a cat's paw. These knots will probahly 
 he sufficient without adding the hangman's knot, with 
 its seven professional turns, and a choice among them 
 will often be found convenient, while a glance at the cut 
 will refresh an imperfect recollection. 
 
 In tying flies or hooks, it is well to use varnish occa- 
 sionally, in fact wherever it can be done without injur- 
 ing the appearance of the colors ; no fly will last well 
 that has not been varnished. In making the wings of 
 salmon flies, it is usual to put on numerous fibres, often 
 of diflferent feathers, and tie them on separately. This 
 renders the wings more pliable, but destroys their beauty 
 and harmony. A number of inconsistent colors will 
 injure the effect of one another ; the contrast between 
 body and wings should be decided, and the unity and 
 coherence of the latter should be preserved. K the tip 
 of the feather is used and fastened by the stem, it will 
 slip unless firmly secured. There is great difference in 
 the adhesion of the fibres of different fea'hers, but a lit- 
 the practice will determine the selection. 
 
 Black bass flies are generally made with a red body, 
 gold twist, and wings of ibis and white, or black and 
 white, or peacock's herl and white ; but a beautiful and 
 efi^ective fly is made as follows : wings, two plumes of 
 the silver pheasant with two smaller ones of ibis over 
 them; body, blood-red mohair; furnace hackle; blue 
 floss tip"; gold tag, and ibib tail. 
 
 In salmon fishing it is customary to uso but one fly, 
 as two sixteen-pound fish would be troublesome to 
 handle ; but occasionally a dropper is added at the 
 

 276 
 
 FLIES AND KNOTS. 
 
 upper end of the casting line to attract their atten- 
 tion. 
 
 Three flies are sufficient for trout fishing, and are 
 desirable, although frequently failing to hook the fish in 
 consequence of lying on or close to the leader. This is 
 in a measure prevented by short, stiff gut lengths, but 
 when the rises ai'e mainly at the upper flies, many will 
 be missed. 
 
 In this connection it may be well to mention that 
 coloring gut, especially for bright, transparent waters, is 
 an error ; remember the fish from below look at it 
 against the sky, and will see it the plainer the more 
 it is colored. The less distinguishable to the angler 
 the more apparent it is to them. This can be proved 
 without difficulty, by holding against the light two 
 strands, one plain and the other colored. For salmon, 
 it should, if single, be round and strong ; for trout, fine 
 and delicate. 
 
INSECTS. 
 
 277 
 
 CHAPTER XXVm. 
 
 INSECTS. 
 
 Theee 18 nothing more beautiful, wonderful and inter- 
 esting than insect life ; there is nothing that offers a 
 wider field for examination or affords more gratify- 
 ing results. Under the head of insects are classed, 
 in popular language, all the minute animals ; but 
 only those having six legs and two antennae, and which 
 undergo one or more changes or metamoi-phoses should 
 be included ; most of them have wings, and their name 
 is derived from the word insecta^ divided, which is ap- 
 plied to the divisions or articulations of their bodies. 
 The outer part of their body is slightly bony, and to it 
 the muscles are attached. 
 
 Insects exist in myriads ; whole families are €till 
 nndescribed, and many species unknown. Even in the 
 old countries new discoveries are made yearly, and in the 
 Kew "World it can hardly be said that anything is 
 authenticated on the subject. Facts concerning the com- 
 monest are most remarkable. One class of wLite ants, 
 like our southern fellow countrymen, makes slaves of a 
 darker race. Many beautiful flies live only a few hours. 
 The eyes of the common house fly are composed of nu- 
 merous surfaces or lenses, and their life, habits and 
 instincts are a study in themselves. Being so numerous 
 
mmmmmm 
 
 mmfimwrv^rmm^ 
 
 "••'UPCTiifP^wr 
 
 278 
 
 INSSCTa 
 
 and so nearly allied, their classification is entirely imper* 
 feet, and like a similar attempt with any other part of 
 animal lite, a failure. Almost every scientific writer has 
 invented a system of entomological distribution for him- 
 self, and their united efforts have produced endless con- 
 fusion ; the arrangement generallv followed is that of 
 Latreille, the fatlier of modern entomology. •* 
 
 Insects are by him divided into two great divisions : 
 those that live by chewing, mandibulata, and those that 
 live by sucking, hausfellata, whence the name applied to 
 some of the human family. Of the former the beetles, 
 coleoptera^ are prominent, and among the latter the 
 butterflies, lejpidoptera. It is to be observed that the 
 bees, although furnished with a sucking apparatus to 
 collect honey, feed with mandibles, and are in the first 
 
 class. ..' ./. "■ '■.:•■ :,;. ■ .a 
 
 Latreille further divides the various groups as follows ; 
 and although English authors have made many changes, 
 the alterations are of such doubtful utility that the origi- 
 nal classification will be retained. ; , > 
 .4 The first class is that of insects without wings, such as 
 the thysanura, or those having a bushy tail, which are 
 mandibulate. Parasites or lice, and fleas, both of which 
 are suctional, the last having a metamorphose, but the 
 first two not. All others have wings, but the second 
 class includes those that have a hard covering or case, 
 called an elytron, over their wings ; the beetles, which 
 have a horny wing cover and perfect metamorphose ; the 
 dermoptera,) which have a horny wing cover but an im- 
 perfect metamorphose ; the orthoptera^ or straight- winged 
 insects, their wings folding longitudinaily, and having a 
 
lysEoia 
 
 279 
 
 leatheiy cover — all of which are inandibulate ; and the 
 hemiptera^ which have the wings half leathery and half 
 membranons, and the mouth fluctorial, and in both of the 
 latter the metamorphose is imperfect. In the third class 
 the wings are naked and alike ; it includes the neuro- 
 ptera^ or nerve-winged insects, in which the veins of the 
 wings are like a net ; the hymenoptera^ the wings being 
 membranous, and veined lengthwise— both families being 
 mandibulate ; the lepidoptera, or scale-winged insects, 
 having delicate scales on the wings — this order is sucto- 
 rial, and the entire three orders have four wings ; the 
 rhijyiptera, which are mandibulate and have two balances 
 or halteres before the wings which close like a fan, 
 whence their name is derived, and the diptera, which have 
 two halteres behind the wings — in these families there 
 are only two wings. 
 
 The ortJioptera include, as familiar examples, cock- 
 roaches, crickets, katydids, and grasshoppers ; the nev/ro' 
 ptera white ants, May-flies, caddis-flies, dragon-flies or 
 devil's darning needles, and hoodlbugs ; the hymenoptera 
 common ants, wasps and beee; the lepidopiera butter- 
 flies, moths, silk-worms, and humming-birds ; the heTrd- 
 ptera plant lice, cochineals, and locusts ; the diptera mos- 
 quitoes, house-flies, horse-flies, and bot-flies. 
 
 The order hsmiptera is frequently divided into two, 
 according as the wings are of a uniforni texture, hornO' 
 ptera, or of a varied texture, heteroptera ; the lepidopttra 
 are divided into three classes — ^those that fly by day, and 
 generally have the antennae knobbed ; those that fly in 
 the twilight and have the antennae thickened, and those 
 tliat are nocturnal and have the antennae slender. The 
 
II 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^^^. 
 
 IMAGE EVALUATION 
 TEST TARGET (MT-3) 
 
 // 
 
 
 m/. 
 
 & 
 
 1.0 
 
 I.I 
 
 M 12.5 
 
 
 litis 
 
 
 
 14.0 
 
 2.2 
 2.0 
 
 iiy^ 
 
 
 l-'^5 1 1.4 1.6 
 
 
 4 6" 
 
 ► 
 
 
 
 Photographic 
 
 Sciences 
 
 Corporation 
 
 23 WEST MAIN STREET 
 
 WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 
 
 (716) 872-4503 
 
6\ 
 
2S0 
 
 INSECTS. 
 
 English writers have transposed the families griUidm 
 and locuatidcB to suit the popular translation of the 
 Scriptures, and have introduced a separate order called 
 trichoptera. 
 
 As they are principally minute objects, wise men 
 wisely concluded the deficiency should be made up in 
 length of name, and but one class appears under the 
 weigh.t of less than four syllables. The families comp'^s- 
 ing these orders are almost innumerable, and only those 
 that are allied to the subject in hand can even be men- 
 tioned. Amateur entomologists prefer the coleoptera for 
 their beauty and variety, and collections of insects are 
 mainly composed of brilliant, gaudy and wondrous bee- 
 tles, varying in size from the giant, as large as the pretty 
 fisv of one of the reader's little female acquaintances, to 
 the pigmy that is hardly perceptible to the eye. There 
 is the beautiful and useful lady-bird, the wonderful light- 
 ning-bug, the elephant beetle with trunk and tusks, the 
 hercules with stout heavy limbs, the palm weevil, whose 
 disgusting grubs are eaten as delicacies by the deluded 
 people of St. Domingo, and many other dangerous look- 
 ing fellows with long sharp snouts that are really harm- 
 less, and innocent looking fellows that are really danger- 
 ous. The fly-fisher, however, relies for his pleasure 
 mainly upon his imitations of the neuropiera and diptera^ 
 and not so much upon the coleoptera, 
 
 llie young of the insect tribe, when it issues from the 
 shell in the shape of a worm, is known as the larva^ 
 although the larvae of some butterflies are called cater- 
 pillars, and of certain flies maggots. When the larva 
 begins its metamorphose it is named a pupa or chrysalis, 
 
INSECia 
 
 281 
 
 la 
 
 and the covering with which it surrounds itself a pupa* 
 case or cocoon. It then undergoes a wonderful change, 
 becoming the full-formed insect or imago — the ngly 
 worm, that a short time previous had surrounded itself 
 with &, silken cocoon, bursting its case and flying off a 
 gay, attractive and resplendent buttei'fly. From crawl- 
 -ing meanly over the ground or the foliage, leaving a 
 slimy streak behind, or horiible with a greenish smooth 
 body and clinging feet, or disgusting witli innumerable 
 bristled, it soars away, its gay plumage glittering in the 
 sunlight as it flits from flower to flower, the envy and 
 admiration of the human female sex. How much is 
 there not in beauty I 
 
 Many insects live for years as worms, and but a few 
 hours in their perfect state. The ephemercBy so called 
 from appearing in the morning and dying before night, 
 often do not reach half that age, although if the sexes 
 are separated they will sometimes attain the great age 
 of several weeks. They may be regarded as sacrificing 
 their lives for the tender passion. They cover our waters 
 in Summer, warmed into existence by the sun's rays, flit- 
 ting in a graceful but ineflScient way from place to place, 
 or floating calmly upon the surface, dropping back into 
 nonentity with the departing sunlight. They are some- 
 times, especially in the southern country, quite large, and 
 include what among fishermen are known as the May 
 ^fiies. 
 
 In some classes the change from the larva is not so 
 remarkable, the worm having much of the appearance, 
 and many of the distinctive marks of the perfect fly, 
 as for example the bee ; in these the metamorphose is 
 
283 
 
 INSECTS. 
 
 said to be imperfect. The eyes of insects are either 
 compound, composed of numerous lenses, amounting in 
 certain butterflies to thirty thousand, or simple, called 
 stemmata^ the latter alone being found in the larvse, 
 although in some of the beetles the larvse have eyes in 
 the head and tail both. They are often long ia matur- 
 ing ; one species of locust, as is well known, remains 
 seventeen years before coming to perfection, and many 
 other families continue several years as larvee. Some of 
 the larvae live in the earth, some in wood, and others 
 under water ; some hide themselves in a cocoon ere their 
 metamorphose is effected, others build houses of stones 
 or sticks, others have no protection ; but all are wonder- 
 ful. One swims upon the water, another walks upon its 
 surface, a third crawls along at the bottom, although the 
 majority live upon dry land. In defence they use a 
 sting, simulate death, eject a poisonous liquid, or emit 
 an oflfensive smell. The eggs mature in the running or 
 stagnant water, in the ground, in the limbs of trees, in 
 the foliage and stems, or in the fruit. Grasshoppers in 
 the East, grubs among savages, snails among French- 
 men, ants among Brazilians, locusts among prophets, 
 and, if all reports are true, certain minute parasites 
 among Italians, have furnished pleasing and nutritious 
 
 food. • -> ;v,-'.^--; >^v; -■•;- J-.., ;v.V': -'<■■■, . 
 
 But of all the marvels of insect life, that which is least 
 consonant with nature and least credible to human 
 understanding, is the fact that they appear spontaneously. 
 "Why should a few drops of rain in a dusty road produce 
 animalculsB never seen before ? Why should a little per" 
 manent dirt originate two distinct parasites, according as 
 
IKSEOTS. 
 
