FOREST AND STREAM. 



more, till the huge clumps of willows on the Big Meadow 



loomed up ahead of us, and while F • went on, so as to 



enter the brush from the north, we went into the meadow 

 along a runway that went into and through the largest 

 clump. Having taken a stand that commanded two or 

 three open spaces, on a fallen tree, from which we could 

 see all over the tops of the brush, we waited patiently for 

 an hour; then the brush in front of us cracked once or 

 twice. Silently the gun triggers sprang to full cock, as we 

 peered cautiously into the thicket. Crack, crack, again 

 went the dead twigs, and we confidently expected a deer 

 to show himself; but the wary animal refused to come out, 

 and after snorting once or twice, retraced his steps. At 

 the upper end of the willows we now heard a yelp from 

 the dog, accompanied by a command to "come in," fol- 

 lowed at once with one, two, three shots f rom F 's 



Winchester, and climbing up on the fallen tree as high as 

 possible, we saw the deer break cover and run as only a 

 scared deer can run, and plunge into the nearest clump. 



In a second or two F appeared in sight on the track 



and motioned to us to come where he was . In a few mo- 

 ments we were with him. The red drops on the snow, the 

 long and regular leaps, told that the deer had been hit, but 



not badly wounded. We kept the track, gave F time 



to skirt the brush and get ready, and then went on, more 

 intent on driving the deer out than shooting him. By 

 main strength we crashed through the brush, starting the 

 deer twice, which seemed determined not to leave his 

 cover, till we gave it up and sought F again for cour- 

 age and advice, which resulted in taking our stands and 

 letting Juno go in, which, she did willingly, and brought 



the deer out into the meadow in short order, when F 



shot him again, breaking his fore leg, and again through 

 the shoulder, bringing him down. The first shot had 

 struck him in the neck just cutting the flesh. To dress 

 the deer— a four-prong buck — was the work of half an 

 hour, and then we attempted to corral the deer that had 

 saluted us with his whistle; but the firing and noise had 

 been too much for his nerves, and his trail out of the 

 brush into heavy timber told us we might as well let him 

 go for the present. 



"Let us try the willows on the side next to Long Lake," 

 was F 's next suggestion, and the same operation as be- 

 fore was gone through with. We could not do anything 

 without Juno's help, and when he let her go she drove the 

 deer out in the wrong place and went off in full cry, her 

 bugle-like voice sounding fainter and fainter, till we could 



hear her no longer. "Well," observed F , as he lit his 



pipe after luncheon, "it is human intellect against animal 

 cunning. In order to get another deer the science of the 

 still-hunter must be brought into play. We must hunt 

 those fellows who know we are here; who have all the ad- 

 vantage of a thorough knowledge of the country; who 

 can smell us for a hundred rods ; who have grown gray in 

 getting out of the way of the Indians, and I reckon we 

 can go home with only one deer." We mentioned a French 

 quotation, which means "it depends upon circumstances;" 



and telling F to meet us at the "Crossing" at night, 



we struck out. A long, lonesome walk through the "ever 

 nodding" pines brought us to the meadow through which 

 Hay Creek runs. As we struck the meadow we noticed 

 several fresh tracks leading across the meadow into the 

 oak openings beyond; and skirting the meadow in order to 

 get the wind in our faces, we began to look the oaks over. 

 It was cut up with tracks, new and old, like a sheep 

 yard. Here the lordly buck had been courting with the 

 does ; here the torn up ground and long sliding tracks of 

 a fierce struggle between a couple of bucks. Mixed up 

 with these were the tiny tracks of the fawns and yearlings. 

