FUKEST AMD STUUAM 



"TTT 



toron, 06t, 20 — The prospect of quai] 



verygoocT- Our mountains arc well stocked with clue; i 

 port? woodcock hunting was ft failure. 11. 



let, IT.— Game will be plentiful in this county llii.s 

 season • splendid mast. We are having a good time hunting 

 deer, which is our principal game. Bear will be very fat also 

 this winter ; great many here. 0. h. (i. 



Masiwrd— BitgeraUnBti,, Oct. IS.— Sportsmen will, no 

 doubt, be glad to learn that the rabbit "crop " will be larger 

 than usual tin's season. There was so little snow on the 

 ground last winter that huntsmen were uuahlc to track them, 

 and the number killed was not as large as usual. 



Virginia— Richmond, Oct. 10. — The close season for quail 

 ended on the 15th, and dow the voice of the hunter is heard 

 in the land. Birds are quite numerous in the counties ad- 

 joining, but a great many are not, grown. I found sev 

 coveys last Wednesday, and only two were grown. Some of 

 them were so small that they would fly about 'fifteen or twenty 

 yards and light, and you could catch them with a dog. 1 have 

 seen some men who call themselves sportsmen, shoot the 

 small birds, and brag on the size of their bag. Would you 

 i ot call them pot-hunters. If you don't, you should. Deer 

 are quite numerous in the neighborhood of Chesterfield Court 

 I Louse. I understand that several have been killed within the 

 last two weeks. Blackbirds are plenty on the flats opposite 

 the C. and 0. BB. wharf, and from there all the. way down 

 the river The farmers do not object to parties shooting 

 them ; in fact they are glad to have them killed, for they 

 damage the corn a great deal. A party of four or five can 

 have as much shooting as they want by going in the corn and 

 taking them as they come over. One man killed twenty-two 

 at one shot a few days ago. Yours truly, J. R. 



Iforfi/Ue, Oct. 16. — Yesterday was the opening day for quail 

 shooting, with us, aud a great many parties were out. 

 Best bag reported, 35; smallest, 6. Weather warm, weeds 

 rank aud high, aud in some coveys birds not fully grown. 

 AVant two or three heavy frosts to make shooting perfect. 

 Some few ducks in market. B terra ond . 



— Our old subscriber and advertiser, Mrs. Van Slyck, has re- 

 cently married Mr. D. B. .Nye, Van Slyck's Landing, Curri- 

 tuck (Jounty, N. C, who respectfully informs his many sport- 

 ing friends that he will furnish them with board, skiffs and 

 Btopl ducks. Duck, goose, partridge and snipe shooting. All 

 grades of powder and Nos. shot kept on hand. Steamer 

 <'t/giitt. from Norfolk runs direct to Van Slyck's Landing 

 Mondays aud Thursdays at 6:30 a. m. 



" Hit ob Bbbak."— One hundred and eighty-five dollars 

 were contributed to the Armstrong Belief Fund through the 

 effurts of the " Hit or Break " Gun Club, of Columbia, Tenn., 

 assisted by the ladies of that city. The club furnished the 

 game for II game supper, and the ladies furnished the 

 other delicacies, and superintended the cooking, arranging, 

 etc. Over 600 quail were cooked, besides squirrels, rabbits, 

 hares, ducks, turkeys, venison, etc., including the indispensa- 

 ble " 'possum an' sweet 'taters," a dish that has the true at- 

 tractiveness for the Southern sportsman. Our merchants con- 

 tributed oysters, fish, hams, celery, cheese, 'shire sauce, etc. 

 Wednesday evening, October 2, the doors of the Nelson House 

 dining-rooms were thrown open and guests invited to the 

 "spread.'' After partaking of the bountiful repast they 

 mingled with the merry party within, and the contest between 

 wit and beauty continued until the "wee sma' hours." The 

 receipts, $185, were given to the widow and children of the 

 late for, Armstrong, formerly a citizen of this city, who died 

 in Memphis of the yellow fever while discharging his duties. 



Val. 



