FOREST AND STREAM. 



153 



been under the special charge of Mr. Charles Schuman, 

 who has labored hard for a long time to make it a success. 

 He has met with many difficulties, far greater than would 

 be supposed by any one not familiar with the work to be 

 done and the delicate nature of its management." 

 -«»«••> ' 



SIBYLLINE LEAVES. 



HINTS TO WOODSMEN. 



THE sportsman can, if need be, forego nearly every ap- 

 pliance of civilization, and by learning the ways of 

 the savages, live and enjoy life as the savages do. The 

 bark of the birch or hemlock will make him a shanty and 

 furnish him with clean plates and cups, which need no 

 washing after use; cedar roots will supply twine and rope; 

 he can bake his fish and bread in the ashes and broil his 

 meat on a stick, and provided he only has sufficiently warm 

 clothing, a trusty gun, a hatchet, matches, and compass, 

 he has the measure of his necessities full. Waiving luxu- 

 rious comforts, it is always desirable to travel as lighty as 

 possible and as little encumbered, especially if the tramp 

 be long and continuous and not broken by occasional tem- 

 porary camps. Nevertheless, experience teaches that the 

 trouble of carrying an extra pair of walking-boots, or at 

 least a pair of moccasins or easy shoes, is well repaid. The 

 least inconvenient dress is a woollen overshirt with pock- 

 ets, worn as a blouse and fastened around the waist with a 

 sash or belt. The toe of a stocking fitted into the shirt 

 makes a good pocket, if you have none already. A heavy 

 Hudson's Bay or Canadian overcoat, with hood, serves as 

 coat, blanket, pillow, and cap combined. Always carry 

 plenty of twine and large needles. If a piece of your 

 clothing is l.orn out, patch it with anything available. The 

 legs of a boot make the best possible seat for a pair of 

 trowsers, and can be as easily fitted as woollen stuff. If 

 your felt hat is too loose, put a stick under the band and 

 give it a half turn. If you want a candle-stick make a loop 

 of birch bark and slip the ends into the.slit, and then insert 

 your tallow dip. If you wish a torch, take sheets of birch 

 bark and slip them in the slit. A pine knot is better than 

 either where no danger is apprehended from fire. If your 

 matches are wet, and it rains heavily you can find bits of 

 dry punk in the excrescences under the bark of birch and 

 maple trees, flash powder into lint or tow and then ignite 

 the punk. Either fire powder from your gun or use a flint 

 and steel. If lost in a hardwood forest and can find no 

 water, one can generally get sap enough for a drink by cut- 

 ting a chip out of a maple or birch and making a spout to 

 let it flow clean of the trunk. Water can be obtained by 

 digging a hole into a marshy spot and filling it with grass. 

 Then take a piece of elder, pipe-stem, or any hollow tube 

 and setting it perpendicularly upon the grass, pack the earth 

 around it. Then apply suction with the lips and you will 

 get water enough to assuage thirst. Carry your matches 

 in a vulcanized rubber box to prevent wetting; or a bottle 

 will answer. There are a thousand little devices and re- 

 sorts which one learns by experience, and which occur to 

 him naturally when required, but are difficult to inventory 

 for others' use. For provisions, one must be governed by 

 circumstances. Tea, flour, ham, salt pork, soda powders, 

 salt and pepper in quantities required, are all that is neces- 

 sary. Never carry ground coffee ; it is bulky and will im- 

 pregnate the other stuff with its aroma, ^specially when 

 wet. Borden's condensed coffee takes no room and is a 

 luxury indeed. Dessicated food of all kinds is compact, 

 an I goes a great ways. Pickles and onions are a desirable 

 addendum and an excellent relish. We are writing for 

 those who propose " roughing it " in earnest. Of course, 

 for ordinary camping out one may add as many luxuries as 

 he likes, and the greatest of these is a camp kit of tin ware, 

 such as is sold by Lalance & Grosjean, of Beekman street, 

 New York. This contains knives, forks, spoons, cups, 

 plates, broiler, frying-pan, teapot, pepper and salt box, 

 syrup and tea caddies, sufficient for five or six persons, all 

 fitting nicely together in a large water-pail, the whole cost- 

 ing about $12 and weighing nine pounds. The old army 

 knif e-f ork-and-spoon combined is very convenient to carry, 

 Always take blankets and warm clothing when it is pos- 

 sible, and a change of under and outer clothing. One's 

 cast-off suits are the best, as they can be thrown away in 

 the end of the journey, leaving the party less weight to 

 carry home with them. 



