FOREST AND STREAM. 



291 



Last day in camp we shot nine hare, and after we had all 

 our traps and guns packed up a very fine big buck ran by 

 the camp within thirty yards of us, but we were satisfied 

 with what we had, so we did not slaughter for the sake of 

 slaughter. 



Our total game for ten days was three bucks, two docs, 

 two buck fawns, twelve partridges and nine hares. 



Toronto Gun Club. 



WILD FOWL SHOOTING AT LITTLE EGG 

 HARBOR. 



Editor Forest and Stream: — 



It was my pleasure to enjo} T a glorious two days' shoot- 

 ing the 27th and 28th of the past November. ' Our 

 men engaged by letter were Hayes Jones, (in nry es- 

 timation the best honker of geese at Tuckerton), and Joe 

 Shords, almost his equal. 



A tedious journey via Pemberton and Heightstown, New 

 Jersey Southern & Tuckerton Railroads, from Philadelphia, 

 landed us at Tuckerton at 4 p. m., where we had arranged 

 with Captain»Burton to sail us to Long Beach with our bay- 

 men. Getting under way at the landing two miles up Tucker- 

 ton Creek, we drifted with our sneak boxes astern, as far 

 as the cove at the mouth, and found not a breath of air 

 steering and a poorer prospect of any before morning. 

 A council of war was held, and it was decided if we 

 wished to reach Captain Bond's on the beach that night, we 

 should have to row our sneak boxes over. It was a long 

 pull of seven miles, and on a cold still night with the ice 

 making on the coves, it proved no child's play. Our row 

 was enlivened now and then by the quack! quack! of the 

 black ducks feeding on the meadows, and the coarse gabble 

 of ])rant as they winged their way overhead unseen by us. 

 As it always is, the last half of a journey so wearisome as 

 the present one was, proved the longest by far, and it was 

 not until we saw the faint glimmer of the light in Captain 

 Bond's window that we knew rest was near at hand. 

 The north-west winds of the two previous days had so 

 blown the water out of the Bay, we found our boats had to 

 be anchored a full hundred yards from the shore, and guns, 

 baggage, ammunition, including ourselves, to be carried to 

 the main land, our baymen taking each of us "pick a back," 

 as we had not as yet donned our shooting boots. 



At Bond's we found two gentlemen, 'Messrs. J. P o 



and M.- W d, with their duckers, Sam Shords and Sam 



Smith busy at old sledge. They were at the beach trying 

 the brant — and we felt disappointed enough when we were 

 told that they had not, as yet, in the two days they had been 

 on the Bay, gotten a shot— the north-west wind interfering 

 with the flight of the fowl, and driving them in their mi- 

 grations outside the beach on their way south. 



Proposing a game, we all drew our chairs around the table 

 and a jolly good time was indulged in. It must have been 

 twelve o'clock when we bundled to bed to dream of brant 

 and to hope the wind would open in the morning any way 

 but from the north-west. 



We were up before daylight and taking such a breakfast 

 as only Captain Bond can give, we found it had been agreed 



upon by our baymen and those of P o and W d that 



we should decoy from "Goose Bar" the first day, they 

 taking the "bunches, " and vice versa the second day, the 

 two best locations in the line of flight of fowl going south, 

 a preference being given to the bunches a mile to the north 

 of Goose Bar. The wind proved more propitious, blowing 

 fresh and cutting from the north — and a row across the 

 channel a laborious and rather dangerous undertaking in 

 our little sneak boxes loaded with decoys. Our 

 crafts rode the sea beautifully, and it was not long 

 before we were making our hide and arranging our stools. 

 Goose Bar is merely an island covered with sedge two or 

 three feet high, into which we pulled our boxes and covered 

 them with such trash as was near at hand. 



As the tide rose higher we began to see black head ducks, 

 widgeon, black ducks, and sprigtails shifting their feeding 

 grounds to more shallow water; and as they passed us they 

 invariably darted to our decoys, making capital shooting; 

 but we had come for larger fowl, and eagerly aw-aited the 

 coming of geese and brant. 



