248 



FOREST AIND STREAM. 



[Apart 38, 1883. 



men in Little Rock, and tmjt was a Cleat majori 



r ±1 is remarkable that there •are always mo 



len i 11 villag ; ban there arc Colli ■■ 



"[ was iii prime order. Myeyownsaskeen asali ltd sand 



mv nerves were as -.load;, ami unshaken as the political 

 course of Henry Clay, so at it we went, 111* di tancc one 



huiuli- -d yards. The pi'ltl'cipal marksmen, and mchaahad 



never been beat, led the wnv, aud tlieicwns sonic pretty fair 



sho&ling, I teii yen. At length It came to uty turn, i 



i I leh raised mybeautrlul Betsy to my shoulder, 



. : ' mil su I seul Hie bullet right into 



the center of the bull-eve. -There's no mistakein Betsy," 



said 1, in a careless sort of 1 lhe; i ill loofcingat 



till :.'i' i !0I Of >">■> •< and I 'ill over-please. I. 



":,■ aohanee -hoi. Colonel," said otus who had the 



repntatioi of 1 ' b oiai lo in those puns. 



oiixi i chanci u then was," said I. "when nick 

 ■■ , .. i] ' i i ' li 'i ter for n orse. 1 can do it 



"i ,l,i ! " This I said in 



us confident b lone as "the Government" did when he pro- 

 tested that ! ' i Benton lor shooting him and 



he was now t in- best friend he had in the world. I km v. it 



WUS BOl id '" I reel, as it. (flight be. but when ,nao 



ili I i Sgu . halfway measures won't 



an-u er no hov , and the great ad the hesl i b1 ■ 



the exi ib ■!" that raggei - ■■ • inswe a pi e »1 



tiroes, 



•They now proposed tliat We should have a second trial, 

 but knowing thai i had nothingtc gain and everything to 



lose, i was for becking out anil fighting shy. but I In i, v..,,-, 



no let-off, lor the eoek of the village, though whipped, de- 

 , i inert not to stay whipped, so to it again we went. 



Thi v tVCVe BOW put Upon their mettle, and theylired much 

 , BT than the first time, and it was what mighl be Called 



pretty Sharp shooting. When it came to my turn I squared 



i elf at.il turnimr to the prime shot I gave him n knowing 



;, ,,i li,,:,iii, ; i,r, , on Cm lenee. and says I. -'Look 



out, for the 'bullseye, stranger." I blazed away. 'and 1 wish 



I may 0.01 it I ■! In' raise ihi target. They examined it 



all over and could find neither hair nor hide of my bullet, 



when says I, ''Stand aside ami l look and I war'nt-you 



I gdt on the right toil oi sritler.' 1 They stood aside, 



and I examined Hie bullseye pretty particular, and at 



length cried out, "Here it is; there is no snakes if it ha'n'1 



followed the very track of the other.'' They said it was 

 , , ii, b i insisted on their searching the 



bole, and I agra I to i k up as a murk myself if they 



did not find two bulletsthere, Theyscarched for mj satis 

 faction, and sure enough it all came out jusl as I had told 

 thCm, for I had picked up a bullet, that bad been liivd and 



stuck ii deep in!,, the hole w ii bout, anyone perceiving it, 



, ill perfect ly satisfied that, fame had not made too 



great a flourish oi trumpets when speaking of me as a 

 marksman, and they all said they had enough of shooting 



, i thai day, and they moved that we adjourn to the tavern 

 and liquor." 



The story ,,i Crockett's part in Texas is well known.it 



belong to Ehe Lifstory of our eouuiry. Mortified by his 



detent in a thin ur lie announced to his constituents 



urination to "uuii the Stat 



"1 told tbeni moreover of my services, pretty straight up 



h iwn, for a man may fie allowed to speak on -neli sub- 

 jects when others tire about to forget them; and I also told 

 iheiu of the manner in which I hud been knocked down and 

 dragged tt, ahd that I did not eonsideril a fair fight any 

 tlO i" BOUld ff-x it. 1 pul the ingredients in (lie cup 



tngltell; tin I i ci ni luded my Speech by tsll- 



ie m that i was dune with politics foi the present, and 



that they might all go In hell, and 1 would go to Texas." 



Joining the Texas forces at, San Antonio, Crockett was 

 one of the devoted little hand who perished at the Alamo. 



