FOREST AND STREAM, 
631 
A TRIP TO NORTH PARK. 
(SECOND PAPER.) 
f FROM OUR STAFF CORRESPONDENT. | 
W ITHIN the past year a change has been made in 
the depot arrangements at Council Bluffs and 
Omaha, which adds greatly to the comfort of travelers. 
Ever since the completion of the bridge over the Mis¬ 
souri River it has been the custom to oblige westward- 
bound travelers to change at the Bluffs from the eastern 
train to a bridge train which carried them to Omaha, 
where they changed again to the Union Pacific train. 
Last year, however, the Chicago and Northwestern and. 
the other railroads which meet at Council Bluffs erected 
there a handsome depot, at which is made the only 
change of cars between Chicago and Ogden. Tbe Union 
Pacific train which carries passengers to the West now 
backs over the bridge to the Bluffs, the. luggage is re¬ 
checked there, and for the next thousand miles the 
traveller remains undisturbed in his section. 
The Union Pacific Railroad is the great highway to the 
finest mining, farming and hunting region of the conti¬ 
nent, and besides this it carries the pleasure seeker to 
some of the grandest scenery of the Rocky Mountains, 
and to those natural wonders, unequalled in any land, 
the Thermal Springs and Geysevsof the Yellowstone Park. 
These, with the accompanying attractions of the Yellow¬ 
stone Lake, the great falls, and the stupendous canon, 
far exceed the power of language adequately to depiot. 
There is really nothing to which they can be compared, 
and no just conception of the beauties of the Park can 
be gained without a personal visit to the region. By 
means of a narrow gauge road, which is partially com¬ 
pleted, the Yellowstone Park will soon be open to tbe 
whole world, and even now those who are w il ling to en¬ 
dure the fatigues of a short journey by stage-coach can 
reach it with but slight inconvenience. I know, having 
myself visited the Park, how surpassingly beautiful the 
scenery is, and how amply the tourist will feel repaid for 
any trifling fatigues he may have endured. To enume¬ 
rate all the delightful localities to which the Union 
Pacific road conducts the seeker after pleasure or health 
would be tedious, for their name truly is legion. The 
parks of Colorado are, perhaps, the most noted among 
many notable spots of beauty. In South and M i d dle 
Parks are to be found excellent hunting, with splendid 
trout and grayling fishing. North Park, which has up 
to within a short time been very little known, is said to 
abound in large game of all kinds found in the West, 
save only the moose and the white goat, the ranges of 
these animals not extending so far south. 
In speaking of the foregoing' regions reference has 
been made only to such as present attractions to men of 
means, but it must not he inferred from this that the 
trans-Missouri States and Territories offer no induce¬ 
ments to people whose circumstances are limited. This 
is indeed the poor man’s country, and it offers to the 
settler wealth just in proportion to his industry and hon¬ 
esty. Land costs almost nothing. The Union Pacific R.R. 
Company has still thousands of acres of the very finest 
wheat land, which it sells at prices which are merely 
nominal. This land is situated in the great Nebraska 
wheat belt, and the grain grown upon it has already 
given a world-wide reputation to Nebraska flour. Or if 
the intending settler prefers the somewhat more stirring 
life of a cattle man to that of a farmer, Western Ne¬ 
braska, Wyoming and Montana offer tens of thousands 
of acres, on which grow the richest grasses, and on which 
cattle will live, thrive and grow fat in the winter, with¬ 
out other food or shelter thau that provided by nature. 
A man with avery small capital purchasing a few cows, 
yearlings and two-year-olds, will, with ordinary care, 
find himself in a few years in a position of independ¬ 
ence, if not of wealth. 
I marvel that, during the hard times which have pre¬ 
vailed for the last six years in the Eastern States, so few 
have had the foresight and courage to seize the golden 
opportunities which offer themselves to men of energy 
and industry here in the West. 
