168 



FOREST AND STKEAM. 



[SRPTii::\tBEH so, 1880. 



is developed, instead of tbe actual pressure itsrff. Ami I 

 don't believe it possible to construct anythini^ in the 

 eliHpe of a gauge that c-n properly test the sMaiii on bar- 

 rels catispfl by too sudden evolution of gas. It is a great 

 X^itY tliat the coTjipany could not hn.\'c rxpfrimrnted on 

 SOiiie strong nui?l;et bavrolK, or something of tjie sort. 



Jlr Ditlniarsbonldhcivonoliard ((.fbngs against Mr. 

 Nash, or any one else. Tlie question is too important to 

 allow business intei-ests to liave a. fpathcr's wpigbl. of in- 

 fluence. He should be thankful for criticisms, and do 

 his best to remedy defects. It is the duty of any sports- 

 man Icno'ving defects to ])Dint them out, and the duty of 

 eporring pafiers to piililish tlieni. At this age of the 

 world the iiiesurnpiioo is Renerally in favor of anything 

 new, l)ut with a tiling so important in its effects as pow- 

 der, the prcsuiription is and should bo against anything 

 new. Every such thing must expect to fight its way 

 into f'lvor, and it« owners should respect Uiat conserva- 

 tiam which demands positive conviction before yielding. 

 T. S. Van'Dtke.' 



DOG POISONINa IN MINNESOTA. 



^VwlKm, Minn., Hept 20lh, 1880. 

 Editor Forent and Sireum. .■— 



The letter of " W.iusee." from Fairmount, this State, 

 dated on the l.st inst., and recently piililished in the For- 

 est ANP Stream, escajjed my notice until today, and that 

 you will allow onecC the "pot-hunters of Windoni" space 

 for reply I assume, and in doing so I find it necessary to 

 ask you to reprint the following portion of ""Wausee's" 

 letter :— 



The recent wlinlosnie polsn 



ntnjr of l>ip(l 



angs 1 



II Cottonwoofl 



County. .'Ui'l the onnivr 



ictll I'.no nt 



tbe \r 



CRl pro 



f 



nishlv the 



Winilom RBpnrten in i 



CfT.l"! 



lir-n- 





»tin U.I 





f peculiar 



5niere«i to non-resider 



t spurts 





n Mio 





I'l-i 



.-. Ill,' ripn- 



plenf Winrtom. many 



>f wbn 



nj rh 



l._'lr[.l^d 



nv._.r I 



-■ iji 



^■pr-mliTiire 



of "(h.-mfl.mly sr-.-. 





















■in tn 



ppi-i-e \ 













n.ter, 1 









tI.Ip 'li n'-- M' ■• 







k- tlie 



mud of 



Wi, 



iloin from 



tlieirl , - - 









lilous 1 





riJ. Infu- 



tura Hill |." ■ 









' tliinfi 



s pr 



itiy much 



IhoirnwH ■■ 1 









huusPi 





llP Villll^TP, 



aswellnslii 







will prolTibly 





llip re.icly 



c«sh wliich i 



,:lin 



A spc 



rtsman 



lavisli 



-S 60 



profudely 

















In this State the c 



liiclien 



se.ason bep 



ins A I 



ff, 1 



nth. On 



the 10th of that rno 



itl. so 



lip Sf 



\-pn 



rpi«ht 



<l0'^ 



s beloag- 



lag to citizens of W 



in.lom 



wcr 



9 pois 



'ined — 



JV T 



phom. or 



through what inoti^ 



p, rem 



ains 



yet 1 



myst 



■r\. 



A bout 



the same time dogs 



n a n. 



ighb 



ormg 



villagf 



m 



'I a simi- 



lar fate, I am credibly told.' A day or t'wo before tl: 

 1.5th the " non-resident '' sportoraeu came. On the fol- 

 lowing Wednesday a dog from Memphis died about two 

 miles in the country, and a day or two later a St. Louis 

 dog was poisoned in the Clark House bai'n. Hence it will 

 be seen that the Windom sportsmen are the principal 

 losers of dogs, poisoned, aa many firmly believe, in the 

 interest of '' non-resident," but for various reasons I will 

 not aiiserl that tbe theory is correct. But it \viil be seen 

 that war was 1h gun first, in a " •wliolpsnle " way, upon 

 our own binl dngs. while " Wausee " atlpniiits to show 

 that ttip " wliolesale"' jjoisoning was dirp(!ted low.ard the 

 dogs of the visiting sportsman, who only lost two ; and 

 I have no df-nbt the Memphis dog ate the poison that was 

 laid for the Windom dogs. Poisoned meat was found in 

 the yards of several residents, as well as near the dead 

 St. Louis dog, and one dog died in the very door of its 

 owner, 



The effort of "Wausee " to cause it to appear that this 

 unfortunate and diereputalile business waa indorsed and 

 condoned by tiie people of tliis conimunity, or tlie news 

 paper in cpiestion, is as "dastardly" ns the poisoning 

 itself, but " Wausee " is aware that his party was not 

 ■warmly welcomed, and evidently is trying to "'get even" 

 with us by false repre.sentations. 



