Volume 10 Number

American Flv Fisher

d Volume 10 Number FAL,

Oftentimes Paul Schullery would call me and ask for suggestions as to appropriate topics for this section of our magazine. Sometimes I was helpful, but more often not. Now it has become my responsi- bility, and initially, at least, I'm

not at a loss for words. It is easy for me to speak to the growth and development of T h e American Fly Fisher under Paul's astute guidance. Under Paul, the magazine has come of age not only from a historical/scholarly point of view but also in its graphics and typography. I had toyed with the idea of using Shoes, or Big

Thirds Shoes, as the heading for this introduc- tory section. The shoes that I am being asked to fill are certainly big indeed, much bigger than one perceives from the vantage of assistant editor. I hope, indeed, that I can fill the shors that Paul left and successfully build on his remarkable legacy. So I am now tht. "third," after Hogan and Schullery. 1 will do my best and will, no doubt, beshaky at first. I urge you to take me to task should I stray from the course; I worry very much about balance. My roots, for better or worse, are in the East, and my interests tend toward the bibliographical and biographical

TRUSTEES

Joseph Spear Beck Tim Bedford Paul Bofinger Stanley Bogdan Robert Buckmaster Dan Callaghan Errol Champion Roy Chapin Christopher Cook Charin R. Eichel G. Dick Finlay Mike Fiagerald Art Frey

Larry Gilsdorf William Glassford Gardner L. Grant Suaie 1s- Robert Johnson Samuel Johnson Manin J. Keane Richard Kress Don Labbe Dana Lamb David Ledlie Nick Lyons !an Mackay Leon Martuch W. H. Mehn Carl Navarre

Michael Owen Leigh H. Perkins Romi Perkins Willard Rockwell STAFF Thmdore Rogowski Seth Rosenbaum Executive Director Ivan schloff John Merwin Paul Schullery Ernest Schwiebert Registrar Stephen Sloan JoAnna Sheridan Peter Suoh Bennet Upson Secretary R. P. Van Gytenbeek Laura Towslee Jim Van Loan Dickson Whitney Edward G. Zem

with a distinct early 19th-century bent. Thus it is very important that you keep reminding me about tackle and what happened in fly-fishing after the tele- phone was invented. I remind our readers, too, that the success for the magazine, in addition to Paul's sure editorial hand, has been a result of the quality, scholarly manuscripts that we have received from our contributors. I wish to thank them all and to hope that they will continue to support our unique endeavor. .- ---

OFFICERS Chairman of the Board

Leon Martuch President

Gardner Grant Vice President Arthur Frey

Treasurer Leigh Perkins

Secretary Laura Towslee

Volume 10 Number 3 FALL 1983

o n t h r (.071rr: Dr. C a . ~ . s ~ I l ( r ~ i d 111 r.5. I ' ~ ~ l t ~ t ( ~ t t at A f l ( I ( l 1 ~ Ilnrti, Aloo.~rlookttir,qtr,ltir I -nkr . I i a t t , q f l ~ ~ I - o k ~ . s , A I ~ I P I P . K P / > Y O ~ ~ I ( . P ~ from Scenic- C;crns of Maine,. ( ; r o . 11'. h1orri.s. I'ortln)lci, Alart lr , 1S")R.

Editor David B . Ledlie

Assistant Editor Ken Cameron

Art Director Martha Poole Merwin

Offset Preparation and Printing Journal Press Inc. Poultney, Vermont

Published by The Museum of American Fly Fishing for the pleasure of the membership.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Art of The Arte of Angling, 1577 by Anne Imbrie

The Cisco (Coreogonus Artedi) by W. C. Harris

Notes and Comment

Recent Acquisitions

Cartoons

Events of a Military Life by Walter Henry

Old Time Disciples of Rod and Gun by Thomas Picton

Annual Meeting

Museum News

Thr :lmrnmn Flv Fnhrr. t h ~ . M.ggaltnr of I'hr Muv~um r,l Arnrriran Fly Fiqhing, is puhlish~d threr tlmcs a yrat bv thr Muwum at IM:tnchcsln. Vr.rn~nnt 05254. Suhsrr~ptron i, In.? wnth paymmt of m ~ m k r r h i p durr.

All rr,tvmp,ndrncr. fcttnr, m;tnurcripn. phr,rr,gapl~, and nurrriala should IK (orwarded raw ol thc Editor. Il lr Mnv.urn end Magmnr arr not rrsponslhlr for unsoli<itPd n,anouriprr, draw in^^, phntoqaphr.

Inatn~.il* nr mrmr,rabilia. l ' h r Muwum cannot acrrpt rr\pr)nsihilitv br rtatrmrnts and ~nterprrlations th.at arr wholly the authnr'r. l l n s o l ~ r ~ l r d manuscripts cannot hr returnrd un1e.s postage is prnvldPd.

Ci,nlnhuttonr to Th? Amrrunn Flv Fzrhrr arc to h. ronddrrcd ~ra tu i tous and kcom? the properly of the Murrtmm unlrrr otl~rrwirc rcqt~rncd hy thr co~~tr ib~l tor . Pi~bli<a~i<rtt datrs are January. May and Septemkr.

(hpyright "19RJ. The Muspurn of Ameraran Fly Fishing. Manr-hrstrr. Vcrmont 05254 Origtnal material rppcaring nlay nc,t he reprintrd without prior pprmirslon.

The Art of The Arte of Angling, 1577 by Anne Zmbrie

Willzam Samurl'.s .I'hc Artc of Angling, 1577. has brrn mrn- tioned in tltrsr pagrs brforr (srr T h e American Fly Fishrr, I'ol. 3, No. 2, 1975, p. 4 ) . I t is a notablr r!olumr in that it 7trn.s 1~nknoz~!?z to thr book u ~ o r l d until 2 1 7on.s

brought to the nftrntion of thr rrnou~nrd angling bibliophilr C . 0 . 7 1 . Kirnbusch in thr early 1950's(ser lrttrr). Furlhrr, thr format and contrnt wrrr 71rry .similar to Walton's Compleat Angler, urhiclz u~n.s first published 7n 1653. Clrarly, Cl'nlton had used T h e Arte as a nzodrl for his clas.sic effort w i t h o u t acknou!lrd,qing Samuel. T h r only rxtanl copy of T h e Arte now rr.sidr.s in thr Rarr Rook.c and Sprcial Col1eclion.c Departmrnf of lllr Princeton Clniz~ersity L ibrary . W h r n Kirnbusch purchasrd T h e AI-te, it uras miss ing its l i t l r page; a n d , thu.s, i1.s author u ~ a s i ~ n k n o ~ o n . tho ma.^ P. Harri- son, professor rmrriliis of English a[ thr Unir!rrsity of Trxas ha.s .sincr 0re.trntrd us with midencr that .srrm.s to unrqui~!o- rally establish William Snnzurl, I'icar of Godmanche.rter, ns the (formrrly) anon- ymous author of T h e Arte.

T o date, most scholavly d i ~ ( . i ~ . s . s i o n ~ concerning T h e Arte haz~r foru.srrl olz thr r r la t ionship b r l w r r n it and LYnllon'.c C o m p l e a t A n g l r r . 1Yr nrr thu.s 71rry pleasrd to offer hrrr a chan,qr ofpncr-a drliiqhtful rssay with focu.s on Samurl'.s literary merit alonr.

When I first mentionccl to a frirncl of mine-neither a n angler nor a sc.holar- that I was to write a n essay on T h r Artr of An,qlin,q, s h e wondered why I would devote my energies ( in print, n o Icss) to the study of the intricacies of flirtatiori. When I explained that, in fact, this little book was actually about fish in^, hrr sur- prise only increased: apparently, my talents, to her mind, lay more in the (1irr.c.- tion of the former activity than the latter. While I did not necessarilv feel corn~)li- mented by her misinterpretation, it was at least fully understandable, and I found myself speculating on the ways in which metaphors drawn from fishing color our

definitictns of human relationships and activities. We a n g l r lor complimerlts, even for 1)artner.s in the rnztting game, and "there are always other fish in the sea." We are hooked by s~tbjects. M'e fish a1)out for idr;~s. M;~nipul;~tivc~ or ;~rgurnr~ltati\ .r sorts bait us in to disl)ut;ttio~i, even ;IS aclvertisements lul-e 11s \vith colol-fill seeming. Wc apply a term from one of the olclest forms of rcc-rration to rncmbers of the oldest profession, an apl~lication that rcrnincls us that one person's pleasrtre is anothcr's occ~rpation. A cursory g1;tnc.c at t h r Oxford Engli.sh Ilictionary reveals how quickly in the history of such trrrns their primary, denotative rneaning drvcl- oped secondary, figurative associations. usually pejorative to tht~angler 's art (it is devious) o r the fish's easy capture (they arc s tupid) . S o Miles Covertlalt* fincls "womcn byttcrer than dc~tli: for she is ;I very angle, her hert is a nett." In asignifi- cantly mixed metaphol-, Dubartas sees the Devil as both a juggler and an angler whose baits "heaven-bent souls intan- gle." In their common forms, such nlcta- phors hetray less respect for both th r ang l r r a n d the object of his (01-, rnor-e likely, her) attentions than is typic-;tl of real-life anglers t hemselves; but we recog- nizc the value of this sport whenever wty use a snecific definition of its terms to interpret more general human ac.tiviticss. a n apl , l icat ion wc, unders tand as ;tpt whethcr we havc cvcr hclcl ;r roe1 or c-ast a fly.

In English litel-atttre, thy metaphor is a v i r t ~ ~ a l commonplac-r existing ; I t Irast fl-om that most commonpl~rcc of minds. Polonius ("yo~rl- bait of falsc5hood take this carp of truth") to L'irginia M.'ooll, whose literary genius raises thc cliche to art:

Thol~ght- to call it by a prouder name than it deserved-h;ld Ict its line down into the stream. It sw;tyed, minute after minute , hithcr and thither among the reflectioris and the weeds, letting the watrr l i f t i t and sink i t until-yori know the little tug--the suclden ronglomer- ation of an idea at the end of one's

line: and then the cautious hauling of i t in, and thc c.arcful laying of it ou t? Alas, laid o n the grass how small, how insignificant this tllought of minc looked; the sort of fish that a good fisherman ~ ) u t s 1)ac.k into thr w;iter SO that i t may grow fattcl- and be oncb day ~vor th c.ooking and eating.'

.I'hat wc, (lo, in f;t(.t. "know the little trtg" tc.stific*s as ~n~cc-h to Virginia M'oolf's skill as a tlrscril)tive writer-whosr pro- v i ~ i c . ~ i t is to make us frel that we' have ;tl\v;tys knolvn what we h a ~ , e only just I~trnctl-;is to hc.r readel-s' grncral knowl- eelgc. of fishirig. ,It tht, siirnc time, how- r\,tsr, this idtmtific.atior1 bt~twr~en "thinking" anel "fishing." (I;tting fro111 17;t;tk Mralton's 7'hc (:or?lpl~nl ,4,1,qlrr, p~-ovidc,s it context that givrs point ant1 pl:~cc~ to Woolf's use of the nict;rl,hor. Tha t iclcn- tification LYalton nl;~kes esl~lic-it in his sul)titlc: T h c C o n 1 r ~ ) 1 ~ ~ l a l i 7 ~ r Al(r?r9.s H~c.rrntio,~. I t is irnplic i t as well in M'alton's acla1)t;ttion of the literary fol-rn of the tli;tlog~re to his 1)11r1)01~tr~l subject: instruction in I hc. ; ~ r t of fishing. In Wal- ton ' s liaricls. :I 1)otrnti:tlly ~)cdestr i ; tn Iitrr;t~-y 1 '01- t i t , t l i c * 1)t-ose c l i a l o g ~ ~ e , sug- gc.sts instc;~tl :I tnotle*l of c-ivil eliscoursr, the 211-tic.ulatr ant1 gr;~c-iol~s csc-li;tngr of itlc.;rs that c.tllrni~iatrs in tlir disc.overv o f truth. :I ~ , r o ( . t ~ s not ~ ~ n l i k t . the exl)e~-ie~ic.ca of c.ontrrnl)lation itsclf. i'l'alton :11)p;i1-- rnt ly I-c~cog~iizeel in the 1.01-ni ;un opl)(x.- ( u n i t y Sol. ;I 1)artic ~ l la t - ly al,l)rol)~-iatc, c l ( ~ ~ ~ e l o p ~ n ~ ~ ~ i t of his c.ontrnt. 'I'his fort~ti- tous rrc.ognition hits insul-etl Tlrp Co))l- j~lcnl ' 4 n,qlr)- :I s ignific;t~~t pliice in l i trrary history, men as L'l'alton's obvious tlrlight in the, sl)ot-t itself has c:u-necl lli1~1 the 1o\.e. ~ t n d rrsl,rc-I of grrler;itions of fishermrn. To 1itt.1-al-y historians, this ace-om~nocla- tion of Sol-ni :inel conterit. Walton's usc of tli;~logtte for instr~tction in this particular spot-t, has secrncd all t t ~ c b marc rrmark- a l ~ l e I)ecar~se Waltori. wt3 1o11g thought. was the first to exploit the* dialoguc~ form for this suhjec-I.

In 1954, howcsvc.r, we tlisco\~ercd that Waltori may 11:tve had a little push toward literary fame, courtesy of T h r Arte

St. ~Llnry'.\ C11trrc.lr it1 ( ;o t l~~zn~~r~ l~r . s l r . , . zokrrc. S ~ I I ~ ~ ~ P I rcjn.s zlirtrr fro111

1550 lo 1556. (;od?~rn~~c.llr . \~lt~?- 1.s 1oc.cllrd r r l lllc c.orct11y o f I l ~ t t r l i ~ ~ g . s l ~ r r ( ~ 011 111~ f<;zv,~- Ore.\(, n j ~ ~ r o . ~ ~ r ? ~ o l r l ~ ~ /ifl~l

? ? l / / ( , . \ tlo~-lll of I>Otl(/O~l. ~S(l?71~1f~/, nfi,t~nro~rI/y, f r ( ~ c / i c ( ~ t ~ l / ~ ~ f1.\11(~1 fror11 1/10

bo~rk.\ o f llrr 011.vr.

of : I~ lg l~ t r ,q . ~ ) u l ) l i s h r d i n 1577.' I ' hc only s11r.vivir1g c.opy of this I~ook is missing ;I t i t l c . l):rgr, 111rt thank5 to the tlrtctt - t i1.c. ~ v o r k of 7 'homas 1'. Har r i son , w(. now know its i ~ u t h o ~ t o h;r\.e 1)ec.n on<. William S;~rnuc~I, \ ' i c ; ~ r of <;otIrn;~nc-hr\- te1. (tl. 15HOj." (:ont~ary to his usu;tl ~ ) I ; I ( . -

ticr. M'alton himscalf (lid not ac.kno\vledgr Sarn11c.l'~ I ~ o o k as a sourc.c, csc c , l ) t per- li:~l)s in the. most ol)licluc~ way. ;tntl the. 1)rccisr natrll.ca ;rl~d cs t rnt 01 thr rcblation- shil) hc.twrcc~~i t h t ~ two \vol-ks has I)een the, subject of sornc, ; I I . ~ I I I I ~ ( . I I I . ~ 'I'he i l l l l ) l i ( . i t itic.ritific.atio11 of thinking and lishing, to \vhic.li rhr t l i ;~logr~e 101-nl is 1);11.ti(.uI;1r.ly \v(*II suitrtl, sc.crns to 11;1vc. 1)c.c.n original to \V;rlton's us(. of thc 1or.ln; a~rc.h grnt'l i c . untl(*r1)inr1in~.; (lo 1101 (Ii;~r:~c.tc~r-i/c. th(. E l i ~ ; ~ l ) e t l ~ ; t ~ i test. N o \t11<1y 01 t l i c , ir1f111- rll(.(, o f t l l ( , t.iI1 l i c ,1 \v01 k 0 1 1 \\';1I1011's 1itc.r- ;it.). ( l;issi( ~volll(i (on\.iri(.t. 11s t l i ; ~ t .S:III~II- ( % I , i l l f;i( t , 111:1cl(, \'V;IIIOII 1)ossil)I~~. K;IIII(.I than argue, ;ig;rin 111c. c . s l c * l ~ t to ~vh ic l i LValton 11sed Sarnuc.1 ;I \ ;I s o ~ ~ r c ( . , t l ~ c . r ~ , i t is ~)c~r~l~;rl)s mot-c, al)l)r.ol)t iatc. no\v to ( 0 1 1 -

g1~ltlll;ltr t11c c;lrli(T \vrit(~l~ l o 1 11is O \ V I l

Iitr1;1ry l l l t ~ l ~ i t \ , (~1c~;lliy ~ic~l l lol ls t l ; l l~l~~ I 1 0 1 only in tht. r~sc,s to which I I ( . r11r.nc.tl the. tli;rloguc, for-m. 11111 ;rlso in th(. st! listic. c . f l c ~ ta with ~ v l i i c h li(. ; I ( (c~rnl)lisllctl his ~ I I \ ~ I - I I C ~ I ~ I I 111 the ; ~ r t s 01 fisliir~g.

