F*m. 1, 1888.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



11 



required was to get possession of the guns and confiscate 

 them. The semccs of a Philadelphia detective were en- 

 ti-t.i!. an.d the Operations of this shrewd man began the 

 game. Firsl he Went to 3avre-(je-Grace and found out who 

 the great duel; killers were. Of course, nobody know how 

 i lii-\ ' U liu-.l their duck-, inn to these men the detective wsent, 

 and being an engaging and companionable fellow., he made 

 them all his friends. They took him. down to the strong- 

 hold on apesutta Island and gave him all the duck Bhpofing 

 hewaotetl. Tin v badsplenelid guns of sill patterns, ana 

 were willing to show liiiu how to kill ducks I'vom a bar or 

 a hliml, hut never a. chance did he get to 

 go out in a sneak boat with a "bit? guu." 

 Phej were very reticent about these, and their hiding places 

 for t'le.m were 'of the cleverest and most unsearchable char- 

 acter. The det.. live wauled to see the guns fired, so as to 

 have unquestionable ^evidence. At last he was taken out 

 with Wash Barnes, the great duck-killer, and the ringleader 

 of the poacher-. Ou thts occasion Barnes killed 104 ducks. 

 Afterward the detective was taken out with another man, 

 and was shown the modus operandi. With this evidence, 

 and the knowledge of the fad that upon a certain day all 

 the poachers except one would be away from the island", the 

 detective joined .Mr. Semmes, aud they' set out in asrnall bout 

 from Havre de Grate Forlkeisland for the purposeof Capture 

 iug the guns. The detective knew where they ware hidden. 

 Unfortunately, the river began to I'rce/e. and after about 

 fiveboure' hard pulling the boaf become icebound when near 

 the island. Tin- two men were discovered by the sloops of 

 the duck pirates which wen- cruising around, and three of 

 tlu in made a descent upon the yawl ami its occupants. The 

 lawbreaker* suspected d raid and smelt a rai. and Mr. 



Semmes and the detective WCre taken aboard of Wa-li 

 I3arnes\ schooner. The detective, relyingon his friendship, 

 said he was Jutl bringing hi- friend, Mr. Henry, a Philadel- 

 phia banker.' down tn the M.-uid for a day's sport. In the 

 cabin fit Haines's boat, there were two Henry rilles, three 

 double-barreled shotguns, and several revolvers. Suspicions 

 were allayed. Mr. II. my" got his day's shooting and 

 w. nt back without the "big guns." 



Another raid was planued. This lime two Baltimoredctec- 

 lives were brought into requisition aud several special 

 officers. The lines werw laid with great judgment, and day 

 before yfesterday the party made an aitack on the island, 

 armed with warrants for ihe arrest of Barnes and the other 

 man. Whose friendship had induced him to take thedetective 

 out in his I mat. To.tiir surprise of the raiding party, the 

 poachers u, iv found entrenched on the island armed to the 

 teeth and prepared to make a desperate defense, It was 

 afterward learned that a special office? Who had been sent 

 IB Helair to be deputized by the sheriff bad acted In an inju- 

 ilicious manner, and the duck-killer:- had gotten wind of the 

 affair fiere wa- a tix. There were i leven poachers in all. 

 and about six in the party that had come to arrest 

 them The poachers sw'ore that they would die 

 railu r than be arrested. Mr. Semmes hoisted a flag-of-truce 

 and opened a parley. Be told the men that he was goingto 

 arrest them anyhow, and that they had better submit. They 

 could not better their misdemeanors by adding to them the 

 oapfU] crime of murder; whereas, it the officers of the law 

 Should l^i' 1 -> u y one m making the arresl.il would be a 

 praiseworthy act in tin- , y. oftnelflw, The poachers con- 

 sidered this a knock down argument and surrendered, think- 

 ing that at best they would only be taken before a Harford 

 county magistrate.' A 'rule provision of the law. however, 

 allows the offerfders to be prosecuted either InHarfordoi 

 BaltillVKO county, and when Mr. Semmes told Barnes and 

 his partner that be was going to slap them into 

 jail at Towson. they begged for mercy. A corfl- 

 piomi.-c wa- then effected md Mr. Semmes promised 

 thai they should be taken before a Harford county 

 magistrate, and thai he would allow the law to take its 

 course wit html argument upon the evidence if they would 

 id ve up ilicii ' Idir guns." The men begged and implored, 

 and even wept ovi r partner with their guns, -wearing that 

 (hey were lluir "bread aiid bulbr." Mr. Semmes took 

 tin in. however, and brought them to this city yesterday, 

 when Ihcv were broken up and given to Winteruir/.. the 

 junk dealer. They were enormous single-barreled affairs. 

