404 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Jcne 2H, 1881. 



3. If so, are the public allowed free passage on foot, over 

 adjoining lauds where no annua! crops are growing? 



As this is the first time that these identical questions have 

 arisen in the Courts of Maine, the decision of the Court will 

 he watched with much interest. 



The cojnsel for plaintiff are Hon. A. G. Lebroke, Esq., 

 and W. E. Parsons, Esq., of Foxcroft. The counsel for 

 defendant are J . P. Sprague, Esq. , of Mouson, and H. Hudson, 

 Esq., of Guilford. 



We subjoin the agreed statement of the case : 



State of haiku, Piscataquis, ss. .supremo Judicial court,! 

 February Term, A. 1). 1831 . > 



Agreed stai 

 Action, Tre 

 1). 1680, and 

 leglng the 



ie above aellon la to be marked Law. 

 m. Tlie writ fluted August -/7Ui, A, 

 01, 1880, contains tultli. lent counts, al- 

 ia committed In ihe summer ol I8S0. 



Plea, not guilty. Writ need not bo copied. JiltUer parly may use 

 oae copy ol declaration. The plaintiff bad In bis enclosure, described 

 In the writ, tu Township No. s, Ranges, In stud County or I'lw.ata- 

 q ills, called " Howard," a natural pond of about twenty acres In area, 

 known as Grindstone Pood. All ol said pond was wiehln the close of 

 plaintiff : and the land around said pond was wild and uncultivated 

 with the exception of about two acres upon the. shore and adjacent to 

 said pond, which bad been cleared and cultivated. No crops were 

 raised, or hay cut, upon said cleared and cultivated portion ot satd 

 elose during the year issl. The plaintiff, In order to protect and for- 

 ward the propagation ot fish in said pond, had forbidden the public 

 from entering said close, or Ashing tn the waters of said pond, by 

 posting In said cleared portion of said close and elsewhere around 

 and on the shore of said pond conspicuous notices In clear letters 

 painted upon boards, forbidding all persons from entering said close 

 or fishing 1 a the waters ot said pond ; and said notices were so posted 

 when defendant entered said close, as alleged In the writ. Defen- 

 dant, in committing the acts constituting the alleged trespass, passed 

 over and uirougtt the cleared portion ot said elose, to wit, two acre 

 lot, and caught and carried away nsbes from said pond without per- 

 mission or license from the plaintiff, as alleged In the writ. The pub- 

 lic bad tor many years, to wit, thirty-five years, prior to the forbld- 

 dal ol I'ltr., and the posting ot said notices as aforesaid, bad access to 

 said pond for the purpose of fishing. None ot said land was enclosed 

 by fences ot any kind. 



It, Is agreed that the damages, 1( this action Is maintainable, are 

 the sum ot one dollar. The Law Court arc to render snob judgment, 

 by nonsuit or default, as the rights ot the parties shall demand. The 

 loans in quo of the alleged trespass was a part ot the public domain or 

 the commonwealth of Massachusetts, prior to A. 1). 1C47. 



A. G. leiihoke & w. E. Pabsons for riff. 



J. P. Si'iuocK & it. Hudson tor Den. 



iJjT Be; notice eh where of New York game late. 



THE LITTLE HELLBENDER'S APPEAL 



IN common with the press of New York, the Fobest and 

 Stream has received from Mr. Henry Bergh an. illus- 

 trated circular setting forth the cruelty of pigeon shooting, 

 and calling upon American citiz ns to riss up in their seats 

 and abolish the practice. 



The only trouble with Mr. Bergh is that he does not go 

 far enough. Why does he put in a plea for the pigeon and 

 remain silent upon the late unholy holocaust of hellbenders 

 by the greedy Ichthyophagi ? What is sauce for the goose 

 is sauce for the gander ; what is good from a Bergh point of 

 view for the pigeon must be good also for the hellbender. 

 The language of Mr. Bergh's ultra-humanitarian plea for the 

 birds will apply equally well and with as much reason to the 

 unlovely object of the Ichthyophagist's pervert d appetite. 

 We quote .- 



"Now, let us imagine for a moment that this unoffending 

 little being (the hellbender) is suddenly endowed with 

 speech. Might not its language (to the Ichthyophagist) be 

 somewhat like the following: 



'"lam wholly in your power ; you will not pretend that I have 

 ever harmed you, or that there exists any natural or legitimate 

 reason for my destruction. Tho sphere in which I moved was as-" 

 signed to me by the same AUwiso Being who made you, and bo 

 bountifully endowed you with wealth, reason aud all the material 

 possessions of this world. I waB betrayed into captivity while 

 seeking to provide nourishment for my little family of hell- 

 benders now dead of starvation. 



