388 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



TJUNT! 17, IBM. 



wagon load of oats for Brown's? and Cedar Run. We 

 started at o'clock, while the air was fragrant with iln- 

 perfumeof tlio honeysuckle an.l other wild Mowers, and 

 tinging with the melody ul' the wood robin, robin red- 

 breast, lark and myriads of songsters, whose noted be- 

 come so familiar lo the lovers of nature. Bless IJJQ, what, 

 a delightful morning it was ! Joe declared it to he will 

 worth" the journey, if only to imbibe lie i 

 morning air while we enjoyed the rugged mountain 



The sun soon threw Bis radiant bean. 

 mountain lop, then into the valley below, lighting op 

 each dewy grass blade with aspadHing brilliancy, onlj 

 equalled by nature in this charming mood of hers. How 

 every little violet and buttercup nodded and fairly 

 laughed as the crystal dewdrop rolled from its petals to 

 the grass below, giving yet another merry sparkle ere it 

 hid from the threatening sun. How nimble and jolly 

 seemed the chipmunks, as they chased each other over 

 the fences and disappeared into the stone piles with a 

 merry chir-rrr-rip as our proximity grew threateningly 

 near." All nature seemed to be in perfect accord, and no 

 disturbing element was anywhere manifested. Even the 

 crows plucked the farmer's young corn, unmindful of 

 our approach, seemingly conscious that no malice could 

 prevail in the farmer's 'bosom at sight of their despolia- 

 tiou upon such a charming morning. 



Reaching Brown's, who had returned since pur last 

 visit, his horse and buggy were employed to carry us up 

 the precipitous mountain road to the dam on Cedar Run. 

 Iu and about this dam we fished all day long, bringing 

 lie fish to creel, and dining sumptuously, as on 

 the day before. At dark we fished in the pool below the 

 dam, and succeeded in raising many large fish thai; were 

 too shy to rise to our Hies during the day. At 9 o'clock 

 we ieft the pool, entirely satisfied with the day's Sport, 

 and drove down the winding, rugged road toward our 

 stopping place. Through the pale moonlight, which now 

 and then appeared through the gathering, threatening 

 clouds, we had glimpses of the valley, nearly a thousand 

 feel lulow, where the thread-like, silvery stream mean- 

 dered and rippled among the huge boulders. As we 

 approached the larger valley of Bine Greek, loftier hills 

 were seen faintly outlined against the sky, until a black 

 cloud, floating oyer the face of the moon, left us in total 

 darkness and iu doubt as to the ability of our gentle ani- 

 mal Co hud his way along the narrow, winding road 

 without precipitating us into the dark chasm below, At 

 last we reached the valley, and Brown, having heard our 

 shouting on the hills, appeared upou the opposite bank 

 of the creek, lantern in hand— a sort of beacon light— to 

 guide us safely across the ford to his comfortable home. 



We had now accomplished two full days of angling, 

 and. having taken an inventory of our feelings and de- 

 sires. Joe and I concluded that we had had exercise 

 enough, and fish we certainly had in abundance. There- 

 fore we sought transportation for Antrim. 



And right here commenced our trouble, A circus 

 was advertised to spread its tents in Welisboro, twenty- 

 seven miles distant, on the following day, and as a con- 

 sequence every spring wagon on Bine Greet, for miles 

 around, was engaged by the dwellers along the creek to 

 take them to the show." Not; a vehicle of any sort or de- 

 scription could be had at any price. While we were de- 

 bating what to do iu such an emergency, the denizens of 

 the alley had commenced their migration to the distant 

 village, that they might be there early in the tnornmj 

 to "see the show conic in." Mrs. Brown and her niece 

 had preempted the horse and buggy which we had used 

 during the day, and intended starting for the show 

 grounds at 3 o'clock in the morning. At last a chap was 

 found who was going to the show with a common far- 

 mer's wagon, without springs, and alone. He intended 

 Starting at it2 o'clock (hat very night, and Joe and I— 

 blamed fools that we were— engaged to ride with him. 

