186 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Oct, 4, 1883. 



in and board 

 good will of 



d one could 

 nit, between 



with a party, and travel along in a Jersey wag 

 among the farmers. A quartette could eel. the 

 the people, and thus find Hie game spots, A] 

 empty fiia gun a hundred times, day in and day 

 sundown and BUDSet. 



As for the squirrels they are SO plentiful in the mouutaii 

 t that, they are a positive nuisance to il 

 leir eorn. beans and ground peas. Rabbi 

 iriar patch, and there is some fishing iu a 



Bams that How through the valleys ai 



nountains. For good sport, with good do, 

 inns, give me the south weal, seel ion. 



('haskkiu:. 

 Sept. 2S. 



MEN AND GAME. 



or u 



farmer-. El 

 abound iu 

 the uumei 

 windings < 

 and good e 



PROFESSIONAL 



IWior Vbmx m! 6 mm: 

 "01- 



•v iu your issue of Sept, 38 exasperates me. 

 iien advocate the shooting of game out of 



seem to the ordinary mind outside the pale 

 s that I he "average State Legislature" knows 

 sot" nature and has greater respect for her 



than they, whether or not it knows "the 

 ecu a trout and tomeod, or caribou and 



Lf profossii 



season, it v 

 of the prof i 

 move of I In 

 unalterable 

 difference 

 'coon." 



When the professional men who wish to shoot all summer 

 succeed iu improving on the laws of nature so that the draft. 

 on her supplies may be made at all seasons and never fail, 

 then farmers may kid their milch cows and grind their seed 

 wheat, and there Ik; no close lime for the sportsman and the 

 angler in all the year. Bui, perhaps, it would be easier to 

 change the season of vacations than the breeding seasons of 

 birds, beasts and fishes. 



The majority of real sportsmen, true lovers of the rod and 



gun, is composed of pr 



tions, the angling pn 



uphold, 



impo 



mere 

 If ( 

 to be 

 game 

 one end 



faith 

 rs of the ti 

 ile to find 



ifessional i 

 [•hers and 



and, with few exeep- 

 oetors, and the shooting 

 •lose limes and staunch 

 i. And yet it is no more 

 cse classes than among 



ssors are the only professional men who are 

 D i he framing of laws for the protection of 

 i assume that not onein fifty of them knows 

 ,_.. from the other, and they should be no more 

 trusted wilh tin arms than a 10-year-old boy. 



Is it possible to be a gentleman and violate the just laws of 

 the State? 



A gentleman respects the rights of all men, high or low; 

 he who sneaks info the woods and kills game or catches fish 

 iu close time, wrongs all men who abide by the law, and if 

 he is of high station, his example is worse than his act. 



AWAHSOOSE. 



Editor WbrMtand &j-<km,< 



Your correspondent at 

 game laws, evidently. W 

 close-sensou-dcer-slavers rec 

 like them probably. He ' 

 the Jaw breakers than the I; 



New Haven don't like our 

 .> do. Some twelve or fifteen 

 nt I y indicted by our courts di 

 would rather be ranked among 



ulcers, '' and ruthlessly shoot 



was a big bald spot, and for scratches and cuts he was a 

 sight, 



Shoot? Well, I should say so. He was called the best 

 shot around the lakes; but I'll give you a yam he fold 

 a, couple o' chaps from the city, who was carapin' out 

 with us. They were askin' him about, shootin', and 

 he says: "1 won a match once— not so much for shootin' as 

 from knowin' about the habits of critters in general. 1 was 

 in camp at Moosehead Lake, one summer, and the men got 

 owin' about shootin', and after they got blown out. 1 says; 

 I'll show ye suthin' in Hie way of shootin'. Take one of 

 them turkeys and tie her 1,000' feet off. And after they did 

 1 took six bullets and asked them to mark 'em. Now. says 

 1, here's a piece of piper, oo which is writ, where you'll 

 find them marked bullets when 1 eil through shootin.' and 

 witli that I handed the paper, folded, to one o' the men and 

 commenced to lire. When 1 was done they looked at the 

 paper and it read : 'Stomach,' and sure enough in the tur- 

 key's stomach they found the six bullets. 1 low was it done? 

