10 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[AttCOST 3, 1888. 



constitutes the great beauty of Forest and Stream. In 

 it become*) s public necessity, and it is doing a 

 great and good work. We pray you go on with it. The 

 public appreciates your efforts. ' Your motto, health to the 

 ltuman race by outdoor exercise, and the due preservationQf 

 all game animals, is so humane, that all must indorse it to 

 the end, Now let spring shooting and bird netting he pro- 

 hibited throughout the United States, 



Max, 11. W, Meiiriei.. 



i the Ohio 



g new lo 



Buffering. 



;cs ill low, 



about one 



idow sill 



get 



Id r. 



>eak 



with his 



pegll- 



n was 

 J won- 

 that 



BIRD NOTES PROM OHIO. 

 lutitor Forest and Stream; 



i have been sojourning at this point (Calunijel 

 River, nearly three weeks looking for somel 

 amuse me and help to pass the weary hours 

 The steamers, with their immense fleets of coal 1 

 reminds tuc of what Dr. Erasmus Darwin wr( 

 hundred and thirty years since: 



"Soon Shall thy ami, mighty stream, from ftfur 

 Drag the slow barge and drive the rapid ear'' 



You will flud this prediction in a book published by him, 



1'niitled "The Botanic Garden." long since out of print. 



I liud the fauna and flora of this region quite different 

 from that of Bedford, twelve miles nortlTof Cleveland. We 

 frequently see large flocfea of pelicans here, and several other 

 kinds of birds, that Ave never see ninety miles north of this 

 place. Among them are the Carolina wrenand the cardinal 

 grosbeak. The latter remains here the year through and 

 breeds bei'r, and is a bird of great beauty and in domestica- 

 tion is often one of the sweetest songsters known. I once 

 offered for one of these sweet singers' $150, which was re- 

 fused by the owner. 



Last winter my son used to place corn on the. w 

 of his house here, and one of these birds came ca 

 hog for bis corn breakfast, Sometimes inv son wy: 

 to put the corn on the window sill, bul Mr. Grosbi 

 bound to have his breakfast, and by repeated raps 

 beak on the window reminded my son of his stop 

 genre, nor would he cease his rapping until the C 

 placed on the window sill. The intelligence of birth 

 derful. I once had five tame humming birds— so tit 

 they would light on my hand; but it would be too long a yarn 

 to tell you my experience with these little gems of the feath- 

 ered tribes that inhabit our beautiful world. 



Always yours truly, 



T, Gaiu.ick. 



Calcmet, "...July 14. 



THEN AND NOW. 



lam reminded thai the Forest and Stream is nearing 

 the close Of the first ten years of its existence. While con- 

 gratulations arc in order, it is pleasing to note, in this con- 

 nection, the evolution of outdoor sports during the last de- 

 cade, and the survival of the fittest means and methods 

 which has given them their present prominence and favor 

 able, consideration. These results are due, in a large meas- 

 ure, to the influence of this popular journal molding public 

 opinion in accordance with its declared mission to inculcate 

 a healthy interest in outdoor recreation and study, and which 

 profession, by the way, has been religiously observed and 

 scrupulously performed, 



It is only' necessary to take a, retrospective glance over the 

 ten years just passed in all matters relating to the rod. the 

 gun', the dog, the yacht, the canoe, rishoulture. and the 

 study of natural history, to be convinced of the great and 

 healthful influence of popular journals devoted to these sub- 

 jects. Within this comparatively brief time Ave have seen 

 the first pri/.e meeting at Creedinoor; the development; of 

 the hammerless gun. the glass ball and clay pigeon; the or- 

 ganization of dog bench shows and field trials; the rise of 

 the cutter, and the deep sea-going yacht with outside ballast; 

 the introduction of the .sailing and paddling canoe; the 

 splendid achievements of the fishculturists, and the increased 

 love for the .study of natural history. 



