Deobhbeb 16, 1880.;! 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



389 



The next day found us at dawn farup toward the top of the 

 rugged, wooded hills. We feared the dog would show being 

 tired from the tramp of the day before, but no. Onr, un- 

 seen, gets up wUd, and from now until dark the doc gives a 

 succession of surprises in her capacity. Night colucs and 

 never met so tired, so satisfied, so triumphanir so l)oastful a 

 gunner as me in counting out fifteen grouse us the result of 

 two day.s' work from sun to sun. No one with any less good 

 dog could secure the same result. 



Feeling tliat the success of this hunt was entirely due to the 

 comparative rest the birds liave had for two years we re- 

 cord this to encourage the efforls of game associii'tioua to ji' e- 

 serve the game in the country under their control, sali?tied 

 that districts now without a partridge or grouse will soou 

 again afford plenty of sport for the outlay of time and money 

 in the rigid enforcement of the gaine laws. Bbiskshot. 



Martic, Dee. 6, 1880. 



GEOR&IA SHOOTING EESORTS. 



AS the season has come when the question with many 

 Northern sportsmen is, where good game sections are 

 to be found, I will say a few words concerning this part of 

 Georgia. T notice one of your correspondents is inclined to 

 think that some at least of your correspondents have "axea 

 to grind " when they call attention to localities particularly 

 favored in the way of game. I can say rao.'at positively that 

 this is not true, so far at least as I am concerued. 



In the matter of climate this section leaves but little to be 

 desired. We are below the snow level — I might almost say 

 below the frost line. We have had only one light frost this 

 winter, and the atmospheric conditions are certainly pecu- 

 liarly suited to those suffering from lung troubles, the coun- 

 try being almost entirely covered with a lieavy growth of 

 pines. 



We have fairly good railroad facilities. Of comse the 

 traveler will fail to And the luxurious appointments of the 

 great trunk lines North, but a not too fastidious person can 

 and will be satisfied. 



Lest some doubting Thomas may think 1 am overdrawing 

 I will put it very mild while I speiik of the game to be found 

 in this favored section. Quail are to be found in grtat abun- 

 dance everyw^here, a good shot will find no difficulty in bring- 

 ing forty or fifty to bag in a day's shoot, and a man who 

 hunts for the bag alone can do oven better than this. In 

 some localities, indeed wherever they find food ajid .suitable 

 feeding grounds, snipe are plentiful enough to afl'ord good 

 sport. " By thLi I mean a sportsmen can kill twenty-five to 

 thirty in a day. A few milrts in any direction from smy 

 point will give the sportsman superb duck shooting, and if 

 the sportsman will leave the line of railroad a few mjies lie 

 can have qua.ll, snipe and duck shooting all on the same 

 gi'ound. A few deer are to be found, and wild tmkeya are 

 ifairly plenty. 



Accommodations, price of same, etc., of course vary. 

 The high-toned sportsman can find those suited to his tastes, 

 and the man who will be satisfied with good, clean, comfort- 

 able quartora and food can be suited as well. 



The better class of ovu' people will gladly welcome as friends 

 and companions in the field all gentlemen who will deport 

 themselves as such. There ia enough and to spare of sport 

 for all who may come, and I wUl for the love I hear the guild 

 of sportsmeu cheerfully aid and properly introduce all who 

 care to avail themselves of my service. 



To those who desire more specific information I will be 

 happy to communicate by maO. Albbet Wtntee. 



Cairo, T/wiruu Ccunty, Ua., Dec. 6. 



. — .♦—• 



THE INTRODirOTION OF GAME BIRDS. 



WHILE noticing with interest the laudable efforts of 

 gentlemen sportsmen and gameprotective associations 

 throughout the Eastern a^d Middle States for the introduc- 

 tion and propagation of migratory quail, the thought has of- 

 ten presented itself. Could not their efforts be better directed, 

 and with a much fairer degree of success, toward the intro- 

 duction of tha' noble game bird the pinnated grouse, or prai- 

 rie chicken ? in the one case it is a bare experinicnl, depen- 

 dent for its success upon whether they will migrate and 

 return ; whUo in the other, it is almost an assured success. 



