Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-05-01
ALL GOING A-FISHING.
Allegheny County Clubs Completing
Their Arrangements for
THE REGULAR SUMNER VACATION
0vsr Five Hundred Organisations Bent On
q Good Time
LOOKING Up TIE CHOICE LOCATIONS

There are 2S6 hunting and fishing clubs
| chartered In Pittsburg and Allegheny. <
C. Dunnavant, city passenger agent Of the
Lake Erie road, who is q recognized author
ity on this subject, thinks the number OF
uncha rtered organizations numbers as many
more. Altogether he is sure that more than
800 Of these clubs exist in the two cities. In
proportion to population Pittsburg' has
more hunters and fishers than any other
city in the Union, If not in the world. The
[ time was when this athletic blood
spent Its force on rowing, pugil-
ism and other outdoor sports. but
crooked races have killed aquatics here, and
the laws of the State have stopped prize
| fights and other muscular contests Then
the tougher element turned to hunting and
fishing as a means of recreation, and swelled
the ranks of the anglers and the followers
of the cha Sc.
These fishing clubs are composed of all the
classes in Pittsburg, even the rich with their
wives like to camp out in the summer, and
| to deny the mill man his summer vacation
in the mountains and along the lakes and
streams would be taking the brightest gleam
of sunshine out of his life.
Looking Forward to Sunny Days.
The puddler and the heater on dark win
ter days, while struggling for livelihood
before the redhot furnaces, are encouraged
| by the delightful prospects of fishing and
hunting in July and August As soon as
ihe fires are put out for the summer, the iron
worker with his fellow clubmen quits the
city and spends the time in camp until the
| fires are relighted in September. The bulk
of these outdoor clubs in the two cities are
made up of working people. Each club av-
| erages from 40 to go members, and as rule,
not less than these numbers join in the
summer camping trips The list of visitors
will swell the figures, so that it must be ap-
parent that the clubs are great source Of
profit to the railroads.
E. c. Dunnavant, of the Lake Erie, is one
| of the few passenger men in the city who is
posted on the business He spends a great
deal of his time in the clubrooms, and he is
a walking encyclopedias of facts about hunt
ing and fishing grounds He knows all the
hooks and corners in the old resorts, and
| there is no new place that escapes him.
Every year the demand for new grounds,
new streams that have never been fshed,
increases
Loud Demands for Good Fishing.
|
| ever, and the prospects for the fishing busi-
ness were never better. Last year such clubs
as the Soho, Seymour, Whitcomb. Yough,
| Solid Comforts, West Penn and others
camped in the Gravenhurst, Severn river
and Lake Nipissing regions in Canada. This
| summer these clubs expect to go back to the
| St. Clair river and the Gogebic section in
| Wisconsin. Mr.. Dunnanant says Canada,
for several reasons, is losing its standing
with camping clubs. A number of
old anglers, who have fshed all
| regions in the Dominion think the fish are
not as game as in the ST. Clair river. An
other drawback is the high rates to Canada.
The fare to Michigan points is only about
half as much. Then the Canadians have
disagreeable habit of charging duty on
guns, fishing tackle and camp para
phernalIa. The money, to be sure,
| is given back when the club returns,
but the boys don't like the inspections,
poets to see decline in the Canadian busi-
ness this summer, while the rush to Michl-
] gan and Wisconsin will be increased
Clubs Going Farther Afeld.
| But not all Of the clubs 60 out of Pennsyl-
vania- However, the majority of them do.
In 1890 the Lake Erie road carried 2O4
hunting and fishing clubs from Pittsburg
| and Allegheny In the last five wears
| the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers
have lost prestige as camping grounds.
1t is not long ago since these two rivers
were lined with white tents during the
summer The locks were covered on warm
DAYS with men and boys fishing, and what
great hauls of the fnny tribe were made.
| growth of towns and the refuse from manu-
/ foat afr
have killed the fish, and
the campers have sought more
secluded hooks where the moss still covers
the rocks and the trees have not been cut
down to make way for human habitations.
Now the Beaver and Connoquenessing
rivers have the call among the nearby
short streams. Mr.. Dunnavant states that
| the banks of the Beaver from Beaver Falls
| up the river are covered with tents during
the summer, and the same thing is true
along the Pittsburg and Western road.
The well-known Waverley Club always
camps at Moravia, on the Beaver river.
| The camp is opened early in the summer,
and is maintained until late in the fall
The members go back and forth from the
city at will, and their families and friends
find 1t u pleasant place in which to spend
the hot season. The Lake Erie road an
nually sells 300 tickets to members of this
club.
Where Some Clubs Are Going.
Last year the Willard, Staley, Finerty,
Murphy, Sylv mia, La Bell, Half Moon,
East End and John S. Flack Clubs camped
| on the ST. Clair river; the Last Chance,
Hill Top, Little Tycoon, Mcknight, Friend
| ship Rod and Gun Club, Rhue, S. T. Rich
ards and Cold Day organizations went to
Port Huron. The Aladdin Club selected
Bunt Lake, the Argonauts, Indian river;
Big Four, No. 1 and No. tried
Gravenhurst, Ont, and Gogebic Lake,
to Chalk river, Ont, and the Jim
Torley Club camped on the shores of Toma-
hawk Lake. By leaving here in the after
| noon over the Lake Erie road, it is possible
to be hauling in muskallonge, Mackinac
speckled trout, pickerel, grayling, pike,
| perch, black bass and other fish at noon the
next day in the St. Clair and Mackinac
country. The rates to st. Clair for the
round trip are 50. and S13 to Mackinac. The
rice grass along the st. Clair river is great
feeding ground for ducks, and lots of this
game are bagged every summer by local
sportsmen.
Among the clubs that Mr.. Dunnavant has
contracted with for the summer, are the fol-
lowing: The Staley, about 40 people, will
leave for Lake Mackinac July 8; the Friend
ship Rod and Gun Club, from Butler street,
goer into camp along the st. Clair river
June 27 The Murphy, of Allegheny,