172 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



used three drachms of powder, and buckshot which would chamber throe 

 in the bore. Since then T have used no other shot gun, when I used one 

 at all, for deer. The 18-inch barrel has been tried beside other guns of 

 variouH bore and make, and I will rest satisfied with it until 1 see some- 

 thing better. My ordinary hunting gun is a Winchester rifle, carbine 

 length, which is convenient, light, and shoots vcrv well up to any ordi- 

 nary distance, as one seldom shoots at a deer still hunting over 250" or 

 800 yards If Hie 18-inch barrel has lime and chance to assert itself Ibis 

 Pnll, Twill let you know how far it will kill deer, 1 believe it will kill 

 WlSh buckshot. 185 yarda. Respectfully yours, 0. Oi 



-»♦* 



RIFLE CHAT. 



Pektu AstBOl-, N. J„ October, 1374. 

 Editor Foiiest a.vd Stueam:— 



Just how, when accuracy In shooting seems to engage so much atten- 

 tion from the sporting world, it occurs to mo that perhaps a shot, from 

 me at the subject might not be a-raiss. It is not, however, with target 

 i pro] ■ '-e. to deai, but with a phase of smooth bore Bhoot- 

 iug which has often puzzled me to account for. I refer to the frequency 

 \ in duck and 'fail shooting, even by men who are 

 considered eBdVe the averagi in skill Tu discussing this subject last 



:,.:■■! i,.|. in. li ■.. . 11 known in marine Insurance oirclos, and o 



member of several gun clubs. 1 mentioned a peculiarity, which he had 

 also noticed, in the shooting of two prominent members or ibe Carroll's 

 Island Club, of Baltimore, one of whom enjoys the reputation of bring 

 thd best Shot OU the bar, since the days of John Dnvull. They have a 

 way of holding the gun ou the duck nntil nearly opposite, When they 

 ib, b lb.- 1. i . ill ahead of him tn a distance that seems preposterous, and 

 fire; and Uitij slop him, too. Now, my friend Is a good shot, and bandies 

 Ibe bflfil tools rbai MulUn emi turn out. and '-yours truly" thinks he can 

 |e, i" i. ii 0W and then, yet both of us have missed shots con- 

 Mr n itltiOIOTe cnm,ianion would make cleanly and band- 

 -iiui-Iy Missing in this way worried him terribly. lie knew it could "nt 

 be the fan t of his gnu nor bis powder, and his nerves were steady 

 enough. Wliar. ,ve//</ betho reason! 1 As soon ns he got borne he began 

 to "do sums," to find out what was the reason; hut a» he Is too busy to 

 "write for the papers,'" I Lave taken the liberty of giving your readers 

 flii i i i if bis figures. If they will do the "readln"' 1 will do the 

 "ritin'. " imil he- the "rithmelie." The result will show that these misses 

 are fine to the fact that the shot doesn't get to where the bird is until 

 i , . no. avick! as an Irishman would express it. And this is how 

 it happens: 



The rate at which a wild duck files is not generally known or appreci- 

 ated, but it has beoti pretty accurately timed, and found to be about 

 ninety miles per hour, and often mure fjl&u that. But to be within 

 bounds, let ns call itnincLy. which is equivalent to i speed of one mile in 

 forty seconds, or one hundred and thirty-two feet per second. .Vow 

 then, the velocity of a charge of shot for a short distance is estimated at 

 thirteen huuilred and llfty feet per second; wherefore it is plain that if 

 the duck be lifiy yards ..If. the load will require one-ninth of a second to 

 reach it. But meanwhile the duck is moving too, and at the instant that 

 MB his line or night, is nearly fifteen reel from the 

 point where he. was wheu they left the muzzle. 



Now these are "facts and figures" which speak for themselves end 

 yet bow feiv there are who ever thought of snooting Ufteeu feet ahead of 

 a duck! Of course some judgment Is necessary to estimate correctly the 

 distance of the bird, and consequently the point at which to fire so that 

 it. shall airive there simultaneously with the shot. A subsequent scries 

 of trials of his theory by my friend proved its praci leal value to his entire 

 satisfaction, as well in the case of quail and pheasant as ducks, and the 

 writer is only waiting for the end of the "close season" to try it him- 

 self. K - 



ON THE MEGALLOWAY. 