 At 1.30 o'clock, in the midst of a rain storm, that be- 

 nighted, show-struck plebeian drove up to the house ami 

 shouted for us to appear. We piled our baggage and 

 ourselves into his dirty farm wagon, Joe to, i. 

 the driver, while i occupied the rear of the long wagon 

 box (when it stood still lung enough!, seated on top of inv 

 weU-filled leather bag. For the first mile it became ai) 

 exciting and somew hat interesting contest— to Joe— be- 

 tween myself and the black bag, as to which should gel 

 On lop of the olhev the greatest number of times in a 

 given number of minutes. Joe professes to have kept 

 tally, and Hatters me by saying that I kept my end up 



E ratty well, considering the opportunity I had. That bag 

 ad a way of gelling from under me, when Wfi .mirk a 

 rocky spot in the road (which unhappily occurred every 

 rod or two), that would have demoralized aless deter- 

 mined spirit than mine. 1 could bear the pokes in my 

 ribs from the sides of the wagon, and even the curva- 

 tures occasioned to my spine occasioned from the tktuup- 

 ings of the wagon's tail piece, for they scarcely ever 

 struck precisely the same spot; but this' everlasting sit- 

 ting down in identically the same place On the wagon 

 bottom as the black bag shot from under me to find its 

 determined position in the opposite end of the wagon. 

 .Tib, Ul say the least, humiliating to one's feelings, and 

 calculated to take the bottom out of the most spirited 

 and plucky of individuals. 



"But everything has an end.'' Never before was this 

 saying so fully, so consciously, I might add, realized by 



me. And so u. loan end at last, for we 



reached Welisboro at B.80 in the morning- wet, hungry, 



Sleepy, footsore ! Joe says the soreness isn't properly lo- 

 cated) and fully persuaded that, rather than repeat the 

 ride, We would risk our bodily comfort in the regions of 

 the damned. 



At this writing we are at home. 1 haven't seen Joe, 

 but hear that if his stock of brandy and brown paper 

 holds out he expects to be at his usual place of business 

 hi the course of a week. 



A singular story reaches me from the Pine Creek road, 

 that it seems fa have rained trout along thai route last 

 week. 1 do not pretend to account for the phenomenon. 

 but f do know that not a trout was to be found in either 

 of our creels when we reached Welisboro, And all this 

 justifies ray opening sentence. 



they long for their 



strength of their bar- 

 isy welcome to the te- 

 nderers of rivers and 

 ro longer un- 



SPR1NG SHOOTING IN ILLINOIS. 



TUB .guns have had a, long quarantine across the 

 mounted head of a noble stag, which has been as- 

 signed to them as a post of honor. If they could only 



Speak, they would no doubt (ell mo how weary they are 

 ,,f their ignoble inactivity, ho 

 measured rations to testify" to tin 

 rels. and to extend again 'their n 

 turning hosts of the winged v, 



Their silent petition 

 heeded ; the latent enthusiasm of their master reawaken: 

 in its wonted force, and he gathers up at last his various 

 implements of the sportsman's craft to equip himself for 

 the coming holiday. He has anxiously waited for it for 

 fnany a day, and lie longs to listen again to the soft me- 

 lodious drumming of the snipe, and to enjoy once more 

 iho delicious tremor which sets his nerves all vibrating, 

 whan the sound of the alarmed cry of the flushed bird 

 strikes his ear. 



It is, however, quite a long way to realize all of these 

 anticipations. In the days of aukf langsyne, a distance of 

 a couple of hundred miles would have offered serious ob- 

 stacles to a snipe shooting excursion. By help of our 

 iron-bound highways distances have been marvelously 

 lessened, and the swift locomotive almost rivals the 

 winds in its speed. All inconveniences of old-fashion 

 travel have, likewise been blotted out, and the modern 

 palace car is but a transformation of a fixed into a moving 

 home, which traverses day and night hundreds of miles, 

 while its occupants enjoy a comfortable night's rest. 