The rigors of om wintera' deep snows and consequent 

 scarcity of food is almost certain destruction to our quail, 

 either native or imported, while the hardincM of ihe iKimated 

 grouse, coupled with its habit of taidug to timber in the cold- 

 est weather, adapts it to the extremes of climate, as well as 

 our own ruffed grouse, or " pheasant." That it is singularly 

 fitted to withstand om severe winter.^ i,4 aiuulv proven by the 

 vast numbers found in Wisconsin ani ! ; '-re their 



winters exceed ours both in duration ; 



While I fear we must admit that thr , ,,.,,, i migra- 

 tory quail lias not met with that success lor wiueii it was 

 hoped, yet it is a "step in the right direction," and I trust 

 will lead to like experiments with both the pinnated grouse 

 and California quail. As to their game qualities and the 

 pleasure of bagging the one or the other in ere can be no 

 comparison. Every sportsman who ha.s shot raffed grouse 

 and our native quad knows with what additional pleasure he 

 exhibits the spoils of his day's sport if among a goodly num- 

 ber of them he can also count two or three brace of Donana 

 umbdlu-K. They are a bird worthy the akUl of our most ar- 

 dent sportsman and in whose piu'suit nothingbut the stancfi- 

 est aud the best of dogs will reward the hunter with success. 

 The pinnated grouse, while being more easily found and, as a 

 rule, lying belter to dogs, would be scarcely loss diflicult to 

 Icill (as they would take to timber on being flushed.), and 

 when bagged but little inferior to its lesser cousin. Our di- 

 versified landscape of hills and valleys, barren mountains and 

 cultivated fields woiild afford immunity from extremes of 

 temperature as well as diinger of extermination from dog and 

 gun. An effort to introduce the noble grouse would meet 

 with the hearty approval and, I doubt not, substantial sup- 

 port of every eminent sportsman in the Eastern and Middle 

 States. PrwNATBD Gkouse. 



StTLLivAS CotrsTY— .ffWraf, Dec. 5.— Monday, November 

 23, I hmited deer alone and killed a fine buck. He weighed 

 156 pounds. On Thmsday of the same week I hunted again 

 with a companion. In the morning I drove two fine bucks 

 over the stand before George got there ; and in the afternoon 

 stArted and drove another 200-pounder to George and he shot 

 him dead. On Monday I hunted with two gentlemen from 

 Hancock, Mr. Kelsey and James jr. ^Vheeler. Mr. Wheeler 

 shot a fine doe before 8 o'clock, Tuesday, George Dunlap 

 and I hmited again and started ten deer, but did not kill any. 

 It needs six men to himt them hero, but the season is at an 

 end for this year. Partridge, rabbits and hares have not 

 been mora plenty for several years. Hdni'ee, 



HE WILL MAKE AJSf AFFIDAVIT. 



£!dUor Forest and Stream : 



Some weeks ago T saw a controversy in your paper about 

 trapped quail on Long Island. I kniaw the letter- writer in 

 yom-s of the 11th stated the truth, while the indignation of 

 the Long Island Game Association, as expressed in your 

 number of the IStli, appears tome rather uncalled for, at 

 least in the face of iny experience. For the benefit of the 

 as.sociation I will state the facts and points. 



On retuniicL' fmin ihe tield trials Friday last on the early 

 train, I think it w:i-, ahoul !) o'clock- really Overlooked name 

 of station— till ni-v, i;'..,;! iJi'ered me a dozen quail, which he 

 told me the - i told him to sell. I examined 



themcarefu!. •' trapped birds The bov cliimed 



ignorance of <;' , , :\\\ he knew was to sell hia birds. 



Now I have no interest in lyong Island, never pulled a trig- 

 ger there nor expect to ; but if my brother sportsmen of the 

 Long Island Association want me they can call upon me at 

 No. 43 New street, New York. I will make any affidavit 

 they want. I further give them these points: (1.) It is 

 unlawful under our State laws to sell trapped quail. (3.) It 

 is against the rules of the Long Island Railway for the bag- 

 gage masters to carry anything except checked trunks— 

 everything else must be cai'ried by Westcott's i^lxpress. (?,. '•■ 

 The Union News boy acts contrary to rules by peddling for 

 the baggage-master instead of Ms employers. 