Meqaii-owavRivkr. September 86th, 187-1. 

 Editor Forest and tream:— 



Certain incidents connected with my present visit to this locality with 

 a gentleman friend and sportsman, remind me so forcibly of an experi- 

 ence three years ago that lam inclinod to sketch it briefly, both, 1 hope, 

 for the benefit of myself and your readers generally. 



On the 1Mb. of October, 1871, myself and guide were paddling in Me- 

 galloway River. About noon we reached lower Metallochis Poud, a 

 sheet of water about a mile long and half a mile wide, which empties into 

 the river by a narrow channel only two rods in length. As ire reached 

 this locality our attention was arrested by a pccnliar sound, resembling 

 the tinkling or bells. I had already heard the old hunters in this region 

 speak of "sleigh bell ducks," but had never seen but one who had shol 

 them, while no other of my acquaintance had seen them, except my 

 gnide "Spoil." The moment we heard this peculiar noise "Spoff" says: 

 "Doctor, 1 think there are "sleigh bell ducks," in which opinion hif 

 brother George, another veteran guide, entirely coincided. Ton can 

 easily imagine I he reelings excited by such novel sounds, the origin of 

 which was so soon tu be determined. Drawing the boat nei- i -I to 

 shore we carefully surveyed the surface of the poud, and saw a flock of 

 birds, probably a hondroo. and fifty in number. At this moment, oppor- 

 tunely. Lewis Brown, Esq., of Portland, and his guide, came down the 

 river 'lii his canoe and joined in. immediately "Spoff" and George in 

 my skiir and Browu and "Ed." in his canoe pushed into the lake, the two 

 former carrying each a double-barrelled gnu, while I with my breech 

 loader -i sod upon the shore. An hoar's snooting secured thirteen birds, 

 which Ml Brown took iu his canoe and left us. After another hour's 

 intermission for dinner we resumed work, and at sun down brought in 

 twenty-three more, making in all thirty-six as the result of the after- 

 noon's shooting. 



Now comes the. principal points of interest. At the first round two 

 birds were killed and several so crippled as to be unable to fly. The re- 

 mainder of the duck rose and circled over the lake in two sections, form- 

 ing in the manner of wild geese, but either from the lack of a leader, or 

 because attracted by the wounded, they soon broke up and settled upon 

 the water. These maueuvres were repeated again and again after suc- 

 cessive shots until the close of the afternoon, when the remnant of the 

 flock rose high In air, divided Is two parts, one going South mid the 

 other North, in the same harrow-like form already indicated. Our ai ten- 

 en directed to ihe dead and wounded, and In retrieving the 

 latter we had an excellent opportunity of studying the peculiarities of 

 these, to me. novel ducks. 



1 i , tersn hunter, Nahum Bennett, who alone bad shot them in this 

 region rind that only once, had told me that the peculiar noise which, 

 .. |~,., ' ,. i .■ n-rl 1'i'le leiuibi-:' lngelh' r, reseinole- ebi.-ely Ihe 



jlugiing ot small sleigh bells, was caused by the motion of the wings, 

 found, however, it was purely a vocal note, uttered both when swimming 

 and flying, and easily produced upon the dead body by sudden, sharp 

 ~~ lir sudden dive and rapidity of motion, both upon and 

 as remarkable.no more so, however, than the won- 

 hooting necessary to bring them to bag. ! r ,;■ ax- 

 lin.ition of the recovered birds. Theirs:/', . i. - Intels 

 hat or the black and wood duck.-, thfiif shape re* ml - 

 Ibe the latter- Feet and legs like the black duck; plumage universally 

 jet'black, and so thick and dense as to explain the fact that in no in- 

 stance was the body wouuded, the head and neck being the only parts 

 penetrated by the shot.; under maudlblo, pure black like the feathers, up- 

 per mandible, bright, yellow. A thick layer of tine fat intervened between 

 the akin aud the flesh, which was tender and of a delicious flavor. 



The peculiar note which these birds utter has already been referred to, 

 and it is easy to conceive how anyone hearing the combined tones of a 

 lar^e flock would apply to them the term "sleigh bell ducks," while the 

 note of a single bird is a short, plaintive, monosyllabic whistle. 