And the art of angling, with the improvements in the ap- 

 pliances thereunto pertaining, will not suffer by a. compari- 

 son with the progress of any other outdoor recreation. The 

 love of angling has not only greatly increased during the 

 past ten years, but. it more nearly approaches and deserves its 

 appellation of the "gentle art - ' at the present day. than ever 

 before; This is to be attributed chiefly to the healthful 

 sentiments and wise counsels of the masters of the art as 

 promulgated in tin: columns of the Forest asd Stream. 

 Fishing for count and the slaughter of the innocents, and 

 the torturing of the fish when caught by a lingering death, 

 now meet with the opprobrium of all true disciples of the 

 Craft, and have become abhorrent and despicable practices. 



But while the act of angling has progressed in this satis 

 factory manner, especially has the black bass and black bass 

 angling come into marked prominence during the past de- 

 cade, "Ten years ago but few anglers could distinguish the 

 differences between the large and small-mouthed bass, which 

 were known in various sections of the country by a hundred 

 local names. The angling authors even knew less abnut 

 thottl than manv of their readers. There was also much 

 confusion regarding the differentiation of the species by 

 naturalists. In the very month and year in which the first 



e. t of I'nia.'-T \Nb Stream was issued, Prof. Theo. 



■ Jill read hi-, masterly paper, defining tie: species, before the 

 American Association for the Advancement, of Science. 

 Tins was the corner-stone upon which was subsequently 

 built the true history of the black bass. At the present day 

 every intelligent angler knows what a black bass is, and 

 what it is not. In ten short years it has become I he peer of 

 the salmon and trout, and when another decade of years 

 shall have rolled around it will be dividing the honors with 

 those superb game fishes of Europe, for it has already been 

 introduced successfully, into Great Britain and Germany. 



Ten years ago the same tackle was generally used for the 

 black bass as for the channel catfish, and he was fished for 

 in the same way. True, a few anglers in Kentucky and 

 Several adjoining Slates had been using the Meek reel and 

 light cane' rods for twenty-five years, but the majority of 

 anglers used heavy rods and coarse tackle, or the hand-line 

 and spoon. At that timeihe lightest, bait rodssold for black 

 bans lishing weighed about sixteen ounces, and were at least, 

 twelve feet long. in the first volume of FOREST and 

 Si iojam Ibeiv w'as not advertised a single article of tackle, 

 for black bass fishing, except the I rolling spoon. The 

 i,.-. of ibe manufacturers were directed toward the 



salmon, the trout and the striped bass, in accordance with 

 the demands <>f their customers. Here and there an 



appreciative try-fisher used heavy trout fly-tackle for the 

 black Itass, bin l.bey were few and far between; indeed, 

 in the first volume of Forest asp 0TRBA.M quite a lengthy 



discussion arose as to whether or not the black bass would 

 rise to the fly. 



It is only' necessary, then, lo contrast the state of affairs 

 then existing, with the present emulation and rivalry of the 

 manufacturers in producing novel, light and elegant tools 

 and tackle, especially designed for both bait andtly-fishing 

 for the black bass, to realize what a marked influence the 

 FOREST and Stream has exerted on the angling mind, and 

 what rapid strides the black bass has made in coming to the 

 front as the game fish of America. Aud he has come lo 

 stay. 



Accept my cordial congratulations on your decennial birth- 

 day. Yours for the- cause, J. A. IIesohali,. 



(.'vniiiiaka, Ky„ July. in. tssa. 



THE CETTSE OP THE 8AIKY GAMP, 



Bear Fbrett and Sfreem: 



1 am here at the First Lake of the Fulton chain (July 20), 



Have paddled the Sairy Gamp on the four first lakes until 

 my arms are lame. Sitting in her this afternoon I took in 

 six fine front. She yields to the rush of a thirteen-ineh 

 speckle like a split bamboo. For a Hit-pound canoe she is 

 a marvel of steadiness. 1 ride her in pretty rough water 

 without a wiggle. T shall try no lighter one, however. She 

 makes a good side-show wherever she appears, but a larger 

 canoe would be more comfortable: say eighteen pounds. 

 However, she carries me well. 