 288 
 
 it accnmnlatefj on the head or body ? Why should new 
 insecta year after year make a perpetually changing 
 "«varfare against the farmer's crops in gradation with the 
 exhaustion of the soil ? Why should the Hessians bring 
 the Hessian fly, or vice versa, as yon please? And a 
 great many other Whys which never have been and 
 neyer will be answered till the " heavens shall be rolled 
 up as a scroll." 
 
 Insects feed voraciously on leaves, vegetables, fruit, on 
 human blood — sad to relate — and fortunately on one 
 another. Mosquitoes, thank Heaven, have parasites that 
 cling to the delicate rings of their bodies, stinging the 
 arch-stinger, and inflicting by their venomous bites this 
 same agonies the sufferers inflict on others. It is to be 
 hoped those gentlemen will increase and multiply, and 
 after exterminating mosquitoes may pay their addresses 
 to the black gnats. Certain families, especially of the 
 coleoptera, emit a species of phosphorescent light in the 
 dark, occasionally light enough to read by. The majority 
 of insects have wings, but many have not, and in some 
 only '^ne gender is winged. A few kinds, such as the 
 locusts, katydids, crickets, death-ticks, emit sounds, to 
 which man^s sympathies have added either a pleasant or 
 painful association, and produce these peculiar cries gen- 
 erally by rubbing the wings or some part of the body. 
 The wings of insects do not e.Kceed four, and are often 
 limited to two ; their legs are six ; some have anteniije 
 or feelers, others long whisks from their tails. 
 
 The newrojptera, or net- winged 'm^QciB, florfilegen^ gauze- 
 flies, as they are called by the Germans, include the 
 principal pets of the fly-fisher. Their bodies are long, 
 
284 
 
 INSECTS. 
 
 tapering and delicate ; their wings, four, almost transpa* 
 rent and marked with net-like veins. They keep in 
 continual motion for the purpose of catching smaller 
 insects, on which they mainly feed, and generally deposit 
 their eggs in the water, where the grubs live from one to 
 two years on plants or other insects. 
 
 That most fearful looking, but really harmless and bene- 
 ficent creature, the devil's darning-needle, or dragon-fly, 
 Itbellula, is a remarkable specimen of this family. They 
 are called demoiselles by the French, wasserjunferny water- 
 virgins by the Germans; but, in spite of these pretty 
 appellations, are the tyrants of the surfece of the ponds ; 
 they seize and tear to pieces all other insects, including 
 butterflies and mosquitoes, and will clear a house of the 
 common fly. They are cruel, rapacious and insatiable, 
 and I do not know of their ever being used as bait for 
 trout. 
 
 The phryganea^ or water-moth, is one of the favorites 
 of the fly-fisher. Its grubs surround themselves with a 
 case formed of wood or grass, and are used by him as 
 bait under the name of caddis- worms. They are the 
 favorite food of the trout in early spring. But the 
 ephemeridcB include most of the specimens imitated by 
 the fishei'man. The larvge of these live in the water, for 
 one or more years, and then, swimming to the surface^ 
 suddenly change into winged insects, delicate and beau- 
 tiful. Tliey sometimes appear in myriads, their dead 
 bodies covering the water. A few make a second change 
 after flying about for a time, and crawl out of their skins 
 once more, leaving their old clothes, to all appearance 
 perfect, sticking to a tree or fence. On their first appear* 
 
 'i:^kBu-L . 
 
# 
 
 INSECTS. 
 
 285 
 
 ance they are said to be in the pseudimago state, and to 
 them the name duns is applied by the fly-fisher ; iivhen 
 they change to the imago or perfect fly, they are called 
 piscatorially spinners. There are exceptions to this uni- 
 formity, as Tvith the May-flies ; the green drake is the 
 psevdimagOj and the grey drake the imago. 
 
 The j^hryganidcB and epkem^ridm are easily distin- 
 guished; in the former the wings lie close along the 
 b^ck, projecting beyond the body; the antennee or' 
 feelers are long, and there are no whisks ; in the latter 
 the wings stand upright from the body like a butterfly's, 
 the antennsB are very short, and there are two, or occa- 
 sionally three, long delicate whisks. 
 
 The jphryganidcB attach their eggs to the foliage over- 
 hanging the water, whence upon hatching the larvae fall, 
 and immediately proceed to construct, of twigs or gravel, 
 miniature houses like a snail's shell, where they reside in 
 peace and safety. These cases are lined with ^ilk, spun 
 from the insect's mouth, and are so light as not seriously 
 to impede its swimming and rambling in search of food, 
 and being open at both ends, allow him a view of the 
 outside world. The larvae live mainly on aquatic plants, 
 and when the proper time arrives, they close the ends of 
 their houses with a species of grating, and commence the 
 dormant state of the pupa. In this they remain a few 
 days, and then emerging from their case, they ascend to 
 the surface, burst their skin, and fly away in their perfect 
 state of beauty. 
 
 The ephemeridcB deposit their eggs in the water, where 
 they soon hatch, and where the grub, which lives usually 
 on clay or vegetabl) matter, resides, occasionally for 
 
 fe^ 
 -;i?^ 
 
2S6 
 
 iNSEcra 
 
 several years, hiding under stones or in holes in the mnd 
 It then becomes a pupa, and after accomplishing its time, 
 rises to the surface, throws oft* ita skin, and flies away, 
 bearing the name of dun ; it shortly alights on a tree or 
 fence, and sheds its entire skin, withdrawing even its 
 delicate wings and minute whisks from their previous 
 covering. Its colors in the second stage are usually more 
 brilliant, and under the name spinner it enjoys the plea- 
 sures of life, perpetuates its species and dies in a few 
 hours. While laying its eggs, it will be noticed either 
 resting on the water or floating up and down over it. 
 Certain species can swim well under water, and I believe 
 descend to the bottom to deposit their eggs. I have had 
 numbers alight on my pants when I was wading a rapid 
 stream, run down my legs to the bottom, crawl over the 
 stones, and with. a zig-zag motion swim against the cur- 
 rent to the surface. Eocks are frequently seen darkened 
 with flies, that on any sudden approach drop into the 
 water and disappear. 
 
 The ephemeridai include the blue dun, which becomes 
 the red spinner in its final state ; the marsh brown, which 
 changes to the great red spinner ; the turkey brown, that 
 is transforLicd into the little dark spinner ; the iron blue 
 dun, that becomes the jenny spinner; the green and 
 grey drakes, the July and August duns, and many others. 
 The phryganidm comprise the sand and cinnamon flics 
 ?nd the grannom or green-tail, besides many undescribed. 
 Of the diptera, which are distinguished by having but 
 two wings, we have the cowdung-fly, the golden dun 
 midge, and the black gnat ; of the beetles, the peacock 
 and fern flic : and marlow buzz ; of the hymenopteray the 
 
INSECTS. 
 
 287 
 
 red ant and orange-fly; and occaBionally crickets and 
 graBshoppers are imitated. 
 
 These are a few, and but a few, of the beautiful insects 
 that sport around or upon our lovely lakes and streams ; 
 the advancing heat of Spring warms them into life ; tliey 
 burbt forth, enchanting man with their beauty, and gaily 
 pass a few days or hours, surrounded by innumerable 
 dangers, which they seem never to heed. One kind suc- 
 ceeds another as the summer advances, usually the more 
 gaudy during the greatest heat, till they crowd the 
 ponds, the air, the bushes with indescribable brilliancy. 
 I have seen, toward ' evening, yellow sallies appear in 
 myriads, their dead bodies literally covering the water ; 
 and in the St. Lawrence rivers, dead eel-flies lie in such 
 masses as to give the effect of sea-weed. 
 
 It is very desirable that fishermen should, for their 
 own sakes as well as the sake of science, pay more atten- 
 tion to tho habits and peculiarities of these insects. The 
 study of nature in its minute productions is wonderful ; 
 the observations of individuals combined is of great 
 value, and adds immensely to the general store of know- 
 ledge ; something more would be effected than the mere 
 pleasure of taking a large mess, and th.e reproach of 
 idleness removed from our enjoyments. To be sure, the 
 men of science, by the use of ridiculous foreign names 
 and the confounding of a confused and worthless system, 
 have done all they can to uiscourage such an undertaking 
 and repel such aid ; but every one can note the pecu- 
 liarities that are heretofore mentioned, can even readily 
 preserve a specimen and mark the times and manner of 
 their appearance and the length of their duration, and 
 
'■fV ivjiqipiimppf^m^pipmpRHiviiviiiapiHpHwiHHiw 
 
 288 
 
 INSECTS. 
 
 4^' 
 
 9 
 
 
 'though ho may fail to obtain the scientific name, can 
 determine the epecies and ascertain the habits of a few 
 members of the most wondei'fulf intricate, and interest- 
 ing portion of the creation. 
 
 s--A^i'' "'' " ^: y- 
 
• ,«» 
 
 ^' 
 
 CAMP LIFB. 
 
 . / 
 
 289 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 OAMP LIFE. 
 
 One of the most important matters that demand the 
 sportsman's attention, is the equipment he should take 
 with Iiim to make his life in the woods pleasant. He will 
 have many annoyances and even hardships to encounter, 
 and should he as well prepared to meet them as circum- 
 stances will permit. The following directions are founded 
 upon the idea he intends to retire to the wilderness, far 
 from the abode of man, where he will have to trust for 
 his support to his own exertions, and although many of 
 them may seem superfluous, and to the robust may savor 
 of effeminacy, to those who desire real comfort they will 
 prove acceptable. 
 
 The great pest of the wild woods is — not tigers nor 
 panthers, not bears nor wolves, not even snakes — ^but 
 something far smaller but infinitely more terrible — the 
 Black Fly I If it were possible for the uninitiated to 
 conceive or the pen to describe the horrors conveyed in 
 these words, I should endeavor to record them. Think 
 of the rack, the boot, the thumb-screw, the wheel ; think 
 of being rent asunder by wild horses, or torn in bits with 
 hot pincers ; think of the tortures of the inquisition, or 
 the cruel fanaticism of India, and smile ; they do not 
 compare with the black fly. When mosquitoes hover 
 
 13 
 
 .s^ 
 
mmm^^'^mmifimimiifmm 
 
 m^mmmmmimmmmmiimimm 
 
 290 
 
 CAMP LIFE. 
 
 » 
 
 round you day and night, when they fill the air you 
 breathe and deafen your ears with their hum, when your 
 hands, face and body are covered witii itching lumps, it 
 is hard to bear. But mosquitoes are comparatively quiet 
 in the sun-light, and are partially affected by smoke ; 
 they can be influenced by a smudge, can be frightened 
 oft' and sometimes killed ; they do not compare with the 
 sand-fly. 
 
 . The latter, almost invisible to the naked eye, comes in 
 absolute myria'ls ; it settles upon every inch of exposed 
 flesh ; it creeps into every crevice ; it cannot be frightened 
 away, but must be brushed oft' ; its worst attacks are at 
 night, when tired nature is pining for a little rest ; its 
 bite does not itch, but burns like fire, till face, hands and 
 neck feel as though they had been scalded. But the 
 Band-fly, bad as he is, can be persuaded out of your tent 
 by a Hre ; he does not aboimd except in sandy localities ; 
 his bite does not draw blood, nor raise a lump, and is not 
 permanent ; he does not compare with the black fly. 
 
 The latter comes without a warning note ; he bites till 
 the blood runs in a stream, and inflicts the sharpest pain ; 
 he clings fast till he is absolutely rubbed off, and crawls 
 up your sleeve or pants or down your neck ; he loves 
 not the fire, nor fears the smoke ; he cannot be enticed 
 nor driven away. The mosquito comes numerous as the 
 rain-drops in a shower ; the sand-fly as the motes in sun- 
 light ; but the black fly like the sand of the desert when 
 the simoom is raging. Resignation can endure the first, 
 stoicism the second, but nothing the last. 
 
 All three of these pests are found abundantly in the 
 woods, and without being prepared for them, instead of 
 
CAMP LIFE. 
 