 Why, jest by mv 'male's takiu' advantage of his knowledge of 

 nalur'. He knowed that, turkeys would pick ttpanythin,' so 

 he loaded light and struck the turkey's bill every time, so 

 liat the bullet stuck there. The bird would put its head 

 down, scratch off the bullet, look at it half a minute, and 

 then swallow it, and so it did the whole six. Yes, it was 

 fine shootin'," the old guide concluded pulling at his pipe, 

 "but he was afine hunter." — San. 



T L 



down the panting doe with fawn by her side to 

 scanty provisions of the camp." Out upon such pi 

 inconsistency, cruelty and meanness! Probably 

 to forego his very humane ideas of good game lav 

 comes to Maine. ' I hope so. 



ut the 



ofossioual 

 iie'il have 

 s When ht 

 Moose. 



ADIRONDACK JIM'S PARTNER. 



THE first winter I spent here was with oneof the queerest 

 old fellers I ever struck. 1 took a fancy to him at first 

 in a camp at Long Lake. I came iu one night late, and he 

 was a-telhn' a slor.y about the wild hogs of Florida that he 

 said had humps like a camel, some two, and somethiee, and 

 four, and teeth two feet long, and like razors. He said he- 

 was guidin'" a party round Kissamee Lake, and one eveniu' 

 he was eomin' through the woods when all at once he see 

 two big hogs a-coniirV along, one havin' the oth«rby the tail. 

 So he tips wiih his rifle and shot the leadin' hog dead, and 

 loadin' again, tired afore the oilier critter could make uthim, 

 but he only shol oil' the tail of the dead hog, and there it 

 hung iu the other's mouth. So up he goes, and ties a string 

 on to the fail, then marches into eampleadin' the hoe, and 

 KIOTO they shot her. You see, she was deaf, and stone blind, 

 and the other hog was a-leadiu' her, and he tumbled to the 

 racket. 1 though! a man that could talk like that would 

 make a good male, so we hitched and were mates till he 

 died. Wlien he w.:-n'l laughin' he was sleepin' and when 

 he wiisu'l talkin' he v 

 ••You know." lie i 

 plenty in lliem times, 

 he was. It's a fact hi 



I think it was about this time 6' the'year that 

 a -campin' back here about leu miles, when he woke me up 

 iu the night and says: 'Jim, ' says lie, T smell a painter.' 

 'Go 'long,' say I. 'Git your shooter,' says he. and 1 followed 

 himoutlill we came lo a, clearin' about thirty foot across. 

 We lay right ou the border, in the shade of the moon, and 



PHILADELPHIA NOTES. 



HE rail shooting on the whole has been a failure this sea- 

 son. Not for the want of birds, for there has been 

 plenty, but on account of the lack of water when people had 

 daylight to shoot in, and the general run of low tides which, 

 to my knowledge, have never been on the average lower for 

 years. A day or' two of jrood shooting the opening of the 

 season, one. or perhaps two, during each week, may be all 

 we can say there has been. Likely a period of line fides 

 will set in for next month, and providing I he weather does 

 not glow so cold as to drive all the birds aWay, we shall yet 

 have sport. 



At U-iss River, N. J., as well as up the Egg Harbor River, 

 there was good rail shooting last week. The high water 

 "stayed in" a long time, and heavy boats could be pushed 

 everywhere. Many birds were killed and shipped to New 

 York by the professional eunners. We are having some teal 

 shooting in the early moriiimg over decoys these cool days, 

 and this delicate little duck has begun' to show himself in 

 numbers in our river. 



On the 26th of the month there was a sparrow shooting 

 match at Pastime Park, Philadelphia. For the first time lit 

 a public match were these little birds substituted for pigeons. 

 The rules made the distance twenty-two yards rise, and 

 sixty yards boundary. Shot was limited to one ounce, Four 

 hundred sparrows were shot at, but many had been kept so 

 long, their wings were fouled, and they could scarcely My, 

 Out of 118 birds, which were trapped for the first match, 

 24 would not rise, owing to this wing trouble. The flight 

 of these birds was alike, there was but little variation in it. 

 Almost all of them skimmed along the grass for seven or 

 eight yards, and few rose more Hum three feet from the 

 ground. To compete with pigeons at all, sparrows must be 

 caught iu great numbers and kept a very short time befoie 

 being shot at, This will be hard to do, and f do not think, 

 as a trap bird, they will be a success. Such was the verdict 

 of nine out of ten on the grounds, and almost all remarked 

 that they would rather shoot at clay pigeons than sparrows, 

 at ten cents a head. 