J cannot be with you on the occasion of the tenth anniver- 

 sary of the Forest a> t d Stream. Not in the flesh, but in 

 the' spirit, I will be there. Most likely when that little 

 event comes off 1 shall be under the hemlocks, or on (per- 

 haps under) a forest lake. 1 shall lie sorry to miss seeing 

 you. 1 shall be glad to miss the. blistering, seething city. 



For brick au 



d mortar breed tilth a 



id crime; 



Ann a put. 



e of evil, that throbs! 



nd beats, 



And men an 



withered before t.liei 



- prtnn 



By the cur 



bb paved in with i.he.i 



lues ami streets 



And limes are poisoned, ami shoulders bowed 



In the smothering reek of mill and mine. 

 And Death stalks in ou the struggling crowd— 

 But he shuns the shadow of oak and pine. 



You meet my views handsomely. Since the days of 

 Porter's Spirit of the Vimm, I have not written for any "paper 

 or magazine with which I seemed to be so fairly en rapport 

 as with Forest a^ t d StReam. You strike the men at home 

 that T strike on lake, river, carry, outlet and inlet; that I 

 meet in the deep woods, under the hemlocks, on the lone- 

 liest routes, in forest camps. Occasionally I meet a man 

 like Capt. Beardslee ("Pisceo") who hails me as a Forest 

 A?m Stream man. " Then we sit up, and hold sweet converse 

 until the "wee short hour ayont the twal." 



It is wonderful, how the "average outer can spend so much 

 money for such meagre returns in sport and recreation. 

 The iieavv loads of useless impedimenta with which he 

 fatigues himself, are past understanding. I always sym- 

 pathize with him. He is liberal, genial, and always willing 

 to pay two prices for what he requires, and be is mostly 

 swindled. He pays his money, but has no choice. 



The mosquitoes", black flies and punkies deplete his arter- 

 ial circulation ; landlords, guides, and buckboarders deplete 

 his pockets. He only asks a good time for his brief outing. 

 He is more than willing to pay for it. He is safe to pay. 

 The good time is not so certain as it should be. But I'll 

 write more when I have more lime. Am driven just now 

 with fishing Nessmfk. 



THE GOOD OED TIMES. 



Editor Zbr&t .>„,] Stream: 



It gratifies all your readers lo know that Forest AND 

 Stream has reached its tenth year, Avith every prospect of 

 attaining many more ten years, and that, it has gone on im- 

 proving every 'year of its existence. I knew more or less 

 intimately manv of the sportsmen of the past generation, 

 those who had the shooting and fishing of which I enjoyed 

 the dying, dwindling years, and which now has wholly dis- 

 appeared,' the men who made the old Spirit of the Timet, 

 Porter's Spirit, what it used to be when it was Ibe organ of 

 all the true sportsmanship of America, and filled a place now 

 more nearly occupied by the FohEST vnu BtREAM than by 

 any other paper of the present day. I was just coming on 

 to the carpet when they were going nil, for it must not be 

 supposed that I am an antique or intend to be pill on the 

 shelf with the bric-a-brac. I have numbered but littlti more 

 than rive times the age of Forest and Stream, bul I knew 

 Porter and Frank Forester, and Harry Toler ami Bill Pen- 

 nigton. and Gen. Cadwahider, aud idomiie genw. And such 

 shooting as we used to haA'e would make a latter day sports- 

 man with his breech-loader think be was a latter day saint. 

 and had attained perfect bliss. Sixty woodcock a day, 

 average has for two weeks' steady BhoOting: seventy-four 

 q. ril'and four partridges one dr.', m the Ml; a cc, union 

 thing to shoot away all" the powder and shot our pouches 

 would carry. For ten years past— just the life of the Forest 

 \nd STREAM— 1 have been billing ducks and bay snipe, 

 Ducks nnd bay snipe! Have lain on my back day after day 

 u, have fought mosqiiitoesin ablind by the sound- 

 in"' sea The men whose names are mentioned above would 

 hardly condescend to such degradation. They killed noth- 

 ing that theii dogs would not point, and such dogs as" we 

 laid That AVits hi Dae the era of bench shows, and we used 

 to boast of What our flogs did iii tbe Held, not what some one 

 thought of them in a ring, It was not fashionable, hardly 

 reputable to "go a gunning" as late as when I was a boy, 

 and mv predecessors bad to sneak out of the city and keep 

 their dogs hidden if they would maintain a business or pro- 

 fessional reputation. Now the breech-loader and the bam- 

 boo rod are the fashion, and even tbe "(hide'' talks sport. 



