Mat 24. 188S.] 



FOREST AND* STREAM. 



32 9 



DUGK BOAT, 



«"/. oeci plan. 



ScaZ-e </ /sat. 



4 = i > 



^*2 , Section, TAsot4-<A fo-<^/ctfr Lt'ne, r . 



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'We had very fair luck, for in less than twenty minutes 

 old True boy "and Rattler were giving- tongue. " Truebo} r 

 would tackle nothing less than a deer, and foxes might cross 

 his path a dozen times when he was after deer -without dan- 

 ger of pursuit. 



Kilbouru and his companions could now hear the music 

 and were on the alert. In ten minutes more we heard 

 bang! bang! bang! in quick succession. Making sure that 

 OUT friends had had at least some sort of success, we pressed 

 on, only stopping- a moment to breathe, and bang ! bang! 

 once more. Heigho! but we are making it interesting for 

 tiiem, sure enough. 



My companion sits down on a log. I follow, when my 

 eye is caught by the vision of as noble a pair of antlers as 

 over graced a stag's bead. Great Scott I my gun ; where is it? 

 Curse" the fates! it's ten feet distant! The" case is hopeless, 

 but 1 seize it and tire; too late! That confounded stag has, 

 for all I know to the contrary, been standing off among 

 those bushes gazing upon me for a full minute; perhaps 

 longer. 



We press on. cursing our ill-luck. Kilbourn and the 

 "Doc" are known to be dead shots, and surely after all that 

 banging and blazing must have hit something. We found, 

 upon joining them, that they had stationed themselves where 

 the runway crossed a beaver meadow. Kilbourn had fired 

 somewhat high, owing to the stag having stumbled as it 

 passed him. The Doctor, howeverrfiuished the job by send- 

 ing his ounce of lead through the heart. Old Doc "caught 

 him at the moment he cleared a very large fallen tree, just 

 in front of which — perhaps ten or twelve feet— was a' log 

 somewhat raised off the ground. Both head and antlers 

 went clear under that log. 



The rest of our party had had hard luck, two of them 

 having seen a fine large doe, but before they could get within 

 range they lost her, owing to the proximity of some lads who 

 were squirrel shooting, and who blazed away at anything 

 and everything. 



After doing justice to a plentiful supply of sandwiches, and 

 drinking success to Forest abtj Stream in its noble fight 

 for efficient game protection laws, and death to professional 

 poachers and pot-hunters, we returned to Owen Sound. 



A word about "the Sound, "as we call it. Deer and bears 

 are plentiful within a radius of ten miles; hares and par- 

 tridge, duck and quail within five miles; speckled trout, 

 salmon trout, pike and dore at our very doors. We will 

 welcome and assist any brother hunters or anglers who may 

 visit us, but only under the condition that they come among 

 ua as true sportsmen — i. e., men who will, tinder all circum- 

 stances, give the game a chance for their lives. W. "W. 



Dm Sound, Canada. 



HUNTING RIFLE SIGHTS. 



Editor Forest and Sliram: 



As you have seen fit to publish my opinions on the rifle. I 

 do not think it out of place to add thereto, as a kind of ad- 

 dendum, some thoughts about The proper sights for the hunt- 

 ing rifle. In the first place, I do not think that the best rifle 

 for wing-shooting, or shooting ai game in motion, needs any 

 sights at all. In fact. I believe they are belter without anv. 

 This may, and I know does, souud'to a "Tent many as pre- 

 posterous; but. I can assure all such (and 1 think I will not 

 have much trouble in proving the assertion) that there are a 

 great many theories accepted" as facts that have no scientific- 

 value whatever. If we have no eyes, we certainly have no 

 need of gun sights; and if we produce an aberration of vision 

 that interferes with the organic function of the eye, by peep 

 ilia and squinting, we virtually have no eyes to see straight. 

 1 shall not attempt a discussion of this subject at present, but 



will simply say that I have made, at a hundred yards, as 

 good a target, "with a shotgun, shooting as solid ball gun, as 

 I did with rifle, and I understand that a great many, if not 

 nearly all, of the best guides of Newfoundland use smooth 

 bores, and 1 have very positive evidence that the Indians of 

 our own mountains and plains use double or single-barrel 

 shotguns with solid ball for buffalo and deer hunting, and 

 will hit and kill about as many as the finest rifles m the 

 field. This, of course, at short range. I make this asser- 

 tion, then, that for wing-shooting or for shooting at game in 

 rapid motion, the best hunting rifle does not need any sights 

 at all. 



But, as no one would have a rifle without sights on it, I 

 will advise, by all means, to select the sight that will come 

 as near as possible to giving you the use of both eyes. The 

 open clover leaf with brass bead, will meet the indication 

 probably as well or better than anything else in use. Our 

 forefathers used a small bead of silver set into the gun barrel 

 near the muzzle, in many instances not to exceed the six- 

 teenth of an inch in height, and never more than an eighth, 

 while for a rear sight a small piece of steel was dovetailed 

 into the barrel about ten inches from the breech, and filed 

 down square to about an eighth of an inch, in the center of 

 which a small notch was made. This brought, the eyes' on 

 line with the gun barrel, and enabled you to see your gun as 

 well as your game. And I tell you, Mr. Editor," these guns 

 did kill, and kill at long-range distances, too. I put one of 

 these old sighted rifles to my face, yesterday, and I find that 

 the eyes strike the line of sight easily and' naturally. Tou 

 don't" have to hunt around for your front sight, then "find the 

 notch in the hind sight, and then, probably, take your eye 

 off the gun before you see t'le game; but everything access- 

 ary to good, quick shooting is naturally presented, and the 

 eye at once takes in the whole field. ' Occident. 



"Sedalia, Mo. 



