The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-02-25
STORIES TOLD BY GUIDES.
Yarns Spun Out by woodsmcn of the
Adirondacks.

L
woods ever held. They had fund Of
good stories and after the regular business
of the meeting had been transacted all
Joined In a social session with enthusiasm
The meeting of the guides this year was
one of the biggest ever held by them. In
the association there are ifty-three active
and one hundred and fifty associate MEM
bers. All the members are not guides by
any means. There are hotel men, camp
owners Of that part Of the woods ami Wis
iting spOrtsmen.
At the last meeting of the association
| there was "NeIse" Chandler of White Lake
Corners, who had passed the greater part
OF his life in the woods and who knows as
much about the habits of the wild game
in a minute as the books will teach in a
lifetime. "Nelse" was accompanied by his
neighbor and companion on many hunt
ing excursion, BIZ Stell. There are a
very few only who know more about the
| woods than this same Stell. Milo Bull
"Chick" Brown Charley Barrett, Ben Par
sons. Dave Charbonneu, and Bill Burke
came down from Old Forge and represented
In a fair degree the different stations In
+, life that exist in the membership roll Of
the association. There We're also Garry
Riggs of Turin. Dick Gregg of Boone
ville Robert Roberts of Legion, who moved
I from Remsen he said because there were so
many other Robert Robertses that he never
got his mail as it should come. 'Dany''
| Ainsworth. father and son, from Big Moose,
and Gus" syphert. who makes his home
in the winter in Herkimer but who in the
summer is a fixture ON Third Lake, Full
: ton Chain, were among the number.
After the dinner had been done away
| with and the set speeches were over there
followed a session of story telling. By
way of introduction Charley Barrett told
I a mild one. Charley is one of the most
mild hammered men one will meet In the
woods in a summers travel. He has a
! reputation for veracity among those who
I know him and almost any kind of a story
/ that he might choose to tell would be re-
ceived in good faith. Charley said: Boys
I / once lost trout that weighed just two
/ pounds and eight ounces"
/ How did you know the exact weight"
asked Carly Riggs.
| You see 1t was this way continued
( Barrett Il had been fishing on the stream
! that comes down off the mountain on the
south side of Third Lake and came 10 a
waterfall. | had been fishing about in that
| spot. say twenty minutes. when / felt a
I strike. We began the battle the fish and
/ /, and soon 1 was i'll the middle of the
i stream with the water ND to the tops OF
! my boots. The bottom of the stream was
very rough and l tried to make for the
shore, and at the same time tried to land
that trout which was giving me good
| fight. | staggered, fell in a hole and was
nearly drowned in a minute. The loose line
dropped from my left hand and rolled
off into boiling torrent was almost
helpless as the line became wound around
my body and gained my feet with consid-
cradle eoffrt. | unwound the line from
me, but the fish had broken loose. He
weighed just two pounds and eight ounces
though"
Guess well have TO take your word for
It," was the shot fred by Ned Ball
I'm positive OF it., said Barrett, for
two months later l was fishing on that
same stream further down. l hooked
fish and he was spunky fighter. | land
ed him though, and there was the identi-
cal fly in his mouth that 1 had lost on my
earlier trip. That is how know about his
weight
When "Bnl'' stell had finally been in
dueed to say something he started of;
The greatest fishing I ever saw was
when they drew the water of Horn Pond
over near Jocks Lake. Horn Pond was
considered to be the strangest fishing
grounds anywhere around. About the only
time that fish would bite was in the spring
when the ice was breaking up. Then We
used to catch some big fellows. Why, I
remember one spell there we caught fish,
trout ct that, that weighed three pounds.
That was great fishing. boys, but it was
not in it with the time they drew the wa
ter off that pond. You see that pond
finally became State property. and 1t was
made a storage reservoir. There was a
time when the water got very low. and it
was necessary TO draw the water of Horn
Pond. a few of us got around there 10 see
the fun. We did not look for any trout in
the pond. as none had been caught lately.
and We thought the fish had run up into
the streams. But there was a sight when
the water went down. For time nothing
was TO be seen but the flow of the water,
but as it became lower and lower we
could see fish jump up out OF the water.
and there seemed to be plenty of them.
We FASTENED down to the dam, and you
should have seen the assortment OF fish
that went over the few boards that re-
manned in the dam. There were schools
Of fish Of reGrly every description. We
got our fishing tackle out and soon caught
19S. Then the fun stopped. for the fish
had passed to other waters and other fish
e=nen.
THE time they dynamited the Twin
Lakes" continued Bill Stell. was another
time fish were numerous. The Twin Lakes
were in the purchase of the club, which
sought to make it a private preserve, and
the manager of the club gave it out there
would be no more fishing in those lakes
for the natives that lived along the shore
and who had fished there for many years.
For some of the natives this was bread and
butter. The fishing mad always been very
good and some great catches Of salmon