 201 
 
 m the 
 sad of 
 
 pleasure, tlie sportsman's trip would bo one long torture. 
 People Lave been known to be completely disfigured by 
 their bites, and I have had my neck as thoroughly gir- 
 dled as though it had been done with a hot iron. Their 
 bite inflames the blood, and if accompanied with the free 
 use of ardent spirits, may produce unpleasant conse- 
 quences. Let no man through foolhardiness brave their 
 attacks, thinking he can rough it and not give way 
 before such pitiful insects ; as brave and strong men as 
 ever lived have had their pleasure destroyed by these 
 curses of our country,, and he will repent his rashness, if 
 not in sack-cloth and ashes, in blood and misery. I 
 have seen a hard-working man so worn out by their 
 attacks as to fall fast asleep standing up leaning against 
 a rock in a hot July sun, that by its excessive warmth 
 had for the moment driven the torments away. He wore 
 a veil, but not being properly arranged, the flies could 
 climb up its folds, and it was little protection. 
 
 One may well ask how is it possible to defend one&elf 
 from such irrepressible villains ; nor can it be done per- 
 fectly ; with the best precautions there will be enough 
 to try nerve and temper. Gauntlets of leather drawn 
 above the wrists over the coat sleeve will, though rather 
 warm, effectually protect the hand, and when oppressive, 
 may be cooled by being dipped in water. A veil is the 
 best thing for the face ; a piece of elastic run round the 
 top will enable yon to slip it over your straw hat and 
 fasten it above the brim, which will keep it out from the 
 face ; a spring wire or whalebone hoop sewed in a few 
 inches below, will keep it off your nose, and another 
 piece of elastic round the bottom will hold it tight around 
 
iip 
 
 miM^ 
 
 wmmmmm 
 
 292 
 
 GAMP LIFE. 
 
 your cravat, bo that the flies cannot make their way 
 beneath it ; or the latter maj be omitted to enable you 
 to wipe your face and rub off those stragglers that will 
 find their way in, notwithstanding your precautions. 
 There is a light substance called tissue, that makes a 
 cool but delicate veil, and is preferable to the ordinary 
 barege, and- fcr mosquitoes and black flies, bobinet is 
 still lighter, but sand-flies might pass the meshes. 
 
 Various ointments have been tried with partial suc- 
 cess ; among them, tar ointment has lately become con- 
 spicuous, as also oil with a few drops of creosote, but 
 my favorite has always been a mixture of the oil of pen- 
 nyroyal with an equal amount of almond or sweet oil ; 
 tliis is both- cleanly and effectnd^l, and need only be 
 renewed once a day. But remember ii must be the 
 oil and not the essence of pennyroyal, which^ latter is 
 utterly worthless. Care must be taken with it, as with 
 the others, not to let them run into the eyes, as they will 
 produce unpleasant smarting. This composition is death 
 on black flies, 'and quite successful against mosquitoes ; 
 but it is well, also, to be provided with tar ointment, 
 which will not spill if the bottle is broken. 
 
 For clothes, the best suit is of strong duck, heavy 
 enough to resist an able-bodied mosquito, but as loose as 
 possible, so that warm flannelp, of which every descrip- 
 tion should be taken in abundance, can be worn beneath. 
 Flannel coats, shirts and drawers or pantaloons can be 
 crowded into a small space, and are excellent for keep- 
 ing out cold, and are not rendered unpleasant by moist- 
 ure. It must be borne in mind that the Summers in 
 Canada are occasionally absolutely cold, and for weeks 
 
CAMP LIFE. 
 
 293 
 
 lavy 
 ie as 
 
 be 
 
 jep- 
 
 nstr 
 
 in 
 
 3eka 
 
 in July, I have shivered in every coat and flannel I had 
 with me. 
 
 Moccasins are the things for the canoe, but if you try 
 to clamber over rocks or wade streams in them, your 
 feet will be bruised and cut severely. It is advisable to 
 wear stout ankle gaiters that lace up, with heavy iron- 
 nailed slippers that may be fastened with a strap and 
 buckle over them, after you have left the canoe, and by 
 means of which you can cling to the rocks without slip- 
 ping so frequently as you otherwise would. You will 
 wear a straw hat, of course, and where mosquitoes are 
 not innumerable, your flannel underclothes will make a 
 delightful boating suit. Never use anything but woollen 
 socks for any sort of hard walking, and by having your 
 net handle shod with iron, and carrying it in one hand, 
 you will make your way among the slippery rocks with 
 comparative safety. 
 
 The bedding should consist of plenty of blankets, and 
 one or two of them coated with India rubber and ren- 
 dered waterproof, to keep off the moisture that will 
 always rise from the ground at night, to wrap the rest of 
 your clothes in, and to protect them and yourself from 
 rain and wot. A stout leather strap and buckle is neces- 
 sary for the latter purpose. The best tent is a circular 
 one without any ridge-pole, but supported by a rope run 
 through a pulley attached to three long poles cut in the 
 woods, and placed in the shape of a tripod above. The 
 pins are driven into the cloth itself, and hold it so close 
 to the ground that no insects can penetrate beneath, 
 while a flap effectually closes the door. There is a hole 
 for ventilation at the top, which, in a rain, may be closed 
 
294 
 
 CAMP LIFE. 
 
 with a canvas cap. A stout post may La sot up iu the 
 centre with a few nails on which to hang clothes. This 
 tent should only be used at a permanent camp ; and for 
 travelling, the ordinary tent with a ridge-pole, as more 
 accurately described hereafter, is preferable ; a piece of 
 oiled cloth laid over sticks planted slanting in the ground, 
 will keep off the rain and dew. 
 
 A round tent of twenty-four feet in circumference will 
 not accommodate more than two men luxuriously, where- 
 as one of double that circumferen<;e will hold five times 
 the number. A large tent is a great comfort and not 
 much trouble. A separate tent should of coarse be 
 ^ken foi' your men, and another simple one for a make- 
 shift and a dining-roomw To arrange the latter is your 
 first care on arriving at your permanent camping-ground, 
 the table is of bark, either birch or spruce, nailed fast to 
 posts, and shielded by some protection from the rain ; 
 the seats are either a large log or the barrels you have 
 brought with you to carry stores and fiph, or else stools 
 ingeniously chipped from the trunks of trees with the 
 branches for legs. A dressing-stand is then arranged, 
 with a wash-basin made of birch bark ; the fire-place is 
 rigged up with a ridge-pole supported on two notched 
 sticks, and with a hooked withe to support the kettle, 
 and your sylvan home is furnished. 
 
 To support and gratify the inner man, it is well to 
 have with you all conceivable little delicacies, such as 
 nutmegs, allspice, preserved fruits, meats and vegetables, 
 sweet oil, lemons and raisins, sardines, chocolate, citric 
 acid and ginger ; but the necessaries are clear salt pork, 
 flour, rice, oat-meal and Indian-meal, coffee, tea, brown 
 
 a:.. 
 
CAMP LIFE. 
 
 ^95 
 
 And white sugar, red and black pepper, fine and coarse 
 salt, butter, sauces, preserved and fresh eggs, solidified 
 milk, ales and ardents according to consumption, pota- 
 toes, smoked beef, pickles, piccalilly, matches, the 
 essence of coffee, bacon, ham, dried beans and peas, 
 hominy, cigars, onions, bread, crackers, molasses, tobacco, 
 desiccated meats and soups. Many of these articles may 
 be advantageously stowed in the barrels intended for 
 packing fish, but the butter should be put up in air-tight 
 jar3 in small quantities, and may in hot weather be 
 buried under water in the sand. The oil tried out of the 
 pork is usually used for frying ; but if you have sufficient 
 butter the latter is infinitely preferable. 
 
 For cooking yon will need an iron pot and boiling ket- 
 tle, tin kettles fitting inside of one another, a frying-pan 
 with a handle like the kettle, a coffee-pot, some knives 
 and tin plates, cups, spoons, forks and deep dishes, and 
 above all an oyster broiler. The latter has thin wires, 
 and, having two surfaces, can be turned more readily 
 than a gridiron. It should be used extensively : fish and 
 game split open and broiled, well basted with butter, are 
 undeniable, and will be found a pleasant change from the 
 eternal fry. Large fish may be boiled and served up 
 with a little of the liquor strengthened with a teaspoon- 
 ful of Worcestershire sauce. The greatest difficulty 
 will be found with the bread ; the latter may be kept a 
 couple of weeks, and when excessively dry, by steaming 
 in the pot will be rendered eatable, but not good. Ship 
 biscuit must be the main reliance for a long tramp. 
 Before taking your departure, if you could obtain a few 
 lessons in cooking from some elderly lady friend whoso 
 
2D6 
 
 CAMP LIFE. 
 
 ;#■ 
 
 m-- 
 
 youth has not been so entirely devoted to dress as to pre- 
 vent her knowing something of her household duties, and 
 will carry with you a few simple recipes, you will not 
 regret it. 
 
 As no one can be certain of perfect health or freedom 
 from accident, it is well to be provided with plenty of 
 sticking and court plaster, cholera medicine and Bochelle 
 salts ; but generally the fine exercise and open air are a 
 brave preventive against sickness. Do not forget brown 
 soap to wash the dishes, candles for light in the evening, 
 and cream of tartar and soda to make the flour rise. 
 
 The most necessary tools are an axe, a hatchet, one of 
 Aiken's patent diminutive awl tool-chests, with which to 
 mend broken rods, needles and thread to mend torn 
 clothes, some rosin to mend the canoes, and a supply of 
 ^ various sizes of nails for numerous purposes, while a file 
 and sharpening stone will be found useful additions. An 
 india-rubber water-proof bag is admirable as a receptacle 
 for clothes or blankets, which should be heavy, and a 
 tin wash-basin and an air-pillow will be great additional 
 comforts. Fresh eggs may be conveniently stowed in 
 the barrels of coarse salt used for curing fish. 
 
 Of the foregoing there are none you can comfortably 
 omit, and besides them there are plenty you would do 
 well to have ; but the judgment and taste of each indi- 
 vidual will suggest the additions. 
 
 As one of the first objects will be to preserve the fish 
 you catch, a preparation of eight ounces of sugar, two 
 ounces of salt, half an ounce of brown pepper, well 
 rubbed into fish from which the back bone has been re- 
 moved, and which are allowed to dry in the sun, will 
 
 ''^*-- 
 
.■#■■ 
 
 CAMP LIFE. 
 
 297 
 
 in 
 
 preserve them over a month. They should be packed in 
 barrels with layers of bark between, and will prove more 
 edible than when simply smoked ; by smoking they may 
 be kept for years, and the fisherman long liave tlje proud 
 pleasure of offering to friend at breakfast a little of the 
 salmon he killed and smoked himself the previous Sum- 
 mer in Canada. 
 
 ' In warm weather, fish merely salted cannot be kept 
 long, and pickling in brine utterly destroys their flavor ; 
 but if the latter method must be adopted, a pickle of two 
 parts salt and one part common brown sugar will keep 
 them forever. Before cooking, however, they should be 
 well soaked. Pickling in vinegar with a few c.'oves is 
 probably the best mode where it is possible. 
 
 Tlie gum for mending the canoes — and it is surprising 
 liow large a hole it will fill — is made of one part rosin 
 to three parts balsam gum, fused together. If the aper- 
 ture is very extensive, a piece of linen saturated wi 'h 
 melted gum should be applied. In New Brunswick and 
 Maine it is usual to mix rosin and grease, which answers 
 every purpose. 
 
 To smoke fish, it is necessary to salt them in a tub, 
 where they can form a brine, and leave them thus for 
 two days, and then hang them in a smoke-house, not 
 too near the fire, for as many weeks, when they are to be 
 packed in lay ere, separate. Fish are soused by being 
 partially boiled, and having vinegar boiled in copper 
 kettles mixed with allspice and poured over them. Iron 
 turns the vinegar black, and hence this mode cannot be 
 pursued in the woods. Small fish may be headed, 
 cleaned and packed in a jar, which is then filled up with 
 
 13* 
 
pi 
 
 29S 
 
 CAMP LIFE. 
 
 vinegar and allspice and baked all night. Next day 
 freeh vinegar is added to make up for the evaporation, 
 and lard is run in to exclude the air. They keep well 
 and taste excellent. 
 
 An air-tight can is now made, with a cover that fits 
 into a trough which can be filled with melted rosin. 
 This may be used over and over again, and is peculiarly 
 adapted to the woods. It must be hermetically sealed 
 while the contents are boiling, but without sealing might 
 be advantageously used t^ protect sugar and such things 
 from the wet. The same cover is applied to brown ear- 
 then jars, which are well suited for carrying butter. 
 
 Literature will be found a great resource in the woods, 
 and although Harper's last Monthly may be permissible 
 on account of the shortness of its stories, nothing should 
 be taken of too interesting a character, lest it divert 
 attention from the main object in view. This work will 
 be found extremely safe. 
 
