Febhttahy If, 1881.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



47 



The Amerieau Crossbill a-e abundant Mere- In any warm 

 v,-i,,:!y .';;;. llioy come in large Mocks about the doors of 

 i camps, Tlic Canada jay la also very abundant 

 picco, Mb i the Canada partridge, at all seasons of the year. 



J. G. Iiieu. 



\V,> 



(Ma 



-Vi 



ilhavcn, Me., Jan. W.— Editor 

 /•• ;•<■(. ,//,-' ••>./• sth ; i saw today siv robins (Tiwdut ittfgra- 

 "•■•'* . 1 have uottccrt that- these little fellows; or about 

 the s.mic number, hwvo remained witli us tot the jasl tftjee 

 winters taking up their residence in ft large swampy tract of 

 land covered thickly with a small growtlf of evergreen trees. 

 During the middle-portion of warm, sunny days they all sally 

 forth to hunt among the weeds and along the seashore for 

 food, which consists of seeds and small 6ftlt water worms and 

 insects. They seem to he cheerful ami hearty, and apparent 

 ly in good condition, [g it not Somewhat unusual for these 

 Birds to fctnaln so far North — abqut 40 deg during wiijtei ? 

 I have also noticed for two or three winters past three or four 

 king fishers (Cevlyr, alt/con) around the miter shores. J have 

 never seen one perched upon a still) or tree watching or div- 

 ing for fisK, as ia their, habit In warfn -weather, but they ap- 

 parently depend upon what, they can pick up around the shore 

 line at low water. 1 am aware that Verrill says they are 

 sometimes seen here in Maine in winter, but I am uf the 

 opiuion that they arc rare so far North as a winter resident*. 



Mauiers, 



Devoured bv Wolves.— We clip the fallowing item from 

 the St. Petersburg ffolos. We do not have, happily, wolves of 

 this kiud on this side of the water at the present time. The 

 extract says ■ 



" On the 12th of January Alexander Vassalwitch Ellaieff, 

 a medical student, the author of many articles thai have from 

 time to time appeared m Russian journals, and an indefatiga- 

 ble student of the archieology and anthropology of the an- 

 cient province of Novgorod, arrived on the estate of a Mr. 

 Ya3silief , in old Kussia, in order to hunt wolves. He was de- 

 sired to stay the night at the house, and not to face the dan- 

 fers of the chase alone. To this he agreed, but when Mr. 

 "assilief, who had been obliged to absent himself during the 

 day, returned in the evening he learned .that his guest had 

 left the house about 4 o'clock in the afternoon. His return 

 was looked for from hour to hour, but the whole of the night 

 passed without his arrive!. On the following day, toward 

 evening, a peasant brought the intelligence that the young 

 man had been torn to pieces and devoured by wolves. When 

 a search was made the snow was found to be covered with 

 blood -stai us, and scattered around were pieces of clot lit? and 

 hunting appurtenccs. Not far from the place, were found 

 several large bones, and the stock of the student's guu, with 

 the barrel broken off in the life-and-death struggle which he 

 had evidently maintained with his numerous foes. The many 

 wolf-tracks and blood-stains all around showed that a severe 

 struggle had taken place, and that several of the animals hud 

 been killed and devoured by their fellows." 



Birds at Tns Window. — On a recent evening, while Mr. 

 George Devoe, of Spotswood, N. J., was entertaining a large 

 party, a quail flew against the parlor window, breaking the 

 glass. The bird was caught in the room and did not appear 

 to be much hurt. 



Last week a singular incident occurred at the residence of 

 Mr, 0. E. Gibbs, near Billiogsport; in Gloucester County, N. 

 J. Af'ew days age. Mr. Gibbs was attracted to his room" by a 

 grand commotion within, and found a large hawk, frightened 

 by the unusual situation in which it found itself, flying wild- 

 ly about the apartment and playing havoc with all the small- 

 er articles in the room. The bird was a powerful and vicious 

 one and was only captured with iiuilIi difficulty) fighting, 

 faith beak and el,w, any one who approachedit. 'it had evi- 

 dently swooped down upon the Canary bird hanging within 

 the wiudow, not seeing the glass between it aud its prey, as 

 the panes were broken and the cage upset . 