-1'Iir 1)ros. ( l i ; t l o g ~ ~ c in 111~. l<c.n;~iss;t~ic-c~ t l t . i , c . l o l ) c ~ l in t ~ v o tlill<~t-c,nt ty1)t.s. tiistin- guishvtl ;~ccolcling to ~)trr.l)ost': for (-on- t r o \ , c n y or for i l i s t r ~ ~ c tioli . 'I'hcb tlvo f o r nls, nc~\~c~rthc~lc~ss. sh ;~~c t tllr \am(, basic. fcatul-(2s: ;in irnl~licit dl-;rrnatic. sittr;ltic)n l l l ~ O ~ \ ' ~ l l ~ t \ V O 0 1 ' 11101(' ~ ) ~ ' l ~ S O l l \ \ ~ l ~ l l >111('-

go] ic-a1 1i;imc.s o r oc-c-l~l);ttions; ;I so(-i;rl sc- t t i l~g (a t r c r t c . o r . l l c , r , a \vt~II-tr~avc~Irtl country ~-o:rd); :I conhistelit 1rvc.l o f t l i c - t ion ~ I i ~ - o u g h o ~ ~ t ; a rh<.toric a1 s t r - I I~ 1111-(* tI1;11 ~~lllrl l i1l;l t~~s i l l t l l ( ~ ~ o l l \ ~ ( ~ ~ - s i o l l 0 1 t l l < ~ "lvrong" \,ic\vl)oint t o t l i t . right on(.. L2't. d i a t i n g ~ ~ i s h the (ontrovc.rsi;rl t l i ;~log~cc~s fl-om th(, instruc.tional forms I)y t I i ( , i r . I I S ~ .

of thcsc. 1;lst t\vo I~;IILII.('s. \.YIicr(' 111('(.011- tr.over.sial dialog~lc. rsl)ost~s two oilit its of vicn., one o f \vhic-h is c-lc,a~ly the, straw nlarl ;~nti th(. oth(.r- tlic ar l thor . '~ sl)okt's- man . the i l~st ruc. t ional diirloguc~ allotvs rnorc. honrst interpl;~y I~ctwecn ol)l)osirig

~ > o s i t i c ~ n s . con trove^-sial tlialogues, in aeklition, maintain a consistrntly c.ollo- clui;tl tlic-tion, o1'1c.11 to th r point of blunt- nrss. l)ut t he instrrlc.tiona1 dialog11c.s tent1 towartl more for.mal dic t ion, c~vidr.nc-r l)erh;r])s of thr i rgenrr ic I-oots in the Latin c . o l l o c l ~ ~ i r s (11sct1 to teach schooll)oys I A : ~ t i r ~ ) for w h i c h t h r l a n g u a g e m u s t 11c.c-essi~rily l)c Sol-mally corrc,rt. Both Wal- [on 's Tlrr (;o~rlplrnl .4t~,qlrr, ;11011g wit11 Asc.llarn's T o s o p l ~ i l u . ~ , o n r of th r instr-I](.- tion;tl d ia logues to survivc~ in lit?]-ary an tho logic.^, ant1 Sarn~rcl ' s T12r Art r of . . l~r,qljtrg suggest t h e t ens ion bcstween ol) l )osi~lg \ , i r~~l>oir i ts , a l though to diffrr-

cnt rnds. 111 thc partic-ulars of its dirtion, h o ~ v c ~ v r ~ . . S a r n r ~ e l ' s work differs mos t immediately from LValton's.

M.'alton's 1;lnguagc is consistently ele- vatecl. gracious. 110th less dramatir and Irss rralistic than San~uel ' s . Pcrhaps as a n Elizabrtllan cler-gyman anti Marian exile, Samuel was more familiar with the con- troversi;rl dialogucs o f his own day, and so naturally adapted the bluntness and c.olol- of their l anguage to his instructional purposes. From thr opening lines of TIlr Artr of An,qlin,g, we sense that we a r r overhearing "rountry matters" shared in t h r rxper iencr of s imple folk. T h e

speeches are peppered with homely pro- verbs ("Like workman, like tool" p. 20; "Sundry men, sundry minds" p. 31; "Rct- ter to fill my belly than rninec~yc" 1). 45). As part of his instruction, Piscator tloc,s not hesitate to call a fool a fool, eithe1- directly ("Tush, t t~sh! I 1)r;ry you sit still. for now you d o ~ i o harm" 1). 21). or irorli- rally ("You are a wise man! Do yo11 think that anglers d o use to set or1 their hooks with thread?" p. 20). T h i s is ordirl:lry, colloquial speech, person:illy inf1t.c-ted, only as distant from the langu;~gt.sl)oken in the streets of Sh;~kcsl,c.;~rc's Verona as Verona itself is from the surrountl ing countryside. T h e cliffel-ences in the lc~\,cl of diction betwren Walton's dialogrrc and Samuel's may reflect, as well, 1;trgc.r differences in purpose. Walton, I susl~cct, was striving for a richer effect, muctl like that in Plato's di;lloguc,s-thc exel-c-ise of dialectic to develop t he muscles of Trut h; Walton suggests the c.onnection bet\vccsn his use of the dialogr~e form ant1 Pl;~to's through an allusion to Plato's I l i n l o g ~ ~ ~ . ~ in a passage that functions as ;I gcmcric. reference point for Walton's r ~ a t l e r s . ~ Thus, Walton exploits the tensions bc,- tween oppos ing viewpoints in the tlialogue to ;r different I I I I ~ I ) O S ~ , arrd his more elevatetl language is al,l)ropriatc to that purpose. Samuel's book, however, remains primarily a handbook on fishing; but to that purpose he adapts the dialog~re form w i t h cons iderab le success, e x p l o i t i n g both the dramatic tensions between his characters anti the action itself to clic-it the exposition naturally and easily.

T h e prose dialogue generally begins when the part ic ipants meet by chance; their conversation quickly turns to the subject to be developed, usirally ht~ca~lse the "protagonist" wishes to defend his occupation against the scoffing of his companions. The Arte of Angli?zgclearly follows this pattern in its opening pages. Viator encounte rs P i sca tor , t h e m a i n character , w h o m hc, greets as a n oltl friend ("What, friend Piscator, arc you even at it so early?" p. 15). Although the secondary character's name means simply "wayfarer," as if his function in the. di;r- logue could be filled by any passel.-1)y. Viator apparent ly has pr ior ac-clrrairit- ance with Piscator's angling habits, and his mockery suggests that familiarity:

... for who would stand gazing on the water s o l o n g a n d have. n o sport? It is but tedious idleness, yrba, a n d somet imes a wet sk in ; yc.:~, head and all, i f his foot slip. And in a cold morning he may catch that in his feet that will not out of his headagoodwhileaf ter , and1 think it is not very good for the colic (P. 23) .

Viator agrees to be instructed when Piscator claims that he can show h im

how to avoid both the tedium and the colic. T h e basis of the instruction devel- o p s from a n immediate practical ron- crrn, and as a result, thc instruction itself begins straightaway. Pisc;rtor teac.hes, like al l good teachel-s, by example: hc catches four fish. Piscator's cxl~crience, then, provides a bait for \Jiato~-'s imagi- nation and interest, and it is not sul-pris- ing that the conversion ~,rocc~ss begins so ra r ly ; h a v i n g seen such imrnrcliatc.ly pract ical results. Vi ;~ tor ~ - a t h t > r easily admits, "I see wc~ll that angling is ncithcr- an oc-cupation nor a cr;rft 1)rrt ;in art, ant1 not without some skill" (0. 23). This conclusion ronvinc.cs us bcc.aust3 it h ; ~ s 1,rc.n anticipatrd by Viator's increasing rxcitt,- mcznt at seeing Piscator's pail fill with fish.

Although the reader will gathcr information from the first few 1,agc.s of the text-about, for example, the skittish rcssponses of fish to noise ant1 ~novcmcnt; a l ~ o u t the pliysical cliffel-encc%s brtwco~i the dace and the roach; about the valueof p;~rticul;rr ecluipmcnt-the exposition is carefully 1)~1ilt in to the dramatic situa- tion, arising naturally 1.1-om tht, :rctivity itself. T h c exposition develops as well from the palpable realism of thcs characters, to which Samuc.1 devotes ronsidt~r;r- ble s tyl is t ic a t t e n t i o n . T h e d ia logue in i t i a l ly resembles repartee-the ex- change of brief, witty lines-through which we gain a strong sense of the indi- vidual differences and similarities between thesr two men. Piscator is irascible, given to sarcastic r rmarks when con- frontrd with t h t ~ mocking naivete of his companion , cluick to call his "ol>lx)- nent" u p short for his faultsof perception or action. Viator, for his part, is naive and riot always a quick stutly; his dominant characteristic. , h o ~ ~ c v ~ r , is h i s i rnp ;~- tience, which hc is the first toown (".I'hey must bite straightway with me, or I ;iln gone," pp. 22-23). T h i s attitude. as n1~1ch as his scoffing, he must be c~dlr~rted out of , i f lie is t o deve lop ;I m i n d f i t for a n g l i n g . We recognize in the ver1)al exchanges betwtlen char:rctcrs here a kintl of corrective process through w11ic.h \'i;r- tor is educated without his e\,en knowing it. T h e beginning of the book s c u m a11 the more artful when we arrive at the second part in which Piscator rnurncr- ates as a series of gent,ralities the inward gifts of the angler ($0. 32-33). 'I'hc first few pages of The Art? of Arzglin,q pro\.ide Viator with a dl-amatic and practical etlu- cation in seven of these t1iirtet.n virtues: " f a i t h , bel ieving tha t there is fish"; "hope that they will bite"; "humility to stoop, if need be to kneel or lie down on his I~rlly"; "knowledge adjoinctl to wis- dom"; "a content mind with ;I suffic-ient mess"; and "memory, that is, that hci forgc,t nothing at homc whcn he setteth orrt." Incidentally, he also It~arns frugal- ity-not to wastr precious hooks-and

prudence-to mend a Fault when he finds it. In its structure, then, The Art? of Angli?z,q suggests thr process of true eclu- cation: that which gives the tests first ant1 tifen teaches the lessons. Thzrt the latter parts of the book circle ha(-k on thce:tr-lier pages gives a sense of unity to the whole, particul;~rly important because the i l l - struction cxpantls to fill mot-r than one day. Tha t P i s ~ i t o r himself is not entirely proficient in ;ill these virtur~s-lie, too. roulcl stand to learn patience, and Viator bccomcs his teacher-l~roviclcs a n irony that resonates thl-oughout thc whol(s.

T h e beginning of Tlrp art^ oJ,4~1,qlir1,q, then, is locattd squarely in a n ;I( tivity that matches the sul~ject; howevcsr deftly Samuel handles his dramatic opening, we must admit that it sc5crns quite n;rt~rral to talk n O o u l fishing while one i.s fishing. Although Samrrcl's ol~csning page,\ t:tkc 11s into his suhjcct more irnrnedi;rtc~ly t h a n Wal ton ' s ra ther Ieisur-ely 1)crin- n i n g , Wal ton ' s rnc t l lod-h ; rng i~~g h i s t:rlc on the s t r~rc- t~r~-e of ;I jour~iry out from I > o n d o n irntl hack itgiiin-is ~)c rh ; ips morc opcn-t~n(led and flcsil~lc, ;rllo\ving him to bring other- char;~c.tcrs ant1 other su1)jrcts into his di;rloguc 11y t t i c * by. .The sc.c-ond half of Tlrc~,4rte, fillctlas i t is with morc detailed instl-uction. scems to me to have ~)~-tsentc.d its writer with :I greater challenge. As a reader of the work who is, by h c ~ own atlmission, more "thinker" than "angler," I c.onfcss to my sur~ris ts taking equal if not gryater pleasurc in the second part of this hook.

T h e structur;~l dcvicc Samuel uses to ac.complish this purpose is thr. rctul-n of Piscator ant1 Viator to Piscator's homc so they a n cat their catch. Even as the land- ing of fish in the first part of the book providtd thc excuse for teaching us abo~rt them. so the serving of fish in thc see-ontl half provitles the opportunity for morc instruction. T h e r e is, admittctlly, some :rwkwartlncss in this methotl. Evcn hcar- ing in mind that El i~abcthan dining habits differed substantially from our I firid the v;iriety ant1 m:rgnitude of thts meal-gudgeons, perch, ruffes, chubs, and ro;~clics :it one sitting-a hit hard to swallow, especially considering Pisca- tor's less than enthusiastic taste Sol- fish: "I d o not much pass of any fish toc5at, but that hunger forccth mca sometimes and want of other things, a n d whcn I arn weary (as it werr) of flesh" (pp. 45-46). It is n o wonder that Piscator's wife. Cislry, is in a foul humor-she has probablv spent the better part of the evening dress- ing and cooking all that fish for a hus- lmnd who worrld rather catch them than eat them. Even, howevet-, if we disc-ount this irony as unintentional, we ran easily locate other devices Samucxl uscs in this sex-tion of the dialogue to whet our appe- tites for the instruction he ~)rovides.

First of these is the character of \'iator in which Samurl maintains a n ;tcimirable

consistency. T h e samt2 man who in the first p:rgtJs of the hook was overly i m p - tient to try his own luck ant1 to trst Pisc-a- tol-'s is here imlx1tic.111 of itllr talk and eager for information that will bc usefr~l to h i m . W h e n , for r x a m l ~ l e , Pisc.;rtor digressr~s into a 11ric.f sermon on tht. rvla- t ionship betwc.cn Adam's Fall and thc difficultirs of angling, Viator c.uts hirn off wi th "Wrl l , now t o your n1;lttc.I- again," and later. "I c-ome not the^-efor; only, I I)ray you, spcbak of angliqg" (pfi 30, 3I). 'Thc effcc.t of Viator's iml~atirncc, is to c.~nphasizc Piscator's garrulor~s ten- ci'nc-icbs, which in tut-n gives crc.tlrnc.c. to thc rather long tlcscril~tions to follow- they seem fully in character. Vi;rtor is also n o q ~ l i c k r r of study here than Ilc was earlier, and Piscator rclirally irritated at having to repeat himself ("I told yo~l . in August and Septembel-" p. 53) . And like all good stuticnts, Viator erijoys a jokeon his teat-her. When Cislcy hints that her hushand has m o r e t h a n on(.(. c ;~rrght coltls instead of fish, Piscator tricss to hush her up, rrmt*nlbering his I)o:~st to I'iator rarlicr in the day that he could c:rsily avoid the c.olic. Viator, however-, jumps at the chanc-c to tease his master, ant1 he joins forcc~s with Cisley to do so: "Nay, I pray y o i ~ . let us two alone, and eat you awhile. for I I~rlieve that your wife is not fasting, n o more than I . Now, mis- tress, is it true that your husband hath caught the colic with fishing?" (p. 36). T h e recognizable h u m o r of Piscatol-'s efforts to cover for himself, and the easy familiarity of the collusion between Via- tor and Cisley provide moments of comic relief for us; but more important, they fall in especially well with Samuel's pur l~ose in this instrrrctional dialogue. Because his purpose is primarily instruction, he would wish fot- his readers to identify themselves with the position of thc t u - dent; by building both consistency and appeal into the character of Viator. he rncourages out- identification with him a n d givcss the ins t ruc t ion a personal d i r e ~ t i o n . ~

In addition to devc~loping the character of Viator. Samucl maintains his reader's intc.rrst i n t h e i r ~ s t r u c t i o n h r o f fe rs t h r o u g h the introdirct ion of another character , Piscator 's wife Cisley, a n d through a convincing l~resentation of the rr,lationship betwcen them. Cisley iscarc- fully drawn with few strokes-her initial irritation at playing the part of a fisherman's widow ("Good Lord, husband, where have you been all this day?" p. 27); her concern that her husband eat more than he talks lest he be improperly nour- ished (pp. 36, 38); her affectionate efforts to convince her husband to takr his sport and himself Irss seriously ("Yea, but I can tell you my husband hath cast off many, and that some of his chiefest acquaint- ances, for their jesting when he talkrth of his cunning in angling" p. 61 ) . ?'he

*

* $ dc fkng . #f;\ gobtnun fake ii. %an$

'qufiltf, onequi1 tnuR begteatet: man snotbec, anll cut off botfj f beRoppel) enbe$,&nll fljen put t$e onetut end into fbeotbaas BacD a$ pou can fo& cleautng of the bffermon, @at tDep tnwp be dote fog taking olbatee, ft iobta t!M@ep$aue no bole$ in me ftnatiec enb$&tlb,tbwt quil tbsf "

IS (laltbin tbed&err kt tbat bee - tobe8 in the Whfet,CfSen tnuB pou tabe an atbet Ilroan$ quilt, ant) ctit it in fAuo fucb pieces a$

' rnap be put on eatbe enD of pout: aote one, fd that tbenbs' of ponl: bouble quil 08 tfote appeate owe ttaben pouc tine i s pttt t@ogobrre tbofetboa peeces' , s$ fo$ enm:, pte fjew i$ one teabie made, @eve tnuR lbe &y,nobo i$ rttpi

pet cotne, i 3 ant fae tnoje l'o~ie, fog ac, pat r

I 1 A page from Samuel's T h e Arte of Angling, 1577, depicting one of Samuel's "readie made" quill floats. Photo is actual size.

relationship suggests the ordinary inti- macy of long-married couples that can accommodate a range of emotions. As a result, the depiction of this Elizabethan homc is rich in detail and psychological insight. So, in arguing whether men or women be more talkative, Cisley maintains that men expend "such a number of words a b o u t n o t h i n g , " a n d Piscator c0mt.s back with a typically short-sighted, decidedly male view of fashion, which, in turn, invites a bit of linguistic punning:

Pi. Why so I say, all is nothing with you a n d y o u r k ind unless i t be about pins a n d laces, fringe and guards, fine linen and woolen, hats

and hatbands, gloves and scarves; and yet I marvel that you should say that my talk hath been of nothing. For one part of the attire that now is of n o small charge among you , we have a fish to father it called a ruffe, of whom I spakeeven now, unless you will have it [the ruff] the diminutive of a ruffian ( P . 39) .

T h a t Piscator can reel off such a list of fashionable items as easily as he reels in fish suggests his appreciative awareness of matters important to his wife, even as Cisley's obvious culinary talents belie her irritation at her husband's pleasures. H e

allows her ruff, she allows his ruffe, and neither is ruffian to the other.

In a similarly punning passage, which incidentally provides some information about species of fish, Piscator again de- monstrates psychological insight that rivals modern theory. Punning expertly on the names of fishes, the carp and the pout, Piscator suggests a healthy respect for his wife's open expression. Viator sets u p the pun in a veiled reference to hus- bands a n d wives: "Well, I know some [men] that, if they should not use that kind of angling, they should not be without store of carps [complaining wives], both at bed and at board" ( p . 54). Piscator responds: "Yea, but then they be cloyed with pouts, which is a n ill-favored fish. And if there be n o remedy, rather give me the carp than the pout, although I like neither, for the head of the one is better than the liver of theother" (pp. 54-55). If his wife is not content-which, of course, Piscator would prefer-let her speak her mind because unexpressed anger makes "an ill-favored fish," and better a rom- plaint to reckon with than a buried re- sentment. Cisley, apparently, complains out loud partly because she is given the e m o t i o n a l f reedom of her h u s b a n d ' s respect. Finally, Piscator's invitation to his guest to relax by the fire after dinner anticipates the modern notion of "posi- tive reinforcement ." E x p l a i n i n g why when "we come home wi thout . . . then should we have best cheer made us," Pis- cator offers the following homely advice:

... that were a double hurt, both to have evil luck abroad and worse at home; but as it is with hunters, so it is with us, for their rule is to fare best when they speed n o t . . . so are they well comfor ted af ter the i r u n s p e e d i n g s p o r t , a n d by t h a t means encouraged the rather to go to it again to make some recom- pence ( p . 49).

