366 



FOREST AND* STREAM. 



L I)K<\ H, 1P83. 



as will pause tin- pot-hunter lo retire from his ignominious 

 business with disgust Buffalo are reported as iippeariug in 

 the northwest in considerable numbere. It is to be hoped 



that, they will he unmolested I'or a lew seasons, when liny 

 nin y once more appear in their old-time numbers. 



Deer are very plentiful, and will no doubt he so tor some 

 ye us lo conic, as there is little or no market for tliem, and 

 lione are slaughtered except for actual use. Not long ago 1 

 saw the unusual sight of no leas than five deer feeding to- 

 gether within a thousand yards ol town limits. 



.). B. SrXBA, 

 Walkef. Cocnty, Tex., Nov, -.,. 



THE CHOICE OF HUNTING RIFLES. 



Fit/tor lu, ml mill Stream: 



I fear that "E. M. B.'s" plea for a 40-90 repeater will not 

 meet with H ready response from the mannlar 1 un fs of re 

 jirating arms, at' least until some one invents a new system 

 on which to bllild these very attractive weapons. The 

 pri ni repeaters may he conveniently classified under two 

 Heads, namely tin- lever guns. i.rp, Winchester. Martin, etc., 

 ami tin' bolt gtms, <-.'/.; Lee. Hotchkiss. etc. Tie lever 

 actions have never, we helieve, been regarded as specially 

 stiong, i.e., capable of standing very heavy powder charees. 

 In this respect tlicy are not lor a moment' to be compared 

 u -it h the Sharps action. The bolt guns are far stronger than 

 the lever guns, but they have not become popular as spoiling 

 . weapons, and I doubt if they ever will, the projecting boit 

 being an eyesore, and liable to cat cii against other objects. 



The lepeater. therefore, for sporting use is the lever action, 

 The heaviest cartridge adapted to the Winchester measures 

 about two and a hall' inches in length, while I he 40-90-500 

 demanded by your correspondent could pot be made much 

 shorter than foui inches. This would require u correspond- 

 ing lengthening of the cartridge carrier and adjacent parts, 

 and feud, 1 should think, lo weaken the action lo an exces 

 sjve degree. 1 fully appreciate your correspondent's desiTe 

 I'or a Hall er trajectory I han is tit present si.tlainsl.le in the 

 majority of American sporting rifles. The English have 

 taught us a good deal about this, and I believe that their 

 double-barreled sporting rifles are, on the whole, more desir- 

 able weapons than any of .our own repeaters. At the re- 

 eent trial of rifles in London the winning .43-Cal, (double 

 barrel) was loaded willi lib grains of powder and a bullet of 

 251 grains. At ISO yards range the rise of the ball Was less 

 than five inches, and the accuracy Of the ;irm was all that 

 COuld be desired. If American manufacturers would study 

 the lessons to be learned from English experience, anil 



would give- us good double ritles, with Hat trajectory com- 

 bined With accuracy, we believe that repeaters would retire 

 from public favor. C ci kniioun. 



Vt.RK. 



A Montana In. ii.kxt.— Helena. Montana, Nov. 2., 

 1883,— Editor Forest and Sfrmvt: Our markets this season 

 have been supplied with moose, elk and deer, to say nothing 

 of the geese, ducks and small game, and our Oregon Bsh. 

 An unusual amount of game of all kinds lias been marketed 

 here this season, and I am pleased to sav that I believe skin 

 hunting will soon be a thing of the past. I was one of four 

 who look si live .lays' huni in sight of home, and the result 

 was ten deer, nineteen blue grouse and a nice lot of trout. 

 Since then, with my linker gun and Horn A, hang's geese de- 

 coys, 1 have placed twenty-one geese to the credit of my 

 game bag. Of .all deceits i think these decoys are the moat 

 deceiving to the geese. Our old friend and fellow -sports- 

 man, Blackball, met with quite an adventure lately. Hav- 

 ing shot a moos,- cow said her yearling and summer calves, 

 he put t hem away for safe keeping, as he thought, .me' re- 

 furned home to get assistance lo 'bring them in. When he 

 went back for them with his companions they found to their 

 sorrow that three cinnamon bears bad taken squatter's rights 

 and destroyed all three moose. This brought about all ac- 

 tion "Which resulted in thiee bears instead of three moose 

 being hung up in our market. Hunting is now over until 

 Water fowl return in the spring, and wewill, therefore, have 

 to rely on the Foiiest and Stiiea.m for our winter's sport. 