On the 16th of the present month, about 2 P. ](., while rowing at the 

 head of TJmbagog Lake, in company with my rriend N. C. Brown, of 

 Portland, and my old guide, "Spoff," we saw a dock of ducks, about one 



, enyn SSI 



1>1 



hundred In number, flying northward in the same goose-like order al- 

 ready mentioned, a mode of flight never adopted by any known species 

 of duck, so rar as t am aware. If yon or any of your contributors can in- 

 form me whether this Is a new variety, or whether I have overlooked 

 them in examining the classification of Wilson and Audubon, yon will 

 greatly oblige both myself and many friends. 



fluid fully intended 1" preserve 'linens of these remarkable birds, 

 but by the failure of un expected mean-' of transportation was prevented 



from so doing. I should add in this oonm hsj b i Bennett, the. 



hnnter referred to. informs me that one yen ago be Found a small flock 

 of ihe ducks iu a small pond in this locality, hut was unable to secure a 

 specimen after several shots at near range, stall further demonstrating 

 the impenetrability of their loon-like plumage. 



1 presume this region is familiar to many of vonr readers as one af- 

 fording fair iq.poriiiuiiii"! f.ir exerei~e nf rod and gun. The localities 



for camping cam ii i lied, Mid to the kindness of the settlereno 



"ii" can biiir more hearty testimony ihun myself; but while game Is suf- 

 ficiently abnudntii fill nil legitimate purposes at present, it can not long 

 remain so if a fori lift set of genUetnenI '.') whom the settlers characterize 

 as a particularly /loyt.iy party, often repeat such ft ruthless slaughter as 

 ' I last year to bury one hundred birds in onu day. 



1 would add iu reference to Ihe birds under consideration that, except 

 the few needed for our own use, they were distributed among various 

 friends, several of whom are neb versed in Natural History; but to all of 

 them they were rara avh: Tours truiy, 



. Wm. Waiihen GrkeSe, M. D. 



jfua and ^ivcr ^ishiifg. 



FISH IN SEASON IN OCTOBER. 



Black Bass, microptertts galmoidtt, wtfcropiiBTUB nigriwtt 

 Striped Bass. Bo ■;:•<.- ■ lii.aif.m. Weakfish. 



Blueflsh, lemnodon saUator. 



Poinpuno. 

 Snapper. 

 Grouper. 



Rockiish. 



Trout (black bassi. ShConshead, 



Drum (twospecicsi. Tailorfish. 



Klngfisb. Sea Bass. 

 Striped Bass. 



Frsir in Market.— The fish market has been in the 

 same condition for the last couple of weeks, so the quota- 

 tions of previous weeks still hold good. The only changes 

 from the last, are the scarcity of soft-shell crabs, and the 

 introduction of salmon trout from lakes of the West. This 

 latter species is quite abundant, and retails at sixteen cents 

 per pound. Pickerel are also common, and sell at fifteen 

 cents. Striped bass, blue fish, weak fish, white fish, and 

 eels, are sold at.the usual prices; and scollops bring tweuty- 

 five cent per quart. Mr. Blackford has an abundance of 

 all ilie principal edible species indigenous to our waters 

 which are not out of season. 



— H. P. McGown, President of the Cuttyhunk Club, 

 caught recently with rod and reel at Cuttyhunk Island a 

 bass weighing fifty-five pounds. This is said to he the 

 largest of the season, and was a matter of general comment 

 among the sportsmen acquainted with the event. 



— Six pound codfish are now being caught from the New 

 London wharves. 



— Porter Thomas, a Swampscott fisherman, and a noted 

 one, caught at one haul recently in Swampscott Bay six 

 noble striped bass, weighing over 200 pounds in all. One 

 weighed fifty-eight pounds, three weighed thirty-rive 

 pounds each, one twenty-five pounds, and another fifteen 

 pounds. 



— We collate the following from the Cape Ann Adver- 

 tiser: — 



Schooner Lizzie Williams, Capt. Hanson Joyce, of 

 Swan's Island, Me., is high line of the seining fleet this 

 season, having landed up to the 9th of the present month 

 2,300 barrels of mackerel, the largest number ever landed 

 by any vessel in the mackerel business. 



The" fleet of Newport and Rockport porgie steamers, 

 which have been fishing at the eastward the present 

 seoason, have been very successful, and most of them have 

 made good, paying stocks. The season is now over. 