Reduced to a p u n n i n g aphorism ("Fare [eat] best when you fare [succeed] least"), this advice is as appropr ia te to any o f us-scholars, teachers, students-as it is to fishermen. Such details and insights t h a t suggest t h e q u a l i t y of Piscator 's home a re interesting i n a n d of themselves; but they also further Samuel's instructional purpose-we are al l the more w i l l i n g t o l ea rn from Pisca tor because, despite his irascibility, he seems a wise and thoughtful man.

As skilled as William Samuel is, however, i n his characterization and as quiet- ly intelligent i n his psychological insights, the most convincing evidence of his literary a r t comes i n h i s actual descriptions of the fish themselves. Not skilled enough as a n angler myself to tes- tify to theaccuracy of his descriptive writing, I certainly recognize its vividness and

cont ro l . I w o u l d a r g u e , i n fact, that Samuel's gifts for characterization extend even to the fishes, so that we come away from this little book assured, as we properly should be, that the creatures of the angler's world are its major rharacters. T h e descriptions are consistently detailed and concrete, to suggest the conviction of Piscator's acquaintance with them as well as to encourage our recognition o f them. Thus , for example, the description of the pickerel implies the very sport in the taking of him:

... he will be haltered, a n d some men use that way very oft to kill him, for he will lie staring upon you, as the hare o r lark, until you put the line with a snittle [noose] over his head, and so with a gootl stiff pole you may throw h im to land.. . . H e is so gross a ravener, as I said, that anything will kill him, for hewill biteat agentle, if it comen in his mad head, but then your hook is gone, he will shear so with his teeth. When you fish for him, you must fish with a n armed hook of three links, and your line of six- teen or twenty hairs, and a good big float, a double hook, and a hand- some roach or dace or frog ( p . 4-7).

T h i s is virtual war against the criminal element! Similarly, the ruffian ruffe is "envious, bristled o n the back.. . in each fin a sharp prick, his gills sharp at the end, and swalloweth the bait at the first, great goggle-eyed, and cometh u p very churlishly, and will hold his lips so hard together that you shall have much ado to open them" (p. 38). Guil ty of perhaps three of the Seven Deadlies (envy, anger. maybe even gluttony) the ruffe naturally invites a theological analogy:

. . . for this property they have, as is seen among the wicked: that though they see their fellows perish ncver so fast, yet will they not be warned, so that you shall have them as long a s o n e is left, especial ly a l i t t lc before a rain o r i n the bite time, (P . 39) .

It is perhaps typical of Elizabethan op- timism to suggest that lor all its fierce- ness, we defeat evil because, finally, i t is almost comically stupid. And wr find a particirlarly memorable description of the carp as the bully o l the waters: "'They bear such a sway in the river that all other fish are almost gone. They may be com- pared to some stout, needy upstarts, for though they cannot raven and destroy their fellows (unless it be a pool- minnow) yet, with countenance and shouldering, other fish will not gladly be where they abound" (p. 51) . S o this fish, according to Samuel only lately introduced into Eng-

land, can now be taken u p hv the t~r l~fu l . We recognize the type from the school- yard, if not from thechild's goltifish bowl or the backyard pond. Through Samuel's descriptive language the fish arcJ slightly personifietl to suggest rerognizable human types (and, in some cases, as in the comparison of the pcsrch with local land- lords, to allow for some5 social satire); but these stylistir touc-1it.s are light enough to prevent cB;lsy sentimrmtality whilerrtain- ing thc angler's c.le:lr respert for the beast as advtmary. T h e vrry tlescriptions of the fish ttastify to the angler's art, ant1 teach us that "he must win them with great care and sorc labor ancl with all drvire. ~ ~ o l i c y , and art that ht> can. . . . For therc. is not the smallest fish that is, that is not now too good for ;I rn;in (1i;lving stream at will), \\.ithout his great irltlustry to catch her" ( P 30).

Such dcscriptivcs passagrs, and more- inrluding two gootl "fish stories" (one about a pike ovc3r 267 years old ( p . 46). and another about rlir fish that got away ( p . 55)-in William Samuel's TIIP Artr of Angl ing will surc~ly pleastsand instruct the recreational o r the professional angler. Samuel's literary skill as well- his exercise in the dialogue form, his carefully drawn ch:tractrrs. his 1)sycho- logicxl insights, his drscriptivc~ talents- ran please the thoughtful ang1t.r in all of us. I , for on' rratler, a m g l a d t o be includctl, at least by irnplic.ation and Via- tor 's e x a m p l e , i n tha t fe l lowship of anglers which r a n admit nr i thcr "the covetous and grec-dy man" nor "the slug- gard sleepy sloven." nor "the poor man. . . the angry m a n . . . the fearful man" nor "the busybody" who must tarry at home ( p . 32). Fishermen, it seems, are always in good r o m p a n y . even w h c n they fish alone. But perhaps. upon reading Wil- liam Samuel's little book, we feel more l ike the fish in Donne ' s poem "The Bait," w h o admires the angler 's art so much that i t is gratefully caught . Cer- t a in ly , we c a n say w i t h s o m e irony, "Tha t fish that is not catched thereby, Alas, is wiser far than I." 8

An77r E. Imhrir i ~ n n n.s.si.stnnt profr.s.sor of English nt I'nssrr Co l l rg r , Nrzci York . Slrr rrcrizlrd lrrr PhD. from 111r Crnizrrr- sit? of N o r t h Cnrol inn nt C h n p r l Ff i l l , zclhrrr s h r . sprc inl i zrd i n R r r ~ a i . ~ s n n c r l i t rmturr . S h r hn.s puOli.shrd n hibl io- ~ r n p l i y o n T h o m n s Rrozcvzr and Robrrt Rlirton (1981) and is currrntly zclorking on n book-lrn,qth .sttidy o f f r ~ r n ~ s of 17th- c r n t i i r ~ p r o ~ r , zohich inrludrs n d i . sc i~ .~- .sion o f S n n i ~ ~ r l ' ~ T l ~ e Artr of Anglingnnd Mrnlton'.s T h t , C:omplete Angler . S h r cnught hrr fir.rt fish ulhrn shr was thrrr yrnr.7 o ld , but ndr~isrs zc.stllnt hrrpiscntor- in1 rndrn7~or.s .since tlrrn Itnrlr not hrrn

I \'irginia M'oolf. ,4 Hoorlr of O ? Z P ' J Otclrr (New York: Harc-ourt Brac.c, 1929). 1). 5.

Tlrr Artr of A11glirr.q (1577). etl. Gcraltl Eatles Betitley with Introductiori I ) \ <:;lrl Otto von Kienbusch a n d Explanatory Notc*s by Hent-y I.. Sav;~gc. (Princeton: Princ-eton I l t ~ i - vrrsity L.ibt-ary Press, 1958). All ( itations;trc,to this edition, referetic-e\ indic-ated ~)art.titlieti- (.ally in the text.

"Thomas P . Hat-risoti. "?'he Author of T h c Arty of .4rlglirlg." Notr.s rind Q ~ i ~ r r r . ~ . 11,s. 7, tio. I0 ( 0 ~ - t o h e r . I960), 1)p. 373-376.

"krr.ald E:;~des Rentley ant1 Carl Otto von Kienbnsch make motlest and suggestive c-laims lor the extent of Walton's tx~rrowings from the El i~abe than text, arguitig by implic.atiori It-om s imi la r passages in t h e t w o works . T h e s e implications arc expanded, ant1 some of them correctrtl, by Marcus Seldon C;ol(itnati, "Izaak M'alton ant1 Tlrr Artr of Angling. 1577," in Sturlir.~ in Honor of T . W. Rnlr/uli71, rd. Don Cameron Allen. (Ilrbatia: Ilriivcrsity of Illi- nois Press. 1958), 1)p. 185-204. Goldman sttg- gests that Walron's borrowings ,nay have been more haphazard than rigorous; he argues as ~vc l l that Walton's use of the tlialogue form may have devrlol)ed through his a c ~ u a i t ~ t a t i c e with other works besides Sani~tcl 's, (oticlud- i r ~ g that whatever the n;ttureof M';~lton's uscof Tlrr Arlr,, those 1x)rrowings in n o way dirnin- isli Waltoti's literal-y achievement. T h e litc.1-ary clualities of Tlrr Con~plrn l A71glrr, in c-otnl);ir- ison to Sani~tel 's work, is given f~rller trfi~t- mcnt in J o h n R . C:ool)cr's T I I P Arl of T l l r Conrplrnl A71,qlrr (Durham: Duke 1lnivcrsity Press. 1968), esl)ccially PI). 139 f f . ' See Izaak Waltoti. T I I P Con~plrrct ..lrlg/r,r:

o r T l l r Conlrrrzplnl iz~r h l n n ' . ~ Krr.rrnt ion (1.ondotl: i'arie. 1948). 1)p. 88. !)0.

Accolding to L. F. Salrman, when Eliza- I)eth visited with 1,ortl Not-th for three days in 1577, his cooks required 67 sheel). 3 1 pigs. .I slags. 16 bitcks. 1.200 c.hic.kens. Yti3 (apons. 33 geese. 6 turkeys. 237 dorcn ~)igeons ant1 "clu;~n- t i tics of ~)artridges. ~I".;IS;IIIIS, snil)c' and ; t I I kinds of other birds, including gulls, a carr- loati a n d two horseloads of oysters: fish i n rtitllrss variety: 2.500 eggs and ,130 1)ounds of huttcr." F:r~,qlnrrd r r z Tudor Tir~lr,.\: . ~ I I ..l(.c.ourrt of It .$ Sor.rnl I.ifo crnd lrrd~i.\lr~o.\ (New York: Sc-rihner's. 192ti). 1'1). 85-Xti. Atlmittcdly, this is royal fare, and ;I weekenti's sul,l)ly at that: we woulti expec-t middle-class dining to li:~ve been more modest. Still, I think it sale to assume tliat Piscator's menu is less I-calistic. than ;In obtrusively artificial me;tn to a11 e r ~ d .

7 1 must say that I (lo not sharc \ ' i ; i to~ ' s lirerary tastes. I find Pisc.ator's srrrnorl on the text frorn C;rncsis (111 .srct/orr. r~rrllrc.\ l r i r , ctc .) one ol the rno\t succ c\sful ~ ) ~ o s c 1):tsragc.s in tlic entire lx)ok. simple atiti tlirec-t in its stylr, ant1 ;In admir;~blc illustration ol th;~t in(-itl(mt;~lly myth-making itnagin:~tioti so c.onlmori to Eli- /al)cth;tn litn-;~t~trc. SCY, Tlrr, A rtr,. 1q). 29-3 1 .

.hg;titl, 1)rieI (.otnp:irisoti \vi t l~ \V:~ltoti is iti\tru(~tivc here. B e t ~ t l ~ y tiote\ th;tt S;tti~uel is more skillctl th;~tl M'altotl in the clcl)ic tion of sec.ondary charactt~rs, es~)cci;tlly th ;~ t of Viator (1). 85). T h i s jutlgrncnt sc.c*n~s to tneonI \ \ul)ct- fic-ially accurate. In I)oth c .as t the tlv1)tIi of c-harartcri/atioti sui ts the wt itcr's ~ ) u r ~ ) o s e . Because M'alron's larger purl)r)\c i\ c,sl)lor;~- tion of th r virtues of the c.o11rcm1)lati\~c~ life, i t makes scnscs tha t LL'alton's I'isc tor. w h o rrpt-cwntstIi;;tt lift.. 1\.ould I)? rnorc 111 Ily tlevel- olx.cl. 'I'lit. lullct t l ~ ~ ~ ~ e l o l ) r n c ~ n r 01 \ 'lator in S;trnuel's lvol-k direc.ts 11s to hi \ riiolt. tt;tr~r)\vly instrttc-tional ~)urposc.

Incidental Intelligence Concerning The Arte of Angling by C. 0. u. Kienbusch

W e sometimes forget or never think it over and asked me when I was leav- to record in some fashion the details ing England for home. I told him on of certain events as they are taking the following Thursday. He said the place, for it is d i f f icul t from such book was classedas a national treasure short distance and without the benefit and would not be allowed to leave of time passing to access the histori- England. However, he suggested that cal significance of such happenings. he meet me at the airport on the day Fortunately, C . 0. v . Kienbusch wrote indicated and would accept from me to Professor Thomas P. Harrison a American Express checks in the proper letter in which he related the details amount. These he would immediately concerning the "discovery" of T h e change into English currency. He said Arte of Angling, 1577. Natura l l y , he would be very anxious not to have this is not as historically significant me mention the transaction for two as the discovery of America, but w e years after I had reached home and if thought that you would find it inter- the British Museum asked what had esting. A copy is included below. become of the book, he would blithely

say, Australia. No one would find fault with that because it was English

My secretary has just read to me an soil. T h e book was wrapped in a article appearing in T h e American rather dilapidated piece of newspaper Fly Fisher, Vol. 2 , No. 2, Spring 1975, tied with a string. When I got to New which has to some extent provided York thecustomsofficialsall knewme the excitement caused by the discov- because I had for years been buying ery of "The Little Book" by myself armor and arms at Sotheby's and at during a visit to London. I was hav- Christie's and had them shipped to ing lunch with a friend of mine who New York. T h e head customs official may be classed as an amateur dealer said "well what did you buy this time?" in rare books. He asked me what rare I showed him the little book. H e said books on angling were in my library. "oh, that doesn't amount toanything, I told him that there were either three does it," and I said, "no it doesn't" and or four missing and that the chance of put it back in my pocket. Afterwards I my acquiring any one of them was had the head of Parke-Bernet's book quite remote. He then said he had a department appraise the book. He little book that I didn' t have and thought it was worth about $1600. At mentioned "The Arte of Angling" the end of two years I turned it over to and said that at present the British the Library of Princeton University of Museum was doing some research as which I am a graduate in the Class of to the author and wanted to buy the 1906. I had "a first edition" published book at a reasonable price. My friend the following year. Doubtless you said that the price was not satisfac- have seen a copy of it. At $7.00 a tory. When I told him that I would volume it sold with lightning speed like to see the book, he said that he because everybody was interested in could get it out of the British Museum Izaak Walton as a plagarist.(?) Then a Library and show it to me, which he second edition was called for. This did in about a week. When I finally was also sold. I believe therewere3000 saw what he had to show, I almost copies. So now the little book has, fell off my chair for here was un- through your remarkable research, doubtedly a book with which Izaak gained an author. I simply want to tell Walton was very familiar and had you how much I have enjoyed your borrowed much of what appears in discoveries. You have done the an- the first edition of his "The Compleat gling fraternity a great service and I, Angler." I asked my friend whether for one, feel deeply in your debt. he would sell the book and he said yes With kind regards and best wishes. at a price. Then he told me what the Your admirer, British Museum had offered. I said C. 0. v. Kienbusch how about three times that. He thought (aged 91) 3

-- -- - --* --_ - -. mill I I I U

I (&:-, i I I

, I FISHES OF- WEST. I I I

.- SPECIAL ILLUSTRATED EDITION

or

THE AMERIGAN ANGLER. , 7" f." "".""". .. .. " W ." . . . m. . ."*. , " I

% -.. - - - 4, ~ ~ ~ Q w rir , ry*- * r - - r

'Cs

The Cisco (Coreogonus Artedi) by W C. Harris

Excerpted from a special illustrated edition of The American Angler, July 1886, and titled The Game Fishes of the West

T o q u o t e o u r formrr editor, Paul S c h u l l r r y , " F i g u r i n g o u t w h o d i d s o m r t h i n g f irst i.s o f t r n a mat trr of f igur ing o u t ulhrrr a n idea , o r a t r c h n z q u e , o r d r s i g n first sur facrd for p u b l i c r x a m i - nation." I n m a n y m s e s " p u b l i c

rxanzination" takrs t h r . form of a book or periodical that trrnt.7 t h r subjrct i n q u r s t i o n for t h r first t i m r . Thu . s , i n m a n y in.rtances, first 1,s no t nrce.s~ari/y first. T h a t i s , t h r b o o k o r prr iodical mrrr ly .srrzlr~ t o codify t h r principlr or idra t ha t 11a.s b r r n i n g rncra l u.sr for s o m r tirnr. Anti brcau.sr fornzal, z~!r i t t rn commun ica t ion zc.szrally has a n a m r a s - sociatrd zilith i f ( i . r . t h r azcthor), that prrson u sua l l y rrcri71e.s ( .rrdit for t h r idea's incrptiorz. W r cite herr bo th Hal- ford's and (;ordon'.s a~xoc ia t i on z~lj th t he dry fly. W r l l , u ~ h a t dor.r all tt1i.s h a 7 ~ to d o u ~ i t h t he eisco, and r z ~ r n fly-fi.shzrz,g for that mattrr? I gzle.s.r u~lzat I ' m t y i n g t o d o i.s prrparr you for a di.scussion of t he Lechniqur of n y m p h fi.shing(wlzrrr a

THE I I E R R I N C O R (:15(:0 F1.Y. 1

dr l i b rmt r rffort i.7 m a d r t o inzitatr t he apprarnt1c.r a~7d th r brhmlior of at1 rnlrrg- i n g n ~ a y f l y n y ~ n p 1 1 ) t11nl zc1n.s p~tl)li.s/rrrl n r a r l y a h a l f - c r t ~ t z i r l ~ 1)rforr fi:d71lnt-(i ( fa thrr of t h r nynzplr) t l c z c ~ i f t ' . ~ Nymph Fly F ish ing . T h r t r c ~ l t n i q u r 71ln.s rrn- ployr(I for ci.sco, n o t t rou t . Nat t t ra l ly , ulr'rr no t c l a ~ m i r l g tl1i.s a.s a rc,r~l first!