••Before daybreak, on the Otli of .March, the Alamo was 

 assaulted by the whole force of the Mexican Army, com- 

 manded by Santa Anna in person. The battle was desperate 

 until daylight, wheu'imly six men belonging to the Texiau 

 garrison' were found alive. They ware instantly surrounded. 



ahd ordered b <;,,, ai, r-iriii.'mfo surrender, whicl 7, 



did,, under & promise of his protection, finding that resist- 

 ance any longer would be madness. Colonel Qrocketl was 

 of the number. He stood alone in an angle of the fort, the 



barrel of his shattered rifle in his right hand, in his left his 

 huge Bowie knife dripping blood. There was a frightful 

 gash across his forehead, while 1, round hiin there was 11 

 complete barrier of aboul twenty .Mexicans, lying pell mell 

 dead and dying. At, his feel lay the dead body of dial, well 

 known 1 1 ■ 1, a ci ■■' designated in the Colonel's narrative by 

 the assumed name of Thimlilerig, his knife, driven to the 



h.,1 1 throat of a Mexican, and his left, hand clenched 



in hi- haii. 



••General Ca.-t i illon was brave and not cruel, and disposed 



to save the prisoners, He marched them tip to that part of 



the fori Where Stood Santa Anna and his murderous crew. 



Tlie steady, fearless step and undaunted trend of Colonel 

 11 ■ a 1. 011 ttiisoi avf-.ioit, iiigeiia a with the hold demeanor ol 

 the liardj veteran, had a powerful effect on ail present, 

 Kothiug'ilaunted he marched up boldly in front of Santa 

 Anna, and 1, Hiked him sternly in the face, while Castrillon 

 addressed 'his excellency' — 'Sir, here arc six prisoners I 

 have taken alive: how shall 1 dispose of them?' Santa 

 Anna looked at Castrillon fiercely, flew into a violent rage, 



and replied; IJaveJnot told you before now to dispose 



of them V Why do you bring them to me?' AI the same 

 time his brave officers plunged their swords into the BO! oms 



of their defenccli aei Colonel Crockett, seeing the 



act of treachery, instantly sprang like 11 tiger at the ruffian 

 chief, but before he could reach him a dozen swords were 

 aid in his indomitable heart; and he fell, ami died 

 without, a groan, a frown on his brow, and a smile of 

 scorn ami defiance on his lips. Castrillon rushed from the 

 seeuc, apparently horror struck, sought bin Quarters, and 

 1 1 totles 1 tl an Eor several days, "and hardly spoke to 

 Sauta Anna afttl 



irado farmer has invented a duck-hunting outfit which 



dlSCOUm ■ ,''!:a 11J.IU: COVl SL"e stripped the hide 



from a bullock aud mounted it on a wire skeleton, which 



,, ,,; ..an::' 1 a,livjn a uimal. Heei.it away the 'i, 1 !,v ,,- 

 his wire bullock for his bodv, ami made two holes in the shoul- 

 der to take sight! through. When he wanteo duck shoot be 

 d ip ais skeleton, over his head and si irt.sout tor 1 in- tales, He 



,-,,, .,, all; ria.bL into a, dock i.U dueks wa.ln.ii: -i.,,a, i ;l 



and has on line or two occasions returned home with be. hidiUK 



place lidl of teal, caught with his fine:! ||, ,, i.i bokjl] 



nil be ,■ , i I I .,,ii . ■ ,,r ;, Miiar, heE into a. flunk 



aud turns both barrels loose at a time. He usually bags the 



iCk. He has applied for a patent, 



During the last season the Teal Club of San Francisco used 



' Busks of grain in baiting their ponds, and they killed ■ 



-.lucks. 



WINTER IN THE ADIRONDACKS. 



APRIL 3.— The roads are so soft we cannot gel a team 

 anywhere; how long they may continue in this con- 

 dition we eannol tell. Today 1 put ou my snow shoes to 

 >i it some traps up the brook', I only walked about one and 

 a half miles, but it is further than 1 have walkectal one lime 



since December 1, and when I got back to the house I had 

 to lie down. It, was father cfiscouTagrng as walking has 

 always my stronghold aud a great pleasure tome. I saw 

 many track-, of small game, and anions; others where a 

 whole family oi partridges had crossed the brook, lam 

 very glad to see so many signs of partridge. I was very 

 much afraid many had been killed by the severe weather; 

 having got through so far they will now be all right. We 

 have not begun sugaring yet, and as things look now there 

 will be no use tap] it 



Yesterday the law allowed trout, on the table, and we had 

 them, there has been no fishing through the ice this winter: 

 not a person has put a hook in the water during the close 

 I He ice is now thirty inches thick, and "in the place 

 whert we usually get our best fishing there is from two to 

 feet Of snow 011 the ice, so you can imagine how much 

 fishing will be done. A good iliaw would make the ice un- 

 e'r s tin- snow or snow or lop ice would go through the 

 lower ice like hot water through a cloth. 