 In giving the foregoing directions it is assumed that 
 the reader intends to travel with canoes, and does not 
 expect to make any extensive portages, or, as they are 
 called in American, " carries ;" for if the men are ex- 
 pected to back the traps for any considerable distance, 
 the only admissible articles are fishing-tackle, penny-royal, 
 an axe, the tents, pork, ship biscuit, tea, sugar, pepper, 
 salt, tea-kettle, matches and a frying-pan. The «lightest 
 weight becomes a mountain on such occasions, and it will 
 require stout muscles to carry enough for their own sus- 
 tenance. In salmon-fishing this is rarely necessary, 
 unless a man would be an explorer, and the adventurous 
 are always sufferers. 
 
 IM>>. 
 
CAMP LIFE. 
 
 299 
 
 rill 
 lus- 
 
 )US 
 
 As it is possible none of my reader's female acquaint- 
 Rnco have ever soiled their rosy fingers — Heaven savo 
 the mark! — with domestic cookery, an outline of the 
 theory of that science may be advantageous. There are 
 certain well known rules that have no exceptions, unless 
 in the hands of a genius, and which apply to classes and 
 divisions of edibles. For instance, a little salt must always 
 be thrown into the water before anything is boiled in it. 
 Thus, again, with the great class of fried cakes : milk 
 thickened with flour, and an egg or two, and a pinch of 
 salt, makes griddle :. add squash, boiled and mashed, and 
 you have squash cakes ; employ boiled and mashed rice 
 in place of squash, and there is produced the delicate 
 rice cake ; introduce Indian-meal, which has been first 
 scalded, and you have Indian cakes. This class of cakes 
 is made by pouring the preparation, in large tableEpoon- 
 fuls at a time, on a greased griddle or frying-pan. In 
 broiling, frying, roasting, baking, or stewing, salt and 
 pepper are first rubbed on the article to be cooked ; in 
 broiling, baking, or roasting, it is basted with butter or 
 grease, and in frying the butter is first put in the pan 
 and heated. Potatoes boiled, and cut thin when cold, 
 are delicious fried. In steWing, a little water is poured 
 over the meat, and the cooking is done with a cover on. 
 
 Frying is with butter or grease alone ; stewing with 
 grease and a little water ; and. boiling with water alone. 
 You determine when things are done by the color and 
 trying how they resist a fork. An excellent chowder is 
 made by putting pork, fish, cracker, meat, clams, and 
 anything else that is handy, with vegetables, sufficient 
 seasoning, and a little water, and stewing it well. Stew- 
 
300 
 
 OAUP LIFE. 
 
 ing can hardly be carried to excess, as from the cloBencsa 
 of the vessel the nutritious particles cannot escape. 
 
 Tlie best omelette the tyro can make, and excellent it 
 will bo found, is by frying eggs, which arc first beaten 
 np and seasoned, till they are not quite firm. They 
 must be stirred all the while to keep them from burning, 
 and if they are done hard are ruined. 
 , A white sauce is made of flour and butter well mixed 
 together, stirred into hot water and allowed to boil for 
 fifteen minutes ; a hard boiled egg may be chopped up 
 and added if desired. This is the appropriate sauce for 
 salmon. A brown gravy is made from the drippings of 
 the meat, and some burnt sugar or browned crumbs addl- 
 ed and warmed up. 
 
 The following is an accurate recipe for griddle cakes : 
 one pint of boiled rice, three tablespoonfuls of flour, two 
 tablespoonfuls of milk and two eggs. While for fried 
 cakes it will be observed that flour, milk and eggs are 
 used, for ordinary cakes flour, butter and eggs are ijeces- 
 sary, with sugar added for sweetening. Thus, a good 
 cake is made of flve cups of flour, three cups of sugar, 
 two cups of butter and four eggs. This cake must be 
 baked slowly, which could be done in a piece of birch 
 bark inclosed in heated stones, allowing room for it to 
 rise. vt 
 
 Tlie simplest and best way to boil a salmon is to slash 
 him on the sides with vertical cuts to the bone, having 
 previously drawn, opened and cleaned him, to wash him 
 well in the nearest spring, put him into boiling water 
 sufficiently salt to bear an egg^ and cook him seven or 
 eight minutes to every pound of weight, and serve him 
 
CAMP LIFE. 
 
 80] 
 
 with some of tho water he was cooked in foi sauce. The 
 latter may he thickened with flonr and butter. He 
 should, like all other fish, be cooked fresh. 
 
 Broiled fish, or, if they are larq^e, slices of fish, cook 
 better wrapped in a piece of paper oiled ; and the one- 
 half of a salmon spread out, tacked on a board and roast- 
 ed by a hot fire is excellent ; and in cooking small fish 
 suspended by a twig near the fire, Frank Forester recom- 
 mends that a small stick with a piece of pork threaded 
 on it, should be inserted to keep the belly open, and a 
 biscuit placed below to catch the drippings. A hot fire 
 will cook a fish thus m ten minutes. 
 
 To bake a fish he is wrapped in oiled paper or birch 
 bark, and placed in an oven built of stones laid in a hol- 
 low, and from which the fire has just been removed, 
 other heated stones are placed above him, and the fire is 
 raked back over tlj6 whole. 
 
 It will be hardly necessary to remark, in connection 
 with these directions, that fish must be cleaned and have 
 the gills removed and be well washed and scaled before 
 they can be cooked ; that when the word butter is used, 
 and my reader have no butter, he must use such grease 
 or oil as he may have ; that in all cases he can add such 
 sauces and spices to his condiments as he may relish and 
 possess. ■ Among all the variety of prepared sauces, an- 
 chovy for salmon and Worcestershire for meats are the 
 best, but lemon alone gives an excellent flavor. 
 
 To bread anything, whether it be fried oysters or fried 
 eels, dip them in the yolk of egg beaten up, and then in 
 cracker pounded fine, or they may first be dipped in flour 
 and afterward in egg and cracker. %. 
 
802 
 
 CAMP LIFE. 
 
 Tea is made hy '^^o .Ang a little hot water on the leaves 
 and allowing it to draw by the liro for ten minutes and 
 then tilling up with hot water. Coffee, by putting the 
 coffee, mixed with the yolk of an egg, into boiling water 
 and Billowing it to boil once — no more, on your life. If 
 you do not wish to use an egg, put in a teaspoonful of 
 cold water immediately on taking it from the fire. Tliis 
 is done to clear it. Chocolate is made by melting a cake 
 broken into small pieces in warm water, adding a cup of 
 milk after it is perfectly smooth, and boiling for twenty 
 minutes. An excellent tea is made of yellow birch bark. 
 
 Bread, especially if it is a little stale, is much improved 
 by toasting, which should be done by approaching it close 
 to the fire, even throwing it on the coals and, burning the 
 outside almost black. If buttered and covered with 
 brown sugar and eaten hot it makes an excellent dessert. 
 
 If salt pork is to be broiled, it should be cut thin, and 
 may be soaked well in water, dipped in Indian-meal, so 
 as to bread it, and then broiled or fried brown. It can 
 be used in soup by being boiled in two waters. 
 
 Smoked beef is good if stewed a few minutes with a 
 lump of butter mixed witb flour and enough milk to 
 cover the whole, which may be seasoned with pepper. 
 Fried fish that has become cold can be revived in the 
 same way ; the flour may be omitted and some salt must 
 be added. 
 
 An onion may be boiled in bread sauce, and removed 
 before serving, or pepper may be added ; celery chopped 
 and cooked in a stew or sauce adds a peculiarly pleasant 
 flavor. Tough meat of all kinds should be stewed, and 
 except salt pork, meat should be rarely fried. The fore- 
 
 ■■^ 
 
 -jii^"'" 
 
CAMP LIFE. 
 
 803 
 
 going are soon acqnired by practice, and experience will 
 Biiggest many valuable alterations ; but tbey are all the 
 directions necessary to raaice camp life not merely com- 
 fortable, but by the aid of a good appetite extremely 
 pleasant. Cookery is no mean science, and a knowledge 
 of it will prove interesting and advantageous not only 
 in the wilderness, but so long as Irish cooks shall rule our 
 kitchens and miii our digestions, in the realms of civil- 
 ization. 
 
 To unite economy in space and weight with the utmost 
 amount of accommodation, the following sized tents will 
 be found to answer for two fisherman and five guides or 
 even four fishermen. 
 
 The tent -of the gentlemen should' be four cloths deep, 
 each cloth of twenty-six inches, and cut twenty feet long, 
 so that there should be ten feet on each side of the ridge- 
 pole ; the wall takes about three feet, at the upper edge 
 of which a small piece is tabled in where the bolt-rope 
 pabses, to shed the rain. There is an extra strip of can- 
 vas along the ridge, with two small grummets in each 
 end, inside the tent, to receive the poles ; but there is no 
 bolt-rope except along the wall, and there must b^ no 
 cross seams, as they are sure to leak. A shoulder is left 
 on the poles, which are thrust into the grummets and a 
 spreader is forced up between them and sustained as a 
 ridge-pole by a notch cut in each. There are three tent 
 ropes on each side, with a stout line and toggle, or but- 
 ton where they join the tent, to trice up the walls in 
 warm weather ; the doors, which are at both ends, lap 
 well over, and are secured by a strong galvanised hook 
 and eye, and are closed with strings. Along the bottom 
 
nwp* 
 
 304 
 
 OA¥P LIF8. 
 
 of the wall are rings to peg it down, and the width ia 
 the same as tlio depth. This tent Bets up oi^ht feet high, 
 and is quickly pitched if the polos are retained, which 
 can bo readily done, as they are convenient in the bottom 
 of the canoe to keep other baggage from the wet. Tlie 
 size may be diminished to eight feet square, but will be 
 found rather cramped, especially in wet weather, when the 
 iisherman is more or less compelled to stay indoors, and 
 will not permit of what is often desirable, accommodate 
 ing a visitor. 
 
 For the men, a simple strip of canvas eight feet square, 
 with sloping sides, is all that is required. In fact, in cold 
 weather an open tent with a fire .in front is preferable to 
 all others, and can be kept as warm as an oven. A Si))- 
 ley tent has many advantages, but must be large, and is 
 troublesome to transport. In cold weather, logs should 
 be cut down and laid up with mud like a hut, or boards 
 driven into the ground close together to form the foim- 
 dation, and the tent set over them. It will be warmer 
 and more roomy. 
 
 Where there is naught to be shot, and as little to be 
 cauglit, no man has any business in the woods ; but as 
 bad marksmanship or scarcity of game may cause the 
 first, or a rise of water the second, it is well to know 
 that a pound of biscuit and a pound of pork per day is 
 all that a man requires for his support. A fair allowance 
 however would be, considering it merely as an addition 
 to the proceeds of the gun and rod, a pound of biscuit 
 or bread, and half a pound of pork. Where flour is 
 taken the amount of bread may be reduced ; but as the 
 staff of life occasionally becomes wet and moldy, it is 
 
CAMP LIFE. 
 
 805 
 
 e 
 
 better to ho well supplied. Half a pound of solidiliod 
 milk will luBt one man ton days, a pound of tea thirty, 
 and lialf a pound .*" tobacco ono week. Eight pounds 
 of brown sugar, the same of butter, a bushel of potatoes, 
 and two gallons of molasses are sufficient for two anglera 
 and iive men one week. It is not customary to give 
 men milk, sugar or coffee ; they are carried only for the 
 gentlemen, and the above calculations are made on that 
 footing. Tliese computations may bo relied on, and will 
 bo found extremely usoful ; although the luxuries of camp 
 life may fail, the necessaries must not be exhausted. 
 There is no fun in having to send a couple of your best 
 men fifty miles for provisions, when salmon, are rising or 
 a long journey is to be made. Time devoted to pleasure 
 is precious ; a day wasted is indeed a loss. 
 