 There is t. two-year old moose tow for side here as tame as 

 .•an be. Who wants it?— Montana. 



[NCUKAsro ok Indiana Sin 



OTBtRS.-— Fairland. Ind., Dee. 1. 



-The seseson just closing h, 



s been a good one in this Stsite 



[or quail and rabbits. Qua! 



have increased wonderfully in 



the past season. This I thin 



k is due to the absence of Snow 



last year, If we an- sparet 



a deep snow this winter, the 



shooting next, season will tie 



sill that a reasonable sportsman 



could desire. But the me 



st astonishing thing about the 



shooting season this fall is tl 



ie wonderful increase of shoot- 



ers, so great indeed is the l 



umber of gunners boating over 



the field*, that farmers ha 



ve generally become disgusted 



with the vcr\ sight of the r 



ih.leit hunting fraternity, and in 



order to receive respectable 



reatment, it has become neces- 



sary to see the owner of the 



land and get permission. Many 



tanners bnveposre.l their iai 



ds this season whouever thought 



of doing so before. This is 



is it should be, for the privilege 



of shooting over well preser; 



ed land is esteemed very highly 



by the thoughtful sportsman 



. He is willing to make some 



return for this privilege, ant 



only such will be accorded the 



privilege. Judging irom w 



hat I see in the State, the gun 



dealers and manufaei liters i 



rust be reaping a harvest that 



bids fair to continue tor uisn 



y seasons— G. W. W. 



Will) Tl -ukicys in pHJfdB 



Yi.vANtA. — Poltz, Franklin Co.. 



Pa.. Nov. T, —Game birds: 



re not so plentiful this season as 



last, although in some localii 



ies they are numerous enough to 



afford a good day's sport. 1 



p to the present time seventeen 



wild turkeys have been kflle 



1 by our sportsmen here. Wild 



turkey shooting has been lai 



r. and if it were not for the vlo- 



tutors of the taw. who still persist in blinding, feeding and 

 slaughtering the birds in this unsportsmanlike manner, they 

 would he plentiful. We also have pheasants, quail, part- 

 ridgea, ruffed grouse, squirrels and rabbits in sufficient 

 quantities to alToid a good day's sport at anytime.— SBT 

 Tisiookh. 



%e& and Miter 



ANGUNG RESORTS— We shall be glad to have for jntbH- 

 :atio;t notes of good fishing localities. Will not our corre- 

 spondents; faror lis with notes of desirable points for angling 



• prompt attentu 



he Forest and St 

 ,-, oi whose absen. 

 reliable to delay. 



OPEN SEASONS. 



communications should be ad~ 

 tin Publishing Co., and not to 

 from the office matters ofittl- 



The digest of open seasons, printed in our issue of Aug. 10, has 

 lieeu published in eonveiueul pamphlet form, ami will he sen! to any 

 address, postpaid, on receipt of 10 vents. 



Anotiikh Stde-Hitct.— Toronto, Nov. 28.— A grand 

 "squirrel hunt" took place in the neighbourhood of Sssarboro' 

 .Junction to-day. Sides were chosen from the north and south 

 of Scarboro', undei the leadership respectively of Messrs. A. 

 Thomson and J. Simmons. Although the hunt was techni- 

 cally termed a "squirrel hunt," it also included besides those 

 rodents the shooting of other species of animals. Small 

 birds (not insectivorous) counted 1 point: red squirrel, 5J 

 blaek squirrel, 10; crow, 10; hawk, owl, partridge and mink, 

 30 each; oiuskrat, 25; and skunk, 50. The day's operations 

 resulted in a victory for the south side by 579 points. The 

 scoie shows that there is still a little game left about Scar- 

 boro', or at least that there was before the hunt. Among 

 the bags were 1 pari ridges, 25 inuski'afs. 2 mink. 2 owls (one 

 Of them a monster), 6 hawks. 4 crows, and innumerable 

 squirrels, the gi eater part of which were red. After the 

 match the contestants enjoyed themselves at a well served 

 oyster supper at the Leslie House, Scarboro' Junction. 



