88 



FOREST AND STEEAM. 



[Septejiseb 2, 1880. 



breech-loaders .nncl pointer and went out to the BtuliWe 

 fielils i'or a short time, -which wo describe helow. Now 

 our dog is on a " trail." nnd see how animated he is. 

 " There, look out ! he is close upon the game. Now he 

 points; be ready !" cries my companion. The dog still 

 crouclies close to tlie earth with every muscle rigid. I ad- 

 advance .and urgi^ him on, but he does not like to .go, but 

 now he " creeps "a little closer, when tip cornes a fmc. 

 l.iree bird. B;iiig ! and down he conie.s. ^\'ilil■l■, whirr, 

 whirr, now follows, and bang ! bang 1 bang! Ifour liirds 

 and not half the covey np yet. Our dog" now moves a 

 trifle to the riglit, and becomts lila- a statue once more. 

 Now, liere comes a stray bird, flying fioni a field close by 

 where there are three hunters. It is a " cross shot," but 

 it must be made, .and I say to my sporting friend, " Will 

 you make it?" " Too fat" for my gun," he replied ; and 

 up mine was brought, and in a "much shorter space of 

 I inie than it takes to write this 1 liad brought the swift 

 liver down at a very long distance, suiprising my sport- 

 ing friend not a little. The report of iny gun started tho.se 

 tlial the dog %va8 pointing ('hree), and on their taking 

 wingwere brought to bag like the one previouslj' shot. 

 We are contented with twenty, so we "strike out" for 

 home with the.feeling of having h.ad a few hours' pleasant 

 recreation. 



The following will assist those of our spor(ing friends 

 who desire to recreate a few days in Northern Michigan : 

 From St. Paul to Sauk Centre, talto the St. Paul. Minne- 

 apolis and Manitoba E, R. Fare will be $.5.50. Board at 

 Sauk Centre House from §4 to ijtS per week, owing to ac- 

 contmoilatioa, etc. Team to drive out in the country, 

 with a first-class driver who can direct you to some of 

 the best chicken grounds to be found in the Northwest, 

 ^a.-iO to §5 per day. I think this covers all expenses, and 

 can. of course, be' increased or diminished at pleasure. 



Chicken shooting this year is excellent arniiiid Sauk 

 Centre, Perhaps it would be more pleasant for Eu.stern 

 sportsmen to wait until Sept. 1st, when wild fowl are in 

 season. Geese, duck, braut and crane are in largo num- 

 bers. TlBhU 



MORE EVIDENCE AGAINST THE CAT. 



"AQtjADALr,"'\Venonah, N. J, Aug. 23tZ. 

 Editrir Forest and Stream : — 



Your editorial in the issue of Aug. 19th concerning 

 the enemies of our upland birds, touches a point rarely 

 considered by the friends of the birds. The domestic 

 house cat and their vagabond offspring which have no 

 special habitation, are undoubtedly the most destructive 

 enemies with which our gams and small insectivorous 

 birds have to contend. "Aquadale," my little home here 

 containing a few acres only, is richer and more varied in 

 bird life than any similar spot in this latitude with whicli 

 i am accxuainted, and which is surrounded by a dense pop- 

 ulation. Thepresence of so many birds is coincident with 

 an almost total absence of cats about the place. Up to 

 the present vear we have had a very valuable little Eng- 

 li.sh rat-terrier on the place, who has rendered it ex- 

 tremely uncomfortable for all cats which come prowhng 

 around the premises, Tliiis sag.'icious little dog early 

 learned the cry of distress wbieli ni.'niy birds utter when 

 cat, weasel.snake or oilier enemy comes prowling around, 

 and would frequently go unViidden to their aid. It Avas 

 mteresting to observe the change of note and tone of the 

 birds when they saw the dog approaching, for they luid 

 learned that he" was their friend. 1 have seen him chase 

 a cat across the field while quite a covey of birds of dif- 

 ferent varieties would fly close over him uttering notes of 

 cheer. I have seen them in a like manner hover close 

 over him, while he was engaged in killing snakes. Last 

 year, Iiowever, a notorious chicken thief in the vieinily 

 killed the dog and the birds at "Aquadale" lost their most 

 active friend. Since then I have kept a rifle loaded most 

 of the time, and a shot gun all the time. If a strange cat 

 comes around llio rifle makes sliort work with it. If a 

 neighbor'.s cat p:iys a lisii, a charge of bu-d-shot at long 

 range sufliees to send it home in double timeand it rarely 

 pavs a secuiid n isit. I can mcst any day Snd a covey of 

 quail and oec;tsio.K,lly a fexv rulTed grouse within tvvt. 

