Februaby 17, 1881.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



49 



and in August they are generally moulting, making thern 

 totally unfit for the table. 



1 would BUgg<^ that September 1 is early enough for lite 

 i of t ho open season. 11 allowed to lie shot 

 during July and August, f fear, many a ruffed grouse is 

 brought to bag ant] styled "Short-billed woodcock." 



Kali Duel? Sbnoting— Our present law, beginning Septem- 

 ber i. meets all the requirements. 



Ruffed Grouse— For this grand bird I must express a high 

 esteem. 1 believe it to be. t be gamest bird in the world, aud 

 so believing I would respectfully ask due consideration of 

 any law pertaining to bis preservation. From an extensive 

 experience with, them I am led to think that November 1 is 

 as earlv as the open season should begin, aud allow them to 

 begjjot un.tUJanuary 1. By lengthening the close season as 

 above the birds become more mature, while in September 

 thev invariably take to trees, making themselves an easy prey 

 to Hie merest tvio of a hunter, whiie a month later they avoid 

 this to a large extent and test the skill of the most experi- 

 enced wing shot. 



Quail— 1 can only say "Twin brother in' excellence to the 

 ruffed grouse. 7 ' 1" think November 1 early enough for the. 

 open season to begin. I think every true sportsman will 

 agree With me in mv statement that during October at least 

 three of every live bevies that are Hushed arc not sufficiently 

 grown, and also that during said month they are to he found 

 iuthe open, lying close to dogs, often giving the pot-hunters a 

 full swing for their murderous propensity of "hunch shots," 

 Which a month later it would be hard to attain. 1 recognize 

 also that two months of the twelve is about the proper length 

 of open season. 1 therefore recommend the following letter, 

 viz. : Make the open season the months of November and 

 December. 



Wild Turkeys -Open season to be October. Nov. and Dec. 



1 leer - 1 believe too much consideration cannot be given to 

 fast disappearing and noble animal. I am strotm.lv in 



our State Association 

 present domain ,i 



;eu letreal I have rc- 



Itiver lla 



ade the 



id [01 



and i 



fUVOl" of milking the open seas; 

 law allows. A law making the 

 September to i.-,th of November, 

 sumo there are gentlemen at th 



aid be i 



quantities. A similar law 

 the Western States, and i; 

 preservation of game, Sbl 

 market hunter, who yearly 

 gentlemanly sport, bt 



del 



id that the 



to avoid this, and yet n 

 fore urge thai this com 

 tain such law. While 

 brothel' spoilsmen of si 

 the passage of such law 

 is Qod'a first law. 

 In giving yon my views 



Kin our present 



ny Idea' I pre- 

 is convention whQ will pre 

 the unprecedented slaughter 

 ne of this State. 1 am also 

 assed, if possible, to prevent 



all game, except in limited 

 present in effect in most of 

 id to materially assist in the 



off as it does tin 

 ; our State, not in pursuit of 

 niary purposes alone. I un- 

 ion as to the constitutionality 

 is singular if such law is rc- 

 y HOC in Michigan ? Prom 

 itit a law can he so worded as 

 operate as desired. I there- 

 give itsenliri supp irl to ai- 

 ilesire to Btscm selfish Loward 

 rs, vet I cannot bul feel I hilt 



lolf-protection, which fclatm 



take it all back, and only hope that 

 may prove as worthy to preside over 

 Ihe Michigan Association over the cL 

 1 erred lo. 



Since the completion of the Menoi 

 opportunity is afforded the poachers 

 ing ground of u large district, and tl 

 along the road and facilities foi shipping have afforded them 

 thu nest opportunity to make the killing remunerative. 



Die road has been patroled night ana day by a horde ol 

 hunters sufficiently large to annihilate the whole spi 

 these vandals hesitate at no scheme lo gather in lire 

 all ages and in all conditions. An estimate given n.e ly a 

 civil engineer who is a gentleman sportsman, and s cut the 

 greater portion of I be season on the road and vicinity, places 

 the number of hunters at not less than two thousand and the 

 deer killed at five thousand. 