 painted a dirty White, and were both loaded. One of these 

 guns is -aid to have bc-n owned bv old Captain (adwalla 

 dcr, of ducking fame, ami cost $(I00\ The lock was a beau- 

 tiful piece of mechanism, aud the metal was perfect. The 

 two men were each fined StlOO. aud were released. The 

 Philadelphia del. dive— who, bv-tbe-wav, has made himself 

 v.. rv m arc alleges thai there are .-(ill eighteen of these 

 guns in possession of ihe. gang, which will doubtless con- 

 tinue its nocturnal depredations upon the ducks. 



AVni-.N the* Comf. isn Wiiv.— Cleveland, Jan. 15, 1883. 

 — EiM-ir Forest and Btri am: The experience of your cor- 

 respondent, Mr. Veiuior, is that "the snowy owl is more 

 abundant about Montreal in exceptionally mild and open 

 winters." Our experience here, in Cuyahoga county, O., 

 for the last four or live vcars, is that the bird comes from 

 the North, gonerairy aboutthelasl of November aud remains 

 never later than the last of January. I have never seen a 

 .-pi i ini'->. taken here after this mouth, and as a rule we 

 have always considered their appearance the precursor 

 of the winter storm.. The idea so far has generally 

 laid good. The migration of this bird in the fall anil 

 carlv winter of ls?0 was a real stampede from the Arctic 

 regions between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and what 

 an extremely cold winter followed. Now was this great 

 migration pf owls southward due to a short crop of ptarmi- 



faiis. or something else yet to be explained? In tact, do vou 

 elieve an Arctic owl can catch a full-fledged ptarmigan? 1 

 should think not. He. might, at limes, gobble up the. callow 

 bird, but as a rule he is not a fast, flyer nor competeut in the 

 hawk-way. especially iii tie winter months, when he would 

 like, most of all, ptarmigan dinners. As a fisherman this 

 owl is quite expert, bin does not catch his fish after the 

 manner of the bold and honest fish hawk. Considering the 

 -oiiniry this bird inhabits, liis food must necessarily be of 

 a "go-as-you-please" nature, of which we know but little. 

 The same is true of his gOnernj History. Hull, the Arctic 

 explorer, was theonly one, as far as 1 know, that ever met 

 with its nesi and eggs. "U'hai ha- become of the ptarmi- 

 gan?'' Perhaps many years of persecution to the race has 

 KmgDI them to avoid the Dominion '•-- Die E. Stkhi.ino. 



THE YELLOWSTONE PARK. 

 Editor Forest and Btriam: 



Inclosed I send you a copy of a petition 1 laid before the 

 Kent County Sportsmen's Club, of Grand Rapids, Mich., on 

 the 2d of this month, which was indorsed by the club and 

 ordered signed by the officers in their official capacity and 

 presented to. Congress, lam not sure whether this i- lie 

 nt of a elnlioii this subject i <r not, ll i- . eri .inly 

 the first I have heard of. I do not mention this boastfully, 

 but rather regretfully that the game and fish protective 

 •lub- and associations are not more active in their efforts to 

 live the National Yellowstone Park from the spoliation 

 that threatens it, especially as a game preserve. At the an- 

 nual session of the Michigan (State) Sportsmen's Associa- 

 tion, on the 9th irisl . I laid a copy Of the same petition be- 

 fore thai body, which was unanimously indorsed and 

 ordered signed and forwarded as above. I hope every associ- 

 ation, society, and club will go and do likewise. 



E. S. Hot mi:s. 

 tiiiAMi Kai-his. Mieli.. Jan, s'O, 1888. 