We were sitting upright in our boxes when Dad quietly, 

 but excitedly whispered, "Down! down!" and looking to my 

 left saw six geese heading in the direction of our stools; 

 they were inclined to be sociable, for they answered "Dad's" 

 honk! e-honk! and lowered their flight; but the leader of 

 the flock, a venerable old gander, and tough, as he proved 

 to be, "had been there before," and led his followers three 

 hundred yards from us, where they settled and began feed- 

 ing — the same old gentleman acting as sentinel, never put- 

 ting his head under water while they fed. Our hope now 

 was that they would feed towards us, but as the tide was 

 setting the other way they appeared to be drifting the op- 

 posite direction. We had almost determined to start them 

 up, trusting they would go to the "bunches" and thus afford 

 shooting for our friends, when they began boldly to swim 

 towards us. As they drew nearer, swimming, "company 

 front," the old gander on the right, still suspicious but un- 

 willing to leave his younger company, I had a splendid 

 view of them, patiently waiting for the word to shoot t 

 Hayes' judgment of distance and knowledge of the shy- 

 ness of the wild goose, was perfect; for as they neared the 

 outer decoys, they discovered the cheat and the word was 

 given— " Boys, let's kill some of them." 



So closely huddled was the flock as they rose, five were 

 shot down; the gander, with his thigh broken and leg hang- 

 ing, going fifty yards before a spare gun could knock him 

 evtr. Ten minutes after we had gathered our geese, we paw 



a second flock of ten coming towards our friends at the 

 "bunches," but they would not stool to them and appeared 

 determined to take the line of the beach; and it was then 

 that I saw the best specimen of "talking togcese" it has been 

 my lot to witness. 



"Dad" seemed determined to have those geese conic to 

 us; and as he threw up his head and opened his mouth to 

 bellow his honk ! honk! e-honk! one could almost imagine 

 his box contained a human goose, feathers and all. The 

 flock replied, and "Dad" talked them within long gun shot, 

 when an unlucky thumping of ray boat shied them. We 

 gave them a volley nevertheless — but they passed on seem- 

 ingly untouched. When they had flown quite a mile one 

 of their number suddenly dropped into the Bay, winch we 

 recovered and found dead. 



Brant now paid frequent visits to the bar, leaving each 

 time some of their company; and towards afternoon broad 

 bill, black duck, widgeon, and red heads again darted to 

 our decoys, as they passed up and down the Bay. 

 Satisfied with our day's sport we took up our traps at sun 



down and pulled to the landing to find P o and W d 



quite as successful as ourselves. 



We repeated our sport the second day and fared quite as 

 well — making a large bag of fowl — returning to Philadelphia 

 benefitted by our trip and thankful we had the pleasure of 



meeting so genial gentlemen as Messrs. P oandW d. 



" Homo." 



THE FISHING TOURIST IN AMERICA. 



THE following notice of the Fishing Tourist, by Charles 

 Hallock, Editor of the Forest axd Stream, appears 

 in the last issue of the London Field, and is undoubtedly 

 written by Sir Francis Francis, the editor and proprietor 

 of that most excellent journal. Approbation from so dis- 

 tinguished an authority as the London Field is indeed most 

 grateful : — 



"A few weeks back, we suggested that a great desire ex- 

 isted for a guide-book to American fishing localities, little 

 thinking that our wishes were so near being gratified, and 

 that our suggestions had been anticipated. Here is the very 

 book we wanted. Mr. Hallock has devoted a large portion 

 of his life, from boyhood up, to wandering about America 

 and Canada from fishing place to fishing place, and he gives 

 us the benefit of the information he has obtained. Begin- 

 ning with the best known American waters, viz., those of 

 Long Island, Mr. Hallock rambles onwards to the Adiron- 

 dack wilderness, tracking along from stream to stream and 

 lake to lake, thence to the A.lleghanies, and away to New 

 England and the Schoodic lakes in search of life famous 

 land-locked salmon, and so to Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, 

 New Brunswick, the Bay of Chaleurs— touching upon river 

 after river and lake after lake, dwelling on some, skimming 

 over others — thence reaching the Lower St. Lawrence, the 

 Saguenaj', and Newfoundland, and even to savage Anticosti 

 and far Labrador — Mr. Hallock contriving to give us some 

 information about each. Turning back again, he touches 

 on the Ottawa district, the great Lake Superior region, with 

 Minnesota thronged with lakes, which in turn are 1hr.>ng< d 

 with black bass; "The Big woods," and parcel of "the 

 Pacific slope;" winding up with an account of the Blooming 

 Grove Park scheme, and a few facts in the matter of natural 

 and artificial propagation. 