"The business men," etc., wdl "'miss the ready rash." 

 will they? How "lame.itable :" True, they p:,"tr..nizp.:l 

 one botpl and two livery stidilps. No one else saw tliem 

 "lavinh" their "ready casli ;" and one nolicealile feature 

 with those "visiting" sportsmen is that they bring tlieJr 

 ammunition with them, and even try to pay their hotel 

 bills with birds shot with ammtinition bought elsewhere. 

 So much for the "ready cash" they "lavished" in Win- 

 dom. This is the extent of the business they gave the 

 town, and had it been practicable "Wausee" and his 

 friends would liave brought with them their liotels and 

 liveries also. 



Any of the "non-resident" sportsmen are in ill odor for 

 the hoggish manner displayed in their hunting birds for 

 market, thus making the country over which tliey hunt 

 help bear their expenses while here, and sending the 

 iiQoney out of town for the very material with wliieh llie 

 birds are shot. 



The nioney the farmers receive from t^uch men as 

 "Wausee" will create no desire to see theju return. 

 Farmers complain seriouslj' at the ruthless manner in 

 which these "non-resident" sportsmen tresjiass upon 

 their growing crops, which this j-ear have proven ^li2h( 

 barriers to their frequently driving through liehU of 11 ax 

 and "letting lose the dogs" of sport, and when reiinn 

 ab'ating against it the farmer is repulsed with profanic 

 These are by no means isolated cases. In another i: 

 stance, a farmer by the name of Pickett, was shot in bio 

 own field by one of these "non-resident," "money dis- 

 pensing" gentlemen, who coolly drove off ^vithout apolo- 

 gising, not liowever, without begging the f.'irnier not to 

 return the compliment with a rifle he had in hia hand at 

 tbe time, 



, If "non-resident" sportsmen are not cordially received 

 in Windom it is for faults of their own, of the character 

 Indicated, but the least intimation tliat their dogs were 

 poisoned on account of any such unfripiully feeling, is 

 xidicuhiously and criminally false. The local sportsmen 

 legret the poisoning, and deprecate it as nnich as "Wau- 

 see," and none more tlian the writer, and wii hope your 

 correspondent vcill yet learn that the peoiile of Windom 

 are too brave to wreatli their dislike upon men by sucb 

 merciless attacks upon innocent and defenseless dogs. 



Sportsmen have come and gone, and will return again 

 next year, wbUe others have gone, we hope, not to return 

 ■until they learn to treat the country with ordinary re- 

 ppect, Eveiy sportsman who coniee with anything in 

 bis breast like "doing unto others," etc., will baoordially 

 •welcomed, as dozens who have been here this year will 

 attest, and these are they who "lavish" their "ready 

 cash" among the "business men"* in the sense "Wausee" 

 implies, "Windom Pot-Honter." 



MINNESOTA FIELD SPORTS, 



Editor Forest and Stream- ;— 



My brief article in your issue of Aug. 10th has brought 

 me several lelters from widely separate points, a^sking 

 for information relative to the" country. As I have no 

 a\ct to grind, and as all the letter writers claim to be 

 sportsmen good and true, ,M.nd withal suljscribers (as they 

 sluiuld be) to tlie Foijest AM) SiiiEAM, I ask space in 

 Tour columns for a few particulars. 



Tills town. Buinliamville. is the eastern town of Todd 

 County, Minn. ; Todd County, being wholly on the west- 

 ern side of tlie Mississippi River, and about one hundred 

 and flirty miles from St. Paul. No railroad enters the 

 county, Little Falls and Sdulv Centre being tlie nenrest 

 raih'oad points, Little Falls being twentv miles from tliis 

 town and Sauk Centre thirty. Tiie eastern part of the 

 county is principally timber, but with tine stretches of 

 prairie and many fine meadows. The soil is excellent. 