'I'uk Or. k Xkttfuis. — New York, Dec. 8. — Editor Forest 

 '■■! remn: While examining some very handsome 'speci- 

 mens oi ducks yesterday in- the market or M. Travis, of 

 Barclay street, one of the clerks informed mo thai they 

 came from City Point, Virginia, and were sill netted. lie 

 did not remember the name of the man who netted them. 

 but thought that it was Palmer. The clerk told me that 

 several barrels were received at a time from the duck 

 catcher, and that the birds so caught were very desirable 

 on account Of lack of shot holes. Each duck that I ex- 

 amined had its neck broken, and not a shot mark could be 

 found on any of them, f hope that the duck net ler will 

 neve; have Ids neck broken, hut if an accidental discharge 

 of his guu should bring him to bag in a legitimate way, 

 thera would be rejoicing among the ducks.— ■ Mark West. 

 [This is referred lo Mr. Goodwin, the game protector for 

 this district.! 



Tut; Manchester Raccoon Ueoimunt. — Manchester, N". 

 II.. Dec. 1. — I have not had a ehsiuee to pull trigger this 

 jSeason, but hear that the woodcock and rutted arouse shoot- 

 ing in this neighborhood has been unusually good. Gray 

 squirrels have been correspondingly scarce, but the Man- 

 chester '"Raccoon Regiment" have been very successful, 

 leaving captured fifty up to a fortnight ago. — Von W. 



THE ST. LAWRENCE RIVER. 



Editor Forest mid Stream: 



On the 2(jth of October last, there was organized in this 

 city The Anglers' Association of the SI. Lawrence River. It 

 is proposed to restore the fishing of the St. Lawrence. All 

 old visitors at Ihe. Thousand Islands know how very greatly 

 the fishing has fallen off during the last tew years; The 

 reason for this falling off are well known, and are matters of 

 fact, it has not been caused by angling, but by illegal net- 

 lishing. 



In August of this year, a party of gentlemen organized an 

 expedition and destroyed a quantity of nets at a point about 

 midway between Clayton and Cape Vincent. The river was 

 found literally blocked up with trap-nets from the shore to 

 the channel; 'the fish were, in fact, fenced out of the river 

 below. F<tf want of time it was possible to destroy but a 

 portion of the nets. It is believed that in those destroyed 

 there were secured more fish than arc caught by angling 

 from any watering place on the river during the entire sum- 

 mer season. There can hardly lie a doubt but that if all the 

 nets had been destroyed more fish would have been secured 

 than are caught by book and line in the entire river during 

 a season. The fish were of all kinds and sizes. They are 

 captured in such large quantities that the owners 

 of the nets do not even take time to clean them 

 out. and large numbers of rotten fish were iu the 

 meshes of the nets. It is this fishing with trap-nets, in plain 

 violation of the law, which has destroyed or severely injured 

 the fishing of the river, and to stop this and compel the en- 

 forcement of the hiws is the prinoipstl object of the tissoci- 

 tion. 



It should be remembered that this was hut a part of one 

 day's work, and at but one point on the river. It is well 

 known that from early spring until late fall there have been 

 regularly, of late year's, a perfect horde of nets in tile river. 

 They have been at the head of Linda's Island, alt about 

 Carfeton Island, from there all the way lo Cape Vincent, 

 suid up to the Light House. The whole upper river has 

 been shut off from below as far as the migration of fish is 

 concerned. Wherever the fish are likely to congregate, or 

 logo, there they are met with nets, and will be until the 

 Sternest methods sire taken to stop the illegal work. 



Sonus three, years ago, Mr. Seth Green, saitl to a gentle- 

 man that he could "make the fish so plenty in the St. Law- 

 rence river that they would block the wheels of the steam- 

 ers;" when asked 'how he would do it, he replied, "By 

 destroying the nets." 



ll is intended to offer rewards for the destruction of the 

 nets: to aid the game protector in enforcing the laws, fur- 

 nishing and. advanoing money for the purpose, when neces- 

 sary; to secure the prosecution of parties who fish by illegal 

 methods, whether by nets or bv spearing on the spawning 



beds; to furnish meads for restockhig the river with bass 



and other desirable fish;- to secure the co-operation of Cana- 

 dian anglers, .and to do such other things as will make the 

 fishing what it easily can be made. With hearty co-opera- 

 tion of lovers of the river Ihe fishing can be restored, and 

 can be made far better than it has ever been. 



