450 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Jajtoaht 6, 1S81- 



mouthpd'i oniigi it al North Aui-ora by Win. MesseDger. Its 

 length Tvas 23 iDcht^R, find it weigherl'7 lbs. 11 oz. The out- 

 line was driiwii and tlio size .and weight taken at the Internal 

 Revenue office, Aurora. TIiib is the statement recorded 

 upon the paper upon ■svhioh the outline was drawn. Sir 

 only ohservation is that tiie I1.9I1 nnist liave been in excellent 

 condition or else treated with a diet of pebbles. T. R. W. 



I^Q mtd (§an. 



CAME ITS SF.ASON IN i>r,CT;>rBi;n. 



!i-aii-ie oliie- 

 ■:tisant, Ea- 



AT THE GiiAY 



JTOOse, /fcc amerhmm. I i;. ! ri i- 1- 



Ca.rVom\l linngifer mrihmi. -^r„.--i-: 



Ell< or wapiti, Cciv:ifi cati'-alensls. ■I'lilii Tr,]' 



Eed or Virginia deer, C. vir,jMu.!- \ I-lnii::v -; 



Bqulrrels— red, Nact!; nnd ji-ay. H\ifr. 'i - 

 Hajes— tjrown and gi'ay. | )"/.- 



"Bay Wrds" generat!T, in^'iiMi.].- i-.vi-ir-- 

 piper, snipe, ciirlew, nv-i.-r-'- , -in- :.;;-;. 

 etc., coiiLhiK imQfer ttie n . , ' . - , - 

 permU prairie fowl (I'lDi'L; : ,, - . . ' : 



MF,. SCOVEL TAKES A SHOT 

 BQUmUEL. 



Cawden, N. 3. , Dec. 35. 

 ^'QAl<fCHO PANZA" and "Border Ruffian," liave, 



O through the brilliant and healthful pages of the 

 roKai=TA>n Stream, kindled anew in my pulses "all ihe old 

 love an<t the coociliatory ardor with which I hunted the 

 gray squirrel along the Ohio Kivcr and the Kentucky hills. 

 Kud aremnd the hill sides ancl through the back woodfl of old 

 Hariuvcr twenty-five years a^o. 



Jly youthful Sydney, who never knew the wild sports of 

 the West, may have fl lahed his maiden rifle at a turtle dove 

 or aehickceiu Jirsey. hut is profoundly unskilled in Ihe 

 keener pleasures of the Indiana lore.sta, where twenty-five gray 

 Equirreia frequently rewarded the Reverend Doctor— and 'my- 

 EClf for an afternoon'a fport, when v.e '' tkiiiped " the vener- 

 able but sweet teiiiprred Sturgi-, piofes=ii'V of Greek, and if 

 ■we were not '-up" the next mnrnirig in accurate IransltUion 

 of how Xenophea's solditra when ihey saw the ocean ex- 

 claimed: 



naUftttnlHallatta! 

 "Be thou Ri-ceted thou infinite sea," 

 "we were fniari, (Dont.li to placate that most atnialile and 

 Bccomplishtd G lei li Efholsr by sending him one half of our 

 squirrelf. He was a q^iHsi RiibelHis.'wilh all the ancient 

 gournaets love for the edeiu:i et hibendl, not without consider- 

 able moral force, and lliHt Piof.;S6or Slurgis cnuld handle a 

 birch roda^rw'tand otLerwife, I he Reverend Dfjctor — can tell 

 With perfect truthrulnesF, it he will recall the days "when 

 we went pypfeyiug'' at fifteen. But the most pleasing 

 recollection I have of the Profe,?sor is as he smacked bis lips 

 at the story of the " Pious jEneas " as be cooked hi.^ fat veni- 

 son by the easv fplitting cedar, and drank the wine divine 

 of those fc.=tivc if ancient flays. Alasl how changed. The 

 Kevereud Doctor in t liose daya got his share of the lickings, but 

 had the most of the fun. Now he preaches and 1 practice. Be 

 " AUui-cfl to brighter worlds 

 And leads tlie way," 

 while I have followed the quiddets and quillets of the law, 

 t.iking an occasional shy at politics, which have been called 

 the sum of all the Bciences by Madame de Htaal, while some 

 of the " latter day faints" of polliics have made it look more 

 marvellously like the "sum of all the villainies, " After 

 lisieuing to my frienO, the worthy Docler, for an hour, dis- 

 covu^irijl; on ihe "exceeding siutulness of sui," I could 

 baldly believe he was the Eatne boy whoso hide (like my 

 own) was so industriously taaned by the venerable but some- 

 what irascible Sturjzif. 