This morning the thermometer marked two below zero, 

 but rose to forty-six above in the middle of the- day, and 

 made more impression on. the snow than any day, [could 



see I he tops of the highest stumps sticking out, 1 have four 

 men at work .getting in supplies for the season, cutting 

 wood, tilling ice bouses and such light, work, The team 

 has been all daj onthoxoad from Malonc, and at 6P ML 

 bad to leave the sled with its load in the road about line, 

 miles from the house, the horses completely used up by 

 slumping in the snow, which, is still four feet deep. The 

 -sun does not waste it at all. only softens the top enough iu 

 the day lime to make a hard crus! at night, fla [Jeer lj 

 having a sorry time; (here has been 110 crusting done any- 

 where' near the lake, but 1 bear there has been quite' a 

 number of deer killed iu the next town north of tis. 1 visited 

 the letter bos this morning for my mail, and on. my way 

 out saw- three partridges, they looked as plump as ever. The 

 foxes continue as thick as ever, oue of the men shot one on 

 the ice in front of the house last week, the next morning 1 

 saw one near the barn. 



The blue jays are now constant visitors, and last night 1 

 heard an owl*. Last week our old visitors, the fish crow's, 

 came back. They have nesled in the swamp east of the barn 

 every year since I came here. They always come a few 

 days ahead Of the bluebirds and robins. 1 shall expect to 

 see the bluebirds as soon as there is bare ground enough for 

 1 hen; to stand on. 



April 6.— No chance to get a letter out yet. The snow is 

 so soft a horse cannot be got out to the post-office, 



As 1 wroi, somewhere in the letter, I expected to sec a 



Mm iii id a-N soon as there was bar,- ground enough for iuin 10 



stand on. Day before yesterdaj the men felled" a dry spruce 



and made a lire of tllC branches. It made one bare spot, and 

 before the BBheS got cool a bluebird was 011 hand with his 

 song. Yesterday a robin gave us a few notes, then left, but 

 a pair of grouad sparrows nave come to stay. This thaw 

 has settled the snow about oue foot, aud if it thaws twenty- 

 four bout- longer at the same rale we will be obliged to let 

 down tin top bar to gel over, We can now see the board 



next below the tO] <• on the barn-yard fence. 



Some lime ago I <aw in the Koui'st \mi Srnt: \ m a call 

 lor information in regard to -loe Call. 1 have Waited to see 



- response, tan have seen none. Almost anyone in 



Bssi \ county could give many point-. Several member- of 

 the family now live iu Jay, Esses county. One son works 

 in the rorgeof the J. &J. Rogers do. ' 1 have written to 

 .lav asking for some facta* and if 1 gel anything worth while 

 will give them to the Forest and Btheam. "t have often 



heard men in this set lion tell of Iii- great feats of si length. 

 Many of them -eein incredible, but they are told for truth, 



and I think the story of Call's life -would be very interest 



im:. lie cert duly had a great reputation as a wrestler. 



April ?. — Snowed about four inches last night, ami one of 

 if., ne n i- going home, so I have a chance lo send lo mail. 

 I bad lot- more lo -ay to you after reading the last batch of 

 papers. A. K. Ft 1.1, ion. 



MEACHAM Ljki:, KruiiKlni Co., N. V. 