Tbnshssbb— Columbia-, Oct. 13. — Breech-loaders, muzzle- 

 loaders, old muskets and their respective owners are seen in 

 every direction, following the dogs in search of quail, and 

 as a general thing with good success, as many large bags 

 have been taken. Squirrels and rabbits are also numer- 

 ous, and it is claimed by old hunters rabbits are more plenti- 

 ful than for many years previous. Wild fowl shooting will 

 be very good this winter. Val, 



Georgia — Rome, Oct. 17. — We have a better shooting 

 season in prospect than I have known for 3'ears. Fiom every 

 direction comes in the cheering news of a big quail crop. I 

 walked out a few days ago, after closing office' at live o'clock, 

 and got up two coveys, bagged seven birds by nightfall. How 

 is that for shooting within a mile of a town of 6,000 popula- 

 tion ? H. 



Alabama— Mobile, Oct. 18.— We are looking for frost soon, 

 as it is quite cool this a. m. A member of our club killed last 

 evening a Scolopax wiUonii, weighing 5\ oz. Is this not un- 

 usually large for this bird, as 1 have shot large numbers, and 

 can't remember ever seeing one so large. With cold weather, 

 we will have a flight of ducks, for which we are prepared and 

 anxiously waiting. E. G. 



Your woodcock is heavy. We have seen them weigh 8 

 ozs., however. — Ed. 



Louisiana— Opblohsas, October 10, 1878. — A few snipe 

 made their appearance here about September 10, when 

 we had some cool weather, with north wind, the ther 

 mometer falling to 46 degrees. Since then the weather 

 has been quite warm and dry, and no more have arrived. I 

 killed sixteen prairie chickens in fifteen shots on the 30th ult, 

 over my setter bitch ; she did not make a single flush or false 

 point. The time for hunting them here, though, is after frost, 

 and we shoot, them through the entire winter. They do not 

 become so wild as they are said to do in the Northwest after 

 winter has set in. If the snipe and woodcock visit us in suffi- 

 cient numbers this season, and the geese and ducks, they, to- 

 gether with the partridge (Bob White), prairie chickens, 

 hares, squirrels, turkeys, deer and bear, we already have here, 

 would furnish a sufficient variety to please all. lu the cane- 

 brakes of the swampy country between the Atchafalaya. River 

 and Bayou Courlableau, not far from here, are plenty of bear, 

 and frequently in November (the best time to hunt them) 

 that whole region, though subject to overflow in the spring, 

 is so dry that water is scarce for man and beast. It is the 

 primitive forest, without human habitation; inhabited only 

 by panther"!, wild-cats, bears, deer, raccoons, opossums, etc., 

 and some mosquitoes in warm weather. At a short distance 

 on the north and west we have pine woods, with deer and 

 wild turkeys, and clear streams, the home of black (green) 

 bass. For a hundred miles west and southwest we have 

 prairie, interspersed with timber along the streams, and south- 

 ward to the marshes of the Gulf. In these prairies are the 

 pinnated grouse, and also snipe, ducks, geese, etc., in their 

 season, and formerly ^\na. Partridges (Bob White I are 1 tven 

 the whole country, and in oar prairie fields we have much 



better spoi ,, | liau in fields surrounded by woods. 



Id the marshes near the Gulf thousands of geese and ducks 

 are killed simply for their feathers. From' here, to Grand 

 Ij-ikc, in Calcasieu Parish, is about two days' drive through the 

 laafl of the prairie chicken, and snipe during the season; 

 from there to the mouth of the Calcasieu River by sail-boat is 

 only a few hours ; aud the game there is an abundance of red 

 and other fish, oysters, ducks and geese, and, returning, 

 prairie chicken and snipe. More can be combined in such a 

 trip, through prairie and woodland, through fresh water to 

 salt water, than in any other one from this point. Two weeks 

 or three will cover it, and afford sufficient time for pleasure. 

 J. W. Jaokson. 

 Texas — QalmCon, Oct. 12.— On account of the mildness of 

 the weal her our shooting this fall has not been as good as 

 usual. The army of water-fowl are waiting, no doubt, to 

 avail themselves of the strong northers that usually occur at 

 this season— Of. four or five days duration— to assist them in 

 their migratory flight. A few" jack-snipe have been bagged, 

 aud some fat, delicious teal may be found every morning in 

 the market. The Galveston (bin" Club appreciate your favora- 

 ble mention. They are associated together as much for re- 

 duction of expenses of shooting as anything else. They will, 

 no doubt, take pleasure in putting you or any other gentleman 

 sportsman iu the way of some sport should you chance to visit 

 this city iu game season. Some of the members are trying to 

 get a fast steam yacht for hunting about the bays. On ac- 

 count of worms, she should be coppered, and should not draw 

 over two tuul a half or three feet of water, with say fifteen 

 persons on board. Then many of the best shooting points 

 could be visited that are now inaccessible on account of dis- 

 tance, and being out-of-the-way places. More auou. 