This record calls loudly for a remedy, and in nty opinion 

 can only bo secured by shortening the season. Meet il 

 squarel v with no tinkering, or the deer will be obliterated. 



Wisconsin, until last year, had an open season of from live 

 to seven months, and furnished all the facilities the most ar- 

 dent poacher could desire. Last season we secured a change, 

 making September, October aud November the Open sea 

 ami we hope to hold it at this, or shorten it to October and 

 November, or September 16 to November Itfc 



As the law now stands, you take the crowd at the opening 

 and wc get it at the close. 



On one point we have been weak, that is, in not securing 

 the aid of the railroad officials to prevent shipping out of 

 season. 



It would surprise you to sec a large amount of pork 

 shipped front points that raise no hogs. 



1 should very much enjoy accepting your hearty invitation 

 to be present at yuur annual meeting, but duty and distance 

 will preclude il. 



1 enclose you printed report or State proceedings yester- 

 day al .Milwaukee: although in some respects it is quite un 

 satisfactory, yet il was a meeting. 



1 should like to have you correspond w th our President 

 with especial relation to the (leer law. and urge a urnf-am 

 time for both States; also let them know the conservative 

 spirit thai pervades your deliberations. 



If not asking loo much, 1 should very much like a copy of 

 your next meeting's proceedings. 



In chising, I beg lo assure you of a readiness oft m_, pari a! 

 all fillies to render aid in securing conservative practices. 

 Very truly yours, ' L. M. \V\.\rr. 



The Secretary then read the following letter from the Pres- 

 ident of the Wisconsin Stale Sportsmen's Association : 



Milwaukee, Wis., Jan. 14. 



■tail as 1 have 1 trust you will 

 pi litem in the spirit in which they are offered, and not 

 attribute them lo any personal or selfish motives, assuring 

 vou that I only desire Ihe fullest protection to our game. 

 There are gentlemen composing your honorable body far 

 more competent iliau 1 am to plead this, yet I Cannot allow 

 the occasion lo pass without putting in mv feeble plea. 



That your honorablfi body shall cause such laws to he 

 passed as will best attain Ibis object, is the sincere wish of 



Yours in the cause, .John E, 1. ... 



The Secretary r ad a letter from Mr. A. P. Young, of Ks- 

 canaba, Mich., advising thai Ihe lime in whieh prosecution 

 may be commenced be extended to one or two years, instead 

 of t'hice mouths, as at present, and urging the prohibition of 

 " jack-light" shooting. 



.Mr. Brown continues: 



" Wolves should have a good bounty on their beads. The 

 deer have been all run out of the country the past fall by 

 Uiciii. I would make one more suggestion. There should 

 be a Stringent law against pits.' 1 am told that only a few 

 miles from here it is not safe for a man lo go through the 

 woods. 1 feel that there is nothing more, cruel than the pits 

 as they are made. I am told by one who has seen them that 

 before covering or concealing them they drive stakes in the, 

 bottom and sharpen the tops, so that in falling the poor deer 

 is impaled iu a most cruel manner." 



The Secretary read the following letters from the Secretary 

 of the Wisconsin Soortsmeu's Association: 



FoSd du Lac, Wis., Dec. 10. 



Secuktacy State Association — My Dear Sir: I take the 

 liberty of addressing you with relation to the protection of 

 the deer on the Lake Superior portion of 3'our Stale and to 

 learn what, if any, actiou you expect to take as to amend- 

 ments to the present laws. 



For years 1 have visited the woods, and since the Menomi- 



■ Ri 



sectk 



jilroad has been completed our States in that 

 i such close proximity wo ought to have a unt- 



il th 



Slate 



Ml«, B. B. Il.n.ve-. P 



elation. Grand K i] ids, 



invitation to be with v. 



is at ham:. Wl.ih we 



assured that we are iu 



\Ye are trying to do as 



adopting your eonsliluli 



send you also u paper containing the proceedings of oul lir.-t 



meeting after the organization. We are to hold a meeting 



at Madison on the first proximo, at which we will be pleased 



to see you personally or by delegation. We hope al such 



meeting to have a large attendance of sportsmen of the State, 



t Michigan Sportsmen's ASso- 

 i.— Dear'sii : Four very kind 

 rour meeting on the 35th lust. 



i 1 .- 



■■-.'. That this committee Be empowered to take such action 



in the premises. 