 Imndred yardsof my residenee, and a greater variety ol 

 other birds llian I have ever seen elsewhere in the same 

 compass. We have several varieties with us all winter. 

 MlLTOS P Peujck. 



We have called attention to this abuse of game des- 

 troying cats with the sincere hope that our friends may 

 take some active measures, each in his own way, to 

 remedy the evil. Doubtless many of the readers of this 

 letter can recall similar instances from their own ex 

 perience. Those who are fond 'of the song birds may 

 profitably try the experiment of exterminating the cats 

 for a season. The domestic cat, by reason' of its mul- 

 tiplicity, is one of the abominations of the day. 



Do IT Now.— JVeio Yorl-, Aug. 2Bth.— Editor Forest 

 07id .Stream .-—Regarding the article entitled " Post the 

 Game Laws on Railroads,"! wotJd like to say, that a 

 resolutign to that effect was blTej-ed by Mr. H. A. Munn, 

 at a meeting of the New York Society for the Protec- 

 tion of Game, some two years ago, hut tlie club for some 

 xmknown reason declined to do if- 1 also tried to get the 

 society to put a stop to the open violation of tlie game 

 laws by the Long Island Railroad in transporting snared 

 and trapped bii-ds, but without success. This road, or 

 rtither the baggage masters on the trains, collect a large 

 number of trrifiped quail and snared niffed grouse along 

 the road and seil them in the city. 



1 am in hoiics that the new society, mentioned in 

 vouv paper a few weeks ago, when organized will put a 

 itop to all this poaching business. I hope ' 'A True Lover 

 of the Sport" will send me his address, and join us. 



W. HOLBERTON, 



they make a very poor nest, .pist about like one made by 

 a chicken in a field. He also saw th.at every day since 

 he found it, until it began to set, it laid air egg every 

 day. This is the first instance which we know of since 

 we let them go. C. S. B, 



Ano'uer Woodchuck Eia-nderer.— Bo.s7o)i.— Youi 

 correspondenl's storv of Daniel Webster's grav scpiirrel 

 reminds mo of i'. siniihir mislako of a couple of my ac- 

 quaintances. Feeling unusuully warlike one morning, 

 they loaded up the old musket—" 'i")" is the date on it- 

 donned their war paint and with various precautions in 

 the way of chain mail, helmets, scalping knives and 

 squirt guns, vowed vengeance on all that day — prepared 

 for the terrors of tlie migliiv wjodchuck. Chapman, as 

 eldest, carried the gun while Bert, as stockholder.beld the 

 ammunition. Suddenlv the dreaded foe appeared farin 

 the distrnire along a hedge. \Vi( h nnparalelled h.nrdihood 

 Bert voliinleered to attract his attention while Chapman 

 ran up behind the hedge. But Bert made a miscalotda- 

 tiou and the enemy dove into its hole. Much chagi'ined 

 he walked up to the place and stood on the little mound. 

 Chapman, running along the hedge saw the outline of 

 the "woodcliuck" through it and blazed away ; recover- 

 ing from the awful recoil he burst through the hedge. 

 and was astonished to find Bert instead of the woodchuck. 

 speeding over the ground faster on one sound leg than 

 Chapman cotdd on his two well ones. All of which ex- 

 emplilies "Puck's" saying, "Whatfools these morlals he." 



^ J. P. TliUE. 



LoiTisiANA.— We have before now called attention to 

 the attractions of Louisiana for fall and winter shooting. 