Of the mineral resources of the Rocky Mountains but 
little need be said. All know, by report at least, of the 
wealth of the Black Hills of Dakota ; and a visit to this 
region is extremely interesting. Comfortable stage 
coaches connect with the Union Pacifio trains at Sydney 
and Cheyenne, and the trip is well worth ta kin g. It is 
said that very rich deposits of galena with silver and of 
carbonate of silver have recently been discovered in North 
Park, and in consequence of these reports a “ stampede ” 
has taken place to the scene of the discoveries, and 
numerous mines have been located. At present the ex¬ 
citement lias somewhat died away, but there ib no doubt 
that vast amounts of the precious metals are hidden 
away in the fagged and snow-covered mountains which 
surround the Park, Time and capital are required to de¬ 
velop this wealth, of which I shall, perhaps, have more 
to say hereafter. 
It is safe to state that in its appointments the Union 
Pacific R. R. is equal to that of any in the country, A 
very pleasant feature of travel on this road is the uni¬ 
form courtesy of its officials, and their constant willing¬ 
ness to be of use to the traveller. They are often required 
to answer the most trivial and silly questions about the 
West, its inhabitants, fauna, flora, Indians, road agents, 
and so on ad infinitum, but I have yet to see one that 
lost his temper at the childish queries of his interlocutor, 
or replied other than pleasantly. 
At Omaha, where I stopped for a short time, I had the 
pleasure of meeting once more Mr. Thos. L. Kimball, the 
genial friend of gll sportsmen and the Gen’l Ticket Agent 
of the U. P. road, to whom now as in the past, I desire to 
express my obligations for many courtesies. By Mr. 
Kimball I was introduced to Mr. Rob't E. Strahom, editor 
and proprietor of the New West, from whom I received 
valuable information as to the best route by which to 
reach my destination, Mr. Strahom is, as everyone who 
has travelled extensively through it must he, an enthusi¬ 
ast with regard to the West and its future, and, by means 
of his interesting and valuable writings, notably “The 
Rocky Mountains and Beyond," “ Wyoming and Monta¬ 
na,” “The Resources of Montana," etc., has done’much 
to open up the country to settlers. Eastern men who are 
thinking of settling along the line of the Union Pacific 
should not fail to obtain a copy of the New West before 
starting from home. They will find it replete with infor¬ 
mation of value. Such copies can be obtained by address¬ 
ing the editor at Omaha, Nebraska. Mr. Strahom ad¬ 
vised me to fit out at Laramie and was good enough to 
give me a letter to Dr. Hayford, the editor of the Lara¬ 
mie Sentinel. 
The ride from Omaha to Laramie has been often de¬ 
scribed and I need not dwell upon it here. AU along the 
railroad were to be seen evidences of prosperity and thrift. 
From Omaha to Grand Island, where night closed in up¬ 
on us, the country was one vast farm, with far-reaching 
fields of com, oats and wheat succeeding each other as 
mile after mile was passed'over. We were traversing the 
great grain belt of the Platte. From Sydney, where we 
breakfasted, to Cheyenne and beyond, theprairiewas pas¬ 
ture land, and herds of cattle, sheep and horses were 
constantly in sight. Formerly these plains were occupied 
only by the buffalo and the antelope, but these have been 
forced to give way to the herds of the stockmen. While 
one cannot but lament the driving away, and, in the case 
of the buffalo, the virtual extermination of these splendid 
game animals, it is satisfactory to see that the plains are 
not the desolate wastes that we feared they might have 
become, but abound in material evidences of our coun¬ 
try's prosperity. 
Of the superb views which present themselves to the 
traveller as he approaches Sherman I have not space here 
to speak, and besides, are they not all written of in the 
transcontinental guide books? One who enjoys to the full, 
grand mountain scenery, will do well to spend the whole 
of the afternoon occupied in the ascent of the mountan 
on the platform of the cars. 
We reached Laramie at five o’clock, and on alighting 
from the train were greeted at once by Mr. Reed, whom 
some of our readers may remember as having acoompanied 
us on our last years’ hunt in the Freeze Out Mountains. 
