FOREST AND STREAM 
831 
chambers of the editor’s drawer in Harper's Magazine, 
there to moulder with decayed jokes and fossilized anec¬ 
dotes. 
The Pigeon Roost Massacre.— The pigeon roost in 
Scott County, Ind., is historical ground. It was the scene 
of a terrible Indian outrage in 1812. In September of 
that year a band of Potawottomie Indians attacked a set¬ 
tlement there of thirty white people, killing and scalping 
twenty-four of them, mostly women and children, and 
then burning the bodies and the cabins together. A Mrs. 
Beadle and her two children, with three members of a 
family named Collins, escaped to tell the tale, and a party 
started in unsuccessful pursuit of the savages. One of 
the Beadle children thus rescued afterwards grew up to 
publish a series of dime novels, in which Indian massa¬ 
cres and hair-breath escapes of frontier adventure were 
the characteristic pabulum. The roost is still covered 
each fall with wild pigeons. 
The Seventh'Regiment Fair.— This is one of the no¬ 
table events of the incoming season. It is held at the 
new Armory, which of course is the chief object of attrac¬ 
tion. The articles on exhibition are of the most interest¬ 
ing character, and the sales to be made will most proba¬ 
bly yield the requisite funds to place the great under¬ 
taking out of debt. 
One of the attractions' of the exhibition, of especial 
interest to anglers, is the series of superb salmon por¬ 
traits (life size), executed by that inimitable artist, Walter 
Brackett, Esq., of Boston, whose productions have found 
ready purchasers at high figures in both Europe and 
America. The set numbers four paintings, the price of 
which is $18._ _ 
Camps in the Carribees.— Lee & Shepard, of Boston, 
announce Mr. Frederick A. Ober’s new book with the above 
title. While deferring any extended notice of it until we 
have the opportunity of personal examination, we may 
safely premise that the author has prepared a book of in¬ 
tense interest. 
Mr. Ober, who had such a splendid reception when he 
lectured before the Long Island Historical Society last 
winter, and before other audiences in New England, now 
proposes to give the leoture entitled “ Two Years in the 
Tropics,” illustrated with the stereopticon. Natural his¬ 
tory societies, lyceums, etc., will find an evening spent in 
this way with Mr. Ober, both pleasurable and full of pro¬ 
fit. Mr. Ober is open for engagements. The agents are 
Messrs. Lee & Shepard. 
GAME PROTECTION. 
The Game Law Problem Solved.— Virginia has 
solved the game law problem. By a recent statute passed 
by the legislature, all land in that State is posted, and 
trespassing upon any private estate thereby prohibited. 
This makes every proprietor responsible, morally at least, 
for the observance of the close season. No man can 
shoot, trap, or fish on the land of another man without 
the latter’s consent. By simply witholding his consent, 
the proprietor may prevent shooting and fishing out of 
season on his estate. We said Virginia had solved the 
problem. It would be more correct to say that she had 
given her citizens an opportunity of solving it. Public 
opinion must be educated. The Virginia Fish and Game 
Protective Association is doing this by constantly and per¬ 
sistently keeping the subject before tile minds of the peo¬ 
ple. Just so soon as the individual land owner shall have 
been educated in game protective principles to that point 
where he becomes the protector of the game on his own 
estate, efficient game protection in Virginia will be an ac¬ 
complished thing. We are convinced that the only way 
in which the laws now enacted (but not enforoed) for the 
protection of game and fish can ever accomplish what 
they are designed to accomplish, is by inducing in¬ 
dividual land owners to second the work of game so¬ 
cieties. The (.society is almost powerless without such 
aid. We must put into practice here the same principles 
which apply elsewhere. To protect the game of a State 
we must enforce protection in each township of the coun¬ 
ty, in each village of the township, and on each estate of 
the village. Only where the individual proprietor of tills 
smallest division is made the guardian of his own domain, 
can we hope to have a guardianship of the whole. Game 
and fish will be destroyed only in certain fixed times pre¬ 
scribed by law, just so soon as individuals are awakened 
to the advisability of protecting the game and fish, and 
are given power to do so by such a general trespass stat¬ 
ute as Virginia has enacted. 