THE PETITION. 



To the honorable the- Senate and House of Representatives Oj 

 Wis United Sttites of America in Cttngress assembled: 



We, the undersigned, members of the Cent County Sports- 

 man's Club, of Grand Rapids, and citizens of Kent uounty, 

 Mich., do respectfully ask your honorable bodies to enact such 

 laws a-s niav be lieei'ss.uv to secure the enlargement of the 

 National Yellowstone, Park by the addition of about forty 

 miles of the national domain on the east and about ten miles 

 on the south of said Park aud the. eastern addition, as recom- 

 mended by Lieut. -Geu. P. H. Sheridan in his report of his 

 recent summer trip to said Park. 



We also ask that tho control of the said Park lie trans- 

 ferred to the War Department, and that the troops of the 

 United States Army stationed in contiguous forts be in- 

 structed to protect all wild animals, especially game animals, 

 of the air, on the land and in the waters of said Park, and to 

 prevent all vandalism within the boundaries of the same. 



Wb also protest against the leasing of said Park oi am part 

 thereof to private parties. 



And your petitioners, as in duty bound, will evor pray. 



Some of the reasons for passing 'Senator Vest's bill may 

 be found in the report of Mr, P. H. Conger, the .superinten- 

 dent of ihe Yellowstone National Park Speaking of the 

 vandalism of visitors and their utterly wanton destruction of 

 the natural curiosities there, he savs: 



'1 have hardly the patience to discuss this .-object with- 

 out pasaiph, The most of the depredations committed seem 

 to me so entirely purposeless that I am unable to conceive 

 the cause that impels men and women to wantonly destroy. 

 purely for destruction's sake. What are we to think of a 

 man that will pack long poles, as heavy as he can enrry, a 

 great distance for the purpose of thrusting them into the 

 cone and down the throat of these great geysers, when the 

 only possible effect must be to obstruct their tlow and ma r 

 their beauty? This is done repeatedly, although 1 have 

 neglected no opportunity to warn, admonish, and entreat 

 all tourists whom 1 have met in the Park not ou any 

 account to do so. 1 have also, by published order, 

 forbidden the collection of any specimens and cuutioned all 

 persons having occasion to "build afire in the Park to be 

 certain to extinguish the same before leaving camp. 

 But notwithstanding all this tourists go into the Park with 

 iron bars and picks secreted in their wagons, with the ex- 

 press intent to disregard the law and defy the Superintend- 

 ent. The cones of the great geysers are already badly de- 

 faced and vast tracts of the beautiful forests that adorn this 

 wonderland are laid waste by fire annually, through the 

 Wanton carelessness and neglect of visitors. Another source 

 of great annoyance is the hunters in the Park. 1 am sure 

 you will agree with me that it is not possible for a single 

 game-keeper to guard so vast a territory as the National 

 Park and prevent the breach of the laws in regard to the 

 killing of game. When we consider the temptation and the 

 opportunity which these vast solitudes afford, we need uol 

 wonder that the laws are broken and the orders disobeyed. 

 But I leave it for the superior wisdom of the Honorable 

 Secretary of the Interior to suggest some remedy for these 

 evils." " 



MitW FbrsetfUid Stream: 



Allow me to congratulate you upon the fight vou arc 

 making against the land grab in the National Park. I 

 think that all the moral support possible should begiveh 

 our representatives in Congress, and all others, who arc try- 

 ing to preserve this Park to its intended and legitimate 

 uses. Allow me, also, to say that you need have no' fears of 

 our Senator Vest weakening in this investigation, for we do 

 not believe any subsidy will be able to cause him to swervi 

 from a plain line of duty. Please give us all the facts a 

 they are brought to light 'in this investigation. Occident. 

 , Mo., Jan. 80, 1883. 



