>,ry 13, 1680.] 



FOEEST AND STREAM. 



33 



gattie g fag nt[ d §tn\. 



OA-rtE IN SEASON I K FEBP.CAET, 



Hares, in ' Wild duck, geese, brant, Gto. 



von niimw. 

 Deor,WUdTurkey.Woo.1cnedc,t;>iiail, Snipe, Tincks, and Wild Fowl. 

 " Bay irtrdS" generally, iiWJludingfvfirlona spoeiesol pic 



piper, snipe, curlew, oysici-eateher, surf birds, r'biilarepe--. av- 

 erts, etc., comciiK' under the pi-ncjii r,imnr,,br or Shore" tlh-ils. 



GAME AND FISH DIRECTORY. 







quested bo give 



id Fish Hesorte, our eOtteaponden 

 the following laarticuJai's, "with such other information a? they 

 may deem of vttlne; State, Town, County ; means CA access; Hotel 

 andother accommodations; Game and Its Season : Pish and to Sea- 

 son; floats, ("J mdes, etc.; N am e of pen-son to address;— af tor thefol- 

 lowins model :- 



.Minnesota New '/'«, Rrown Co.— -Hatched by Chicago and 

 Northwestern Railway, 167 trdtoa from chicag-o. Hotel— Mer- 

 chant's, Chas. lii-a- 1, proprietor : $" per day. Proprietor Is g-en- 

 uine.sporr sicca n ; best earn taken of dogs •' food driving fit reason- 

 able rates, i.Vm — In fall .titer An':. ISth, pinnated grouse; after 

 Sept. 1st, geese, brant, duck, mallard, canvas-buck, teal, etc.; 

 plover, orane and pelican; not plenty in sprint'. There are at 

 least a dozen lakes within il radius Of llftoeti miles, where ducks 

 are very plenty in fall, r'i>JeOM/-Not \ cry good; piekerel and 

 black bass. For big baits of s'ronse write to 



^ 0. M. il. H.ECDEJJ ur. 



NOW HA.YBN Gun Oi.itb.— Old squaws still tvmaiii un- 

 usually plentiful, with a good sprinkling of coots, The 

 Weather has been so windy of late that there has been but 

 little shooting done in that line. Foxes and rabbits are 

 Very gcarce. Armstrong & Pulton have concluded not 

 to furnish any more -ante for the East Haven hotels 

 through their agenl . ( 'apt. Stephen Thompson, We wore 

 surprised to see- Folsom's heart fail at the last feather ball 

 shoot, backed as he was by the little Alderman gun. Out 

 President expects a fine' rabbit dbg, which Howard is 

 breaking for him. He gave us a field trial exhibition in 

 Pop's store the other night, and all 'declared it first class. 

 Scissor Action. 



New jEfiSBT— Toms River, Feb. 1th.— Some ice this 

 week, but all gone again. Yesterday, Friday, was the best 

 Bhooting da reason in Mosquito Cove. Thirty- 



eight red-head duties were killed ami bagged in one 

 stand by two men, and good scores were made all round. 



8. K., Je. 



Tennessee— Nashville, Feb. tsi.— Foxes, quail, and fisfi 



are abundant — each can be found Within a few miles of 



lie ' .1 ■ ■-. and dogs. guns, and fishing tackle of the most 



approved kinds are always ready for any kindred spirit 



which may chance our way. J. D. If. 



Ais Kansas— Mo.ysiiille, Feb. etc.— Hunting here has 

 been poor owing to the warm weather, vet a large 

 number of deer and turkeys ha\e been killed by the In- 

 dians, and hardly a day passes that one or more saddles 

 are not brought to town (current price fifty to seventy- 

 five oen B in I rade). Quails, ducks, etc., in abundance 

 now, but chickens very scarce. E. S. 



.In-'Lsmipoi't, Feb 3d. —Geese and ducks here in fai 

 numbers now on account, we presume, of the cold weathe 

 They are very wild. No other sport. No fishing as yet 

 but in that respect " every prospect pleases." Yell. 