" Bancho" tells wiih prreat eKprlt how he tied his hat to a 

 bush, and, watching the wily gray squirrel, hied himself to 

 the other side of the tree and tweaked the bush with a f tiing 

 till the animated rodent would ru-h into tLe very j iws of his 

 Irnsly AVeslly Richards. This is neater than any trick 1 ever 

 played on tite mii-chievou9 but gamy tqniirel. And I dis- 

 like to tell it, but if the truth of Ecpiirrel hunting must be 

 given I will admit in a kind of a plea of confession and avoid- 

 ance that the Kevereud Dectnr iiag of late called me into his 

 ftudy, and after we h.d ^pelJt a lew hours in reading Bev. Dr. 

 Cos's admirable work "o "Interview?, Eistorical, Memor. 

 able and Useful, from Disiy siul Memi>ry Reproduced," or 

 after discufsing some I'-T^es of " Bulli I's Analogy of Re- 

 vealed Religion," my friend would geclly intimaie that it 

 bad never dawned oii him till leeenlly -s^hy it was that I was 

 always so kind as to in.'-ist on his going around on the other 

 side of tlie tree to get the fir.tt shot at ihe squirrel. And with 

 charmirE naivele he wmld always cay, 



"Jily d(ar Brother J., was it not a little singular that 

 when I weni arounri 10 get the firet shot at the squirrel lie 

 used to levarii around to yeuv pide of the beech tre , and you 

 killed two to my rme?' '■Such" be would leiiii.rk "is tlie per- 

 fidy of man, that till recemly I lubufd under the inipiettion 

 that you were benevolenHy givii.g nifl the firs! E-hot at Uie 

 grey squirrel, not that I wa.s tcarir.tr him around so you could 

 hill'biiu Or.=r." Now, the moral of :ill t!,i<i ir^, t'jat a better 

 way tbau Sancho's ide.i of a bush and a r-triog to it is to have 

 a fellow hunter scare the equiirtl over to your side of the 

 tree. 



Alllovereof the woods and streams will admit Ibat Ihe 

 equirrel has as much curiosity as a woiaan. Many of the 

 beauties of Tennyson are fresh in my o;ind, i.ecauto I first 

 saw tbe well remcmbeied iim'sin my pocktt Tennyson as 1 

 Eat beneat h I he leafy shade of the beach wood.s, near old Han- 

 over at Bullet's Palls, waiting for the game to come out of 

 bis leafy retreat. Not as lucky as the "Border Rufllan," I 

 have never bad three squirrels to fall at the same time, but 1 

 have killed half a dozen squirrels in one morning from the 

 same mulberry tree, and have in the fall of the year killed 

 three from the same beech I rcf, by sitting down quietly and 

 ■waiting to nceurately disilDguieh the lomm in quo by the pecu- 

 liar and familiar "boik" ol the tquirrel, or oucbing the sound 



lOther. 



and a 



Ihe 



of the uimble rodents as they leaped from one irei 



It was with a double banelMl ^wn at my slioulder 

 SBlcbcl of books at my side ihal I learned my " oleiisure 

 moiley words to lake'," and read of the riay.-< of WdliH.m iiir 

 Bihnt. ii-iw tbc bHier Badavaro iajs of tue Duichnieu <•''. ; ':ui 

 day (and jolly rtruiktrs they wore) ibat it one of lliem " woke 

 up Buber be filt sure be wsp fi,-k." Atjd annonn 'le ni-ft 

 fresh ji-yoiltt, bouiaal scfl jnnec r-t pi. H.^'^ne.- ol luy bte 1 

 count those sweet, biigh' day- ".luii li.e " .May riun tbed an 

 amberlight, the new leaved woods a d lawns between," and 

 not Bryant, cor SheJlev nor Wordsworth, ever reveled in 

 diviner joy or more polid comfort and communion with 



nature than did I, alone with my gun and my books, no com- 

 panion save the frisking squirrel or the occaBional wild 



pigeon. 