: The Law Enforced.— That the Virginians are on the 
right track may be inferred from this complaint, which is 
by a Philadelphia lawyer—a being who figures in the pro¬ 
verbial saying as an expert in chirograpby, a man who 
can read even the most wretchedly scrawled legends on 
the trespass sign-boards. “ Register ” writes 
I have shot a good deal in Virginia with advantages af¬ 
forded me by relatives and friends ; but I am inclined to 
differ with you about strangers being allowed to shoot. It 
is almost as bad (East of the Blue Ridge,) to a stranger, as 
n Jersey, the whole country being posted and the law en¬ 
foroed at that . 
Of course a lawyer is vexed on principle to see the law' 
enforced. That means that his occupation is gone. But 
our friend ought to swallow his chagrin at finding Vir¬ 
ginia a game-law-abiding State. His sportsman instinct 
would lead him to that. And if he has found good sport 
through the courtesy of his friends and acquaintances, 
other people will undoubtedly find the same opportunities 
through their friends and acquaintances. So all are now 
in a fair way to be provided for. There is something to 
provide for them. It were a sorry act of courtesy for the 
Virginia land owner to hospitably receive his guests and 
send them out to shoot over fields pot-hunted into barren¬ 
ness, and to fish in streams where all the fish had been 
snagged out by Tom, Diok, and Harry. If any man who 
possesses a gun or a trout rod wishes to go to Virginia and 
has no acquaintance there to whom to apply, let him 
state his wants in the Forest and Stream, and our word 
for it, he will find a score of such friends. 
Canadian Salmon in English Markets. —We learn 
from the English papers, with some surprise, that large 
consignments of fresh salmon from Canada have arrived 
at Liverpool as late as October 27th, a season when all 
Canadian rivers are legally closed. These fish were 
wholly unfit to eat, and were very properly immediately 
condemned by the officers of the Fishmongers’ Company. 
These shipments of salmon are in clear violation and de¬ 
fiance of the protective laws, and should receive the 
prompt attention of the Canadian authorities, notwith¬ 
standing it may be made to appear that they were caught 
in lawful season and preserved in ice. It is against the 
law to expose salmon for sale in the English markets be¬ 
tween the 1st of September and 1st of February, 
Cincinnati Audubon Club.— The new Audubon Club 
of Cincinnati, O,, has the following officers:—President, 
W. H. Mackoy ; Vice-Presidents, Hon, W. L. Grant, 
Henry Turner, and J. Taylor Williams; Corresponding 
Secretary, Taylor Thornton, jr., of Newport; Recording 
Secretary, George Perkins ; Treasurer, Geo. H, Davison ; 
Executive Committee, W. H. Mackoy, Hon. W. L. Grant, 
Taylor Thornton, jr., George H. Davison, T. Jeff. 
Phelps and W. B. Wilson. 
The club is made up of influential citizens who have 
set about the protection of game in earnest, and with 
every prospect of breaking up the game-law violation 
in that section. 
Michigan — Escanaba, Nov. 10th.—Editor Forest and 
Stream :—Why should we blame poor men for killing 
deer out of season, when the City Marshal will buy a 
saddle of vension in the office of a Justice of the Peace, 
and borrow the money of the Justice to pay for it, and 
when the Deputy Sheriff and another Justice will go out 
in July, and watch a deer lick? In the first case they 
may say it was bought of an Indian. I object to the 
plea, on the grounds of said Indian being a voter and 
subject to the law the same as a white man. I could give 
plenty of names of parties who buy and sell or ship deer 
and trout out of season, if it would do any good. I ob¬ 
ject to hounding deer, but killing them in the summer 
months in the water with jack light does more harm here 
than hounds. The same men who kill deer out of sea¬ 
son would kill a hound in season. Guyon, JR. 
The way to remedy this is to put in a J. P, who will 
not buy venison out of season. 