A Maine Shooting Country.— Smyrna. Aroostook 

 County, Maine, May 16. 1883. — Ruffed grouse wintered 

 finely. Have never found them more plentiful at this time 

 of year, and the season thus far has been extremely favorable 

 for rearing young broods. In view of the mooted question of 

 red squirrels destroying the eggs and 3 T oung birds, it is worthy 

 of note that I have met with "but few of that species here- 

 abouts this spring during extended tramps. This section has 

 never been worked by outside sportsmen, and offers great 

 inducements, especially for grouse shooting. Most of the 

 region for many miles is traversed by logging roads 

 where in the fall the birds are mostly found, tints making it 

 easy for shooting. Later in the season deer and caribou will 

 afford good sport, as they are fairly plenty in a range of from 

 five to ten miles of this settlement", with some moose at the 

 latter distance. There are no regular guides or hunting 

 camps, so this is no place for "teuderfeet." rn tills settle- 

 ment there are six families, some of whom have stout lads 

 who know the country, and whose services could be obtained 

 at a nominal cost, and at one or more of tht farmhouses a 

 fairly good home could be found. It is no place here for 

 the market hunters, being too far and difficult for shipping, 

 and besides, the community would not tolerate them. — 

 Waiifteld. 



Si: HB urn. — Answer your correspondent, "Kew," that 

 "I. Trask's Magnetic Ointment" is a wonderful remedy for 

 sunburn, insect bites, bruises, and all sorts of inflammatory 

 wounds. I have carried it for ten years and it never failed". 

 — Pisbco. 



W rig tits vtlle. Pa., May 14.— Farmers in this vicinity 

 find rabbits more numerous this spring than what they have 

 for a number of years.— Razor, 



A DUCK BOAT. 



Editor Forest and Stream.- 



Enclosed please find three plans of a ducking boat that I have been 

 building. She shows but little above the water, draws but little i 

 and so can be used in shoal water, can easily be transferred into a 

 capital blind by using a little grass, weed, or brush on the deck. She 

 is not easily turned over, and a person can shoot fron- any position 

 in her, which he cannot do in a canoe. I know this from experience, 

 as I have spent many a day in one both here and in Louisiana. 



In the first place, to get frames or ribs I lay out. on the floor a cross 

 section both ways of the boat, full size: layoff the ribl or frames a 

 foot apart the whole length, and taking the measure of each one on 

 the horizontal plan gives you the length, and In the perpendicular 

 section the breadth. Then on the ends leave the width of the sides, 

 which in my boat is only taj^in. Then take a strip of thin stuff, and 

 from a dot that you make for the width on each side of the center 

 spring the strip to the width of sides at each end. top and bottom, 

 and you have the curves for the ribs. Saw out the center as far as 

 the cockpit comes, and you have the forms. Stay them to the Uoor, 

 and put on the bottom first. 



Material for frames and ribs J^in. oak, also for the sides, which, as 

 I said before, are only l>^m. wide. Screw the sides to the ribs, stem 

 and stern post with %m. No. wire brass screws. It is now ready 

 for the bottom. Use 3-10in. oak stripped to din. in width, and where 

 each joint comes use a batten 3-16 by lj-^in., clenched through about 

 1}-Sin. apart with brass escutcheon pins, driving them through on 

 the face of a hammer or piece of iron. 



Use plenty of white lead on the battens and on the edge of the 

 sides. I fasten the covering to the ribs and sides with t^in. No. 1 

 wire screws and escutcheon pins. 



For floor to the cockpit I use §jiin. pine, and the washboards to 

 cockpit %in. black walnut worked up and down and screwed to a 

 strip let into the top of the frames, and at the bottom by strips put 

 between the ribs. The midship section (No. 3> shows it in detail. 



Amount of material: about 100ft. of 3-16in. oak, SOfl, of J^in. oak, 

 enough %in., oak for stem, sterupost and keel, 12ft. of *sin. pine for 

 floor, and enough material for the washboards, which can be black 

 walnut, pine, oak or whatever a person chooses, lUj gross of ?4in. 

 No. 6 wire brass screws, 3 gross of 9jiu. No. 1 wire brass screws, and 

 8oz. of stout brass escutcheon pins J-^in. long, This is all that is re- 

 quired but paint. 



I shall rig my boat to sail, using two legs of mutton sails, sharpie 

 rig, and also to row. The oarlocks will want to be placed on the out- 

 side and raised up high enough to clear the washboards, which can 

 be done by a block or an iron, the boat being so wide it can be used 

 with quite a long oar, and by a good oarsman it can be sent along 

 very fast. 



I have not weighed my boat yet, but think she will weigh about 

 4Oto601bs. She could be built of cedar to weigh much less, but 1 

 wanted mine strong, so 1 could cart her to the different lakes over 

 the rough roads of this country, and so used oak. 



Pc-tin-htn Sa-poh. 



Since writing you I have used my duck boat. She works to a 

 charm. With a few weeds on her deck she is a complete blind. I 

 use the same oarlocks that are. fitted to my canoe. The boat draws 

 very little over 3in. of water. 1 can change from rowing to the pad- 

 dle in less than a minute. P— t—k S— p 



WooDcni cks rs Trees. -Portland, Me., May 111. — Wbile 

 reading "W. II. R.'s" account of a "Fox in a Tree," in the 

 Forest AMD STREAM, I was reminded of a circumstance 

 that occurred u few years ago while following a brook 

 through a piece of woods in search of trout. I heard a 

 "scratching" sound near by, and upon looking in the direc- 

 tion from whence it came, saw some kind of an animal 

 ascending a small-sized tree that stood on the side of quite a 

 steep hill, only a few rods from where I stood. Goiug 

 quickly to the tree I discovered a woodchuek perched upon 