I1.B.L.

This specirs is also gc~nel.ally known as the "lake herring." and in some st.(-- t ions of the West a s the "Michigan her]-ing." Prof. Goodr, reports:

" I t exists in most of the small lakc.; o f Northr>rn Indiana and Eastcrn nlisc.on- sin (Til~pecanoc: Geneva, Oconornowoc.. t ~ c . ) , where it is known as the cisco. In thcsr, lakes it usually rtlmains in tlccl) watc.1- until the spawning sc2ason, when grcat numbers cornc near the shore to spawn.

PI-ofc,ssor Charles Linden, of Buff:ilo. sent to T h r A m r r i c . a ~ ~ Ang l r r of July 1.1. 1883, a monograph of the lake herring. from which we quote:*

"Whcn or where originatetl the manu- fac-t~irc of a spcc.ial lly for luring the lake herring cannot bc. dcfinitr.ly asccrtaincd. but s o far as I can I r a r n i t \\.as first employetl by an old expert tlcvotcc of the gentle :ut, known to all of thc fratcsrnity sirnply a s o ld Mitchel l . H e has g o n e long sinc-e to happier fishing grounds.

and ~ n ~ i s t have 1,ec.n a ~) r r son of no 01-di- nary ~~owc, r sof oI)s('rv:~tion to d c v i ~ ( ~ not only the fly itsrlf uscsd lor thcx c.aptri~-c. of thc herring, I,ut also the 1 x o 1 ~ r 1na111wr of its h:~ndling, since this involves :I (.or- rc.c.t know~lrdgr of tllc hahits of the fish kind his food. which hatl, in the a1,scnc.e of a l l ~ ) r i n t c ~ d in for tna t ion u p o n this sul~jrc- t , to be gathered alone 11-om original ol)sc~-vations. .I'hc whole rt7odu.s o~~r i -n t l ( I i , :is p~.:icti(.e(l still 1)y his clisci- l)les, is 1,asc.d up011 the tlt~vclo~xnent of the imago of the, c-ornmon hlay fly (b;/~l/rrnrri.s 711i1,qnto) f1.011i its i i ( ~ ~ i : i t i ( . Iar- val c -ondi t io~~.

".I'his inscc.t, whit-11 freclucnr thr l - i \ . -

rrs of th(5 Oltl \\'o~-lcl as ~ ( ~ 1 1 :is thr nc.lv, att;iins its matul.ity her(* to\v:il.tl 111(~ mid- dlc o f 1~11nr. when i t swarms ul)on the su~.l'acc of the Niagara anti its shores in such n r ~ m b e r s th;it they al-c allnost Ilc- yontl :irithnrctic.:il c.alc-~ilation. 'I'hcy livr, ho\vc\.cr, in accol-da11c.c with their n:ume. I)ut a short time, which nl:iy vary from one to f o ~ i r clays, and rarely cstentls 1)cyontl the timr necdcd for the deposi- tion of thcsir eggs, which process appears to he t h e o n l y mission of r h c i ~ . 1,ric.f :~eri:tl existence. T h e rggs :II-c d(*posited I)y t1lr fcrnalrs in srn:ill I,unc.hes til)o~i the surfacc of the river, wh(.nc-c they soon sink to the I ~ o t t o ~ n f o ~ . the c.oml,lctic)~i o f tllril. fink11 tlcvclo~,mrnt.

"It nlay t ;~kr s e v c ~ i l ~ G I I - s l ) c * f o ~ c . the 11atc.lled out larvae of the May f l y rnii-

THE CISCO.

tu r r s i n t o \vh ;~ t is cal led the sttl) o r ~ ) s e r ~ t l o i m a g o , w h i c h diffc.rs (.hiefly from its 1)rec.eding tvorm-like form, I)y the. ;~l)praranc.c. of so-c-alletl rudi~nent ;~ry wings. \.Then the time for the ch;t~lg(, o f the. s111)-imago into the 11-11e imago has ;u.ri\.ed. i t asc.entis SI-om the hot to~n ol the ~ . i \ , c .~ . to its surfac-e, ( . ; ISIS off the t h i n ~~ellic.ulc-like shell ol its soit I)otly ;t11(1 tsnters ul1011 thc culmin;rti~lg stag<, of its ;teri;~l life, which, as a1)ove st;ttetl, r;tr(*Iy I;~sts longer than a day, unless the insctc.t i\ r,rrventc~tl from c-o~)ulation. .I'liis 1)ric.f e1)oc.h in its l i f e , history is ;in e c j ~ ~ a l l y irnl'o~ tant one3 to the* c,al)tor of its most vo~.;~c.iol~s enemy, the, lake herl-ing, the fishing for ~vtiic-ti is then at its fullest hc*iglit.

"Although the h e r ~ i n g ih oc-c-;~sionally t;rkc'n in Al)ril and May, 1)y using 1ni11- notvs fo r b a i t , t h e nc.w food sril)l)ly dtmands non. a c-hang(* of t;tc-tic.s, ant1 a novel stl-ategem is de\~isc~ti. I)y the em- 1)loyment of \vhic.h as much sc.ientifit sport may 1 ~ . had as any rnthusi;~stic. fly trout fisher may desire. \ilhen the im;tgos of the May fly rise in rnyriatis, the 11c.r- rings, attt.:~cted by thenl, are on the^ alert for this fa\.orite footl, with which, as s h o ~ v n 11y examinat ion of their storn- a(-hs, they are f ; t i~ . ly c.r:trn~nc~d.

"The anglrl-, in order to ac.c.ornl~lish his l)rlrpowc', and adopting the prccrl)t of Fathc.1- ~Mitchcll, now ~ ~ s e s a I-ough and ready imitation of the body of the, May

fly, in the form of a dull orange-colored f l y , very small, made of silk and feathers. tied 111)on a still smaller hook, and fur- ni\hetl with an attacheti sinker, to drag the, l ine quickly down to thc bottom. When this is struck the artificial fly is steatlily ~ ~ u l l e d up to the surface, in order to imi ta te t h e I- is ing n a t u r a l o n e , for 1vhic.h it is often enough mistaken 11y many a n urlfortunate herring, who too late tliscovers his mistake, as the fine srn;~ll hook is genc.rally very rffrc~tive in scbc-uring him. Eddies about cight fec.t in tieptl~ ;trc prefrrreti to the swift current of the main I-ivcr, which I-uns rlrar by at the ~ t t e of f o ~ u - miles arl hour, ant1 has too grcsat ;I depth for suc.cessful fishing.''

.I'o the, al)ove intrrcbsting artic-le wc add the resl)onsc matie by Seth Green t o a query f r o m a correspondent of 7 ' 1 1 ~ t l 7 ~ z ~ r i c n n Anglrr:

"In reply will say that the ciscos (.an l ~ c c-aught during the months of May and .June by using the artificial fly thc same as in trout fishing. They come to thC surface during these months to feed on the flics which are usually very abundant. .I'hc. ;~~ . t i f i c ia l flies should be made to imitate the flies on the water. They are ( .aught i n th i s way i n Geneva Lake , Wis., anti I have taken them in Irondr- quoit Bay, in the vicinity of Rochester. They recluire cold water, and are never found near the shore or on the sul-face whcm the water becomes warm, at which

time they settle into deep water. They could then be takcn by fishing with very f i n e tack le , u s i n g a s m a l l m i n n o w , which should not be more than one and a half to two inches long, or worms for bait. 'I'he minnow would be liable to be the most succcssf~~l. These fish travel in schools, and the great difficulty would be to find a school. If you succeeded you woul(i surely take them. I would advise having several hooks baited and attached to a fine gut leader. Have some of the hooks baitrd with worm and some with minnow. I should prefer Abbey & Im- brie's sncck Kendall hook, size No. 6 or 7. In thc fall they come into the shallow water to spawn, and that is the reason yor~ see them now. They cor~ld also be taken with a fine gill-net, inch mesh, made of No. 60 twine."

*Ptolessor Lintlen tlc.sc.rihc.s the mc,thod of ci~trliitig 111e cis(.o. wliirl~ is foIIon,ed hy the angling fraternity of Kufl;~lo, N.Y.

.(.DES(:RIPTION: Tied 011 a N o . 10 Sproat hook, hotl\, moh;~ir, tiot too fuzzy, hut very hc.a\.y; beginning at shoultlrr the color is a \'(.~-y derp orange. ending at fut~tlamt~n~ in a very liglir orange. Harkle, none. Wings made o f a small clu;~ntity of light r lea~- bl-own hac.kle.

-ED. [M'rn. <:. Harris] #

Recent Acquisitions

Notes and Comment Pride of Place

We notes a recent exhibi t ion of cbarly Am<-ricari v ie~ss at Princc.ton 11nivc.rsity. T h e vic.ws ;I)-e f rom tht. (~o l l r ( . t ion of Lrori;lrtI L. Milhc-rg. Princ.c.ton. class of 1953. All attrac.tive. an~iot;~tc.tl c.;~talog of tht* c-ollcctio~i ( 130 sc.cbnc.s i r i ;1l1) c.;rri be oht;~irietl fol- ten dollars I,y writing to thc R;irc. Books & Sl)c~cial C:olIe(~tioris 1)cpart- mcnt of the Firc~stonc~ Lil)l.ary. Princeton ITriivrrsity, Princeton, NJ 085'10. 'I'WO of the scrnes arc* of intc.rc.st to us as they dty,ict arigling, possit)ly fly-fishing, in the year 1802. We are grateful to 1.eonard Milberg for sr~l)l)lying us with photo- graphs. We show one, Great Falls of the Potomac.. COLII-tesv of'I'he01tl Print Shou

T w o 3M copiers (model VQC-111) were dona ted t o the M u s r u m by S ~ i ~ n t i f i c Anglers/SM. O n e of the machines is located in Manchester, theothrr in Buck- field, Maine, whr.re it is beingput togood use by your editor. T h e munificence of Scientific Anglc.rs/SM is greatly appreci- ated. We thank them very much.

Letter to the Editor

Hank Siegel, that obstreperous sock- dolager (no t i n the pejoratizle sense) from d o w n t o w n G o s h e n , Connec t i cu t , and proprietor of t h e Angler 's cL. Shooter 's Bookshelf, supplies u s wi th o u r ( m y ) first letter t o the editor.

T o T h e Editor: I have a few observations o n three arti-

cles i n Vol. 10, No. 1 ; and, as you know, I

Recent acquisitions include: ,41do Leopold's E. C. Powell8'h-foot,

?-piece rod, purchased by the Museum; thr wirkrr and leather creel owned

by General George S . Patton Jr., gift of J o h n Reed; and

Mark Kerrridge'.~ prrsonal fly-tying box wi th matrrials and fly-ty ing uise,

gift of Prescott A. To lman . Other neul acquisitions (see Ifol. 10,

No . I , for prmious list) will be listed i n a later issue.

a m loath to write unless I can kill several birds, err.

Ken Cameron's very learned article omitted what I believe to be the earliest mention of "intentionalM-this word is very important-fishing with the dry fly. I refer to Thomas Shipley's A True Trea- tise o n the Art of Fly-Fishing, Trol l ing, Etc., edited by Edward Fitzgibbon and published in London in 1838. T h i s work was brought to my at tent ion by J o h n Simpson, the eminent British ang l ing bibliophile, some time ago.

On page 78 of his little opus, Shipley says, "When you fish, begin at the head of a stream, fishing the side nearest to you first, and then casting to the opposite side. Let your flies float gently down the water, working them gradually toward you, and making a fresh cast every two or three yards you fish. Wedistinctly recom- mend frequent casting. A fish generally takes the fly immediately it has touched the water-provided always it be deli- cately and lightly flung-and the quick repetition of casting whisks the waterout of your flies and line, and consequently

keep.7 Ittern drier and l ig t t t~r than if t h ~ y upere left to float a longer t ime o n thr u~ater."

Re 71'ho~n;~s Steele, I have a chromo lithograph of his Turo At A Cast and I gur,ss that I could furnish a Polaroid photo of same if hard pressed.

Somewhcrc in this issue, information was requr~sted on Ralph Orthof. I knew Ralnh back in the sixties when he was a commc~rcial photographer living in Jer- sey, and I think that Chal-lie DeFeo introduced us. Ralph made a salmon net for meout of 160 Ib. Dacron which isstill the biggrst I've ever seen on any river and is my pride ant1 joy. If some overzealous guide tloesn't beat a hole in it killing a s a l m o n , it s h o u l d be a r o u n d for my grandchildren-if a n y . W h e n R a l p h Rave me the bag in the spring, he told me that he had great difficulty finishing the job s ince h i s h a n d s h a d become so arthritic and that he was going to move to Florida. I haven't heard from him since and suspect that he may be drad.

Rest regards, Hank #

Car t 00 n s I t has brrn our pol icy to reprint from t i m r i t rms relat ing to thr humorous r idr of f ly-f ishing. While the accompanying material docs not rxp l ic i t l y portray frathrrrd

F I S H E R M A N ' S L U C K .

I - .

- -: - - - - ..-. . . . . - - -. <z-.- -..Kf...-.--+-.-, :----<.=. :v 2...s= -si -z-?E--~ .7----. -. . . ~ - . . -.. . . . .:.=>-. .L ? :- -

, - .- :-. -_

. -- -. - - . - - . . -- - - - . -. .. , := - .- - - ----- -- .

. .. - ~. - . -- -. +&y:L>-.\ .-. - .. . . - . . - . - - - \ -~ - . . - 3 : .- , - - . - - - . .

imitations, fly fishermen can easily r e l a t ~ to the pictured predicaments. These particular items were found in a periodical for young people entitled Our Young Folks that was published by James R. Osgood cL Co. in Boston (Vol . 92, 1872).

Events of a Military Life by Walter Henry

W e have recently come across a vo lume ( t w o volumes published as one ) entitled Events of a Mili- tary Life by Walter Henry. It was published by Wi l l iam Pickering, London , 1843, and contains four chapters that deal primarily w i t h

salmon fishing, the majority of wh ich describe s a l m o n a n g l i n g i n C a n a d a . Remarkably, it can be classified asa book of the "not in" variety. T h a t is to say, th is work is not listed i n the usual angling bibliographies (i.e., Wetzel, Bruns, West- wood Q Satchell, various auction cata- logs, etc.). Henry was astaff surgeon w i t h t h e Bri t ish 66 th R e g i m e n t and served w i t h that regiment i n Canada for 13 years ( c o m m e n c i n g i n 1827). T h e regiment initially was stationed i n Quebec City; it moved to Montreal i n May of 1830 but returned to Quebec City five years later. Leisure t i m e apparent ly abounded for British officers and just like Capt. Camp- brll Hardy (Forest Life in Acadie, 1869, and Sporting Adventures in the New World, 1855), Frederick To l f rey (The Sportsman in Canada, 1845) and Major Wi l l iam Ross K ing (The Sportsman and Naturalist in Canada, 1866), Henry had considerable t ime to pursue piscatorial endeavors. W h i l e only four chapters are devoted spec i f i ca l l y t o a n g l i n g , t h e author makes it qui te clear that angling

A n early British fly book from the Museum's collection (donated by Stewart M . Ogilvy). It contains material from the early 19th century. W P draw your attentzon to the t w o salmon flzes dated 1835. T h r y are not as complzcated as Fztzgzbbon's flzrs (page 18) and are more nearly representatzue of flzes the lzkes of Henry, Tolfrey et. a1 were fzshzng o n the Canadzan salmon rzzlers.

was a uery important part of his life. I n fact, the uery first chapter describes the capture of his first salmon o n the River Eske (or Eask) i n County Donegal, Ire- land, w h e n he was a young boy. It was a fresh-run fish weighing twelve pounds that was landed only after a battle of t w o hours! L igh t trout tackle coupled w i t h the fact that the fish was hooked i n the tail readily account for the long struggle.

I n addition to being a seasoned trout and ( n o w ) salmon angler whi le still a n adolescent, Henry was apparently a proficient fly tier of the imitation school. I n fact, he tested the effectiveness of his imitations o n his "entomological" tabby cat.

This tabby was rather peculiar in her tastes respecting food. She loved milk and fish as well as ordinary cats, and often regaled herself with a tender mouse when she could; but she differed from her race in being fond of eating flies. It is true, she had no inclination for the larger kinds, and would turn u p her nose at a blue-bottle-still she appeared to relish extremely the lighter and more delicate gen- era; enjoying a neuropterous ephemera, such as a green or grey drake, as much as we should a snipe or a woodcock. When I found the light favourable, and grimalkin opening her eyes, after a doze on the hearth rug, I used to suspend the fly to be examined opposite a small crack in the window pane, through which the slight current of air agi- tated it sufficiently, to give the appearance of life. If it was des- tined to be a killing fly, the old lady looked greedy, twirled her long mustaches, struck the rug with her tail, made a feline point, and a dash at the window; and sometimes seized it in her mouth before I could snatch it away. If the simulated insect was but a clumsy imitation of life-which, I regret to say, many of my early performances were-she disdained any notice of it, and resumed her

nod. I will not aver that, under the sanction of her approval, I proceeded to my sport with all the confidence of a Roman going to battle, to whom the augur had promised victory; but I usually felt pretty certain that the fish would confirm the opinion of the cat.

T h e Pickering edition of Events is a n enlarged and revised version of the first edition, w h i c h was published in 1839 by J o h n Neilson i n Quebec under the title Trifles from my Portfolio. Entries i n Neilson's subscription book for Henry's "Portfolio" (1839-1841) total over 200 subscribers. T h i s a m p l y speaks t o the popularity of the book.