Beooab. 

 Da. Fcrrbr's Litti.b Hunt.— Last week came into our 

 office Dr. Furber fresh from the Kocky Mountains, where he 

 had been hunting in company with Mr. Otto Franuks, of this 

 city, and a few days afterward Texas Jack, who was guide 

 and companion to these gentlemen, followed. The Doctor 

 has promised a full account of his adventures for our columns, 

 not the least important of which was the narrow escape of his 

 party from the Bannocks, who were on the war path, mur- 

 dering all the whites they encountered. We are always 

 pleased to contemplate the tall, lithe and graceful form of our 

 friend, Mr. Omohundro. Those who look at him critically 

 from a standpoint of brute forces would hardly believe that 

 there was so much latent strength aud courage beneath his 

 placid and handsome exterior; but we believe that any lady 

 who would calmly lift her eyes to meet his gaze would un- 

 hesitatingly selecl him for her cavalier. Dr. Furber speaks 

 in highest terms of Jack's qualities as a guide, cook and cir- 

 cumventor of Indians. Of his own exploits and attributes 

 Jack seldom speaks, except in a general way. He says that 

 Dr. Furber's party was too fond of scenery to hunt much. 

 Their "ove of the picturesque took them into dangerous 

 ground, where scalps were not insured, and into the very heart 

 of the Mauvais Terres or Bad Lands, where Indians were as 

 thick as horned frogs on the sand plains of Arizona. But of 

 this we shall h-^ar anon. 



After leaving his charge at Chicago Texas Jack joined Dr. 

 Carver at Pittsburg and assisted him in giving an exhibition. 

 The Doctor was received with eclat, and captured a large gold 

 medal, illustrating one of his shots at glass balls with the rifle, 

 Dr. Carver 1b now starring it throughout the South. He ex- 

 hibits to-day (Oct. 24th) at Macon, Ga. 



Captain Bogardds' International Trophy. — This is a 

 beautiful jewel and a valued addition to the Captain's bril- 

 liant trophies. It has just been received, and was accom- 

 panied by the following letter : 



„ „ W8 PICCADILLY, Sept. 24, 1873, 



To Captain hooAKPirs : * ' 



Sir— By thts mail I have much pleasure In forwarding to you u gold 

 medal of International Guu and Polo Club, as a memento ot your vic- 

 tory iu the coutestwilh Mr. Aubrey Coventry, at Brighton, and yo-.r 

 straightforward aud snoitsinan-ltke bearing throughout the match. 

 Kindly let me know whether you receive it all right. 



f am, sir, yours faithfully, Henry Hoyt, 



Sec. I. G. and P.O. 



Captain Bogardus has just returned from a very successful 

 trip through the West. 



—Mr. Ira A. Paine was shooting week before last at the 

 Academy of Music, Pittsburg, with good success. Last week 

 he was at the Volks Garden, Brooklyn, and has engagements 

 on hand for almost the entire season. During December he 

 will give exhibitions at Harrigan &, Hart's Theatre in this 

 city. 



—Messrs. Pooler & Jones, of Serena, 111., have for sale a 

 very light and convenient belt for carrying cartridges. With 

 30 cartridge holders the belt weighs only one pound ; it is 

 easily adjusted by a strap aud buckle, and the cartridges are re- 

 moved at pleasure. Worn either outside the coat or inside it. 

 See advertisement. 



— Collectors wishing fine specimens of North American 

 birds are referred to the advertisement in our columns this 

 week. 