i^ow and then a companion sMident would share my .inys 

 on some, forhmnie Sutnrrl-iy^ arid one of theee old friends' has 

 just written fmm far off Aliss -uri in these words; 



"De.UiS.: If von weru only peatr-d (it inv pide I w'mld pour 

 mto yonvearfi mnc'b, r,f the i.ioehv rit rjv Jir.j Hiuer- we doink in the 

 pm-e ah- of the Hanewer r.iKs. i iclicv aud better th.iu tho ' wino 

 divine of Znuaoeinc' 



" I hiiTB taetfd Boiiiethinr; of fame stance bist we met ; l;nomi 

 something of whnt tlie world oallH love ; but now, when 1 trine 

 seen t«eiil\-live Kumrm-rH ' nhe-e wo went C*ypKviug,' I often wish 

 at nightfnll tli:-! ".-.n ....,-„ r---.,ing home to iri'e, and if niT ai-uis are 

 notlitei-rdlv el:.- - ' - - ■ - iil-re of mv frRvnc, everv erijotioii of 

 my heart que, ,- ■ - 1 i: to see that weU remembered form 



niidheilr Mgiin ; - . -^kI of thiue. And yet how few, the 



uearofit F.nd il - •- ai-rnrud me, ever ' piispect that the 



OBlmly piaei r : I ; - ;■>; utliei' tbau perfeetlv tsati.slied with 



his diiilT ."iiiii. I . i I; ! we iirast not forget that the af- 



fection4on:v r: , - i:il the heart needs dailv norni^h- 



Vi-rre, f,P 've.l ; -; u-,- : - > . i i,,„^. ,.„j. ^Xi.sf. ni-e shredded 



-l';ov .{ i'-i..' ill--- ;■.-;',/ .-;! ™-<e,^o siveet. it irf" true, 



But I will quote no more. Ab 1 dear friend of my y ;ut"n, 

 I say let us hope that we may meet ai'irin and renew our 

 youth like the eagles, and it may be in the furests hiuI streams 

 of far off Missouri we may revive and kindle ov( r ag>iin the 

 memorieB r.f (jiher days. Kriend of my !out ! hail and fare- 

 well ! and I will at least every diy breathe an fisptnuion that 

 I may, etc the day when the grKSshopper becomes a burden, 

 tip k.e!^ed m tiiy embrace, for it ia Kmerson who sailh that 

 ~:iu'-h rui hnur at: iliat compg even iu this world to every cm- 

 L-euird FOul- But why do I wander from the gray squirrel? 

 And it ill the f mil of '"flancho" and the "RufBan'" if I have 

 trtown more didactic than the Reverend Doctor, my well 

 beloved, brother. 



The young liquirrel, as 1 remember, came in (iit for the table) 

 in early sunmier. And a more cnildi.^li anioiai rloe,? not live. 

 If you" would only wail the young thing would t.lup through 

 high grass wiibin lei; fiL-t, cf you— falling an t.-isy prey at 

 every thor. T-'-i- 7 ;: nerrels ol' an afieiuoon wnaa "bug'' 

 Umt you ceiu- ' . -n d day. Hinting with a dog 



was my at.-iiii;;.-, r.icii malie a complement, and tiie 



fail is the betiei sea.-...;, .-i il.e year. 



Instead of being he.siiaut about ii fathers had better teach 

 their children the'nse of the red and gun. 



■Walter ficott says he wtio loves field sports bates to do a 

 mean thin.tr. 



And Onv. Ilawley says you need not be "sfrairl to drioU 

 in the dark" with the rnan who insists on pulling a covey of 

 quail on tlie wing rntber thsn kill them on the ground. 



I would like In see tlie Fokkbt a>id Stheam more frequent- 

 ly read in our fcliool-room.'i and collegef--. 



But, Mr. Etliior, my Cbristmag uinr,er is over, liough our 

 turkey w-fiB not a.* wild as Maj. Merrill's, and my essay is 

 eertaiiily like M-mtaisine's in one thing, it i.; discer ive. " My 

 houscbold gods arc backing before ilie wood fim in a low- 

 down grate in the parlor. Kriss Kvingle ba,9 lieen mnie iban 

 kind to the boys and girls and I must lornp v- iUi the children 

 the rest of the evening; squirrel bunting makes me a boy 

 again. J. W. S - 



nber 0. 



