NOTEMBBRlljlSSO.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



285 



_ "I hope not, for in ILe pocket I had over $400 of 

 Benbncks— Government /iinds." "Great Heavens 1 Are 

 1 joking?" "Not at all, let's liuut for it." lie calJcil 

 le of the men, imd lighting IViurR'tn Ciindlps searclifd for 

 missiMj; guruiL'iit. It was found at ieiisjth a mere nKi.<:< dl' 

 ^^Klied nig?, l.ut )io money in the piiekets, for some- 

 ay had doubtless picked it up to bent out the tire, and the 

 tcshad fiilleu out. AnutlHTseairli, aud siDL'idar to reUite, 

 put $100 was found. Ijiii so ciiurred tliiil gieut eare had to 

 lakeii to prevent theiu falling |,o pieces. I may add that a 

 I had to be introduced iu Congress to account for the loss 

 this money. 



'Well, at all events," said our chief, " our milk punch i.s 

 rigtjt." ^\'^i wallced to the place where the can Avns. and 

 stopped to raise it to his lips, but dropped it (|iiii-kly. for 

 E Are li.'id passed over it, and the tin and conteni;= were too 

 trm for cotufort. Ho let it cool, and then tinislied it with 

 _ ibrious sighs. We crept into our IjlaiiketH su|i])erless, and 

 :mOumful silence Molt ejactdated iis he eomposed himself to 

 It, "Oh, Pills, what blanked asses wc liavemndeof our- 

 ives." I agreed with him, and so expressed myselff and 

 tha ' 'Good-uighl" folio wed his example. No sleep yet awhile, 

 r in a few minutes a drizzlim; rain eommeneed which lasted 

 }arently for hoiu's, and long" before it eea.sed ^vv were wet 

 ^^UUdl, and as nneomfeatalile as iieeil lie, 



luacienly we heard an approaching Iramp coming rapidly 

 rard the camp, and in a few momenls u band of wild 

 ses swept over as, snorts, neighs and lea[i.«, and our horses' 

 npede followed. It was no nse trying to follow at that 

 Ijr of the idght and in the pitchy darkness, so we again 

 iposed ourselves for sleep w^hich would not come, andsmi- 

 e saw ns still awake, rueful and discon.oolaic. This iioejie 

 tHie co.st us liftceu goijd horses, although all but five were 

 bRCfpienlly recovered. 



Sufficient time has elapsed fiini.c the incidents related to 

 TVear aw.ay any little shame or iiioi-| i1i<'.ation that, the prijicipal 

 actor may have felt, and the story lia.s been told as a warn- 

 ing to those who are fond of di-inking milk iiuneh. and may 

 pcrhaim be ignorant of the danger of lighting fires on a grassy 

 prairie. , Jly friend and companion still ornaments the Army, 

 ." " 1 letter or truer comrade never wore the brass and blue. 



A STORY FKOM MONROE. 



Rri'UATED on the broad, shallow river basbi, near Lake 

 , _ i:rie, Monroe, IMichigan, presents an attractive side to 



tiie s]. .rlsuien the veuraromid. In Iheearlyaulunin thewood- 



e' ' I ill liie thirk stubble and peat lands that border the river 



' I vMi and Ills attention; later, he can pursue the ruffed 



, rjnail and turkeys in the uplands; and when the cold 



.'. inds have turned the inarsh grass in the bayons at 



utli of the riv^-r to a goUlen yellow, he can enjoy the 



11 it all .anioiig the myriad.s of canvas-back.s, red- 



: 1^ anil oilier wiid-f owl that select this place as 



. J round. Nor will his sport end here; for 



.1 I ^ are again green, and the water-lilies and the 



Bowers ut ttie stately lotus are again in bloonn, he can eiuiet- 



f drop his flies in the ripple below some balf-simken log, 



i a three-pound bass will test the pliancy of bis rod and 



e skill of hia good right arm. 



iPerhaps as remarkable an illustralifm as has been afforded 

 Elate years of the abnndance luid variety of game at .Mou- 

 fe occurred in the fall of 1875 in the foUow'ing incident, 

 mich can be substantiated by the old gunners and boatmen 

 I the marshes ; 

