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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 24, 1915)
EXPERT ANGLERS OF M'KENZIE RIVER TELL OF STRANGE ADVENTURES Great Fish Which Steal Rod and Glide Signs Fail and Other BY LAURA MILLER. AN3LERS canot always be angling , even- on Oregon's Justly famous trout stream, the McKenzie River. Sometimes, on hot Summer days,' the river Is. white with water IrOm glacier slides on the Three Sisters and the fish won't bite. Sometimes, according to old settlers, the fish are "feeding in the light of the moon." Sometimes the elusive finny folk seem to be on a most ubstemious diet, and at times, actually fasting and not to be tempted by prase hopper, "grampus." spinner or fly. Or, maybe, the wind is wrong; When the wind is In the 'north. The skillful fisher goes not forth. When the wind is In the east, 'Tls neither good for man nor beast, and the angler waits for it to veer, knowing that; When the wind Is in the south It blows the bait In the fish's mouth. And whei the wind is in the west. Then it is the very best. And anyway, whether the trout bite or not, there are times when a fisherman must stop fishing and tell fish stories. This truth was borne in upon me this last Summer while staying Rt the Log Cabin Hotel at McKenzie Bridge. There were all kinds of fishermen there, from two members of the San Francisco Fly Casting Club with willowy Leonard rods, imported reels, tapered English lines, almost invisible nine-foot leaders, end infinitesimal HaJford flies to "Uncle George" Frlssell, "the Izaak Walton of the McKenzie," who inclines to bait as Izaak himself did and uses a cane pole, a fixed line, a sinker and a number four Limerick hook. And occasionally everybody sat on the porch and told fish stories, and all the stories were about the wily fish of the McKenzie. KtHh Steals Rod and Escapes. Sometimes the talk was of lost tackle, and these were the tales I heard : A certain Portland capitalist who always achieved large catches with a cane pole and 'hoppers, borrowed a pole and went fishing on Horse Creek, one of the main tributaries of the river. After a while he returned with a string of trout but no tackle. "Well," he said to the lender, "your pole's gone." "Lost it?" "No, a fish took it out of my hand." And so it had happened. The capi talist's companion, returning later, af firmed thst he had seen the pole slip from the fisher's grasp and go floating oft on the surface of the stream in the wake of a big redslde. Another angler, fishing from a boat farther down the river had better luck. He hooked a salmon on a cane pole with a fixed line. and. knowing that he could not hold the fish on such light and clumsy tackle, he let go. There was a long stretch of smooth water nd down it the fish went swim ming, trailir.g the pole, and after him went the fisherman frantically rowing the boat. For some time the race went merrily on. Tien the salmon grew tired, the angler picked up the pole again and triumphantly landed the Chinook. It weighed 2S pounds. Ads Fall to Return Tackle. Another man with a mote expensive outfit fared wr.rse. He, too, was fish ing from a boat, but the fish bit seldom and listlessly, so he left his rod lying in the stc-n with the line in the stream, an unsportsmanlike act for which he paid. Suddenly a fish of size struck his hook and away -went all his equip ment. He advertised for it: Anyone catching a McKenzie River trout mlth n rod. a $1.1 reel and a line attached will please return tackle- to X, Eugene. Or. But It was quite useless, the tackle was gone forever. Sometimes the talk was all of Tiolly Virdens, the big-headed, pink-spotted trout that live in deep pools and grow o an enormous size, 'lhey never jump water when hooked, as a red side does, but they fight far down near the bottom, and thej man who lands an K' C-i x tZs?- f- -rss Vmimmmtmmiiimmvmll ySiG Zb C&6stt YoCg: Swiftly Away From Fisherman; Catches of Surprising Size When All Stories Collected From Those Who Frequent Trout Haunts. Ttr 7 7j zr7 c? JSSuZ Corves' eight-pound one has reason to be proud of his achievement. "Uncle George" Frissell is a most successful catcher of Dollies. A great pool lies at the foot of his garden be hind the hotel and he keeps a long. stout cane pole with a big spoon hook on it in constant readiness on the bank and there every few days he snakes out a big one." He does it in self-defense, he says, for In the Winter when the river is high "the Dollies come into the garden to eat the cab bages, and roost on the limbs of the apple trees, by golly.? and break 'em with their weight." Trout Taken From Dolly. When the svolly talk was at its height a certain Portlander would tell of his experience fishing on the South Fork. He hooked an eight-Inch speckled trout and saw it for a minute quite plainly near the surface, but when he tried to land It, it would not come. He tugged and tugged. "I'ulls mighty hard for a small fish," he said to his companion. "May be caught