Now the proper tilings are to coiuplain at the railway of- 

 fice by calling upon Air. Shiu-pe ; complain at the TJnion 

 News Company, and commence suit again=i 'im iio.r.r.,,™. 

 master and boy on the through train. Be.'i'i n 



the train for a few mornings and he will i r ; y 



word I say. Before closing I confess I can' t 1 1 , ' i . ; i v 

 this illegal huckstering can be allowed. If that liad iiappeued 

 in my county I would liavc stopped it long ago. There need 

 bo no complaint about an anonjnnous communication this 

 lime. A. E. Qodbfteot. 



Guytnard, Orange 0<ru,nly, N. T. 



WILD GEESE AT SILVER LAICE. 



Boston, Dec. 6, 1880. 



THE writer had tlie good fortlme to be present at and take 

 part in some shooting at wild geese considered very 

 remarkable, and which might be thought of sufficient in- 

 terest to be made known. The locality was Silver Lake, 

 Mass., where ?o many regattas have i,aken place. The 

 aland where the birds were shot at is on the west side, near 

 the grand stand for viewing the races, and called Widgeon 

 Point. Thn .shooting wiis on Thursday last, Dec. 3. 



Ten geese swam u\< ofi the stand, aud all were shot, only 

 one of vs'hich had io lie shot over from the boat which went 

 out to recover the Ijirds. Tiiis was about sunrise. About 

 10:30 A. M. a large flock, twcntj--one in number, were seen 

 flying over, wellup in the air, imd by stirring up the live 

 decoys noise Hi-m.. i. ^ -.- -i.-ifie to turn them back, aud they 

 litinlhesoui'i ike. After staying there some 



time they re; .icling sevei-al times v.ithin shot 



of the stand ; u in the water in a cove, almost 



withiii shooting dislaiice, then swain up toward the l>each in 

 front of where seven of as were waitina, hardiv daring to 

 move for fear of s.-firing fli-in n_T:i-. ' "When "they were 

 directly in fr :i " : ' ' i a-.^ther, the word 



was given, •'■■ Fire!" and the 



contents of si ly two or three 



made ii"> ' , ,,_. ., .,„.„,, .,„u ,.iey were shot at 



once, : iiumber, twenty-one, "lay dead. The 



most it was that not one of them required 



ahootis : . . . :b» boat. 



Thi.« 13 said to ue 11 lO uio.st remarkable shot at geese from a 

 stand ever known to bo made in the county (Plymouth)- 

 I would also add that out of foui' bunches of geese" decoyed 

 to this stand— viz.. eight, six, ten and twenty-one, forty-five 

 in all— not one eKC:iped. B. C. M. ^ 



SocTUERX Florida — Zt^/f',, ' ' ''';■••. 0. — In your 



last numlier of l''.ji;Ebr A>nJ .-: i . nli of a party of 



gentlemen whu intend visi':' . _ lida and wiU en- 



deavor to by sailing down 111. ..,;,.i.:i.;.j ,,i.cr and through 

 Lake Okeechobee reach the Caloosahatchee River and event- 

 ually Charlotte Harbor and the Gulf. Have been through 

 this section of Florida, and shall await with interest the re- 

 port of this party. Will you kindly give me the names of 

 the membcrH of the expedition? The old boat "Forest and 

 Stream " was secured by our leader, Mr. Ingram Fletcher, of 

 Indianapolis, at the time it was aljan<ioned by your explor- 

 ing p:irty at Ft. BLWsenjer, ami u=ed by us several years in 

 our trips through the Kissimee comitxy, and do not think it 

 possible to pass from Okeechobee to the Gulf by boat at ordi- 

 nary stage of water without making some long portages. 

 Three years ago, after heavy rains and when Southern Flori- 

 da was partially submerged, Messrs. Driggs aud Peise (the 

 former from Slicliigau aa.l the latter resuilng near Ft. Hii=- 

 senger) made the trip l)- l>o»t. The old "Foregt and Stream" 

 was an excellent bout and well adapted for exploring in the 

 shallow lakes of Florida. She now lies a wreck on one of the 

 islands in Lake TahepekalizH. E. A E. 



Weights or Ruffed Grotjsk — HnrndkUlk; N. Y., Deo. 

