[Entered According to Act of Congress, in the year 1879, by the Forest and Stream Publishing Company, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 
’•SV.Wri.r.SKSSPl NEW YORK, THURSDAY. AUGUST 28, 1879. 
Volume 13—No- 4. 
No. Il l Fulton Street, New York. 
For Forest ami Stream and Rod and Gun, 
SEPTEMBER. 
H UNTSMAN awake I for the light frost gleams 
Through the rosy mist, in the dawning beams ; 
And the noisy ooot and the answering rail 
Are heard afar from the golden swale. 
While the mallard quacks, in the fallen grain, 
To his greedy mate, as she calls again. 
And the dun grouse, proud as an Indian king, 
Shakes the diamond dew from his mottled wing.l 
The sweet voiced quail, from the stubble glebe, 
Replies to the laugh of the distant grebe ; 
And the gaudy wood-ducks' plaintive cry 
Is the signal note for the teal to fly. 
Then up and awake, for the eotningibreeze'. 
Has kissed the Ups of the trembUng seas; 
And arouse and away, with a hunter’s zest. 
Ere the morning sunbeams shame thy rest, i 
For list! ’tis the pheasant's rolling^drum,’ 
On the old beach log, by the murmuring rill. 
Where the red trout leaps when the rosea come. 
And the spotted fawn lies scentless and still. 
And staunch old Bess, on her kennel-chain, 
Has snuffed the air with her dainty nose, 
And whines for a range on the lowland plain, 
Where the snipe Ue close when the south wind blows. 
The squirrel too, from her covert now, 
With a bold, free leap. In the startled wood. 
Has scared from their roost on the breaking bough, 
A mighty flock of the pigeons brood. 
And away they sweep to the azure dome 
To join, in their long and restless flight, 
The clamoring geese from theiiyu-ctic home. 
Or the swan in her robe of angel white. 
And all the earth's'glad, jubilant throng 
Rejoice, for the task of the year is done; 
And Heaven above reeohoes the song 
Of a labor passed and a triumph won. 
Thou huntsman wake! for the winter blast 
Will whiten the bier of the autumn dead; 
And the snows of thy life will come, atlast, 
When all of its brightest hours have fled. 
__R. W. H. 
For Forest and Stream and Bod and G un. 
Sffing ^hooting in Jjjmnce, 
T HE game bird par excellence of France, and the one 
affording the most pleasure to the sportsmen, is the 
perdrix grise, or gray partridge. The opening day varies, 
but they may be shot on and after September 1st, which 
is generally made a holiday by sportsmen, albeit not a 
legal one. 
These birds are large, swift of wing, and lie well to a 
dog—as well, if not better, than our common quail. They 
are found principally in wheat and buckwheat stubble, 
and when disturbed are apt to seek seclusion and safety 
among the vineyards, where, indeed, they are perfectly 
safe, since no one with less ‘‘ cheek ” than a book or light¬ 
ning-rod agent would think of pursuing them, at the 
same time running the risk of destroying some worthy 
man's harvest. 
The opening day of ’78 was the 1st of September, and I 
found myself with a pleasant party among the first to 
take advantage of it. The evening of the 31st of August 
found us domiciled in a farmhouse in the south of France, 
and preparing for the next day, loading cartridges and 
cleaning guns being the principal occupations. Old 
Jacques Dufete, our host, himself an ardent sportsman, 
was relating to us his past experiences and promising us 
good sport on the next day, in the meanwhile raising our 
hopes to the highest pitch of expectation with his glow¬ 
ing accounts of the number of partridges. “ Messieurs,” 
said he, “ those of you who are not ready at four o’clock 
to-morrow morning remain at home.” The dread of such 
a misfortune was enough. Suffice it to say we were all 
on time. 
Jacques, with his gun and dogs, greeted us as we 
sleepily tumbled down stairs in the early grey of the 
morning. Which were the most remarkable, the dogs or 
the gun, would have been difficult to say. The gun was 
a reho handed down in the family for ages, and as for the 
dogs, one unacquainted with the duration of a dog's life 
would have imagined them equally old. Many a time 
that day I longed for some of my own setters at home in 
America. Almost every bird was flushed, such a tiling 
as pointing the birds being very rare. In consequence of 
this little disagreeable peculiarity of thedogs the shooting 
was very wild. Still, we managed between us to kill 
something like thirty birds. Had we had any good dogs 
this number would have been materially increased. There 
are in France but few sportsmen who seem to know what 
a really good dog is. Can it be that sport is not one of the in- 
bred attributes of the Gallic race. Who ever heard of a dog 
show or field trial in France ? And yet, although much 
lias been said in opposition to these exhibitions, it cannot 
hut be confessed that they have done wonders for the 
breeding of dogs both in England and America. At any 
rate, both these countries are so far superior to France in 
their breeding of bunting dogs as to be almost incom¬ 
parable. 