Montana.— Mr. Jameson, the young Irish baron, who 

 for the past ,r> i\ years lias journeyed from the green 

 sod to engage in hunting and fishing sports in Montana, 

 was unusually su sc ssful this season, his wagons return- 

 ing loaded with the antlers of elk, on osej deer, mountain 

 sheep and antelope, and the pelts of grizzly and black 

 hear, mountain lion, lynx, wild oat and other splendid 

 trophies of the chase. " These valuable possessions, care- 

 fully preserved and packed, have gone forward to the old 

 country, while Mr. Jameson, disbanding his party of 

 four, -and accompanied by his body servant, starts .soon 

 on a journey around the world. 



Ducking on Big Swan. — Pillshuri/, Minn,., Jan. 3627t. 

 —This lake is situated about 115 miles northwest of 'Sfc 

 Paul and is known as Big Swan, It is four mileB long 

 and a trifle over a mile in width, and its eastern shore 

 - red . i ■.-. patches of wild rice which make it just 

 the place for ducks. In Company With a gentleman 

 from Massachusetts, we took our, lock boat and at early 

 dawn started for the lake, and after some rather hard 

 pulling against the stream i ye preferred taking the Outlet 

 of the lake for our path rather than the overland route) 

 wo soon came to the large lied of rice just at the foot 

 of the lake, where our fun began, We have not space 

 to describe that day's sport. Lute suffice it ^> say we 

 bagged sixty-seven ducks and took a good nap at noon in 

 the bargain'. A sportsman can reach tins lake at a cost 

 of about $7 from St. Paul. via. Little Falls. Board can 

 be had from $2.50 to $3 per week. Sportsmen desiring 

 to visit the place would have a much better tune if the' 

 would bring camping Outfit along with them. The wafer 

 abounds in pickerel, black rock and "calico" bass, and 

 nearly every kind of fish incident to fresh writer. They 

 bite very readily and we have taken from thirty to forty 

 in one day with fly bait. As we sit by the window pen- 

 ning these few lines we look out and count twenty-nine 

 prairie chickens within easy reach of my choke-bore 

 which hangs on the wall. My linger slightly itches to 

 press the trigger of my ceulraf-fire Winchester, which is 

 sure to cut their heads off, but. alas I the law is out, and 

 I must not indulge. Any .sportsman desiring to know- 

 more about this place can do so by making it known 

 through the columns of JEOBEST AND Stuuam, or by in- 

 closing stamp and addressing as above, 



A. D, CAIU'ENTEB. 



The Anciknt Duok Katuks.— K. M. Pool, the eel i I or of 

 the Niagara Falls (N, Y.) Gazette has been inducted into 

 a gastronomies! society of that town whose members are 

 not only sportsmen, but ban vi cants its well : — 



The "Honorable Order of Aucient Duck Later?" is a local 

 society of quite recent origin whose object of existence is 

 unmistakably' acknowledged in its name. The member. 

 ship at present comprises Messrs. J. M, Witmer, H, H. 



Sheldon, C. E. Davis, 0, 11. Piper, Win. Samways. S. T. 

 Murray. H, f\ Pierce, John P. Hulett. Win, Pool. James 

 H. Boyd and E. 1\1, Pool, BJessre. "Witmer end Sheldon 

 have been the hosts at both the "Grand Eats " that have 

 been given, 



The order have had two sittings at Mens. Honiaiuo's 

 Rendezvous Francais, the second last Wednesday even- 

 ing, -and we can bear witness as a duly initiated member 

 i ih society that the cognomen of i he order is no vain 

 1 empty sounding phrase, but that membership implies 

 intimate acquaintance with fowl the date of whoso 

 i.lh the memory of man runneth not back to recall. 

 The mantle of venerable antiquity that enfolds the fra- 

 grant dishes is not woven, however, of unsocial and un- 

 penetrable 1 gravity, but in its impalpable presence adds a 

 very marked and' peculiar niirthfulnoss io the spirits of 

 all." 



Last Saturday evening Mine Host Isaacs, of the Pros- 

 pect House, gave an elegant banquet to a .number of in- 

 vited friends from both sides of the river. The invited 

 guests Who were present were Messrs. C. E, Davis. .1. M. 

 Witmer, J. V. Carr, H. II. Sheldon. Geo. E. Curtis, L. W. 