 Such is now once more our own lot. The deeply-wooded 

 hills around Lake Chautauqua soon fade into (he dis- 

 tance : the level plains of Northern Ohio are crossed 

 while we are soundly asleep, and by noon of next day 

 the whole scenery has become entirely changed into the 

 monotonous aspect by which the rolling prairies of Cen- 

 tral Illinois are characterized. Severe competition has 

 now brought railroads to such a standard of perfection 

 that the majority are about equally good and afford ail 

 of the conveniences the most fastidious traveler could 

 possibly exact. While this, however, is true in respect to 

 passengers of the human species, the same can hardly be 

 said in respect to their four-footed friends and compan- 

 ions who are in the case of the sportsman the most indis- 

 pensable portion of his outfit. While sleeping and dining 

 cars administered profusely to my own bodily wants, the 

 rough and jarring floor of the baggago car had to sub- 

 stitute the comfortable home kennel of the poor animal 

 in my charge, wdio patiently endures all possible hard- 

 ships, as long as he imagines that they are indispensable 

 preliminaries to an enjoyable shooting trip. There is cer- 

 tainly a sore need for a few common sense regulations, 

 which ought to govern the transportation of dogs on 

 railroads, since, they are there the more liable to accidents 

 than under other circumstance. As, however, matters 

 stand at present, no uniform steps toward amelioration 

 of the many complaints made in respect to dogs have 

 been taken. They are left without any positive guaran- 

 tee of their safety to the care of careless baggage mas- 

 ters, who, with few except 

 ceraed about the comfort of the charges committed 

 to their care, and charge on many roads purely arbitrary 

 extortion tees. There are but a few isolated exceptions to 

 Shis unwarranted mismanagement, and the Lake Shore 

 tad Michigan Southern is to my knowledge the only 

 road which has devised a business-like programme by 

 which to adjust this difficulty. While traveling on it, 

 the owner of the dog is insured against all accidents and 

 loss, while a peremptory stop is put to the wholesale ex- 

 tortions which are on most roads practiced by baggage- 

 masters upon those whom circumstances place at thei 



—The oilier day, when a Uetk I 

 ginHt ('ii.v- altd wheeled 



bowiiiun and " bone Archer of l 



It was a lonsrskor, l.utit w 



through ihe air turf peueinueil o 



I over Vir- 

 l irolpa, Ufcy, ttao Inns- 



■'■ fi weal wliiaaTng 

 j of tlie wings of a liyer, vnus- 



pti it to flutter uud lusu plan in the bw&iSaorfmwto Bfe?, 



mercy, It would be 



well for many lines we could 



name, if they wisli to 



norease their patronage, to adopt 



likewise the excellent 



rules made in this respect by the 



Lake Shore. It costs bj 



it only the trifling sum of seventy- 



ELKS (o forward a 



dog the distance of more than 500 



miles from Buffalo U 



ago. Over and above this 



signal reduction of ay 



erage charges, a printed receipt is 



furnished which guars 



utees the owner in case of loss the 



paj aent of two bundr 



ed dollars, providing his property 



can be proven to be w{ 



rth the same, or even more, if he 



chooses to pay above 



these stipulated regular charges, 



By giving the baggage 



master a trilling fee to insure his 



.... 



I treatment of the dog committed 



ko tus c km he is sure t 



j find a cozy, warm, resting corner 



icnt water and food to make his journey as 

 comfortable as circumstances admit. 