This is a wide platform, but Mr. Hallock covers it fairly; 

 he is never wearisome on the one hand, nor rhapsodical on 

 the other. He sets himself a pretty long task, and 

 endeavors to fulfill it as pleasantly as the subject will allow, 

 and time and space admit of. Here and there, when Mr. 

 Hallock does stop and cast a fly, it is plain to see that he is 

 a thorough and accomplished sportsman, and a warm wor- 

 shipper of nature, with a keen eye for the picturesque. If 

 in describing his experiences he now and then employs that 

 quaint method of expression which appears tc be insepar- 

 able from a thoroughbred American, he never descends to 

 vulgarity; but his book is eminently that of a gentleman as 

 w T ell as a sportsman — qualifications "not always combined, 

 either here or in America; and though his feats of fishing 

 frequently make one's mouth water, it is plainly to be seen 

 that there is little or no exaggeration in them, and no at- 

 tempt at boasting. There is no throwing of impossible 

 lines, and doing impossible feats — no casting of thirty odd 

 yards with an 8oz. rod. So far from this, Mr. Hallock keeps 

 rather at the other end of the scale, and speaks of having 

 seen twenty-five yards cast from a 17ft. bamboo rod, as 

 though it were rather a feat; whereas we expect greenheart 

 to do that much habitually, though a 17ft, rod is rather 

 shorter than the generality of experts employ with us. Al- 

 together Mr. Hallock's is a very useful book. 



Near home, and in the more approachable places, he gives 

 the cost and the routes also, with the best hotels, and much 

 other useful information. The American lakes and rivers 

 appear to be thrown open so far that big hotels are built on 

 the most favorable spots, and they are converted into water- 

 ing places, where the gentle sex as well as the sterner one 

 all turn piscators alike, and a continuous picnic under can- 

 vas with a fair allowance of muslin appears to be the 

 method in which much of the trout fishing is practised. 

 This may be all very well; but we confess that we do not 

 look upon it, taken thus, as a contemplative man's recrea- 

 tion—unless, like Tommy Moore, one is prepared to admit 

 that 



My only books 

 Were woman's looks, 

 And folly all they taught me. 



. There is excellent trouting to be had, but. the salmon fish- 

 ing in America has been so cut up by commerce that Nova 

 Scotia, New- Brunswick, and the lower St. Lawrence are 

 the chief refuge of the New York salmon fisher. Of 

 the splendid rivers which thread the wildernesses lij all di- 

 rections Mr. Hallock speaks in the warmest terms of admi- 

 ration. Many of these rivers have been damaged by in- 

 considerate treatment; but since 1868 the Canadian Govern- 

 ment have taken them in hand, and the stock of salmon, 

 reduced to almo3t nothing in many of them, is being large- 

 ly increased again by proper care and management, and 

 the rivers are of course vastly increasing in value. As this 

 occurs, the rivers are leased out by the Government to va- 

 rious persons, many of them being let to American gentle- 

 men. Mr. Hallock regrets the old time when any one could 

 east « line and cateh a salmon where and when he liked, 



But he should not forget that it was the very existence of 

 this free and easy custom that tended to reduce the rivers 

 to the fishless condition they were in previous to 1868, and 

 that the Government cannot be expected to watch, protect 

 and restock rivers for nothing. We cannot, unfortunately, 

 combine the freedom of savage life with the comforts of 

 civilization; one surely destroys the other sooner or later. 

 Still it is a great comfort to know that the fisheries are be- 

 ing so much improved, for we have always taken much in- 

 terest in these splendid rivers. 



Mr. Hallock often speaks feelingly of the dreadful draw- 

 back to the comforts of fishing on "the Canadian rivers ex- 

 perienced in the swarms of mosquitoes and black fiies. 

 Midges are troublesome on some Scotch moors, but they are 

 a trifle to the torments inflicted on the angler by the mos- 

 quitoes, and particularly by the black fiies; and it seems 

 difficult, if not impossible, to provide any system of preven- 

 tion. Ammonia may bring a little conso'lation but thin- 

 skinned people will do well to think twice before they go 

 out to Canada for the salmon fishing. 