The association needs members. Thousand Island tour- 

 ists are joining the association in great numbers. The 

 initiation fee and annual dues have been placed at 

 the SQUkll sum of live dollars. It has been arranged. 

 however, that a life membership may be granted on the 

 payment of one hundred dollars. The association needs 

 funds i luring the first year more than it will al any other 

 time. It is earnestly requested that those who can afford to 

 do so, will make themselves life members, Application for 

 membership should be made to the corresponding secretary. 



The officers of the association have been selected with 

 reference to those who will do hard work; they sire all active 

 fishermen. The association has come to stay. Members 

 can rest assured ihat everything will be done to carry oui its 

 object:, and il will not be a very long time before Ihe pleasures 

 of a visit to the Thousand Islands will be doubled. 



Sections 7 and 8 of the by-laws provide that the president 

 and chairman of the executive committee shall have the 

 power to offer such prize or prizes, ofsticll value and kind 

 us he may deem best, to members of the association for the 

 most successful fishing, as thev mav prescribe; and that all 

 members of the association shall discourage the killing or 

 retention of any black bass of less than one pound in weight : 

 pike or pickerel of less than two pounds, and of muskallonge 

 of less than six pounds, that, may be caught in the river. 



In addition to the objects of the association, is is proposed 

 to furnish badges of membership, to be worn by members, if 

 they desire to do so. when they are visitors at the islands. 

 It is believed that this will add much to the enjoyment of 

 members while among theislands, by making ih'ern readily 



juaintcd with each other. 



Articles of incorporation have been prepared, the officers 

 elected a1 the first meeting having been selected as the incor- 

 porators: their names and addresses are: President, John .1. 

 Flanagan. LTtica, IS". Y. : First Vice-President. Daniel Pratt, 

 Jr., Syracuse; Second Vice-President, William Story, VI 

 bany; Corresponding Secretary, W. W. Byiugton, Albany : 

 Recording Secretary, Charles H. Ballon, Utica; Treasurer. 

 GsirdinerM. Skinner. Clayton. Executive Committee: John 

 II. Quinbv. Chairman, Albany: Myron P. Bush, Buffalo: 

 H. D. Dillaye, Syracuse; E. P. Olmsted, Rochester; Dr. .1. 

 H. Brownlow, Ogdensburg; Theo. Bulterfield. Utica; Wil- 

 liam Frisbie, New York. Advisory Counsel, Hon. Franklin 

 M. Danaher. Albany. 



The society and its members will be under the full pro- 

 tection of the laws of the Slate of New York in every regard. 

 Wi VV. Bvinoton, Corresponding Secrets. ry. 

 41AMV, N. V., Sot. 88, 



AFTER CONGER EELS AND DOGFISH. 



for sea-fishing, 



seas, or around 

 id by the hardy 

 hill of storms, 

 ocean. If is :i 

 on in a staunch 

 ratdl and help 



3 111 



.ill, 



THE writer has always had a fondness 

 but especially for fishing in the deep 

 rocky coasts or foreign shores, as it is praetic 

 fishermen who make "their living between tin 

 and who gather their daily bread from the 

 great pleasure indeed lo sail out far at I 

 smack, to be away for several days, stud to v 

 the men cast their big nets, and see the myi 

 creatures brought to the surfsice, and to fill ( 

 the fresh, salt winds, as the smallboat rapidly makes head- 

 way among Ihe big waves. It. is that fondness thai has 

 caused axe to go out with the herring men at Skye. Ilu-funny 

 fishers in Italy, the swordrish killers of Sicily, suid so many 

 others. 