COWEEN SHOOTING. 



St. DAViOr^. Der 



I PROMISED that I would send you some acetaint or our 

 shooting in this locality. Below 1 iuive endeavored (very 

 feebly it is true) to pre.seni a description of our furred and 

 feathered friends of the past and to-day, which may perhaps 

 prove of some little intereKl to those of your readers who 

 have visited this, "the old Niagara district'" rendered some- 

 what famous, historically, as a'freepient battle gi-ound ir, lire 

 early histoid of Can.a(la." Our little village is siiuated a sborl 

 distance from Qaeenston Heights, the scene of tb 



fought between the A 



I the "111110 unpleasantness" 



lile battle eif that nauu;' whiel: 

 cans and Briliab iu 1812, dm 

 which esisteri at tbsrt luri-al 



Through the vill;i.' .ulc 



trout stream of oleoi - d 



into 8 mill race, b.i :1- 



lagc, arc numerous 1- , iiim [ulu-u i'i.t:uy .-,-,\aies, 



favorite haunt.'^ t.i and he-re, every spring, 



some eight or ten e -, , ear their liioods and live 



in luxury and Kccnri;_ j . 1 ■:?, Ociobcr. Forty year.^ 



ago this little stream, bordered on either side with plentiful 

 cover, literally teemed with cock for Oiree miles from its 

 rise, while tlie (at that time) but imperfectly drained mea- 

 dows below afforded grateful resting and feeding groimdsfor 

 iunimierable snipe in their spring and fall migrations. Amid 

 the rocks and thickets close by hundreds of rabbits make 

 their homes; and here in the fall a covey or two of partridge 

 can .generally be found. In ibis coiineclioii let me just 



ve find partridge as often in the 

 indeed tliis year tiioiree appears to 

 d it dou'i tend 10 lessen the vexation 

 i.h uiieertaiti sbootiivtc .'iS partridge in 

 :xls, In have pev^a! "whirr" out of 

 ,.,,,.,-1 .,,,-,-. „f ,.,,,,-,.-, -, i-jj,jr the op- 



eb frcqueiit the ^Ciairai 

 ng in myriads 



iii'- 



du: 



:ral app/ari 



1 lei 



J ta 



izlli, whicl 

 at an angle of about foriy-iive de-i 

 the wing are trailed .straight beliiii 

 what the appearance, b.arriug the c 



lish pheasant. Theu- flight is even, extremely swift, straight 

 and duck -like, and let me hasten to add, astoitisliingly do- 



r reader 



wilder aiid 

 s have vroba- 





iri louiarly de- 

 I size and 

 ;he drake 

 "'-ut a foot 

 1-, are carried 



rom bis 



back, but on 



ri, aivii 



'Z binr some- 



of tiie 



L-ommon Eog- 



te 



it- 



111, fol- 



The amiic 



'-■•rds. Al- 



liketh' 



ceptivc. Wlien wounded they dive like a flash, and switn 

 long distfmees iiuder water. Great numbers of them Hy 

 nightly ovr^ the village on their way down from the river 

 above the Falls to Ontariei Ijake. 



The most comfortable inid favorable method of pursuing 

 this sport is to procure a good sized, roomy fishing boat— 

 for, unlike ordinal^ ducks, they do not seem to fear a boat, 

 so long as the hunter uses ordinary caution in keeping liim- 

 self Ota of Bight— a pipe and tobacco and some decoys. 

 Start about 7 a. M., if the weather is fiivornblc, from 5Ji- 

 figora to the mouth of the river, ancboir (he bant and "lay 

 law." Resting ou tlie lake, a short rii.i.iunce e>ul, thousands 

 of l.ijrds will be seen, and their peculiar, inu:-ieul cdII, " Huk ! 

 Huk! Cowax;!!:" cleirly tells us -vvhy they are so named. 

