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OX THE KAXHAKEE. ' . thiThe Fnmoos Hnuntj* of Vnme aud ed HyortNiuen Imperiled by a Fropo-Hit ion to Drain th» Elver UotmIick.1 ll «[Mourice Thompson in chImro Times.]mifillor i' cor altCrawfordsville, Ind., May 8.— Since the formation of a figh commission in Indiana,and the passing of a stringont game law by the Indiana legislature, certain parties who have made vast airy!cur schemes of public improvements tur u Bnbject of unreasoning but quite imaginative study, have suddenly discovered that themarshes of the Kankakee must be draiued. Gov. Porter haB appointed Prof. John L. Campbell, of centennial fame, to examine the scheme and report upon its feasibility. In order that Prof. Campbell might accept the commission, Gov. Porter procured from the Uniled States government a suspension, for this Bummer, of the geodetic syryey of tbe ftate, which has been in the professor's charge. I speak of this in connection with the fish and and game protection laws, for the reason that the marshes of the Kankakee, and tbe Kankakee it-*••*11, afford the finest fishing und 1‘UiUing iu the stale,and because any successful draining operation of the Bort contemplated will not only eh mi mite the marshes, but also practically dry up tbe river, in so tar us its usefulness as u fish stream is concerned.The ponds and lagoons of the Kankakee are thesiopping-pluCHS lor wild fowls of all sorts on their*lt;•!!pernmelsboge)efvorhesonlamhi*;I:Kanowe*-andiziiforBtttlingcaneceiamthebtre pi a i den abb andtrilitub]icaiway between the south and [anduorth in Iboii spring and tall flights, and,tbe river itself is as famous for its mallards and teal, its woud’ducks and ruflL-heads, its geese and brant, us it is for iu* pike, piekeral, bass und perch, Mmvhere north of Florida is there u stream bordered by so vast an extent of genuine marsh such as affords feeding-groumfsfor uquat-ic game birds and birds most interesting to the naturalist. Here come wei/de ck, Carolina rail, Miipe, plover, many species of heron, g»-ese, duck, brant, atari' ings, the grackle, the gallinule, and many other waders and swimmers, 6ome of them to breed in the watery meadows nd wild wastes of weed and aquatic plants. I have nowhere c-een, not even in the Everglades td Florida, so many green herons is live in th dura lagoons in the neighborhood o\ English lake, which is simply u wide place of the river. They rest there by thousands, as also do the larger bitterns, called by the Kankakee folM “thunder-pumpers.” Singular enough is the tael that even in midsummer and autumn this swampy region of the Kankakeeis far fion unhealthy. The water 01 the river is strongly impregnated with iron, arm many persona have found great relief from nervous debility by camping by the sirt-am curing tbekakGENillgwilt:plottoti*til re wo«*mu iof t» icJer frontiongr»-tleclpresiv hito talondweandchittthe;birdandcl**a:and“ew;dubcoutingdie:eXJMingiersidoulleft-The1everlast weeks uf summer ana the thciiurly weeks uf autumn.The late ex-Gov. Henry S. Lane used to spend many weeks each y. aron the Kankakee with a party of congenial Jrieods, and Ins brilliant conversational powers were never more attractive than when by the camp-fire he related his tunny reminiscences of a varied and charming life. He was an expert angler and a great lover of nature, as well as a wise poLtician. His ntopping-pluce on the Kiftfcakee way at the cl utHtouso uf the Craw lords-vilie sportsmen, a club of which Gen. Lew Wallace, our presentthfi:landthevaleiinmsnipducteroululUgamvari*andgainalonregieminister to Turkey, is a member.'theyand andTlin flI met Gen. Wallace at his club house wbile he was yet busily engaged in writing “Ben Hur,” and we sketched together in that region. He is an artist ot greatly fi power, sketching from nature ter I with a readiness and strength of.attui outline, especially the human jioa figure, which I have seldom seenjnymnurpuBBed. He is not so readv and entertaining a story-teller as was Col. Lane, but he is more of a cho:ar and poet, full ol grand dreams and u littering flashes of rigimil thought. Senator Ben. Harrison comes to the Kankakee, t0, to r^st his big head and ttvoitf interviews uLcritic.il junct ures. Trie aerator ib a patient angler, giving immense thought to the method of hooking live bait. It will he remembered that he was in these northern marshes rn pursuit of fin and feather when cuil-d to take Mr. Orth’s place at the bead ol tho state [the ticket, the year when Blue Jeans'eomfuin!snovdeeplilv,her;rare.docknotnlnnTlappietroiingandneattheWilliams snowed him under Gen. Hrriion is intellectually a superior man, bet more of a closet student than a popular leader. Another distinguished visitor to ihe Kankakee is the Rev. Mvron Reed, of Indianapolis, who has, for aome years, been rapidly comma to the front as a preacher of Bermons with philosophy in them. He ie now moat favorably mentioned as a probable gubernatorial candidate Dr. Reed telle a good story, handles the oars, tbe gun and tho fishing-rod with all the case of a born sportsman, and has little of tbe sanctiroonions-ness of the o d-style preacher. He is one of the boys, in a good hearty sense. I mention these names to illustrate the importance of the Kankakee and its marshes to men of genius and culture, as wella9 to the ordinary sportsman, to say nothing of the numerous professional market hunter who supply from this region the table of Chicago, Cincinnati and New York with so many tid-bilB of fish and game, and themselves and families with a livelihood.The scheme of draining these marshes has not yet taken any definite shape. No doubt if there is not a ring in can flection wit i it there will be one before the matter is much developed. View-Butelinogreasporyou,twe-andcroschoicesethearewhtareer pto bblacmarronriseerecnotretunodruiA :pasitracwonandglotthestattheItButa sill a ied superficially, it would seem tho
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New Castle Mercury
New Castle, Indiana, US
Sat, May 27, 1882
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IN, USA 22 Feb 2019
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