 And now, good reader, farewell. In looking over this 
 book, I perceive how far short I have fallen of my own 
 expectations, and feel how greatly I must have disap- 
 pointed yours. Much has been badly said, much omit- 
 ted, and no doubt much unintentionally misstated. 
 Opinions differ, and experience leads to contrary results. 
 There are game fish, and modes of taking them, with 
 which doubtless I am unacquainted, and yet I hope you 
 will find something here that has not been written before. 
 My aim has been to induce sportsmen to study the habits 
 and proper designation of the different varieties of game 
 they pursue, to apply the appropriate names and distin- 
 guish the various species. My hope is to elevate theijr 
 
 ■^ 
 
 #■• 
 
306 
 
 CAMP LIFE. 
 
 purpose above the mere indulgence of that peculiar 
 innate pleasure experienced in the chase, and at the same 
 time, if possible, to press upon the attention of natural- 
 ists the vast assistance they might obtain from their 
 humbler brethren by reducing their language to the 
 standard of ordinary comprehension ; and above all, to 
 insist, by every consideration of humanity, upon the 
 absolute necessity of preventing the cruel, wanton, and 
 untimely destruction of the beautiful inhabitants of our 
 woods and waters. These have been my objects ; it is 
 for you to judge how far I have succeeded. But, reader, 
 let me warn you : neither praise nor dispraise overmuch. 
 In either case I shall write another book, to justify the 
 former or disprove the latter. 
 
 
 
lar 
 me 
 ral- 
 leir 
 the 
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 the 
 and 
 our 
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 der, 
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 the 
 
 -;,w 
 
 
 :v.«:? 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 ■••• 
 
 CAP. LXII. 
 
 .AN ACT IPSPEOTINO FISHXBIE8 AND FISHINa. 
 
 • . ■ » 
 
 Protection to Fisheriet. 
 
 1. The Governor in Council may grant special fishing leases and 
 licenses on lands belonging to the Crown, for any term not exceeding 
 uine years, and may make all and every such regulation or regu- 
 lations as may be found necessary or expedient for the better man- 
 agement and regulation of the Fisheries of the Province. — 22 V. o. 
 80, s. 4. 
 
 2. The Governor may, as occasion shall require, appoint two 
 Superintendents of Fisheries, one for Upper and one for Lower 
 Canada. Four Overseers may be appointed by the Commissiqjiers 
 of Crown Lands, in such places, and in such divisions of territory, as 
 may be considered necessary. — Ihid. s. 6. 
 
 5. The Governor in Council may cause to be set apart any river 
 or other water for the natural or artificial propagation of salmon, 
 trout or other fish. — Ihid. s. 8. 
 
 6. The Governor in Council may grant permission to fish in the 
 rivers within the Eing^s Posts.— /ftid. s. 9. 
 
 7. Whoever throws overboard ballast in any river, harbor or 
 roadstead, where fishing is carried on, or the remains of oifal of fisli, 
 in any such river, or within three miles of the coast of the mainland, 
 or of any island, or on any fishing-bank, shall incur a tine not exceed- 
 ing eighty dollars, and the master or owner of such vessel or boat, 
 from which such ballast or offal of fish shall have been thrown, shall 
 be held liable for every such offence : Provided always that it shall 
 be lawful for any person to bury such offal of fish on the mainland 
 or any island at a distance of not less than an acre from the beach 
 
 thereof.— /6i A s. 11. 
 
 SOT 
 
308 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 8. No one shall anchor near the shore in snch a manner as lo 
 impede the throwing and hauling of seines, or the setting of standing 
 nets. — Ihid. s. 12. 
 
 9. No one shall eet standing nets in such a manner as to impede 
 the throwing or tlie hauling of seines. — IMd. s. 13. 
 
 10. No one shall set seines or nets in such a manner as to impede 
 the navigation or anchorage in any bay, harbor or roadstead, or other 
 place required for navigation — Ihid. 8. 14. 
 
 20. No one sliall fish for, catch or kill salmon in any way what-, 
 ever, between the first day of August and the first day of March in 
 any year ; except only that it shall be lawful to fish for salmon with 
 a rod and line, in the manner known as fly-surface-fishing, from the 
 first of March to the first of September in any year, in Upper or 
 Lower Canada. — Ihid. s. 24. 
 
 21. No one shall use any net, or take salmon in any way what- 
 ever, at any salmon-leap, or where any artificial salmon pass shall 
 have been constructed, nor in any pools or ponds where salmon are 
 wont to spawn. — Ihid. s. 25. 
 
 22. Whoever obstructs the main channel or course of any river, 
 either by placing therein nets or fishing apparatus of any kind, or 
 any obstacles of any kind whatever, for the purpose of taking salmon 
 or any other species of fish, shall thereby incur for each offence a 
 fine not exceeding twenty dollars, and the forfeiture of his fishing 
 apparatus ; and in no case shall the said channel or course so left 
 open be less than one-third of the whole breadth of such river. — 
 Ihid. 8. 26. 
 
 23. The owner of any dam or slide where fish may ascend, shall, 
 for the purpose of affording a passage to the fish, attach and main- 
 tain to each dam or slide, a fish way of such form and dimensions as 
 shall be determined by the Superintendent of Fisheries, under a 
 penalty of four dollars for each day on which he shall fail so to do 
 after two months' notice by the superintendeat. — Ihid, s. 27. 
 
 24. Any salmon taken in contravention of the twentieth section 
 of this act, shall subject all parties concerned in the breach of the 
 said section, whether the actual transgressors or accessories, to a 
 penalty of not more than forty dollars, nor less than twenty dollars, 
 together with the forfeiture of the fish, oaroe, boat or other vessel 
 in wliich the fish may have been placed, or to imprisonment for a 
 jieriod of nut more than six months, nor less than three months. — 
 Ibid. s. 28. 
 
 25. The meshes of any net used for the taking of stdmon shall not 
 be less than five inches in extension, knot to knot, under penalty 
 and on pain of forfeiture of the nets. — Ihid. s. 29. 
 
 ^ 26. No one shall fish with any net or seine whatever, of a less 
 
 sized mesh than one and a half inches on the square, in any lake, 
 
 river or bay, or in any of the waters of Upper Canada. — Ihid. 8. 80. 
 
 27. No one shall fish for, catch or kill any kind of trout in any 
 
 jr^^ 
 
iLPPENDIX. 
 
 309 
 
 lall, 
 kain« 
 U as 
 
 ir a 
 do 
 
 lars, 
 Issel 
 ]r a 
 
 way whatever, between the twentieth of October and the first of 
 February in any year, in Lower Canada. — Ihid. s. 81. 
 
 28. No one shall kill any kind of speckled trout, in any way what- 
 evek', between the twentieth of October and the first of April in any 
 year ; nor shall any speckled troat be killed at any time by means 
 of nets or seines in any Inland lake, riyer or stream in Upper 
 Canada. — Ihid. s. 32. 
 
 29. No one shall catch trout, by means of nets or seines, in any 
 lake or river, or at the outlet or inlet of any lake, or in any river 
 except the river St. Lawrence, in Lower Canada.-^/&i<Z. s. 33. 
 
 80. Except in the Lakes Hnron and Superior, no one shall catch 
 salmon-trout between the fifteenth day of November and the first 
 day of February. — Hid. s. 34. 
 
 81. Except as aforesaid, no one shall catch maskinonge, pickerel 
 or black bass, between the fifteenth of March and the fifteenth day 
 of May. — Ihid. s. 35. 
 
 82. No one shall buy, sell or have in possession any salmon, sal- 
 mon-trout, nor any kii^d of trout, bass nor maskinonge, taken in 
 contravention of this act; and any fish so taken may be declared 
 forfeited by any magistrate whoms^oever, and any person so found in 
 possession of any of the aforementioned fish, or of any part or por- 
 tion thereof, shall be held to have obtained the same in violation of 
 the provisions of this act, except only upon legal proof to the con- 
 trary, which proof shall devolve wholly upon the person accused.T— 
 Ihid. 8. 86. 
 
 83. No one shall construct any fish pound in any river.— 
 Ihid. 8. 37. 
 
 34. The Superintendent of Fisheries may grant written permission 
 to any person or persons who may be desirous of obtaining spawn 
 for hondjide artifici^d or scientific purposes, to fish for that purpose, 
 during the close season ; and any person who willfully injures or 
 destroys any place set apart for the artificial propagation of fish, 
 shall incur a fine of not less than twenty dollars nor more than forty 
 dollars. — Ihid. s. 38. 
 
 36. No one shall throw lime, or any chemical substance or drug, 
 into any water frequented by any one of the kind of fish mentioned 
 in this act, and any person found guilty of having thrown lime or any 
 other chemical substance or drug in such waters, shall be subjected to 
 a penalty of not less than twenty dollars and not more than forty 
 dollars for each offence. — Ihid. 8. 40. 
 
 White-fish in the Eitert Niagara, Detroit and St. Clair, 
 
 47. Any person who nses or employs, or causes to be u^d or 
 employed, any seine or other nets of a greater length than fifty 
 fathoms, for the taking of white-fish in any of the rivers Detroit, 
 Suint Clair, or Niagara, within Upper Canada, bhall, for every such 
 
 : -'ili-i- L . 
 
310 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 offence, forfeit the sum of five hundred dollars.— 8 W. 4, o. 29, s. 1. 
 22 V. c, 86, 8. 80. 
 
 48. Any person fonnd fishing for white-fish in either of the said 
 rivers within Upper Canada, with seines, gill-nets or other nets, on 
 the first day of the week, called Sunday, shall forfeit for every such 
 offence the sam of two hundred dollars. — -3. W. 4, o. 29, s. 2. 
 
 White-fish in Upper Canada. 
 
 49. Any person who attempts to divert the natural progress or 
 running of the white-fish within Upper Oanada, hy shingling or other 
 device, shall forfeit for every such offence the sum of five hundred 
 dollars, or be imprisoned, not exceeding three months, at the discre- 
 tion of the court. — 3 W. 4, c. 29, s. 8. 
 
 50. AH forfeitures incurred under the three last preceding sections 
 of this act may be recovered by action of debt, with costs of suit, 
 before any court having competent jurisdiction ; one moiety thereof 
 to the person who sues for the same, and the other moiety to be pud 
 into the hands of the Receiver General. — 8 W. 4, o. 29, s. 5. 
 
 CROWN LANDS DEPARTMENT. 
 
 FISHERIES. 
 
 Toronto^ 20th December^ \%b%. 
 
 Pursuant to certain provisions of the statute 22d Vict. cap. 86, the 
 Governor General in council has been pleased to adopt the fol- 
 lowing Regulations for Salmon and Sea-trout Fisheries in Lower 
 Canada : 
 By-Law A. — In agreement with the intent and meaning of the 4th 
 and 7th sections of the Fishery Act, it is hereby declared that hence- 
 forth the Crown, for all practical purposes, resumes and reeenters 
 formally into possession of all fishing stations for salmon and sea- 
 trout appertaining thereto, in Lower Canada, and that no claim by 
 priority or by reason of past occupation of any of these places, shall 
 hereinafter exist, and that any party or parties continuing to occupy 
 and use any net-fishery for salmon or sea-trout without obtaining 
 lease or license therefor under authority from the Crown, shall, after 
 previous notice, become liable to such pains and penalties as are 
 impoyd by the aforesaid act — saving moreover, all other recourse in 
 like cases provided by law. 
 
 B. — Neither stake-nets, drift-nets, gill-nets, float or stell-nets, 
 Bcoop-nets, seines, weirs, nor other self-acting machine whatsoever 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 311 
 
 58. 
 
 lets, 
 bver 
 
 shall Lo used within the course of any river or stream freciuented 
 chiefly by salmon and sea-trout, at a greater distance from the mouth 
 thereof than the usual mark of tidal floods, or inside of such other 
 actual limit as may be assigned in the fleld to each estuary holding 
 by the Superintendent of Fisheries for Lower Canada, or by the sti- 
 pendiary magistrate in charge of the government vessel for the 
 protection of fisheries. 
 
 C. — All nets, or other lawful appliances for the capture of salmon 
 and sea-trout, shall be placed within the estuary lishings at distances 
 of not less than 200 yards apart, the interval so designated to mean 
 along either side of the stream, and such measurement to leave the 
 space clear from any net on one side to another net upon the oppo- 
 site shore, without separate intermediate nots, or other device, being 
 set anywhere therein. 
 
 JD. — The Superintendent of Fisheries Ibr Lower Canada, or the 
 stipendiary magistrate in command of the government vessel for the 
 protection of fisheries, may prescribe, either by written or published 
 instruction, or on sight, the open space between nets to be sot ia 
 bays, and elsewhere along the coast. 
 
 F. — At the outside of the chamber and in the pound of every set 
 or stake-net for the capture of salmon and sea-trout, there shall be 
 maintained a flap or " door " at least ten inches square, wliich must 
 be left open, aflfording ft-ee egress and passage to salmon and trout, 
 from sundown on Saturdays until sunrise on Mondays. 
 
 F. — All other persons are forbidden to take fisli of any kind, and 
 in any manner, within limits covered by leases or licenses from the 
 Crown, except by special permission of the lessees or licentiates. 
 