Am Oud Hunter.— Phin Teepic, an old hunter of Wayne 

 county, Penn., la-a fall, while about a mile from the 

 i'lag' ol 1'rcst n, was stopped in the road by a huge cata- 

 mount. Having uo gun. and only his dog with him, the 

 animal was with difficulty put. to flight. Knowing that the 

 bold actions of the cat were prompted by her having some 

 kittens nearby, old Phin, who is now over seventy -live, at 

 once made search for the youngsters, aud by aid of his dog, 

 S0OH discovered and secured the pair and returned home 

 with them in Ids overcoat pocket. The following morning 

 he returned to the spotwtth onekillen, andtyiugit loabush, 

 soon brought the old one near enough to him, which he shot 

 dead. Phiu has account of 3,300 deer he has killed in bis 

 lifetime, and a score of 400 bears, all shot with a rifle he 

 sBll has, which bears the name of "Settler." Tceplc re- 

 members the time when there were elk in Wayne county, 

 and calls lo mind the last panther shot iu his county in 

 1851, by Ed, Quick, of Blooming drove. Since 1879, ITiin 

 has given up hunting in Wayne and Susquehanna counties, 

 going into Potter, where game is more plentiful. There 

 are more deer in Pike county this season than for several 

 vears past, and many have been killed. It is a pleasure to 

 'meet Phin Tceplc. and we have no doubt he has as many 

 hunting exploits to relate as had old Mat, Browning, who 

 tor forty years huutcd iu the central southern portion of 

 , and Northern Weetem Maryland. I shall have 

 some unpublished account of old Browning's doings with 

 the rifle, which will be given me by the sou of an old 

 hunter, who was ul times his companion in the woods.— 

 Homo. 



The Retobs op the Ddcrb.— Appleton, Me., April 10. 

 —I live within stone's throw of the St. Georges River, and 

 within a few miles of -many ponds, both large and small, 

 aud so I have a good chance of seeing both ducks and 

 geese. The lirst: ducks were seen Fridaj morning. April 8, 

 and that morning a large flock of geese went over here on 

 their way north, the largest one seen here for several years. 



.- : ,,■ hi obi p ' n rj day, but Do om I 



able to shoot one. AH of I he ducks seen here as yet have been 

 black ones, but those that have been shot were in poor con- 

 dition. It promises to he a good season's sport. — K. R. 



Tne Staked Plain.— Our frequent contributor. "N. A. 

 T.." has just been over the Staked Plain. Texas, and reports 

 gam, plenty: I found my old friend, the Staked Plain, 

 literally swarming with game as I passed over if, I must 

 have seen from the ear windows 50,000 antelopes. The 

 pay-car. which was just, ahead of me, ran into a herd ot 

 buffaloes, about twenty-five miles cast, of the Pecos, and llie 

 chaps on hoard killed four. I would not have thought I hat 

 there was a man on board that car who could hit the side of 

 a mountain at ten feet distance, but. they did verilv kill four 

 buffaloes. It was, however, an accident, no doubt— a mere 

 accident,. Had they known how to shoot, they might have 

 killed a, hundred. This morning 1 was at Red Lake, seven 

 miles from JVIarienfield. It covers fully 2,000 acres, and is 

 a beautiful sheet of water. The wind wasblowing strongly" 

 and the lake sent forth a sound much like the gulf on 

 Galveston beach, but of course not so loudly. A few hun- 

 dred yards from it there is another lake of several hundred 

 acres. Both were swarming with ducks. The water in 

 each IS pretty salty, but the cattle seem to like it There 

 are thousands of kikes on the Staked Plain. It is the sports- 

 man's paradise. If I should ever come up here on a Sporting 

 expedition, J should hi iug with me a canvas emioe in on:br 

 to get at the myriads of geese ami duck.- that swarm these 

 lakes. With a cauoe you can kill ducks and geese bj urn 

 dteds. Without a earioe it Is a mere chance if you kill any 

 at all; and if you do, you often cannot get them unless you 

 have a dog. 



Faumiu: Axn Si>okts}1an\— East Douglas, Mass. — 1 am 

 a farmer and my lauds are always open to any sportsman 

 who deserves the name, for 1 do not class as spoi'tstuen men 

 who are guilty of the acts which, among a certain class of 

 land-OWRera. has called down condemnation on the whole 

 race of hunters. Some of them have had cause enough to 

 make them wroth, as I have good reasons to know. How- 

 many sportsmen would bear with calmness the death or 

 crippling of a favorite dog out of "pure cussednesVi fl i 

 not at all conducive to calm reasoning to hud a fine heifer 

 •wounded to Ihe death by some neighbor's stock through the 

 carelessness of some passing hunter in leaving the^feuce 

 down. Several years ago T lost a heifer in that way. 

 Among the minor vexations the throwing dowu of a wall, 

 whieh it will cost not a few dollars to repair, is not the 

 least, the object usually being a rabbit worth perhaps ten 

 cents. As your correspondent "K." savs, some seem to 

 think that, we have no rights that they are bound to respect. 

