Oct. 4, 1833.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



183 



h of the morning sun. Ho may have heard you or 

 knows when to jump and run. \<m creep up 



■-.■ and just as you raise at the summit, up goes the 



brute, clearing twenty-five feet the first bound; Dot 



crack! one last Boring ami he falls in a heap. 11 you have a 



lat first, and if he is not certain what startled 



Mm, lie will stop and give you a splendid shot. Aim always 



in, ... a) i ; behind the foreshoulder. Old Dick. 



I 



A FLORIDA RESORT. 



f rour readers are Seeking new places where 



plenty I suggest a few of them visit lhisne.\ town of 

 the coming season. We are here oit the Gulf 

 tads in sail-water fish in almost endless variety, 

 from the red snapper, pompano, Spanish mackerel and blde- 

 tish down to the trout, not to omit the immense beds of 

 oysters. Entering our harbor at this point is the Carrabelle 

 liable for steam tugs a distance of 30 miles; empty- 

 ing into that is Crooked River, a tide-water bayou, that con- 

 (Jie Uckloekonee River; on all these streams 

 bream and Some shad are found. On the island 

 we have several fine lakes that abound in bass, called here 

 fresh-water tiout. As these waters have never been fished 

 ■ is bountiful. 

 In Ihe'Jine of deer and hear we offer good inducements, 

 ami earnestly hope a regiment of hunters will come and thin 

 out the bear that are very destructive among the swine, 

 l al large. We will not object to having war made 

 on the 'gaters that abound on the rivers and in the lakes. 



Our town is a Northern enterprise, four or five years old. 

 We have very fair accommodations for a new place. We 

 .shall soon have a railroad from Tallahassee; at present we 

 have tri-wn kly mail from that city, and a coach is run 

 when travel requires. There is rail from Tallahassee to St. 

 . ops can be chartered for the trip, fifty-six 

 tail om can go to Chattahoochee and come down- the 



,i In ■■■■: i River by steamer, and there take sail to Carra- 

 .. II. . ... oty-fivc miles, but the most direct is from Talla- 



basse verlaud with the mail, a distance of sixty miles, a 



trip of u day and a half. 



1 could give you some sworn statements as to the number 

 of trout our "rone fisherman" has taken with hook and line 

 in a single day, but tear you would mark it as an outrageous 

 "fish Story-" I prefer to let others come and report their 

 I will assure you the fish and oysters are here. 

 O. H. Kellet. 

 :. Franklin Co., Florida, September. 1383. 



OUR ROCHESTER LETTER. 



Editor Fore&t and Strram: 



I believe the philosophers advise us to laugh at misfortune 

 and overcome the malignancy of fate by meeting its un- 

 pleasant decrees w ilh a smile* Following that counsel. I 

 must relate the circumstances of a rattier tantalizing incE 

 denl that 1 experienced in the field since my last letter. 



On the first Of the mouth 1 determined rather suddenly, to 

 go for grouse to a slation on one of the railroads about foity 

 ii. i: ijoui here; and borrowed a neighbor's promising but 

 untrained doe-. We reached the grounds in. due time, and 

 after a long tramp through the forest, in which not one par- 

 tridge h id been seen, emerged from the cover within half a 

 role of the railroad station, fully convinced that the birds 

 wcje very scarce in that particular region, or else that they 

 had foreknowledge of the fate that would befall them in 

 case we came near enough for an interview, and therefore 

 declined to appear. 



Just as 1 lei I the woods 1 tired a shot at a fence, aud my 

 four-footed companion immediately started to retrace his 

 steps through the forest and disappeared in the underbrush. 

 It struck me at once that he hud a bad attack of gun-sby- 

 ne;s. and I employed my most persuasive tones to bring hiin 

 back, but all in vain. " I waited for an hour, went back a 

 mile, whistled like a fog horn, called him pet names, aud at 

 last invoked all the furies to plague him if he refused to 

 come in time for me to catch the train. But he gave no sig 

 and i was at last obliged to leave the locality in order to 

 : ion in time for the last train to Rochester. I 

 left my address with some people near the station and a 

 promise of reward on recovery of the dog, and came home 

 [-humor. 