 L gentlemen from Syracuse, N. Y., who has ptissed a por- 

 11 of every autumn at Monrtjc for several years, arrived 

 e one Friday evening, and was grieved to learn Iroiri the 

 fftsmen ah'eady arrived that tlie ilueks were so searee on the 

 hes lliat the sport wr.uUl htu-dJv repavibe unpack insr of his 

 Determined to .stay and iLivesligate tor himself, bow- 

 'er, our friend unpacked hi,s traiipings, and the next after- 

 in, while awaiting the .arrival of bis dilatory punter, he 

 lucludeil to lake a light punt and hi.s Greener, and inake a 

 irospecling tour in liie North Marsh. Paddling about for 

 pme time in his acrusiomed haunts, the sportsman eame to 

 conclusion thai his feUow gunners had rightly informed 

 im, for at the end of nearly Ave hours of wearv'punting he 

 d only hall a dozen ducks to his credit. Wishing to stretch 

 J legs a little after maintaining a cramped position ,so long 

 the boat, om- friend lauded altbe f'luTv, and walked aini- 

 ealy down the sand bar. At Sandy Oeck t^ul he sprung a 

 bckof widgeons, out of which he dropped four, and seeing 

 couple of green-winged teal afiproaehing at a distance Ire 

 twiedly inserted t\vo fresh earlridges,' dropped behind a 

 Onch of rushes, and as the teal passed with bullet-likc ru- 

 dily dowi wind, he gave them both ban-els, and was rie- 

 Shted to see them drop in the juarsh. He had no sooner 

 loured this pair, than half a 'dozen widgeons, anximis to 

 lish their suppers, came circling around a clump of marsh 

 Cass, a long gunshot away, and one was so unfortunate as 

 » be cut down by the hunter's right, and while he was re- 

 using toward his boat with his load another, a solitary old 

 cake, was added to the pile. Depositing his trophies iii 

 ieboat, the hunter concluded that, a.s twilight was fast af>- 

 coaching, he had better be seeking home, a"ud willi paddle 

 hand he was preparing to shore olf. when down with the 

 est wind came a single "honk 1" lieuig on the marsh side 

 the bar, the hunter was near no cover, but trusting to 

 .Ck he dropped flat on the sand, and without turning, cast 



: lop of aclnmiiof dwarfed 

 'f the bar. As they came in 

 • motionless Imnter gave a 



: the lake side 



a eager 



inada gee"se ll\ 

 fees, aiid skirtl 



le, about twelve rods away, tli. 

 Jgle "honkl" and as ih,' birds 

 jght, the gale drif led th.-ni cln 

 )oke the (Jreener. and two uohl 

 \A the other out some distance 



lang ! ba 



feese fell, one on the bur 

 the lake. Retrieving the 

 ■Bt one, the hunter concluded to leave the other to be picked 

 1 afterward, as the gale rendered it unsafe to embark on 

 ,e lake with the little punt. "Glory enough for one day," 

 iought be, as he patted his good Greener ;md hnL'sed the 

 tt goose on his way to the boat; hut ere be bad progressed 

 llf the tiistauce lie caught a glimpse of something (hat 

 J)de him dro]! the goose oil the sand and stop still in amazc- 

 tmt. Just one glimpse, but eiiongh lo distinguish three fat, 

 ettk turkeys nmnmg through a narro\(- belt of bushes, right 

 I the path. "Pshaw I tame fowls proliablv,'' thought our 

 lend, knowing it lo he an imlikeh- place for wild turkeys, 

 though they were frequently shot' in the uplands back from 

 le river. Just then the old gobbler poked his head Ihrongli 

 le bushes, gazing in the very face of the motionless himter, 

 ?10, still doubting iu the uncertain light, took two rapid 

 tops forward, and as the birds immediately took wing, he 

 ew on the gobbler with his right and the biggest hen with 

 left, dropped both, and gazed begrudgingly at the other 

 reatjng Jjen, thinking what tt good thing a three-barrelled 



gun might be ! 

 men, weigh! n 

 nine. Their 

 neck and legs I 

 take of shoot i I 

 in his goose as 

 and made his ■ 

 lie was award, 

 idei 



The male bird was a line .sjieei- 

 -n pounds, ajid the hen tiliout 

 ' ^^i- and soft, velvety fur on Ihe 

 ir ijieud that he bad not made the mis- 

 eighbor's favorite gobbler, and gathering 

 itreatcd to the boat, he deposited his load 

 1 the darkness to "Uncle Joe's," where 

 honor of bringing in the best bag of the 

 I lie lime oceupied in securing it. As 

 Uncle Joe said : "You was foolish for comin' hi so soon, for 

 while your luck was on you might a' Hhincd a buck or a 

 catamount. I shouldn't e.'cpect nothin' lesa with such luck 

 as you had." 



The III I'll., id -i.r.se fa 1,'irge one 'i was picked up ne.xt 



morniin I . uhere itliad drifted during the night, 



makiii" ■ ■ . , ■ :i-.iirleeu ducks, two a-eese and two tiu-- 

 keys, all cuepi „i.v of the ducks— shot within u half hour. 