Of miscellaneous articles for a party who intend to re- 

 main much in camp, we take the following list from Hal- 

 lock s "Fishing Tourist," which seemsito be nearly com- 

 plete : 



Rods, reels, lines, flies, bait-hooks, trolling tackle, gaffs, 

 landing net, bait-box, float. 



Woollen and rubber overcoats, old shoes, rubber leggings, 

 extra boots, slippers, or moccasins. 



Hatchet, knife, pistol and cartridges, screw-driver, awl, 

 pliers, gimlet, whetstone, twine, wire, rope, leather straps, 

 tacks, needles, pins, thread, wax, scissors, paper, pencil, 

 rubber. 



Compass, matches, fuse, candles, spring balance, cork- 

 screw, pocket pistol, field-glass. 



Soap, towels, comb, sponge, looking-glass, goggles, linen 

 and flannel rags and raw cotton, to be used for cuts, 

 wounds, cleaning guns, mending, &c. 



Pipes, tobacco, maps, diarrhoea mixture, cathartic pills, 

 salve, court-plaster, ammonia, sweet oil, and a mixture of 

 tar and oil as a preventive against flies and other insects. 



One India-rubber bag to hold the "kit" is a desirable ad- 



dition to an outfit, as it makes a portable package and 

 keeps its contents always dry. 



Having now prepared the amateur woodsman for an ex- 

 pedition to the woods, we shall in our next advise him how 

 to organize his company, select his camp sites, and make 

 his camp, with a view to greatest comfort and enjoyment, 

 supplementing the same with papers upon general wood- 

 craft and the method of learning and understanding the 



same. 



«**£» 



THE GAME OF COLORADO. 



iROBABLY there is no section of the world where the 

 more desirable and edible species of wild game exist 

 in such variety as in Colorado. This wonderful country 

 has been known for three-quarters of a century to the old 

 trappers and "mountain men" oi the Far West, but it is 

 only recently that the spread of settlements and the means 

 of railway communication have brought it to the knowl- 

 edge and reach of the mere sportsman. Seventeen years 

 ago we of the Forest and Stream accompanied old Bill 

 Bend and Chas. Fitzpatrick, then the Indian Agent for the 

 Comanches and Kiowas, to the South Park, Rocky Moun- 

 tains, via the "Arkansaw trail," and we can therefore bear 

 testimony, in some limited degree, to the extraordinary 

 game resources of the territory as it then was, and compare 

 them with the conditions of to-day. It is to one of these 

 old mountain men of ancient renown that we wrote recent- 

 ly for a brief statement in detail of the game resources of 

 Colorado, and through him we are enabled to present the 

 very complete and reliable summary which we print in an- 

 other part of this paper, the value of which will be best ap- 

 preciated by those who are most competent to enjoy the 

 benefits that may be derived from the information. 



MONEY PRIZES AT CREEDMOOR. 



E have received«*several letters endorsing our views 

 as to the policy of offering money prizes for competi- 

 tion at Creedmoor, and have selected these that follow for 

 publication.— [Ed. F. and S.] 



Editor Forest and Stream : — 



Your remarks in regard to the prizes at Creedmoor are 

 quite opportune. Let us endeavor in every way to stimu- 

 late a liking for manly sports, and deprive such amusements 

 of the debasing idea " that there is money in them." The 

 exceedingly delicate line which divides the "amateur" 

 from the "professional" becomes so fine in fact as to be 

 quite undistinguishable when money is the reward of the 

 victor. Let us have then cups, medals, rifles, badges, any- 

 thing and everything as prizes at Creedmoor, but no money. 

 This is not only my idea but that of many who have shot at 



New York, October 12th. "Creedmoor." 



