Jt-ce 0, 1881.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



365 



filial things and ideas, and its fidelity is as conspicuous ok its wis- 

 dom. Itiathi sportsman's — not spoiling- -paper of America; one 

 that even- fainilv can read with profit, for it in ably edited, clean, 

 interesting and i Juw litfng. it is one of the Ileal of "natural history 

 teachers to be found. Fvor.y one of ils several departments is com- 

 plete in every respect, and each is edited by a gentleman VI bo ban 

 made its subject a lite-study. — SUrhcuse, a. r., Journal, 

 M«!t. ISj 1SS1. 



The raid of Fokest ANo StUEiM in our advertising eolOmaS 

 should attract the attention of all sportsmen who wan) to read for 

 1S81 a liist-claBM journal devoted specially to the subjects con- 

 nected with the t -ports of the "Rod and Ciiin." We have read it 

 for years, and can speak of its merits undcr«taudiiu:lv.— lirriiwn- 

 [(WOH IHyntph, Jan. 12, 1NS1. 



deuabss i ati.onaoe or mrsT sro»TSMiN. 



I recognize in Fojulrt. ASH Kteeam a journal worthy nfand de- 

 manding the liberal patronage of the highest and trtioat typeof 

 American rfporuaunnship.— 11. 7;. BoSSy, late fcceielarv Michigan 

 Sportsmen's Association. 



I have now taken the 1-Y ■hf.st a>d S ntE.or seven rears. Every 

 week I look for uard with pleasure to the dav on which the mail 

 shall btflig me mv paper. Although passionately fond of hunting, 

 y : I li . cry ] tf.e tune to indulge in this sport, and as the next 

 beat Iking Hike to read in your paper about the experience of 

 sportsmen, and lee] ayself posted on sporting matters. Iragard 

 the 1''oi:jcht ami Siiuo.ui as the paper for American sportsmen. - 

 W. M. II. (North Cambridge, Mass.) 



There is no pap 

 FoKEST USD Si ;r 

 time and latent P 

 stream. iiisidcs 

 there is a vast 

 whether addicted 

 thui-bvcs iiisede 

 pape 



VF.lt OAK TAKE ITS PLACE. 



Wished which can take the place of the 

 he i btimaUon of gentlemen who have- the 

 the .-[Kj. t of the field, the forest and the 

 Killers pertaining directly to these sports, 

 of information valuable t'o all gentlemen, 

 t-of-door recreations or obliged to pass 

 occupations. Time spent in reading this 

 sds and reflects will fail to 



be profited thereby.— Bay City, Mich., Tribune, March, i, 1S31, 



I aro going to let my "Ad." stand in Forest asd Stream. I 

 often get a letter with the card cut out, showing it to be an old 

 paper, pcrhaos a. vesr or more old, so I kuow that it pavs to keep 

 nt tie in nil too time iu season and out. I have rceeivid 385 let- 

 ters in three weeks. Last mail brought me tweutv-lne in a 

 bunch. J. IJ. llrsuTox, Canton, N. X. 



I have had to hire a clerk who was kept busy with answering 

 letters leeeived through mv advertisement in T'oh'est and iS it.eam. 

 -SWlft PiEioiiAss. Gre.'npoint, N. Y. 



The I'oiiEse a\'i> Krr.i;\:,i must have a verv largo and honorable 

 bodvot subscribers, I should judge from the result of a little 

 advertisement which 1 inserted in that paper at so trilling a cost 

 a short time since. Hut this is certainly no more than it deserves 

 judging from the largo amount of valuable and interesting in- 

 formation contained in its pages.— (i. T. C, Buffalo, N. Y. 



It comes as a welcome visitor to our table, and every time has 

 something in it both instinctive and entertaining. Since Fred. 

 Mather took charge of its "fishing columns" it has come to the 

 front.— W. D. T., Chicago, 111. 



Although only twenty woodcock seasons have passed over my 

 head I take an ardent interest in field sports, I am indebted to 

 your instructive and well-doing paper for the greater part of the 

 inspiration I feel for manly sport. If more young- men took your 

 valuable paper instead of w Idling away their time on somo worth- 

 Id bo wiser a'ud better in the end.— B. A. 