1 was one summer nl Trouville, a fashionable watering 

 place on the coast of Prances a beautiful spot, with the 

 Atlantic Ocean rolling at its feet, and the waters of the Eng- 

 lish Channel far away lo the eight. One day I was stroll 

 iugon the quay where the fishing smacks land at high tide, 

 and where baskets and barrels of tine fish are brought ashore 

 and fast sold at auction, and 1 noticed especially a small 

 black-hulled cutter from Which large baskeffuls of big conger 

 eels and dogfish were being brought out. I at once thought 

 that 1 would enjoy a trip with this smack, and made up my 

 mind to try and go. 1 spoke to one of Ihe men. who in- 

 formed me that he was the captain, about my wish. Well. 

 he seemed a little .surprised at first, sind told me I would be 

 very uncomfortable, and that their fare was poor, and finally 

 he informed me that they would be two days out, or more, 

 and that the weathei would be Very rough, and last, but not 

 least, he crowned his argument by saving. "Monsieur aura 

 Ie mal de mer," which meant that "Monsieur." your humble 

 servant, would be sea-sick. I answered bv asking how much 

 he would take me for, and now I perceived that he thought 



,uld 



dollars. I accepted at once, to his gn 

 when he would start, and I was infor 

 sail sit. next lull tide, otherwise at thre 

 I hurried home, told my folks 1 

 bought some tobacco of two kinds, 

 to make friends aboard with, and soi 

 and I stepped on the plank, between lb. 



hly, two 

 , surprise, an. Tasked 

 ■d that they were to 

 clock next morning. 

 s going to he away, 

 e... some very cheap 

 better for myself, 

 wharf and the boat 



■cted i 



at ttbc 

 whog 

 well, so you are coming a 



to make me comfort able. 

 down on a little bunk CO' 

 moving a few splicing pin 



thisluxuriantmatlress. I i 



lock that evening, found two men on board, 

 i French amounting to, "Well. 

 ix all, are you?" ami began trying 

 sVfter talking a .short while I lay 

 red by an old sail, and alter re 

 oarlocks, etc.. thai were beneath 

 ent to sleep. 

 1 woke up a few hours later, and after knocking my head 

 j the beams managed to find the scuttle, which 1 'lifle.it, 

 and went on deck. Swiftly the wind was carrying US along 

 between the two jetties, and in the dark we could see ihe 

 gas lamps at tlieircnds throwing a slim, unccrtaiu light over 

 the water. We passed the jetties, a cold wind was blowing, 

 and the four men composing the whole crew were at work. 

 trimming sails, steering, arranging the long lines on which 

 the hundreds of hooks are fastened that serve to capture the 

 conger eels and dogfish. On our right, we could see the 

 powerful light emitted by the lighthouse on the high oliffs 

 above Havre. Both the outgoing tide and the current from 

 the River Seine, which reaches the sea between Hiivre and a 

 little town called Honfieur, near Trouville, were carrying 

 us fast out to sea. The sky began to brighten si little over 

 the east, and after awhile the sun appeared, and casting a 



lurid purple light over 

 seemed to fall back a sh 

 our dipping bow struck 

 northerly direction for 

 still in sight of land, ho 



phosphorescent waters, which 

 wer of diamonds every lime thai 

 i wave. We sailed oil, takjtur a 

 bout twenty-five or thirty miles. 



ever, and after awhile the captain 



took Soundings, and bearing around, we slopped, and the 

 mizzenwas brought dowu, then the jib, and finally the 

 anchor was let go, and there we rode oyer about twenty or 

 thirty fathoms of water. 



The day before sill the hooks had been baited- ai 

 job, as we had f° ur "'"''^ ea cfi with about 150 Or 200 

 hooks, about six or seven feet apart. The small rowhoat 

 we had been lowing behind wsis now brought, iulo ivqiiisi 

 lion. I jumped in with two ol the men and wanted to row 

 in order to warm up, so 1 took one oar, one of the men look 

 another. The big basket containing the line carefully coiled 

 up was put in the stern, the captain alien. ling to that. One 

 end was made fast to the cutter, and away we rowed, the 

 captain letting out the line, until we were about 400 yards 

 from the smack, when the end was reached; this was made 

 fast to a good sized cork buoy, with a pole stuck in it. 

 carrying a little white flag. The three remaining hues weie 

 sdso'put out iu the same way, sisouud the cutter, aUi 

 on board atraiii, cooked breakfast and began smoking and 



telling stories. I forgot, I see. to mention what thej u ed 



bait. "This is worth knowing. A good piece of cuttle bsh 

 was used on each hook. The men get their bait from the 