 Peilebouc. K. 0. Fulton and R. M. Pool, of Niagara 

 Falls; and Messrs. T. Y. Ellis and Chas. Davis, Of the 

 town of Clifton. .Messrs. S. T. Murray, H. F. Pierce, 

 F, R, Delauo. H. S. Ware and A. .T. Hamlin, of this place. 

 and J. P. Hulett, of Clifton, were unable to be present, 

 and sent their regrei... 



Buckshot in Chuke Sokes.— North Platte, Neb., Feb. 

 -Uh.—l notice in your issue of Jan. 39th two articles on 

 buckshot in choke bore guns. I like both of those gen- 

 tlemen's mode ol loading, but 1 have met with more and 



etter success by loading in the following manner, using 

 a full choke No. io gun: 5 5rs. of Duponfa eagle duck 

 No, 1 powder, using J pink edge wads on powder as tight 

 as can be put by hand. The gun will chamber 3 No. 4 

 buckshot nicely' at the muzzle. I put 9 of them in the 



hell ; ad pour hot tallow and white wax upon the shot, 

 and place a thin black edge wad upon them with a neat 

 crimp. With such loads I have killed deer at 110 yards. 

 1 killed seven out of ten deer dead, the distance varying 

 from 83 to 110 yards, and wounded two so that they 

 could not get away, and followed the other one for one- 

 half mile and found him, a big buck weighing 180 lb3., 

 dead. Most of the sportsmen here have their shells 

 loaded in this way. W. W. C. 



Lakui: Shot in Choice Bores.— Dunbarton, N. H., 

 Feb. 1st. — Why do not some of your contributors who 

 have been describing their several different methods of 

 loading choke bores with large-sized shot give the targets 



the;, ettfl make at long range, say 80 yards, instead of 

 saying that such and such a load will stop a defer at 75 

 yards simply because they may have killed one at that 

 distance. Surely a load which" woidd give agood average 

 at 80 yards, in a 30-or 40-inch target would be mure satis- 

 factory than an occasional good target at a much longer 

 distance. A couple of years ago, while making arrange- 

 ments to go to Florida, I tried a few shots with buckshot 

 in a 10 bore 91, pound gun, 5 drs. powder, 15 buckshot 

 chambered at muzzle, at 90 yards, 40 inch target. The 

 first shot put 5 shot in a. 34-ineh circle m centre of target. 

 I then thought I had the best gun for buckshot I had 

 overseen, but after several shots changed my mind, as 

 sometimes I never struck the target at all, and in most 

 cases only put one or two shot in the 40-inch square. 

 Since then 1 have tried many of the different ways of 

 loading, such as filling space" between shot with incited 

 wax and tallow-, using sections of paper cartridges cut to 

 fit the muzzle of gun, etc., but never could get as 

 good an average as with loose shot.. < livelier, in his work 

 on choke bores, states that a good gun loaded with buck- 

 shot which chamber at muzzle and the space between the 

 shot filled with melted tallow, should put the whole 

 charge inside the bead of a flour barrel at 40 yards, This 

 may be so, but it is very much better shooting than I 

 have ever seen. 



Now, dropping the buckshot, I would like to ask some 

 of your readers (who own close-shooting guns) what 

 woidd be an extra good target for a 13 or 10 bore gun, 

 with 4 or 5 drs. powder. 14- BB shot, at 30-inch target, at 

 80 yards. The best shooting I have seen with this size 

 of shot was made with a 10 bore 10 lbs. Parker gun at 45 

 yards, 24-inch target, six shots, the average was 33. Same 

 gun and same charge (4 drs. l±oz.), at 30 yards, 30 inch 

 target, 4 shots, averaged 11}. The 80 yards target was 

 made oil-hand, shooter holding about two or three inches 

 above centre of target. Some of the guu makers say 

 that they never have targeted their guns at this distance, 

 and do not know what woidd be considered extra good. 

 I think it would interest us to know what to expect from 

 a good gun at this distance with the sized shot I have 

 named. C. M. S. 



RECOIL Pads.— Loudon, Jan. Villi.— Editor Forest and 

 Stream .-—In yourpaper of Dec. 18th I notice the follow- 

 ing : " A La Porte, la., gunner was lying in the bottom of 

 a boat, and discharged his gun at some ducks, but not 

 having it firm against his shoulder, the recoil ' was with 

 sjjch force that he broke his collarbone." It will, no 

 doubt, interest your readers to learn thai a Bimple device 

 for preventing accidents of that ualure. or rather for pre- 

 venting a gun from kicking at all, is no w adopted by 

 many English sportsmen and military and naval officers. 