S o m e 90 m i l e s b e l o w Q u e b e c C i t y (toward Montreal) o n the Nor th Shore and opposite Kamouraska lies the river Malbaie. It was here i n early Ju ly of 1830 that Henry and his friend Major Wing- field begin their pursuit of salmon and trout. A s early accounts of fly fishing for salmon prior to 1850 are indeed scarce, w e have opted to reprint for our readers'perusal as m u c h of Henry's piscatorial nar- rative as possible. ater rial not directly re la t ing t o s a l m o n f i s h i n g h a s been edited ou t , and w e have chosen to delete material per taining t o ang l ing that is somewhat redundant, wh ich comprises most of the material found i n Chapter 41 of V o l u m e 2. H i s foray o n the Malbaie is found below.

On Monday morning, July the 5th, we engaged a caleche, with a good looking Canadian boy, named Louis Panet, to attend us on our daily visits to the Chute, or chief fishing ground, six miles distant. The road up the valley is very good, following the winding course of the river, and overhung on the other side by green, globular hills, which are steep in many places. These are covered with a thin soil, which often after rain peels off in large patches, carrying down trees, fences, flocks, and even the houses, "in hideous ruin and combustion," to the bottom. One of these frightful eboulements had fallen across our road lately, and the

country people were still busy i n clearing away the rubbish.

From my former experience, the first glance of the river assured me we should have good sport. Instantly our fishing rods were got ready, and taking Jean Gros with us. a habitant who had accomrla- nied m e o n former occasions, we dcs- cended the steep bank from his house, got in to his crazy canoe, a n d were ferried across to the best part of the stream.

There was a large granite boulder in the river, in the wake of which I had formerly hooked many a fine fish. At the very first throw here I rose a large salmon; but though he appeared greedy enough he missed the fly. O n these occasions, particularly the rise of the first fish of the season, the best a n d most experienced anglers will feel aslight palpitation, aris- i n g from a s t ruggle of opposi te emotions-hope of success, doubt of f a1 '1 ure, and uncertainty and curiosity as to the size of the fish. Giving my finny friend time to resume the position at the bottom he had quilted, and to compose himself, I then threw the fly lightly over him, com- m u n i c a t i n g to it t h a t s l igh t m o t i o n which imitates life. H e instantly darted at the glittering deception, and I found him fast o n the line. After a moment's won- derment. he dashed madlv across the river, spinning out the line merrily, and m a k i n g t h e reel "discourse e l o q u e n t music." T h i s active fish did not stop in h i s career u n t i l near ly t o u c h i n g the opposi te bank, when he turned, made another r u n for the middle. and then commenced a course of leaping a yard or two ou t of the water. T h i s is a dangerous time, and here unskilful anglers most frequent ly lose their fish; for each leap requires a corresponding movement of the arms and body, to preserve the proper tension of the line. In fact, o n these occasions a good salmon-fisher will make a low courtesy to his fish. I played this merry gent leman three quarters of a n hour, when he gave u p the contest, and I gaffed and secured my prize-a fine male fish of twenty-five pounds. T h i s was a good coup d'essai for the season.

We continued at oursport till mid-day, when it became too hot and clear. My companion , w h o had never fished for salmon before, was not lucky enough to hook any, but he caught a number of large salmon trout, in fine season, and marked with the most brilliant colours. I had landed two more large salmon and several trout of the samedescription, who took eagerly the largest salmon flies. We then crossed with old Maitre lean to the

0

shady side, and reposed ourselves; and having discovered a copious spring bub- bl ing th rough the gravel, close to the water's edge, we enlarged it into a well, into which we plumped our fish, and a bottle of Hodson's pale ale, covering it with ,green boughs. We then employed

ourselves in collecting strawberries for a dessert to our sandwich, and after lunch enjoyed our cigars and chatted over our morning exploits:

"Frond? sub arborea, ferz~~ntia t ~ r n p ~ m n s aslm."

When t h r s h a d e of t h r h i g h bank stretchrd across the river we rrsumed our sport, and returned to a latr dinner at Chaperon's with our ralechr literally full of fish. At this rarly season the salmon and trortt are nearly all of large size; and truly our day's sport made a goodly show as the beautiful fish rrposrd side by side on two of Madame Chaperon's largrst tables. 'The sum total was, five salmon, weighing a hundred and five pounds, a n d forty-eight t rout , averaging thrc-c. p o u n d s a piece.

Ncxt morning, after an r:irly breakfast, a n d se t t ing o u r hostess a n d soldiczr- servant to work to parboil and picklt. our fish, we started for the Chute, taking a tent with us, which we pitchc.tlon a grcscsn knoll overlooking our fishing ground. It proved however more ornamental than usrful, the right bank being so u~nI)~.;t- geous that we did not rcq~rirc it by day, and we always returned to our lodgings in thr evening.

During our sccond day's fishing I had a little adventure, which was not unat- tended with danger, though such was the exci t t~mrnt of the moment that I was scarc-rly conscious of it. Having observcd a largr salmon rising at a fly in thc n ~ i d - dle of the rivc.r, I got into thc canoe, and made old J c a n Gros polc me out to the spot; knerling, as we werr often obliged to do, for fear of upsetting thcunmanage- able little craft. I soon hooked the fish, and making my Charon stick his pole firmly into the bottom, we brought our tiny vessel athwart it, kreping our position against the force of the current, which here ran very strong; and having a fine range of the open stream, I playc~l the fish for half an hour, until he was cl~tite subduc~d. M. Jean was then desired to weigh anchor, and push for a shclving sandy bank, where wt2 had been :ic.c.us- tonied to gaff our salmon. In p ~ t l l i n g LIP th? pole, which was shoti with iron, the old man, Ily some inrxl,licable awkw:~rtl- ncss, lost hold of it: itway the s t rong strvarn bores us, whilst thr long ole was lcft standing perpendicularly, vibrating still, and ominously shakingits head at us.

Jean Gros ' shoulders elevated themselves t o h i s ea rs ins tan t ly , a n d h i s wizened and corrugated face was elon- gated some three or four inches, to the obliteration of manifold wrinkles that adorned it. It was irresistibly comic, and I could not help a loud laugh, though it was n o joke. We had n o paddle, nor any thing else to assist us on board, and were running at six knots a n hour towards the

jaws of a dangerous rapid. My old voya- geur, aftt-r his first astonishment, uttered two or t1irt.c. indec.rnt oaths, like a verita- ble French colonist; then, apl)arrntly resigning himself to his fate, Iiv hcxcanic paralysrd with fear, and brgan to mum- ble a prayer to sonicLktvouritc. saint. In tlie mean time somcs good naturc.tl hahitans. who hat1 I~een watching me playing thc salmon, and had sc.csn us drift from our moorings. ran d o w ~ i the short. opl)ositr to us, flinging out every stic-k they rncst. for the c.hancr of our c.atching and using i t . . . '1s ,I paddle. All this time the salmon rrmainrtl on thca line, and thc large rod suffic.ic,ntly occ.ul)ietl ones h a n d , antl rmbarr;tssrtl m r a good deal i r i stl-etching for the picbcrs of hoard thrown out hy our friends o n the short*; still the idra of aban- doning rod or fish c.ould not be enttLr- taitietl for ;I moment. 0nc.e I o\~c~rstretchrd myself, and canoc. and all urc,rc. within an ace of hcsing itl>srt. At I:ist srtcc.ess attrndrtl us: I sc~curcd a picsc.cof plank, and thr first eml>loyrnent of i t Mas thc c.onfcrring a good s o u n d thwack o n Je;tn Gros 's shoulders , a c c o m p a n i e d by "Ramez! s-e, ramez!" T h e effect was electrical -the oltl frllow scni7c.d the I)o:trtl ant1 I)e- gall to ~);ttltllr v igoro~~s ly , stc~c,ring. ;IS lvt. al>pro:iclird an island, clown the sm;~ll(.r bratic~li of the rivcar. where tli(.r:tl)id c.oultl be p;~ssscd with coml)ar;ttivcs s;tfcty. By grc3at good luck our co-\~)y:tgc~i~r in the water took the samr ch;rntiel, and t1on.n the strt,am we all went merrily together for half a milr. Hc~re the r;~llid ended in a drel) and quiet hole, where thcs lish W;IS soon gaffed; ant1 after a lit t l(~ rest. antl :I c u p of brandy to the oltl man. notwith- standing his dr1inclurncc.s. he laced the canoc on his shoultlt~rs, I c;~rrieti the fish, and wc returned I)y the I~ank.

Wr spent a de l igh t fu l fo r tn igh t at Malhair, killing many fin(. salmon and a great n u m h r r o f magnificc*nt t rout ; whilst wccmy)loycd our servant, when we were fishing, in pickling. smoking, or salting them. Rrit the season hrcame dry, the river fell, ant1 the fish c.c,;tsed to run in any consideral)lr numbt~rs. l'owards the c.nd of July w r struck our tcw, rmbarketl in a large boat, and proceeded twenty-fivr miles down thc north shorr of tlie St. Lawrence, with thr in t rn t io~i of explor- ing a small salmon strram, callr~d the, Rivitw Noire, which, i t was said, had nts\,er been fishrd with thc rod.

T h e north shore of the great Canadian rstuiiry is an intrresting field for the geol- ogist, and has not been half explorrd. Indeed a comprehensive. ant1 scientific rest.arch through the whole of Canada, now happily reunited into one provincrs, 1s yrt to be made; and would, I am per- suaded, develop great mineral and other natural riches, as well as bring to light many curious objects. At the Falls of the Montmorenci, a little below Quebec, that river has cut through the junction of the

An ~ l l u t t m t ~ o n rntztlrd "Fzr.ct Salmon of thr Season zn the Hospztal [L'Hopztal] Pool" from Frrdfrzc Tolfrey 's T h e Sportsman in Canada (1845).

sienite with the superincumbent limestone, ancl illustrated not a fcsw of the recondite scscrets of the priv:rtcs and early history of rocks. At Bc>aufort, in thc same neighbourhoocl, cnormorts clu:un t i ties of marine sht.lls, in a state of rc~markable preservation, with the colours ycst perfect, are fount1 imbedded in blue clay. Farther down the s;rnle shore the limestone for- mations cc.ascs, and the country 1)rcomrs purely granitic, bold, anti n~ount ;~ inous to the very ctlgc of the St. L;~wrc.nce; the lofty a p e s ant1 headlantls increasing in altitude and wilclness until they are interrupted in thr most abrupt and singitlrrr manner by tht. enormous ravine tllrortgl~ which the Sagurnay runs. T h e waters of this great tributary, hencath a vc.rtical bank from six to right hundrrd frct high, and only a yard or two from thr shore, have been found by Captain Rayfielcl to be cight hrtndrc.tl feet drty). Were the. channcl of thcs St. Lawrenc.e dried up, the Saguenay would still be fivr Iiuntlrc.cl feet drcp.

It was a fine afternoon when we left Malbaie; the river was calm, and the white porpoises, those unu,iclcly looking crcatrtres, were tumbl ing about in all directions. We had guns, and tried a few shots without c.ffrc.t, the 1);tlls ricochet- t ing off the i r s m o o t h ant1 oi ly sk ins whenever thry struck th rm. As it a p - proached sunsct our Canadiarl boatmen began a quartetto, by no mc.;rns inhar- monious, though the voices w c ~ e rough enough, and kept it u p with great spirit

nrarly all the rest of the voyage. At mid- night wearrived at tht,mouth of the river. wherc we found a fine, dry, sandy beach, with a line of creamy surf ripplinggently against it, in a wild a n d uninhabi ted country. We landed, foitnd plenty of drift wood t o k ind le a l a rge fire, a te o u r snl) l ) i~. which we shared with our voya- geurs, for whirh they gave us a song or two. under the cheerinz influence of a niodrr;rte c o u p of b r a n d y . We t h e n u~r:rl)pccl ourselves in our cloaks, looked out for a soft stone for a pillow, placed our guns hy our sides, put our feet to the firr, ant1 soon fell asleel,.

*The morning sun awoke us: we started u p arid took a refrrshing swim in the salt watrr, whilst our :cttcntlants were grtting 1)re:rkfast ready. When the meal was over we prepared o u r rods, a n d set ou t to reconnoi t re t h e s t r r a m . the banks of which were covered with almost imnen- c.tral)lc jungle; but after great exertions we, explored to thc distance of four o r five milt~s, yet only got onesalmon, which my fricnd caught, for our pains. We might havca known that thc water was too low. ;rnd saved ortrselves the journey: the river stootl in pools, and as far as we could reach was a cont inuous succession of sm:tll rapids and falls from one rocky letlge to irriother; whilst 'normous granite I)ouldrrs-many as large as a n ordinary house-lay spread along its course in thr wildest disorder.

On our return through the forest wc dist~trbed a large bear, who was busily

employed in tearing u p a rotten pine, and feasting on a colony of ants that inha- bited it. We stopped, and so did he; feeling. n o d o u b t , as displeased a s any Christian at being interrupted in his meal. H e might have feasted on any of us if he had chosen, for we had foolishly left our guns in the boat, and our fishing- rods were sorry weapons. But Mr. Bruin behaved very civilly, b e i n g probably unwilling to contend with four of us, and after half a minute's hesitation walked away, and left our path clear.

Next day we returned to Chaperon's, and the following morning visited the Chute, and found that a fresh batch of fine trout had made their wav U D the , . river, low as it was, whirh afforded us capital sport, rising .greedily at our salmon flies, and being very lively and strong on the line; but we could see n o salmon un t i l la te in t h e even ing , when we noticed a very large one sucking in some small flies in the middleof thestream. We both embarked w i t h J e a n Gros , a n d covered him in rotation, endeavouring to tempt his palate by various flies resem- bling those on the water, using at the same time a single gut casting line, but all in vain. At last, just before starting for home, I tried one more small Wren's hackle over h im, when he rose like a young whale, and I struck and hooked him.

And here let me warn the young salmon-fisher against the mistake of suppos- ing that he is not to strike at all, but allow

the fish to hook himself. Let him be assured, on the word of an old hand, that in this way he will lose half the fish he might otherwise catch. A salmon wishes to enjoy the pleasures of the palate as much as we do; and no doubt feels as much satisfaction in masticating a fat stone fly or green drake as a human epi- cure in delectating his gustatory nerves on the thigh of a woodcock. If, therefore, you supinely permit the fly to remain in his mouth long enough to let him detect the imposture you have practised on him,

Plate 5 from Ephemera's (Edward . Fitzgibbon) The Book of the Salmon, London, 1850. The flies shown (from top to bottom) are Ondine, an unnamed Welsh fly and Toppy. Fitzgibbon remarks that Ondine "is of composite architecture, but not too florid. Its ornaments are most attractive, and they will suit the tastes of salmon, no matter to what nation they belong." These flies are in sharp contrast to the drabber and much simfiler patterns that were employed in Canada in the early 1800's.

and to ascertain that he can make nothing of your hackle, and mohair, and gold twist, and steel, he will do as you would with a bad nut-spit it out. But if you strike the instant he seizes it, you have ten to one in your favour of plunging the barb into some of the soft parts of his mouth.

To these chances ought to be added those of hooking him externally, when he misses his bite at the simulated insect; and these are not inconsiderable-even in the apparently hopeless case of a fish

leaping some distance from the fly. The '" author, on one occasion, was fishing a broad part of a stream, with a long line, when a salmon pitched himself out of the water, apparently across the line, but at least twenty feet from the fly.TheAuthor struck involuntarily; and was extremely surprised to find he had been so quick in his movements, as to hook the fish in the belly before it could get out of the way of the line.

But to resume our story. I had little expectation of killing this fish, though

the low st;tttB o f the rive^ IS in I ~ V

f;tvour: the t;~cklc tvas slender-, n o d o u l ~ t , yet the tlelic.;~te fihrt* that l i ~ ~ I c 1 hi111 [)I-i- soncr was of the I,c.st tlcscription, ant1 tliough of neilrly in\.isihle tenuity. 110s- st.ssetl gl-eat strctngth, w1iic.h the flcsihil- i t y o f a long ;IIICI ~ ~ d m i r a l ) l t ~ I-od rn;~tc.rially

(IIII-ing the tssc.iting play of that no1)le fish. ; ~ n d 1ii;111y. 11i;iriy. dis111;il ;11)1)1.che1i- siotis h ;~d xvts of the re9ult; for my f~.icnd M'i~igfieltl I)ecarne fully 21s much interested in the long st~.ugglc 21s myself. But the s ta~~nc-l i O'Sliar~ghnessy kept its holtl, tlic~ tcn;~c-io~rs gut failed not. Finally. after ;I glorious c-ontt,st 01 ;In 1io111- ;lntl ;I c1t1:rr- I ~ I - , this s~)lendid fish lay gasping o n the bank. I t xvc~ighetl t h i ~ ty-one por~nds.

O n tlic 3rd of A~tgust \vc, retul-rietl to Quel)ec.. wit11 txvo 1;11.gt' I);r~.rc.ls of lisli for tiistrihution anlorigst our Irirnds.

.I'lie C::uiadians have, given odd narncss to different holes. 01. remous, fornictl I)y thc~ etltlies o f this powerful stre:~m. Irnmtt- diatcly u11de1- the bank o f Dery's gat-tlen is ;I re(-ess. xvorn deel) in the ~ o c ky bank. ;r~id ge~ier:tlly sh:ided by tht* i~npc,nding ~)~'ec.i- pic.(,, calletl tlic ".I'rou nail-." .I'liis is close to the I)ritlge. f r o n ~ \\ahenct, the fish in i t may l)c distinc-tly set,n. A little Io\vt.r (lowri, on the opposi te sitlts, tlitn 1)arik s1ol)cs ;it ;11)o11t ;III ; ~ n g l e of for-tv-five* dt~grccs, t o tvithin [sight or trn feet of' the. watel; ant1 hel-c the fish lie iri a toler;~I)ly cluiet t.tltly. tvhc,~-t, one, may hook them sitting on ;I Ietlgt, irnmt.diatcly ove~- their lie:~tls, ant1 eve~i see thcir rnouth o l ~ c n i ~ i g as they snap at the fly. T h i s is calletl the "C;r;lnd Rets." out of whic-h I have ~)ickcd

many a good fish. Lower down on the same side is the "Petit Rcts;" and at the lower end of the canal, where the river cxl~ands, is a famous fishing hole calletl "I.'EIopital." whcrc~ the wounded salmon arc s u l ) ~ x ~ s u i to wait to be cured of thcir cuts ant1 1,ruisr.s. in attempting to Sol-c.e their way "1) this last ;end worst ral)itl.