around a snag in the bottom," his companion replred. Eventually, the trout came up, less most of its tail and half of its skin. And toward the surface after it came a big Dolly Varden that had played the whale to the small trout's Jonah. The Portlander always regretted his haste. He felt that if he had only waited until the Dolly ate the small "speck," hook and all, he would have captured the big cannibal trout. Giant Dolly Swims to, Death. But the story that interested me most was the one of the pet Dolly Varden that Johnny O'Leary kept in a pond in his dooryard. It was a very big Dolly and visitors at the hotel used to go to gaze on it and marvel. Occasionally the O'Leary family forgot its meals and it ate one of the two-pound redsides with which It shared the pond. It grew to weigh 30 pounds and then met a tragic death. Johnny O'Leary went off on a week s trail trip in the mountains and he left orders to- his numerous progeny to confine the fish n some calm pool in the river and clean out the pond. Th boys obeyed his command somewhat hastily. They were interested Just then in a series of cock fights, pro longed by painting the Leghorn rooster a different color, pink or blue or green, every day, so that every day he seemed a new foe to his barnyard familiars. When Johnny O'Leary returned he found the Dolly Varden. so long ac customed to placid waters, occupying a hencoop in the swiftest current of the river and swimming desperately every minute for lis very life. "His fins and tail was all wore off and the ole fish was so lean and peaked he died." Klsn Takes Twe Hseka. Sometimes the talk of the fishermen drifted back to the old days when salmon egg fishing was legal on the McKenzie. And Uieu the 2'ew i'orkex TTTE SUJJDAT OREGONIAX, PORTLAND, OCTOBER 24. 1915. u4 fl4a7Z! -zel would tell how he once caught a dou ble while fishing with this killing bait. One trout was strung on the leader, he said, just like a bead on a string, and below it on the hook was another caught in the stomach. He said that he had questioned a great many scien tific men on the subject, but never got any satisfactory explanation of the phenomenon. Another day he was fishing with a friend, now a .judge on the Supreme Bench, nd a strange thing happened. a thing so strange that, when the judge was running for the bench, the new 1 orker advised him not to in elude the experience .in his campaign stories. The two men were standing about IS yards apart, one fishing above him and one below. The New Yorker felt a tug at his line and saw that he was some way mixed with his friend s tackle. He pulled in a good-sized redside and found, to his astonishment, that both had caught the same. fish. The lines were not entangled; the two hooks were half an ir.ch apart, lm bedded in the fish's mouth! One does not wonder with abnormal catches like this that salmon egg fish ing is no longer lawful on the Mc Kenzie. Capture Dismays Kingfisher. In the group of anglers there was a fly-fishing professor. Does anyone know, by the way. why there are so many fly-flshing professors, why pro feasors turn for relaxation from text books to trout? This one caught many large trout and he would sometimes tell how, as he was watching his flies float downstream one day, a kingfisher came ana percned on the tip of his rod. The fish-eating bird stayed only long oneugn to leel the professor strike big trout an "Old Abe." in McKenzie River parlance and then he flew away. xne trout wasn t his size. There was an experience of mv own. but, as it was free from the stretching oi irutn essential to a real fish story l never tola it and would not tell it nere except that it shows the wisdom oi the Mcivenzie redside. I was fishing one Sunday, yes, Sun day, for it is a superstition on the Mc Kenzie that the fish bite best on that day. And besides all anglers know that St. Peter, the gatekeeper of heaven, was a fisherman, and a fishing license is a passport through and no questions aslced. I was fishing and an "Old Abe" with, a broad red stripe on his side rose up irom oesiae a. suDmerged rock in deep blue pool and "'bit savage" at yellow-bodied caddis fly. It was caddis fly that the New Yorker had given me, one of a lot he had had es pecially made for McKenzie River trout at Miss Cross factory in Wisconsin Its yellow wool body looked plump and Juicy, there was an airy perkiness about the wings, the barb was no more in evidence than the stinger on a yel low jacket, it was a fisherman's dream a tly. But the trout spat it out, uxed me with one fishy eye aqd taid sternly: "Young woman, don't try that on me. It looks all right, but I don't like the flavor; it leaves a metallic taste in the mouth." Redsldea Jump Frem Boota- When the stories were at their height someone was sure to tell the experience of "Ole Man" Finn, who lives farther down the river. Finn waded across the river a. feat worthy of the famous Irish giant. Finn McCool and when he reached home and took off his boots he was amazed to see