 As we stood undecided which course to take, a small bushy 

 oak in front of us began to shake, and stern first, his tail 

 erect and quivering, came a buck, backing out! What he 

 was doing remains a. question. Whether he was going to 

 sail into another buck, getting ready to paw, or whether 

 he was "showing off" to a doe, we cannot state. We 

 dropped on one knee, in order to get a better sight, and at 

 that moment he saw us. As we wheeled the gun cracked, 

 and as he rose in air at the second jump we fired again 

 through the leaves and brush. Both charges struck him, 

 and when we got to him, a dozen rods away, he had no 

 more frolic or right left in him. Prone on his side he lay, 

 the bright blood staining the snow. We were near the 

 railroad track, and knowing that the section men would 

 soon be along with their hand-cars, we stopped them as 

 they came along, and with their help dragged the buck to 

 the track, put him on the car, and "pumped" our way into 

 town. T. P. C. 



JBminerd, Minn., Nov. 25/A, 1875. 



•+*+- 



For Forest and Stream. 

 LATE PASS AND RIVER SHOOTING. 



aX o'clock A. M.on the 15th of November of last 

 O year found the "Koronis Club," once before men- 

 tioned in these pages, dashing over the last quarter of a 

 mile of the road to the Wilcox Farm, behind a splendid 

 team of horses, drawing a spacious shooting wagon, the 

 contents of which, to any ordinary observer, disclosed our 

 mission at once. Although with great coats buttoned up 

 to the chin, and silently flitting through the foggy and 

 frosty night we ran some risk of being taken for smug- 

 glers, but as we were not near the "line," and with Prince 

 and Ponto— our retrievers— dashing along behind, we were 

 in no great danger of that. 



Starting from Litchfield, Minn., about two o'clock in 

 the morning, roused from our warm and comfortable beds 

 at the hotel and chilled by the keen night air, we were not 

 in good condition to enjoy the moonlit and very frosty 

 landscape, and we looked anxiously for dawn, whi®h 

 would see us near our destination. We consequently 

 hailed With joy the first rays of the morning sun, and it was 

 but a short time before he began to assert his power by roll- 

 ing off the mist in clouds, unfolding to us a scene of extreme 

 beauty in the rich Autumn pastoral landscape, every leaf 

 and blade of grass glittering like diamonds under his in- 

 fluence. We whirled by thrifty-looking farm houses, the 

 rosy-tinted smoke ascending lazily from the chimneys and 

 joining the fog, and together rolling into great banks ot 

 clouds, through which the sun's rays gleamed like dagger 

 points. The rapid motion of the mist, under the influence 

 of a gentle breeze and the constant changes of the cloud 

 masses, gave a kaleidoscopic effect to the scene, needing 

 only a few more colors to make it gorgeous. It required 

 some such a scene to arouse us from the half stupor into 

 which our long dreary ride had thrown us, and for the 

 first time since our start were we at all social. 



"Here we are," ejaculated II , from the depths of his 



muffling, as a large, white, two-story, clean-looking farm 

 house appeared through an opening in the trees, "let's 

 wake 'em up." 



Pent up in a city for almost the entire Summer, it is 

 hardly to be wondered at that our enthusiasm broke out in 

 divers ridiculous and undignified ways, and yelling at the 

 top of our voices, we dashed through the open bars into 

 Wilcox's yard, scattering pigs, chickens, ducks, geese, tur- 

 keys and calves in dire confusion, and arousing the ire of 

 the resident dog, Major, Who met us and our canines brist- 

 ling and snarling with rage, until getting the wind of our 

 party, he changed front and gave us a true canine and 

 rather unpleasant welcome. Just then the door of the 

 house opened and Wilcox, or "Bill," as we familiarly call 

 him, thrust his head out, and looking real provoked at the " 

 liberty taken, exclaimed: "What in thun — " and recog- 

 nizing us, changed to "Well, well, bovs, how d'ye d:>? 

 By gracious! you reminded me of a pack of '62 Indians 

 — don't want any more of them in mine; but you are wel- 

 come, sure enough — been looking for you these three days. 