 . I That i cop.T of' the--*-- ivsohitions be Pm-wartled to the 

 • the Protection of Uaiue. 

 'fin rcolutlnns wen' adopted unanimously, and the chair- 

 man appoinled. in addition lo himself, as such committee ex- 

 Senator Alfred t clcsE, Whitehead A 

 letter from Mr. John P. Davis, of Baal Cheater, condemning 

 ihe amendments to the game laws propoa d by the Long Is- 

 land Ass icintion and. suggesting that the recompense of game 

 <•■ '■u.i'.'ables throughout the State be Increased was referred to 

 . eii.ln.c ds to the tonne Laws. On 

 motion nf Mr. Townsend, seconded by Mr. Hhondes, the of- 

 flcara "were directed to lake steps to have the association in- 

 corporated under the laws or the State. At the conclusion 

 of the meeting Mr. Klioades entertained his fellow members 

 at supper. 



MATCH HUNTS. 



Kcrr.AND, Vermont, Feb. 5. 



I LAY down my paper to oflera suggestion to youf corres- 

 respondent "Fox Squirrel," who writes from Chariest. >n, 

 III., under date of Jan. IT, and whose communication appears 

 in your issue of Feb. 3. 



"Fox Squirrel" starts out with the statement that birds are 

 scarcer in his locality, then proceeds to relate the exploits of 

 a company of twenty men, who, on the 30th, of Nov. delib- 

 erately set out to sec how great a slaughter they could make 

 with the resull as slated, of 502 head of game killed iu that 

 day by that party. 



Now, how in the name of common sensecau a county endure 

 such havoc as this?--and why should the inhabitants of such 

 localities expect to have any game at all left if they counte- 

 nance such proceedings ? 

 The writer of this well remembers the ti 

 ■ either, when the country a'e mi CI 

 in same birds, and a good and sufficient 1 

 l.v'anv fair shol in a 'few hours. If tl 



.vhc 



fault 



it if not that of such i 



?, and not many 

 lesion ahoimdi d 

 ; could be mndo 

 ds are gone now 

 as made up this 



atch bunts are not usually made up or joined 

 l and should be by sportsmen discouraged and 



Tri 

 ot even 



msbip does not consist i 

 i Ihe suppers or the dri 



lghter for count, 

 ire the incentive; 

 this particular Sstughtef oE the innoeenls is an accomplished 

 fact, and the d a 1 canni t be brought back to life, but if tins 

 protest has the effect to set men to thinking what match hunts 

 n -i i I v arc, it will not have been wholly in vain. 



Verde Monte. 



It would indeed be instructive for us to know what you have 

 ■d as to the open season On various game, Oil 

 tug, on exportation, etc. Our deer country lies 

 o 'part of your Slate. And the deer, though a 

 inal, it is safe lo say has not learned Stale lines, 

 a cunning pothunters have. For all migratory 

 ght to have the same protective laws in Mchi- 

 lisin, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and perhaps 

 Northwestern Slates. A uniformity iu such laws of 

 only be brought about by the efforts of aSsoeia- 



\V 



other 

 GQUrs 

 tions. 



Our association has been so recently organized that we 

 have scarcely become acquainted with our own members, 

 and the true sportsmen are not fully agreed as to what we 

 need. They all agree, however, that unless something bo 

 speedily done many of our finest game birds will soon be- 

 come extinct. 1 hope to hear from you again. 



Very respectfully, Fhed. HisTitioa i;, 



to he coNiixrco. 



Teaitinh Nori-s— Dugda'.e. Pa., Feb. lo.- The present low 



.• catch of t!e> present winter. 

 ,,ii. inclination toscourlhe hills 

 vs agO when Ihe 

 in- commanded higher prices. 

 - . mi were caught 



sealing county 

 be about ihe 

 ts. The Weather best 

 a mucky, rainy night. 