This was Saturday, and I he following week I was too busy 

 to search for the animal, but had a friend advertise in one of 

 of rbe cmiDiv papers. S.-wral days passed without hearing 

 of the dog, a'nd 1 had nearly abandoned hope of getting him, 

 when I received a telegram from a friend in Jit. .Morris, to 

 the following effect : "Come up, have track of dog." I went 

 on the first tram, and next day after a pleasant six-mile 

 drive through the smiling hills aud vales of Livingston 

 county, reached a farm-house where the dog bad been stop- 

 pin- several days, He was rather pleased to see me, and 1 

 was very much pleased to see him. He had crossed the 

 country rive or six miles from where I lost him, aud was 

 ore and weary when taken in. A gentleman named 

 Ogden had seen the advertisement, and hearing of the 

 strange dog in his neighborhood notified my friend, aud so 

 ■'us all happy again. .Moral, beware of gun-shy dogs. 

 and advertise, advertise, advertise ! 



- Several very satisfactory bags of woodcock have been 

 brought in during the aeek past. John Reisseuger and 

 Thoxas Morris are credited with thirty-two as the result of 

 two l v.- shooting, and S. Harimau, of Greece, whose 

 :.ig exploits I have often mentioned, brought in thirty 

 iek, shot iu two days. 



W. J. B., an ex treasurer of the State Association, was 

 shooting a day or two ago. wheal a woodcock pitched within 

 a few feet of him and stood in full view. The party were 

 preparing for a dinner in the woods, and as no game had up 

 i that imi I i.eu. secured, the gentleman says he was ti mpted 

 to take the bird's head off clean. But his instincts as a 

 ■i .-vailed over those ot the gastronomer, and he 

 determined to give the bird a fair chalice tor a prolonged 

 existence, lie flushed ii. and the way that woodcock w*ent 

 i ■ fag up among lie:/ leaves is said to have been a surprise 

 to experienced sportsmen, aud a model for all birds in a 

 U tight place. lie got away safely, aud the ex-treasurer 

 S the difference between a lard in the hand aud two 

 in the bush, but he lias had more fun in detailing the cir- 

 tuui-i ices, than i aupmet could derive from eating a score 

 of woodcock. 



I also know another surprised sportsa ft; he is a not very 

 disi hi. ... angler, has never 



distinguished him- -ll with The double "barrel, tie took my 

 lately and sallied forth inquest of game. Long after 

 Eundown he came in exultant and proclaimed himself no 

 longer a plehian among gunners. Then pulling forth a 



meadow-lark he asserted that he had shot it flying, and that 

 when be saw it fall he was more surprised than the bird. 

 That shot has decided his fate, and now there is another 

 confirmed member of the shooting brotherhood. 



The winter clicks are coming iu, and a few redheads, 

 bluebills anil widgeon have been shot on the ponds Snipe 

 .pearcd. and a due number have sounded their 

 last scaip. Several docks of gray plover have been seen in 

 the fields surrounding Hie city, and 1 am told that great 

 numbers were heard going over the city last night, their 

 wild plaintive whistle attracting attention from all who were 

 out of doors mid understood the cause of the peculiar sound. 



I understand that those Rochester anglers who fished the 

 Nepigou this summer aud brought back a lot of five and sis- 

 pound brook trout, made an arrangement with the agent of 

 the Hudson Bay Company on the river to have him get 

 them a few monster trout" from some lake toward the head- 

 waters of the Nepiglri. The agent is confident that he can 

 secure a fifteen-pound trout through the ice next winter, and 

 has promised to s C ud it to this city if the desired specimen 

 can be caught. E. R. 



■ ■-. ■ rup.. Bept, SP. 



THE GAME WAS THERE. 