 Soon a fliiek. the advnuce guard, get under way, and head np 

 the river f.ir their ■■f.r.st course," wbie.h in this case will bx 

 iisli, more or le.'-g, as tbey have luck; and in- 1 ■ ... na 

 lioat tha ball oia-n.s, If our friend, the n n 



novice it will surprise hiin how mioiy fa;; h 



nialie wiihout taking anything into camp. \,- ..,1; .,,, ....sr 

 a pair eomine- straight "at him, low aLmg tiie wai 

 knowingly fondles his Greener, and mindful of ll 

 iium's carUiou to ■•put it ahead of them," lays ber 

 \m\T- earelully, and puil.s ; alier wdiich he siniUi.gly hioks 

 over the hanels to sec if be be.sn't killed both. " Two feet 

 behind ilie last one," quietly reniarbs tbepr 

 f.ides away, and aa he stares after the hi ■:■ 

 tliougli he doesn't say anything, a h: 

 into his eye, and lie grits hia teeth 



that the next one won't have a chatin ,,,.,^ ,,,„ 



last coujjle. And now flock ftflot flock, single pairs, over lum, 

 right, left and behind him, come thick and last ; and our 

 bewildered sportsman, growing excited, mnfccf; the other end 

 of the boat an uuitiviling spot, to Say i ' ' , . ;; - i,-,;- p,. 

 keeps tlic boatman busy "dodging tb: i iu/.:',li =, 



of which the air appears to liofull - n Iroin 



side to side. 



He bangs away both barrels into a Hock, .and sefioh' onr 

 Imnble out, thinks: "Well, there's one fellow won'i fra.i 

 mc any more." But as the bird strikeu the water the S|jiai- 

 ilies high and ilown he dives the inslnnt be strikes; the rnf- 

 Hed surface smoothes over, but no dead coweon decorates it. 



" Hello I well, now where the deuce did *e goP" And our 

 friend's mouth flies open so ftu- that Ibe punier feels a trifle 

 nervous. 



"Jio use looking for him; lie's only wounded, itnd'll 

 come up somewhere near Toronto Bay," 'says tlmt -svoriliy ; 

 forunlesskillcddead- andlhey urea'bout ashard to kiira- 

 a bull— it is almost useless to follow them. Perhaps, aftwr a 

 couple of hours, the tyro may have killed Iwelvo or Uftecu 

 birds and flred fifty shells to do it with. The sport is glu- 

 rious, but none but the initiated niav hope fur g.aod coiiuw. 



"The only regret one has ader a good uToinhig nirong 

 the coweens is, mi lono f It is simply "love's biborlosi," as 

 the gaiuc (V) lie has secm-ed is not at all a palatable dish' for 

 it is neither fish, flesh nor good red herring, aJthnugh pat tak- 

 ing largely of the nature of all three, being exclusively a fish 

 feeder; and while one might keep Lent oii tbein, yet as nn 

 (W-^r* I think I should prefer even the red herring. Still, 

 they do find their way into market, denudetl of their plul 

 mage, and transmogrified into wild ducks by the fishermen, 

 who Caleb Ibeni in tlieir gill lu.Ms, set d.ieu in the lake for 

 whitclisb. when, as the liuds are in hot pur.snit of some of 

 the smaller (isbe.s, they run l.lieii- beadii into the irie.shp«, and 

 being unable to exurieaie llHuiselves, lue drowned 'They 

 are generally purcliased hy "'ididing sliaugers and recentl'v 

 iiuporledbOiirdiiig-bou.^e heepers, who think to secure wil"d 



duck for their guests at bull beef li-i "e^ - Imwever, 



the aroma of the roasting fowl begin h. perme- 



ate the premises, the long sufleriiig ,. rme ac- 



cord (nem. con., as it were), move oui 1 .. , . hi-.Iitd, or 



camp in the back yard until such lime as tlie coltca upon the 

 hot .sliovel (y« old time deodorizer) lias been so vigorously 

 circulated as to pnrne nwiiy the "ancient and fish like sinoll." 



Aiewducl- h ■ " hh.r.e:'; , ' llled in the river 

 between Qn- I a .s ot -ducks, and 



even geese, ai hist Ibe cataract 



in thedarkiit; , .; ---.- „,... i..,-;.-.: .:,, ,..],,;.lcd or dead in 

 the eddies below. ^ 'Vy, w. B. 