 Look here, fly around!" (this to a scared and sleepy-looking 

 Swede boy) "and take care of the gentlemens' horses; and 

 you boys, shaking us cordially by the hand, you must be 

 cold and hungry; come in." Then turning, he led the 

 procession into the house, the windows of which had been 

 filling up with inquisitive childish faces. It did not take 

 long for Mrs. Wilcox to set a few extra dishes, nor for us 

 to empty them. Such coffee and biscuit, and such "flap- 

 jacks," smothered in cream and white sugar! — but I must 

 stop. My mouth waters at the thought of them. "Don't 

 be in a hurry, boys," was Bill's frequent expression, as he 

 saw us becoming fidgety after surrounding our victuals, 

 "Ducks won't fly till the fog lifts from the Pass — don't 

 take much stock in your Pass shooting, no how; guess I'll 



take Major and beat you all at the river." But J 



could'nt wait, and shouldering his gun left hastily for the 

 lakes. Not much le3s anxious than the aforesaid impatient 

 boy, we double-quicked it after him through the belt of 

 woods that intervened. 



Wilcox's Pass differed not materially from any other, 

 being, as nearly all are, but a narrow strip of land be- 

 tween two feed lakes, and as we all knew the ground 

 thoroughly, we were not long in posting ourselves in good 

 cover. The dense fog still hung over all, rendering futile 

 our efforts to pierce the veil and discover the game, which 

 our ears plainly told us had begun to stream over. We en 

 dured this state of things for a while, the dogs beginning 

 to manifest their impatience by running backwards and 

 forwards, and gazing wistfully into the air when the ducks 

 went over witn their peculiar thrilling whistle of the 

 wings. At this juncture of our affairs we hear a loud 



honking in the direction of Mud Lake, W- at the same 



time singing out sonorously, "mark goose!" Knowing 



him to be in the eentre of the goose pass, we hurried to his 



I side, the dogs following our example. Not trusting them 



implicitly, however, in this emergency, W and J- — 



each straddled one of the animals for further security. 

 What a feeling about in extra pockets there was for B B 

 shells, and what "goose ague" and nervousness was shown 

 as the honking grew louder and drew nearer, will never be 



known outside of the Koronis Club. H and W 



in the centre, J on the right, and the writer on the 



left, our eyes fixed, and our guns pointing in the di ection 

 of roast goose, we formed a model tableaux. How we 

 blessed the fog— never so dense. On they came. We knew 

 that by the sound, and suddenly enough they appeared, 

 not over five yards high, the leading gander with neck out- 

 stretched, looking^as he emerged from the fog, as large 

 as a barn. 



"Ready, boys!" exeitedly from W . Our guns went 



up quickly. "Pull!" A ringing report, and the old gan- 

 der and two of his companions hurled themselves upon 



our little group. W and J , each quietly seated 



upon a dog, and thoroughly absorbed in the sport, had for- 

 gotten what a mine they sat upon; but the dogs had'nt. At 

 the report, and faithful to their retrieving instincts, they 

 gave tremendous leaps gooseward, throwing their riders in 

 one direction and their guns in another, causing the digni- 

 fied secretary to stand on his head in the moist sand, while 



J posed just as artistically but a few feet distant. 



W and J insisted there was nothing to laugh at, 



while H and I laughed until the tears rolled down our 



cheeks. 