 >f the fur bearing ani- 

 very shv, and but sel- 

 itherscan be seen frc- 

 s localities. We have 

 [•reck of an early morn 

 a light dii/./.iine rain 



i the creeks 



open 



Association will meet sometime the present 

 e hope to better our laws the present year. Our 

 mber 1 and continues till November 80, 

 and this Is" too long wilh the present destruction. 



What would your association say to making October and 

 November, or to November 15, the open season, and prohibit 

 the use of lamps? 



I was in the woods during the month of October and your 

 State and outs are overrun with poachers, aud we must do 

 something to help the deer, or they will be exterminated. 1 

 should lie | leased to hear from you on these points. 

 Very truly yours, L. M. Wyatt, 



Yice-Pres't Wisconsin Slate Sportsmen's Ass'n and 

 Scc'y Fond du Lac Game Club. 



Fond du Lac, Wis., Jan. 1. 

 Dr. E. S. Holmes, President— My Dear Sir : Your es- 

 teemed favor of ihe 18th ult came duly to band, also the re- 

 port of your Slate Association. I have so much enjoyed 

 reviewing them that 1 presume to comply briefly with your 

 request for items on preservations so far as to give you some 





pttit of your 



State. Ihe Upper Peninsula, fearmgthl 

 from your standpoint of deliberations you do not fully appre- 

 ciate the value of this grand domain you open to poachers so 

 early in the season. 

 For fifteen years past. I have made annual pilgrimages to 

 :i !iiuhi ful region, and had come to almost COVel : Li 

 hope il might become a portion of my own State; but after 

 rending the report you. sent mo I have changed '•<■: tolnci 



TI1K ELW YOKE CITY ASSOCIATION. 



T1IK monthly meeting of the New York Association tor 

 the Protection of' Came was held Monday evening. 

 Among Ihe well-known sportsmen present wen- Mc.sis. 

 Charles 11. Houseman, U. L. Ludington, William IS, Laim- 

 beer, James Meyer, Jr.'; Edward Wight, WakemanHolberton, 

 James Curphey. Wisner II. Townsend, C. Dubois Wagstaff, 

 . I. liaison Rhodes, Henry Tj I'uvy, John Lawn 

 ctle S. Giles, Dr. Stephen II. Main, Alexander K. Sliaclian 

 ai d Alfred S. Post. 



Mr. Ludington read from Ihe TifTUS a n oort of the meet- 

 ing of the Long Island Sportsmen's Association, in whieh a 



summary of the amendments to the game laws, which it was 

 proposed by that body to have, rniroduccd in the [legislature, 

 appeared. He condemned several features of the proposed 

 bill. The demerits of Ihe amendments proposed by the Long 

 Island Associations were fully discussed. The sp&akers, 

 without exception, condemned Ihe proposed bill as lending 

 rather to destroy than protect fish and game, and as calcu- 

 lated, if passed," practically to abolish all existing laws for 

 the protection of game. The more objectionable features of 

 the bill, the speakers considered, Were those which ^rive deal- 

 ers the privilege of selling game beyond Ihe killing season, 

 provided that if he preserved by freezing or refrigerating 

 during the open season, and ihe provision which requires it 

 to be proved, before conviction can be had, that all offenses 

 against the law are willful. Were such a bill to pass, ii was 

 contended, there could be no protection for tish ami game, 

 and the game laws would-be a dead letter. Sonic of the 

 speakers thought the association seemed to be acting iuthe 

 iuterests of the inarketmen and dealers rather than in the 

 inkiest of true sportsmen. Al'ier speeches from Mossrs. 

 Roosevelt, Cuthbeit, Rhoadcs, ilolberton, Ludington, Cur- 

 phey, Townsend, iMev.a and Wight, Mr. Rkoadca proposed 

 the following resolutions, which were seconded by Mr. 