This resume of Iho game of .St. Landry Parish, La., is 

 given in the Opelousas Demoonit, whose editor is a sjiorts- 

 man himself : Many portions of St. Landry .abound in 

 the finest of game. In the fall and winter, and the early 

 part of spring, ducks and geese are to be found almost 

 everywhere about the ponds and sloughs, w-hioh are quite 

 numerous in the prairies. Prairie chickens are pretty 

 abundant some distance west of Opelousas, as also snipe. 

 quail, etc. Bears, turkeys, deer, and all sorts of varmints. 

 roam the dense woods bordering on tire Atcbafabaya, 

 Calcasieu, Boeiif, Crocodile, and other streams. Otir 

 hunting grounds afford much pleasure and recreation to 

 sportsmen, and not a few of them literally pass the hunt- 

 ing or game seasou with gun in hand and a brace or two 

 of well-trained pointers or setters at their heels. 



The finest kind offish — trout, bass, white and sun perch, 

 and all other varieties of the finny tribe — can be caught 

 in our lai'ger streams and lakes and lagoons. 

 ♦ 



Beak Lake Shooting Ci.uh. — Fort Wayne, Itid., Aug. 

 2()tli — The "Bear Lake Shooting Club" of this city have 

 elected the lY'llowing oHieers for the ensuing year: — 

 President, Robert Cran ; Vice-President, Richard "Green : 

 Secretary, George Kaymoiid ; Treasurer, Henry Horst- 

 meyer. Kogular meetings first Tuesday in each month, 

 at which time each member gives on honor a statement 

 of all game shot during the ])receding month, of which 

 a record is kept and read at the annual game supper. 

 One mernlier reports Hi!) woodcock from July 'llli to 

 Aug. 'Uli, bsyil, which is considered very good, as the 

 membirs are all laboring men, and cannot go when they 

 choose. Forty-Seven ot said woodcock were liagged in 

 one day. Trap shooting of the club on the second and 

 fourth Fridays hi each month. .Although I am not a 

 member, tlie boys are all my fiiends, and hale fellows 

 well met, and strict observer.^ of thelaw. They report all 

 kinds of game plenty this seaFon. W. D. M. 



SoMETUiNG Wrong with tiie Game Laavs.— There is 

 evidently something wrong with the game laws of the 

 State of Louisiana if such an occurrence as the one de- 

 tailed below can take place. It should not be lawful 

 anywhere to kill gravid animals, but it is unusual, we 

 think, to find deer carrying young in August. The season 

 opens in Louisiana Aug. 1st, which in our opinion is much 

 too early. 1 he (Opelousas, La.) Si. Landry Deviocrat of 

 Aug. 31st, 18.'!i0, says :— 



Friday before last Jfr, Henderson B. Taylor, living at 

 Barry's Landing, killed a doe which had in her two 

 fawns, one dead and the other alive. The live one he 

 took home and fed, and at last accounts it was living and 

 doing well. _ 



Follow it up. — Editor Forest and Stream : — I desire 

 to add my testimony to the statement of the ''Poughkeep- 

 sie man,'' in regard to the exorbitant charges at t'obb's 

 Island in limes past. If a change has been made for the 

 better as yutir correspondent "Cnasseur" states, well and 

 good. My object in this is to suggest thr.l all spoi Ismen 

 follow the example of the "Pouglikeepsie man,'' ^Vllen 

 they meet with extortion make the fact known through 

 Forest and Stee.\jM or some other reliable source. 

 Many look to your jom-nal for information Avherc and 

 how to find sport and health. You do not wish to be a 

 lure for "land pirates," so it is to the interest of all to ex- 

 pose and publish extortion w^herever met with. 



ADIRONDACK. 



We hope that our correspondents will follow up this 



Connecticut— iyine.— Bay .snipe shooting has been 

 good here this week. On(' jiartv killed on Wednesday, 

 Aug. 2.ith, 139 curlew, dowitelTers and large and small 

 yellow-legs. On Thursday the same party killed .seveuty- 

 four birds, but on i'riday not a snipe was to be seen. 



Long Island.— The shooting at Blontauk has not been 

 good this year, though the Easteriy storm of Mondav last 

 will probably move the birds, Aiiumber of parties have 

 been out, but have not met with much success. 



Migratory Quail Eetltikfd.— ^//e»i/o«7i. Fa., Au. 