:t:-i utd Snii-AH. I believe you every 

 smanlike sentiment of the country, and in 

 out to the ends of out land. You are doing 

 Iv wav, Mi'wl,' vh'tule. I read every paper 

 its ami all : and 1 like the whole thing, even 

 r.— \V. W. T.. Jr. (Portland, Me.) 



My advertisement iu the Puuest Ann Stream was well placed. I 

 received correspondence from Maine to Texas.— J. F.J. (Haverhill, 

 Mass.) 



GIVES PEQMIKEKOB TO KEAL SPORT. 



Please renew my subscription for one year. I lind little time to 

 shoot, hut make up iu part such lack of a good time iu the field by 

 reading your paper, w bioh I am happy to see gives increasing 

 prominence to matters of real sport with rod and gun. — L. 



Please insert inclosed adwUHCincufc in some seldom looked at 

 corner of your paper, as 1 have really suffered before by the many 

 responses to my former advertisements. I keep an accurate ken- 

 nel account, and was looking over it the other day to see how 

 inneh it cost mo to sell dogs through advertising iii the Fouest 

 anii Stream, and 1 found that it cost me about ten eonts for 

 each dog sold. Could I have filled my orders received through 

 yourpaper this cost would have been reduced to about live cents 

 per dog. Wo would bo suspicions of a commission merchant who 

 should offer such low terms, hut wo have full faith vet in the Fob- 

 est and Stream. All my orders, save a low from local parties, 

 were through Ihe Forest and Stream.— N. Elmoue (Granby, 

 Conn.. June 0, 18811. 



less public 

 Jl. iAustn 



■itiou 11 

 , Minn. 



I appre 



week loci 

 turn radia 



\ ' iL."- 



a good wo 

 through, a 

 to the tint 



■k in a 

 dvertis. 

 of the 



yorttmiim EonriaL 



GAME IN KENTUCKY. 



Mill Springs, Ky., May 25. 



GAME cumo through the winter apparently as litle re- 

 duced, numerically, as al'lcr a season as remsi kable for 

 its mildness as was the past for its severity. Probably due 

 in a great measure to the fact that there was almost no shoot- 

 ing by sportsmen as a polar temperature nipped the early 

 hunter in the midst of hiB preparations. Turkeys, partridges 

 and especially squirrels are abundant. Quail are by no 

 means annual tenants of: the mountain small farms, but this 

 spring there is scarcely a grain patch without ils pair. Red 

 foxes are multiplying alarmingly since the repeal of the scalp 

 law, and the audacity of their open day raids on poultry yards 

 keeps many good dames in a state of nervous solicitude about 

 their darling ducklings and goslings. The hares are un- 

 fortunately too wily for rcynard, or have become infected 

 with the emigration mania and sought prosperity in localities 

 convenient to pea and cabbage crops, upon which their regu- 

 lar forays are becoming a nuisance, exasperating gardeners 

 of even Joblike forbearance. Hawks arc very numerous, and 

 sagaciously hold off until either one has fallen asleep on guard 

 or the shotgun has been returned to ils corner, when the 

 hubbub amongst the old guineas and chickens informs you 

 that another Mcthodistic tidbit has been unfeelingly snatched 

 away in the "bloom of youth." 



Attracted to the door a lew mornings since by the "racket" 

 of crows, martens and bluebirds, 1 discovered that they were 

 harassing a huge hawk, and catching up my rifle I rushed to 

 Ihe'fray. Before I got in range his enemies routed him, and 

 as he flew over the yard I gave 'him a salule which he ac- 

 knowledged by dropping alm;st at my feet a full grown 

 squirrel, which bore only the marks of his talons. It proved 

 a savory addition to a dish of broiled/ beefsteak at dinner. 



KuNTDOKfAJf. 



NOTES OF AN ANGLER IN THE NORTH. 

 Bv Faikojiild, Jk.— Pakt Second. 



I'OEEST turds. 