Seseoa.. 



COEUE D'ALENE LAKE, 



V EsGiNEEii's Camp, Ke.vb Si'OKAtf, ) 



'^ Washington Ter., Sept. 30. 1880. ( 



EARLY la.st month I received instrtictiout; from the Kng. 

 Pen d'Orielle Div. N. P. R. R., to i.roeeed without 

 delav to C'a'ur d'Alene Lake and its southern triliulary, the 

 St. ,joe River, lo look after certain interests in that direction. 

 So. one bright morning 1 left Asst. Eng. SeovilPs camp, with 

 blankets and liy-rod strapped behmd tiie saddle, and the foL 

 lowing afleruoim aixived at Ceeur d'.Vleiie Post, one of the 

 nio.>;l b(;autifiil and romantic sitols to be found within 

 the boundaries of Uncle Sam's dominion. Taking no heed 

 of entreaties lo remain there and fish a day or two, and 

 proof against Ihe inducement held out liy afriend of "eighty- 

 three trout yesterday aflernocin of two pounds," I engaged a 

 boat and guide, and pre.ceeded to lay in provisions for two 

 weeks. We were olT bright and early in the morning, the 

 jiTiide taking his rilie, and my own outfit being reinforced by 

 one of Colt's new breech-loaders. Rowing leisnrel)', for the 

 ■ lay was hot, and the trout more than anxious to'iuke the 

 fly as [ ea.st from side to side occasionally, at four o'clock we 

 made camp on the beacb lielow a I'ocky point, atjout eighteea 



and four pound trout 

 calculation ! wc found 

 ad men with momitain 

 u!-liair too many. I3ui 

 washed and 



miles from the Post. Tho.se thr 

 were elelicious, Ijut. alas for hunui 

 that live of them among two mcii- 

 appelites, too— were- j list two and 

 the-y were not wasted, for before ill 

 stowed away a lank and hungry Indisui paddled abjngsidi 

 with three freshly killed deer in his canoe. Addressing him 

 in "Cbinook," wc asked him to come ashore and havesome 

 "muek-a-mnek.'' His face wreathed itself into e,ne of the 

 most hideous grins I ever beheld, as he exclaimed "Na-wit- 

 ka" i,yes), and williiu less than five minutes be bud " liolted" 

 himself outside of the remainder of those fisb, plus four 

 pounds of raw bacon, a pound and a half of sugar, three 

 pints of coffee, a can of Boston baked beans aViil a liig 

 lotd' of bread. P.ut there is an end lo all things, even aii 

 Indian's .■i|ipctite, and as he swalibed up the last bit of gre;ise 



lid, 1 gra.sped the other, and in 

 1 to visit us to-morrow and to bring 

 )ther-in-law down. He gracefully 

 jd after giving ns a big chunk o"t 

 that we could kill "lii-yu" 



n the fr 



tearful accents bestred hi 

 all his familv. froln his n 

 aecepled the iindtation, ; 

 venison, and the inforn 



(deer; as soon as wi- reached the St. Joe me;tdows, grasped his 

 paddle and was somi out of sight around the next h.eadland. 



His information was correct, for it is my honest opinion 

 that there is more deer and bear to the square inch in St. Joe 

 Valley thiui in any other portion of the known world ; and 

 Eastern sportsmen should hope for the speeilv and safe com- 

 pletion of the N. P. R. P.. it for no oilier purpose than to 

 open up lhi,s magiiilicenl sporting domain to the guild. The 

 lake itself is some thirty miles long, but as it has been des^ 



ibed in your coin 

 fine myself to the 

 tremilvof ibelakc. 

 niiles fre.m here, an 

 Hai.ge. and near the 

 age widtli from mouth to rapids, 

 structions told me to go, is about 

 of water, from fifteen" to Iw 

 The current is so slight 



b.v abler pens than mine, I wUl eon- 

 river, which enters at the southern ex- 

 It takes its rise nearly two himdred 

 id the eternal snows of tbe Bitter Root 

 ■adwalers of the Clearwater, Its avor- 

 wliicb was as far as my m- 

 sevenly-fivc yards. De]ilh 

 tv feet, .and clear as crystal. 

 bo scarcely perceptible. The 

 lianks are lined for the most part with huge cottonwood and 

 willows, while here and there tower huge belts of gigantic 

 fir. cedar and pine. 