TtrE Old Sqfaw ox Fkesh "^ xtvm— Niagara. Dct. 27 — 



Your issue of the 2.3d sa.ys, in speaking of the "old sf|ua^e, 



on iriian 



Tliij 



• ^.iae-ai 



thatiiere, after Octobi 

 trees as on the grouui' 

 have the preference, a. 

 usually attendaiit on s 

 even tlieir happie.si ni 

 the trees some twe'u 

 posite sidejof the in 



Twenty ycar.<! .ag 1 ranger in 



this vicinilV, whilh 1. iiidant; but 



the latter b a:: 1 lUer relative, un- 



til, with oiii iiicd to the most 



northern anil here is fast dimin- 



ishing innnniheis. m Tinnier years iius district w.as rc- 

 markably rich in gair.e, as il was densely wooded and well 

 wat,ered':^s(iortsmcn were few, and, save iii rare instances, the 

 old flintlock musket was nhoTit hne r'nly weapon, if we except 

 stones, wliieb the ai _ :> his command. Black 



squirrels thronged i.. - li'l piaeons used to — but 



I"he.sitafe here, for 1 - Liare light up the gentle 



reader's eye, anticipating Ihc eirlerly »tory of the man who 

 missed the flock and shot off the fiftecft bushels of legs ,- how- 

 ever, as the reader never flid me any barm, I will spare lum. 



The onlj' spring shooiii^g we have here 



that they a 



or as we call tbein here, eoi^een, are common on I 

 River its full length. A few years ago a friend imd I hIhh 

 fifty-six in ft day's shoot, over decoys^ and ou any irood day 

 we"could kill from ten to twenty, "\Vc sbet tbeiu fious a boat 

 in o;)en water, with no kind of "a blind J U.St threw out our 

 decoys and waited for them to come within shot. Thev decov 

 best iu the spring, after they have paired. We consider Iheiii 

 the hfudest duck to kill that flies. They not only fly swiftly. 

 but are very tenacious of life. They have regular flights in 

 the morning up the river and about "4 v. w. tiiey commence 

 to fly dowu and stay in the open lake ali night. Is^iabaka. 



DUCK SHOOTING AND GAME LAWS TS CANADA 



IHA^hE read with pleasure tho many reports of yoirr 

 game laws Ihrougbrait your Rtale-S, and they are dccitled- 

 ly as near perrecti..n us one could wisli. The only iroiible, 

 or I jiu^hi US" siroT:i:,;r hiosuage and say ctu-se. is the keep- 

 lugei every nerve mu.si be Strained arid 



prop the law breakers. 



{''■ oun in this p.irt of the world; he 



is ie> tjL piiir-ii. ■,', i!|i .j-akie la.w.s as pnalido of penalliBS as a 

 dog 01 tica*, yet be iia.s no redre.';.s. I was. )..iifi-irlcinatc enough 

 to dwell for a day on rbe tb.ouglits ut duck-shooting at Gron- 

 diues, about sixty miles west ui this pace, on the slrength 

 cf an assertion made by two sportsmen (?) as they landed 

 from the cars with two game bags full— "Any amount of 

 duck"— and next evening saw me on my way to the fruitful 

 siiooting nTouuds I landed from the cars ai a station about 

 rwelve nuleii east of Grondines, intending to try for snipe 00 

 my way up, and as I had a good dog anticipated at least half 

 .ido;eu brace. "Blessed is he who expects nothing." I 

 trainperl my twelve miles without seeing the leatherof a 

 .sou e and reached my deslmation pretty much "down in the 

 moutii-" Afoot all hour before daybreak, with everythini? 

 prepared for a day on the beach, and a %ht drizzling rain 

 with moderate easterly wind, my spirits were a littits. brighter 

 than the previous evening. I started, walked two miles for 

 the punt and paddl-iu n^ niiiny moie till Ireaclie.'T the duck 

 ponds, put uiy (l.c-- ys m order, arranged my ambu.sh, and 

 expected. I might be expecting there yet.. Saw a flock of 

 five passing aliout hall a mile to the north of me, and that 

 was all tljc wild duck I saw that day. On my return to ibe 

 bouse, raised a brace of smpe jmd brouglit them home with 