 The county, especially the eastern half, fairly blossoms 

 witli lakes ; some with high bold shores, others with 

 marshy borders. I am living at the outlet of Little Swan 

 Lake, a beautiful sheet of water about one and tbree- 

 iiua.r(er miles long by one-half mile wide. Three miles 

 above is Big Swan Lake, nearij^ three tinui>s as large; 

 tlie two are connected by Swan River. Tliree miles 

 aotithwest are Bass and Long Lakes, about tlie size of the 

 Swans. Two and three miles south arc Buck and Moose 

 lakes, a trifle smaller. Three miles iiovth is Rice Lake, 

 which is merely a large marsh, its surface ueaily covered 



1 lav 



id in 

 VlirietA 



tlm du 



:-e bed! 



■shes. All of 



almost being 



with wild rice. Big Swan has als' 



There are also many pond-holes 



the lakes abound with Jish, every 



found save trtiut. Spring and fa'll 



grand; but fe%v geese com par, rca- 



bouts. I presume, in fnct f kn en 



ivas killed here last hunting se: >'ea 



are uut " thick," but more or Its: ai. ._i.. , . . .. , -ear. 

 As for rabbits, lifty a day, in tlie winter, wnuld uot' he a 

 large bag. Being off the rfiih-oad, sfiortsuien never tind 

 their way here, "in the two years 1 have been in the 

 '■ '■.-'•IX hilt one sporting party, and 

 ,' ai.idinL'shot 



cotmty, 1 (a I 

 mine is tia 



Now a w. ; 



chusetts cieii, 



the true 



it is asked for ; 1 am a :\Iassa 

 11. iiLi'L- for mv health : am a sportsman 

 of tlie terra.' J siiall return East this 

 vinter, I think. I have have had and am having mag- 

 nificent sport. If any true sportsuian, wlio neither 

 swears or gets drunk, wishes to enjoy himself, this ia the 

 place where he can have the utmost ple;isiu-e. 



Hon. Lpon Uoude, of Little Falls, and Hon. C. M. Lor- 

 ing, of J\linneapolis. liave been in camp for two dav^i at 

 Long Lake, two miles from here. They report the finest 

 bass, pike and pickerel fishing they have ever experi- 

 enced. Mi% Loring caught fifteen fine fish, one of them 

 a pickerel weighing fifteen pounds, in one morning be- 

 fore breakfast. 



Ducks are Hocking in in abundance ; Rice Lake is re- 

 ported full of them. J. F. Locke. 



ALL ABOUT WILD RICE. 



Eioi! Lakh, SttptsSd. 

 Editor Forest cend Stream .— 



As the subject of wild rict' i:-; rpcei\-ing a great amount 

 of att^-ntion from a nnmher of vonr readers'; perhaps tlie 

 folhiiving will be nf haiielil to a few of them •.- 



When wild rice b.^comes ripe in the fall, the seed diops 

 tioni the stalk into the water, and immediately sinks to tlio 

 bottom. Here it lies till winter, perfectly dormant, until 

 the following sprhig. when it begins to sprout about the 1st 

 of May, and readies the surface about the middle of June, 

 according to the depth and temperature of the water. For 

 a month it seems to grow very slowly, but, after that, its 

 growth is wonderful, and about tho'l.st of September it 

 .stands two to five inches above the surface, aud the seed, 

 galling ripe, coiuineuces to fall into the water, and con- 

 tiiiues doing so as long as there is any grain left upon the 

 stalk. The old straw is torn up by the wind, and floats 

 away or sinks to tiic bottom, 



In Rice Lake the Chippeway Indians have the exclu- 

 sive privilege of g.atlioring the ■wild rice— the ^nodtia 

 operandi is as follows : An Indian kneels in I he bow of his 

 canoe, generallv a dus:-out, and draws it tlirougli tlie rice 

 with his paddle ; a srpiaw, seated at the stern with a 

 small light cedar stick, the shape of a marline-spike, 

 about three I'cet long, in each baud, draws the rice to- 

 ward them with the "stick in one liaud uutil the heads 

 over the ca.noe, wlien she strikes them a couple of 

 quick light strokes with the other stick, knocking the 

 ed into the boat. Upon doing this she lets go the rice, 

 id repeats the operation upon the otlier side, the canoe 

 going all the time. In this ni:iuiiet t liey •will gather two 

 to live bushels per dui . according to tlie crops. 