" 'You are about to immolate me upon the blood-stained altar of 

 iugloroua, gluttonous rivalry, and what will you gain by the 

 crunching of my delicate limbs and ruptured arteries, that 

 a senseless turnip would not afford you? If, however, 

 this little body, so cunningly and so mysteriously contrived by its 

 Creator, be noeeSBary to your reasonable benefit — if the brief ex- 

 istence which it iuherits he required for any purpose which re- 

 ligion and human policy condemn not— take it, it is yours j but of- 

 fend not ils Author, nor insult Uncultivated spirit of your genera- 

 tion, by a deed which your own conscience, on reflection, will 

 characterize, but which I refrain from doing.' 



"Thus might the unoffending Utile hellbender 

 address the Ichthyophagist, and w'nat answer could 

 he make ? None, absolutely none ; nor could the 

 combined intellect and learning of the world controvert the 

 argument of the tiny pleader awaiting his irresistible fiat." 



If this appeal does not have the hoped-for effect upon the 

 cruel ichthyophagists Mr. Bergh might interfere with the an- 

 nual dinners of that society on the ground that they are in 

 direct violation of the gambling laws, or the divorce law, lot- 

 that matter. To tell the honest truth, we confess that this 

 point seens to us a little weak, but doubtless Mr. Bergh can 

 make the District Attorney see it. 



If Mr. Bergh is still unsuccessful in his humane endeavor 

 to preserve the unoffending hellbender, we advise him to 

 write to all the daily papers, and call all the members of the 

 Ichthyophagous Club dog-fighters, cock-fighters, Spanish 

 bull-fighters, prize-fighters, burglars, highway robbers aud 

 sawdust swindlers. If iu the sainj letter he can say some- 

 thing abo at policy playing and piracy on the high seas he will 



have an argument fully as logical as that which he has caused 

 to be printed in reference to the pigeon shooting tournament 

 now in progress at Coney Island. And we venture to say it 

 would have as much effect. 



Killing toe Sparrows.— Some of the towns of Georgia 

 which arecopingwitb IlieEnglish sparrow plague are seriously 

 con lemplatingthc possible good results of a wholesale slaughter 

 with powder and shot and poison. The birds have increased 

 so rapidly in the Philadelphia Zoological Garden Grounds 

 that, they arc now trapped to the number of twenty or thirty 

 per day and fed to the snakes. This snaring has not dimin- 

 ished their numbers perceptibly, but by perseverance and an 

 increase of snakes we see no reason why our Philadelphia 

 friends canuot solve the sparrow problem. A note in our 

 natural history columns on this subject gives evidence that 

 the birds are in some Enropean cities as great a nuisance as 

 they are here. By the way, are any of our readers familiar 

 with the poem written by Bryant upon tho introduction of 

 the birds to this city ? 



Caep Cdi.ttjre.— In all parts of the country people are 

 making carp pouds, some of them on a large scale. No 

 doubt this fish will be plentiful in our markets in a few 

 years, and prove a great blessing iu those places where good 

 fish are now not to be had. In the markets of our seaboard, 

 where a wealth of sea fish are to be had, they will never 

 take a high rank, nor perhaps on the great lakes, but in/the 

 interior they are destined to rival the pork barrel as a source 

 of food supply. Mr. Harris, in Tennessee, and Mr. A A. 

 Wright, in Georgia, have both constructed ponds on a liberal 

 scale for the culture of this fish. 



The growing taste for sports in America is shown by a 

 glance through our columns this spring aud a comparison 

 with former years. In all directions the desire is manifest to 

 give the body its due and to cease the daily grind and toil 

 for a period of rest, change and diversion, The " Fixtures" 

 appertaining to the various departments, of which we make 

 a specially, arc year by year stretching into long lists, the 

 best index to the future. America is destined in time to take 

 the lead iu all sports, as it has done in so many things al- 

 ready. 



Fnssn Air fob the Children.— The Children's Aid So- 

 ciety, of this city, are doing a most commendable work in 

 securing for the poor children an opportunity to enjoy sea- 

 bathing, fresh air and a bit of free out-door life. The so- 

 ciety depends for support upon the voluntary contributions 

 of its friends, among whom should be numbered many of 

 our readers. The particulars of the society's work may be 

 obtained from Mr. C. L. Brace, the Secretary, No. 19 Last 

 Fourth street. 