But to return to the subject. The first birds we found 
were flushed in an old buckwheat stubble situated on a 
side-hill between two pieces of woods, thick with under¬ 
growth and covered with a reed-like weed that is very 
abundant in some parts of France. When the birds got 
up wo were not near enough to do any execution, so after a 
few u Sacres chiens /” which greeted the performance of 
the dogs, we marked them down in the woods and pro¬ 
ceeded. But by this time thoroughly disgusted with the 
dogs, which from politeness alone we will call setters, 
“though to all appearances they had as much setter blood 
in them as Mark Twain’s jumping frog,” I determined to 
walk them up myself, feeling confident that in this way I 
would be more successful. While the others were fol¬ 
lowing the dogs I set off in another direction, where I 
had marked a pair of birds. The event proved my wis¬ 
dom, for I managed to bag this pair, while the rest of the 
party were in vain pursuit of the dogs, each one striving 
to keep as near them as possible, knowing by experience 
that that was the only way to get a shot. These birds 
seem to breed twice. 1 judge so from the fact that several 
times we put up coveys wherein were the old birds and 
grown young ones and, besides, several smaller birds 
scarcely able to fly, and too young to shoot. It seems 
a remarkable fact'that the old pair should raise one brood, 
and that they should all have remained together while a 
second brood was raised. I should like to hear of a 
similar experience in this country. 
There is a way of shooting these birds in Franee, in¬ 
dulged into a great extent Dy so-called spoilsmen. I 
mean torch hunting at night. A more pernicious and 
destructive practice it would he hard to find. The modus 
operandi is as follows; A covey having been discovered jn 
a field, the farmer—for they are the ones most addicted to 
this kind of sport (?)—goes to work to build a small 
hiding-place out of limbs and twigs, covering it over with 
leaves and soil, so as to make it as inconspicuous as pos¬ 
sible. Choosing a bright night, he repairs to the field, and 
concealing himself in his house awaits the arrival of the 
birds, which is indicated to him by the little chirping 
noise which they give when running together for the 
night. With'his gun by his side he watches and waits, 
and he may even smoke his pipe without fear of fright¬ 
ening the partridges. When he lias good reasons to sus¬ 
pect that the birds are around him he deliberately lights 
his torch, and by waving it to and fro attracts the atten¬ 
tion of the birds, which approach him, seemingly fas¬ 
cinated by the glare of his torch. When they have ap¬ 
proached near enough he shoots, and very frequently 
bags almost the entire covey. He never gets another 
shot. Once fired at in this way they forsake their former 
roosting-place, never to return. 
This style of hunting, called “ La chasse aufeu,” is the 
bete noir of all true lovers of sport in France, and much 
has been done to stop it. The fact that it is against the 
law only lends an additional zest to the amusement. 
However, it is certainly a most barbarous practice, and 
would long ago have exterminated the partridges were 
they not protected, at least to Borne extent, by the short¬ 
ness of the open season. The farmers argue that they 
might just as well have the birds as anyone, and as they 
shoot to sell, they go about it in the manner best adapted 
to obtain the greatest number with the least expenditure 
of powder and shot. As these perdrix arises are worth 
from five to seven francs, or from $1.00 to $1.50 per pair, 
it is a great temptation to shoot them. 
In the course of my hunting I have often come upon a 
iece of ground admirably situated for partridges, and 
ave been surprised to find no birds. The mystery was, 
however, generally cleared up by the appearance of one 
of these little houses, and surprise gives way to indigna¬ 
tion as you kick over the house (a thing all sportsmen 
would naturally do), and recognize the fact that the birds 
are gone the way of all game — either shot or driven 
away. 
It was too early in the season for this kind of hunting 
when we were out, and consequently we found a con¬ 
siderable number of birds. Had we been a month later 
the place, no doubt, would have been entirely depleted. 
1 should much like to see tliis bird imported into 
America, and should watch its progress with great inter¬ 
est, having no doubt of the result. They would breed 
well and prove a great addition to the game birds of the 
United States. W. D. 
New York, Aug, 15 th. 
For Forest and Stream and Bod and Gun 
HALLOCK: 
THE COUNTY SEAT OF KITTSON COtJNTY, MINN. 