A freezing wind set in from the northwest, benumbing 

 our fingers and causing our poor wet retrievers to shiver 

 until their teeth fairly rattled, and as the flight, in conse- 

 quence of the extreme cold, was very poor, we concluded 

 it was but an act of mercy towards man and beast to re- 

 tire. This we did in good time, casting back many a lin- 

 gering glance at the Pass over which we had shot, both in 

 anticipation and reality so often. As we staggered through 

 the woods to the house with our load we consoled ourselves 

 with the reflection, that if we had not quality, we could 

 not complain on the score of quantity. It did not revive 

 our spirits one bit when we discovered the large lake fro- 

 zen over, and a solitary goose walking on the ice as if to 

 test its strength, showing us conclusively that our Pass 

 shooting was over. Literally, speaking, we were a blue 

 crowd on reaching Bill's cosy sitting room ; for our feelings 

 rivalled the color ^of our noses, and we began seriously to 

 discuss our return homeward. Just then the door opened 

 and Major sprang into the room, his shaggy coat covered 

 with ice, followed by his master, Bill, with a fine back 

 load of mallards. "Well, boys," he exclaimed, "how 'dye 

 make out?— did'nt hear you shoot much; told you I'd beat 

 you on the river." Tnen seeing how matters stood, he 

 told us to cheer up, that the river was full of mallards and 

 red heads, and a fine afternoon's sport was before us; this 

 at once revived our spirits, and we responded promptly to 

 Mrs. Wilcox's call to dinner. 



Giving Bill the management of the afternoon's hunt, he 

 advised a separation of the party, three to take the team 

 and carry the section boat a few miles up Crow River, 

 while he took down stream with the remaining one of our 



party. H preferred accompanying Bill, so W , 



j and myself drove up stream with the boat. A brisk 



trot of a few miles and our boat was afloat, its bow well 

 concealed by flags and wild rice stalks. My companions 

 knelt side and side, guns inhand, in the bow, while I guid- 

 ed the boat with a paddle, my own gun lying across my 

 lap. We glided along silently through the heavy wild rice, 

 the mallards getting up within easy range, and affording 

 beautiful shots. Now and then I would succeed in getting 

 in a right and left after my friends had emptied their guns. 

 Every bend and turn of the stream harbored more or less 

 of the noble birds, and a$ our silent approach gave them 



no warning, we delivered our shots with telling effect, and 

 it was not long before it became difficult to move about in 

 the boat, on account of the number of ducks lying in it. 

 We were quite willing to quit when the team hove in sight, 

 and were soon aboard with our precious load, and dashing 

 swiftly over a good road down stream after Bill and 



H , whom we espied directly, crawling on their hands 



and knees towards a clump of" willows which hid them 

 from the river. The noise of our approach reaching them, 

 they motioned to us to join them, and on all -fours we ac- 

 complished the feat. What a sight met our gaze! The 

 river at this point was fully fifty feet wide, and but a few 

 rods distant there fed a large flock of brant geese and 

 quite a large flock of mallards. After a whispered consul- 

 tation, it was decided to give them a barrel each on the 

 water and the balance on the Wing. Bill gave a shrill 

 whistle; instantly every neck went up in alarm, and then 

 we sent in our fire, and again as they rcse, covering the 

 water with the dead and wounded. We dashed into the 

 river with our long boots and retrieved four brant and five 

 mallards, besides allowing a few cripples to escape. 



Sitting around Bill's cheerful fire that night and listening 

 to the howling of the storm, which had set in with great 

 fury, he recounted graphically to us his experience during 

 the Indian massacre of '62, how he was compelled to 

 abandon his comfortable home and leave everything to the 

 mercy of the red devils; his return with a neighbor after 

 a few days in the dark to look after his stock and liberate 

 them, so they might not starve, the neighbor going to his 

 own home, agreeing to meet Bill at a certain place; how 

 he met the Indians at his well, and how, by his nerve and 

 coolness he outwitted them; the pursuit, and his final escape, 

 and how not finding his neighbor at the rendezvous, he 

 became uneasy, and after hunting for him finding his dead 

 body with a hole in it, he then left hastily for the nearest 

 settlement and returned with an escort, drove off the In- 

 dians and buried his friend. Midnight found us still up 

 and listening to our host's adventures, and those of our 

 party who had participated in the Indian war retired to 

 dream over again the stirring incidents of those terrible 

 days long gone by. Alsace. 



ANNUAL REPORT OF THE FISH COM- 

 MISSIONERS OF THE STATE OF VIR- 

 GINIA. 