On Tuesday Inst a hawk made a dash at a canary bird, the 

 cage of which was hanging near the sitting-room of Capt. V. 

 W. Mount's hotel in Higktstown. The hawk was stunned 

 by contact with the glass and fell to the pavement, where it 

 lay for several minutes, then revived and flew assay. 



During the recent campaign, as a torchlight procession was 

 passiug the house of the writer, a number of English spar- 

 rows fluttered wildly against the window. When the sash 

 was raised the birds entered the room and perched on the 

 picture frames. A.. 



Wnvr Do They MranBy It?— Oswego, N T., Feb. 1.— 

 During the past four days quite a number of duck have 

 passed over this city, headed for the Lake or Canada. Flocks 

 of about fi fly or sixty have been seen. Every feeding ground 

 is frozen solid hereabouts, and I am sure the prospects~arc no 

 butter acrosstheLake "Ontario." The mercury stands at zero 

 to-day. Where can those duck be goiug unless to a freeze- 

 out? Their appearance has not brought.; as predicted by a 

 few) any thaw, but we are in hopes this three mouths spell 

 of cold may let, up and trust, these duck are posted. Last fall 

 nearly every duck left our preserve (Sandy Ponds') Nov. 10 

 and 12. A severe snow storm came NOV. 15 ; since that time 

 everything has been frozen up hero, which proves they knew 

 what was eomming and left for warmer parts. It was a 6mg- 

 Mac occurrence, as ducks usually remain on those ponds 

 until considerable ice is formed, aud much later. 



Leathee Stocking. 



A fpi-Pa 



recent numb 

 regarded as i 

 ago, a i-oosto 

 third leg was 

 and a little h 

 aud perfect i 

 wav so as no 

 leghorn, and 

 expected of ; 

 as he disappc 

 know all alio 



, Koo 



TitE-City Hall, N. Y.-I noticed in i 

 uut of a three-legged ben, which was 



I 



it. H 



with 1. 



ad, 

 Unlike th 

 .taehed to 

 .nd a 



i'e 



wev 



it it. 



I do not know 

 vriuusly, bulls 



'cks 



, his 



his body between 



its fully developed 



it drawn up a little 



ion. He was a white 



i perform all the duties 



what became of him 



spect that my spaniels 



W. H. L. 



Old Squaw in the Niagara River— Notwithstanding 

 the intense cold of the present winter the hardy old squaw is 

 abundant at present on the Niagara, Kiver. A St, Davids, 

 Canada, correspondent writes us, under date February 10, as 

 follows : " Cnwcons in immense numbers are congregated in 

 the Niagara Hiver in every little open spot— I sav open spol, 

 for you know the river has been completely frozen over this 

 winter for the first time within the memory of 'the oldest 

 inhabitant,' and some people have, been foolhardy enough to 

 Cross on the ice,' 1 



Iluiiii.'NA'nxo Snakes. —The employes on the work train 

 on the Erie and Pittsburg Load, one day last week, while 

 loading gravel from a pit near Harbor I'ridgc, Unearthed a 

 deri ot -"vi :!;• i unices whieh had gone into wiuti r 

 one mace. The snake, wire if mx different 

 measured from Eve inches up to thico and a half feet. 



tin, ana one valer m ■> 



■ •//, puirii .'• • I. 

 ... v. ('•i.ki.in.i. r.ire..!o<\ 



0M(e jgeig and gw«. 



The Fins-,- Edition of the Forest and Stream's pam- 

 phlet on the "Dittmar Sporting Powder " having been ex- 

 hausted, a second is now in press and will be ready Satur- 

 day. Copies will be mailed Tree upon application. The arti- 

 cles contained in the pamphlet were published in this jour- 

 nal as follows : 



Sept. 23, 1880— The " Dittmar Sporting Powder." 



Sept. 30, 1880— Evading Delouatiou. 



Oct. ?, 1880— The Detonation of "Dittmar Sporting Pow- 

 der." 