Alewives made their appearance off Boston Light, 

 last week and the boats did a good business in catching 

 them. 



Codfish continue to advance in price, but Ihe mackerel 

 market is unusually dull, notwithstanding the light catch 

 of the season. 



About two hundred sail of the mackcreling fleet were 

 in port on Friday. The crew had rather lean wallets, and 

 our store keepers were not much benefited by their visit. 



The Buy and Bank fleet wnll soon be on their way 

 homeward. Another month will about wind up the fish- 

 ing season. 



Smelt fishing still continues to afford amusement for 

 those who can spare the time to attend to it. 



— The seiners are still following up the mackerel in 

 hopes to get a few more hauls, before they take their final 

 departure for the season. 



— Five pound bass reward the expert angler iu the White 

 River at Anderson, Indiana. 



v Tnii Balmoh FrsnEKiEB of Okeuon.— In his message 

 to the Legislature of Oiegon, Governor Grover says: 



' 'The salmon fisheries of Columbia river arc assuming such 

 Importance that. I take occasion to call your attention to 

 the subject. The product of these fisheries was scarcely 

 noticeable four years ago, but last year it approximated. 

 $1,000,000 in export value, aud for the season of 1874 ex- 

 ceeds $1,500,000. This river, bearing to the ocean a 

 volume of water hardly less than the Mississispi, pure, 

 cool, and generally unobstructed by ice in ifys lower extent 

 at all seasons, is doubtless the best salmon producing river 

 in the world. We have been accustomed to think that this 

 fish product was inexhaustible. But the river fisheries of 

 all countries, where the laws have not intervened for their 

 preservation, have one uniform history' — first decimation, 

 then destruction. The rivers of the Northern coast of the 

 American continent were, at an early date in our history, 

 relatively as well supplied with this imperial food-fish as 

 tin: rivets of the Northwest const are now. But through 

 want of public attention, by over-fishing and unseasonable 

 fishing, and by the obstruction of streams with mill dams, 

 having no fish-ladders for the ascent of the fish, the salmon 

 i e almost uuknown in all the rivers of New Eng- 

 Liiid, and totally gone from many of them. At one time 

 the salmon frequented all the rivers of Great Britain, but 

 1 ms been driven out of many of them by the turbid, pois- 



onous waters from the sewers of manufacturing towns. 

 By the construction of fishways, and by stringent regula- 

 tions of law limiting fishing to certain seasons of the year, 

 days of the week, and hours of the day, in which it shall 

 be lawful to take fish, the run of salmon, once much dimin- 

 ished, has of late yea.ru been increased in several of the 

 rivers of Scotland and Ireland. The shad of the Middle 

 States, a fish which, like the salmon, makes its annual in- 

 cursions from the sea, has been lost to several rivers once 

 filled with I heir roving millions. They were destroyed by 

 reckless fishing and cut off from their spawning-grounds 

 by mill-dams. A lively interest is now manifested through- 

 out the Slates bordering on the Atlantic seaboard, seeking 

 by fish culture not only to recover lost fisheries, but to 

 create new ones, and to "introduce species of fish valuable 

 for food not before known in these waters. In Oregon 

 we have, in groat abundance, two of the best river fishes 

 in the world — the salmon and the trout. To preserve these 

 is worthy of careful legislative enactments." 