THE first duty of the gentlemen forming the Vir- 

 ginia Fish Commission upon receiving their ap- 

 pointments, was to consult with Professor Baird, U. S. 

 Commissioner of Fisheries, and in company with Mr. Jas. 

 W. Milner, of the same Commission, and Prof. Goode 

 and Major Ferguson, of the Maryland Commission, to 

 visit the various fishing stations on the Potomac River. 

 The object of this trip was to gather information regarding 

 the condition of the shad fisheries, sufficient of which was 

 gained to satisfy the Commissioners that by artificial prop- 

 agation, clearing the stream of all obstructions to its 

 source, and a few wholesome regulations as to close time, 

 size of mesh and fixed nets, the river might be made to 

 yield food for millions of people. 



As the shad season was rapidly passing, the first require- 

 ment was to secure an expert. Mr. Seth Green's offer of 

 the free use of his hatching boxes was accepted, and also 

 Prof. Baird's tender of the aid of one of his most experi- 

 enced experts, Mr. Fred Mather. After examining several 

 points on the James River, Fish Haul on the 

 Pamunkey River was selected as the place for Mr. 

 Mather to commence operations. But the weather 

 continued so cold and harsh, that though he remained 

 three weeks, prepared to hatch a million a day, if spawn 

 could be had, he did not find one perfectly ripe female 

 shad. The run of fish becoming smaller, and being unre- 

 munerative, the proprietor of the seine "jut out," which 

 put an end to further operations, or rather expectations, at 

 that point. , 



In the meantime, Mr. W. H. Marks, of Mr. Greens 

 corps, had been assigned to Greenlaw's landing, Tobago 

 Bay, on the Rappahannock, a most famous fishery, where 

 there are three large shore seines, and in former times as 

 ■many as 6,000 shad have been c&ught by one of them at a 

 haul. But there was heard the same complaint as else- 

 where— yery few fish, and those not mature. The catch 

 of a day by all the seines and the gillers, above and below 

 the bay, in sight, did not reach a thousand. Nevertheless 

 Mr. Marks, by extraordinary energy, succeeded in hatching 

 and turning into the river upwards" of a million of fry. He 

 was prepared to hatch a million a day, and could have done 

 it with ease, if spawn had been obtainable. 



The Commissioners and their agents were most kindly 

 received by all the fishermen, both gillers and shore men- 

 who proffered every assistance in their power, and manie 

 fested great interest in the success of their work. All ripe 

 fish were freely turned over by them to the use ot the 

 Commission. Mr. Marks, by having an understanding 

 with the gillers, that they should raise a flag whenever 

 they caught a live and ripe fish, for which he would send 

 a boat, obtained many fine spawners. Under the auspices 

 of the United States Commission, some five or six millions 

 of shad were hatched in the Potomac, and most of these 

 turned into that river. A portion was distributed to otnei 

 impoverished streams, of which a hundred thousand were 

 deposited in the Staunton, where the Mildland Railroaa 

 crosses that river. ■, . 



The attention of the Commissioners was next turned w 

 the various water courses of the State above tide, V irg"ua 

 being blessed with six distinct and well defined basins oi 

 water sheds on the Atlantic slope. With a suitable cnau- 

 nelatthe Great Falls of the Potomac anadromous nsu, 

 such as shad, herring, rock, salmon, etc., might ascena 

 the Aileghanies, in Maryland, Pennsylvania and vve» 

 Virginia, and by the Shenandoah, up the Valley or vn 

 ginia, to Augusta county. The basins of the RapP ail 1" 

 nock, the James, the York, the Chowan, and the B^oko 

 and their tributaries were in turn examined, and all iou 

 to possess every advantage for the production ot an | 

 mense quantity of fish of various kinds, all on 

 now lost by the great number of dams which, i 

 stances, bar their courses. ■ - . . / p j-n. 



Crossing the Alleghany in Southwest Virgi 