Though I speak thus of the past, I have hopes that the 

 "good old times'' will be capped by better new times in the 

 future. I can see the way to this clearly, with trout, salmon 

 and bass through the aid of tishculture. and there will 

 probably be some way yet discovered to protect and increase 

 the birds. There is no belter, purer, or nobler pleasure 

 life than what is to be obtained by the aid of the rod and 

 the gun and the dog. Medical men say that exercise, to be 

 beneficial, should be that which gives Ibe mind a rest while 

 it gives the muscles work, lhatil should be pleasant, agree- 

 able and exhilarating, in other words recreation, that teud- 

 10 ••recreate" the worn out and used up nerves and muscles, 

 Every man who opposes field sports on the ground that they 

 arc cruel, is either ignorant or hypocritical. In treating 

 them remember the Scripture. 'Answer not a fool according 

 lo his folly." 



I hope the Forest and Strea.ai will be "guide, philoso- 

 pher and friend" to many generations ot sportsmen, and 

 keep on doing good and conferring happiness when all of us 

 shall be disporting ourselves in tbe Happy Hunting Grounds 

 of the Hereafter. Bob-but B. Roosevkj.t. 



A NEW BRUNSAYICK BEAR CAMP. 

 Editor Warmt and Stream: 



I arrived here on my old stamping ground a few days ago 

 to note the prospect for bunting next fall. I find it quite 



promising. Many bears have been seen by the settlers in 

 the vicinity of Ibe large blueberry fields. These berries, of 

 which the bears are extremely fond, will be very plenty. 

 Beechnuts, loo, w ill be abundant, on which thev will feast, 

 and fallen till they den up. In off years of Ibis* food bears 

 immigrate, lo return invariably the following summer. 

 They are so plenty already that, it would be an easy matter 

 to trap one almost every day within a radius of three miles 

 of camp, bul I shall let them run till October. By that, time 

 I will have my new camp completed ami stocked with sup- 

 plies. 



When the haves are off late in the fall, and a light snow 

 is on the ground, is a good time to still-hunt them if one 

 knows their feeding grounds aud is skillful. And it needs 

 be a good hunter to be successful. Hut. as a rule, they ate 

 easy to trap. Occasionally, however, an old bear has be- 

 come cautious aud wary, aiid defies the utmost skill of the 

 most expert trapper. One of this sort is now roaming the 

 woods in fancied security, and he bus thwarted my efforts 

 three year-, but left a part of bis foot in the trap the hist 

 time he came around. He would have been secured had the 

 trap been large enough to take in the whole foot. But I do 

 not despair, since I was able to take into camp one as cun- 

 ning and Wary as he; and at the risk of the charge of vanity, 



1 will relate how it was accomplished. 



As usual, my traps Avere placed in Avell-beat.en paths made 

 bv bears in crossing from one favorite httUUt to another. All 

 at once I found them dragged out several feet from their 

 place, evidently by a cunning old bear. I set them with 

 greater nicety in new places, but again he found them out. 

 I had to study up something new. The usual method was 

 lo place, the trap one side of a small fallen tree lying at right 

 angle to the path, as in stepping over the same he is less 

 cautious. The old fellow seemed to know this old trick. 