THE silence and solitude of the great northern forests is 

 rarely broken by the blithesome song or presence of 

 birds, yet in the trackless wilds of the far interior I have 

 made the acquaintance of several rare and interesting species 

 by habits of close observation. They are an unobtrusive 

 family, as their predilection for the deep forests attests, and 

 not much inclined to court the society of man, though them 

 is one noteworthy exception to this rule, as I shall presently 

 show. So full are the3' of the immensity and grandeur of 

 these sombre old woods, that it has imparted to them a sober, 

 quiet Ihoughtfulness, a joyous peal of light-hearted melody 

 being rarely heard — not that they are gloomy or morose, but 

 only ear n est, in tense, finding life something more precious than 

 an idle holiday to be spent in frivolity. They no doubt also 

 feel a quiet thankfulness in their escape from the manifold 

 dangers that encompass their loss thoughtful brothers of the 

 field from the predatory attacks oE hawks, crows, reptiles 

 and man. The latter, by the way, ceases to be a foe of the 

 small feathered race as soon as he is beyond the pale of siv- 

 ilization ; the former rarely extend their joumevings beyond 

 it. 



There is a liltle dim-color cd bird that has a call that sounds 

 precisely like the thud of an axe in a log. The imitation is 

 so exact that I have several times diverged from my course 

 to find out who was encamped near by, to be suddenly re- 

 called to a knowledge of the chopper by hearing the sound 

 repeated in another direction as my shy little feathered friend 

 flow off at my approach. There is still another little inhab- 

 itant of the forests, not in good repute, however, with old 

 bushmen, aa tts.'presence and short, querulous k-a-t-e is said 

 by them to be followed by a storm. It defies the severest 

 cold of the long Arctic winter. It is called the red- bellied 

 nuthatch {Sum cttnndenus). 



The snowy owi — the great northern hunter as it is aptly 

 named — the barred owl and the cinereous owl are to-day 

 only stragglers into the deplts of the forests, adventurous 

 travelers, "though their forefathers were dwellers therein. 

 Their change of habitat has been brought, about by the 

 greater abundance of food to be procured upon the outskirts 

 of the settlements or the barren lands. The northern hare, 

 upon Which the snowy owl and the cinereous largely subsist, 

 lias multiplied ten-fold within the boundaries of civilization, 

 as has also the ruffed grouse. The barred owl is said to have 

 the curious habit of burying its body in the soft snow, the 

 large head conspicuous by a pair of bright biaek eyes only 

 appearing above the surface, forming a grotesque sight. 



At rare intervals I have hud my camp intruded upon 

 by one or the other of these owls, who, having stitislied its 

 traveler's curiosity, uttered its blood-curdling, sleep-destroy- 

 ing cry, would betake itself again into the quiet shades of 

 night. 



Twice in mid-winter I have seen a pair of ravens circling 

 high in air over the frozen lake. At times, uttering their 

 hoarse croaks, they appeared the embodiment of loneliness. 

 What could have tempted them from the seu-coast to the far 

 interior I know not. 



The woodpecker family is about the most fully represented 

 one throughout the forest region, the most conspicuous, both 

 for its size and rich markings, being P. pilmlus. It is by 

 no means common, though widely distributed. The wood- 

 peckers play an important part in nature's economy. By 

 their perforations in the trunks of dead trees they hasten 

 their decay and fall. Four species winter in Canada, but 

 during the prevalence of severe cold they entirely disappear; 

 a slight thaw, and they are again actively at work. I have 

 been led to think from this that they might hibernate for 

 short periods. 



The exception to the shyness of the forest birds to which I 

 previously alluded is the Canada jay, alias whiskey jack, 

 moose bird, etc. It, is about the size of the blue jay, but 

 unlike its congener, ils plumage is of a dull, leaden color, and 

 its song a soft continuous warble. I have never camped in 

 the wilderness winter or summer that I have not had a visit 

 from a pair of these singular birds. Fearless of man, they 

 would take up their quarter's on the nearest twig to the 

 lire and watch their opportunity to steal whatever was left 

 unwatched a moment. Growing bolder each day we remained, 

 they would alight at our feet and scramble and quarrel for 

 the tidbits thrown to them and otherwise cut up such queer 

 sober antics as to constantly excite my risibles. It is said to 

 breed in midwinter, but if such is the case the male must 

 relieve the female upon the nest,, as the germ in the eggs 

 would perish upon the least exposure to the intense cold." I 

 am rather incredulous about this, as I am about the stories 

 that are told concerning its ability to capture fish in the 

 water like a kingfisher. 



The aquatic are a numerously represented family through- 

 out the lake region where they breed, and in the early fall 

 the angler, while fishing, obtains many a chance to bag a few 

 ducks to add to his bill of fare. 



