The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-03-09
TARGET PRACTICE AT TRUTH
BY THE EXPERT FISH AND, GAME
PRESERVERS OF FRANKLIN.
Fish.Leak From Knburn's Place 10 Fitch's
Landslide Carries Frozen Trout
Stream Out Of the lOunty-The
Sunburned Trout Of Livingston.

F1sh.Leak From kDburn's Place TO Fttch's
Landslide Carries Frozen Trout
Stream Out Of the COunty-The
sunburned Trout Of Livingston.
1T has been intimated,- said Bank. Ex-
aminer Frederick ID. Kilburn. at dinner Of
the Franklin County Society, at Delmon-
ico's on Saturday night, that we Franklin
county folks sometimes deviate from the
narrow path OF truth. That isn't so. We
lack some things up there, admit, but we
do have a genuine regard for veracity.'
Now. last summer" went on this Daniel
Boone Of Franklin county, i stumbled on
TO a rather remarkable spring on Ashbel
Fitch's place, up near Ragged Lake. II
was a spring which ran trout as well as
water, about ten feet in circumference
the spring-and with a pretty fair depth.
The water boiled up from three holes In a
rock and came with such force that the trout.
as they shot through few several feet In the
air. some OF them landing on the bank and
perishing miserably. Two or three other
holes were clogged by big fish that had got
stuck in trying to squeeze through All
one had to do was to dip his pail into the
spring and bring out enough trout to feed
the Observation-Disclosures, rainbows and
mountains, ranging all the way from six
ounces to pound and half.
But knew" continued the Bank Ex-
aminer. from the appearance Of the fish
and from the general lay of the land, that
Fitchs spring must be supplied from
sources up on my place near Indian Lake.
didn't want to be selfish or unreasonable
in the matter, but really that flow OF trout
was too much Of good thing. and l went
TO work to stop it. | located the stream
with a willow sprig up near the shore Of
the lake on my place and began tracing
it down the hill. l hadn't gone far when
/ Jaw Franklin county bear sitting on a
willow log, in the end OF which / had driven
my axe. 'Ah' said to myself, Just the
thing and deity pulled the axe out Of
the log. The slit closed on the bears tail
and had him. ] got a rife as matter
OF precaution and then let the bear take
his course. The log, being willow, he, OF
course, followed along the path OF least
resist ance. which was over the subter-
ranean stream. We brought up at Ashbeel
Fitoh's spring, and that, gentlemen, is
the reason why the fishing up my way is
considerably better than 1t was a year or
80 ago.
Justice Charles H. Truax doesn't hail
from Franklin county. but he comes from
Oneida and knows a good deal about things
that have happened in Franklin. Two
things that he has seen. he said, convince
him that animals possess reasoning power.
One was the act OF Franklin county crane
which swallowed a Franklin county eel and
couldn't keep it down. After the eel had come
up twice Justice Truax said, the crane put
one foot up behind its ear as though II
was thinking hard, then suddenly gulped
| the eel down a third time and ran and
squatted on large, fiat, cold stone until the
eel was chilled and the gastric juice had a
chapca n get in its work,
I'd at Durnville. Justice Truax had also
seen a bullhead which had learned TO whls-
| tie Yankee Doodle from hearing the town
band play IL so often. The bullhead rea-
| soned. he said, for 1t came up partly out OF
the water whenever it whistled, so that
people could hear il.
Judge Edward W. Hatch told about a
fishing trip he took up in Franklin county
with Justice Truax, Mr.. kilburn and MIR.
Fitch.
Il paid he said, so: for q four.ounce
rod TO take on the trip. We got on at a
station, which didn't have any name, loaded
a caldron with capacity OF 100 barrels
into Kilburns automobile and started up
a mountain. I didn't know what we were
going to do with the kettle, but Kilburn
and the others said 1t was all right II
was June. but the bowling summer blasts
at the foot OF a clff 100 feet high, filed with
water and piled high on all sides with cord
| wood. A fire was started and for four
| days we fished by carrying boiling water
| by the pailful from the caldron and pouring
| in over the ice on the stream. In that time
we caught three trout and proposed that
we eat them, but klburn says No you
don't; those fish 60 to the Smithsonian
| Institution.
! The fishing excursion. was, however
| interrupted the Judge said, by landslide
caused by the thawing out OF the clir above
the fire, and the fishing stream itself wa
carried clear over into Clinton county.
| But the landslide Judge Hatch con.
! tinued, revealed to us a hairy monster in
| the bowels Of the mountain, 80 feet long
and 80 feet high. with an immense beard
| KilbuTn said IL was a danothorimaT1um
that IL ran in a circle like a rabbit, and that
| alive would have TO do was 10 be real sport s.
| men, give II a start and then run down IN
| IL for four days until the automobile cyclom-
eter registered I 800 miles. We got sight
| Of the monster once or twice and he vas
streaming with perspiration. Exhausted
We had Ia stop AT the bass, 81 supplies fol
while and after that We lost track Of him
| completely.
| The Judge announced, however. that nov
| q stock company 10 icing organized To hunt
| the danothorimarium In Franklin county
| next summer, that the Assets 81 the cOrlOTa
| ton IL the creatures name, that either
| cash or supplies will lf taken In return fOI
| stock, hut that no solids will Ia accepted.
job Hedges 81 Livingston county was
| Inclined 10 doubt some ~ thee" sloTl'S
| but h. Was willing Ia accept them, l~caus.
he said be- knew that bigger things hae
| hApIeTed up ~ th. hills 81 O.rlan AL,
Sparta, wlsfe he came from, 1h"r Af'
| streams tissne, Il. eald. 80 iull Of trout tha
ia. fsl..rinsn have "a pitch ~ tlc top layc
| ~ that they Won't get sunburtt hsh
4