 G^.^-The fishing for, taking, and killing of any salmon or sea-trout 
 by aid of torch-light or other artificial light, and by means of spears, 
 harpoon (n6gog), jigger-hooks, or grapnel, is hereby absolutely 
 forbidden. 
 
 If. — Indians may, for their own horiA fide use and consumption, 
 fish for, catch or kill salmon and trout by sucli means as are next 
 above prohibited during the months of May, June and July, but only 
 upon waters not then leased, licensed or reserved by the Crown ; 
 provided always that each and every Indian thus exempted shall be 
 at all times forbidden to sell, barter or give away any salmon and 
 trout so captured or killed in the manner hereinbefore described. 
 
 /. — The receipt, gift, purchase, sale and possession by any person 
 or persons other than Indians of any salmon or trout which may 
 have been speared or taken as aforesaid, shall be punishable accord- 
 ing to law ; and every fish so found or had in violation of this rule, 
 shall become forfeited and disposable as the law directs. 
 
 ./■.—No fishing shall be allowed in any water set apart by the 
 Crown for purposes of natural or artificial breeding of salmon and 
 trout, except under express sanction from the Superintendent of 
 Fisheries for Lower Canada. 
 
ai2 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 K. — Hereafter, no slabs or edgings, or otber mill rabbisli, sball be 
 drifted awaste, or be suffered to drift awaste, into any salmon and 
 fiea-tront rivers or streams in Lower Canada. 
 
 Z. — For any breach of tlie foregoing Regulations the penalty 
 attached shall be as declared in the 42d section of the statute 22d 
 Vict., cap. 86. 
 
 The publication of the present By-laws in both the French and 
 English languages, in the Official Qazette^ shall be sufficient notice to 
 give legal effect. 
 
 P. M. VANKOironNET, 
 
 Commmioner, 
 
 CROWN LANDS DEPAETIVIENT. 
 
 FISHERIES BRANCH. 
 
 ^: 
 
 Quebec^ \Zth May^ 1860. 
 
 Pursuant to certain provisions of the statute 22 Vict. cap. 62, Con- 
 solidated Statutes of Canada, His Excellency the Governor 
 General in council has been pleased to adopt the following 
 Fishery Regulations for Upper Canada: 
 
 By-Law No. 1. — The Crown having, for the purposes of the Act 
 22d Vict. cap. 62, Consolidated Statutes of Canada, practically 
 resumed and reentered formally into possession of all fishing stations 
 witliin the Province of Canada, it is, pursuant to the said statute, 
 further provided that the following Regulations shall hereinafter 
 apply to the fisheries of Upper Canada, and any person or persons, 
 continuing to occupy or use, directly or indirectly, any such net-fish- 
 ing without lease from the Crown, shall become liable to the pains 
 and penalties imposed by the Fisheries Act — saving moreover all 
 other recourse in like cases provided by law. 
 
 No. 2. — The use of pound-nets is hereby prohibited. 
 
 No. 3. — It is forbidden to fish for, capture or kill fish by means of 
 spears ; except only by Indians. 
 
 No, 4. — No net or other device shall be so placed as entirely t(v 
 obstruct the passage of fish into and from their accustomed resorts 
 for the purposes of spawning and increasing their species. 
 
 No. 5.— inlets and outlets around Burlington Bay and Dundas 
 Marsh shall be deemed to be, for the application of the Fisheries 
 Act, waters forming part of the said bay and marsh, as described in 
 section 23 of the said statute. 
 
 No. 6. — No fishing shall be allowed in any water which may have 
 been leased or set apart by the Orown for natural or artificial pro- 
 
 .^•* 
 
i'%.'W', 
 
 % 
 ,t 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 813 
 
 pagation of fish, except by express sanction of a fishery officer, or 
 ofiicers. • 
 
 Ifb. 7. — All other persons are forbidden to take fish, for purposes 
 of trade, within the limits covered by leases from the Grown— except 
 only by written permission of the lessees. 
 
 Ifo. 8. — The receipt, gift, purchase, sale or possession of any fish 
 had in contravention of these Regulations shall be punishable accord- 
 ing to law ; and the article so had and all materials so unlawfully 
 used therefor, shall become subject to forfeiture and disposal as the 
 law directs. 
 
 1^0. 9. — Hereafter no slabs or edgings, or other mill rubbish, shall 
 be sent adrift in any river or stream which may have been leased or 
 reserved by the Crown for propagation, or where fish ways have been 
 erected. 
 
 No. 10. — ^For any and every breach of the foregoing Regulations 
 the penalty attached shall be as declared by the aforesaid statute — 
 saving moreover all other recourse in like cases provided by law. 
 
 The first publication of the present By-laws in both the English 
 and French languages, in the Canada Gazette^ shall be sufficient 
 notice to give legal effect ; and the production of a copy, purporting 
 to be printed by the queen's printer, shall be primA facie evidence 
 of every such Regulation, and that it is in force as law. 
 
 And each contravention of any of the aforesaid By-laws may be 
 stated as an offence against the Fisheries Act. 
 
 " ': ^ P. M. Vankouqhnet, 
 
 Commissioner. 
 
 of 
 
 to 
 )rts 
 
 kdas 
 
 STRAITS OR RIVERS NIAGARA, DETROIT, 
 AND SAINT CLAIR. 
 
 ACT 3 WILLIAM lY. CAP. 29. 
 
 •:'"^^*'"^-V"- ABSTHAOT. 
 
 Sko. I. — It is forbid to use, or cause to be used, any seine or other 
 net for the capture of white-fish, in the straits or rivers Detroit, 
 Saint Olair and Niagara, of greater length than fifty fathoms ; under 
 forfeiture of one hundred and twenty-five pounds. 
 
 II.— It is forbid to fish in the said straits or rivers, with seines, 
 gill-nets, or other nets, on the first day of the week, called Sunday ; 
 under penalty, for every such offence, of fifty pounds. 
 
 III.— It is forbid to divert the natural progress or running of 
 white-fish, by shingling or other device ; upon penalty of one hun- 
 dred and twenty-five pounds, or imprisonment. 
 
 14- • V'-^,, 
 
 ^'Un*^ 
 
314 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 fir 
 
 «r ♦ 
 
 rV.— Repealed. *. '" 
 
 v.— Tt is provided that one moiety of the forfeitnres incnrred 
 nnder thiff 4.ot shall be applied to the pablio uses of the province, 
 and the other moietj to whomsoever shall have sued out such 
 complaint. 
 
 •(i-.ii... ■ 
 
 BURLINGTON BAY. 
 
 ACT 6 WILLIAM IV. CAP. 16. 
 
 ABSTBAOT. .' 
 
 8so. I. — Repealing clause. 
 
 II. — It is unlawful to draw any seine or other not in Burlington 
 Bay ; except at a distance of one-half mile from the land at the out- 
 let thereof. 
 
 III. — It is illegal at any time to set gill-nets in the waters of said 
 bay, or to use any device whatsoever, so as to prevent tlie free pass- 
 ag(B of fish to and from the aforesaid hay. 
 
 lY. — For each offence against the provisions of this Act, the 
 offender shall incur a fine of not more than five pounds nor less than 
 ten shillings, and in default of payment, will be imprisoned; one 
 moiety of fine to be paid to the ^rown, and tlie other moiety to 
 complainant. 
 
 DAMS OF FISH PONDS. 
 
 . ' ACT 4 & 6 VIOT. CAP. 26. 
 
 « ABSTRACT. ^ 
 
 8eo, XV. — And be it enacted, that if any person shall unlawfully 
 and maliciously break down, or otherwise destroy, the dam of any 
 fish pond, or of any water which shall be private property, or in 
 which there shall be any private right of fishery, with intent thereby 
 to take or destroy any of the fish in such pond or water, or so as 
 thereby to cause the loss or destruction of any of the fish, or shall 
 unlawfully and maliciously put any lime or other noxious material in 
 any such pond and water, with intent thereby to destroy any of the 
 fish therein, or shall unlawfully and maliciously bref^ down or other- 
 wise destroy the dam of any mill-pond, every such offender shsJl be 
 gdilty of a misdemeanor, and being convicted thereof shall be pun* 
 ished accordingly. 
 
^ i APPENDIX. 
 
 815 
 
 i FISHING ON SUNDAY. 
 
 ACT 8 VIOT. CAP. 46. 
 
 ABBTBAOT. 
 
 8io. III. — ^Prohibits all fishing and shooting on Snndaytf, nnd^r 
 penalty not to exceed ten pounds, nor be less than five shillings and 
 costs. 
 
 wfuUy 
 )f any 
 or in 
 lereby 
 so as 
 ' shall 
 rial in 
 f tlie 
 ther- 
 allbe 
 pim« 
 
 MR. WHITCHER'S REPORT. 
 
 To THE Hon. p. M. Vankouohnbt, ; "^ 
 
 Gommiaaioner of Crown LandSy ete. 
 
 Sir — Your directions of the I7th of May last, honored me with 
 tl'^ service of inspecting and taking inventories of certain public 
 properties within the territory known as "The King^s Posts," "pre- 
 paratory to their resumption by government at the expiry of lease 
 with the Hon. Hudson's Bay Company. Obedient to which I have 
 made a personal and minute inspection of the several premises with 
 the view of ascertaining their actual state. The results of such exa- 
 minaticn, and other information affecting their delivery and accept- 
 ance, as between the Company and the Crown, form the subject of 
 various special communications and of a General Beport already 
 
 addressed to the Department. 
 
 * * * * * * * « 
 
 The river Marguerite discharges a large volume of water, and in 
 the tidal portion affords tolerable salmon fishery. The lower coarse 
 is much broken by abrupt falls, and the fish not ascending the 
 stream to the more liighly aerated waters of its sources, are ill- 
 shapen and coarse, and but of middling size. The spawning-places 
 swarmed with salmon fry. A trifling outlay in the construction of 
 stone basin steps would overcome the main obstacles to the ascent 
 of salmon along this stream. 
 
 The river Pentecost is smaller, and has a high fall quite inaccessi- 
 ble to fish, some three miles from its mouth, where the bottom is 
 soft and muddy, and the sliores clayey, which peculiarities probably 
 deter salmon from entering it. In the entrance, and for upward of^ 
 a league along the St. Lawrence bank westward, there is excellent 
 sea trout fishing for nets. The trout reach four pounds' weight, and 
 are well fiavored. They take the artiticiarfiy and bait with great 
 avidity at ebb and flow of the tide, particularly inside the embou 
 chure. 
 
 "^ua-f 
 
""""^liiHiP 
 
 f 
 
 816 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Stress of weather compelled me to advance from here to Trinity 
 Bay, without exploring the river Oalumet, where I am informed 
 there once was an abundance of salmon. 
 
 There are several fair salmon, and many good sea troat fishing 
 stands on this part of the coast. 
 
 The Trinity River I consider a valuable stream. Of the estuary 
 portion I shall not now speak, having described its fishings, etc , in 
 the previous season's report. An almost uninterrupted passage for 
 near forty miles admits salmon into a part of this stream where it 
 widens and is divided by small islands. Here seems to be the breed- 
 ing-ground ; and it is so distant from any place where fish taken 
 could be disposed of, and the labor of navigating it with a canoe, 
 even ligntly laden, is so formidable that salmon may again multiply 
 tliere in primeval quiet. Hitherto the estuary has been over net ted, 
 and the river barred across by gili-iiets. Hence the decline of the 
 fishery. Now, however, fair play is insured, and the natural conse- 
 quence will be a rapid restoration of the river to its pristine cele- 
 brity. 
 
 Some three leagues west are the forks of the famous Godbout. 
 Here, too, the spawning- beds in the northeast branch are admirably 
 sheltered and spacious. The northwest arm communicates through 
 n long deep lake with one of the feeders of the Manicouagan River. 
 The Godbout salmon breed also in a north tributary of this lake ; 
 and from appearance it might be inferred that they lie also within 
 the main outlet. Were spearing ^erywhere prohibited, and reason- 
 able netting alone allowed, there cannot be a doubt that the supply 
 of salmon from this river would in a few years become almost inex- 
 haustible. Indeed, when we recollect the dire havoc and riotous 
 abuse of fishing which this beautiful stream has already sulfered, 
 nothing save a knowledge of its extensive and fine breeding-places 
 could enable us to account for the present existence of any reamant 
 of former abundance. There is encouragement in the hope that pro- 
 tective measures strictly enforced will fast multiply and improve the 
 run of salmon resorting to this rich river. 
 