Eiltor Forest and St 



About a year ago I noticed an article in Forest asd 

 Stbeam. written by a Mr. Kingsley. It read well, so I "cut 

 it out and pasted it in my hat." "The proof of the pudding 

 is the chewing of the string." I went, I saw. and was cap- 

 tured. 



This is what Mr. Kingsley -wrote: "The second place I 

 would mention is Big Sandy Creek Pond, situate north from 

 Syracuse forty-five miles." Here I am confident may be 

 found i In- finest feeding irrounds for ducks aud snipe in the 

 State of New York. A marsh covers a thousand acres with 

 a most luxuriant growth of wild rice. etc.. attracting laige 

 and numerous flocks of ducks aud snipe, both spring and 

 fall. A first-class spoilsman's hotel is here, kept by Mr. 

 George Wood, and at the moderate price of $1 50 per day. 

 Mr. Wood is himself a thorough sportsman and a most ex- 

 cellent shot. Guides can be procured at moderate rates if 

 desired; good boats free of charge. Should any of your 

 readers see fit to give this place a trial, they will find in Mr. 

 Wood a competent and obliging man, and time to the inter- 

 ests of all. By writing or telegraphing he will meet parties 

 at Pierrepont Manor, and transport them for the regular 

 fare, one dollar. Mr. Wood's address is George M. Wood, 

 Woodville. Jefferson county, N. T." 



I took Mrs. V. with me, leaving New York by the New 

 York Central at 9 P. M , which train makes close connec 

 tion with the Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg Railroad 

 at Rome, thence to Pierrepont Manor, where Mr. Wood met 

 us, and after the stage ride, placed us at his pleasant hotel, 

 safe aud sound. 



I can say w ithout exaggeration that neither my wife nor 

 I ever spent a more pleasant time than the week which fol- 

 lowed, and in the interest of true sportsmen, I wish to draw 

 their attention to it. 



You must be overwhelmed with questions: "Where shall 

 I go to shoot and fish?" and I take pleasure in recording this 

 spot as being a very desirable place for both. Black has? iu 

 the lake (Ontario), pickerel aud perch in the pond, ducks, 

 snipe, raih plover and blackbirds iu their season. Ya>*. 



New York, Sept, 20. 



STILL-HUNTING. 



MESSRS. G. L. THOMAS and W. Johnson have just 

 returned from a hunting trip to Lake Superior. Tney 

 were gone but a few days, killed several deer in the vicinity 

 of Jeromeville, Mich. , and also had fair duck shooting near 

 Indian River. They report a splendid wild rice marsh at 

 latter place, and say that in a few days duck shooting there 

 will be immense, they also say that in the parts they visited 

 the average dee r hunter will shod abound in preference to 

 a deer. end that the feeling against any one hounding deer 

 is very bitter In fact a certain gang of so-called sportsmen 

 loudly offer a reward of five dollars for each dog killed 

 while' in pursuit of deer. This question of hunting the 

 autlered game with dogs is growing to be more aggravating 

 every year, and is sure sooner or later to end in trouble. 

 The majority of those who use hounds in huuting deer are 

 liberal in their views and gentlemanly in their sport, and 

 should a law be passed prohibiting their chosen way of hunt- 

 ing, they wou'd gracefully acknowledge and respect it, The 

 still-hunters, I regret to say, are the very opposite as a class, 

 and the mere fact that hundreds of hounds' are. killed each 

 season is sufficient to stamp them as at least most cruel and 

 bigoted. 1 have the deepest respect and admiration for a 

 still-hunter who so hunts from pleasure and from choice, 

 and who patiently aud skillfully follows up his prey, re- 

 specting at all times the right of his brother sportsmen, but 

 he contempt that a narrow-minded, dog-shooting, pot-h ant- 

 ing wretch of a professed still-hunter should be held in, I 

 canuot express. 