Red Fish.— About 100 miles to the northward of Idaho 

 City is "Payette Lake," as beautiful a sheet of water as can 

 be found. This lake is Ihe largest of a cluster of four or 

 five situated in its immediate vicinity, and is about twelve 

 miles in length by three miles (average) in width. It is 

 both fed and drained by the North fork of the Payette 

 River, which passes directly through it. Its waters are 

 said to be hundreds of feet deep, and are as clear as the 

 most finely polished mirror. The country around the lake- 

 is mountainous, and the scenery varied, but picturesque, 

 and beautiful. In it is found a species of fish known here 

 by the name of "red fish," an appellation derived by their 

 color, which is a beautiful vermilion, with the exception 

 of the head and fins, which are of a dark earthy green 

 color. The habits are similar to those of the salltion, and 

 like the salmon they spawn and then die. The male and 

 female are easily distinguishable, the colors of the male 

 being much brighter than those of the female. They live 

 in the deep water in the lake, and we have no account, of 

 one ever having been seen in the lake only when coming 

 up out of the water at the mouth of the river, when going 

 up the river to spawn, which they do from about the last 

 of July until nearly the last of October. When ascending 

 the river, they travel in schools numbering from one to 

 two or three hundred, and fishermen land them in large 

 quantities by means of drag nets and seines. When fresh, 

 or when properly cured, they are esteemed a greater deli- 

 cacy for table use than even the mountain trout; but great 

 skill and care, and, above all, great cleanliness, is required 

 for their preservation in a manner for the table. Dried, 

 they are preferred to either herring or codfish, but the best 

 way to preserve them is in brine. Put up in this way — 

 care being observed to have them perfectly fresh and per- 

 fectly clean— they are probably not excelled by any fish in 

 the world. The writer has seen them late in the Fall 

 moving down the river as if returning to the lake, but such 

 multitudes of them die along the stream that it is believed 

 to be impossible that any get back alive. In size the "red 

 fish" vary but little, being generally about twenty inches 

 long, and weighing from three and" a half to five "pounds. 

 Being unknown to both British aud American fishermen, 

 they are coming to be looked upon as confined solely to 

 Idaho and Lake Payette, and the object of this article is to 

 call attention to the fact of their existence, and to draw out 

 an expression of opinion from persons capable of judging 

 as to their place among the "finny tribe." Besides, they 

 are a great delicacy, and it may yet be found practicable to 

 stock the lakes of California, 'Oregon, and Nevada, and 

 perhaps of all the Northern and Northwestern States and 

 Territories' with them; the only apparent requisites neces- 

 sary to their propagation being depth of pure, cold water, 

 and a gravelly stream for their spawn. —Silver City {Idalw) 

 World. 



[This fish is also a denizen of the Wallowa and Isabel 

 lakes in the Wallowa Valley, Eastern Oregon. We tried 

 to procure one in order to find what family and species it 

 belonged to, but were unable to do so. If any of our cor- 

 respondents will send us a specimen we shall have its posi- 

 tion in its geuus described for them. — Ed]. 

 ■♦«♦ 



— At the Hamilton Fair last week Mr. Davis, fish dealer, 

 and Mr. T. M. Kerr, Fishery Inspector, had a really splen- 

 did show of whitefish, salmon trout and herring, all from 

 Lake Ontario. It is proposed that the Provincial Associa- 

 tion should offer prizes in this line, aud it is expected this 

 will be done next year. 



A number of boats have been engaged for the last 

 few days in mackerel fishing in St. Mary's Bay, Bigby, 

 Canada, with fair success— the fish being of "large size 

 and superior quality, though not a very great abund- 

 ance. The shad fishery in the bay has been good this 

 season. 



A Hamilton gentleman recently captured a pike in Bur- 

 lington Bay weighing twenty-six pounds and a half. Fish- 

 ing has been remarkably good in that locality this season, 

 owing to the suppression of netting. 



Some tolerable takes of pike have been recently made 

 in the Humber. — Canadian Sportsman. 



— There has been started at. Mevagissey, Cornwall, a 

 manufactory of "Cornish sardines," the sardines being 

 pilchards preserved in oil, immense quantities of which 

 have hitherto been used as manure, or returned to the sea 

 as of no use. 



—Judge Bond, of the United States Circuit Court al Rich- 

 mond, has rendered a decision declaring the Stale Oyster 

 Law unconstitutional, so far as it concerns non-residents of 

 the State. The case decided was that of James W. Mc- 

 Creedy, of Maryland, held by the County Court of Glou- 

 cester county, Virginia, for violating said law, which the 

 decision alleges, excludes non-resideuts from the privilege 

 granted citizens of the State, and was brought before Judge 

 Bond on a writ of habeas corpus. The prisoner alleged 

 that his arrest was in violation of the fourth article of the 

 Constitution of the United States, which provides that citi- 

 zens of each State shall have equal privileges and immuni- 

 ties with citizens in the several States. Judge Bond, hav- 

 ing found the State law to be a violation of the Federal 

 Constitution, orders McCreery's release. 



— The schooner Eustace, which has arrived at San Fran 

 cisco last week, reports that the Arctic whaling fleet up 

 to July 27th averaged 400 barrels of walrus oil. The 

 season'has been very open, ships having sighted Wrangel 

 Land July 7th. 