For half a mile below this, o n both sitles, thc fishing is good; the best being immediately ahovc a sloping rock, run- n i n g q u i t e across tlie river, whcrr the stre;lrn makes a chute; or rather runs vio- lently down a long inclined plane, at an angle of about twenty degrees.

I3aving brc:~klasted and prepared our tac.kle, we proceeded to our sport; taking tliffrrcnt sides. T h e I-ain had swollen the rivcr much; c o n s e q ~ ~ e n t l y , ncither the Grand Rets nor I.'Hopital were in a state to he fishetl. At last, wading to mid-thigh, ;~nt l in a powerful currcwt, I tried the top of thc~ Chute. ant1 thcrcb hooked a lit3avy fish at the thirtl ~.isc.

It is well k n o w n tha t the la tc S i r 1 I u 1 n ~ ) I ~ r c ~ y Davy was fond of salmon fishing. ;IS every philosopherouglit to be; and has left his brethren of the angle " S i ~ l ~ ~ i o n i a , " a scieritific. and clelightf~~l l i t tle hook; frorn the same I~encvolcnt print iplc ;IS l)rornl)tt~d rhc~ gift of his S;rfety I.arnp to the Miner, namely. to gu;trd thcrn against tht. d;ingcrs inc.itlent to thei~- sport. Neverthclc~s, judging 1'1-om the, \)an he ~ ~ l ; ~ c e t l upon w;ltIing, and his oxvn pra(-tic.c, in always lishing in indiic rul)l)er l)oots, I am presumptuous enough to do~cht whether he wits :I top-sawyer- in the noble art. For i t appears as inc.otnpre- 1iensil)lc to rnt. that a first-rate Salmon- fisli(.~- shoultl he hydrophobic, as it would I)t* for ;I dut-k. And that suc.h a man shoulti It.avc a fine fish in possession of the mid- tllc o f some broatl st~-earn, to suck clown \vitli aridity ever-y f l y in the nrighbour- hooti, 1)ecausr he dares not of ;I hot day c.ool his limbs to get ;tt him. passes my ~ ~ n t l c r s t ; ~ n d i n g . Rut "alicl~lando bonus lIu1nl)hrian~19 dormitat;" and the wad- i ~ ~ g 111-01iil)ition wits issued, when o u r illrtstrious brother 11;1tl riot quite a\vakcd f r o ~ n one of his longest ~iotls.

For my o1v11 li~trnhle par-t I am half :I

fish SI-om long hahit; ;untl though in any other w;iy t11;111 a n i~nglcr. not worthy to c-;u.ry the gaff of the, great man Just mc,Ii- tionetl. I })I-esume to tliffrr- from him in this point toto caelo. My principle is, if ;I man has rc;lson to believe himself sound, wintl arid linil). let him not bt, afraid of t I i ( . water-. t)ut wade u p to his s h o ~ ~ l c l e ~ ~ s , i f nt,cessary to sec.ure his ohjrct, ant1 the stre;rm ~)ermits him; still with the ~ ) r o - viso, to kc~ep rnoring, and don dry clothes tlic instant he gets Iiornc. Moreover, let him ('s(.Iiew ;111 I T ~ ; I I I I ~ ~ I - of fishing I~oots, ;uitl 11sc. only strong shoes, with no rii~ils; \vearing woolle11 stockings, ~ I . ; I M ~ ~ ~ s . a11(1 trousers; ant1 thus practisirlg the sport,

with the necessary temperance and mod- eration in other matters, my life for his, he has less chance of catching cold, than he \vould have, from sitting half-an-hour in a pa i r of dam11 boots i n h i s o w n 1,arlour.

rThc~-e is not much exaggeration in the story of thc Scotch Laird, who enjoyed unvaried good health, whilst dabbling in the 1v:ttrr all day along the shores of his loch, c-atching trout; hut lamented that he could not intermit his sport for a day, and expose hirnself to dry feet without catching cold.

But, to return from this digression, hooking ;I large salmon on the brink of a water-fall, or strong rapid is a very ner- vous affair. Fortunately you have the instinct of the animal in your favour, for he keeps con t inua l ly ascending the stream till his object is accomplished; and has bcsides, in all probability, a particular objection to retrace his steps down 21 difficult place. recollecting the toil i t cost hirn to get up. ; ~ n d how vexatious i t woi~l(l he to have i t all to undergo again. But a hook in the jab, woultl disturh any body's I)owt,r of ratiocination; we need not wondel- tliercforc if MI-. Salmo gets at last somewhat bothcrcd, and when he cannot extric-ate himself any otherway, if he, borrows the aid of the current, anti makes a race down the river.

I stootl, as was said, mid-thigh deep on the lctlgr of a rock. and in strong water, when I hooked this fish on the very crest of thcs Chute. So slil)pery was the srnooth limestone, polished for ages by the rur- rent, ant1 so strong was the momentum of the strc;irn, that tlie question admitted of sorncb doubt, whethel- the fish woultl run down with the man, or the marl up with the fish. Having a powerful rod, strong silk lines, and 11-eble salmon-gut casting line. I irnmediately gave butt, as we tech- nically call easing the line by a particular manipulation of the rod; and found to niy satisfaction that tlie fish was held fast in his 01-iginal l~osition. After. tiring him somewhat hy 21 strain o n his muscles for two or three minutes, one foot was slowly moved u p the ledge an inch or two, and then the other; and thus we cautiously stole u p the stl-ran1 at about the rate of a snail in good wind. At length a foot and then a yard was gained, and having now tlecideclly the mastery I began to wind up, and succ-ccded in conducting the gentle- man to ;I safe distance from the Chute. Then followed the usual course of racing anti saltation, and once the fish nearly got back to his old dangerous position. At last hts surcurnbeti. and I flung him from the gaff on the dl-y rock. H e was a very good fish, fresh from below, and large for the J;tc-clues Cartier-weighing seventeen ~~O~IIlt1"

My friend o n the ol)posite side hooked ;I salmon when I had just caught mine; and while resting for a minute or two, I

I I "The Toll-Housr, on Jncrl~cr.c. (;nrtirr [I)rry'.c.] Brtdgr" from t l r ~ frotlti.r/)icc.r o f 1 '01 . I of Tol/r(y'.\ 'l'h(* Sportsman in C:an:~d;i.

had the pleasure of seeing him play and gaff his fish in very gooti style. Aftrr a morning's good sport we rc~tr~rnc,d to our lodgings to dinner. O u r fish werc>~)r~t in a large cask of cool spring w:iter, f c ~ l by ;I little aqrleduct, rnnnirig;~c.ross tlir 1)ridge from t h e o p p o s i t e batik. w h i c h a l so serveti to cool o u r wi~le. M'tx Oien changeti our clothes, and sat down to dinner; and I need scarcely add, that, although wcL h ; ~ d provided ourselves with the usual condi- ments, our sport and esc.rcise furnishrd a source for our broiled or boilrd s ;~lmon, which was infinitely 1)rttt.r.

In the evening wr killed tlirc~. nio1.t. fish, and two or threc large, trout. Rcforr retiring for the night we sol;tcc.tl or~rsc*lves with a cigar or two, seated on thc l)leas;~nt bridge, which, from the constant c-ur1-ent of ail- created by thr rapid rivrr. al\v:~ys furnishes a cool position. and on?. c.or11- manding a good virw. 111) :111d down. of this romantic ravi~ir . -I'lir rvening \vas beautifully clear ant1 fine, with tlir shiri- ing columns of thts ~~~~~~~~~~11 lights c.onl- mencing their mysterious evolutionb; a n d as we bestrode o u r bench, a n d returned the polite sa lu ta t io~ is of the passing habitans, we enjoyed much our "otium cum dignitate." 'There was some- thing piquant too in r ~ p l ~ n i s h i n g our temperate glass of brandy-pawny from the delicate aqueduct that trickled beside us; whilst a torrent that w o ~ r l d sweep away St. Paul's roarrd arid ragtxd beneath. When we retired to rest, the voice of the

rivel- was softent.tl to ;I lull:il)y; which in 011r case was vrry rlnnt.ccsss;iry music.

For th r greatcar p;lrt of its c.oursc from hentr. to thr St. L.;~~~rc~nc.c,, the, river runs throrcgh a tleel~ raviric.. with stcarp 111-ecip- itous hanks. and :I I)rIt of forc.st on each side. Henc-e. \vhr~ i tlir M.;I~CI- is at all Iligli, it is impossiblt. to follols it to ally grt'at distanc.e btslo~v thr bridge; consrquently, although tlit~rc~ must he many good holes, affording rt~stirig p1ac.t-s fol- tlie fish, ant1 sport for thc,anglrr, tlit~y a,-r little lookod after, and short as the clist;~ncr is, i t has nevrr yet I)ctcn fully t~sl,lort~d.

Having heard of a new hole of grrat mrrit, as a rcstirig 1)1;1(.(' for salmon, 1)e:tr- ing tlie finr nanic>of thr Krmous St. Jean , I set out at (lay I)re;~k on Monday morning to pay i t a visit. ;1c.coml)anir,c1 by my host 1,ouis. At o ~ i c l p;wt ~ v r wisrc obliged to creep for tlirrr or four hundred yartis. along a narrow ;uid (.rumbling ledgr of thr. half rottcsn linirsto~ie; with tlie high vertical cliff ovc-r o u r heads. t h r o ~ ~ g l l which the nurner-ous springs pouretl o n us likea shower-bath, and a ho i l ingra~~i t l ~ ~ n d c r o u r ftbct. I t \v;~s I-ather pel-ilous work; for in somr ~ ) l : ~ c ~ s the narrow footing, w11ic.h the- t'dgt-of a t l t ~ r r ~ y i n g s t r ; ~ t ~ ~ n i affordcd us, hat1 l ) c ~ > ~ i worn qui te away. and we were forc,rd to cling as we might to the. sitit, of the ~ ~ r r c i l ~ i c e , sonirthing after the fashiori of a fly on the cciling. M'r had takc~n tht, ~ ~ r e r a u t i o n of putting our show in our pockets; and th r poncsrs of adhesion of our wet woollen stockings,

l ikr s~~c.kt.rs. ;~ssistrtl I I \ ;rtimit-a1)ly. At Irngth : ~ f t c - ~ - ;I l ong stt .r~ggle ;111d somc 11111'1r;1sant slil)\. \v(*~vc~;~t l i r~.rd tllc. point; cut our \v;ry t+.ith I.ouis' a s r thro~rgh the forc*st. I I ~ . ; I ~ t l i ( t hole. ~vc. souglit. ant1 \vtsre rcbw:~~.d(bd I ) \ ;I c.oul)le of gootl fish.

Ry tht* rnitltll(8 o f the \veek tlie river h ;~d f;111c.11 sr~ffic.iotirly t o allow fishing i l l thr C;r;~ntl Kt~ts, out o f u.liic-h I 1)ickcd sr\,c.r;~I s~ii;tll s ;~lmon; l)ut o ~ i r 1;crgr frllo~v, \\.ho 1i;1d I)r(31i thrre for some (lays. ~ v o ~ ~ l t l rt*~)t~;~trcIly (.owe 111' to the fly, rcco~inoitr-e it c-;~rrfully. ;~n t l thrn dil) into the. (Ive1) ws:iter ; ~ g ; ~ i ~ i , (-vi(Icr~tly not l i k i n g its : I ~ ) ~ C ; N ; I I ~ ( . ( ' . \Z'herr I sat, on the rtlgr of tlir roc.k. 1v;is not mot-r than c.ight 01 trn fthet fro~il then surf';~c-c. of' th(> Ilolr, so ;IS to ( ~ ~ l ; i l ) l c > 111c, to scSc- 111s ~ i ~ o t i o ~ i s \,rry (11s- ti11c.tly. I t~ . i c . t l \ , ;~ r io r~s flies to ternllt hi\ ~ ~ ; t l ; r t c . . ; ~ n t l ~ . V ( . I I t l rc~~sed some. for his r s ~ ) r ( ~ s s I I ~ Y , I ) I I I ; i l l in V:IIII. 'I'tlr fxsti- t l i o ~ ~ s gc~ntltm;~rl wot~ltl t;~rit;~lizc. lllct I ) \ t l ; t~t ing ; I ( tht. f l y , tul-ning o ~ i t . (.y(. t o t ~ s : i ~ i i i ~ ~ ( ~ i t ~notc, (.lost,l\, (s \ . r~i tott(.Iii~~g i t with his IIOS~.. t)ut ht. tvolrlcl 11c.1.c.r- o1)t.11 his n i o ~ ~ t l i .

Now this Ivas rriighty pro\.oking, ;III(I i t \\*as a t1ii11g sc.;u-c.c-ly to I)e rsl~rc.trtl t o fintl ;I s ;~ l rno~l so good an rntomologist. So, ; ~ l ) ; ~ n t l o n i n g 101. t h r timrs rvcs~.y o t l i r r o1)jt.c.t. I devotc~l l i ly whole attention to this loat-ned fish. ;unrl resolvc.tl to (.atell l i i ~ i l l)y liook or by (.rook.

'I'hercs was riot mu(-h cliancc o f his It , ;~vi~ig th r hole, :IS under thr csisting circu~nstanccs of difficulty in getting

higher- 1111 the ~,owcrf~r l r;rl)ids ; i I ) o ~ r t the l~ritlgc, he might I,? ol~ligctl to wait in thcs C;ra~td Rcts th~.ce or four tiays 1ongc.r. So I taxrd my ingcmuity to prcl);rrc the most c.al1tiv:tting fly ~)ossiblr. It was ;I

~n ; r l l a rd ' s w i n g ; ~ n t l g ~ . o t ~ s c ' s h:rckle. ~ v i t h a small I ~ l a t k head, ;rdornc.d with 1tvo l);i~'ty c o l o t r ~ c ~ l ;rntcnn;ic, \ , e l ~ e t y s1,ir;rls o f altc.rn:itc. I)lirtk ;inti o range rountl th(* I)ody, cn t l i~ tg in the most rtat- trral trictrsl)id t;til imaginable. M';riti~ig till the shatlo\v of t11c trrn1)r;rgc~ous bank opl)osite fc11 o n the hole. I took off my shoes, srolc clt~ic,tly ; i lo~ tg the roc-k. ;untl sat d o ~ v ~ i o ~ t ;I Ictlgc c.losc, to thct brink. After :I l i t t l e I t11-ol)l)c.d t h e nc2n. fly within a couple of inches of the watrl-. and 1)ohl)eti i t u p ;r~td down, as i f the inscc-t rnedit;~tcd a l igh t i~ ig , but [lid not mtrc-h relish the. thought of wetting its dclic:rtc \vines and feet.

N o s;rlmon th;it c\,cr s\varn coulcl resist the tcmpt;itio~t. Ill, c.;ilnct my f~- ic~t( l \\.it11 ~ ~ K I I nto~rth-tlartt.d his htrgt. r n u ~ ~ l c O I I I of the \vatc.r-took thc~ f l y in the, ; r i ~ . , :inti then tlis:il)l)t~;rrcd i r ~ 111c tlcl)tlis of the c.d(ly. After I st~.uck ; I I I ~ fotrnd h i ~ n last. he ntatlc :I r u h O L I I of the, hole illto the main rapitl, ant1 ha \ , ing lost it11 self- ( -om~nant l in the first tr .cn~y o f his sur- prise, hc ;rl)l,c':tred t l c t c~rn i~ tc t l to take d o ~ v n the stream. Btrt \vhen hc, had 1)l.o- c.redctl fifty yal-ds. to \vhcrc the c-urrcnt slnckcncd a littlc o n oncsitl(*antl t l tccd~ly forrning the hole first 1)cgan. I s t o p l ~ r d Mr. S:ilnio. ;uicl 1)rought him rountl xvith the s\vi~-l of the. cdtly i r t t o the holr; iutd seeing that licn.;isof :I sir(1rtot to l)ctriflcd with. I h;~lloocd lustily to Imuis to 111-ing the g;~ff t o my , I . c ssrst:r~i~~c. . '

For a full hour I ~)laycti this fine fish, st:unding OII the c~strc~mc I ~ r i ~ i k of a slo1)- i n g I-oc.k. slippery [vith tht. nurncl.otrs sm;rll sp r ings cs t r t l i~ tg from ttlc I):rnk ;~l)o\.c*. S o per i low sc.crnrd my ~ ) o s i t i o ~ t to ;I \ vc~I l - in tcn t io~ ic~I 1.1 icnd. ~ v h o \\.;IS a sl)cct:ito~- on t l ~ c a l)~.itlgc., thirr Ilc ran down ;rntl c.atrght holtl 01 lny skirts, ad j~u- ing me s t ~ o n g l y t o 1)c c.arcfr~I of my stcsl,s: I)ut alter sornt. t l i f f i c ulty I shook him off. In the mean time I 11;rtl I)rought t l i c t fish to the cdgc o f the, l o ( k. Io\v(.~ tlo\vn I hc, hole. on 1vItic.11 1)c.l-y stoo(l. gaff in 1i:rntl. rtsady to plunge i t into his sitlc. At Iirsr, in ;I moment of c.ornl);~r;~tivc cl~iicsc.c,nc.c,, my ;~idc-dc-c-iirnl) ; r t t c~~i~) te ( l to trsc rli(* gaff. btrt rnissccl tlic 1)1-01)t'r p;rrt, ; r ~ t t i only tol-v tht. skin nc:u- thts tail. 11111s ~rni~irc.ntion- ;illy doing misc hi<+. ;utd rnirtltle~ting the fish. It made O I I ~ tl(~sl)cr;i~c l u n ~ i i n g leap into the micl-ra1)itl. :rntl tlolvn the foirm- ing strcarn i t \vent, at tht. rat(. of EIigh- flyel- o r E(.lil,st..