Toward the end of the shooting, it was proposed by one 

 of the trappers, that the wings of the remaining birds be 

 cleansed. This was done, and a marked difference in the 

 flight was afterward noticed. Still the sport was poor, and 

 ever will be. 1 inclose for proper heading the scores of the 

 match. Homo. 



PHU.ADELPHIA, Sept. 28. 



Philadelphia. Sept. 29. — As I write you we are having 

 a good tide and fair rail shooting. There appear to be more 

 birds about the Gloucester grounds than any place along the 

 river. At Morris River if is said there are few birds" this 

 year. I think this is a mistake, and a storm tide will prove 

 it. Mr. Peter Lane, one of the ex-members of W. J. Game 

 Protective Association, was fined $75 for illegal shooting at 

 Bridgeport, N. J , the day before the opening of the season, 

 lie had fifteen birds in lifs boat at, the time.— Homo. 



ed, "that panthei 



(pa 



ised to be 

 lile.and 



the iiist 1 know, he says: ' 

 and an owl. Which will yer have?' 

 says I, and oui he steps in the cles 

 arms up, so that with the rille barr-e 

 lie began In call like an owl, and 

 answer just like an echo, then louder ; 



buck, 

 Give us the owl first,' 

 in', and hoidiu' both 



he looked like a tree, 

 i a minute came an 



id louder, till a big 



birds were either feeding or were having a noon snooze, and 

 they had good headway when coming up in sight, Iu an 

 instant the trusty Cull-choke Greeuer wvis three feet ahead of 

 the largest arid quartering bird; ten No. 8 shot struck its 

 ad neck. Continuine his flight some thirty or forty 



irds the cock of the 

 id, breaking dry br 



ed. 



flock 



nsli all : 

 to the I' 

 vhile, w 



lluttei 

 und him, went half running, 

 t of the hill with the speed of 

 i the dog, I followed in hot 

 i for a young dog; he Hushed 

 rem i d tii ■;m . 



Is (Frank Forester's opinion 

 ecured and admired, lie laid 



The 



r the tree-tops, and bagged \ 



If tn 

 a bird only wi 

 pursuit. This 

 our tame turk 

 At last the 1 

 nofwithstaudi 

 been flushed 

 rushing along 

 of pot-hunting 



had covered a bird going Straighj auay. and [was rather 

 sorry to think that a number of the small shot may have 

 proved fatal and caused it to die; a miserable death, food for 

 foxes. 



has the place of bono 

 ds, ■which contains 

 •ular bird was sadly 

 men of the Florida, v 

 isvlvania beauty. 

 he fact of which we 

 ly, that our wild turkeys are not 

 rd fowls turned wild by occasional 

 straying ol a hen, but the true Eastern variety, or Mdeagris 

 yiilhipuvow-M. Am.), with dark brown tail and lighter chest- 

 nut markings, no white on tail or tail-coverings, the latter 

 being a rich bronze green, while breast and wim:'-i -overs have 

 a high coppery luster, lower or under tail-covers and side 

 above shanks a light but rich violri bronze, fogs had a beau- 

 tiful rosy tint, like reddish mother of pearl, which has since 

 darkened into deeper red. Wood Tuiil'sh. 



WlLLLAMSPORT. Pa. 



The flue old U 

 collection of n 



ohbler no 

 minted 1 



specimens. Su 

 for years, a bca 

 could replace oi 

 Then we hav 

 fore been mice 

 descendants of 



Bh a pari 



itiful spe 

 r own Pe 



tain; nan 



barn-van 



imong my 

 out i,66u 



ssed there 

 iety never 



e hereto- 



THE OLD BACHELOR BEAVER. 



QEVEEAL old residents of Elmira. N 

 O taining each other at the Delavan Hou 

 ago with reminiscences of early Elmira, : 

 late "Uncle Billy" Hoffman was brought 

 Elmira when it was a small village, enga 

 hatter, and died two or th 



, were en ter- 

 se a few evenings 

 6 fxG name of the 

 ip. He came to 

 •el in business as a. 



he wealthiest 



in the place. One of the gentlemen related tin- following 

 interesting incident that recollections of "Uncle Billy" 

 brought to his mind: 



"In 1814 a Chemung River raftsman by the name of Shapes 



brought to Unele Billy's shop the skin of a I; beaver. 