The sight of his cheery, reliable face was a wholesome one, 
and we felt sure that in him we had at least one friend at 
Perhaps Mr. Van Dyke will think this does not prove 
anything. If that bear had lived long enough to form 
an opinion I think he would have agreed with me that 
such a weapon will do for any game fouud east of the 
Missouri. The gun that will inflict such a wound upon a 
bear, that will smash both shoulders of a buffalo, that 
will pierce seventeen inches of green cedar, has certainly 
force enough for any game—and that I know can be done 
with the weapon 1 nave described. Yet for large or dan¬ 
gerous game I should prefer a larger calibre than a 40, 
though I see no earthly necessity for a heavier gun. 
Chicago, Sept. 2d. ’ H. W. S. Cleveland. 
Texas— Corpus Christi, Aug. 80th. —This spring I 
bought a new forty-four calibre Ballard rifle, Pacific octa¬ 
gon barrel, etc., together with all the extras, as bullet 
moulds, patches, bali-seaters, and fifty everlasting shells, 
which are represented as lasting for years. Thesqjast I 
ordered and got a lready loaded so T could examine the 
method of loading. 
The rifle I find shoots excellently well and fills the bill 
precisely, with the exception only that the extractor fre¬ 
quently fails to eject the shell after firing, necessitating 
the use of the clearing rod, which takes nearly as much 
time as would be required to load a muzzle loader. 
This, however, is perhaps not the fault of the gun but 
of the everlasting shells which expand each time they 
are shot. This expansion is so great that in no single in¬ 
stance was I able to insert one of the empty ones in the 
ball-seater to re-load it. 
And, furthermore, I found in many instances that the 
shell after firing would not re-enter the chamber at the 
breech without dressing down with emery. Upon the 
second discharge of a shell this was invariably the case, 
and I forsee plainly that in a short time these everlasting 
shells, for which I paid nine cents each,will be all dressed 
off to nothing. 
The bullet moulds which cost three dollars, make a 
bullet too large to enter the shell after patching, and 1 
have had to carefully dress off each one before load¬ 
ing. There was no brush and swab furnished with the 
rifle, although I paid full catalogue price, forty dollars. 
So much for my new rifle. My Nichols shot gun does 
better, but the Howard paper shells that the agent I or¬ 
dered the gun through recommended to me, are not fitted 
for moist climates, as they swell so that it is impossible to 
use them in damp weather. If loaded when perfectly dry 
they do very well to shoot once, provided you do not at¬ 
tempt to use a No. 9 wad in a 10 shell. If you do it forms 
a ridge which will not allow the cartridge to enter the 
chamber. I shall try my next lot out of some Union 
Metallic Cartridge Company's shells I have on hand, and if 
they will not do I will try Eley’s best, although I hate to 
use a foreign article if I can get a good one at home. 
If my rifle were chambered for any other than the 
everlasting shell, I would never use another, but as it is I 
must wait-patiently un til a good shell of this shape is made, 
and I hope you may be able through you columns to help 
me to find such a one. Is there a nickle or tempered steel 
shell of forty-four calibre, seventy grains of powder that 
will fit the Ballard rifle bored for everlasting shells ? If 
so, please let me know, and I will try them forthwith. 
And is there a paper shell for shotguns that is not affected 
by moisture. Bexar. 
It certainly is a fact, our correspondent’s experience to 
the contrary notwithstanding, that the Ballard rifle shells 
are capable of a very extended use. At Creedmoor, we 
have seen the same shell loaded and fired scores of times. 
There may be some details of this practice mentioned by 
our Texan friend, which would explain away the trouble. 
As it is, his experience is the exception to a general’ 
rule. 
hand on whom we could depend. My sensations of, satis¬ 
faction were somewhat moderated, however, when I 
learned that it was impossible for Reed to accompany me 
on the trip, for business of a most pressing nature detained 
him. He had, however, made arrangements for starting 
at once, and there remained for me to attend to only 
some matters of detail, A team and three saddle animals 
were lured, a mess kit and provisions secured, and the fol¬ 
lowing morning we were ready to start. Yo, 
Laramie, Wyoming. 