 The device is theinventionofCoi.fi. A. SiLor. Of the 

 eminent firm of S. W. Silver & Co., of London, and con- 

 sists simply of an anti-recoil heel plate, composed partly 

 of hard rubber and partly of soft vulcanized rubber, 

 joined firmly together, and fitted on to the butt of the gun, 

 H makes a very neat finish, and will wear as long as the 

 guu lasts. No effort has so far been made to introduce 

 the device into America, but Col. Silver has secured a 

 United States patent, and intends soun to send samples of 

 his heel plates for inspection by American sportsmen 

 and others interested in shooting. Joseph I.uxun. 



Quail Shooting in Texas. — San Autovio, Texas, Jan. 

 39f/t„— The quail of Texas are some what different from 

 those of the North ; not in looks but in habits. An early 

 start found us by 7 a.m. amongst the corn fields of the 

 Colorado River. Our dogs, two as fine blood as can be 

 had, found scent within ten yards of the fence we had 

 just climbed. J V, gun gave them both barrels, mine one 

 — not a feather. Shot too quick, without a decided aim, 

 Birds well marked down by tall weeds ; hieing our dogs 



i on ; a tramp of half an hour ; decided the birds had run. 



[ Dogs came to a point 800 yards further on ; abird to each 



of our guns. Coviesweli scattered and afforded us two 



I shooting and many a one missed for another 



time. "It's strange," remarked J.. " how much shot a 

 cpia.il can carry." We entered another field : Sepi I I ..' 

 and had oitrdogs on two separate covins about the same 

 time. Banging awav a half-dozen shells, had them wall 

 scattered and working into each other till we had them 

 rising like snipe; still .1. was not satisfied ; his shells 

 were" too heavy. "Loaded too much powder," he re- 

 marked ; "four drachms. How much do you shoot .,"' I 

 remarked, "I always give a sun all she wi'll stand under, 

 12gauge, Bilbs., charge 5 drs., Ijozs. No. 9 shot, is what 



I us- at trap and quail, duck or anything come- 

 Use a good gun and pay a liberal price forlt ; it's a plea- 

 sure to use a fine tool." I like to see a bird drop as if hit 

 hard, which cannot be done yvith small changes, t allow 

 some guns do not require such charges, buflt's theexcep- 

 tion, not the rule. Wo had our shooting coats well lined, 

 and started to deposit in our wagon. Still out dogsc me 

 to several points, and .1. made some remarkably good 

 shots, dropping; a quail full 50 yards by giving six feet 

 holdahead. Further on we sialde ! . ha -. eii' n e ,, Yor , 

 Ashe neared I held on him. He seemed perfi etl , safe 

 had taken a good measure with his sharp eye. I ran my 

 gun about six; feet ahead and touched the IfiJ I - 1 iggt r, to 

 see him. double up and strike the hard ground just five 

 yards behind us. "Big loads," I remarked, "'always 

 count." Depositing our game in a safe place from hawks, 

 we agreed to hunt the Colorado bottoms, a mas . ,; ■ 

 vines, weeds eight feet high, mixed up with small post 

 oaks. Thodogs cotdd not be seen ten feet ahead, :-n,| 

 quail in all directions, perched on tree's and darn. 

 our heads in such confusion that we could not Bin i ' ■■ 



for fear of striking each other ; birds fell every when ,i 



the dogs were confused, dropping one bird to pick up an- 

 other. Wo gathered what we could find, just .48, and 

 started for home to get the cockle burrs out of our boots, 

 pants and sleeves. Our dogs, orange and white, would 

 have been taken for red Irish on sigh t. 1 ha <7e seen these 

 same dogs hunt all one hot day covered with burrs, cue 

 with three needles of the prickly pear through her nose, 

 and still ready to stand a point and retrieve her bird. 

 It's said a setter cannot stand Texas. I have seen the 

 Spanish pointer, fool-sore, tail bleeding', lying under a 

 shade, his master using a whip to get him out to no pur- 

 pose : our blue bloods, tongue bloody but still game, and 

 having to be called in. ranging too' wide. I believe to 

 keep pace with our bred dogs a sportsman must handle 

 hammerless guns, the most improved shooting coats, 

 belts and every approved tool, and he may just keep even 

 with them. ' Almo. 