The "pelt was that evidently of a very old beaver. These 

 animals, even in that early etay. were very scarce. They 

 had been once very abundant in the Slate, and nowhere more 

 so than along ihe Southern Tier; but in the days \\ In i g r.m., 

 of lands were made by kings and queens, before this i ' 

 ceased to be the property ol foreigu powers, beaver fur was of 

 fabulous value. One of the principal conditions of grants was 

 thai there should annually be returned to the grantors targe 

 numbers of beaver pelts. This enforced flapping ul'the prized 

 fur-bearer, added tei the. voluntary inroads made upon them 

 by the demands of fur dealers abioad, had its effect in a few 



this region after 

 id native lo the 

 t.ly, the beaver 



;• into 



Uncle I- 

 onceplii 



years, and when the- first, settle 

 the Revolution the beaver was th' 

 country that they found rare, 

 pelt that the raftsman brought ti 

 curiosity, and the possessor was atone 

 as to where and under what circumsta 

 it. Mapes was an old hnntei and tiaj 

 man, ami, being extremely talkative 

 account of the beaver, which, 1 faj 

 three legs. 



"Mapes said that in l?w3 he accompanied the celebrated 

 frontiersman, Benjamin Patterson, as a workman eugageel 

 by Sir William Pultney lo lay out a road from Rose's farm, 

 oil the Susquehanna river, now the City ot Williamsport, to 

 the northern boundary of Pennsylvania. Sir William Pultney 

 had made the historical purchase of a large portion of 

 Western New York and Northern Pennsylvania for the 

 purpose of opening them up to emigration "from the East, 

 The region was slid an unbroken wilderness, but the fame 

 of the rich lauds of the "Genesee Couutry," where the 

 armies of Sullivan had found the soil yielding marvelous 

 crops even under the rude cultivation of the Indians, laid 



Ih questions 

 ces he had captured 

 ler, as well as a rafts- 

 gave a remarkable 

 ol to say. had hut 



ick, 



bird lighted on his rifle, and tindin' its mistake, whooped off. 

 d when he says, 'Look out for 

 i'd beard bim'ealliii' that buck, 

 dongside of year. Afore long 

 i'as white as a ghost, and in 

 a enough to last a month. 



1 tell ye 1 was took 



the buck!' l got .reaay. it, 



you'd sworn then i 5 I 

 out stepped a big buck loc 

 about a. minute we had veu 

 "While I was cut tin' tin 

 Off in the woods, and the ' 

 that 1 Wished I was back 

 was behind, then afore, In 

 gentlemen has heard a pa 

 pups, you kuow egziietly 

 got thc'critti -r 'bout, cut up 

 you bear her, Jim'?' I've 

 a-eomin',' says he, and W 

 a-sworu there was a kitten alongsii 

 heard a kind, of cracklin' in the brus! 



in camp lil'tv limes. First they 

 t and there, anel if auy o' you 

 Iter cryin' wneu she's lost 'her 

 he kind o' noise he made. I'd 

 ,vhen he comes in anel says, 'Did 

 heard a dozen ' savs I.' 'She's 

 h that he gev a snarl, and I'd 

 , Afore long we 

 1 in a minute a 



big critter came a-ereepiu' over the cleariu', anel afore 1 could 

 say a word he'd fired, She nearly buried herself a-dyin' and 

 1 finally put her out of her misery. But do y' know that 

 mate o' mine took her home next, day and fed on her for a 

 Week, and 1 icekou flint's why lie' could sitael] 'em. He'd 

 had adventures writh painters and wildcats by the scores 

 He had ouly two lingers ou his left. hand. Just'over his ear I tisiug their powerful wings to the best advantage. The 



PENNSYLVANIA WILD TURKEYS. 



THAI.) just broken a young dog; he was ready to recei 

 his first lesson in wood or field, and 1 determined to give 

 him the small amount of practice the few ruffed grouse 

 afforded. This bird 1 consider tc be the best material upon 

 which to teach a dog to work carefully. The leaves re- 

 mained on brush anel trees for the greater part of October. 

 1882, the brash that year remained a dark and bright green 

 a full month longer than usual seasons. 