 I cannot close this report without touching upon the subject of 
 spearing by Indians. 
 
 The practice of capturing salmon by torchlight and spears is justly 
 held to be most pernicious. Employed, as it almost invariably is, at 
 a time when the waters of each river are lowest and clearest, whilst 
 the salmtm are balked at the base of tteep fulls, awaiting the next 
 freshet, and congregate during sultry nights near the months of lit- 
 tle rivulets emptying into the main stream, or loiter about the tails 
 of pools, spear-flshiug involves excessive slaughter. Sometimes in 
 the course of one night as many salmon will bo thu;i killed and 
 maimed as an ordinary net-fishery along the coast, or in the estua- 
 ries, can capture throughout the regular fishing season. Practised 
 
 

 APPENDIX. 
 
 » t 
 
 817 
 
 ; of 
 
 stlj 
 at 
 lilst 
 est; 
 lit- 
 aila 
 in 
 md 
 la* 
 
 kd 
 
 daring Autumn and periods of reproduction, as is still ipore frcqnentljr 
 the case, it becomes indescribably bad — it is the crowning act of 
 extirpation. The luckless flsh are then killed at a stage which makes 
 the bare feature of destroyal in the highest degree deplorable. 
 They have won their devious way from the luscious pastures of old 
 ocean, through labyrinths of nets and a multitude of watery perils. 
 Urged onward by strong instincts, they have surmounted incredible 
 difficulties, and achieved marvels of adventurous travel. They are 
 now arrived at nature's free hospitals of piscary lying-in. The 
 water-way by which they came is in many parts impassably shoal, 
 and no more heavy breeders can reach the same high grounds, or 
 supply their places, for that year at least. And after all, lean from 
 exertion and thin tbod ; dark and slimy from the physical drain and 
 unhealthy action incident to the procreative state, perhaps sluggish 
 and heavy with thousands of ova, or busied in the exhaustive labor 
 and anxious cares of depositing their prolific burden, they are rutli- 
 lessly slain by the spear. With every dead or wounded fish there 
 perish in embryo from ten to thirty, forty, fifty, even as high as 
 sixty thousand. Spawners and milters both suffer. Is it, then, pos- 
 sible to exaggerate the ruinous consequences of such improvi- 
 dence ? 
 
 There are also other features in this practice contributing to the 
 waste and injustice which it so entails. The salmon taken by spear 
 are, comparatively speaking, worthless as a marketable commodity. 
 But, being easily taken, the captors willingly dispose of them at 
 miserable prices, and in barter for the cheapest kinds of goods ; for 
 rusty pork and molded biscuits. The wrong to the public, of suffer- 
 ing the richest and finest fish in Oanadian waters — the precious 
 capital of our rivers — ^to be thus traded in when almost valueless, 
 and under circumstances that admit only of unsorttpulous fisher- 
 men and dishonest traders deriving some mean benefits thereby, is 
 obvious. These dealers adroitly scarify the ugly portions, disguise 
 their ill-conditioned bargain by dry salting, or hot pickle, ar.d con- 
 cealing the unwholesome fish at the bottom of the tubs, or dispers- 
 ing them among other sound pieces, thus palm them off upon the 
 public. Costing little at prime, the sale is a ready one below aver- 
 age market price. If consumers were but once to see a few speci- 
 mens of unseasonable salmon struck by the spear, they would remem- 
 ber the loathsome sight, and rather than venture the chances of 
 again eating such deleterious food, would eschew salmon altogether. 
 
 If the river fisheries become exhausted through this custom, the 
 whole public suffers, because thesa streams are the nurseries which 
 breed supplies and furnish wealtli to the 'longshore and estuary fish- 
 ings. Besides, to tolerate it must always expose crown lessees to the 
 risk of having their limits suddenly deteriorated by the bold ea- 
 croachments of spearers. To punish them, even, cannot restore the 
 damage. Years, indeed, must elapse ere the pirated rivers can reco 
 
 ■«^1^'> 
 
318 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 ^cr from the effects of snccessive or casual devastations. And 
 while there remains a loophole for escape, as between the Indians 
 and abetting traders, active temptations on either side will drive 
 them to calculate their mutual chances of evading the law. 
 The qualified exemption of Indians under the Fislierj Regulations 
 ^ arose, I feel assured, from motives humane and considerate. Tlio^e 
 ' considerations doubtless were influenced by arguments in support 
 of such exception, drawn from the apparent necessities of Indian 
 life. Experience dissipates this cause of sympathy. It proves tiiat 
 tlie Montaignais, Miomacs, Naskapis and Metifi*, seldom spear sal- 
 mon in any considerable quantities for present subsistence ; and to 
 rmoke, or dry, or pickle them for winter use, never. They go to 
 the salting- vats of the nighest trader — pork, tea, sugar, tobacco, and 
 sometimes spirits, principally returning to the wigwam in exchange. 
 I, of course, speak of the Indians whilst near the St. Lawrence, wlie- 
 ther from the interior or residing by turns near the seaboard. It is 
 quite a mistaken notion that they kill and cure salmon for provision- 
 ing the inland hunt. 
 
 The experienced missionary, Pdre Arnaud, in his evidence to tho 
 Indian Commissioners, says, '^ These Indians care for nothing but 
 hunting and fishing." Indeed I think that, as regards several of 
 them, the native love of excitement in the chose has somewhat to 
 do with their pertinacious pursuit of salmon by spears and iium- 
 beaux. It is a passion among some of the bunds ; and I must admit 
 the habit has peculiar fascinations, and to many it is strangely excit- 
 ing. Nothing can exceed the wild excitement with whicli these 
 men pursue it Thf sombre night-scene of the forest river seems to 
 delight them. The elder man occupies the stern of the canoe, while 
 the younger takes " the post of honor " forward. The murmur of 
 waterfalls and rapids, drown those exclamatory Ughs ! and the fVe- 
 quent splash tljiat would else distfTrb tiie pervading stillness. With 
 steady, stealthy speed the liglit birchen boat enters the rapid, and 
 cutting through its white waters glides smoothly over the fall and 
 into the " tail " of the pool above, or iteross tiiC quiet "reach." Tlie 
 blazing torch, stuck in a cleft stake and leaning over the bow of tlie 
 canoe, glares with dazzling lightness. The llnme and shar'ow, 
 swayed by ripples, conceal the spearers' form.", and bewilder tlie 
 doomed salmon. Like moths, they sidle tuwnrd the fatal liglit; 
 their silvery sides and amber-colored eyeballs glisten through tlio 
 rippled water. The (Jil^'ted eyes, the expanding nostrils and com- 
 pressed lijis of the swarthy canoenien, titly picture their eager mid 
 excited mo-^d. A quick, deadly aim, a sudden swirl, and tliose mo- 
 mentary convulsive wriggles tell the rest. 'J'lie aquatic captive, with 
 blood and spawn, and slime and eritr.iils, besmear tlio inside of the 
 canoe. Often the quarry is transfixed witli wonderful precision iWiJ 
 instantly killed, the spinal marrow being pierced by the barb, and 
 the strong springy tines of tlie spear parulyziiig in their sharp pinch 
 
 %j;^^ia,^M»^' • 
 
▲FFEXDIX. 
 
 819 
 
 |)m- 
 
 lU)- 
 
 fith 
 Uia 
 
 Tiid 
 
 the wholo mnscalftr Rystem, the fin-rays spread in a fooblo qnlver, 
 niid the onoe powerful ftsh dies literally without a straggle. During 
 a Hingle night from fifty to two hundred salmon may be thus slaugli- 
 torod, and half as many more lacerated in their efforts to escape, 
 tlio pools at such seasons being too shallow to afford certain safety 
 iu retreat. Tlie bud of coarse boughs, the chill and hungry awaking . 
 at sniii'lHe, tiio mixture of peril and fagging which form the return 
 down a swift stream, broken by falls, and rocks, and rapids, with 
 hure and there u tedious portage, over which several hundred pounds 
 of fish, and bruised and blistered canoes must be transported — all 
 thoHe exertions appear but natural to Inilians, and not worthy of 
 comparison as against the finiits of so much toil, converted at last 
 into six, eight, or ten dollars' worth of provisions and store goods, 
 or perhaps a demijohn of home-made rum. Speared salmon are 
 sold to traders at their own price, as the deteriorating mode of cap- 
 ture so much depreciates the fish. The illegality of tlie purchase or 
 exchange, also, often is pleaded as a risk for which a further propor- 
 tional deduction in the'value of barter must be made. 
 
 That the Indians must suffer starvation by being deprived of the 
 " native liberty " to ruin our salmon fisheries, is a very flimsy apo- 
 logy on the part of those who still desire to perpetuate so flagrant 
 an abuse. With the exception of some families or Naskapis, who 
 have imprudently left their upland huutiiig-gtounds and wandered 
 toward tlie rocky coasts, where sickness soon debilitated and cuts off 
 whole encampments, the lower St. Lawrence Indians do not endure 
 privations similar to many of the tribes in western Canada. Tliis 
 comparative immunity is certainly due in great measure to the pater- 
 nal solicitude exercised by the exemplary missionaries of the Roman 
 Catholic Churcli. Almost total abstinence from " fire water " is not 
 the least of a beneficent improvement resulting from the^e self-deny- 
 ing missions. Were there not another salmon to be caught bettreen 
 Quebec and Labrador, the extinction could not occasion to Indians 
 one tithe of the misery depicted by persons wiiose interest or preju- 
 dice it is to excite a sympathStio feeling favorable to the continu- 
 ance of facilities for spearing. I make no more vague assertion ; it 
 is a deduction fVom practical observations and inquiry. The Indians 
 themselves know this, and it makes them all the more reckless and 
 disregardful of tlie future in tlieir ravages. Trout are plentiful all 
 along the coast, and the inner lakes swarm with thorn. Every bay 
 and bank teems with codfish. The rod and lip« and bait will catch 
 both in hundreds. Hooks and lines are cheap as spearing imple- 
 ments. Seals are plenty everywhere. The product of one seal will 
 buy the fisliing-gear of a family for the entire year. But, it ia 
 argued, they need pork and flour, tea and sugar, guns and ammuni- 
 tion, whicli can be bought with salmon carcasses. Yes, and all 
 of tiiese articles can be better had in exchange for trout, cod, seal- 
 oil, skins and furs. Birch canoes, baskets, and other manufaoturea, 
 
m 
 
 820 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 find rapid sale.- Canofts bring from eight to twenty-four dollars 
 apiece, in casli. Necessity, therefore, is simply ap excuse, equally de- 
 ceptious and unfounded. It is the habitual indolence of most of 
 these Indians which lies at the root of the matter. It ties them 
 down to frequented spots, where inducements held out by cunning 
 traders, whether on land or afloat, are irreiistible. 
 
 Is there, then, sufficient reason why their inveterate habits should 
 be humored at the cost of extirpating the supply of salmon ? 
 ? . . , I have the honor to be, sir, 
 
 Very respectfully, 
 . -t Your obedient servant, 
 
 W. F. Whitoiibb, J. P. 
 QuBBKO, 81st December, 1859. 
 
 NOTE TO THE TRIP TO LA VAL. 
 
 For the information of those who may desire to trust themselves 
 alone to the companionship of the Canadian French, the following 
 list has been add^ of a few words that will be most necessary, and 
 many of which will be found in no French dictionary : 
 
 Potak, 
 
 Batture, 
 
 I^aril, ^ 
 
 Brulot, * 
 
 Buchan, 
 
 Brochat, 
 
 Ohaloupe, 
 
 Perche, 
 
 Egog, 
 
 Gruyot, -' 
 
 Belluat, 
 
 Pleindurer, 
 
 Peinturer, 
 
 Cite, 
 
 Roches, 
 
 Pilote, 
 
 Biarrel. 
 
 Sand-fly. 
 
 Smudge. 
 
 Mascallonge. 
 
 Pilot-boat. 
 
 Bod. 
 
 Speai*. 
 
 Porridge. 
 
 Blueberry. 
 
 To fill. 
 
 To paint. 
 
 Here. 
 
 Rocks. 
 
 PUot. / 
 
 Sapin, 
 
 Moustique, 
 
 Ecoroe, 
 
 Aborder, 
 
 Filer, ^ 
 
 Coude, 
 
 Mizzin, 
 
 Grande voile. 
 
 Luff, 
 
 Arrive, 
 
 Tapecu, 
 
 Jib, 
 
 Stearabo, 
 
 Bagage, 
 
 Epinette, 
 
 Marounquin, 
 
 Balsam fir. 
 