Dee. 9, 1880-The Dittmars' Abracadabra. 



K 



shan 

 11, is the most, dif- 

 t, that a man who 

 •ee a good hunter, 

 and habits of the 

 quota of common 



HINTS ON DEER SHOOTING. 



O man can more fully realize than the writer the difli- 

 , culty of undertaking this knotty subject, aud no oneis 

 more convinced that all the books from here to Halifax will 

 not teach a man to hunt deer, or any other game, for that 

 matter. So all I will endeavor to do is simply and purely to 

 give a few T hints, more with the view of helping out a tyro 

 fiian with any egotistical ideas on any definite mode or style 

 of action. Fo'r verily, to hunt successfully and kill the white- 

 tail deer is a rare accomplishment, and one that requires much 

 patience, observation aud many line points in woodcraft, 

 which may be learned at any age, even after years of labor. 



No comparison can be drawn between deer shooting and the 

 killiug of any kind of feathered game, as to do the former in 

 a legitimate way no appliances can be brought to bear, 

 whereas decovs, calls, blinds, etc., are frequently used in the 

 latter by our "best and most thorough sportsmen, and last, but 

 far from being least, the trusty dog does the Ik " 

 pecially in finding the game, which, after all, is 

 fieult part, of the performance. So I repeat, th: 

 kills many deer as a "s'ill hunter" is ]i 

 aud one who knows thoroughly the hi 

 animal, besides being endowed with a 

 sense. 



Although I have Killed a great many deer in the North- 

 western States aud Territories, I consider myself nothing but 

 a novice, and don't think lever would become- an expert, as 

 I have not sufficient patience, and am apt to rely too much 

 upon making up for my many deficiencies by my confidence 

 in my markmansbip. This is a grand mistake and one Ihave 

 paid for many a time to my sorrow. 



I know tiothing about driving deer into a lake and butcher- 

 ing them with a knife, paddle or shot gun. I have never 

 watched a salt lick or killed a deer from a tree top with a 

 howitzer or blunderbuss, but I have killed several after track- 

 ing them perhaps for hours, and I have also killed some from 

 a good stand on a runaway, therefore 1 will confine myseF to 

 these latter modes of hunting, being somewhat, familiar with 

 them. 



I remember with what delight I hailed the first snow after 

 the opening of the deer season, when up North, and how aux- 

 iously I waited for it. I also remember equally well that I 

 have frequently hunted with the thermometer 20 deg. below 

 zero, and fired ne'er a shot ; but then these are exceptions, 

 and, being unpleasant ones, I will Danish them and say no 

 more on this doleful subject. 



Given a good deer country, two inches of snow, a Win- 

 chester repeater (preferably the Express, but, if 

 other model of same make, loaded with hollow p< 



lets) and suitable clothing, all the 

 breakfast, a good pair of legs, and off yo 



jd h\ 



cdtit 



Tu 



ing over a level, t 



imbered country tl 



ground, aud the i 



vind must decide ti 



rolling piece of 



woods keep well i 



much as possible. 



as it is far easier tc 



besides the deer i 



re more likely to b 



weather, so keep 



well above them U 



too suddenly. T 



ravel slowly, ffcru 



above all. don't, n 



cc over the groun 



.id 



than up, 

 ' old 



idi 



..eh bus! 



syo 



but disappointment. The 



■ay the 



ver seen were 

 wandering along in a meandering c 

 gawking at everything, never Iri-akie 

 of all brush, and, in fact, going along 

 trying to put in as much time as they 

 tie ground as possible without stoppin; 

 lows sec every thing, don't tear their 



into briar pa tela. 



tht 

 and, 



! that does no good, 

 nd leaves you nothing 

 id deer hunters lhave 

 fellows who wpnltLgo 

 ■urse at a snail pace, 

 a twig, keeping clear 

 as though they were 

 ;ould and cover as lit- 

 dead still. Those fel- 

 don't go stum- 



along through wind 



alls aud tamarack swai 



ips as though a 



road had already hi 



en cleared for them, tu 



d svhen a deer 



docs jump up, why 



here they are, coo] at a c 



leumber, stock 



still, so slow, silent 



and easy is their progress 



that oftentimes 



the deer is not sure 



rf their whereabouts, an 



1 the only inn- 



mation he has of th 



ir proximity is a puff of e 



moke and a ball 



behind the shoulder 



-sad, of course, butt rue. 