 That wild rice is the favtu^iie fooil of ducks I am quite 

 ■rlaiu ; and, were 1 possessed of a pond or lake, to 

 l.ich 1 de.sired to attract tliem, I would plant it in pref- 

 Hipuce to anything else, It is quite hardy, and, with a 



'■••' -At first, v,-ill grow almost anywhere. It has 



, !i successfully in the Ottawa River, and Dr. 

 i'resident of tlie Laekawaua Game I'roteotive 

 a 11, I believe, whom I met here last fall trying 

 his luiiul at tlie ducks, secured a barrel from C. Uilchrist, 

 Inspector of Fisheries for Rice Lake. He planted it ia 

 some of the streams in Pennsyhania and it grew well. 

 Mr. Gilchrist also sent a barrel to Stockton, Cal, last 

 winter, where it was planted and tliis spring sprouted, 

 but was drowned out by the breaking away of tlie levee 

 during highwater, covering it with ten or twelve feet of 

 watei% 



nO-(V TO sow THE KICE, 



Tlie propel- conditions for the successftd growth of 

 wild rice areas follows: Two to four feet of water, if 

 soft, warm and free from minerals all the better, soft 

 muddy bottom ; it will grow oo sand and gravel, though 

 it will be thin and stunted for a rouple of years, but at 

 the end of that time, if undisturbed liy wind or current, 

 the accumulation of old straw at the bottom will form a 

 mud bed and a good crop of rice will be the couseiiuence, 

 Five j'eare ago, the first time I ever camped at Rice 

 Lake, 1 put up tent on Spooke Island; all around it there 

 was a liard, sanily bottom, imd about thirty feet from 

 shore there was a thin line of rice, about twentj' feet 

 wide, through which I used to swim to get to the clear 

 water beyond when bathing. This yeai-the rice was so 

 thick and heavy the Indians were gathering there. 



Weeds and moss will retard its growth somewhat, but it 

 generally crowds out other water plants. When once 

 started it is impossille to eradicate it, except by pulling 

 it up when young or drowning it out with ten or twelve 

 feet of water ; also, it will s]3read hi every direction and 

 ivill get so thick that a person can hardly paddle a canoe 

 through it. 



After being thoroughly soaked in plentv of soft water 

 it Is planted as follows : Two unan go m a boat, one pad- 

 dling the other sowing hi tlie old old-fashioned manner 

 of sowing grain by hand. If the pond is exposed to 

 heavy winds or strong ctirrentssow thickly; if sheltered 

 and free from current sowthhily, as it will spread more 

 quickly bv dohig so. 



Blackbirds are passionately fond of it in the milk state, 

 and tame geese aie simply "tenors," sometimes clean- 

 ing out a whole bed. Keep them out at all times. 



F. C. G. 



WjLt) Rice From Rice Lake, Ontario,— Many iii- 

 quiries rpAch me about procuring and growing wild rice. 

 Through your columns I state a' few facts which may 

 serve as a general answer to correspondents. In 1870 'I 

 bought from Cliarles Gilchrist, Esij,, of Harwood, several 

 bushels as an experiment, and sowed the same in a bay 

 on the Ottawa liivei-. The following autumn it grew to 

 a lioight of from six to eight feet, aiid was full of grain, 

 wliich enabled me to gather about twelve bushels for use 

 el.sewliere. Since then 1 b,ave renewed the sowing occa- 

 sionally and kept up the gro-wth. This fall I'intend 

 sowing some twenty or thirty bushels more. In addition 

 to its utility as food in the sliape of rice bread or cakes 

 and pudding, this plant has wonderful powers of clean- 

 sing and cooling the temperature of water and muddy 

 toys, It is such a strong feeder that it absorbs the 

 principal part of the nutrunent on which rank weeds sub- 

 sist, and which In solution accumulates to form acaky 

 coating of mud in marshy bogs. It also grows so high 

 and thick as to shelter the water and keep it cool. Icon- 

 sider it one of the most valuable ai'ls in fishponds for the 

 above reason.o, as well ,ts because it breeds and furniBhcs 

 great quantities of insect food for young fish. Of course 

 its value as an altractiou for ducks i.s well known. The 

 stock gathered at Hice Lake is of the finest kind, and 

 being attended to by an active aud intelligent man like 

 Mr. Gilchrist, it is well prepared for shipment. 



W. F. Whitcher. ■ 



lUdeauBanli, OtfavM, Sept, 16W(,. 

 ♦ 



ACoMPAKJOS or Forester,— iVew I'orfc, Sei><. 2Sd. 

 Editor Forest and Stream.— Will you allow raetociil! 

 your attention to the death of Mr. A. L. Williams, of 

 "Candandaigua, -.v'hich took place a few days ago, Mr. 