Editor of Forest and Stream : — 



I am glad to have seen in your columns an editorial about 

 offering money as a prize at Creedmoor, and that you are 

 adverse to it. We could have expected nothing else from 

 your excellent paper, which is trying its best not only to 

 cultivate all out of door amusements, but to deprive them 

 of their gambling proclivities. I am very certain that at 

 hast the American portion of the members of the Rifle As- 

 sociation have set their faces against these money prizes, 

 and think the officers of the Association are of the same 

 opinion. I for one would like to hear their ideas on the 

 subject. Shooting both as a soldier and sportsman, I think 

 I have had a fair opportunity of knowing the sentiment of 

 my friends in regard to this important question, and think 

 they are all of the idea that the less money enters into this 

 question of prizes at Creedmoor the better for the associa- 

 tion. Seargent. 



New York, October 13th. 



[The remarks of our correspondent " Sergeant " would 

 seem to intimate when he writes " the American portion 

 of the Association," &c, that the other members of the as- 

 sociation not Americans are desirous of having money 

 prizes ; we are pleased to assure him of the contrary from 

 the receipt of the following.] — Ed. 



Editor Forest and Stream: — 



Dear Sir: I have shot at Wimbledon, and was perhaps 

 among the first who used that range. I most freely endorse 

 your ideas of removing all money from the rifle shooting 

 at Creedmoor. In England I know vigorous efforts have 

 been made to pluck out the gambling spirit which unfor- 

 tunately has seized on so many people there, and that more 

 than once the prize committees of Wimbledon have re- 

 garded money prizes as an evil, and have made efforts to 

 substitute enps, medals; &c, for them. As we have but 

 just started the matter in the United States let us begin right 

 and have a clear record. Knowing the trouble money 

 prizes have caused in England, I trust we will not fall into 

 the same mistake here. Ex- Wimbledon. 

 -*-** 



Early Matins. — One of the most curious examples of 

 the apparently trifling pursuits of scientific men was exhi- 

 bited a few years ago by one of the most esteemed members 

 of the Academy of Science of Paris, M. Dureau de la 

 Malle. He was anxious to ascertain at what hour different 

 birds began their morning song. He, therefore, from the 

 first of May to the sixth of July, made observations which 

 he regularly published. It appears that for thirty years 

 this vigilant naturalist went to bed at seven o'clock in the 

 evening and rose at midnight, during the spring and sum- 

 mer, and that this eccentric habit was for scientific pur- 

 poses. It seems that the concert is opened about one 

 o'clock by the chaffinch, and that the sparroAV is the laziest 

 bird, not leaving his rest until five o'clock; in the interme- 

 diate hours, at marked intervals, which M. de Malle has 

 carefully noted down, other birds commence their natural 

 melodies. He has shown that on more than one occasion 

 the different birds have mistaken artificial light for the 

 dawning of day, and that a solar lamp has often awakened 

 the little choristers. 



SPECIMENS OF FISH WANTED. 



PROFESSOR Agassiz desires information in regard to 

 the following species of fish, and would like specimens 

 sent to him, to the Museum of Comparative Zoology, at 

 Cambridge. Questions of locality having much to do with 

 the interest attached to these subjects, where specimens are 

 caught should always be distinctly stated. The range of fish 

 can only be satisfactorily understood in this way. It seems 

 highly probable that a number of fishes, formerly living in 

 more southern waters, are working their way northward. 

 The list of fishes most wanted differing very much as to 

 their common names, Mr. Agassiz uses the scientific nomen- 

 clature. From the New York Times we copy the names 

 of the fish required by Agassiz : 



Diodon Geometricas. — De Kay says that this is a Southern fish, not yet 

 observed north of New YorK. It is quite common on the reefs of Florida, 

 but this year I have obtained specimens at Penikese Island, and even at 

 Nahant, north of Cape Cod ! 



Histicophorus A'mericanus.—Cnviev, who first described this species, 

 refers it to the topical latitudes of the Atlantic. It is common about 

 Cuba. This year I obtained several specimens at Penikese Island. I sus- 

 pect this species to be the same as the H. Belone. 



Bpliyroena Vulgaris, — Not mentioned by De Kay, unlesii his sphy- 

 rcena borealis be the same species. 



Tetraodon Lcevigatus.— Only seen once by De Kay, who does not say 

 from what region he obtained it. This fish is common in the Southern 

 Atlantic and in the Gulf of Mexico; also frequently found in South Caro- 

 lina. 



Monocanthas Cuspicauda. - -Not mentioned by De Kay. 