Nobody objects to Hie erection or Hotels in the Pint;. Speculator* 

 may build as maUy as they want to. Whal is objected to it Is the 



granting of exclusive rights where m. . •. ( u I vabin is guaranteed. Tie- 

 i';.e. ei-i.meni gives something for nothing. Neither :,lr. Maich nor 

 Mr Conkling nor anybody else- « ho has anything to sell or lend ever 

 does business in this wnv. Hut tli.-v will mike their point. Alt the 



I in- he 



e it, 



;iie- 



IJijait. in (e.viixKjiui. -We-tlieul, N. .[.. .Ian. O'J.- - 

 The quail are doing finely (the two l was able i,o »ave 

 after I found out through you what .ailed them). I 

 have bought a dozen wild niie-, part of which I will turn 

 out in the spring, and part will keep for quail breeding in 

 ( ■oiitincuieiii. on a larger scale next year. — ,Ioun J. Wu.i.i^ 



[St. Paul l'ionecr-P 



ress. Jan 



BO 



The latter of Gen. James S. tins!) 





igressman Belford, of 



Colorado, under tlat» of Sept. -'■> !-< 





his unselfish devotion 



to the cause of the louristu who ma, 





Yellowstone National 



1'nrk and desire to view ihe pit'tureso 





of the lake from a pa- 



intial steamer or u white-winged vaci 





.peeted to make- a ind- 



liou by exleiidin-' to them the ii.-sim: 





ue Brisbiu Beet, The 



General is » self-saeriiieing patriot, n 





1 believe in allowing a 



bloated monopoly like tho Hatch sym 





ene||,e,|e;||- Oillllfc. 



|Ft. Wayne (fad) Ma and 



1'eather. 



Jan., J8S3.1 



Itaplaiu-spole-n and well-written a 



l-tiete evi 



r apnoarea in public 



print u was the one m tho Kokest an 



. snnr.A.M 



■ t Dec. 21, in relation 



to the "Leasing of tho National I'.u 



i. l-aii 



warning ■■! gigantic 



Kui-'to 



t vet fully .-.-tiled. Vet the hoi, 

 isciMllie "Leasing of the Nuti'; 



the Ditlmar powder, ai: 

 and appreciated by a gi 

 nation and not specula! 



Brisbili wants the one little right of the exclusive privilege of run 

 uing steamboats on Yellowstone Lake for tcu years. So It goes. 



loon It there is not jobbery af 



ear marks are misleading. The 



protect ihe Yellowsuine counti 



[Knlckerl 



The Yellows! Part; fraud 



anporary. I'ouesi ani?Stio:\* 



trilles. by which we learn tun 

 single steamboat on !hw lak 

 "convenience of lonrlsls" is 

 eye to the disadvantages of i 



The raited Slates (invert 

 hands, is chiefly engaged h 

 of taking eare of it. The i 

 cent that, aftir having set i 

 it must leov he given up to 

 example of bow Hole the p 

 for their general benefit . 

 noble one. The hot.l schei 

 to be noble al all. 



i with this Park, the 

 ,.ved any too soon to 



■ ■ 



v I'm 



boa;, a, tho-e other feller . 

 ng lo gobble the whole Park, 

 i It was who. in Secretary 

 •anted aw ay rights and profits 

 is good political economy. 



e spoils! 



A GROWL ABOUT GUNNERS. 



r NOTICE nu article in vour last on the "Indestructibilitv 

 of Game Hirds." riom'oue of your corresponden'.-. 1-l'e 

 admits thai the wildfowl and snipe arefMghtwicd away by 

 night shooting, and have gol Lhe gauge of modern choke 

 bores down so tine that they cot beep out of range. That is 

 just what all of us 'growlers" complain of. Npthinghas 

 done so much to drive "away our wildfowl and snipe, as the 

 introduction Of tnodem breech-loaders at a low price — a 

 good one costs now uo more than a muzzle-loader a few 

 years ago. It is no! the birds ilia! an killed, bui those that 

 arc seared away, thai do the mi-chief. 



The coast is lined with ".nickers" ami -'snipers" the 

 whole Benson, everyone of whom own a gun, aud so they 

 musi -hoei at everything with leather- on. sea gulls, swai 

 lows, and the like' What earthly difference docs it make if 

 the ducks and snipe arc "indestructible," so Iohl;- as they 

 keep themselves where you cannot get at them. Yom cot 



respondent mention- a -poi on the (lull' of St. Lawrence, 

 where ho has SS good shuoting as ever, hut I notice thai he 

 takes irooti care not to advertise ils exact locality. If he did, 

 ahout one season would -how him what i's meant by 

 scarcity of game birds. I i uhwi.kh. 