Cleaning Bbass Shells— Philadelphia,, Pa., Sept. 20.— 

 To thirty shells or less, thrown in a dish, add about two 

 ounces of oxalic acid in hot water enough to cover them; let 

 stand half an hour to one hour. They will then appear 

 streaked, after stirring them with a slick. Take each one 

 and wipe off the outside, place on a tin pie-plate and put 

 thern iu an oven and let stay till hot and dry; lay one side to 

 cool; when cold, prime, and they are ready for loading. 

 Those living in the country may go to any drug store and get 

 (if they have no oxalic acid) lib. commercial muriatic acid. 



MjOehuk— Bebre$t, Oct. 18.— Abner Price and Harry 

 Hawkins, the famed pigeon shooters, went to St. Clair Flats. 

 Oct. 10, for a season of duck shooting. O. D. Brown, of 

 Kinderhook, shot a blue erano last. Saturday on the south 

 shore of Ooldwater Lake, which measured six feet from tip 

 to tip of wings, was live feet and three inches from ond of 

 bill to end of toes, and its bill was seven and a quarter inches 

 long. It was a beautiful bird. A bidd-headed eagle, which 

 measured four feet and two inches from tip to tip of 

 wing, was also shot in the same township the same d^v 



Dbotd. 



Canada— Toronto, Oct. 11.— There were 23 shooters, 15 

 birds each, of three classes: First class— John James, 15, B. 

 Moore, 13 ; H. Miller, 13; J. Barratt, 13 ; George Smith, 18; 

 John Maughan, Jr., 13. Second— A. Deacon, 13; E- Ferry- 

 man, 12; W. Kennedy. 10; Old man, 65 years, 10 ; T. Wlii- 

 tleld, 10. Third— F. Lucas, 13; B. Wilson, 11; G. Monro, 

 8; J. Douglass, 11; C. Caliighan and H. Morrison, 10 each, 

 fn the shoot-off ties at 26 yds.: First class— Miller and Bar- 

 ratt killed 5 each and divided. Maughan and Smith also di- 

 vided, having killed 4 out of 5 at 26 yds. Second— Deacon 

 1st; Perryman, 2d; Old 65, 3d; E. Moore, 4th: Wmfield, 

 5th. Third— F. Lucas, 1st; Douglas, 2d ; Wilson, 3d; Mor- 

 rison, 4th. The prizes were $25, $15, $11, $9 iu each class. 

 Old 65 is the nickname of a member of that ago, who declares 

 he can beat any breech-loader made with his muzzle-loader, 

 either for distance or penetration. C. Qalliouan, 



Duck Shooting on Lake Erik.— On a certain bay on Lake 

 Erie, not very far from Cleveland, which the writer of the 

 rough sketch herewith appended requests shall be private, are 

 the headquarters of a famous shooting club. The bay is 

 three-fourths of a mile wide, skirted by marshes. On the 

 16th of September our friend put out his decoys in a favor- 

 able opening, and by dusk scored 22 ducks, of which two 

 were widgeons and the rest blue-winged teal. His narrative 

 goes on to say : of the second day : 



" Selecting a good position for blinding, I put my half 

 dozen decoy teals about twenty-five yards down wind from 

 the place 1 expected to shoot from, then, pushing my boat 

 broadside to thedecoys into a point of deer tongue," I patient- 

 ly waited. It was now a quarter before five, and the east 

 showed signs of early daylight and the promise for a fair dR.y. 

 I could now beat the splash of the ducks as they came in 

 singly and settled on the water, but could as yet see none. 

 As it grew lighter I could see the ducks passing at a 

 two-mile-a-minute gait, and soon had a half dozen down. 

 These I set up on stickB for decoys, making a dozen, which 

 were all I wanted. I now had sport in earnest. Knocking 

 down the blue-wings right and left, as they came on singly, 

 in pairs and by the dozen at a time, getting at one lime "six 

 with two barrels. My light gun became so hot that I was 

 obliged several times to put the barrets in the water to coo). 

 The little ponds, about fifty yards in diameter, were covered 

 with dead ducks. I now cocked my large gun and laid it 

 across the boat ready for use. Seeing four leals coming for 

 my decoys with wings set for lighting, I waited. Now two 

 of them are on the water, and after a wheel the others are 

 hovering over the decoys ready to light. Bang! bang! goes 

 the gun, and the two in'tho air lie dead on the water ; the 

 other two, having to rise toward me, present a fair shot. I 

 quickly pickup my second gun, and they too are killed. 