six redsides, each weighing two pounds. Jump out of the boots and go flapping about on the hearth. A true story, no doubt; but it does seem an unsports manlike way to catch trout. Sometimes, as the fishermen sat there on the porch, the talk drifted from the subject of catching fish to the equally absorbing one of cooking and eating them. This change of subject is not peculiar to the modern fisherman. Izaak Walton in his "Compleat An gler" does likewise. Indeed, in perus ing that immortal book, one cannot tell where the famous angler preferred his fish, whether in the stream or on the table. Certainly one can almost hear him smack his lips over some cf the recipes he gives. Everybody at the hotel agreed that the Polly is best stuffed and baked. Opinions differed about a big redslde. COUNTY AGRICULTURAL EXPERTS AID GREATLY Demonstration Farms Prove Valuable to Eastern Oregon Farmers, Too, Says Chamber of Commerce Agent. THE Oregon development bureau of the Portland Chamber of Com merce has begun its annual in vestigation of farming and crop con ditions of Oregon and for the past six weeks has had J. W. Brewer covering the territory east of the Cascade Mountains. Mr. Brewer will render his report in sections, so that each subject pertaining to "the development of the state may have special atten tion. He has filed with Manager George E. Hardy the first installment of a voluminous report. It deals with the employment of county agricul turists and the use of demonstration farms under the direction of Oregon Agricultural College. ' The report is as follows: - With the purpose of obtaining first hand information from the farmers and residents of the Eastern Oregon counties relative to work done by the county agriculturist to awaken inter est, to secure exhibits for the Manu facturers' and Land Products Show, to check up the various commercial or ganizations and to ascertain wherein the Portiand Chamber of Commerce can be of service in the matter of ag ricultural and general development, I spent six weeks in the district, visit ing Baker, Union, Malheur, Harney, Grant. Wallowa, Wasco, Sherman and Crook counties. Crop Condition Good. The general crop condition through out this territory was good for this season and a general feeling of op timism prevailed. The counties of Union Malheur, Harney, Wallowa. Sherman and Crook have or have had either an agriculturist or superinten dent of agricultural demonstrating farm. All of these counties still have an agricultural representative with the exception of Harney and Wallowa counties. In Harney County there was some misunderstanding as to the operation and funds were exhausted In August of this year and the services of the agriculturist dispensed with. In Wallowa County, in spite of a vigorous protest on the part . of some of the more substantial farmers, the County Court, in a spirit of economy, deemed it wise to do without the serv ices of the agriculturist. Two years ago a determined fight was made in Baker County for the county agricul turist and the more progressive ele ment both of the business men and of the farmers were strong in their sup port, but there ' were a considerable number of stockmen and the old-time farmers, both heavy taxpayers, who led a determined fight against the proposition. The County Court sided with the protestants and as a result the supporters- of progressive and scientific agriculture were defeated. The county being diversified In its re sources, requires a man who is thoroughly conversant and able to give advice both with regard to the soil cultivation and to livestock. In fact this' condition exists not only in Baker, but in Malheur, Harney and Wallowa counties particularly. Union Gives Support. Many of the farmers of Baker Coun ty who were interviewed expressed the idea that strong support could be had for a man oroad enough to handle the problems naturally arising in a county with such diversified interests. buc that it would be impossible to se cure anything like a strong support for a man who is able to handle but ono of these big problems. A different condition was found in Union County. During the first year there vas considerable opposition to the work and practically all of this opposition was due to the fact that the farmers did not have the oppor tunity to see any actual results ob tained. As the agriculturist has been able to extend his work and to cover more of the county he has gained strong support- In fact practically none of the farmers who have received advice and assistance from the agri culturist are now opposing him or his work. On the other hand, many are calling at his office and others tele phone for advice. Fred Curry, secre tarv of th Commercial Club. buv-B: "The sentiment here is all in favor of the county agriculturist. It re quired some time to overcome many objections that were raised, but now they would not give it up. J. T. Phy, County Judge, says that there is a little opposition at the pies ent time, but coming almost