Massachusetts — Worcester, Sept. 3d.—A few local 
riflemen were out for practice to-day and scored at 10 
shots ; — 
M.G. Fuller 
E. A. Bartlett. 
S. Clark. 
C. Jenkins. 
500 Yards- ZOO Yards. 
Medford, Sept. M- —Tbe Medford Amateur Rifle Asso¬ 
ciation held their weekly meeting at Bellevue range this 
afternoon. 200 yards; rounds, 10 ; off-hand firing; open 
to all comers. The following are the Bcores : 
H. H. D. Cushing, 46; E. Whittier, 43 ; H. Welling¬ 
ton, 42 : E. S. Pipeo, 42 ; A. B. Archer, 43; J. Grady, 
Small Calibre Again—A Practical Illustration.— 
The following may serve as an appropriate postscript to 
the letter I sent you last week, and I hope may reach you 
in time to be published with it:— 
40. 
Boston, Sept. Of/i — Mammoth Rifle Gallery .—The first 
week of the regular monthly prize shoot opened well. 
The score to date stood — 150 feet; rounds 8 ; possible 40 
544^5555—37 I Geo. Estes. 55545444-38 
5 5 4 4 5 4 5 5—37 M. O. Johnson. 44444555—35 
-- Geo. M.Smith . 55 4444 4 5-35 
A friend called upon me last evening wbo bad just re¬ 
turned from a sporting trip in Michigan and told me that 
he was fishing from the bow of a boat when his guide, 
who was in the stern, called to him : “There's a bear.” 
He looked np and saw the bear’s head about ten yards 
back from the river bank and twenty-five yards from the 
boat. The hear had struck an attitude and stood still 
looking at him. He picked up his rifle, took a quick aim 
and fired. The guide exclaimed : “You’ve fixed him,’’ 
and on going ashore they found him stone-dead, the 
bullet having struck him between tbe eyes, ranged length¬ 
wise through the skull, passed through the first and 
smashed the. second vertebras of the peck and lodged in 
the skin of the nape. The bear was an old male, measur¬ 
ing five feet seven inches from tip of nose to root of tail; 
and such old hunters as those who have criticised me 
will not need to be told that a bvdlet that would pierce 
an old' bear’s skull at such an angle must "mean busi¬ 
ness." My friend, who is a naturalist, told me he had 
el oar ltd and preserved the skull, ami I have this morning 
been to examine it and fouud that the bullet entered be¬ 
tween tbe eyes, g urer to the left than to the right, and 
ranged length"^' through the skull to tbe neck, crack¬ 
ing the skull on *Vtch side clear hack, so that the top came 
oft when cleaned. The rifle'which did this was a 40- 
calibre Ma ' forty grains of pow¬ 
der, same ar-. that whir which tfomaday killed the tiger. 
Boston. —At Walnut Hill Range, on the the 29 ult., in 
the 500 yards off-hand match, W. Charles, total 98, re¬ 
ceives tbe first prize, the bronze medal of the National 
Rifle Association ; O. M. Jewell, total 98, the second prize, 
cash $10 ; W. H. Jackson, total 97, third prize, cash $5, 
and the fourth prize, $2 cash, goes to L. L. Hubbard, 
whose total score was 92. 
Boston, Sept. 3d. —There was a good attendance at to¬ 
day’s meet of the members of the Massachusetts Rifle 
Club at Walnut Hill range. The occasion was the con¬ 
cluding meet in the Spirit of the Times, or long-range 
class match, and the weather conditions were propitious, 
the wind blowing a steady and moderate breeze from two 
o'clock, and the clouds which covered the sun afforded 
just shade enough to mako the aim of the marksmen per¬ 
fect. The scores will speak for themselves, but the rec¬ 
ord of Mr. J. S. Simmer is entitled to,special mention. 
The score shows that he has again made a total equal to, and 
according to the rule eyeu a better onq than, bis famous 
record at Creedmoor, and which has never yet been ex¬ 
celled or even equalled ; but, when be stepped to the fir¬ 
ing-stand to make his twelfth shot at 1,000 yards, the ex¬ 
citement among the marksmen was very great, audit was 
thought, by the way he had been shooting, that, ho was 
oing to beat his own record, but by an unfortunate “4,” 
e spoiled his chance, although by the three following 