The Young Tkappehs.— They were brothers, aged res- 

 pectively nine, eleven, ami thirteen, named Nathaniel, 

 Peter, and Philip, whom the boys used to call for short. 

 "Nat," "Pete," and "Phil." Likeall otheircountry boj 3 

 thirty vears ago, they were suddenly struck v. ifhamauia. 

 for trapping and snaring rabbits. The «,,,„Uin which they 

 plied their amateur skill were situated three-fourths 

 of a mile from their native New Jersey village, on a 

 farm owned by one Dr. Kissam, who had in his employ a 

 negro called Joe, who took very kindly to boys. ~ The 

 heavy timber of the woods had been cut down two or 

 three years before, and the old stumps were fringed with 

 anew growth of saplings, which were- about the right 

 size to bend down for snares. It was a crisp November 

 afternoon when the voting trappers struck a. bee-line for 

 the woods. Boy? always go " cross lots " when bent on 

 fun. As for the fences, they skip through or over them 

 like grasshoppers, and like them they care but little for 

 the growing crops. Then, too, what wonderful feats of 

 pedestrianism thev are capable of ! First it is a quick walk, 

 so that the smaller lads have to trot to keep up, and then 

 a run, faster and faster as they near the Spot where they 

 are to have their sport. Well, thev reached 6hi ..a 

 in fine glee, With all the necessary implements of war in 

 hand, strings, jack-knives, and sweet ap il (or bait. 

 They had little difficulty, with Joe's help, who joined 

 them in the woods, in selecting suitable places for their 

 snares. Hv sunset all were ready ha' the unwary little 

 •■ cotton tails." The three sides of a hollow square were 

 laid up. the sapling bent, the string tied on, the noose 

 adjusted, and the bait placed. There were thre6— Ofte 

 for each boy. Nat's was nearer the edge, of the woods 

 than the others. 



What expectations awoke in their breasts that night I 

 How lively their imaginations worked 1 How they' fell 

 asleep with their minds full of snares, and their first 

 thoughts Ul the morning were about them. Pete woke 

 Nat, with whom he slept, and then called Phil, in the 



Tn 



els, 



though it \ 



bags as to Joe's honesty, and feared that he might have it 



in his mind to go there before there, and rob them of their 



gatnOi 



By tho time they reached the woods it had grown 

 a little lighter, and as they approached the first; snare. 

 Phil, who was ahead, shouted out, "Nat's snare is 

 sprung." They all struck a run fhriaigh the bush's, and, 

 coming closer," " He's got a rabbit," cried pete, "No." 

 said P'hil, "it's two white for a rabbil ; it's a "possum." 

 When thev arrived at the spot the truth came out to then? 

 utter dismay ; it was a sheep. Such a soared lol Of boys 



you never saw, The „■ ij wen in the pasturegrounds, 



and I hey had actually caught one of the Doctor's sheep. 

 What to do was the question, after they had recovered 

 some from I heir great surprise and alarm. Near by was 

 the stump of a tree which bad blown over. The over- 

 throw had made an excavation where the roc ■ ;sd 

 to be, and they resolved to drag the lifeless carcass into 

 that, which they did, and covered it, up as well as they 

 could with leaves. Then thev hastened to the other 

 snares, which were found unmolested, completed demol 

 ished them all, and returned homo in a eery different 

 mood, aS can be readily imagined, from that which limy 

 were in when they went there with hea.rls lull 

 anticipation. For one whole week, while Joe was hunt 

 ie: i he c .uidrv over for that losl sbeep. i he- young trap- 

 pers went about like little Criminals, canwee u h 

 anxious bosoms the guilty secret. By-attd-by h shee] 

 was found; the mode of its death discovered, and it ia- 

 rolved upon the father of theyoungtra] pars to pai brife, 



and with a. horsewhip to put a most cmpletl ie linish to the 

 episode. The boys, however, we, .,,.. luiopirdpn 



that a sound thrashing is a light affliction compared with 

 the agony of bearing about in one's bosom a :,■• 

 cret. Hix, - 