 Where the ground is lend, bears Will invariably step in the 

 same places: so that in time quite deep places are sunk in 

 the path. With my sheath knife I carefully cut out one of 

 these depressions Avith quite a margin of soil around it. 

 bedded the trap in the path where a thick growth of small 

 brush almost hid the path, placed the deceptive .stopping- 

 place on the pan and filled in around to look natural. Theu. 

 to finish up, I made a. large cup of birch bark and brought 

 water from a, brook, and with a whisk of fir boughs cleansed 

 off all scent and gave the ground an old. set tied look. On 

 my next visit I had the old man. and an uglier fellow I never 

 saw. His actions showed plainly thai he considered it. a 

 mean trick. 1 will add Ibalb. was an immense fellow. 1 

 forget bis dimensions, but my friend. Amos E Bates, of 

 Boston, paid me $85 for bis pelt, 



Coiir. Lor Wahfield. 



Camp (Jr.F.w. New Brunswick. July 14, 1888, 



SOME WOEF STOIilES. 



lhave often wondered what, became of the wolves which 

 formerly abounded in the forests of this Slate. It was a 

 favorite Baying of the hunters thai "they followed the deer." 

 rppeared about the time the wolves did. But this 

 1 know to tii' untrue, as the former Aveut to Boston and New 

 York — Jjy rail. It is probable that the loss of their'food sup 

 -ily caused a general migration of the wolves to some distant 

 pa'rt of the country. 1 made their acquaintance in boyhood, 

 and Studied their habits as closeh as circumstances would 

 admit for sonic years; tail; while forming a high opinion of 

 their intelligence, I was very much mystified by some of 

 their characteristics. 



For instance, although they almost always go in families 

 of from four to eight, they do not rim their game in that 

 manner, but detail one, and sometimes two of their number 

 for that duty, and although the remainder usually contrived 

 tofie "in at tbe death " fchej did not get there by following 

 the trail, and I do not know what instinct guided them to 

 the right spot in the trackless woods. 



It is well known among hunters that a deer will bound 

 m il hen pressed by WOlvOS than under any other cir- 



cumstances. I have twice measured leaps of thirty feet 

 mad..' by does while Hying before these dreaded foes, but one 

 of these was on slightly descending ground, twenty-seven 

 feet beuig the longest 'I nave ever knoAvn them to make 

 when followed Dy dogs. It always had a depressing effect 

 on me to come across the Iracks of a wolf in pursuit of u 

 deer; silent as Ibe grave', relentless as fate, inevitable as 

 death. The efforts of the noble quarry to escape from its 

 tireless pursuer always reminded me of the struggles of poor 

 humanity to put off the grim messenger which runs us all to 

 earth at last. 



Although a wolf will starve before it will touch a ih:ov killed 

 and hung up bv a hinder, it will not hesitate to approach 

 one killed bv itself and aflcrward recovered by the hunter 

 and hung up. as I twice learned, to my cost. On the first 

 occasion I bad wounded ,i la I ibe with my last bulli ,, and 

 got to camp too late to return that night. The next morn- 

 ing 1 reached the ground brighl and early, hut an old she- 

 wolf and her three whelps had corralled my deei anil eaten 

 the larger part of the. neck and foresboulder. They had 

 taken a very quiet departure, unseen, on my approach, and 

 1 dressed the game aud hung it up iu the usual manner. 

 Four days afterward, on revisiting Me- -pot, I found it. torn 

 doAvn arid consumed by the same interesting family that bad 

 laid claim to it at first. 



Some time after this affair f wounded a fawn, at. tile end 

 of a hard day's hunt, ll had rained steadily all day, and 

 as the bushes were loaded with snow in the morning, Willi 

 eighteen inches on the ground, I was so wet, tired and hun- 

 gry, that I was fain to leave it till morning It cleared off 

 extremely cold and Windy during the night, and at sunrise 

 1 mounted my snow -shoes and sought mil the track of TOJ 

 wounded deer, [had followed it out a very short distance 

 from where I left it the night, before, when 1 -aw where an 

 exceedingly large wolf, winch had been following 



I. rack, turned shod and ran in Ibe opposite direction. The 

 perfectly fresh, and 1 supposed that I had met 

 him, bin he kept ibe 1 rack, and 1 found that he had lollowed 

 it the wrong way for over half a mih — then capability Hi 

 ddecl ibe .inference not being at all equal to that of a good 

 docrhound. 1 pushed Ot) rapidly, hoping to save my vein- 