 The valley itself is one huge meadow, from one to three 

 n width, hemmed in on either side by the majestic 

 of llie Coiur d'Alene range. Y' ears "ago the Calho- 

 d a mission there, and as an evidence of the zeal 

 of the priests in charge, about ten miles up the 

 iimded Ijy fruil trees, siand the old mi.ssion hou.ses 

 while acre upon acre of timothy grass waves in the 

 wind and gladdens the heart— and appeliie— of deer without 

 number. Every winter the ImUaus resort Ibere to parlicijiate 

 in their annual " drive." and an old "Siwash" showed me 

 one point where fast January ihey killed one hundred and 

 eigliiy deer in tw'o days. Their »e«/?w opa-andi is as follows: 

 First, selecting a narrow neck of meadow land, caused by a 



milei 

 momitai 



lies four 

 and enei 



and ba' 



bend in th' 

 each unde 

 hills a few 



. the 





divide 



pan: 

 . i; ti 

 from the river, they se 

 if each other anil forn 



es of t 



ral miles in length. Now the d 

 with .«hoiits and ciies such as Indi 

 the fright eiicd deer are driven bef 



eire 



■ fifte"en, 

 ig to the 

 rig within 



L' of .HWC- 



■nest, and 



ly km 



;m, the outer edges of 

 Ihe seniKarcle gradually closing in upon the timid creatures 

 uiilil the river is reaebed. when crack I cr.ack ! go the rifles, 

 and Ihe mountains eiiieh ilie sound, and send the echoes from 

 peak to peak, until the last deer is killed. There is plenty 

 of danger attached to the ihive, as witness the case of friend 

 C, who partieipaied in a drive on Hayden Lake last winter, 

 and was only too glad lo seek refuge in a huge hollow^ log^ 

 ■ape the too many stray bullets that were whizzing about 

 irs. 

 I iound the best fishing near the rapids, about thirty-five 



niles from the mouth, and on th. . , -_, 

 ed at six consecutive easts eleven i 

 weight was I ueiit\-. eight ponnds. Th 

 weighed six and one-ipiarter pounds, 

 ones. They differ Lncatlv in iipiiearan 

 the Spokan River- at least, the larger 

 are long and slender, taiiering from he 



lateral line is a row of bright red spot! , .^ _ ^^ 



nd bngljt : imder jaw tinged with crimson, two double rows 

 if teeth, and leeih upon hyoid bone; toil almost, if not quite, 

 as squart! as that of jbnUnali^i. I have fished the waters of 

 Maine, New Hampshire and Pugei Sound, and have killed 

 plenty of hard fighting trout and salmon, but in all ray expe- 

 rience I have neyer seen any fish, trout or ealmoa which pi>s- 



lefore I left, "land- 

 rout, whose ciimliined 

 • larLTcst trout 1 killed 

 md i saw many larger 

 ee from those t'akeii in 

 cues do. Their bodies 

 lid to tail ; above the 

 ; eye extremely large 



sess such a frmd of pluck and endm-ance ns do those St. Joe 

 beauties. 



In a few weeks the nie.tdows will resound to the cries of 

 countless wild fowl, and I venture to predict that in a few 

 years Ctetir d'Alene Lake and its tributaries will becime Ihe 

 iMeeca toward wliich the best .sportsuien in the United States 

 \vill veaiiy turn their eiiger steps. 



This month mv duties led me lo a little lake six miles long, 

 about thirty-flvc miles norlli.east of Spokan Falls. A lovely 

 sheet of water, nestled among the pines iu the fool-hills of the 

 Cceur d'Alene range. Tliere^oue afternoon two of us killed 

 ninety Iront, from one i" three j.ioimits weight, and while re- 

 turning to llie •' Tie" camp tit dusk, Ihe wolves kindly drove 

 a two 'hundred pound buck down upon u,s, and we, nothing 

 loth, gathered lum in, with a shot from a .45 cal. rifle, and 

 we feasted upon his juicy ribs in the bright moonlight, to 

 the lime of "A frog he wonld a wooing 'go," played up- 

 on a cracked fiddle with two strings. 



The sporiiiig world inobably does not realize what -will he 

 universally known in a very 'few years, that the Northern 

 Pacific Railroad will prove the " op'en sesame" to the finest 

 game and flsh regiem in America, where sporting will be a 

 pleasure, and not the toil that I have often f.iimd it in ]\lame 

 and New Hampshire while fighting gnats and mo.squitoes 

 with one hand and trying to land a poor little half-pound 

 trout with the other. \Ve"liavo very little occasion for the 

 use of tar and oil. Prairie chicken shooting is at its best 

 now, the whole country is alive with them, and a three hours' 

 tnimp in the vicinily o'f Kng. Scovill's camp is sure to result 

 in a full bag. The numerous lakes throughout this section of 

 Washington are beginning to be covered wiUt swans, geese, 

 and ducks, and the honest granger will have a welcome addi- 

 tion to his regular diet of poltito'cs and bacon. H. B, 



OUR WATERFOWL. 