All the records prove that a good still-hunter will kill 

 more deer during the season than live good men guarding 

 runwavs, and that a country hunted by still-hunters is much 

 sooner deprived of its deer than is one wheie Qiey alE 

 hounded. What man or brute does not fear the mysterious, 

 silent assassin more than the open enemy; Again, in our 

 State no hound can catch a healthy buck or doe, and as for 

 deer fearing the pursuit, whoever has seen them playing 

 along in front of the chase, stopping ever and anon to look 

 back, and then again loping easily along until more closely 

 pressed they escape to the swamp or water, will scoff at 

 the idea. A good Indian hunter will, by persevering pursuit, 

 cause a deer full as much distress and fatigue. Given a 

 watered country, with swamps here and there, and you can 

 hunt it with hounds year after year, always, of course, re- 

 specting- the law, with no appreciable diminution Of game. 

 The writer has for the last eiirbt rears hunted in one locality, 

 and his patty have each year killed more and more deer, the 

 hulk of the'm being stopped before the dogs, and I actually 

 believe there are greater numbers of deer within three mil. 

 of our camp than (here were five years ago. Will 

 hunter tell mo why the deer are not driven awav from the 

 parts of our State infest d by wolves? Nearly any night 

 standing at our camp door one can hear the yells of a pack 

 of wolves running deer, but go the very grounds the next 

 morning where the chase was hottest, and you are sure of 

 starting oue, perhaps several, bucks or does. 



Although no skillful hunter, I personally enjoy a quiet 

 still-hunt more than standing on runways; but at the same 

 time would like the privilege of either kind of sport, and it 

 is certainly most lamentable to note the utter se lf ishness and 



cruelty of the ignorant or prejudiced savages throughout 

 Northern Michigan, who kill' noble, intelligent hounds, 

 owned, as a rule, fry generous and law-abiding sportsmen. 

 Show me one of these cowardly, unscrupulous dog-shooting 

 fellows and T will show vou a brute who will kill deer at any 

 season of the year, and who knows .no close season on gams 

 of any kind. 'It's a great pity that, so long as hounding of 

 deer is allowed by law. that, some measure of protection is not 

 taken by sportsmen, who now and then, for a few days at a 

 time, enjoy the peculiarly thrilling cry of the chase. 



Delta. 



DCTnorr. Mich., Sept. 23. 



THE FLUCTUATING GROUSE SUPPLY. 



Editor F',:; 



I have just returned from a week's shooting trip in the best 

 partridge' country in Western Ontario, and consider myself 

 safe in "saving that some disease must have killed all the 

 birds. Two years ago there were lots of birds, and as there 

 was very little shooting, there were Jots left over to breed 

 from. Last vear they Began to diminish, and now you can 

 tramp for a whole day and not put a bird up. I am speak- 

 ing only of thac part of the country I was in, some places I 

 have been told the birds are more plentiful than last year, 

 but not near so plentiful as the year before. This would seem 

 to support the theory that a disease attacks the birds, which 

 moves fro n one part of the country to another, and which 

 does not affect all the birds at the same time. Can any per- 

 son explain the reason'.' A. G. C. 



London, Ontario, Sept. S3. 



GAME IN COLORADO. 



Hot Suuntni Springs, Col.. Sept. 23. 

 Editor Forest and t 



I was dowmthe Park, twelve to fifteen miles west of here, 

 for a couple of days in the past week, ami found a great 

 abundance of sage hens and iack nibbits. The cocks of the 

 former have gathered into flocks by themselves, from adozen 

 to fifty together, and when started up they are almost equal 

 to a flight of wild turkeys. Market hunters are killing great 

 numbers of them tor the minintr camps al Dillon, Breckin- 

 ridge and Leadvillc. From my observation an industrious 

 sportsman might kill from 50 to 100 per day. They also kill 

 a great many rabbits. 



In this neighborhood the common mountain grouse are 

 quite plentiful" among the hills, but the coveys are small. 

 I saw some young ones a couple of days ago that were not 

 much larger "than quails. But little large game is yet brought 

 in. I saw one hunter have a couple of deer one day last 

 week, and heard of .wo very large and fat elk to-day. Sev- 

 eral hunters have returned from a one, two, or three days' 

 hunt unsuccessful. They say the game is yet high upon the 

 mountains The weather is delightful. W. N. B. 