THE HKl) SQU1KKEL.. 



If there is a scdateuess and sobriety on the part of the 

 forest birds, the levity and volubility of this little denizen of 

 the coniferous forests enlivens the general gloom. Summer 

 and winter it is equally cheerful and active. While its favor- 

 ite haunts arc in the deepest recesses and solitudes of the 

 wilderness, it is becoming a frequent visitor and resident of 

 the settlements. The Indians of the lower provinces have a 

 very pretty little legend about the red squirrel. According 

 to this the squirrel was once upon a time a very large and 

 ferocious animal much feared by the people, but the good 

 Manitou, desirous of conferring a mark of esteem upon one 

 of the old men of the tribe, asked hiui what it was he most 

 desired. The reply was, "To have this mighty squirrel 

 made smaller." The Great, Spirit at once granted the request, 

 and the old man going forth spread out his arms and com- 

 manded the squirrel to become smaller, and immediately it 

 was reduced to its present size. This is the reason assigned 

 by the natives for its querulousness upon the sight of man, 

 its old enemy. 



This little chatterbox is given to migrating occasionally, 

 ami if iu the course of its journeyings it, comes to a lake or a 

 river if takes to the water unhesitatingly and appears as much 

 at home iu it as its first cousin the m'uskral. In the conifer- 

 ous woods the red squirrel lays by no provision for the 

 winter, but depends upon the cones to furnish it with a suf- 

 ficiency to carry it through the long months of snow and ice, 



OOrimiJHS DK B0I9. 



To such lamentable straits were the Canadian imhUm re- 

 duced, about the middle of the seventeenth century, by their 

 Improvidence and the frequent depredations of the maraud- 

 ing savages, that their younger children went half-naked, 

 while their wives an I daughters were compelled to work in 

 the fields. The sons of these mendicant seigneur*, with 

 more energy, perhaps, than their sires, but with the 

 same disinclination for honest labor in the fields, banded 

 together in small parties ami struck out into the wilder- 

 ness to trade with the Indians for beaver skins or 

 to trap them on their own account- I have a suspicion that 

 a too close, ecclesiastical supervision, and frequent penance, for 

 the freaks of young blood, may have hastened their deparlure, 

 but upon tills point the records arc silent, In vain did the 

 Governor proclaim their proceedings illegal and threaten out- 

 lawry against them; equally vain the threats of excommuni- 

 cation thundered after them by the Jesuit fathers and the Rc- 

 colleto; the taste of the freedom and license of the camp-lire 

 was far more potent, and defections from the ranks of the 

 younger men in the colony still continued until it was esti- 

 mated that over eight hundred of them was engaged in the 

 "nefarious" pursuit of the beaver. Animated by a spirit of 

 adventure, they penetrated the great unknown wilderness 

 from the shores of the St. Lawrence to the Hudson's Bay. 

 Many of them contracled alliances with the dusky maidens 

 of the forests and acquired considerable influence in !he 

 councils of the tribes from which they took their squaws, 

 and in time became almost as savage. 



Once a year it was their custom lo repair to one of He 

 French towns. Francis IVirkmsn thus describes the return 

 of a party of these gentry from their roviugs. 



"Montrciilwas their harboring place, and they conducted 

 themselves much like ihe crew of a man-of-war paid off after 

 a long cruise. As long as their heaver skins lasted they set, 

 no bound to their license. The new-comers were bedizened 

 with a strange mixture of French and Indian finery, while 

 some of them, with instincts more thoroughly savage, stalked 

 about the streets as naked as a Potawatfamie or Sioux. 

 Drinking and gambling filled the day and night. When at 

 last sober, they sought" absolution from the priests and once 

 more disappeared within the shades of the forest." 



After the. conquest of Canada the Hudson's Bay Company 

 sprang into vigorous being, and tbc Ow rcur* tfe boi» al once 

 found their alloted place in their service. Of late years the 

 Company has dispensed with the services of many of these 

 forest, rangers, who have returned to the villages of their 

 birth, and, marrying, have settled down on a bush farm 

 upon the edge of that wilderness they love so well. The do- 

 mestic ties are not sufficiently strong to wean them from their 

 first love. Old Jean Lc Blanc is a good example of his race. 