WITH the approach of ■winter the season for wild fowl 

 shooting draw.s near. Already the gims have com- 

 menced to sound both in the intcjior and idting tlie coast. 

 In the marshes of Canada and the Western States the mal- 

 lards, teal and pintad are falling thick and fa.st, and on the 

 Chesapeake the boom of the heas'y guns has, since Novem- 

 lier 1, sounded the death knell of many a canvas-back and 

 black-head. People arc beginning to paint np their goose 

 and brant decoys, to bait their blinds, .and to load their shells 

 with BB's; and, with the first real cold snap we shall re- 

 ceive reports of the liags made at, the various shooting re- 

 sorts, inland and alemg tie: e.i.is!. on the geese and brant. 



We so constantly recei^e inqniries lrom"our readers in re- 

 lation to waterfowl of tlilTerenl species, «'hich they have 

 killed, but are unable to identify, that it seems worth while 

 to give some facts in regard to these birds in order that each 

 one may be enabled to tell for himself the names of such as 

 may fall into his hands. It woidd be for the interest of each 

 sportsman in the country to purclia.«e a copy of Dr. Cones' 

 admirable " Key to North American Birds." By the aid of 

 this work, the reader, after a little practice, wotfld be able to 

 settle for himself all queations •with regard to the identity of 

 any of our game birds, aud cordd learn the differences and re- 

 lationships between the different groups. 



The term waterfowl, which is frequenily loosely applied 

 to our shore birds or bay snipe, might better be reslricted, il 

 seems to us, .so as to include only the swaus, geese and ducks. 

 These constitute three sub-families of the Jnnfifl-f-, a griiup 

 of great size ntid economic iniportance. and of vi;iy wide 

 distribution. Dr. Coues gives one Inuidred and seventy -five 

 as the number of species included in it. He says of tliese, 

 "They differ a good deal in minor details, and represent a 

 number of peculiar genera aside from the ordinary types, 

 tiough none are so aberrant as to endanger the integrity of 

 the group." 



North American waters are certainly 'trell peopled with 

 birds of this group, of which not far from fifty are enumer- 

 ated in our "works on ornithology, (if these there lire two • 

 swans, ten geese and four varieties, twelve species of AnMlnw, 

 or river ducks, twenty-one and several varietic-s of FuVguUnm, 

 or sea ducks, and three of Mcigiiur, or fish ducks. 



As a rule those species of Ihe Annijila- which inhabit 

 fresh waters are more delicate in flavor than those 

 which frequent the sea exclusively. The flavor of any 

 animal's flesh depends iivsiich a great measure upon its food 

 that it is evident that a bird wlii li r i d- ., a eonsidcrable ex- 

 tent on vegetidile food will be u. ' ■ . ,; lur iliai, one whieh 

 confines itself to a diet of fisb m imi.'iihh -:. and so we find 

 that the typical sea duck, such as the genera (JSdemin, Jlar- 

 ,•/,!,/, Soi,iiiti-iin, and others, and the fishing ducks, Mergun, 

 rank verj^ low as table birtk. On the other hand, swans, 

 geese, the AnaUnjr, and many of those ducks whicb, though 

 included by systeniatists among the Jt'uligub'iK^. puss the 

 greater portion or idl of their time upon inland waters, are 

 among the most highly esteemed of our food birds. 



The .l/Mii'Ay, from their aquatic h.aViiis, are warmly clad 

 with a thick covering of feathers, whieli fra^m an ellicientpro- 

 tection against cold and wet. and for tlit.-e feathers ihey are 

 destroyed in great numbers. Duruig the exi'cssively severe 

 winter of 1874-3 Long Island dotuiil was frozen over, and 

 the black ducks, which were wintering on it, were tmable to 

 obttiin food in any quantity, and thus became extremely thin. 

 M, this time they were accustomed to resort in great numbers 

 to certain warm spring holes in New Haven Goimty, Con- 

 necticut, to pass the night and feed, and here they were 

 slaughtered by the hundred, simply for their feathers. They 

 were quite tmfit for food, and no one having the instincts of a 

 sportsman would have disturbed them at such a time. No 

 one, we think, would feel disposed to criticise the action of 

 any one who chooses lo save the feathers of a bh'd that ho 