 5. — I have juet written to your correspondent not to send his 

 plume to "Ruffed Grouse" or Chas. F. Kent, but the plume or 



afcollar to my cocker Fannie, for last Th .'■- i"!-'-. 2, she 



caught the king of all grouse ever a eighed, 



after being carried all day and bleed n , thirty- 



two and one-half ouaces, so, you si. , r; entitled 



to the plume. The bird was weighed on live diilerenl; scales, 

 and hundreds came in to see it. It measured over eighteen 

 inches from end of beak to end of tail. It was a cock. 



J. Otis Fellows. 



miU of SingoMore, Md.. Dee. 6.— I notice in last issue of 

 PoRSST AND Stream fh"* '^ ""'-'■"='-i'iTi.dent awards the plume 

 of honor to Chas. P. '' -ello, New York, and to 



"Ruffed Grouse," v ir^., for killing a ruffed 



grouse that weighed I :. I : : i!iirteen ounces. If your 



correspondent will take' the trouble to refer to "Frank 

 Schley's American P.irtridge and Pheasant Shooting," on 

 page 180. he wiU there find recorded that the average weight 

 of the Americ:" " ' _ ■ ' . _: pound six to thirteen 

 ounces. To; [ know this is the only 



work in the l i he weight of this wild, 



hardy North . , ...:_ _.._:. So. according to this 



valuable and esuuiablL' book, and authority's good teachings, 

 for a sportsman to Idll a ruffed grouse fliat aIII weigh nno 

 pound and thirteen ounces it ia not ouu-hle of the go^-aul 



limits of occurrences, but it is otherwise. Itismore like tha 

 regular, everyday run of things. Habry Woodland. 



Thet Know the Seasoji — Bhomslmry, Hunterdon Co., 

 N. J., Dec. 6. — The month of November is past and we 

 have done but very little shooting. Quail are not so plenty 

 as they were thoug'ht to be during the smnmer. We could 

 often find full coveys and many of them, but with Nov. 1, 

 they disappeared and about .Jan. 1 will again put in an ap- 

 pearance. Last fall 1 knew where there was a covey of 

 twenty-four largs birds, and hunted them every week, but 

 never "found them. I Ivnew no one else had found them, and 

 was confident tiiat none iiaii been shot. On Jau. 4 the whole 

 flock passed across the load and ran along without fear of be- 

 ing molested. Grouse are in fair numbers, although few have 

 been shot. Rabbits ai'e plenty. Woodcock very scarce. 

 We had very dry weather during July and August, or I think 

 would have seen a few at least. About a dozen have been 

 shot in this vieudty since Nov. t. p. H. 



The Hen Isi.viro Club— I'c/fonton, i/iuf., Dm. 7.— The 

 following is the score made by the Hen Island Club, located 

 at Seaddings Pond, Tawnton. Mas.-s. The club were fortu- 

 nate in bringing within shooting distance all the geese that 

 Rlniek tiie pond, thirty-eight in number, and captured at dif- 

 feieiit times 6, V, 3, 4, atul G- total 31. The pond froze 

 up Nov. 30, and the last six geese were decoyed to the ice 

 forty-sis yards from the stand aud shot where they lit, a 

 Colt 12-gauge gun killing one clean at that distance. The 

 club me" fourteen geese decoys. Ducks this season have been 

 Bcm-ce and hard to decoy. Total of river ducks, 61; sea- 

 fowl, 73. The club still remain at the stand waiting for 

 stray flocks of geese, and pass the time in fishing and gim- 

 ning In the woods. C. T. 8. 



Q%ov.Qix—Elberton, Dee. 10.— Drs. Oliver and Hafer, of 

 our town, went out hunting a few days ago and bagged 60 

 partridges. We have several fine shots who bag from 50 to 

 100 in one day. Ducks, geese, fish aud rabbits are plentiful. 

 Deer, foxes aud " coons " are scarce. WiUie Snow, one of 

 my friends, caught last spring tlnee catfish, respectively 36, 

 36 and 37 inches in length, and the three weighed 24 lbs. 

 We killed about the same time a bird of the fish-hawk tribe 

 that measmed 7 ft. from tip to lip. His bill was 6 in. in 

 length, 1 iu. in width, aud his longest tail feather was 30 in. 

 Can you tell me what its name is iu your next paper ? 



W. A. J. 



Your description is insufficient. 