 3f (;i„_The migratory quail which we let go near Lime- 

 pi irti about seven miles from the city, have returned. We 

 did not get a chance to find out whether some h .d re- 

 turned or not until to-day, when Mr Francis Bitting, a 

 farmer, came to this place and told us that some were 

 breeding near his house and wore very tame; ho found 

 t le nest about two ueeks ago with four eggs, while now 

 it is breeding with a beautil ul nest full of fourteen. lie 

 has taken special pains to watch Ihcm, atid e&w that 



FiSHKiLL Lanctkg, N.Y., Avg. 26tt.— There is every 

 indication ff good sport with us this fall. Woodcock, 

 quail and ruil'ed grouse are quite plenty, quail being 

 more abundant t'lan for a i.iindjer uf years before. There 

 has been a good many woodcock killed since Aug, 1st. 

 but I am glad to be able to say that the game laws have 

 boenmucli better observed than usual ; even the pot 

 hunters have acted more like sportsmen th.an for many 

 seasons past. G, 



Minnesota— Dch-ci!<, Avg. S5//j.— The hunting seasion 

 promises to be remarkably good in this locality this fall. 

 Deer are very pleutifnl. Chicken? are beginning to come 

 in from the great prairies out West, and duck will soon 

 migrate from the Northern rice swamps. Immense 

 quantities of fish have been captured here this seasou. It 

 is estimated that at bast la t'tiO iiou'id-; I a.ve been caught 

 since May, with Imnk and line. Black ami Ossvego bass 

 have been caught, that weighed hix pounds. 



IltlNTSMAN. 



0ui>K0tiT Sportsman's Club.— At a late meeting of 

 the Oule6ut Sportsman's Club, of Franklin, N. Y., the 

 following officers were elected for the coming year : 

 President, Dwight Bartlett ; Vice-President, M. P'. Mc- 

 Koon : Secretary, Eli Howe ; Treasurer, E. P. Howe : 

 Executive Committee, Dnight Bartlett, Waller Ruther- 

 ford, A V alter Hamilton, 



Maine Shooting.— JDouer, N. H. Aug. Mth. —Have 

 just returned from a day's sport at Well's Beach, Maine. 

 Result : lad birds of ditferent kinds. Plover, yellow-legs, 

 ring necks and Wilson snipe have just begun to arrive,, 

 and in the course of two weeks they will be ciuite plenty'. 

 The above birds are tlie first that have been bagged this 

 season. As is usual in telling of our exploits in gunning 

 and tishing. I forgot to tell who bagged the most of the 

 game, fully two-thiids. It was that: true sportsman, E. 

 H. Whitney, of Cambridgeport, Mass. Maybe have as 

 good success m ail his undertakings as in gunning. 



W. A. G. 



Prairie CBicnEiiB.— Chicago, Aug. SSrit.— Onmy late 

 shoot in Northern Illinois I found birds plenty, but 

 weather too diy. Large number of sportsmen take our 

 trains weekly for the West. A good share of the chick- 

 ens sent to this market are unfit for food on arrival, and 

 good ones sell at $3 per dozen. J. R. W. 



Robin Shooting in New York — Section 13 of the 

 New York game law, as amended in 1880, reads : "No 

 person shall kill or expose lor sale, or have in his or her 

 possession after the same has been kilkd, any robin, 

 meadow lark or starling, save in the months of "October, 

 November, or December, under a penalty of iive dollai-s 

 for each bird , so killed, or exposed for sale, or had in 

 possession." 



« 



Shooting in Minnesota.— A letter dated in camp near 

 lairniout, Minn. Aug. 21st, gives us the following par- 

 ticulars with regard to the shooting near that town: — 

 There is a good hotel (the Oc-cidentalial Faiiinoiu, plenty 

 of chickens near by, and a very pleasant country to shoot 

 over. Birds are very abundant, not only chickens, but 

 ducks and ge eee ; tnipe and jlovcr by the million. 



Nebraska. — Platte Centre. — Chickens and quail very 

 plenty, some of them nearly full grown. Sportsroeji 

 of tenmake bags of 100 to 1-50 per day to two guns. 



G. A. F. 



Massachusett.?. — Farmers are jnowing the wild rice on 

 the Agawara shore, regardless of the value of the rice 

 harvest. 