entirely from those who have not come In touch with the agriculturist's work. He says that in order to giva good service the county ought to havs at least four ca pable men. Good Work Accomplished. Bruce Dennis, editor of the Observer savs: "I could not name a single tnan In Union County who is opposing the work of the county agriculturist. He is surely doing a great deal of good for this county. H. H. Weatherspoon. farmer and horticulturist, from Elgin, says: "The county agriculturist has done wonders in this county. There were many problems, that had to be worked out and until this was done there was sojrie opposition, but now it is all clear sailing." Malheur County was rather unfor tunate in starting the work there. owing to the fact that the first man secured was incompetent and as a re sult created an unfavorable impression generally. The man in charge of the work at the present time 1b aggressive and is doing a great deal to overcome the first bad impressslon. The county is so large that it is a physical lmpos slbility for one man to make even an occasional visit to the whole of his territory. The farmers in the vlcin ity of Ontario. Vale and Nyssa are for the most part strong in support or the work now being done. Harney County, isolated as it Is from railroad transportation, has not pro- gresssed alon? agricultural lines have other Eastern Oregon counties. For many years the lands of Harney Valley, especially along the rivers and streams, have been devoted almost en tirely to the raising of hay. Through the, efforts of the county demonstra tion farm and the county agriculturist excellent crops of wheat and other trains hve been raised on the bench some liking him cooked the same way and others preferring him split and broiled. As for the smaller ones, the "pan sise" trout, several agreed that they should be dipped in cornmeal and that the frying medium should be olive oil. But several other epicures held that small trout tasted the very . best wrapped in one layer of buttered pa per and baked about 20 minutes on flat rocks that have been heated by a camp fire until water will sixsle on them. A professor's wife had yet an other method; she fried bacon first on the hot rocks and, then the trout. Everyone, however, " agreed that the time from pool to pan should be as short as possible, the real trout flavor being an evanescent quality, liable to vanish any minute. . And one day, when all the signs were wrong and the fishermen sat on the porch mentally catching, cooking and eating countless fish, the youngest angler at the hotel went down to "the drift," which is fished every day from June to October, and caught the record redside of the season. It was a whole pound heavier than anybody else's big fish, and he caught it on an unlikely fiy he nad made himself; Just a wisp ot gray deer hair tied with coarse black thread to a common hook. As "Uncle George" says. "It's mighty hard to figger on fish." lands heretofore considered practically valueless except for grazing purposes. More grain waa raised in Harney County this year than can be used In the local market and the coat of trans portation is so high as to make the industry unprofitable. Much Land la Idle. With the advent of the railway, how ever, many thousand good acres that now are lying idle will be utilized for the growing of grain. When that time comes the county agriculturist will be of verv material hAnnt tn th farirfers of the county.. The demon stration farm Is doing good work and is popular with the farming classes there, but as a rule the farmer will not take the time to visit this farm. It is therefore necessary that educa tion be carried to the farmer , through the medium of the county agricul turist. The general sentiment is In favor of the retention of the agricul turist and there is little doubt but that his services will be secured for nex year. allowa County for many years de voted Its attention almost entirely to the stock business, but since the ad vent of the railway agricultural devel opment has progrcsssed rapidly. Last year the county secured the services of an agriculturist, who did a great deal of good and would have been re tained but for the fact that he was offered a better salary than Wallowa County was able to pay, and after he left they did not fill the place, in spite or the fact that a petition signed by nearly 200 farmers was" presented to the County Court making -such a re quest. Practically every farmer inter viewed was strongly in favor of se curing the services of a county agri culturist for next year. Hugh Wilson, a farmer of Joseph. says: "We. need an agriculturist. Mr. Rader helped me and I know he can help others." Carl Whitmore. farmer and president of the County Fair Association, says: I was never so mad in my life as when they took Rader away. Of course he was a high-priced man. but I think it would, have paid to keen him." Fred Johnson, County Commissioner. says: "There are many arguments for and against the county