 When the frosts of autumn have tinged the mountains with 

 a thousand dazzling hues Jean becomes uneasy and restless. 

 At all hours of the day he may be observed at the corner of 

 bis little log house, that commands a view of the forests, 

 blowing thick clouds of smoke from hi* short, black pipe, and 

 taking observations. Some fine morning he is seen entering 

 the edge of the bush, old flintlock under his arm, snow-shoes 

 slung 'over his shoulders, together with his small puck of 

 traps and other necessaries. What becomes of him afterward 

 no one knows: but early in spring he reappears smelling 

 strongly of smoke and drawing behind him a very heavily 

 laden triiiueau, the proceeds of his winter work, the eklns of 

 the caribou and moose that have fallen before old lliniluck; 

 and the pells of beavers, miuks and martins to his traps. 



Jean is a good trapper, a poor shot; he is fidl of the lore 

 of the bush, but ignorant of everything else; superstitions as 

 the Indians among whom lie has so long dwelt, and as full of 

 omens, but considers himself a good Catholic; cheerful anil 

 as light-hearted us a schoolboy, he is envious of no man. 

 prd be coxriNrEi).] 



THE LAND OF THE SIOUX. 



warded 

 I a u. and IN. W. train bound tor me lar ptorthwest. 



As we glided along over the smooth steel rails and begjin to 



THE first day of October, Dr. 0- and myself b mi 

 a 0. and N. W. train bound for the far Northv 



realize that the noise and smoke of the great city of Chicago 

 was rapidly fading from view, what a quiet, grateful sense 

 of relief stole over us, for had we not a mouth before us. a 

 month we could devoteto buffalo, deer, antelope, geese, ducks 

 and— rest! W r e almost felt that a score of years had fallen 

 from our heads, and that we were "boys again." I often 

 wonder if only those fortunate individuals imbued with a 

 great love for nature's solitudes and handiwork ever enjoy 

 this delicious feeling, if not they miss one of the keenest 

 and most subtle of life's fleeting joys. 



We had in view the game fields contiguous to the N. V. R. 

 Like all lovers of the rod and gun we were desirous of finding 

 a sportsman's paradise, and where were we more likely to find 

 it than in " the land of the Sioux?" We made brief slops fit 

 St. Paul and Minneapolis, but long enough to meet several 

 gentlemen fond of like pursuits, among whom was the cvor- 

 geirial Charles Hallock. Mr. Footncr, the obliging superin- 

 tendent of the N. P. Ex. Co., we found anxious to do all in 

 his power to assist us, and as he is very expert with the im- 

 plements used by sportsmen he knows how to do it. We 

 can say for the whole management of the N. P. that they 

 arc generous and obliging to the sporting fraternity, in strong 

 Contrast to sonic Eastern railroad ollicials I could mention. 

 After leaving St. Paul our first stop was at Perham, about 

 the centre of the "park region" of Minnesota, so called from 

 its farcical resemblance to our .. city parks. Here is a vast 

 country, several hundreds of miles in length on the south, 

 reaching into Northern Iowa, and northwardly far toward 

 [Manitoba. It consists of a high, undulating prairie, diversi- 

 fied by thousands of lakes of clear and limpid water, fre- 

 quently so near to each other as to hardly admit of a roadway 

 between them. Scattering oaks dot the surface of the land, 

 with here and there a beautiful grove. Theground is covered 

 with luxuriant grass, set off with hundreds of varieties of 

 prairie flowers. It is perhaps needless to say that these lakes 

 are stocked with apparently inexhaustible quantities of black 

 bass, muskalonge, pike, pickerel and the various smaller 

 fishes indigenous to this latitude. Otter Tail Lake, one of 

 the largest, contains, iu addition, whitefish. In many of 

 these lakes wild rice is found in abundance. Otter Tail 

 county is said to contain over nine hundred lakes, most of 

 them nameless. 



Here we luxuriated on the most delicate and gamiest of 

 fish, and the plumpest of mallards and teal. The sharp- 

 tailed grouse are also cpiile common. Deer are occasionally 

 found, but withal we cannot say that we found it the para- 

 dise of which wo had so forcibly dreamed, for "there is no 

 rose Without its thorn." We found a very sharp thorn in our 

 guide ; he knew too much, His superabundant knowledge 