1 made preparation one morning to take a little brush over 

 some of the points and sidchills, \yheu an old friend dropped 

 iu to ask my advice in buying a new gun; we had a friendly 

 and lengthy chat about hunting matters, and among other 

 interesting incidents of the past year, the old gentleman 

 spoke of a small flock of wild turkeys which had used on a 

 mountain near his home, about ten miles from our town. 

 Last year he said he had been so fortunate as to shoot one of 

 the flock by baiting them with corn, and he laid Continued 

 to feed ihem during the winter, carrying corn to the woods 

 for l hem at regular intervals. He thought the birds could 

 be induced to further frequent the vicinity and rear several 

 broods about there. The wily birds, however, had not shown 

 themselves very thankful lor his kindness and trouble, but 

 had loft that vicinity during early spring. Through the 

 month of September farmers while "driving to market over a 

 road which led through the woods across a mountain, would 

 occasionally get a glimpse of a few turkeys. 



My visitor's mentioning of wild turkeys proved a good 

 omen for my afternoon hunt. It was nearly noon when 1 

 turned into a hollow, the greatest part of which I followed, 

 and then turned up a very brushv hillside. The chances for 

 a Tew ruffed grouse were, I thought, a hundred times better 

 than for turkeys. With dog "to heel," while climbing the 

 steep hillside. I arrived near the top among very thick anel 

 high underbrush, and directly under a number of pitch-pine 

 trees, when "wup-wup-wu'p-w-w-w-wi-si-si-si," came t.nc 

 turkey's cry. Yet unable to see the large birds which cause el 

 the strange sounds, ray eyes naturally sought the tops of the 

 underbrush, when sure enough, some distance out and 

 already amoung the pines, were a number of the large birds, 



.-I'm... -...!. liers of 

 : set' lers only awaited 



through ihe wil'i 



lands on the easy terms 



been carried back to the easi b\ 



those armies, and anxious coloiri 



the opening up of some thorough 



to the rich country to take up 



at which they were offered. Il was to i 



that the army of workmen, of which Mapes was a member, 



was engaged by Sir William. Benjamin Patterson, from his 



thorough knowledge of the region and his skill in woodcraft, 



was made the superintendent oi the. work. His contract 



with SirWilliam provided Unit In- BUOUltt keep the workmen 



supplied witli game and fish, to be killed and captured by 



him, he having the risrhl. lo retain fol bis own profit the 



skins aud furs he secured with his rifle and traps. The 



mils. 



wood 



bearit.. 



streams. There wen 



was an enterprising i 



is probably the most 



it is the most easily i 



live together in coll 



whe 

 near and i 

 signs of 

 capture 



the spot tt 

 willow, si 



If the 



th game of all kinds in 1703, anel the i'ur- 

 lepting beaver, were plenty alone the 

 a few'bcnvi rs, and for lliein Patterson 



n. hi . laligable trapper. The beaver 



•mining and intelligent ol animals, yet 



npeised upon by the dapper. Beavers 

 des. aud build their dams and houses 

 anil lender-barked plants I hat thrive 

 ist abound. When the trapper finds 

 ■aver on a stream his course of prueedure to 

 m is very simple. If willows are not growing at 

 suit him, be breaks oil a small branch from a 

 ksitelown in the hot torn of the water so that it 

 , and sinks his trap at the bottom of it at, night. 



dllows 



wate 



• will S 



to the slid; lo inspect 

 his hind feet and is 

 ig a whole colony of 

 ight after uieht, and 

 v the same manner 

 a that * beaver-will 



vert- 



•ef near 1 

 I, aud invariably springs t 

 caught. Notwithstanding 

 beavers will come, one atfi 

 be caught in the same tra 

 until none is left. It hap] 

 escape from the trap. If 

 once becomes a wanderer i _ 

 table fur.-bearing tramp, it will never colonize again, and 

 avoitls all companionship with its kind. h will live in 

 cavities under the' roots of trees, iu holes iu the ground, and 

 wherever if finds shelter most, convenient and secure. 

 Among the old-time hunters and trappers lbe*e solitary 

 pariahs of Ihe beuvei family were called 'bachelors, ' 



"Patterson had been "ill With the load makers several 

 months, and had trapped score's of mink, otlcr and ejther 