In antic-il);rtion 01 thc ~)ossil)i l i ty o f such an c\.cnr. I had, ivhilsr the fish 1v:is yet in tltr. deep hole, rnovcd I-otrntl a t l i f f i - cult 1)ar t of ;I re(-t,ss in the 1):unk. untlcr somc cmh:ir~.;~ssing trees, artd was now rcirtiy for ;i run as \vcII ;is the s;~lrnon. As soon, thel-efol-e, as the linc on the wheel

was reduced to its last yard, fish a n d fisI1erm;in cornrncnccd a racr, in which the latter would have had small charice if the former had not I-rlaxrd his sl)eed. Fol- we had not gonr down the rapid more than two h ~ r n d r r d yards when I obscrvrd the salmori whet~l I-ight about facc, and dcsc-cntl the stream Iristlrcly, tail fol-c- nlost, n o d o ~ t l ~ t frorn :un apprehension of dangc.1- from the prc~vious spetd, and thc c-Il:inc-t. of collision a g r ~ ~ ~ t ~ t ' some unseen rock. I c-oulcl now easily keep u p with Ilirn. iintl ?\,en wind u p some of the line.

After six or scvrn hundred yards, we both arrived, tolerably flurried a n d o u t of breath, at L 'Hopi ta l , in which fine hole the fish brought up , and in three o r four minutes was gaffed by Louis.

After a week's good sport we returned to Quebec, and thrre took the boat for Montrt>al the sarnc evening, which we rrached in high spirits, delighted with our expedition. in augme~ited friendship tow;rrds each other, and feeling, as honest salmon-fishers o u g h t to feel, in good humour with all the world.

T H E FIRSI' SALMON O F T H E SEASON Pont Dery, Jacques Cartier River, J u n e 1837

T h e ~-;ri~i-cloud IS piiss'd. id tlir sun rises high. 'I'hc mist from the river floats u p to the sky; .I'lic sh i~de of the maple still rests o n the stream, With its tlottings of gold from each quivering beam: 'I'lie floorl has sul)sitic~d, the lvatcr is clear- I lurrah f o ~ . ;I s;rlmon! the 1)rintc of the yeal-.

0u1- tac-klc is ~eat ly , and fil-st in our way 'I'hc glittel-ing deceit hovc~.s o'cr the "Grand Rrts;" It lights in the eddy. Ky Jupitcsr Amrnon! Already darts i r t it a silvcry salnto~i . I have ~niss 'd hint! ant1 hack witlt ;I dash and a gleam 'I'hc fish seeks indignant the tlcpths of the stream.

Onc-c morc he has risen, and amply display'tl His 1)c:rutiful for-m on the billow he made: I havts hint! he's fast! hal-k! the m~rsical steel Sings sweetly as rushc~s thr silk from thcs rc~el- H e I I I ; I ~ ~ S for [lie r:ipitI-:i It:irlc(~tri~i sp~.irig! Another! ; igai~i! he's fish for- ;I King!

H e h:rs g;ri~t'd the mid-torrent. f;isr spins out the linc; \Ye rntlsr fly doxvn the hank 01- t l ~ c beauty resign; -1'hc rnxg in is rock; ant1 s~rc.Ii I-acing, I ween. '71'~vist :I man ant1 ;I fish h:rs 1)ur srltlorn hcc.n seen: N o ~ v :I ~)lurtge-no\v 21 lc;rl)-;i~td in air ~ v h c n he sl'ins I-I(. tl;ishcs thc fo;im in nrhitc sho~vers from his fins!

'I 'li(~) arc ti:r~tge~otrs (.rags. 11ut nty ~): i t l t is \vcll kno~vrt. A ~ t d the hosc*n, like wax, (-;it( h thc. slil)l)c*ry stone: \.\'hilst the ~.ccl 's sotuntling treI)lc rnlivc*nh t l i c s c-ltasc, Anti the 10;ir of the I-i1.c.1- I~oorns dccy, as ;I 1):iss: Down, do\vn the swift c.trrrcnt now d;rshrs tht. fish t\s gallant ;i salmon as angler c-otil(l ~ v i s h .

\Ye hiivc gain'tl I,'Hol)it;rl, and the* ~ : r l ) i t l is ~):rst- '1'11r1-c's 1eis111.r to l~rc;ithc* and to \vintl 1111 at 1;ist. Now hie thee, good Hu~.nct-no morc can he fly; C;;tff slowly and surely-oul- t r iumph is nigh. ''l'is done, bravely don(,, tht. long strtcgglc i b o'cr. And ;I hl-ight twrnty potuitle~. gasps high on the shorc~!

1Ye are deep l y i ndeb t ed t o Dr . M a r i a n n e M c L e a n of t h e M a n u s c r i p t D iv i s ion of t h e P u b l i c Archi7~r.s of Canada for s u p p l y i n g u s w i t h i n f o r m a t i o n re la t ing t o J01117 N e i l . ~ o n and Wal ter Henry .

Old Time Disciples of Rod and Gun by Thomas Picton

- - Tkonzas 1'ic,tot1 zLra.s n (1o . s~ frre~zd L of FruTtk Forrslrr ( H r t ~ r y M'il- 11n,n I frrOcrt) and zons npparrnt - ly zircll ncql ia i t~ trd zi!itlz tlzc .sport it1 1urni~lnr ir .c t1zat f r ~ q ~ ~ ~ t ~ t c d Frank A l o ~ ~ f c r ~ ~ r d r ' . ~ o n Rnrc.lay Strerl Npzil York C ~ t y , A'rzi~ York .

T11r.s z~rn.s t l z ~ " O l d Sfiiril" crourd i?zcludrd t 1 1 ~ 1ikr.s of H r t ~ r y I t rn ta t~ , Hrr - hrrt Cyp~r.s.s ntrd Tl'illr(1~17 7'. Porter (.wr T h e Anlcric.ari Fly Fisher 1'01. I, N o . 3, and 1'01. 10, h'o. 9, for dc~ni l . sprr tn i t l i t~ ,y t o Por lc~r) . T lro v ~ n t r r r n l for l'ic.totz'.s pircr, zol~ic~lr rlr.sc.rr br.s trout fr.sl~it~,q it1 &Ire en?-ly IX-fO'.s, c~pj)c~arrd i71 /Ire FrOrli- etrv 19, 1x76, i.r.szi~ oJ'I'he Rod a~icl Gun. ' Alo.st of 1 1 1 ~ t n a t r r ~ a l tlrnt l'ictotz (1i.s- cus.ses con1r.s f r o t t ~ 111~ d i a r y of ~ I I P

Rzc.lzard T . Fo.sdic.k. 1'crlznp.s o?z(, o f olir rrndrr .~ call adr~isr 11.v n.s to 111r ,t~r(,.smt locatio~z of 1hi.s ~ ( ~ I I ~ I I P i l c ~ n .

Thcre existed in this gootl city of New York, some thirty-fitre year5 ago. quite a knot of worthics of local rcputr, who con- sidered i t a necessity of ordinary life to devote a certain portion of cach year to devotiorial exercise with the Rod ;rnd G u n ; e~i t t~usiast ic sportsmen, ;rlthough men of s t r ic t business hab i t s . T h e i r names will readily be retnernbered hy

hundrctis of the 1);lssing ge~iel-ation as gcntlemc~n of sr11,er-io1- c,d~tc-atio~i, ititc.lli- gcnce a n d re f inement , occ111,ying ;In cnviablc position a m o n g their Icllo\v citi~cns-in fact, as rc.l)rcscntatiw rnc.11 of the>i~- day, \\rho cncouragcd and c~ljoyc*tl field sl)o~-ts as the most rational (1ivc.1- sions for met) of c.ulturc.. I'hct Icirtling spi~-it trmong this c.otcric ;II>I)(~;II-\ to h;r\.c' 11c.c.n Mr. Ric-hartl -1'. Fosdic-k, a \ v o ~ t l ~ y scion of tlie oltl(xn stoc.k. 1vI1o \V;IS 1vot11 to boast that he 11;rtl li\.ccl f o ~ . mol-c th:r~l half a c-entut-y within the (.onfines ol otle ward. An intiln;rtc f~ icnd o f iVilli;~rn .I'. Portrr, I-Iel-l,tsrt C:y~~ress, J I - . . ;uid tt~c~"Olti Spirit" c.~.owd. "l11lcle Ric-hal-ti," as h r ~ v a s affec.tiorl;ltely styled l)y his younger corn l~anions , was rc.g:r~-dcd a s tat~d;r~-d arcthority in pt:rctical s~,ortsrn;rnshi1), while his irre~~rcssible good-humor . flow of wit and elasticity of tclnpcL~-a~ilent cl:rimed fol- him a It-ont seat in cvet-v social c-ircle. Anlong loose pa1wl.s. ro111nd after Mr. Fostlick's death, lvas disc.o\~c~ccl a species of dial-! ~ ~ h e r c i n 11ernte1-c.tl 111-ief memoranda of his f ishi~ig a ~ l t l sl~ol-ling jaunts and jor~rncys, perusal of c~xtr;rcts from which enables a rnodrrn sportsman to sccu~-e some idea of th;*t which his irnmetliate predecessors consit1c1-rcl "rare spot-IS." as well as to acquire a fair csti-

mato of tlit.ir illtlividual ~) rowess with Rotl ;tntl <;tin.

-1'11~ Inost I)I-o~ninent of Fosdic.kSs corn- ~);inions \\.;IS, rlnderii;il)ly. MI-. Henry Inrn;in, the, tlisting~lisli(~tl 1,ortrait paint- c3r, c~stinlatc-d as among rht. most talcntcscl ;II-tists o f his d;ly, ~vhercs dcvotiori to trout fishing amountetl to ;rllnost ;I prc*tlomi- 11;1111 1);1ssio11. 12 niore sy11i~);itIi~ti(.frientl, ~)olished gc.ntlcrn;ln iuntl geni;~l c o ~ n p a n - ion c-orlltl rvith diffic.ulty I)e disc.ovrred th;un this amiablc, ant1 unselfish discil,lc~ o f 1s;l;ic. \Z';llto~l. who , a l t l~ougl i long tror11)lt~l with ;I 1)11111ioni(. (.orill)l;ii~lt. c.otlltl 1.arely be int1uc.c.d to forrgo t lit, ~ ) l r ; ~ s u r c of fly-fishirlg whc-11 in y n i a l c~ornl);tny. s~lc.11 ;IS M1illi;lm F. Hrrugh, the. merc-h;~nt voc-alist. :IS l i t , \\.as terme(l after h i re t i rc~~~lc~nt from th(5 lyric. st;igcS. .I'Ii(. o t l ~ ( * r \vo~th ies , c.onll)osirig the jovial c.oteric,, al)l)e;ir to havo ht5c.n. Preston Flodges, thca distinguislird epic-urc.;111 ;lnd ~ ) o r ) u l a r " m i n e host" of thc. C:;~rlton n a

I-Iousc-. pr;~iscs of which have. I)eeri sung by tlie "Ini~nit;rhl(~ RoL," who 1);irtook 01 the gc~nial fisher-m~rn's hosl~it;llity t11ll.ing his fil-st visit to ~ I ~ n e r i c . ; ~ ; ~I ' l ieopliilus Hatc~s, his li~ie;il SII(.(.~SSOI. in g;~stronomy ;~n t l ~)o])ular i ry; Sherman Hrou~nc~II. ;I Nol-111 \t';lrd c.rlef~rity. lor yc;~rs a 1);ltriar- c.hal Police Magistrate ;ind o n c ~ Rcgistcsr

of tlie County with J o h n Fal-rrn and Samuel W;~rren, well-known denizrns of "The Villagc" ;IS corigcnial spirits. Thc, sons of Escul;tl)irts cxhibitrtl a fervent tlrvot ion towartl, rambling among fields ;rnd ;]long streams, for, in Mr. Fosdick's tliarv, they, as ;I profusion, outnumbcfir his o t h e r coml); l~l ions. A m o n g them c.oul(l be notetl Dr. Irwin Quacko1i1)oss. for vc3ars dcmonstrator of anistomy in our nlrtlic;il rollrge, ;I learrlcd m;in and frllow of infinite humor; ;tnd Dr. Sam. Ckris- woltl. ;I 1)hysic-i;irl of errldition wit11 an estensivc ~)rac.tice, togrther with several othel- e~ni:ic*nt practit ioners of thr~ir day. w I ~ o s ( ~ names 1i;lve sc.;~~.c.e survivc~tl 111~. gr;~vt' a s f a r ;Is tlie grncaral pul)lic. is c.o~i- c.c.1-ned. Mr. Fosc1ic.k sul)l~lic~s ;I c-;~talogutb of loc.alities f~-ecl~lc.ntetl by hini ;111d Iiis f r i r~l t ls for fishing ~)rlrl)oses, so~i ie of whic.11 may, even to this tl;ly, I)e rvorthy of ;I visit from rnthusiastic. anglers:

FOI. t ro~l t tllese vetrr;ins ni;~(ltl pilgrini- ;1ges to Ben <;;irrncn's. 1)cblon 11enipstc.ad. l..I.; H;~IcIw~in's P o n d , Baldwinsvi l le , I..I.; Hewlett 's Porid. I)elo\r~ Baldwins- villc. I,.I.; Stllnip Pond, near Rockarvay, I..I.; 1711cIt. Bcn Rainor's Pond. Kainor Sotrth, L.I.; Old Mill Pond. near Flush- ing, I,.I.; Hughcs' Brook, near Pumpton, N.1.; Bronx River, Westchestcr Co.. N.Y.;

William T . Portrr (York's Tall Son), takcn from the fronlispirce of Fmncis R r i ~ ~ k y ' . s Life of William .I'. Porttsr (1860). W r notr Ilzat Rrinlry rcras Portrr's brothrr-in-laro and that this strrl rngrazring 7ita.s rcprod~~crd from a drawing by notrd arti.st Hrnry Inmar2 zoho i.s mrntionrd 1 ~ 2 t h ~ accompanyin,g article.

Beaver Kill, and Willowwheniack Rivr*rs, Sullivan Co. For Pickrrrl they journeyed to Greenwood Lake, Wallkills. Orangc Co., N.Y.; T w i n Lakes, south-west of Warwick , O r a n g e C:o., N.Y.; Satldle River, N.J.; LJpptar Hackensack, N . J . ; Croton River, Westchester Co., N.Y.; Lake Mahopac, Westchester Go.. N.Y.

Now for some extracts from the ancit,nt fishc,rman's diary:

1840, March 27.-Rainor South. Henry Inman and I went down to Ilncle Rrn Rainor's to try his pond. Wind too high in the afternoon. Out carly, at 3 o'c1oc.k in the morning-rather chilly. Ilncle Ben made coffee and a snack for us and thrn to the pond. First cast raised a hrarrty IIIII missed s tr iking him. Cast again three timcs; raised and struck; played awliile and landcad him. Glorious sport. Caught seventeen brfore 6 o'clock; largest, l '4 I b. Inmarl caught fifteen largest. I Ib. and 1 oz. Home in time for supper."

" 1841. March 5.-Stump Pond. Inrnan, Warner and I took afternoon train; "Olcl Carmen" glad to see us. Out early in the morning; very succc~ssful-Thirty-nine i n a l l ; I n m a n h a v i n g o n e cal led the grandfather of trout, weighing 2 Ibs. ; ~ n d 5 oz.; average weight, half a pound.

"1841. J u n e 21.-Inman, Warner , Dawley and I left for Chester Darbit. '~, in

Sulliv;~n <:o. I o o k 7 o'c-lock tr;~in ;it JCI-- sry City and arrived at H;lwkin7s Station at 1:30. Iiired two wagons to take us z~cross n ~ o ~ ~ n t : ~ i n s over tliv 111ost infc~rn:iI road evc,r invt~ritetl. Arrivc,cl at Dztrl)ie's about ttsn at night; took ~.c.st next morning anrl spent the day in fixing t;rckle. 'Tried surido\vri fishing. but with n o suc- c.c*ss. In morning was fishing by 5 o'c.lock and kept busy 11ntil 8. Ill,on show of h a n d s we r o u n t r d n ine ty-e igh t of as pretty fish as man c.oultl wish tosee; seven a1)out 1 If). each ariti the. bal:~nce avc.1-ag- ing a half.

"Next day same success, and so o n for six days. In figuring L I ~ we founcl the number of fish c , ; ~ ~ ~ g h t to bcs 5.18; thv IZII-g- cst was a beauty, wcighing 3 11)s. 3 oz. Inman was so d(*lighted that he skvtc-hc~l the trout on tht- wooti\vork of I)arl,ie's porch."

"1841. July.-lnniari. N'arnel- ant1 1 ;it C:hesttxr Darbic. '~, Sullivan Ch. .I'hrecb days' fishing brought 271 trout. <:amped out by Mather Russell's Pond twonights. Splenditl time. Inman caught 69; LYarncr 65; and I, 66. Pretty cvtw fishing, as there was not 3 Ibs. diffrrencr in the c.atches; some weighing I ' r Ib. do\vri to ' r Ib. T h e ~rnitecl weight was 107'2 11)s."

" 184 1. Octobc~r.-H:rcke~~si~(~k Mea- dows. John Farren and I and my dog

LATE

' YORK, SATURDAY, FEB, 12,1876.

Basto shot the meadows fl-om old bridge to newr briclgc ant1 hz~ggcd 162 s n i p e 1,etwc~cll us."

" 184 I . Novem1)c.r.-Warner, Farren and I went tlown to I I e m ~ ~ s t e a d Kav tluck- ing. Stayed threr clays and brought home 142 canvas I,:lcks, teal , I~rarlt and broact- I)ills, 1)esiclrs leaving a large. nr1mbr.1- for hunters to sell in rnarkct, the hay being covered with bunc.hcss of duck."

" 1812. Se~,te1nher.-Jo1111 Fart-en and I went down to (:armen's after wrooclc-ock. R21sto pointcstl s l~loldidly. Bagged 74 as nice b i ~ tls ;IS ever flew in two mornings of shooting."

" 1812. Novernhc~r I,%.-Fished Hrllgatc~ for bass. .I'~-ollc.d neal l y two ~ O L I I - s without :I bite; title not right; l)ut when i t turncstl hat1 a livcly tin~cs. (:aught sc3vrn big ones; the largest, 29'2 11)s.. which gave one fishing enough for one clay."