 Being in deer tongue about ten inches higher than my boat, I 

 am obliged to be on myknees and to bend low until the ducks 

 are near enough to shoot, and when I rise up they scatter like 

 a covey of quails, and the shooting of them is not very unlike 

 rhooting at quails. Abont tea o'clock the birds quiet down, 

 and at half-past ten 1 picked n,- pored id the bay, set my 

 large green umbrella and sailed direct to our dock. On count 

 ing my ducks I had ninety-nine. The evening shooting was 

 nothing to speak of, as I got but fifteen, making a total for 

 the day of 114 ducks, 108 beiug blue- wings, five green- wings 

 aud one widgeon. 



The next morning at five o'clock I was again on my way 

 for the marsh, but this time back of our house instead of 

 across the bay. The day being very warm, the ducks wire 

 not moving very much, and by ten o'clock I was back to the 

 house with sixteen. Toward evening I again went out and 

 bagged seventeen, making thirty-three for the day. The 

 next morning at eleven o'clock I was home, having for my 

 two and a half days' work 169 ducks. Of course I don't cite 

 this as an every-day occurrence, for it is not ; it is an extra- 

 ordinary case, "the ducks being very plentiful on the Tuesday 

 mentioned. Canvas Back. " 



Duok- Shooting Below Niabaka Falls.— Editor Forest 

 and Stream: It occasionally happens that immense Hocks of 

 ducks and geese, in flying up the gorge below Niagara Falls 

 during the night, strike against the cataract aud arc carried 

 back into the river below, where during the next day they af- 

 ford splendid sport for the local sportsmen, who, postiug 

 themselves on the hanks with their guns and clogs, or cruis- 

 ing about in boats, pick them up in the eddies. The birds 

 are easily approached, as they seem bewildered by the noise 

 and spray, and when they fly do not rise high enough to see 

 the river above the Falls, and, being loth to leave the water, 

 soon settle again and are shot to the last one. Early Satur- 

 day morning (the 12th) the news came that the river was full 

 of ducks. There was an immediate scurrying home for guns, 

 and some of the rocky cliffs echoed with such a fusilade us had 

 not been heard on the banks of Niagara since the battle of 

 Lundy's Lane. Hundreds of ducks were killed, nearly al 

 butterballs. One boy with an old muzzle loader killed 22 in 

 an hour and a half, and said if he had had " one o' them 'ere 

 breech-loaders " he could have got a hundred, easy. Tom 

 Conroy, the famous Niagara guide, took the writer and a 

 friend out in his boat about 4 o'clock in the afternoon, when 

 the. fun was nearly over, and we shot 20 in about an hour. 

 Niagara Falls, Oct. 16. Osykaba. 



IS DITTMAR POWDER SAFE? 



•WlLKBS-BARKK, Pa., Oct. IT, 1S78. 

 Editor Forest and Stheam : 

 Knowing how great an interest, yon talce In making reliable a 



(if they have no oxalic acid) jib. commercial muriatic acid, 

 add this to the water covering shells, and after effervescing 



has goi.e on for ten minutes place dish containing shells under to your letters ot inquiry, and having notiuea your reply that " Dlttniar" 

 a pump and let water run on them: put on a tin pie plate and ' 

 heat dry as before. The great cause of brass shells missing 

 ' >nluig to my experience, the priming them before 

 thoroughly dry around the anvils^ 1 have hud miss-fires ten 

 days after .shells were primed, and, on removing the primer, 

 found the anvils moist; but it does not do to blame our own 

 carelessness, we roust blame the manufacturers of shells and 

 primers. c. T. S. 



safe powder, I wish to call your attention to the injury caused r.o 

 three valuable guns at a trap shoot near Catasaqua, Lehigh Co., tana 

 StatS. The owners of these guua are. well kumvu to be men of truth 

 l give you the names o( lwo of them ; the third I have forgotten. The 

 two are A. T. Everhait and D, Tombler. The third, who lives ivi AUeB- 

 town, shot a Parker gun, which was completely ruined. While -Eber- 

 liart and Tombler shot Scott guns which, while not completely ruined, 

 were so shattered as to destroy coniklence lu their satenoss lor futui" 



