The Sunday Oregonian., November 15, 1908, Section Five, Page 5, Image 51

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AVINltJ hrril ao much of th Rogue
Klvr and !t xnjarrul riy nsn-
!ng. I decldl to irtv Jt a trial a
lw wenjw afro, and found myself on tie
irer at Trail. 15 miles from Medford.
ready to tatkle anything with fins. And
I was not disappointed, for tliere are
Mjr fl?h in ti Rogue, lota of them, and
It aaSrmy'good fortune to break all my
pririous records for size of fish taken
xIlo a f.y.
But I want to say rlxht fcere: Don't
come to the Rogue expecting to catch
iaskniful In the first Kood-looklns; pool
von reiich. for It takes hard work and
lots of !t to set the big ones. A knowl
edge of the -wtream. and abo-e all. the
!il!ty to cast a long- line, are two re
quirements absolutely necessary. One
soon learns where to look for the W fel
lows, but to lncreaw your best cast 30
fet Is onite anotlier matter. Many a
time' I was obUzed reluctantly to pass
MP a irood riffle oecause I could not get
put tlie extra 10 or 15 feet.
The Roirue Is a ood-slred stream, ar
rraxlnx 10 feet In width, and the fish
nearly always He out In the middle of
the stream. To anyone, familiar with
casttnir tournament records, this would
sem like smooth sailtng. but It Is one
chatter to cast 75 feet from a tournament
platform, and quite a different and more
difficult one to grt out the same distance
cm a stream with all sorts of conditions
sxalnst you. Very often an angler on an
o?en stream, with his oast going out well.
w:Il confidently Imagine himself to be
casting SO or SO feot. whereas an actual
measurement would show about fiO feet.
Kven tills Is a very respectable distance
In actual fishing, and The man who, with
a standard fly rod. can touch 76 feet on
all kinds of water. Is "going some.'
At any rate, get a good fly rod with
plenty of backbone and be sure you are
Its master, before leaving for the
IKogue. A or 10-foot rod, weighing six
to seven ounces, will handle the fish to
your liking. Most of the local fishermen
tjse long bamboo cane poles, and usually
h!f the fl.ih ashore without much
ceremony. A strong reel of simple con
struction, one which will carry 300 feet of
:lk casting line, will fill the bill Lou ti
e's should be six feet loner, of heavy
single gut. with but one extra loop. No.
4 flies are the favorites for all-around
f nhing. Purlng September Coachman's
and ProfeaHirs are the beet killers,
while a little earlier. March Brown and
Tellow-bodied Grey Hackles are both '
liken readily.
Juat what species the big fish are Is a
subject of considerable discussion. A
good many claim tliey are all Rainbows,
and they look the part, but the majority ;
c-f anglers speak of them as steel-heads, j
rr steclrbead trout. They look a good
Natural History on the Roof of the Barn
Beautiful 5tudie by a Man Who Has Uks I-ove of Mature In His Heart.
ATER the first frost cams the
change, and cow the ember days are
with us. The Autumn fairies strive
to bring back the faded Summer, fling
ing over woodland and field a ruddy roan
tl of many colors purple and crimson
and deep (old. They hover about the ripe
corn and weave it Into shining bundles.
They "till the little, quarrelsome winds
and bid the brown leaves cease their
wlirling. They scatter mist-wreaths
through the woods, and leave a purple
hslo of smoke along the far horlsons and
above the brooding trees. But all this
tender beauty Is but a faint reminder of
days that are dead, and have more than
a i.Int of sadness In their long and pen
sive hours.
In the garden the marigolds lie black
and struggling, nipped by the sudden
frost. The late morning-glories are shriv
eled. The sweet pea vinos lie forlorn
and dead. The, celon patch ts black, the
tomato vines shriveled. All the asters
and salvias, -so graoious and g'.owtng. so
happy In their blossoming, turned their
fares to the earth, and died amid their
withering leaves. The only lively place
about toe farm la the barn. In these dull
days It aeems the vary center of animal
life, the happr home of all our bumble
frinds, the little dumb brothers of hu
manity, the pets of the children, the
strong and willing workers for toe fam
ily. Ih the sharp-pitched roof I see a merry
flock of sparrows playing like lively chil
dren. These are the little winged friends
M-ho newr leave us. Kven in the dead of
Vinter we -of! en hear their twitter "from
the straw-built shed.' or see them flut
isring about the water trough, where the
deal tike the Rainbow trout In our neigh
boring streams, and have a peculiar
shade of steel-blue on top of the head
hence the name. ,
Tn their habits they are quite different
from our trout. The steel-head likes a
fairly swift rlfflo. with the water from
six to eight feet deep, and either bedrock
bottom or a profusion of large boulders.