agriculturist. Some think the money could be spent to better advantage. Work Is Excellent. Fred McCully. banker,, of Joseph. says: "The county agriculturist is one ot the best Investments the county ever male." Ross Leslie, farmer, says: "He was Just here long enough to get a start and even In one year he had done some excellent work. We had to fight the stockmen, as most of them are opposed ( to me agriculturist. it nas Deen a stock county so long that It is hard to convince some of the old timer., that there are possibilities in other lines. W. H. Daggett, farmer, of Enter prise, says: "I am heartily in favor ot the agriculturist. The County Courti promised us they would retain the ag riculturist if we would get a petition, and we got about 20) signers and then they turned us down. We have not given up and are going after it again." Hugh Miller, a merchant of Enter prise, says: "The agriculturist Is a good thing and I would like to see him reinstated." J. B. Olmstead. says: "Rader did some good work and I think they made a mistake in letting him go. I have been here for more than 30 years and frankly admit that for a long time 1 thought this county would be good for nothing but stock, but I have changed my mind and am permanently con vinced that there are great agricul tural possibilities here and an agri culturist, the right kind of a man. can do much towards assisting in this de velopment. Demonstration Farm Helps. ' There is no agriculturist in Sherman County, but the demonstration farm has, through its work, done much to help the increased production of grains. The superintendent, Mr. Stephens, has been of great help to the farmers not only in Sherman County, but in adjoining counties where there are no agriculturists or demonstration farms. Farmers from Umatilla. Morrow, Gil liam and Wasco counties have called personally at the demonstration farm or have written to Mr. Stephens for ad vice. W. D. Wallen, banker, says: "It is hard to estimate the amount of good done by the farm, as many of the farmers hesitate to go there for ad vice, but profit by the experience of their neighbor who has followed the instructions given by the farm super intendent. There has been a great Improvement in the method of farming since the aemonstration rarm was sta tioned there. The clean Summerfal low especially shows this. This is the second year that Crook County has had the county agricul turist. For one year prior there were two demonstration farms In the county, one in the irrigated section and one in the dry land district. The demonstration farms, even in one short year, were of great material benefit to the farmers of the district. The country practically s new. the farm -erg coming from every state in the Union, where conditions are far dif ferent. A great many problems arise which either the farmer himself through his own experience must solve or secure advice from one who is familiar with the conditions. Al most without exception the farmers in the irrigated district are strong supporers of the county agriculturist and his work and many of them stated emphatically that they would not dis pense with his services for twice what it costs. Practically the only opposi tion thus far manifested comes from the stockmen and a, few of the old timers in the eastern portion of the county. Crook: Connty Farmers Aided. In the southern part of Crook, in what is known as the High Desert re gion, the low precipitation, tbe light soil and the frost conditions present the problem with which, the houxe- FUNGI IN TOADSTOOLS INTERESTING AS STUDY Peculiar Formation and Not Unusual Brilliant Coloring Make Distinction as to Food Values One Only Expert Can Solve. S;--"" "".".f""sv :2 jf . -" -S-'V'ft i'jr; - - V. - ' ms1 21 Section j4rf Zrr-7y S&srtr o 7Zoflr&us; "&o7es 7sg. s4 S2&cs-e fcj-?9C&' os?cecf&' ., 7 ' . - , - ,cx-v4, zxvs: . . BY ALBERT RAPDIN SWEETSER. Professor of botany In the University ot Oregoa. -f- -T-NIVERSITY OF OREGON, Eugene, UOcL 23. (Special.) The lllustra 1 tions used in this and the pre vious series of articles are photographs made directly from nature In the botanical laboratory of the university. The fungi forming -this group of toadstools are interesting not so much from a gastronomic point of view, but because of their peculiar structure and In some cases brilliant colorings. There are some of them edible, but they should be left to an expert to pick out. Figure 1 illustrates' a button and an early stage of one of these tube fungi, and figure 2 the mature plant. There is nothing in these to suggest any dif ference In structure from the com mon toadstool. If. however, we ex amine the under side of the cap it will appear as in figure 3. In place of the plate-like gills radiating from the stem and bearing the microscopic spores, as described in the article In The Sunday Oregonian of October 3, we find a sort of honeycomb structure, the ends and openings of hundreds of little tubes ex tending up Into the cap. The location of