By payment of the usual extortion fees we 

 landed at last, dog and all, at Chicago, which 

 is in the midst of a sort of hunter's modern 

 paradise, and though some grounds beyond it may be 

 better than others, there is still an abundance of game 

 along all of the roads leading from that city in any direc- 

 tion of the compass. Most of the river courses of the 

 State offer excellent duck shooting, while also during fall 

 and spring large bags of snipo are made on the immense 

 tracts of alluvial lands which fringe their shores. There 

 is no doubt that the large armies of migratory water 

 fowl which resort to the rivers and marshes of the middle 

 belt of the United States follow chiefly two principal 



igl . tys of migratory travel, One of these is along the 

 lowlands ■•■ the coasts, where the shallow bays of the 

 deeply indented shores afford an inexhaustible supply of 

 food, while the other division takes its course along the 

 ■oral artery of the continent, the Mississippi 

 River. Thence they debouch into its innumerable ad- 

 joining marshes, bayous and confluents, which thus at 

 proper seasons are literally swarming with w T ater fowl of 

 all kinds. 



It is only a few hours of travel from Chicago to some 

 of the best points on the Illinois River, which empties at 

 Peoria into the Mississippi. Wo left at lo o'clock hi the 

 morning, and enjoyed the same day a comfortable after- 

 noon's shooting at the pleasantly situated town of Morris, 

 yhere we obtained the first glimpse of the Illinois River. 



ngof tL„ , 

 Fox, lies Haines and'l- 

 count of the surplus of 

 IttUHS River then truly ranks 



tiful valley along w 

 da ' 



ders, the 

 kakec. are overflowing on ac- 

 id melting snows, the 11- 

 ; a first-class water course. 

 :\i it winds its way SI 'me 



is until its bordering bluffs 



Leu a, couple of mdes apart, As the immediate 



are low. they are subject to overflows, an, 



ted into one vast sheet of water, which has thus, 



here and there, the appearance ofa large lake, rather than 



that of a river with well defined shores, 



There are also many islands dotting its surface. Tbey 

 have undoubtedly been com cited inf. such from a for 

 rner peninsular condition by the eroding power of rim- 

 ing water, which finds no obstacle for new channels 

 during high floods iu the sol I and yielding nature of idle 

 soil through which it flows. They are mostly deeply 

 wooded, and fringed With a heavy growth of willows, in 

 virtue of which, particularly when i.verflooded, they offer 

 the most tempting feeding and roosting grounds possible 

 to thousands upon thousands of wild duck and geese, on 

 their passage North or South. 



Notwithstanding this great abundance of game, there 

 are well defined times of the year when they are in full 

 flight only, and during spring, even from the 35th of 

 March to the 10th of April, the sportsman 13 apt to find 

 the ducks gradually disappearing, and the snipe but 

 sparsely arriving. The former come here in heavy flocks 

 about the 5th ofMareh, and from that time until the lat- 

 ter end of the month the sport is at its height. Toward 

 the. beginning of April, however, their ranks arc getting 

 thinned, and large bags of wdiat, are here called bij du 

 arc no longer made. Where fifty mallards or more are 

 in the beginning — a by no means surprising result of a 

 day's sport— a dozen later on is all that can be reason- 

 ably expected from an average day's shooting, The 

 weather is in the meantime still backward, and the 

 snipe. Which would more than compensate for the falling 

 off of the big game, have not yet arrived to fill the gap. 

 It is fair to assert, hi regard to Central and Northern Il- 

 linois, that heavy snipe shooting can hardly be expected 

 before the 15th of Aprfl. It is true that these birds often 

 arrive as early as the latter end of March, but they are 

 then merely the advance guard of the main body of the 

 great army, which does not move until green streaks of 

 vegetation variegate the monotonous aspect of the yel- 

 low and brown fringes of the river bottoms. The first 

 comers are, overmore, very wild and in poor condition. 

 They will not lie wed before the dog, and often rise at 

 distances of over fifty yards or more, since they have not 

 settled down to their proper feeding grounds, where later 

 on they lie often close enough to bear approach within a 

 few feet. In some of these respects they do probably not 

 differ essentially from many other migratory species like 

 the robin, whose cheery song may be heard very early in 

 March, though in Western New- York at least the main 

 body ol these birds do not arrive until the beginning of 

 April. The strongest, hardiest and most venturesome 

 flyers arrive generally a few weeks iu advance, and these 

 are mostly, u° not exclusively, composed of males. That 

 such is tlie ease in respect to many ducks is borne out by 

 the testimony of the first receipts of the season iu the 

 game markets, which often display in early March assort- 

 ments of hundreds of male inallarda, the fine plumage of 

 which would support the assumption that they are old 

 birds, well qualified to endure long flights. 