Dear Mr. Editor: —Inclosed please find a map of the 
town that boasts your name. This drawing is a true 
representation in eveiy respect and will give you a tol¬ 
erably clear idea about the looks of the place, You will 
notice that a water-course of no mean proportions (the 
South Branch of Two Rivers) meanders its sinuous course 
along the easternand northern boundary, forming several 
islands and peninsulas, with twists and turns innumer¬ 
able. The town-site itself is prairie, but on the other side 
of the stream, down to the water’s edge, is a heavy 
growth of primeval forest, affording shade in summer 
and shelter and fuel in winter time. Through the south¬ 
western part of the town passes the St. Paul, Minneapolis 
and Manitoba Railroad. 
Hallock is the county seat of Kittson County, which 
occupies the northwestern comer of Minnesota. It is 
bounded on the north by the Canadian Province, of Man¬ 
itoba, on tlie east by the Red River of the North, on the 
south by Marshall County, and on the west by that great 
unexplored wilderness which in the north part of the 
State extends all the way to Lake Superior. The topo¬ 
graphical features of this county do not materially differ 
from those of the Red River Valley in general—an even, 
smooth, flat prairie, with a soil of unsurpassed richness. 
It is abundantly watered by Two Rivers and its numer¬ 
ous tributaries, which, ultimately united into one stream, 
empties its waters into Red River. The South Fork is 
the largest of these water courses and has plenty of fish 
—pickerel, pike, black bass, catfish and several other 
varieties. 
As far as nature can make it Hallock is a pretty place, 
to say the least. As yet, only a fine, promising baby, to 
be sure ; but such I take it, was once the case with every 
Hallock from time immemorial. For an infant of two 
months’ existence it is uncommonly strong, vigorous and 
thrifty, owing to the tender care and watchful nursing it 
receives from the following sponsors: Peter Daly, Esq., 
who in his person unites the offices of Postmaster, Regis¬ 
ter of Deeds, Notary Public and mine host of the City 
Hotel; Thomas Newcomb, who represents the commercial 
interests of the town; Capt. H. Eastrom, County Auditor; 
Wenzel Newes, County Assessor and lumber-dealer; Sid¬ 
ney F. Austin, County Surveyor; .Mr. Stack, who keeps 
for sale bottled lager and segars, and knows how to pre¬ 
pare lemonade “with a stick” in a way most grateful to 
the returning hunter or land explorer; H. Brown, rail¬ 
way agent, telegraph operator and representative of the 
American Express Company. Nearly all these gentlemen 
have their business houses on Pacific avenue. In the 
suburbs, their several residences surrounded by “ample 
grounds,” are located Messrs. Robert Thompson and E. 
W. Jadis, the County Commissioners; O’Connel, McLeod, 
Hall, Eric, Norland. These are the earliest pioneers of 
Hallock, the starters of the embryo settlement— 
“ Genus unde Latinum 
Albanique patres, et alta mceiiia Ronae,” 
and I take pleasure in giving their names here as refer¬ 
ence for the future historian. 
Our infant Hallock is so far very strong and healthy. 
It has nothing to fear from the measles, whooping-cough, 
diphtheria, or other maladies to which infantile life is 
heir. But other dangers may threaten. Whether it will 
grow up to vigorous manhood and thus realize the ex¬ 
pectations of its early guardians, or share the fate of so 
many other Western paper-towns, time only will tell. Qui 
viva verra. It has this much in its favor, however, that it 
is located in the geographical center of what is destined to 
be one of the richest fanning districts in the whole North¬ 
west, and has first-rate railroad facilities from the start. 
The name given to the place we think appropriate. For 
here is “ Forest and Stream ” —here is the most ample 
opportunity for the use of “Rod and Gun.” Here you 
will find one of the greatest game resorts on tliis continent 
and stocked with a greater variety of animals and birds, 
objects for the hunter’s pursuit, than can be found any¬ 
where else within a single county. Or tell me, if you 
can, of another region where the moose, elk, cariboo, 
deer, bear and the large northern hare, the sharp-tailed 
and the ruffed grouse, woodcock, snipe and curlew, with 
ducks and geese by the thousand, may be found within a 
reasonable distance, and such a place reached, with all 
the comforts of sleeping and palace cars, within four days 
journey from the City of New York. 
HO\V TO GET THERE. 
If coming from the East or South, find your way, the 
best you can, to Chicago. There by all means take the 
Chicago and Northwestern Road to El Ray, and thence 
the Chicago, St. Paul and Minneapolis Road to the cap¬ 
ital of Minnesota, By my own experience I can vouch 
that on this line of railroad yourself and your dogs and 
other belongings will be well taken care ol. Landed in 
St. Paul it may be worth your while to rest a few days, 
and in the meantime take a look at the sister cities of St. 
Paul and Minneapolis and notice the young and vigorous 
life there developing. Nor will you regret to make short 