 AViliiams formerly lived in Newark, and after that, in i 

 conip.any with "Frank Forester," William S. Porter and ' 

 other famous old sportsmen. He was a model sportsman 

 in every respect, a thorough good shot and fly fislieruian, 

 iilwa^s scornin.g anythiug approaching pot hunting or 

 poaciiing, and ever ready to give the best place, either 

 in the field or on the river, to a friend. Mr. Williams 

 was a naturalist of no mean order, perfectly compitint 

 to set up a rare bird or preserve a fine specimen of a wild 

 flower. Of late years Ralston, Pa., was one of his fa- , 

 vorite haunts, and mauy happ;y day I have spent with , 

 him on the beautiful' Lycoming, lie taugiit me all I ' 

 know in the wa> of casting a fl v for bass and trout, and , 

 also wing shootuig. an.! for twenty years we Jiave'shot' 

 aud lislied L(.>;ollier. As I said before, a truer sportsman 

 or better friend 1 never knew, W. ] IolbiskTON' ■ 



New York— ir»M/,so)' Farm, Broome County, Sept.. 

 M th.— Tlie shooting season has opened wit h good prospects. 



Have been out tliree days since Se|it. 1st for grouse. 

 Bagged iu all twenty-two" grouse, and squirrels are more 

 aliundant than they'liave been for several years, This 

 morning I killed sis woodcock. They are through mouli 

 iiig, anil ha\e settled down upon their old grounds. 

 few ducks have [lassed in their flight Sotllli, Yeaterda 

 1 bugged two black ducks and four teal outheSusqin 

 hanna l^iver. rishiug is also good. Perch and pickenJ 

 readily take live bait or strike for the spoon hook, an 

 bass are as iiungrv as ever. The hikes and ponds aboi. 

 here are ;ii good Jondilion. and spartsmenare having ;> 

 erageluckin these waters. AVilli a fnend I lislicd i 

 hom^ and a ball in the Su.iprehaiina, one day last we 

 The catch was eUna-ai lilack bats, weighiii- fonvb ■ 

 pounds ami a ludf. 1 have captured a iiuiiibir of wa 

 eyed pike recently in the Snsqiielianna, near Apaladai 

 These fish, once common, though for sevejai ycitoi hi; 

 few have been takeu, ai'e returning to our waters. 



CUTTOj;. 



. ♦ 



Powder MEAStlEE.—^'df <or Forest and Stream:- 

 I notice on page 11, Vol. 15, a "Member Montgoinn 



Shooting Club, • 



Manchcslpr Sin 

 mark as the ge: 

 ponnd Troy is 

 grams. Tiiere 

 pound apotbeaa 

 IS dilfereiitlv di 

 grains. Tii^ I'O 

 either of the 



in attempting to correct a ■■.^I.aul, 

 oling Club," is neany as wide of 1 1 

 itleman he attempts to "coach." Tli- 

 rlividedinto ounces, pennyweights an < 

 are no drachms iu Troy weight. Th< 

 y, wlilcli is the same as the pound Troi . 

 idcd into ounces, drachms, scruples and 

 Old a\ oirdupoJs, which is different fruie 

 ve pounds, and is that by which powdct 

 and shot are always weighed, is divided into ounces, 

 drachms and giaiiis, vi/.., twenty-seven and one-tbiid 

 grains make one drachm ; sixteen drachms ono ounce 

 sixteen oimces one pound. If j'our correspondents wi 

 weigh their charges by Ous table they will correspon 

 with the standard measmvs. The grains are samoiuai: 

 weights, _ OiKOi. 



Our Df.troit Letter.— The .season is fairly upon us, but 

 the lingering iieat of summer which makes memorable 

 these fervent .September days is a handicap for the de- 

 votees of the unn. >;e\ertlieless, miuiy mighty hunters 

 areseen in the -athering ]i| ces of the tribe hereabout, 

 as they flit into toivu on tJieir way to the north woods ot 

 Michigan, wliere " the red deer and roebuck abound." 1 

 have of late noticed on the streets many well accoutred 

 and enthusiastic spotty men thus bound. Neither beat 

 nor tales of iU fortune deter them, and you may expect- 

 with the first grateful cbauge to hear eutertaiinng taleJ 

 of their achieveuients. New York City aud Stale are 

 well represented in tins influx of woodmen. 



Of purely local matters I may mention the fact that 

 that prince of sportameu, Ed. Gillmau, accompanied bj 

 Dr. Fred Anderson, formerly a well known Cineinnatii 



1 