Oaio— Franklin, Dee. 3.— Quail and rabbit shooting now 

 in fvdl blast. Snow is going off and it will be good hunting 

 for a while. Some very good bags have been made. A few 

 pheasants have been bagged within a mile of town. A friend 

 showed me a very large spine bird tills morning. Ttey are the 

 first killed in this county for some years. 3Ir. Wm. Van 

 Horn killed three turkeys and twenty pheasants in Dark 

 County last week. A very fine deer was received tu-day by 

 Jlr. James Barklow from the wilds of Michigan as a present. 

 It weighed 100 poimds and puUed 80 poumh; with hide off. 

 It excited the curiosity of the people very much, being very 

 rare game in this gulch. C. A. M. 



CoNK^EOTiouT — Madimn, Qonn., Dee. 6. — Have been much 

 interested in reading editorial in paper November 35 in rela- 

 tion to farmers on Long Island. The same arguments will 

 apply here as elsewhere. If I can get time and some re- 

 laxation from professional cases I intend to give you some 

 items in relation to sporting matters in this vicinity, for if 

 some measures of prevention are not soon taken game here ' 

 will soon become extinct, as pot hunters and trappers have 

 full swing here. Please answer the foUowing query : Who 

 makes the best glaas-baJl trap, and at what cost? and oblige 



D,M.W- 



TKXAB—-rn(!ian(ilia, Nov. 30. — For the past two weeks the 

 weather has beeu so wet and cold and everything so full of 

 water that almost all the fowl have left here. 1 hear, how- 

 ever, that uj) in the Post Oak country (there being an unusu- 

 ally heavy mast this season) the ducks are in countless num. 

 bera. I hope, however, to have better news if we can have 

 some dry weather. Fine fishing, large quantities of sheeps- 

 head being caught. G. A. 



A Big Bvok.— Hast Saginwa, Ifov. 39 — ^I have just re- 

 turned from a five weeks' hunt. Grayling fishing good. 

 Deer hunting good ; five hotinds to every deer ; so much for 

 the gentleman sportsman. Killed one buck weighing 247 

 lbs., and a number of smaller bucks. If you can oversize 

 that I know where there is one that will weigh over 300 lbs. 

 I will try and get him next time. Tbappek. 



Pennsylvania— CooperatoWTt, Dec. 0.— I returned home 

 from a two weeks' hunt in Forest County last week, but 

 cannot boast of success. Mr. J. E. Wenk, editor of the 

 Forr-st Republican, Idlled within a few miles of Tionesta a 

 very fine five pronged buck which weighed near two hun- 

 dred poimds. Very few deer killed in that vicinity this faU, 

 owing to the scarcity of snow. I did not see a deer. 



Otto. 



Weight of StjcnEBBLa.- I have taken the trouble to care- 

 fully weigh all the gray and black squirrels I have shot this 

 fall, and tmdthe average asfoflows: Gray, lib., lOoz; black, 

 lib., 14oz. This is net weight, soon after being killed. It 

 seems to me that squirrels here are larger than 1 ever found 

 them elsewhere. Will some »no else please give average 

 weight ? Last week I shot three mallard ducks that averaged 

 3ilbs. each. J. F. L. 



New yoEK-fl'"rn^to»^7fe, Dee. .5. — Chas. Margeson and 

 three friends returned from a month's hunt in Michigan with 

 seventeen deer. They have enough jerked meat to last a 

 year, and antlers enough to! stock a museum. Geo. Hum- 

 phrey shot a fine deer here the 30th ult. John PenwcU and 

 Frank Morris shot the best bag of ruffed grouse of the season 

 on the 14th ult., eighteen, with thirty sheUs. J. O. S, 



Rhode Island- iV«aix>rt, Dec. 9. — There is nothing to re- 

 port in fishmg, and but very little .shooting has been douo here 

 the last two weeks. Birds very scarce. Mr. Chase and Mr. 

 Anthony each shot a wild goose. They were lone birds, none 

 others having been seea for some time. X. Y. Z. 



Tirs views of Mr. Pike respecting the game Inw are worthy 

 of a careful reading. 



The FoRBiw ahd Stbeam's exposition of " Dittmar sport- 

 ing pu.vJer" ■will be sent upon appllcatian. 



