FOREST AND STREAM. 



165 



Cbeedmoor.— We give to-day the whole story of the Fa!! 

 Creedmour Meeting. The American Team shot yesterday. 

 and will shoot again to-day for the Trophy. The wonderful 

 progress mado by our people in practical and scientific rifle 

 Shooting is too manifest to require any further proof than that 

 contained in our columns of the scores, The National Rifle 

 Association has fostered the scientific rifle shooting of both 

 soldier and civilian, and to this Association the gratitude of 

 the country is due. 



Death of Cor,, T. B. Thoki-e.— Colonel Thorpe, the 

 author of "Torn Owen, the Bee Hunter," and many other 

 sketches or great brightness and humor, died on Friday last, 

 September 20. Colonel Thorpe possessed talents of the most 

 varied character, and not only wrote admirably well, but 

 wielded the pencil with extraordinary talent. He was a 

 natural historian of no small merit, and was among the first 

 in the United States to declare that snakes were oviparous, a 

 fact very much disputed some thirty years ago. Colonel 

 Thorpe was among the earliest of our war correspondents, and 

 his " Army of tlic Rio Grande," and " Our Army on the Rio 

 Grande," are historical reminiscences of the Mexican war 

 which are of great value. In his literary style Colonel Thorpe 

 possessed to a marked degree wonderful clearness, brilliancy 

 and force. Our pages have often been embellished by con- 

 tributions from Colonel Thorpe, which were remarkable for 

 their strength and vigor. Born in 1815, Colonel Thorpe was 

 sixty-three years old at the time of his death. Thu3 passes 

 away a true gentleman of the old school. 



. 4 . 



[fbom a staw correspondent.] 



ROCKY MOUNTAIN WANDERINGS. 



No. 5. 



AS I sit down to detail to you the event of this our third 

 trip in the mountains of Wyoming I cannot refrain from 

 giving you a coup d'teil of our surroundings. I write by the 

 flickering light of our fast-dying camp fire and, the inner man 

 having being satisfied, the brain again begins to resume its 

 sway, and in a meditaLive and retrospective mood I shall at- 

 tempt to recall the not-very stirring events that have trans- 

 spired since my last letter. The occasional snapping of the 

 burning aspen logs, the " crunch, crunch" of our mules crop- 

 ping the grass near at hand, and the dismal howl of the distant 

 coyote are the only sounds that disturb my reveries. Close at 

 hand lie my companions, stretched out; at full length on the 

 ground, gazing dreamily into the fire, their glowing pipes 

 tightly clenched betweon their teeth. The wind whispers 

 tlirough the sage brush and sometimes throws up clouds oE 

 ashes, interfering not a little with my writing, and during the 

 lulk in the breeze we hear the subdued murmur of the stream 

 by which we are camped. The grand old mountains, monu- 

 ments of past convulsions and upheavals, tower on all sides 

 and, while impressing us wilh our own insignificance, recall 

 to our minds the tiresome clamberings of the last three days 

 among their crags and cliffs aud the results of our hunt in the 

 Medicine Bow range. 



Satisfied with elk, deer, antelope and bear hunting in the 

 Freeze Out Mountains we, with the natural longing for the 

 unattainable paramount ever in the human breast, had decided 

 that mountain sheep alone would fill the cup of our enjoy- 

 ment, and the day following our return to the Bow, Reed, 

 Mort and myself started for the source of tfio Wagon Hound 

 Creek. On the head of this stream, and on its tributaries, or 

 among the rocky fastnesses from which they rise, we hoped 

 to strike a band of sheep which, rumor told us, held their 

 abode in that region. It is scarcely necessary to add that 

 Tom, our teamster, completed the quartette, he being a most 

 necessary part of the outfit, as indispensable, in fact, as mules 

 wagon, tent and other impedimenta. 



We camped the first night on Foot Creek, at the base of the 

 range. Nothing of interest bad occurred during a very tire- 

 some day of jolting over twenty-five miles of rolling prairie 

 in a sprihgless wagon, with the exception of some poor shoot- 

 ing at sage -hens and antelope, and one excellent shot by Reed, 

 who brought down a doe, on the "keen jump," at four hun- 

 dred yards. One of the hams furnished us meat for supper 

 which, with the excellent biscuit of Reed's concocting and a 

 draught of crystal water from one of nature's fountains, com- 

 pleted a repast as acceptable to us as a far more pretentious 

 banquet. 



Ncx t morning we were off shortly after sunrise, and by noon 

 had reached the highest point in the canyon accessible by 

 wagon, and made camp. The road lay throughout the whole 

 distance, some fifteen miles, along the 6ides of Foot Creek, 

 and the wooded slopes of the mountains reached high on 

 either side. The timber was mostly dead, burned by the In- 

 dians when they deserted the hunting ground, but a second 

 growth had sprung up and attained a height of about five feet, 

 and its dark recesses looked very promising for deer. We 

 saw no game, however, nor indeed any sign of it until far up 

 the mountain, when an occasional elk trail crossed our path. 