these fungi and the fact that they produce spores can be clearly demonstrated by cutting off the stem and placing a cap, tube side steader and farmer has been contend ing for a number of years. The agri culturist through co-operative demon stration talks in that vicinity nas done much to relieve the situation. From the information gained in all counties where the agriculturist has been given a fair trial it has been demonstrated beyond a doubt that practically all farmers who have come in touch with the agriculturist and who have availed themselves of his assistance and advice are very strong supporters of the work. The princi pal opposition comes from the stock Interests and a few of the old-time farmers, who believe that they have learned all that there is to know re garding agriculture and agricultural development. Based on this information, there is only one conclusion to be reached and that Is that the systematic campaign of education must be undertaken by men who are thoroughly competent and who have had actual and practical experience in farm work. It would be hazardous to send the college grad uate who has gained his knowledge from books and from the demonstra tion plats of the college to educate the farmer and tell him of the advan tages to be derived through the serv ices of an agricultural adviser. That the work is an important one and has proved of inestimable value has bee proved beyond a doubt. The Chamber of Commerce should work In conjunc tion with tho officers of the Oregon Agricultural College and with practi cal farmers in carrying on this sys tem of education. Dry Rot Found In Potatoes. While in Eastern Oregon my atten tion was called to the condition of the potatoes in that district. After making a thorough investigation of the pota toes in Malheur, Baker, Grant, Union and Wallowa Counties. I found them badly affected with fusarium will, or dry rot, more commonly called. So far .5 V . vscnti down, on a piece of paper, covering; with a cup or dish to prevent draughts, and leaving until morning. A spore print will be produced, having the same, arrangement as the mouths of tho tubes, which shows that the spores have come from within the tubes. If it were possible to examine por- tions of this plant under the micro scope, we should find that the walls of the tubes were made up of closely packed threads with arores on their en larged tips. This eriment may be performed by the ichr of nature study or biology and is sure to enlist the attention of the pupil. There is a wide range of colors, shapes and texture In this group. Some are pure white, others are brilliantly colored. Some show a change of color when wounded. Some are fleshy and soon decay, others are tough or woody. Good illustrations of the latter are the bracket fungi growing on trees and old stumps. These are sometimes called cameo fungi and are decorated with drawings traced on the under side with a sharp instrument. A number of these fungi growing on trees cause the decay and death of the trees. In some cases the tubes are so fine that it requires a magnifying glass to make them out, while in others they are readily apparent to the naked eye, but they all are Included in this group of the tube fungi, or Polyporaceae. as known there is no way to counter act this disease. It is estimated that it will take from three to five years to eradicate the disease from the soil when once plant ed. A disease of similar character has affected the potatoes in the well-known Greeley, Colorado, district, with the result that all farmers of that terri tory have entered into an agreement not to plant a potato for a period of eight years, as it is estimated that it will take nearly that long to get the ground entirely clear from the bac teria in the soil. This is assuming such proportions in the eastern part of the state that it should demand the immediate atten tion of the authorities and every means possible should be used to eradicate the disease. , New Seed and New Land Advised. By the selection of entirely new and clean seed and planting on new ground, there is still a chance to remedy this condition, but In order to do this it must mean the united effort of all farmers in the district under the su pervision ot someone with absolute authority. Another disease that is affecting the potatoes to some extent, but not so se vere as the one Just mentioned, ia Rhizoctonia. This is a disease that does not affect the tuber, but causes a rot In the potato vine Just below the surface of the ground. By the use of formaldehyde or some such solution, the germs of this disease can be killed Even though such precautions are used potatoes should not "be planted on ground formerly used for thftt urpos. I would recommend that a - 'Minlttee be appointed to investigate t) latter thoroughly and take it t' " - the proper authorities The most remar -t at a recent Syracuse it. Y.l fair u as a gigantic cheep, made from on day's milk yield from cows. The huge cake weighed 73T ppunds