 James Meyer. Jr.: 



K&solved That this association does not approve of the bill for 

 the protection of lish and g-inic (is proposed by il BUb-OOnuaittoe of 

 th- l.onr. Island Spoilsman's Association, believing that tlio effect 

 of Hiieh n. bill, if pMSfld, will be toaid in the d- - 

 game rather than thoir preservation, and that a coramil 

 o£ which the president pwll he one, be named bj the ■ 

 l'er with the Long : 



jei iiQpil ! Peal n ■ i Mill 



price of skunk and our other fur cr 

 Thc early part of the senson n greatn 

 wilh hunters by dogs at night. Th 

 hunters, who iravel over much of 

 in Cutest of skunk that may be 

 fields looking for mice, bugs and ins 

 suited for most varmints to travel 

 during the dark of the moon Son: 



mals common to the United States a 

 domseen by Ihe trapper or Irontei 



quenlly at different times iu varh 

 been quietly walking along some sum 

 when the weather was dull or prolial: 

 falling, ami noticed the gentle rilile i 

 pile of old drift from whid 

 erge aud again disappear among the 

 tree, Muskrat maybeseenat nioata . 

 arc high or they may be seen often in day tin)e in a quiet 

 place along the bank of some mill race or .u the head of some 

 mill pond. The otter is more wary and bul seldom seen ex- 

 cept in veiv hiirh water when their hiding places are- com- 

 pletely shut oh by excess of water. Eastern Pennsylvania is 

 too thickly populated to admit of any good trapping, and 

 tJiose desiring enjoyment in ibis line must look elsewhere in 

 counties less" thicklv settled. Nothing in the trapping line 

 amounts lo anything like business unless it he skunk here in 

 our locality, and of'them it would almost seem that Ihe more 

 there are caught the more there ;cc to catch. The long pro- 

 tracted -p< II of extreme cold weather we have had since he- 

 fore Christmas seems now to be broken, aud in all probability 

 considerable amounts of skunk and muskrat will he caught 

 yet before spring opens. J. Lf.e Siikdlbt. 



FOBKS or TUB Kknnehko —It may be of interest to your 

 readers and lo sportsmen generally to know of a spol, away 

 from the world, the idle summer traveler ami lazy campers, 

 and vet acvsihlc lo those who find recreation in sport— a 

 Iracl'of laid who.,,- dense woods are iiileOilied by moose, 

 caribou, deer and bear, more numerous here than on any 

 liuntim,' ground cv( r visited bv me, and whose many lakes 

 aud si reams, are filled wit* trout. Il 19 needless to quote the 

 amount of tish caught in one dav or (leer or caribou shol dur- 

 ii short trip. Laughter would tie most likely Ihe result of my 

 rjublalicmg, and they would be eon>idrre.i as one of Ihe 

 "many ducks" shot by sportsmen. 



I on'l v advise friends of sport to visit this lovely country, 

 situated around the Forks of the ICenneb.c. At the Fuks a 

 :. , tollable hotel will serve Sportsmen as headquarters, 

 and' Mr. Clark, the proprietor, would. I have? no doubt, will- 

 ingly assist iu procuring a goo.l guide. If vou can succeed iu 

 getting Oliver P. Adams, who lives at The Forks. Maine, 

 you will find him a hunter and fishermen iu ihe truest senSc 

 of the word, a faithful and reliable guide, who will help you 

 to. game il at all possible. You reach l lie Forks by singe 

 I'ivm Skowh. -gaii. A branch road of Ihe Maine Central li. 

 Ii connects WatcrvillG with Skowhegan. -1 



I can give no higher recommendation to the above named 

 hunting grounds Uian by assuring you that Were I a perma- 

 nent resident of vour couuu v and not a foreign intruder, who 

 has been Stealing some of the glorious spoil il all'mils, 1 

 would never willingly assist'to make those grounds near the 

 Ffjfks known lo the mar.v friends of FoESST am> Stiii.am. 



N. B. V. /.. 



S ■■■ .i;t A mo t Ohekixt- Greeley.Col. , Jan. —Our two rivers 

 and l be innumerable sloughs thai line both banks, together 



wilh the numerous hikes lying a'l around within a few miles 

 - ■■■ in ror-onsfor thotUou&sudsaf duel 