Ohec.on Game.— Cove, Oregon, Jan. 5.— For the past 

 two weeks we have had a cold snap, with snowstorms, ice 

 and slush following each Other. Shooting has been pretty 

 fair among the prairie chickens, ducks, jack-rabbits una 

 large game. Oc-e have left for « wanner dime. The 

 sharp-tail grouse, culled here chickens " duiiii"; a snow 

 slorm frequcnlly settle in ihe trees on Ihe streets, and are 

 shot from the houses. Notwithstanding the depth of .-now. 

 they arc in -good order, feeding op. buds and berries, Ve- 

 lert'lav two of us wcni down -nine half a mile, walking- near 

 a warm creek still open, and found plenty of aunt. Duck-. 

 to protect themselves from the wind, wen- under the banks 

 and bushes, and as we turned Sharp nooks in the stream, 

 Ihcv would rise almost under our feet, only to full with a 

 bound right, and left. Now and then "chickens" arose v, itli 

 a whir from the -nou bank- and i|ii,l,,i-. When agaiil 

 settling they crawl under crusts, and ofl n will be almost 

 st eppe'd on before taking wing. Tiny afford the finest of 

 .shooting when the weather is cold ■rnl .-now covers ihe 

 ground: but when the snow disappears lln birds are wiid 

 and difficult of approach. My eoinpauiotr, noticing fresh 

 tracks of a jack-rabbit, followed Ihem only a short distance 

 when it jumped up uear by and w a- broughl to bag. They 

 are almost invisible now, being white. We made two par- 

 ticularly line sbols, bringing down a pair of mallards at 

 least seventy yards high. "After a half day's Fj>ort we re- 

 turned with one rabbit, six ducks and twelve chickens. — ,1. 

 G. S. 



Ni:w ,I]-usi:y Qitmi. Stocking.— Plaintield. N. J., Jan. 

 20. — The first installment of three hundred live quail for 

 stocking purposes, ordered by the New Jersey Game and 

 Fish Protective Society, arrived at Ihe headquarters of the 

 society in this city last week, and arc doing finely. The 

 biids came from the Indian Territory, through Rcicht Bl 

 New York, and arc in good condition. They have been 

 placed in excellent ipiariers and arc recciviug everv atten- 

 tion necessary to their welfare, until the proper Mine arrives 

 10 turn them 'loose in the various counties Of tile State des- 

 lined asiheir future homes and breeding nlaces. The society 

 is in a liorishing condition, and rapidly increasing in man 

 ber-liip. Non-residents desiring to become members ,-li ou l(l 

 ilddresslhe Secretary. \\ S. Fort I . I'iainticid. N. .1. Theru 

 is a prospect of nion ■ 1 1 1 - 1 i I b.-ing I, |'| over ibis winler than 

 in many prevmu- yeftrs. The writer know- id several 

 broods which wire saved ovcriiom last fall's shooting in 

 this immediate neighborhood, by thi exertions of members 

 of the society, who would not shuol them theiii'-clvc.-. not 



allow others to do so as far as lay hi ihoir power, foregoing 

 their favorite snort because they desired ihe bird- to in 

 crease, in number- and thus afford better shooting in the 

 future. Grouse are scarce in ilii- section. No important 

 changes in the game kiu • an lil.tlv to be made lo He piv- 

 eut Legislature. — Fox. 



Mn.KATonv Qiaii..- New York Ciiy. Jan. iff, lStsS.-— 

 W ill yoil be lei. id enough tq publish in your i -deemed paper. 

 that anybody dc-imn- io import He migratory quail from 

 Me— ina n.-.x'i spring can obtain all informal ion, etc., by ap 

 plying to the undersigned, 46 Beaver ' Btrcel Ovel ia,0(ltl 

 quail have been Imparted through mr from Messina to thi- 

 | oounin —(.'Mil. K lie w \ 