Amoxq the passengers who sailed from this port to Europe 

 last Saturday was Prof. H. B. Roney, of East, Saginaw, 

 Michigan, who will spend several months abroad. The 

 present, Secretary of the Michigan Sportsmen's^ Association 

 is Mr. Win. B. Menhon, East Saginaw, Mich., to whom all 

 communications regarding the Sociely should be addressed. 



Home Again.— Mr. Thos. Manning has recently returned 

 from Colorado for a short respite from his hard labors in con- 

 nection with his mining enterprises, which he has carried 

 through to success. He will remain in the city for a mouth 

 or so to recruit, his headquarters being at the well- known 

 yacht agency, 53 Beaver street. 



Governor Cornell's Veto.— Just as we go to press we 

 learn by telegram that Gov. Cornell has vetoed the game 

 bill published by its a fortnight ago. This will be a disap- 

 pointment to those who were counting on July shooting. 



Coxkv Island.— The weather has been perfect at Corjey 

 Island, and the tournament, as we go to press, is progressing 

 smoothly. The scores of the shooting will be given in our 

 next issue. _ 



Deferred.— We are obliged to defer a number of com- 

 munications until next week. We beg the indulgence of 

 correspondents whose communications should have appeared 

 with this issue 



A Summer '1 mi' to Newfoundland has many attractions, 

 which are admirably set forth in the sketch sent by a St, 

 John's correspondent, and published in our sportsman 

 tourist columns. 



Southern Illinois is to have a sportsmen's association. A 

 meeting to organize such a society will be held at the office 

 of Dr. J. J. Jennelle, Du Quoin, July 4. 



Tub rabbits are out early in the morning in Central Park ; 

 and the rats are out at all times of the day stealing* the food 

 of the swans in the lake. 



The Forest and Stream of Juno 30 will contain a supple- 

 ment of four pages giving the full scores of the pigeon shoot- 

 ing at Coney iBland. 



That 'Possum will be served July 7th. It will be put on 

 the table hot ; and euough will be left over for any one who 

 prefers it cold. 



yottsmw EonmL 



FISHING AND SHOOTING IN NEWFOUNDLAND 



BY 35. W. PROWTE. 



I PROPOSE in this paper to say a few words about, fly- 

 fishing, caribou bunting and grouse shooting in .New- 

 foundland, but first let mo endeavor to disabuse tlie minds of 

 those who think that the island is only remarkable for di gs 

 and fogs and fish, that its climate is damp and disagreeable, 

 and that it is a hopeless, barren and uninteresting country. 

 These ideas about the colony are wholly incorrect, ; I he fogs 

 on the banks do not prevail on the land, the winters are 

 milder than those of Canada aud, although the spring is 

 sometimes late and cold, owing to the prevalence of pqlav 

 ice, the climate from June until October is one of the finest 

 in the world. As seen from ihe deck of an Atlantic steamer 

 the Newfoundland coast certainly does present a most bleak 

 and forbidding aspect. The country, however, must not be 

 judged from its rude exterior. 



Within its stern and rockbouud shores, lie noble bays, deep 

 land-locked fiords, clothed to the water's edge with greenery; 

 the deeply indented coast line affords every variety of mag- 

 nificent vistas, grand oceau-washed headlands, beetling cliffs 

 and deep gorges with precipitous sides, leading into long, 

 placid reaches surrounded by the forest primeval. Every- 

 where there is an abundance of water, lake scenery in every 

 variety, clear, pellucid streams, foaming waterfalls"; in short 

 every form of wild, natural beauty that the combination of 

 wood and fell and water can produce. 



The island has an inflniie variety of fruit aud berry bear- 

 ing scrubs, beautiful mosses, ferns and wild flowers. There 

 is not so great a diversity of forest trees as on the continent. 

 Neither walnut, elm nor oak are- found within the colony. 

 Their places, however, are well supplied by the several kinds 

 of birch, poplar, juniper, pine, willow and maple, which 

 arc exceedingly abundant. Besides her inexhaustible fisher- 

 ies, that vast harvest of the seas, which English, French and 

 Americans help to gather in every year, Newfoundland prom- 

 ises to be one of the greatest copper-producing countries in 

 the world. 