We may here take occasion to say that writers on Ameri- 

 can angling appear to be very active and assiduous just 

 how; books throng from the press in rapid succession, and 

 American angling literature grows apace. We must look 

 to our laurels in British angling literature when such writers 

 as Mr. Hallock come to the front. No doubt there is much 

 that is new to write about on American fishing, while our 

 own does not leave many channels unexplored. We are 

 very glad to welcome so well written and useful a book as 

 Mr. Hallock's, and look upon it as decidedly the best work 

 of its class which has come from the Atlantic; it is one that 

 every Englishman, contemplating a visit to America for the 

 fishing, will do well to provide himself with. We do not 

 see the name of any English publisher or agent on the title 

 page, which seems to us rather an oversight. The book, 

 however, can be got by order through either Messrs. Triib- 

 ner or Sampson, Low & Co. 



+.+ 



CRABS— A ROMANCE. 



HAT follows is rigorously exact in every detail, as 

 it comes almost directly from Jones, who was the 

 hero. I do not think there ever was a keener naturalist 

 than my friend Jones, and his paper on the Oirrhipeds, cr 

 Barnacles, read by him before the Association of Scientist's 

 has, no doubt, been fully appreciated by the readers of the 

 Forest and STREAM, Jones' peculiar line of investigation 

 is the study of the Crustacea, and some intricate questions 

 in regard to the development of the Podophalhalama have 

 absorbed his attention for the last fire years. All the in- 

 formation I have on these subjects are derived second-hand 

 from my friend. From him I have discovered there re- 

 ally is a Fast Crab — a Pacing Crab, which has to be run 

 down on horseback and shot on the jump, like an antelope, 

 for Jones went to Ceylon for no other purpose than to 

 study the Oci/pode Cursor on his native heath. 



Baltimore is famous for its crabs, and there having ap- 

 peared there this summer quite a new variety, Jones 

 traveled two hundred miks after them, and was fortunate 

 enough to secure quite a lively collection. With his 

 novel specimens safely secured in a basket w^ell lined with 

 fresh sea weed, Jones delighted, proceeded homewards. 

 Driving to the depot he took his place in an omnibus along 

 side a very pretty lady, the two being the only occupants 

 of the vehicle. The two passengers had not gone far before 

 the lady commenced looking daggers at Jones, who is the 

 most high-minded, chivalrous and courteous of men. 

 Somewhat astonished at her scornful glances— nay, even 

 abashed at her fiery mein, Jones humbly demanded of the 

 lady the cause of her anger. 



"Tou are an insolent puppy, sir!" cried the lady, in a 

 rage, and accentuated her remark by the application of a 

 sounding box on Jones' ear. 



Jones, driven to desperation, still asked for further ex- 

 planations. 



"To-to-have-had the impertinence to-to-have pinched 



e!" said the lady, bursting into a torrent of passionate 



me 



tears. 



Poor Jones hung down his head abashed. Just then his 

 eyes happened to light on the basket, which to his horror, 

 he found was wide open, and on examining the matter 

 more critically he discovered quite a cavalcade of crusta- 

 ceans careering along the cushions of the 'bus. The ladv 

 looked too, then smiled a smile of forgiveness— but Jones"? 

 It was a long time before he got over it. Evidently the 

 lady was distressed at her mistake, and at first timidly 

 then with great dignity and sweetness murmured a most 

 formal apology. Then Jones was utterly wretched and 

 wanted to throw every crab out of the window, which the 

 lady declared she could not allow, for as she' prettily re- 

 marked, "she doted on crabs— boiled." It was a charming- 

 sight to see how dexterously the lady, with her umbrella 

 would corner a crab, and how merrily she laughed when 

 Jones, with all the skill of a naturalist, 'would pick up a 

 peculiarly vicious crab and plump it back in the basket 

 Need we say that Jones left the lady, blessing the crabs 

 which had been the happy accident of Causing 1dm to make 

 so charming an acquaintance? But why waste words? 

 Of course they met again, and they were married a month 

 ago. When I last dined with them and I handed the 

 pretty Mrs. Jones a mayonnaise of crabs, I saw her glance 

 at her husband and blush" redder than a boiled crustacean 

 I was on sufficiently intimate terms with Jones to have asked 

 for an explanation, and the above was what was told to 



Shrewsbury. 



* -A Western paper tells the story of a country-woman 

 who made her first attempt to get in the«Court house yard 

 through the patent back-action gate. She opened the gate 

 went through, as she supposed, and shut herself out on the 

 same side seven times; then, ejaculatating "merciful 

 climbed over the fence. 



; " - ■ ~«*«4i— «__ 



^Leather, chemically considered, is the o^hid* of Wf 



