THE CANADIAN SPORTSMAN AND NATURALIST. 



i: 



of the members supporting it had left, conse- 

 quently the matter will have to I"' broughl up 

 again this year. Ai a meeting held November 

 24th, it was decided to get up a case as to 

 snaring partridge, and at the next meeting the 

 acting secretary staled that a ease had been 

 broughl before the Police Magistrate, but thai 

 it had been dismissed, as his Bonor considered 

 there was some doubt, as to the accused being 

 able to tell whether the partridge had been 

 Snared or not. Your committee would here 

 draw the attention of the incoming committee 

 to the fact that over two-thirds of the partridge 

 offered for side in this city are taken by snares, 

 many Of them being decapitated to prevent 

 detection. Mr. Euclid K>oy, advocate, was 

 thanked for his gratuitous service. 



The Treasurer, Mr. W. H. Rintoul, then 

 read his report, which shows that the Society 

 is in a more prosperous state than it lias been 

 in lor several years. The income lor the past 

 year was $262, and the expenditure $244. (II, 

 showing a surplus of income over expenditure 



of sm.39. 



The Club numbers 120 members. 



The following are the officers for the ensuing 

 year : — 



J. C. Wilson, Esq., President ; E. C. Monk, 

 Esq.. Vice-President; W. H. Rintoul, Esq., 

 Treasurer; J. H. Mathews, Esq., Secretary. 



Committee. — R. H. Kilby, Esq., H. Ii. Ives, 

 Esq., J. H.Stearns, Esq., II. A. Alloway, Esq., 

 Geo. U. A.hern, Esq., J. J. Etedpath, Esq., T. 

 J. Brady, Esq., E. H. Goodacre, Esq., T. W. 

 Goodwin, Esq., A. N. Shewan, Esq., J.John- 

 ston, jr., Esq., L. A. Boyer, Esq., .I» B. A. 

 Mongenais, Esq.,T. R. Hall, Esq., J. B. Robert- 

 son, Esq. 



CORRESPONDENCE. 



To the Editor of the Canadian Sportsman and 

 Naturalist. 



Dear Sir, — On my arrival in Montreal a few 

 days ago, I was delighted to see that you and 

 a lew other enthusiastic sportsmen had decided 

 to supply a want long felt in Canada, viz : a 

 paper devoted to the interests of thai class of 

 gentlemen who shoot and fish for (rue sport , 

 and I feel sure that success will attend your 

 efforts. 



I must say 1 felt flattered when f received 

 your request to contribute something, and only 

 wish 1 had your facile pen to interest your 

 readers. Mv summer of 1880 was spent in the 

 N. W. T. of the Dominion. The 20th July lasl 

 found me in the Duck Or Riding Mountains, at 

 the head waters of Bird's Tail Creek, about 

 51° N., and on the 101st meridian. 



These mountains are covered with adi 

 foresi of tall poplar- and birch,and thick under- 

 brush of hazel and raspberry, making it impos- 

 sible to gel through withoul cutting a trail in 

 advance. — This 20th July was a very hoi day. 



We had Started at 6 a.m. with a train of thir- 

 teen heavily loaded carts, and by II a.m had 

 made about three miles, when a very peculiar 



noise saluted our ears. Knowing this forest to 



be full of bears, we at once came to the conclu- 

 sion thai we were in the vicinity of a family; 



sisters, cousins and aunts, of these affectionate 

 creatures. The train was ordered to halt while 

 the chief of the party and myself wenl forward 

 to prospect. As we advanced the noise grew 

 louder and louder, till we called a< nc.il of 



tWO, to decide what had better he done ; lace the 

 enemy or draw on our reserves and ad\ a nee in 



full force. While deliberating the chief hap- 

 pened to cast his eyes heavenwards and the 



mystery was explained — we had struck a 

 heronry — hundreds of these birds were passing 

 to and fro, and on going forward a hundred 

 yards or so, we found the tops of the poplars 

 covered with their nests, the young birds lull 



grown but not able to fly, perched on the high- 

 est branches of the trees. Here in thebearl of 

 a dense forest, probably never trodden by man 

 before, were thousands of nestsof our common 

 blue heron (Ardai herodias Linn). We cut 

 down several trees and captured the young, 

 which were cooked and eaten by some of our 

 men with relish, probably because it was the 

 first fresh food for three months. The nests 

 were made of the small dead branches of the 

 poplar and were placed as near the tops of the 

 trees as possible. I kept two of the young bir |a 

 alive for a lew days, when becoming able to llv 

 they took their departure. These mountains 

 are full of small ponds and bottomless mus- 

 kegs which swarm with lizards and small 

 fish on which the herons teed, and on get- 

 ting to an open space near the heronrj we 

 could see the old birds coming and ironic in 

 every direction. Those coming home were 

 stuffed to the bill with food for their young, 

 making them present a verj ungainly figure, 

 as they lazily flapped their way toward the 

 woods. On pushing our way through this 

 mountain forest we discovered three good si.-ed 

 lakes about one hall a mile wide and from one 

 to two miles in length each. We tried them 

 lor fish, but only caught a few common chub. 

 In your next issue 1 will try and give you 

 some account of the game birds of the Little 

 Saskatchewan and Bird's Tail Creek Regions. 

 Yours truly, 



Bikd's Tail. 

 Montreal, Jan. ;;i. 1881. 