 I claim to be a humble follower of Nimrod and Walton; no 

 one better enjoys a day's sport with rod or gun than myself; 

 but when things come to the pass that" the amount of 

 property destroyed exceeds the value of the game ten-fold, 

 il i- time to draw the line somewhere. The panther which 

 ha- tutorized this section so long turns out to be a wolf; so 

 it seems some of the persons who saw htm must have drawn 

 on their imaginations rather strongly.— Amateiii. 



Watekitowi. in the Moktii. — We print the lollowilli 

 extract I rom a private letter received from a friend who is 

 living on the Upper .Marias River in .Northern Molilalia. He 

 says: For the past ten days the snow has been steadily silting 

 dow n, and now lies on the ground at the dept h of 

 more. It has bceu a complete surprise to the waterfowl, 

 which commenced to arrive about the 3th of March. The 

 lakes and streams are again frozen over, and only the rUis 

 on tin- river- arc open. I have had .-ome good -port shooting 

 swans and geese with the rifle, but owing to the dangerous 

 condition of the ice. havceucceeded in getting only about half 

 of what lhave killed. 1 carry a long nshline with me, 1 n the 

 end of which is tied a ball of lead; back of dial, several 

 feet apart, I have fastened on three large (ishhooks. 1 

 tin ow the line out directly over the floating bird, draw it 

 quickly back, oue of the booES catches on to the fowl, and ! 

 drag ii ashore. Isn't this an ingenious device? I was out 

 day before yesterday«for an hour or two with an Indian, 

 and we were trying to corral a "boh" cat. in a patch of brush, 

 when five swans rose OUt of the river near by, With hi- 

 Winchester the Indian dropped three of theni before they 

 got out of range. I do not think that waterfowl are weather 

 prophets. I have noticed during my residence out ben ihat 

 they begin to arrive from the 7th and the 13th ot March 

 and we often have severe storms later. The swans which i 

 have killed are very fat, but the geese very poor, the breast 

 bone being very prominent. 



Tmo Cooiu:\u of Gkeues. — Cut off the meal from the 

 breast, taking off the skin, aud put, the meat into cold water 

 with considerable salt, and let it soak over night. Then 

 rinse off with clean water and put it into your kettle with 

 cold wtiter enough to cover it; add a very small quantity of 

 saleratus, and let it parboil six or eight minutes. Then pour 

 off the water and again cover it with cold water, and add 

 four or five small ontons and a few pieces of carrots. Let 

 them cook slowly together until the vegetables are nearly 

 done, then take them out and reserve some of the water for 

 gravy. Now cut some carrots and parsnips into strips (as 

 for julienne soup), and fry these together in butter until 

 done. Next put a few slices of bacon into a roasting pan, 

 placing the breasts of the grebe and vegetables over the 

 bacon; pour in some hot water and the water previously 

 saved and put them on the stove, and let them cook together 

 about fifteen minutes. Then take out, your meat and Vege- 

 tables (leaving the bacon in), place them on your platter and 

 set in a warm place. Set your pan with the water and 

 bacon in over the fire, add some Worcestershire sauce 

 (sherry wine if you wish), thicken, and let it cook about five 

 minutes, and then pour it over your dish of grebe, and the] 

 are ready for the table. Grab-apple or currant jelly are veiy 

 good served with them. — D. 



EOTOROING THE Deer Laws— Canton, K. Y., April 19, 

 1883.— At the last term of the Court of Sessions of St. Law- 

 rence county. Chester Young, of the town of Fine, was Died 

 tend convicted for pursuing deer with dogs on the 17th day 

 of October last, He was sentenced by the court to pay a 

 fine ,ii sou and to stand committed ui'fll 'the fine should be 

 paid. The same defendant pleaded guilty to a second in- 

 dictment for llie same offense on tile 18th day of last Octo- 

 ber, and was fined tkOO. George Walker and Alouzo Green-, 

 field, of the same town, were indicted, tried and convicted 

 for unlawfully killing a speckled trout, and sentenced to 

 pay a fine of $30 each and to stand committed until the flue 

 should be paid. Lenox Smith, of New York city, pleaded 

 guilty; to an indictment for killing a deer in the month of 

 June. 1883, and was fined S30. The authorities, in co- 

 operation with the St. Lawrence Game Club, are seeut iug 

 the enforcement of the game law in this county.— L. P. H. 