New York.— Ma rhiet own, Aiig. Vith. — Wooduoek 

 shooting ia a failure in tliis section this season— no birds, 



B. A. M. 



— A gentleman writes from Asbury Park, N. J., that ho 

 manages to kill from twenty to fifty bay birds al nost 

 every d.i.y, and the prospects are that shooting will be 

 better still next week. 



SHOOTING MATCHES, 



CiscJs:;.KTi. Avg 31st,— Matcli between tlie Linclaen Sliooting 

 C lib and ihc CincinnalusGun Club. TheCincinnatusClublhasbeen 

 organizii] iilniut ti weeks, and the most of the club never- saw a 

 rotiiiy tia|j Ull taat day. AVeiitber clear and pleasant; JO balls 

 each, from Card's rotary trap, 18 yard* rise, Bogardus rules;— 



Cincinnatus Gun Club-Cliiis. Heatc.v 10, E. D. WUIiamslO, F. H, 

 LockeS, C. A. SmitliS, F. L. Nicl.oUT, James Fish 8, Myron J. 

 GloverT, J. N.Warner 7, O.E.Nichols t, Wjliiam H. Potter 6- 

 total 78. 



Linclaen Shooting Club— H. Mury 10, D.W. LaneO, Geo. Edwafds 

 '8, bew. Matherson 7, Geo. Coj'O S), Con Sutton 7, B. Davis 7, C. 

 Lansing .I, A. W. StepUons 5, W. Hull 10-totul 77. E. D. W. 



Winchester, Ky . , Any . SOth.—S'iore made by the ■Winchester 

 Gun (''lilt), shooting fur u gold niediil :— 



N. f. liush , 18 1 S. A. Lewis 10 



Dr.>lill(M- 18 J.V.Morten 13 



W^ It. earner.. IB | K. FrouLli 15 



('. U.Fu-v 18 I J. Haggard 15 



J,E.i:.irnei- 16 



J. lluhin.^oD 13 I Total..... ..- 153 



liu.sli and Pox tied on IS, and shot at 19 balls;- 

 Umh 181 Fov ,- ..17 



BAT'SB0OTrNO.~if(«' (Means, Auo. 21st.— 1 hand yon score of 

 N. 0. Gun Club in a double bat (leatherwiofc') match: Cook ai, 

 Le Breton 18, Johnson IB, Grafton M, Fontaine Ifl, LeveriehlS, 

 Fortler 13, Cousin 20, Bora 13, Itanlctt 16, ijf,'drn lii, Jfayronno 16, 

 Kenaud 13. Tot.il killed, 213 out of 3'Ai. Tlitic bits were thrown 

 by « colored sentleman at a distance of Six arils. To the unini- 

 tiated this sport may appear tame and uninteresting, but the way 

 " LeatberwlUB" shows bia tail to the shooter li demoralizing to 

 the man at the score, but highly interesting to the speclalOra. 

 Senile of the ubove shooterB, low in the " teens," Invarmbly get 

 tlieir :ioui ol 10 pijreoMS. We recommend the bnt to our fellow 

 s|jort.=iii(n. We obtain our bats from our parish prison, which 

 may account for tlieir cu-5sedly crooked flighl. LEFT. 



We would much rather obronicle n score of sm out of 390 Ihaa 

 one in which the lillled were in larger proporiion, for wliile we 

 have no doubt that the 2igz,ig flight of the but makes this hintJ 

 of shooting an excellent test of skill, we do have very serious 

 doubts US to the advisability of bat shooting. The but is inscotivr 

 orous ; na auch It should be given Immunity from pellets ot lead' 

 Probably, however, the trap shooliog ot our New Orleans friends 

 will have little real eftect upon the number of bats infesting the 

 chimneys of that city. 



Loxo Bb^kcb Gas Olcb.— Oa Saturday, Au.ir. 33th, the mem- 

 bers of the Long Branch Gun Club shot at Deal, N. J., for a silver 

 cup prcBonted by the West End Hotel, at Long Branch. The cap 

 WHS won after some flne shooting by Mr. Polhemus, at 80 yards' 

 who shot off ft tie with Mnsaca.W. C. Murphy and Greene, Mr, 