The smooth, sandy-bottom eddies which
look so good to the angler, seldom, if
ever, contain any steel-neaiis. in nsn
!ng. the angler casts his fly out toward
mid-stream and lets It drift quietly over
the fish, which seldom show themselves
when taking the fly. In fact. I can recall
but two cases where I saw a tteh strike
my fly. and in both Instances, only the
fishs head showed above the water.
Usually the fly will be floating quietly
down the pool, when suddenly a vicious
tug will be felt, more like the strike of
salmon, and the angler will find that
the big steel-head has taken his fly. and
Is apparently trying to borrow all the
rest of the tackle. Upon feeling tie hook
the fish usually -takes several hurried
views of the surrounding scenery, ana
then starts down stream full speed, with
highly excited angler trying frantically
to keep from being distanced.
I will never forget my last day's fish
ing on the river near TxalL I had be
come quite familiar with the stream by
this time, and I had selected a stretuh
of fine steelhead wator two miles down
stream for the final tussle. The day
was rather unfavorable, cloudy and
threatening, end rather cold. Up till noon.
had only two fish of about a pound
each, but in the afternoon things changed.
cattle are drinking. In the very coldest
weather they are. perhaps, silent, but
lot a warm wind blow even for a day and
they begin to chirp. Bless their merry
hearts, they are not long sulking over
hard luck! On the first hint of Spring
they start the chorus. Their tune is a
simple one, and a very short song is the
one they sing for us, but still It Is mu
sical and merry. There is no place about
the house where they will not try to
build under the eaves, on the roof, under
the tiles or in the deserted nests of other
birds- But as 6prlng advances they leave
the housetops for the green wheat or
sprouting corn, where they settle In great
crowds and gather In vast crops.
Town folks may despise the humble
pparrow they may call him bad names,
black and dirty and regular nuisance, but
in the country we love him, and there
he is clean and sweet as a pink. "Spar
rows are so easily tamed," says an Eng
lish writer. "The French people are fond
of playing with them. I remember a
man, in the great park of Paris, who
would be perfectly surrounded by these
gay little birds some perching on his
shoulders, some fluttering In the air up
and down before his face, some settling
on the ground like a tribe of followers,
others resting on the marble sests. He
Jerked a crumb of bread into the air.
a sparrow seized it as he would a flying
insect. He put a crumb between his lips,
a sparrow took It out, and fed from his
mouth, all the while keeping up a con
stant chirping. He walked on. giving a
little whistle, they followed him along
the path md settled in a perfect cloud
about his shoulders, others flying from
shrub tn shrub, then perching and follow
ing again,'" - -. t
TTTE SXnVDAY OKEGOXLV5, POKTLAXD, JCOTraiBER
I reached the finest steelhead pool I had
yet seen on the Rogue. The stream here
was a trifle wider than usual solid bed
rock bottom from shore to shore, with a
string of big brown boulders down the
middle. In short. It is as Ideal steelhead
water and like most of Its kind, rather
hard to reach. It was necessary to get
the fly clear across the current In order
that it might drift over the fish properly.
Time and again, I would put forth my
best efforts, only to have the fly fall
short by five or ten feet, but whan my
No. 4 Coachman did. go clear across, I
was almost certain to be rewarded with
a heavy plunging strike. Jt wasn't long
before I had several four-pounders on
the bank, and began . to wish for some
thing bigger.
e
I had Just succeeded In making the
Coachman fly a little farther than usual.
and thought I detected a swirl in the
water near It. The next instant I was
sure of It, and the shock that came to
me over the line, told quite plainly that
I had a really big one. As soon as he
hooked, I started for shore, and so
did the fish, but ho selected the opposite
side, so that when I finally got out, I
found my reel so bare that I was almost
ashamed to look at it but there was the
fish still going down stream, and strenu
ously demanding more ' line, which I
didn't have. There was nothing left but
to chase him. which I did.
Sprinting down the river bank, I, came
to a fence extending clear to the water's
edge. Holding the rod high In my left
hand. I vaulted clear over it and the
fish was still on. Fifty yards down, there
vena another fence of the old rail tvrta
and I started to clear this in a similar (
On the barn roof are many swallows.