THE GAME OUTLOOK IN VIRGINIA. 



THE summer bay -bird shooting on the Virginia coast has 

 been a failure this year; indeed. I for one, think that 

 after June 1 all shooting should be prohibited until October, 

 for an indiscriminate fusilade along the Atlantic mouths 

 durintr July, August and September, will, in the end. effectu- 

 ally stop the migration of all kinds of bay-birds. 1 have 

 noticed a great diminution of the fiishts in tin- past two 

 years, and ""Mr. John Galligan, of the Cape Charles Light- 

 li-.usi-. an educated gentleman and a close observer in natural 

 history, informs hie that the High! of birds during the sum- 

 mer migration is getting less and less every year. 



Another fact, the wullets hatch out their young in April 

 and May, and in summer shooting these young birds, just 

 able to fly. come fearlessly to the decoys, and the slaughter 

 amounts "to practical extermination. I would like to see this 

 subject considered and acted upon, for unless some prompt 

 decided action is taken, bay-bird shoot. ng will be one of the 

 sports of the past. 



In May the robin-snipe, curlew, calico-backs and yellow- 

 legs afford fine sport. By June the robin-snipe migrate 

 northward, aud then the 'shooting ought to cease until the 

 fall, when a mouth's good sport can be had before the birds 

 _,j - nth as the frost comes. Every sportsman feels that 

 such a law ought to he passed, aud would cheerfully observe 

 it; nut, as it is now, no one cares to withhold his fire when 

 there are a half a hurnlr, d shooters in a mde square, blazing 

 away as fast as l.hey ceti shove shells into their breech-loaders. 



Last fall the partridges (quaff) had nn exemption from 

 sudden and violent death at the hands of the sportsmen, for 

 they were so lew in numbers and kept .so much in cover that 

 it d'id not pay to hunt them. In the early part of the season 

 the general advance took place, but the result was so small 

 that all the shooters in this State by tacit consent oiled their 

 guns and placed ihem in their covers for a long sleep. The 

 turds thus unmolested roved at will among the fields and 

 became fat and iu perfect condition to pass the winter 

 bardilv, and as that season was mild the spring found un- 

 touched coveys, and enough to propagate a full supply of 

 birds. From every section of the State where 1 have been 

 able to inquire by postal card and letter, the answer has 

 always been the same— birds unusually abundant and plenti- 

 ful, "in Piedmont, Virginia, there is a splendid prospect for 

 fall sport, aud guns are being put in order aud d .gs trained. 

 In the Tidewater section the birds are about on an average. 

 as the cold winter of 1(>S2 did not affect, them. In the 

 valley I hear that there is a fine prospect, while in South- 

 west' Virginia the number of partridges are something 

 phenomenal. 



I would not advise strangers comma: to this State, to shoot to 

 go either to Piedmont, Va., or the valley, unless, indeed, they 

 went as the guests of the resident sportsmen, for the. latter 

 class have good dogs and guns as a general thing, and can 

 take good care of the birds." I take it that every huntsman 

 would like to gel among the virgin flocks which" have never 

 seen the terrifying apparition of a standing pointer, or heard 

 the crack of the breech-loader. To do this they should go 

 where the country is not so thickly settled, and yet where 

 there are rich bottom lauds that the quail delight in. 

 Along the James River low-grounds are famous 

 this sport. In Sussex and Southampton counties, south of 

 Petersburg, are some of the finest shooting grounds in Vir- 

 ginia. All through the southwest of Virginia, in the little 

 valleys the quail are found iu the greatest quantities and 

 undisturbed. Few farmers iu that section take to the pointer 

 and Shotgun. They prefer the hounds and old mountain 

 Quest sport and the most birds combined that I 

 have ever enjoyed, was in Franklin couuty. If I were 

 going huuting for a couple of weeks 1 would Visit that sec- 

 tion, and cutting loose from the railroads and stage route 1 

 would go some fifty miles in the interior, that is of course 



