Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Volume 11, No. 26, May, 1873Various
Science
Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Volume 11, No. 26, May, 1873
Various
Literature, Modern -- 19th century -- Periodicals; Science -- Periodicals
We had hoped to go up the river on the morrow, Saturday, but found it
was a great festival of the Catholic Church, and the Indians would not
start till Monday. Great was the indignation of the British officers who
were preparing to go up the other river. To be delayed by the religious
scruples of an Indian was too absurd. But even the "superior race" had
to submit. So the next day we all went down the river trout-fishing.
I went about two miles to the "flat lands," and fished some pretty pools
and rapids: the day was very bright and hot, so that I thought the trout
would not rise to a fly, and I put on a small spoon, which I dropped
into the rapids at the end of a long rod. After catching three or four
they grew suspicious, and I changed my lure for an artificial minnow,
and with it I had better success, though I have often tried it in
Western trout-streams ineffectually. I got about a dozen, from four
ounces to a pound weight: they were sea-trout, _Salmo Canadensis_, and
the first of that species that I ever saw. They are handsome and active
fish, lighter in color than the brook-trout, with silvery sides and
belly. The flesh is red like a salmon, and is of higher flavor, I think,
than that of _Salmo fontinalis_. My companions, Rodman and Kingfisher,
both used the fly, and got, I think, more fish than I did.
The next day, June 30th, was Sunday, and the law of the Dominion
prohibits fishing on that day. The weather was intensely hot, and we
stayed in the house and enjoyed the fine scenery all about us. At night
a heavy thunder-storm cooled the air for our next day's journey.
_July 1._ Our canoes and Indians arrived this morning about ten o'clock,
and instead of being shepherds of the forest, with their blankets tied
with yellow strings, they had no blankets at all, but wore coats and
trowsers--yea, even boots, which I had always been told had no business
in a canoe. There were four bark canoes and eight Mic-macs--one boat for
each of us--and as we had a large amount of baggage and provisions, it
was thought best to send off the canoes with these, while we went in
wagons across a great bend of the river to the house of Mr. John Mowatt,
the river overseer. We crossed the Matapediac in a dug-out: this is a
tributary of the Restigouche, which comes in at Fraser's. On the other
side we found wagons which took us to Mowatt's, seven miles over the
hills, arriving at 4 P. M. The canoes arrived about sunset, having come
twelve miles since noon against a strong current.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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