The word swailow means "a porch bird."
and for centuries these brown-winged
creatures have placed their nests in clos
est proximity to man. We might well
call -them "man's bird," so attached are
they to the human race. Jeffries is the
laureate of the swallow In these modern
days. Of them he says: "The greatest
ornament a house can have is the nest
of the eave-swallow under the farmhouse
eaves. There is no ornament upon the
barn like a swallow's nest upon the roof,
the humble home of the tiny messenger
between man and the blue heavens, be
tween us and the sunlight, and all the
promise of the sky." The Joy of life, the
highest and tenderest feelings. "Pure
thoughts that soar on swallow's wings"
come to that round nest under the barn
roof. Xot only for today, not only the
hopes of future years, but all the memo
ries of the past dwell there. The swal
low Is the genius of good to the house
where It builds.
Tear after year these generations of
swallows have been associated with our
homes, and all the events of family life
have taken place under their watchful
eyes. Tou can not repulse these friendly
birds. The swallow does not understand
being driven out, but comes right back
again. How often does the careful house
wife destroy the little nest above the
front door, or high up on the cornice of
her porch, only to find it rebuilt in the
shortest possible space of time. The
robin must be coaxed to live near us. the
sparrow is shy and wary and suspicious,
but the dear and unsuspecting swallow
cannot believe that you would be with
out it. He ha no fear of human kind,
he files close to the window under the
manner. Just as I was poised half-way
over, I heard a short startled grunt and,
looking down, saw a large fat sow slowly
raising herself. It seems the rattle of
the dry fence bars had disturbed her
peaceful slujnber, and here I was just
about to fall all over her.
Anglers often argue over what they
eaves, or on the beams of the kitchen
porch, no matter who is looking on. No
other bird will do this; it seems to have
the perfect instinct of confidence and Is
thus our dearest roof tenant.
The chimney swallow is the forerunner
of the house swallow. Perhaps no fact
In natural history has been so much stud
ied as the migration of these domestic
favorites. In Summer no bird is so com
mon, and while they seem to leave us in
the Fall there is never a time when we
are without them. The deepest thinkers
have spent hours and hours in consider
ing the problem of the swallow, its
going and coming. Its flight, its habits
of every sort. Great poets have loved it,
great artists and art writers have curi
ously studied it- There is no nation with
out its swallow lore, its swallow' litera
ture, myth and fable. Many and beautiful
are the swallow songs of the world, both
for instrument and voice. Like the night
ingale beloved of Keats, its song is one
of the "Immortal things that were not
born to die." .
The barn roof has a natural history of
its own, it has a regular round of seasons,
a crowd of residents that have chosen it
out of all the world, a constant stream
of migrants coming and going from year
to year. Robins and wrens have their
own dates for taking up residence in
this elevated land. They are always there
in Summer time, and often in Winter,
especially if the roof is old. They know
right well where to look for the small
creeping things that hide In the decaying
wood or straw. Finches sometimes fly
upon the roof If shrubberies are near, but
they cannot be classed as regular roof
birds. Wagtails make their nests in the
ivy or ampelopsls that covers the walls.
They seem to feel .quite at home and
perch on the ridge poles In a most free-and-easy
fashion.
Tits of various species, titmouse and
blue-tit, love the thatched roof, but can
not do much -vitli the hard surface of
the tiled or wooden kind. Goat suckers.
13, I90S. '
consider the most critical moment in fish
ingthe first fierce strike the mad strug
gle in midstream or the final scoop of
the landing net. They all have their theo
ries, but i can safely assure you that
the critical moment of this particular
struggle was Just when I heard the star
tled whoof of that old sow. .
A collision meant the loss of my fish
fern owls and small hawks come close to
the eaves In the dusk of evening hunt
ing for the moths so thickly rattled there.
The white owl, too. Is a roof bird, but al
ways chooses a deserted house or barn.
A barn in Winter time is a fortress, a
place of refuge from the enemies of cold
and hunger. Into its warm shelter come
the cows and horses, the sheep and pigs
and all the mixed and motley crew that
make up the happy family of the farm
home. And away up above the contented
lowing and neighing and baaing and
squealing of these four-footed folks
sounds the singing and calling and chirp
ing and cooing of the little winged crea
tures that are happy and lively in their
airy home on the barn roof. B. A. Mat
thews, in . Louis Globe-Democrat.
The Cooking Hour.