 Black fly. 
 
 Bark. 
 
 To trim in. 
 
 To ease off. 
 
 Slieet. 
 
 Foresail. 
 
 Mainsail. 
 
 Luff. 
 
 Keep off. 
 
 Jigger. 
 
 Jib. 
 
 Steamboat; 
 
 Baggage. 
 
 Spruce. 
 
 Mosquito. 
 
 ft* 
 
 
 :^- 
 
 
 '■^ 
 
 :/ 
 
■'', ", ■ -"■'^'■y?^ '" '?*''»■■':> 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 321 
 
 and 
 
 NOTE TO TRIP TO NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 Fish of all kinds are extremely cheap in the provinces. Salmon, 
 near Boiestown, sell for sixty cents apiece, regardless of size, and 
 grilse for twenty. In other places salmon are five cents a pound, 
 while smoked fish are worth one dollar and twenty -five cents apiece. 
 Lohsters are a nuisance to the fisherman, from their numbers ; and 
 herring are abundant. 
 
 The expenses of a trip for two fishermen visiting both the Mira- 
 michi and Nipisiquit, and occupying a month, were as follows : 
 
 Faro to St. John $12 00 
 
 State room 1 00 
 
 To Fredericton 8 00 
 
 Extra to Wilson's 11 00 
 
 Stores for the Miramichi 32 84 
 
 Men's wages. . . ,. 60 00 
 
 Extra to Newcastle .' 17 00 
 
 Fare to Ciiatham 1 40 
 
 " Bathurst Y 00 
 
 Stores on the Nipisiquit 29 96 
 
 Men's wages 50 00 
 
 Wagon to the Round Rocks ; ... . 4 00 
 
 Extra on return to Chatham t . '. . . 14 00 
 
 Fare to St. John 8 00 
 
 '' Bos. on 11 00 
 
 Meals and other expenses 36 00 
 
 Delicacies 10 00 
 
 $306 09- 
 
 CLASSIFICATION. 
 
 Every naturalist originates a classification for himself; thank 
 Heaven, I am only a sportsman, and shall merely refer to that of 
 Cuvier. He makes grand divisions of fish into the bony and carti- 
 liiginous: the former being separated into spinous and soft rayed, 
 the latter into those with free or fixed gills. 
 
 Acanthopterygii, fin-rays spinous, including the percidoi, or perch 
 family, winch has the edge of the gill-cover, or fore gill cover, or 
 both, denticulated or armed with spines ; the cheeks not mailed, and 
 teeth on both jaws, the vomer and palatines. In this family are 
 comprised the perca or perch itroper, the lalraa or salt-water basa, 
 
 14* 
 
 *«««,;. 
 
 .■■**%'■ 
 
'•^ipp' 
 
 322 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 the huro or black bats of Lake Huron, the lucio perca or pike perch, 
 the teranut or groupa, the eeniropriates or sea bass, the grystes or 
 black bass, tlie eentrarehus or rock bass — two genera generally con- 
 founded — the pomotis or son-fish, and several others so rare in our 
 waters that they are omitted. 
 
 The second family of the spine-rayed order is the triglidcB, which 
 is similar to the pereidce, except that the cheeks are mailed as it were 
 by the suborbitals being greatly extended and articulated with the 
 fore gill-cover. It includes the trigla prionotus and dactyloptenis 
 or gurnard and flying-fish; the eottvs, sculpin or bull-head; the 
 hemitripterus, also known as sculpin ; and the gaateroateua or stickle- 
 back ; besides many genera that are rare. 
 
 The third family is the scienidm, which have no teeth in the pala- 
 tines or vomer, but have scales on the base of the vertical fins; 
 otherwise they resemble the perch family. They compi'se the 
 leiostomua or Lafayette, the otolithiis or weak-fish, the eorvina or 
 lake sheepshead and branded drum or red-fish of the South, the 
 umbrina or king-fish, the pogonias or salt-water drum. 
 
 The fourth family is the sparidoe, which has no spines or denticn- 
 lations on the gill-covers, and no teeth on the palate, but has large 
 scales. It includes the aargus or salt-water sheepshead and sand- 
 porgee, and the pagrua or common porgee. 
 
 The next family that frequents our waters is the aconibrida, which 
 has no spines or denticulations on the gill-covers, and no scales on 
 the vertical fins; the scales are small. It includes the aeomber or 
 mackerel p||»per, t^e thynniia or tunny, the pelamya or bonito, the 
 triehiurm ribTOjfirfish, the xiphiaa^ or sword-fish, the naueratea 
 or pilot-fish, th# eararSb or yellow mackerel, the aeriole or rudder- 
 fish, the Ufnnodiin or bl\iS'-fis\j^^\trrhombua or Iiarvest-fish. 
 
 The next failHl)^i»l^« %therinidm, represented by the silversides 
 or sand-smelts; and the next the mugilidce. It has minute teeth, 
 entire and large scales extending over the head, and comprises the 
 mugil or mullet proper. The next family is the gobidce, which have 
 an elongated body, small scales or nofie, the spines of the dorsal 
 flexible, and the ventrals, when present, before the pectorals, and it 
 includes the gunnellua or butter-tish, the zoarees or eel-pout ; and the 
 next the lophidae, which usually have no scales, but occasionally 
 spiny plates in lieu of them, and have the carpal bones elongated to 
 support the pectorals. The lophiua proper is the sea-devil or fishing- 
 frog, a rapacious creature, well known on our coast by various names, 
 and the batraehus, the well-known toad-fish. 
 
 The last of the spine-rayed families is the labridm, which have 
 fleshy lips doveriog the jaws, toothless tongue and palate, three 
 pharyngeals, two above and one beneath, furnished with teeth, sharp 
 or flattened, and an oblong, scaly body. This family c«)mpri8es the 
 etenolabnta or bergall, otherwise chogset or ounner, and the tautoga, 
 tautog or black-fish. 
 
 ^bv 
 
 .^ 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 323 
 
 lea. 
 
 irp 
 the 
 7a, 
 
 The malacnpterygii^ or soft rayed, are separated into the dhdomi- 
 nal, which have the ventrals in the centre of the abdomen ; the sub- 
 brachial, which have the ventrals at the shoulder ; and the apodal^ 
 or footless, that is without lower fins. 
 
 Of the abdominal, the first family is that of the siluridte. It is 
 distinguished by a naked, slimy skin, a large head with several fila- 
 ments, usually a second adipose dorsal, and the first ray of the dorsal 
 and pectoral a strong articulated spine. They comprise the cat-fish, 
 bull-pouts, bull-heads and horned-pouts, as you please to call theui, 
 the common kinds being classed under the genus pimelodiis. 
 
 The second family is the cyprinidoB, which have small jaws, a weak 
 mouth, mostly toothless, large scales, one dorsal, and teeth on the 
 pharyngeals. The eyprinua carpio is the common carp, the cyprinus 
 miratu% the gold-fish, both of which were imported and are not indi- 
 genous. This f'amily also includes the dbramis or bream, sometimes 
 called dace; the Ifiheo, chub or chub-sucker; tlie catdstomiu or 
 common sucker, of which genus the species are known by varied 
 popular appellatives, such as mullet, barbel, dace, horned-dace, golden 
 mullet, red-horse and shoemaker ; the genus leuciacus or dace proper, 
 also the red -fin, roach and shiners ; the fundulua or killifish, other- 
 wise minnow or mummychog ; and the hydragira or fresh-water 
 minnow. 
 
 The next family, the etocidm^ has one dorsal opposite the anal, an 
 elongated body, and a large mouth filled with sharp teeth. It in- 
 cludes the esox or pickerel and mascallonge; the belone or sea-pike, 
 sometimes miscalled gar-fish and sea-snipe ; th.% >MomJ>l^l^»o» or bill- 
 fish ; and the ea»c«<t« or flying-fish proper. ♦ > ^ 
 
 The family of the ^tularidee ia^ludes the plpe-fisl); and the next 
 family of importance is that of the mdmouidcB, c(«p^riBlng the salmp 
 salar or salmon, the aalmo fontinalis or Afiierican tiirook trout, the 
 ealmo confinis or lake trout, and the »almo amethyatm or Mackinaw 
 salmon, the oamerua or smelt, and the coregonua or white-fish and 
 Otsego bass. 
 
 The family of the dupidcB has a single dorsal and compressed 
 scaly body. It includes the elupea or herring, the ahaa or shad, ale- 
 wife and mossbunker; and the family of the aaurida has only one 
 common representative, chlled the buffalo-fish. 
 
 Of the sub-brachial we have the family gadidca, which have the 
 jaws and point of the vomer armed with rasp-like teeth, and two or 
 three dorsals. Morrhua, cod, tom-cod or frost-fish, haddock and the 
 melueiua, or hake, form the most considerable genera ; the lota or 
 burbot of the lakes, and the merlangua or pollack, ar©«lso taken in 
 large numbers. 
 
 The next family, the planidm, has a flat body, the under side 
 white and the upper dark, both eyes on one side of the head, and a 
 dorsal extending the entire length of the back. It includes t^e hip' 
 
t. 
 
 ■ 
 
 S24 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 tlie 
 
 fogh»au» or halibut; the plateuoy floander, flake and flat-fish; 
 pleuronectes orturbot ; and the a^hirtu or sole. 
 
 Of the apodaU^ or those withoat lower fins, we have the anguiU 
 lidtB or eels, and the geuns conger or conger eel, and the ammodfftei 
 or sand-lance. 
 
 The sabdivision hpJiobranehii, which is distinguished hj having 
 little tufts at the gills, has the following families : 
 
 The gj/ngnathidtB, which have the body armed with transverse 
 plates, and have a large gill-cover and single dorsal. It includes the 
 tyngnathui or pipe-fish, and the hippocampua or sea-horse. 
 
 The subdivision pleetonathi have concealed gills and a narrow 
 fissure for gill opening; the family gymnodontidce has in lieu of 
 ^eth a bony substance like enamel, and includes tlie diodon or 
 bnlloon-fish and the tetraodorfor swell-fish, both of which can infiate 
 themselves. The family baliatidcB is represented uy the file or 
 fool-fish. 
 
 Of the cartilaginous fish the eUut?ier(^omi have free gills with a 
 strong cover, but no rays, and include the family of the aturionidcBy 
 which have large bony plates in longitudinal rows and a mouth 
 underneath and toothless. The genus aeipetuer or sturgeon is alone 
 common. 
 
 Tiie order plagioatomi has fixed gills withoat cover ; the family 
 $qv(ltlida^ which has the gill-holes never underneath, comprises the 
 eareharitu or shark, the Mmna or mackerel shark, the muttellus or 
 dog-fish, the 9ela4shvs or basking shark, and the eygcBna or liammer- 
 headed tdiiftrk. 
 
 The family raii^ has a flattened body, large pectorals and bran- 
 chial ofi#tiings iHiderneath. It comprises the rays, the skates and 
 the devu-fish. 
 
 The order cyehttomi includes the famWj petromyzonldcBf which has 
 neither pecU^s nor ventrsda, comprising tlie petromyzon or sea- 
 Iwnprey and the ammoeatet or common lamprey. 
 
 These are the principal varieties of fish found in the waters of the 
 northern section of America adbording to their soientitic designa- 
 tions and their oonfased and intricate popular appellations. Perhaps 
 in time, with the diffusion of knowledge and the efforts of sportsmen, 
 uniformity may be obtained, an^ the language of Massachusetts be 
 comprehensible to the inhabitants of Iowa. To effect this object 
 lUiould b& the desire of all, and it is to be hoped that naturalists and 
 sportsmen will mutually aid one another by ascertaining the appro- 
 
 Eriate name of each species, and when ascertained, by applying it 
 ivari*blj. ^ , 
 
 ■ i , 
 
-fish; tlie 
 
 le anguil- 
 immodyte$ 
 
 by haying 
 
 transverse 
 oladea the 
 
 a narrow 
 in lien of 
 diodon or 
 can inflate 
 he file or 
 
 ills with a 
 
 iurianidtB, 
 
 a month 
 
 )n is alone 
 
 the family 
 
 I prises the 
 
 ^ttellus or 
 
 hanomer- 
 
 md bran- 
 cates and 
 
 ^hioh has 
 or sea- 
 
 in of the 
 designa- 
 Perhaps 
 |ortsmen, 
 isetts be 
 is object 
 llists and 
 appro- 
 blying it 
 
 :.11 
 
 ^ 
 
 ■^