Palihurus Perciformis .— De Kay says it is an occasional visitor on our 

 coast. 



Micropogon Undulatw.—De Kay says that it is found in New Orleans 

 . nd Charleston, I have myself seen specimens from the Gulf of Mexico, 

 ? v nd from South Carolina. 



Elops Saurus. — Common in the South Atlantic, and^not uncommon at 

 T'harleston, S . C. De Kay saw it once in New York. 



Argentina Glossodonta,--De Kay, under the name Butirinus Vulpes, 

 •ays this fish does not occur within the limits of New York. You sent 

 iae some very fine ones, and I know that Prof. Baira obtained some in 

 1 lie Sound. 



tews from ^brond. 



THE prime necessity of the sportsman, when there are 

 birds is, of course, to have a gun and f 'ogs, and in 

 the same way, "when foxes are to be found, what would 

 be the use of them?" asks the Englishman, "if hunting 

 horses are wanting ?" Now, the Horse Committee, com- 

 monly known as "Lord Roseherz's Committee," having set 

 their wise heads together (through act of Parliament) to in- 

 quire into the number of horses in Great Britain, Scotland 

 Ireland and Wales, with the idea of discovering 

 whether horses were becoming scarce or not, came, it 

 seems, to the conclusion "that the alleged scarcity of 

 horses was very much overrated, and that though horses in 

 England had risen in price there was no real dearth of 

 horses. " 



This assertion, it seems, is flatly contradicted. Irate 

 correspondents to leading English journals declare that good 

 hunters are almost impossible to find, or when found, such 

 prices are asked for them as to render their acquisition only 

 within the reach of an archimillionaire. Ireland, it is as 

 serted, has been drained of her hunters, "Yorkshire has 

 been sucked dry," and foreigners have bought up all the 

 good brood mares in such numbers that the equine fountain 

 head has been sapped. Fox hunting in England has al- 

 ways been a most expensive sport, and many votaries of 

 this most glorious amusement, with increasing cost of 

 horses and keep of hounds, have been forced to abandon it. 

 Somewhat exclusive in character this augmentation in the 

 cost of hunters may make foxhunting even more prescribed. 

 Essentially a national amusement and the basis of real Eng- 

 lish sport, we should be loath to hear of its curtailment. 

 Englishmen are a little apt to grumble at times, and to cast 

 fearful horoscopes of the future, so we are rather inclined 

 to think that the complaints of want of horses is somewhat 

 exaggerated. It would be with no little feeling of sadness 

 that we would take up an English paper in this year, or in 

 ten years to come, if the names of the Quorn, or the Pytch- 

 log, or Melton Mowbray hunts were not chronicled. We 

 fancy that coals and hunters will disappear both together 

 from England some of these days, but not in the next twen- 

 ty-five thousand years or so. To remedy this want of good 

 h anting horses quite an excellent suggestion is made, and 

 that is that every hunt should provide farmers in the neigh- 

 borhood with good stock for the gratuitous use of such 

 tenant-farmers as would breed hunting animals. 



—We can record no improvement in the grouse. To 

 have to pay some $4,500 for the rental of a Scotch moor- 

 one of the best in Scotland, and to kill only fifty brace of 

 grouse on it — is paying rather a high price for birds. Even 

 enthusiastic sportsmen going to Norway have met with no 

 better sport. The same epidemic seems to have seized on 

 the grouse there. Last year Norway afforded admirable 

 sport, and immense bags were made. Perhaps like Eng- 

 land, in Norway the birds were overshot. In Norway, 

 however, the sportsmen may get an elk, and bear are by no 

 means uncommon. If the feathered game are wanting in 

 England and Scotland, stags are not in the same category. 

 In Inverness Mr. Winans had killed, up to the close of last 

 month, 104 stags. This looks a trifle like slaughter. 



—The English cricket season is now fast drawing to a 

 close, and the only match worthy of record— one between 

 Mr. Graces' eleven and a Kent eleven— strange to say, the 

 two great champions were laid low with feeble scores. 

 There was also one between amateur cricketers and an 

 eleven of cricket cnticasters (to adopt Charles Reade's word) 

 which resulted in the most ignominious defeat of the crit- 

 ics, only confirming the old idea that a man can write most 