 Mountain birds, however, were noticed in goodly numbers, 

 and prominent among them were Clark's crow, whose grating 

 cry was almost constantly heard, the fearless tanner falcon, 

 the dusky grouse, the violet green swallow and the broad- 

 tailed humming bird with its gorgeous plumage. Our camp 

 was advantageously placed in a small basin within fifty yards 

 of a clear spring which gives rise to the main fork of the 

 Wagon Hound and surrounded on three sides by timber, while 

 just behind us rose a towering cliff of soft white sandstone, 

 which stood out fierce and beetling like the prow of some le- 



viathan ship. Its eroded faces, worn into a thousand fantas- 

 tic shapes and pierced by many a hole and crevice, furnished 

 resting and breeding places for the numerous birds seen sail- 

 ing through the air about its summit. Close to the top on 

 an inaccessible ledge, a. pair of Lanner Falcons had reared 

 their brood, and to this eyrie the family would repair at close 

 of day saluting each other with the shrillest and most discord- 

 ant screams. Above, oelow, and on both sides of the home 

 of these fierce birds were hundreds of nesting places of the 

 beautiful violet-greou swallows (Hirundv thalassina), and 

 these little fairy-like creatures flow hither and thither in 

 clouds, utterly regardless of the presence of the falcons. It 

 was a strange association, though one often seen in the West. 



Immediately upon making camp we started out to inspect 

 our surroundings. As one of the party remarked, "The 

 country looked sheepy," but a tramp of four hours through a 

 most attractive region failed to disclose any recent sign of these 

 animals. At one point we struck a fresh elk trail made by 

 two or three wandering individuals, and later saw some tracks 

 of deer, but were unsuccessful in our attempts to find either, 

 and at last, tired, hungry and disgusted, we turned our steps 

 campward. In Indian file we traversed our silent path over 

 steep hills and down into deep, cool canyons. The Bweet 

 scent of the pines fills the air, and the dark, sodden ground 

 beneath the green timber gives forth no sound. Now and 

 then a pine rabbit jumps up in front, and scurrying away, 

 stops short at fifty yards, and eyes us with amazement. A 

 dusky grouse whirrs up from beneath our feet, and skims 

 down again into his leafy covert, surprised at the new animal 

 that has invaded his quiet home. Just as we approach the 

 camp a fine "black-tail" buck is sprang from a thicket of 

 quaking asps. He has made but a few jumps when a loud 

 b-a-a-a-h from Reed stops him, and he turns his great, won- 

 dering eyes toward us. He lingers only an instant ; but the 

 stock has pressed the shoulder, the finger the trigger, and the 

 bullet goes crashing through both shoulders and brings the 

 noble animal to the ground. The deepening twilight gives us 

 time only to butcher him and, admiring his fine antlers, still 

 in the velvet we take some of the internal titbits with us to 

 relieve the monotony of antelope diet, and hasten onward. 



As we sit round our roaring camp fire that evening we listen 

 to tales of former hunts and to stories of the Iudian fights and 

 white men's brawls of earlier days. Each in turn contributes 

 his experience to the general fund, and scenes and incidents 

 are narrated which took place in the mountains aud on the 

 plains, when game was more plenty and hunters fewer. 



Befote we sleep it has been decided to spend the following 

 day in collecting bird skins and then to betake ourselves to 

 other and more profitable fields. At break of day the deer is 

 packed and brought into camp, aud a flue fat fellow he is. 

 Even as I write the sizzling, spluttering sound of his juicy 

 chops, enjoyed at suppor, still sings in my ears. Thursday 

 is devoted to collecting and some valuable skins are added to 

 our collection. No elk, deer, or sheep, however, are seen and 

 so this morning we broke camp, and here we are. 



The scarcity of game here is to be ace ounted for partly on 

 the supposition that it is further south, as explained in a pre- 

 vious letter, aud partly by the fact that last winter and spring 

 there were many tree choppers on the head of Wagon Hound 

 whose presence no doubt caused the animals to forsake the 

 country. 



It is a sad faot, but one that cannot be controverted, that 

 even in the Rocky Mountains large game is each year becom- 

 ing scarcer and more difficult to find, and certainly unless 

 something is done to protect it we shall soon inhabit a country 

 absolutely without large wild animals. The advocates of game 

 protection should see to it thit some steps are taken in the 

 right direction before long. I shall have more to say on this 

 subject in another place and at a future time. 



This is a letter devoid of exciting incidents, but your 

 readers must remember that the hunter takes the bad fortune 

 with the good, and than in no breast does hope spring more 

 persistently than in that of the ardent sportsman. To. 