But without further enlarging on the wealth of timber, or 

 the great agricultural capabilities of the island, let me say to 

 my American readers that within forty hours' steaming from 

 Halifax lies a perfect refuge from the sweltering caloric of 

 the heated term in New York, a paradise for the sportsman. 

 a sanatorium for the used-up, and an almost virgin field of 

 exploration for the arlis.t, the naturalist and the geologist. 

 For the dweller in pent-up cities it is worth while making 

 the voyage, if it were only to see the fair, fresh complexion- 

 ed fisher folk and the stalwart sealers brimful of lusty health 

 and redolent of seal-fat. 



No where is an American made more welcome than in St. 

 John's. We hive had most pleasant aud intimate relations with 

 the States from the old culonial days. We do not forget how 

 muchweowe tothe enterprising capitalists of the great Repub- 

 lie. A New York company has just paid a million (lobars for 

 some of our copper mines, and another American syndicate is 

 going to build us our first railway, which will run through tl e 

 interior (a vast, natural deer-park), and terminate in the cop- 

 per region at the northeast of the colony. Cyrus W. field 

 gave us telegraphic communication with the world, and when 

 the railway is built we shall owe the two great eivilizers of 

 em times to Americans. Wehavc no insular prejudices against 

 the citizens of the United States, no prepossessions whatever 

 against American dollars. The sportsman with his rod and 

 gtm will be heartily welcomed, and the capitalist with his 

 enterprise and his cash will be received with open arms. 



A visit to the colony may now be made wiih much more 

 convenience than formerly. The Allan steamers from Balti- 

 more and Halifax touch at St. John's every fortnight, both 

 going and returning to Liverpool. There is a'so direct com- 

 munication in summer between New York and St. John's by 

 the Cromwell line: the sea passage from Halifax to St. John r s 

 takes about forty hours. The best time for tubing is from 

 the middle of June to about the middle of August ; the best 

 sea-trout fishing is between the end of July and the early 

 part of August, ranging sometimes as late as the 15th or 20th 

 of the month. The shooting season legally commences on 

 1st September, and the best months for winged game are 

 September and October, sometimes November. Caribou 

 shooting extends from September to the first of March. The 

 fresh water game fish are salmon, brook trout and salt water 

 irout, the lat'.er being very abundant, and affording the finest 

 sport. The principal game birds are willow grouse, ptarmi- 

 gan, snipe, plover, curlew, ducks and geese. The sportsmen 

 who care for killing sea birds will find them in great abun- 

 dance on the coast. Of large game tbere is only one kind of 

 deer, the caribou or reindeer; two hares, Arctic and Ameri- 

 can hare ; of fur-bearing anima's the principal are black 

 bears, wolves, foxes, martens, beaver, otters, etc. 



Although Newfoundland is larger than Ireland, its popu- 

 lation is only 180,000. The great peninsula tailed .\v,-d..n 

 contains more than half Ihe whole population.. The remain- 

 der are scattered in sirall settlements over a largo extent of 

 deeply indented coast line. On the southwestern coast and 

 in the interior are many large plains ca'led by I lie natives 

 "barrens." These barrens are so many great unprcserved 

 grouse moors. Into nearly every inlet on the coast flows 

 cither a river or a brook. All these water courses and the in- 

 numerable lakes ahound with fish. The paucity of popula- 

 tion naturally produces an abundance of fish and fowl. Even 

 at the presant day, when game has most materially decreased, 

 on the 1st of September bags of eight and ten brace of grouse 

 are irequently made within ten miles of St. John's, and 

 dozens of lake trout may be caught within twenty miles of 

 the capital. 



It will naturally be asked, arc there no drawbacks to all 

 this anticipated pleasure ? To the shooter I answer that the 

 country is wild and hard to travel; that a good day's shooting 

 involves a great deal of walking, and sometimes very tire- 

 some walking. To the disciple of dear, old Izaak Walton, I 

 say emphatically that there are flies to be contended with— 

 yes, I am bound to confess it, there are musquitoes in the 

 colony, and they have been here a very long time. Richard 

 Whitbourne, Mariner of Exmoulh, in Devon, a godly and re- 

 ligious seaman, whose discourse on Newfoundland was re- 

 commended by the bench of Bishops and the High and 

 Mighty Pnnce James, thus wrote of these pestilent insects in 

 1610: 



"Those Flies seem to haue a great power and authority 

 upon all loitering people that come to the Newfoundland; 

 for they have this property, that when they finde any such 

 lying lazily, or sleeping in the Woods, they will presently be 

 more nimble to seize on them than any Sargeant will bee to. 