Arrived at Morris' unfortunately about the time when 

 many of the ducks had come and gone, and when snipe 

 still luxuriated along the warm, food-teeming marshes of 

 the southern part of "the State. Where in the latter end of 

 April bags of a hundred or even more could have been 

 made in a single day, half a dozen or so was now 

 meager reward for a long tramp along as beautiful and 

 tempting grounds as any sportsman could wish for. It 

 is, however, but a short distance from there to Henry, 

 Marshall County, which is one of the most famous duck 

 localities of the State, and thither, to make up for disap- 

 pointments in snipe, we wended next our way. But a 

 few unlea beyond that place is Chillicothe, where there 

 are probably each spring more ducks shipped for the 

 Chicago market than from any point along the whole 

 range of the. great game grounds east of the Mississippi. 

 It Beems to me that some restrictive laws should be passed 

 to stop the immense slaughter made here by pr 

 market hunters. As long as it is cold the game slaugh- 

 tered by these destroyers reaches the great metropolitan 

 markets in tolerably* fair condition, but when a spell of 

 warm weather intervenes hundreds of ducks become 

 spoiled and are thrown into dung carts like so much pu- 

 trid offal. The game dealer himself realizes no profits 

 from a traffic subject to uncertainties of the weather, 

 and thus in the nature Of tilings pays prices far below the 

 actual value which game as an article of choice food 

 should command, 



The market therefore becomes overstocked; tainted and 

 fresh ducks are all mixed up indiscriminately, and sold 

 finally at great losses to get rid of them. All this could 

 be altered if properly enforced laws did not permit their 

 killing after the 1st of April. The continually increasing 

 destruction wrought evermore upon them by professional 

 loafers can lead in the long run only to their final exter- 

 mination, The efficiency of firearms is now, overmore, 

 much in advance of old-fashioned tools, and an army of 

 pot-hunters armed with them now lines the whole length 

 of the Illinois River, where formerly hardly a sboi dis- 

 turbed the flocks of passing ducks, which are now deci- 

 mated in the most reckless manner. 



The amount of havoc inflicted upon them may be esti- 

 mated by a single illustration. I was, while at Henry, 

 assured on good authority that a party of from eleven to 

 thirteen market hunters" stationed at Chillicothe never 

 averaged less for three weeks in early spring than 600 

 ducks each day. This is only one point of many, al- 

 though probably one of the best, and th 

 will ducks will go on for some years to come in the most 

 extravagant manner until they have all been extermin- 

 ated alter the lashion of the larger game, which is already 

 fast disappearing. Henry is stul at present a cozy corner 

 for a sportsman. The accommodations which are to be 

 had there at the Raskoll House are unsurpassed by any in 

 the State outside of the large cities, while its bill of faro 

 rivals in excellence that of the best kept hotels in the 

 country! It is but a step from its comfortable precinctB 

 to the noble, broad river, all teeming with life at the 

 proper season, and the comforts of life may thus be an- 

 . Jointly with the delights of excellent shooting. 

 naturally quite a number of hunters living in 

 „ad about that town. The most. Of them, however, make 

 duck hunting their only specialty, as they find a ready 

 market for their game : ami although the prices paid for 

 't are onlv nominal, they soon swell into respectable fig- 

 iunt il the large baj ■■■. th 



unskilled tyro can make. A couple of dozen Of canvas 

 backs or mallards arc frequently shot within a few hours, 

 and nobody seems to consider it worth whde. to comment 

 on such every -day occurrences. Smaller ducks 

 instill lower esteem, and rank about the same among 