In Gamp on Wagon Hound Creek, Wyoming. 



fnehUng and goatittg. 



HIGH WATEB FOE THE WEEK. 



Dale. 



Boston. 



New York. 



Charleston. 





H. M. 



5 09 



6 IS 



7 20 

 S IT 

 9 OS 

 9 DT 



10 46 



H. M. 



1 48 



2 47 

 8 56 



5 05 

 00 



6 49 

 T SS 



B. M. 











Sept30 



Oct 1 



Oct a 



Oct 3 



5 S3 



IS 



7 

 7 



YACHTING NEWS. 



Nova Sootia Yacht Squadron. — The race of September 7 

 of the Nova Scotia Yacht Club was, according to programme, 

 to have been the last of the season, but the liberality of the 

 R. A. and R. E. , quartered at Halifax, provided for a final 

 race, which was sailed subsequently, Saturday, September 1-1. 

 The wind was strong from the N. E., but became flawy to- 

 ward afternoon. At 1:30 p. m. the yachts got away, as fol- 

 lows ; 



n. si. s. 



LUv, Blonp, s tons, W, H. Week*, M. D 1 36 68 



Favcho, Bloop, 7 tons, Lt. Capel Cure, 20lli I 39 27 



Muta, sloop, o tun-, Lt. Huasey, E. E 1 89 B9 



Sealuaiu, sclioimer, 2litou«, Cupt. Larcom, E.A 1 40 88 



Seafoam, from her size, should have given the rest the slip, 

 but she had to lug au extra ton of ballast, taken aboard just 

 before the start, and was not up to her usual form, lt was a 

 turn to windward to the Ferry Buoy, and in making for it the 



yachts broke tacks. Psyche was first to make a board toward 

 Dartmouth, then went about and lay a course for the buoy. 

 She met Muta at the buoy, and, being on the port tack, 

 was Obliged to go about for her, being badly h:ini|ici-ed by a 

 schooner at anchor. Muta kept the lead gained on the reach 

 across to the Commissioners. Jibing around she set balloon 

 jib, aud Psyche contented herself with a jib-topsail. All hands 

 jibed round Fort Clarence mark, 'as follows i Muta, 2b, 25m. 

 51s. ; Psyche, 3h. 37m. Sis., aud Seafoam, 2h. Blm. 8s. Pxyche 

 had some trouble with her jib-topsail sheet, and stowed the sail, 

 Muta spinning out her lead once more. The rare was be- 

 tween these two, Seafoam and Lily having no chance any 

 longer. The same order was maintained rounding Fort 

 Clarence mark the second time. The craft trimmed sheets in 

 hard for the Commissioners, when Psyche showed to better 

 advantage, reducing the gap between herself and Muta at a 

 lively rate, the latter being only 40s. ahead when the mark 

 was fetched. On the reach to the Ferry, however, Muta was 

 again at her old tricks, and once more slipped away, round- 

 ing the buoy with a lead of 57s. She set her spinnaker to 

 port in seamanlike style, and lengthened out her lead mate- 

 rially, finally winning a well-sailed race at 3h. S2m. 30s.{ 

 Psyche at 3h. oim. Us. ; Seafoam 3h. 37m. 13s., and Lily 3h! 

 54m., 54s. Muta won, after allowances, by 4m, 3'Js. over 

 Psyclie, and by 16m. 12s. over the schooner. " The club mem- 

 bers and friends assembled aboard the squadron steamer 

 Carrie, and the Honorable Secretary, having read Unreport of 

 the Sailing Committee, the prizes were presented to 'the win- 

 ners by Mr. F. M. Passow, as follows: 



Open Race, August 10— First prize, Psyche, Lieut. Capel 

 Cure, 20th. 



Schooner Race, August 24— First prize, Seafoam, Capt. 

 Laroom, R. A. 



Sloops and Yawls Race, August 3t— First prize, Hebe, Mr . 

 J. E. Butler; second, Kestrel, \ ice-Commodore White. 



Open Race, August 28— Not awarded. 



Five-ton Race, August 31— First prize, Muta, Lieut. Hus- 

 scy, R. E. 



Open Race, September 7— Fust prize, Muta, Lieut. Hus- 

 sey, R. E.; second, Psyche, Lieut. Capel Cure, 20th. 



Sloop Phantom, Lieut. Hammersley, Twentieth Regiment, 

 was in collision with a schooner recently and had bowsprit 

 broken short off at the stem, and mast taken off close to the 

 deck. The sloop was close-hauled, the schooner going free. 



The R. M. Y. C. steam yacht Nooya, J. T. Molson, sailed 

 for Montreal on the llth via Cbarlottetown. 



General Sir P. L. McDougall, K. C. M. G., commander-in- 

 chief at Halifax, has a new cat-rigged yacht of about two 

 tons. She was built at Shelburne. 