"1843. April IO.--Wcnt to P u m l ~ t o n , N.J.. to fish Hughcss' Krook. Paid 53 for two ~ ~ ~ o r n i n g ' s fishing and carlght 41 fine ones; I;~rgest, II)."

"1843. A11gust.-Sam. Wal-ne1-, Dr. J im Quac-kcnl,oss. Henry Inman, j o h n Far- I-en. Dr. Rill King . Hcnry Muir a n d myself startrcl fol- Sullivan <;our~ty to fish the Braverkill and Willowwhc~m:~c-!i Riv- ers. A lively party; rcady for anything. First clay caught 103 trout ant1 kept in-

creasing to thc rnd of the week. Camped out one night in the mountains to fish Misenor's Pond. Great catch of fish; more than was wantcd; 792 trout in al l , 38 weighing 2 Ibs. and over each, the average of balance being over a pound."

"1844. January.-John Farren and I wcnt to Sullivan County to stalk deer. Watchctl all the first day at a salt lick, but corrld not sight any. Next day succt~c~dt~d in shooting one apiece; two bucks and a doe. I'hircl day Farwn and Darbre one cach and I two; 21 fine buck and adoe. T h e weather grew so cold as to fol-reus bark to town with out- ears atncl fingers frozen, the thcarmometer s t a n d i n g at 14 degrees below zero."

Antl with this sad expel-irnce tlie vet- eran "IJnclr Richard" appears to havt, abrup t ly t e rmina ted h i s s l ~ o r t s m a n ' s diary.

' The Rod and G u n was first published as T h e American Sportsman (Vols. 1-5) in 1871. It merged with Forest and Stream in 1877 or 1878. We note that a bibliography of early American sporting periodicals entitled Ameri- can Sporting Periodicals of Angling Interest by Austin Hogan is available from the Mu- seum ($6.00 including postage).

Annual Meeting President's Report

At the start of the past fiscal year we had three major goals: ( I ) Place the Museum on a sound financial footing. (2) Find a new executive director. (3) Find a permanent home for the Museum.

I am pleased to report that we have accomplished all three.

Last August at our Annual Meeting, I reported that "...our first order of business for the current fiscal year is to turn this [our financial condition] around and see to it that the Museum henceforth shall be in the black." On June 30, 1982, we had a little over $6,000 in current assets and over $16,000 in current liabilities. O n e year later, as your treasurer has reported, we have $89,000 in current assets and no current liabilities. Dedi- cated efforts and personal contributions of your Trustees created this remarkable turnabout, which gives us a solid plat- form from which to launch our future programs.

John Merwin, former editor of Fly Fisherman and founding publisher of Rod cL. Reel, joined us as our executive director on July 1, on a part-time basis, and becomes full-time director as of November 15. John brings to this job a wealth of knowledge of fly fishingand its traditions. He knows how to raise money and how to run a business. His creden- tials eminently qualify him for the position of executive director. It will be a pleasure to work with him.

We have long known that the Museum must soon move to a home of its own. The Orvis Company needs the exhibit and storage space we presently occupy for its own retail expansion. Our collection is stored in a wooden building over a mile away. Weare concerned that this arrange- ment exposes our collection to risk of fire and/or vandalism and theft.

Fortunately, a suitable bui ld ing in Manchester, Vermont, became available this summer, and we have entered into a contract to purchase this building. It is located next to the Equinox Hotel com- plex, which is scheduled for a $17,000,000 renovation commencing in October of 1983. This new structure will give us an attractive exhibit area in a prime location, but more importantly, adequate storage, work and office space with appropriate security against vandalism, theft and fire.

NATIONAL EXHIBITION PROGRAM A few short years ago our concept for

the Museum's future home focused on a single location where we could bring fly-

to the Membership yr 8, 1983

fishing history to the greatest number who might be interested in it. T ime , events and reflection have brought us to a new and, we believe, better perception of how we can best serve. We believe that we can bring the history and traditions of fly fishing to the people rather than bringing people to a single facility. The past few years have seen marvelous examples of this concept. The outstanding success of the Egyptian King Tu t collection and the more recent Art of thevaticanexhibit, together with the proliferation of ex- change exhibit programs between museums encourage us in the belief that from our headquarters in Manchester, Ver- mont, we can reach out and bring the fly fisher's world to existing museums and other suitable exhibition places through- out the country. We will thus be able to reach many more fly fishers than we could if the single-facility concept were maintained.

RELATIONS WITH T H E FEDERATION O F FLY FISHERS AND OTHER GROIJPS

At our March 1983 Trustees Meeting, we resolved: "...that the Museum shall not relocate its collection and staff to West Yellowstone, Montana, but shall provide, o n a mutually agreed-upon basis between the parties, appropriate Museum exhibits in facilities to be con- structed in West Yellowstone by the Fed- eration of Fly Fishers." We now understand that the Federation has entered into an agreement with the town of West Yel- lowstone to lease the existing Conven- tion Center and utilize it for approxi- mately four months of each year. Wealso understand that the Federation will undertake remodeling of this center and will provide an exhibition area within it. It is our intent to work closely with the Federation to implement this resolution.

Highlights from th T h e Museum is o n sound financial

footing. T h e Museum has a new Execu- tive Director. The Museum is acquiring a new and permanent home.

In my former life as a Museum Trus- tee, hearing that grand news might have given me cause to sit back and relax. In my present life as Executive Director of the Museum, I would like to assure all of the Trustees that that is most certainly not what needs to be done. The Museum of American Fly Fishing is in a position

We wish to havc an outstanding Museum exhibit in West Yellowstone during the summer months because we can attract more fly fishers and potential flv fishers there during this short period of time than in any other location that is known to 11s.

Progress is being made in the building of the Catskill Fly Fishing Center between Livingston Manor and Roscoe, New York. Just as we look forward to participating in the Federation's Inter- national Fly Fishing Center In West Yellowstone, we hope to work construc- tively and cooperatively with the Cats- kill group and look forward to placing exhibit material there.

T H E FIJTtTRE We must walk before we can run, and I

wish to stress that our members cannot expect to see us exhibiting across the country any time soon. Progress will depend, first, o n ou r ability to raise funds. It costs money to collect, build. ship. insure, store and care for exhibit material. While much of our collection has come to us without cost, we must anticipate paying for some exhibit material in the future. We must revitalize our efforts toadd to our collection those items we think will be of interest to the viewers we want to reach-items from the ITnited States and from other nations as well.

We will continue our excellent magazine, T h e Amrricnn Fly Fisher, and will work to increase our membership and base of support. We will expand our auction/dinner program to new cities and continue our successful events in San Francisco. New York City, Madison, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Manchester.

With the continued dedication of your Trustees and the support of our members, your Museum is entering a new and exciting era. We will achieve our purpose of bringing the fly fisher's world-its art, writing, artifacts, ethics and history-to the greatest number who will appreciate it. We will exhibit history-and with your help, create some ourselves.

Gnrdnrr Grnnl Presidrn t

.e Director's ReportX of greater security now than ever before in its fifteen-year history. Our having gotten to this point is largely due to the extraordinary efforts of our officers and Trustees, especially during the past year when an aggressive Auction/Dinner Program and substantial contributions have helped to put the Museum on its financial feet.

T h e Museum has exceptional momentum. It is my sincere hope that all of the Trustees will recognize that such mo-

mentum must be continued. It appears that the Museum is embarking on a long period of sustained growth and exceptional programs. It is to this end that the role of the Trustees is more critical than ever before, both financially and in terms of assistance and counsel.

In originally discussing my various assignments with the Executive Com- mittee when I was hired on July 1, 1983, it was suggested that I write a prospectus for the Museum's future, rather than a director's report. The feeling at the time was that I would not have sufficient things on which to report, based on my short tenure prior to this Annual Meet- ing. But things are happening at a rapid pace, and so I am incorporating both my own views as to the Museum's future and my report on short-term activities within this single document.

We have solved a number of short- term problems in the last few months, and we are embarkine on a number of " exciting long-term projects. Among those things 1'11 be discussing are the acquisition of a new building, a greatly expanded budget [a four-fold increase in eighteen months] and fund-raising effort, the establishment of a capital fund, our extraordinary and ongoing progress with registration and systematics with regard to the collection, the Museum's current status with regard to the Interna- tional Fly Fishing Center and the Feder- ation of Fly Fishers, plans for the expansion of our membership, the eventual computerization of many Museum sys- tems and, perhaps most important, our National Exhibit Program.

MEMBERSHIP Although I will be getting into a dis-

cussion of our next operating budget subsequently, I should point out here that we have presently budgeted $10,000 for membership development. My expectation is that most of this development during 1983 and early 1984 will take the form of direct-mail solicitations to pros- pective members. Our current status as a nonprofit organization gives us a considerable cost advantage in direct-mail solicitation, ranging from a much lower postal rate for an appeal to the donation of mailing lists, etc. As a means of membership development, we will, therefore, be developing a program of membership solicitation by mail during the late fall of this year and the early spring of 1984. Once again, in terms of my own pub- lishing experience, this offers the most cost-effective means of increasing our membership. We will, however, be test- ing direct-mail approaches on a limited basis before making any substantial commitment.

In conjunction with Trus tee Paul Bofinger we have generated another fundraising plan. As the President of the

Society for the Protection of New Hamp- shire Forests, Paul's counsel in terms of membership and membership development has been invaluable. One of his suggestions that I expect to undertake in November of this year entails making an annual plea to the membership for contributions over and above the amount they have paid for their membership. Therefore, late this fall, each member of the Museum will get a letter from the Executive Director explaining our situa- tion and our need for funds. I expect that this "annual plea" will generate far more than the postage and time that it will cost; perhaps producing as much as $3,000 to $5,000 in additional income.

As a long-range projection, I see no reason why the Museum's membership should not fall between 3,000 and 4,000 members within five years. I think, more than anything else, it is a matter of time, energy-and most important, money- being devoted to membership development. Membership can be an important source of income for the Museum. Like any source of income, there is no reason why it should be neglected.

AUCTIONS/DINNERS Our Auction/Dinner Program during

the past year had exceptional results. As a matter of information and as a matter of establishing targets for the future dinners, I enclose the following figures for the net income for each of the six dinners we ran during the past year: New York- $19,57 1; Wisconsin-$1,969; Cleveland- $15,549; Vermont-$3,177; Pittsburgh- $4,942; and San Francisco-$13,180. The total net income for our Auction/Dinner Program last year was $58,571!

NATIONAL EXHIBIT PROGRAM The National Exhibit Program is cen-

tral to the future operations of the Mu- seum. It is my most sincere recommenda- tion that it beadopted by theTrustees as a matter of ongoing policy.

T h e concept of revolving exhibits among responsible institutions is cer- tainlv not new in the world of museums. but, until a year ago, it was largely new to The Museum of American Fly Fishing. Out of all the discussions concerning possible physical moves for the Museum, the logistics of the proposed West Yel- lowstone o~erations. and the needs and desires expressed by various geographic areas for a museum presence, has evolved the concept of a National Exhibit Pro- gram.

T H E INTERNATIONAL FLY FISHING CENTER

Together with Museum Trustees Art Frey, Larry Gilsdorf and Dick Finlay, I had a brief meeting with Federation Pres- ident Peter Van Gytenbeek and Federa- tion Vice President Martin Seldon con-

cerning the Museum's role in the new IFFC.

T h e Federation clearly expects the Museum to honor its commitment to exhibit in the IFFC. I assured all of them that the Museum most certainly would honor its commitment.

FUNDRAISING It is obvious that our Auction/Dinner

Program, plus the direct solicitation of cash donations, comprises the core of our fundraising efforts. Thoseefforts, at present, are working and will continue to work.

However, it as also obvious that the Museum needs to develop a fundraising program that is much broader in scope. This should extend beyond auctions and outright gifts into areas of endowment funds, estate planning and government and private grants. I am confident that all of these will be able to be developed over a period of time with assistance and counsel from the Trustees.

CONCLUSION The past couple of years have been, in

some respects, rocky ones for the Mu- seum. T h e ups and downs of the proposed International Fly Fishing Center have put a tremendous strain on our resources. By exceptional effort on the part of the officers and Trustees, that strain has been overcome. Our financial basis is sound. We have an executive director and a highly qualified staff. We have a new and permanent home. We have an exciting program of exhibitions and education. The state of our collec- tions is better than ever before in our fifteen-year history.

It is important to remember, I think, that all of the foregoing are means rather than ends. I thought of this for quite some time the other night after answer- ing a request from a fisherman about the origins of the Scarlet Ibis fly. Working with, educating and serving the public is the heart of the Museum. It is often more mundane and less visible than a new building or a successful budget, but certainly no less important.

We have made spectacular progress, to be sure, in obtaining the tools we need to fulfill our role as a public institution. T h e momentum that has been estab- lished during the past year can certainly be continued. Tha t is unquestionably my own objective, and to that end I continue to count on the Trustees for assistance and guidance.

Respectfully submitted, J o h n Merwin Executive Director

+Members may obtain a copy of the Director's Report by writing to theMuseum. A two-dollar handling and postage fee is required.

Museum News Museum Chooses New Executiue Director

After conducting a nationwide search T h e Museum of American Fly Fishing has chosen John Merwin as its new excc- utive director. John is n o stranger to the fly-fishing scene. H e was managing editor of Fly Fisherman for four years and was founder and editor/publisher of Rod cL Reel for five years. T h e latter publica- tion he recently sold to Down East Enter- pr ises of C a m d e n , Maine . J o h n h a s authored numerous articles for myriad of sporting as well as nonsporting publica- tions. In addition, he was author/editor of Stillwater Trout (1980). His tenure as executive director began o n a part-time

New Trustees Elected

basis July 1; he comes aboard on a f t t l l - time basis as of the 15th of November.

John advises us that he caught his first trout o n a fly in 1951 (at the agc of forcl-) o n a #I2 mosquito. H e has been an ar- dent fly fisher ever since. H e studied fish- eries management a t the University of Michigan, worked for a variety of news- papers in Connecticut and New York and operated a commercial photography business in central Vermont before beconi- ing editor of Fly Fishern~an. H e has also been a Museum Trustee since 1980. John and his wife, Martha, currently reside in Dorset, Vermont.

JOIN T H E MIISEITM

Mrml)rrship Rates: T h e f o l l o w i n g new T r u s t e e s were T i m Bedford Theodore Rogowski Associ;~tr 8 20

elected to the Museum's board at the Richard Kress Ivan Schloff Susr;rilrirlg 8 30 annua l meet ing held o n September 8, Don Labbe Ernest Srhwicxhcl.t Patron $100 1983: Michael Owen R. P. Van Gytenbeek Spo(11sor 5250

Send your- rncn~l~crsl i i l ) ;rlq)licarion and , full ad(1rrs.s to the Scc.rct;rrv, T h r Museurn of

Amrrirari Fly Fishing. Marichrster, I'rrrnont 0525.1. Th t , M u s e u m is ;I men~hc . r of thc American Association of Musrunis ant1 tlic Amrl-ican Associ;rtion for State ;~n t l I.oc.;~l His tory . M'r ;rre ;i ~ i o l r p r o f i t ctluc-at iona l i r is t i t l~t ion c-harrcrrtl under the laws of thr statr of I'ermont.

S U P P O R T T H E MIISElIM

As an iridrl)cndcnt, nonl)rofit institution, T h r Musrum of Amrrican Fly Fishing must rely o n t h r grr irrosi ty of ~x~l ) l ic - - s l ) i r i t rd individuals for- substar~tial sulq,ort. It'r ask rh;tt yo11 give our institution serious consider-

I atiolr when 1)l;lnning lor gifts ;111d I~cc~ucsts.

Board Votes to Purchase New Building; New Name Also Approved BACK ISSLIES AI'AILABLE

At the Sep tember 8 , 1983, A n n u a l Meeting the Museum's Board of Trustees voted to purchase the building located at the intersection of Seminary Avenue and Route 7-A (Main Street) in Manchester Village, Vermont, for its new headquarters. T h e bu i ld ing (see photo) has ap- proximately 5,000 square feet of floor Space. A down payment has been made, a n d J o h n Merwin, o u r new executive director, is now spearheading a capital campaign that is designed in such a way that we plan to complete payment of our

m o r t g a g e w i t h i n the nex t five years. Further details concerning our new home will be included in the next issue o f T h r American Fly Fisher.

We also note that the boartl voted to change our name to Ttzr .~lmrrican Mu- seum of Fly Fishing. It was felt that we are not just a musrum of American fly f i s h i n g ( a l t h o u g h th i s is where o u r emphasis lies); rather, our scope encom- passes many items of a n international nature. O u r new name thus better fitsour intents and purposes.

M'e havr the follo\ving back issucs of the rn;rga~inr avail;rble now:

I 'olumr Fi\.c. Nulnhrrs 3 aritl ,1 I'olurnr Six. Numbers 1 . 2, 3 and 4 Volurnr Scvcn. N ~ ~ r n b r r s 2, 3 ; ~ n d 4 I'olurnr Eight. Nurnl~rrs 1 . 2. 3 and 4 I 'olumr Ninr. Nun11)ers 1 . 2 and 3 I'olurnr TCII. Nurnl)ers 1 and 2

Placr you or-tler \?it11 ttic Registrar. T h e Museum of Arnrr-ic-an Fly Fishing. Manchrs- ter, I 'rrmont 0.5254. Enclose $4.00 for rac-h ropy drsired.

Fourths M'e are returning to our policy of (we hope) bring smiles to our readership. plaud J o h n for the remarkable accom-

we mention that wr arealso returning to plishments hc has made in theshort peri- a 32-page format. T h i s will allow us to od of time that he has been executive di- rc~luce our costs and still maintain the rector, and we are confident that he will

ly journal (11111s " F o ~ ~ r t h s " ) . We high quality of our p ~ ~ h l i c a t i o n . F i~ turc continue toguide havr done this primarily bccausr issuc.s will appear in February, May, o u r s h i p i n a we fc.c.1 that the nlemhcsrship can August and Novem1)er. most astute and

. . ,-- be much hettcsr serve-cl in this manner. In closing, we wrlcome John Merwin capable fashion. While a return to a cluarterly status will as o u r new executive director. We ap-

Documents

Volume 10 Number