New York Mall.
(Time, any evening between 5 and T; place
any large apartment building'. )
Between the dark and the daylight,
When the night is beginning to lower.
Comes a pause in the day's occupations
That is known as the cooking' hour.
I catch In th apartment above ma
The odor of trying meat.
The fragrance of liver and onions
And cabbage, fresh and sweet.
From my alcove I sense In the gaslight
A redolent, perfumed group
Of carrots, and leeka, and I'm certain
That somebody's cooking soup.
A sudden gust from the doorway,
A waft from the flat below.
Through windows left unbolted.
On every breeze they blow.
They climb tip onto the ceiling.
They curl around on my chair;
If I try to escape they -surround me;
They seem to be everywhere.
And the odors will stay forever, 4
Yes. forever and a day.
Till- the building ahull crumble to ruin
And molder in dust awayi
JU5TA5 YWAS POISED HA LF-WAY OVTJ2 :
V HEARD A SHORTSTARTLZD. GRUNT
and perhaps a broken rod. but luck was
with me that day. I missed the hog by a
scant inch and covered the next 20 feet
in nothing flat. By tills .time the fish
was nearly exhausted, and after a short
struggle in the shallow water, I got the
net under him. He weighed seven pounds,
the best fish on the trip.
To one used to catching the average
trout near Portland, such fishing with
Catholic Church on Wheels
Unique House of Worship In a Pullman Oar. '
Philadelphia Record.
HUNDREDS of people visited the
Pennsylvania Railroad siding at
Thirty-second and Market streets yes
terday to see the most unique church
in the United States, St. Anthony's
Chapel car a Cathuilc . Church on
wheels. It arrived here yesterday
morning attached to the Harrisburg
express, and quite a crowd welcomed
It. During the day it was a constant
source of .wonder to those who in
spected it. Hvery necessary part of
a Catholic church is included in its
equipment.
The car Is a Pullman and from the
outside it looks like every other par
lor car except that at the top It bears
the inscriptions, "The Catholic Church
Extension Society of America," and- be
low it, "St. Anthony's Chapel Car."
The Inside, however, is fitted up like
a little church. At one end is an altar,
behind which is a sacristy, where the
vestments and sacred vessels are kept
There are two rows of wooden pews
extending the whole length of the car,
with kneeling benches in front.
Around the car are the pictures of the
stations of the cross. At the entrance
is a holy water font.
A porter was the only attendant in
the car when it arrived yesterday. Rev.
A. P. Landry, who is its chaplain,
came on ahead, but will be with it to
day. The car will remain here until
Thursday and will be open for inspec
tion every day. Catholics from ail over
the city are expected to visit it.
This church on wheels was built a
little over a year ago by the society
the fly may sound rather strong, but I
am giving the plain facts Just as I found
them, and another tiling, nearly every,
fisherman I meet, remarks thalL his had
been an exceptionally poor year for steel
heads that the river had 10 fish last
year for every one tills year.
Well, the next time I will pick out a
good year, and I dread to think of what
will happen.
whose headquarters are In Chicago.
Its mission ts to go Into the sparsely
settled sections of the West, where
churches are far out of the. reach of
the inhabitants. Wherever rails run
the car goes. As it arrives in a sec
tion the news is spread and Catholics
of the neighborhood go to attend mass,
make their confessions and receive the
sacrament. Since its construction it
has traveled all over the West and
visited hundreds of places. ' Eastern
people hearing of it, desired to see it, .
so the society took it away from its
circuit for two weeks and sent it east.
It has already visited all the Middle
Western states and after leaving Phil- -adclphia
will go to New York, Balti
more and Washington.
The Catholic Church Extension So,
ciety was established three years ago
to give assistance to missionaries in
out of the way places. A million dol
lar endowment fund has been started
and some of the most prominent Cath
olics in the country are helping it.
Two members of the board of govern
ors live in Philadelphia Martin Ma
loney and Anthony A. Hirst. The of
ficers of the society are the Archbishop -of
Chicago, chairman board of govern
ors Rev. Francis C. Kelly, president;
Rev. E. B. Ledvina, general secretary;
William P. Breenv treasurer; M. A.
Fanning, secretary of the board of
governors; George C. Hennessey, as
sistant secretary the Archbishop of
Chicago, the president of the society,
W. A. Carter, Michigan; Ambrose Pe
try. New York; Richmond Dean, Chi
cago; R. J. Cudahy, New York execu
tive board.