Boston Yaoht Cum.— We are in receipt of the latest is = ue 

 of the Boston Yacht Club Book. It discloses a Mattering pros- 

 perity of the club, for the book contains the private signals of 

 no less thau sixteen schooners, sixty sloops, three steamers 

 and two catamarans. Among the schooners are the well 

 known cracks America, Julia and Silvk, while the jingle- 

 stickers include the smart Undine, a regular windjammer, 

 Shadow, Wayward, Violet and many others of fame in the lo- 

 cal regattas of the club. The club book is very tastefully 

 gotten up, contains a cut of the club-house as a fronticepieces 

 list of yachts, owners, ports, dimensions, etc., and the name, 

 of over 200 members. Then follow constitution, by-laws, 

 sailing directions and time allowance tables, based upon length 

 measurement, with full explanations of how the rule was fixed 

 upon and allowances calculated. The flag-chart in the rear, 

 handsomely lithographed on tinted paper, lias added to it the 

 club burgees of all the principal yacht clubs on the coast. 

 One omission we hope to see supplied next season, at least as 

 far as possible. A special column should be devoted to the 

 builders, sailmakers and modellers' or designers' names as 

 well as the dates of constructiou and alterations. This will 

 serve to make the record of each yacht more complete and 

 will preserve much of interest concerning them that is now 

 too often overlooked or lost. 



Haykbhill Yaoht Cltjb. — The union regatta of this club, 

 sailed Sept. 14, turned out quite a successful affair. In the 

 first class Lizzie Warner won in lh. lm. 5IJs. ; Empress second, 

 lh. lm. 40s. In the second class Linnie May won in lh. 40s.' 

 Eclipse second in lh. 2m. 15s. In the third class Abbk m'. 

 won in 4Gm. 32s., Adelaide second in 48m. 17s. Iixo won in 

 the special class in 44m. 37s. 



New Bedford Yaoht Clttb.— - The fifth race in the series 

 of matches given by this club was again won by Enice, mak- 

 ing a tie of two races with Sylph. These two will have lo 

 sail a sixth match to decide the series. The last of the series of 

 cat boat matches took place in New Bedford Harbor Sept. 21. 

 Course, six miles. Won by Enice in lh. 20m. 33s., beating 

 Sylph by 10s. Thus Enice wins three out of the six matches, 

 and takes the cup, Sylph having scored two aud Otto one. The 

 last match was started to sail off the tie between Enice and 

 Sylph. 



Atlantio Yaoht Club.— The small craft of this club sailed 

 their closing race of the season in New York Bay, Wednes- 

 day, Sept. 18. Course, from flagship Triton, oil' Breakwater 

 Point, to a stakeboat off Owl's Head, thence around stake- 

 boat in Upper Bay and back to flagship, seven and one-half 

 miles, to be sailed over twice. Prizes, a pennant aud cup for 

 each class, sloops aud cats. Wind light from W. and lids 

 last of the flood. An uneventful race was finished as under ; 



SLOOl'S. 



_. , . , _ Elapsed Corrected 



Start. Fiaisa. Time. Time. 



Name, n. n. s. a. it. S. n. m. s. h. m. s. 



Phot , 189 44 (',2134 4 2S40 4 23 40 



Oorinne 153 80 31 21 4 37 57 4 35 60 



OAT-BIGOED. 



Trnant No. 1 15130 6 05 07 4 10 37 4 10 37 



Gertlo 154 40 06 SO 4 12 26 4 12 2(1 



Wind 163 82 6 29 OS 4 to 26 4 U US 



topwlDg 155 10 Wltddrawn. 



Truant No. 2 164 30 Notttmed. 



Pilot takes cup and pennant in sloop class, beating Corinne 

 by 7m. 10s., and Truant, of New Rochelle, wins in cat-boat 

 class, beating Gertie by lm. 43s. The annual pennant regatta 

 of the club will be sailed to-day. 



Dokchb8tbe Yacht Club.— The third regatta of the sea- 

 son sailed by this club took place Sept. 17. "Wind light but 

 steady from S. W. First class centreboards, 25ft. and over ; 

 second class, 20 to 25ft. ; third class, under 30ft. All keels 

 sailed in one class. There was also a special for boats under 

 14ft. Start, from an anchor ; no restrictions as to canvas, 

 cat-boats being limited to mainsails, however. Judges 

 Messrs. Parkman Dexter, G. F. Clark and A. L. Jackson, 

 aboard the latter gentleman's schooner, Osceola. Among the 

 larger boats, (Enone took the lead and maintained it through- 

 out the race. Nattie gave Fancy a brush at Ihe Dolphin, but 

 the latter shook her again. Clam B. was disqualified. Char- 

 lotte and Roslyn were to be re-measured before awarding the 

 prize in their class. The prizes were awarded as follows i 