' When first 1 hunt 



ed deer in what I then CO 



isidered "•Stilt" 



limiting style I don' 



t believe I killed on an a 



-erage one deer 



a week, in fact, son 



etin.es I didn't see one a i 



veek, and when 



1 did bowl one over 



it was purely accidental i 



nd entirely ow- 



ing to being a good 



snap shot- that, being a 



l inborn gift, I 



deserve no credit, f 



ir it. There were plenty 



of deer, too, as 



every now and then 



1 saw n fresh, warm bed ; 



nd hundreds of 



tracks. But, alas ! 

 one thicket to aunt! 



how I bungled. 1 thrash 

 er, sprawling over logs 



■d around from 

 which I vainly 



attempted ti 

 ing my shin 

 lifbrauiblc! 



ist the 



Of He! 



creepers, and getting snarled up geuejally, going headlong; 



down hanks, ricliiig.d!i-a-ni.i.! fashion rjvgr. logs that fawnped 



streams and frequently dropping some useful article into the 



iw, runhiog greal risk of decapitating myself 



against overhanging boughs, plowing. down holes, and, to sum 



it up sleaa, making r ,, •!,',■! enough to si ..:■• away all the deer 



within a radius of "::0D yards.. I dVm'l ipp isa i Very one is as 



clumsy as I - was, still it must be admitted that to travel 



through Ihc brush and undergrowth is simply an art : and, 



what 'is more, there are very few who ate masters of it, and 



to walk steadily along without breaking twigs under foot or 



. oust frozen branches is only acquired by long 



- , -.i. deal of i-iiiil.ion, requiring 



n n. d unremitting watchfulness. 



Be sure of one tiring, a deer's ears and nose are his best 

 friends, bis cms beiug of secondary importance. Ihave 

 worked up to within a hundred yards of deer in the open, 

 when had they been as keen sighted as antelope I never 

 could have managed it. liu! what they lack in sharpness of 

 eyesight Ihey fully tnafcc up in acuteness of (tearing arid 

 smell. Give them credit, for being about perfect in these ac- 

 complishments and you will save yourself many hours of 

 fruitless toil. Again, a deer when lying down has a much 

 belter opportunity of seeing a man walking through the 

 woods than the man has of seeing him— as oun is stationary 

 and the other is moving, besides being, in that position, so 

 much i he larger of the two. Consequently move slowly, 

 noiselessly and candidly, so as not to draw his attention or 

 excite his alarm ; and even then, be you ever so careful, 

 they will often skip oil without even being seen; and that 

 generally settles il, for a deer once startled is all the more 

 vigilant, and although he may not travel far yet he will 

 usually keep out of harm's way and keep his weather eye on 

 his back track. 



While hunting in the pineries of Minnesota 1 once met an 

 old half-breed who taught me more in a few days than I ever 

 learned before or since. It was when I compared my scanty 

 superficial knowledge with his sound practical lore that I dis- 

 covered the lamentable extent of my ignorance and how 

 much I had to learn. This old veteran was about fifty years 

 of age, aud he liad hunted deer for over thirty-five years, 

 making it a specialty. It can be readily understood that his 

 ad viceVas worth taking, and I am only sorry I didnot pro- 

 long my hunt with him, as every deer brought out some new 

 strategem, and every move was checkmated by this uner- 

 ring, "steady old Niinrod, He was a regular hound, aud 

 could find more game than three ordinary hunters; but, what 

 an anomaly— he could not shoot. Actually, if a deer moved, 

 or even wagged his ears, the old fellow would quietly wait 

 till he was stock still, and then blaze away. Sometimes he 

 would kill, but that was not by any means a foregone con- 

 clusion; and as he would insist on using a single barrel 

 muzzle-loading rifle, of course the deer was off before he 

 could "do it. some more." To miss with him seemed rather 

 a matter to be expected than one to get mad about, so, noth- 

 ing daunted, he would reload his rifle, sit on a log, light his 

 pipe, soliloquize and ascribe reasons for his maladroitness, 

 and make wise resolutions for the future, and having put in 

 about half an hour, go ahead, take up the track of the 

 doomed deer, and e ; ght limes out of ten get another shot, 

 (yith, varying results, inside of an hour. How he did it I 

 never could tell ; all T know is that Ihave followed him for 

 days, from morn till dusk, and have seen him shoot three or 

 four times at the same deer in a day, and generally bag him 

 in the long ruu. When we became belter acquainted, it. was 

 mutually agreed and understood that he would do the find- 

 ing and I the shooting ; and by that means wo generally had 

 the pleasure of hanging up a deer or two a day without his 

 firing a shot At first 1 ascribed his finding the deer merely 

 to good luck, but 1 soon got, over that. He would follow a 

 fresh track a short distance, and without giving any reason, 

 aud guided by an unerring judgment, which was simply 

 supernatural, would leave it or strike out, at right angles, 

 and shortly come upon the same track, or else point out the 

 deer, perhaps fifty or one hundred yards away, sniffing aud 

 watching his back track, while his foeswere eil her in hisflank 

 or rear. "On such an occasion it was merely a matter of target 

 shooting with me and not interesting, being entirely too me- 

 chanical, so that I frequently purposely made a noise to start 

 the unsuspecting stag to give him a chance. 



This conduct on my part was sure to be followed by a 

 blessing from the veteran, who recognized no rules or laws 

 governing such shots, and as I seldom missed, it was diffi- 

 cult to make him perceive the difference, as in any case the 

 deer Was " venison." One day I missed clear and clean, and 

 as the doe kept; out of my sight I could not shoot again. The 

 old man, in a fit or rage at my blundering in having made 

 the deer run before I Bred at him, threw up his rifle and, 

 without taldng any aim, lei. Ily. Down came the doe, all in 

 a. heap, shot through the neck, aud dead as a nail. The 

 funny part is that to this day the old fellow thinks I did the 

 killing; whereas I only fired one shot, and that was away 

 high." 



This man's antipathy to a breech-loader amounted to ah- 

 B$ute'nBtred, audit was only alt - repeatedly showing him 

 tts advantages that he so far condescended as to allow me to 



forget, the ipn or expression on bis tough, weather-beaten 

 countenance when at last I convinced him of the supi : iritj 

 of the repeating rifle. 



As 1 said in the beginning, thercis no giving precise advice 

 on the finding and killing of deer, and all I can do is torepeat 

 what I have said, and emphasizeit by rejicliiion — Go slowly, 

 make no noise, keep your eyes open— don't be guided I J the 

 nee i others, but cover only as much ground as you can 

 thoroughly examine, let your friends bang about as much as 

 theypiea.se, keep in their flank and you will pruhai ily get 

 ujoreau l better shots than they do. 



In driving deer to a runaway, let the noisy ones do the 

 driving and the quiet ones stand. " Keep well oii*t of sight and 

 don't ifnove, Frequently a deer upon being startednms a 

 short distance and stops to discover " What's the row." 

 Havmc reassured himself as to direction, etc., and that dan- 

 ger is approaching he runs on a little further perhaps before 

 emerging into the open. Now if you move you will be sure 

 to bu discovered, and the deer will change ins course, so keep 



expect i., on ionics ih.< ikTr, nnd that" makes, up for many 'an 



hour of susp, ns fatjgne. 



Wlien the deeriKkilledilisalways better, if possible, lo take 



Baring die' venison against ik-predati-ns by wolves, to;;,-., 



badjytorii up and disfigured Uiaf, itwas of no further use. 

 To avoKj 'his bang tip the ova! so that it, will leave the bead 



at leat-l.lhn-eiYei loan thegieiiiid. The-::- uneasy nailter when 

 itbappens tbbc h bjg bi ek w. ighing "I go pounds and over, and 

 one pi>:m has all ho can do lUtleilS jKfiBun ejtrjtrt. I '" 