Duck Shooting in Stratford Harbor. —An unsatis¬ 
factory law on duck-shooting was passed two years ago 
for the Harbor of Stratford, Conn. As the law stands no 
ducks, geese or brant can be shot in the harbor limits at 
any season of the year, and as black ducks, widgeon, 
teal and grey ducks can only be shot in the harbor, there 
being no islands, bars or reefs outside the beach on 
which to shoot them,, it is an impossibility to kill any. 
Many hundred ducks can be seen daily in the harbor, 
but as the law stands, none of them can be shot. I have 
talked with all the duckers, and with one accord they de¬ 
nounce the law as it now stands ; but all are in favor of a 
law that will permit shooting two days in a week. This 
would give the birds five days’ rest in a week, and would 
give good sport to shooters the days it was off. The 
Harbor of Stratford is divided; part belongs to Milford, 
and part to Stratford. The present law was passed with¬ 
out the knowledge or consent of any Stratford parties, 
and was gotten up by a few selfish men in Milford, one 
of whom keeps a hotel on the beach. His object no 
doubt was to encourage shooters to come to his house, 
as it is in full view of the bay, and lay on the beach, 
and endeavor to kill the birds as they new in and out 
across the beach, but he slipped up on his calculation, as 
after a few shots were made the ducks learned the dodge, 
and passed over the beach two or three gun shots high ; 
and it is safe to say, not more than a dozen ducks have 
been killed in this way. As the law now stands it is clear 
to any man that the ducks that come to this harbor are 
of no account to any man here, as they leave for other 
parts when the harbor is frozen up, and it is only saving 
them to swell the bags of shooters in other parts. It is 
true, that before this law was passed duck shooting was 
nearly destroyed at Stratford. Shooters would go at sun¬ 
down and remain on the feeding ground nearly all night 
when there was moon to see by, and others would lay all 
day long and shoot over decoys, and as the harbor is not 
a large one it soon drove nearly all the birds off. I will 
give you my idea of a law which I think would answer 
and suit all right minded shooters. That is, two days in 
a week to shoot, and allow no night shooting, which is 
the worst method of driving off the ducks. Then, when 
the days for shooting came round, good sport would be had, 
and plenty of ducks the entire season. Many others as 
well mvself would like to hear your opinion on this 
matter. Black Duck. 
If it was the custom of Stratford gunners to indulge in 
the nefarious practice, mentioned by our correspondent, 
and kill the ducks on their feeding grounds at night, it 
was quite proper that duck shooting should be taken away 
from them; and sportsmen in that section should have 
long since seen that a clause prohibiting night shooting 
was included in the State game iaws. As the case now 
stands, we do not see as it makes much difference to 
sportsmen whether the birds are killed off in one season, 
or driven away, or whether shooting is entirely prohibited. 
The suggestion of our correspondent is a good one. provid¬ 
ing night shooting is prohibited, but the only recourse is 
an appeal to the next Legislature.—E d. 
SHOOTING GROUNDS AROUND THE 
CAPITOL . 
Washington, November Oth. 
HE National Capitol is a dull place for visitors just 
now. In another month Congress will have assem¬ 
bled, the politicians and lobbyists will be pvesent in force, 
and a seines of social entertainments will be begun and 
continued until Lent arrives. The boarding-house keep¬ 
ers are papering and repainting their houses in anticipa¬ 
tion of a busy season, and the Halls of Congress are being 
renovated to withstand another siege of the people’s law¬ 
makers. 
If the visitor to Washington at this Season of the year 
will fill his gun case instead of a Saratoga trunk, and put 
a shooting-coat in his valise instead of a dress suit of 
clothes, he can certainly find plenty of enjoyment in this 
vicinity. The air is sharp and bracing, several severe 
frosts having destroyed the germs of malaria which 
hover over the city in early fall, and the bare faces of the 
Maryland and Virginia bluffs on each side of the Poto¬ 
mac invite the sportsman to unloose his dogs and shoul¬ 
der his gun. 
The Eastern sportsman oan find no better rendezvous 
for good shooting during the fall, winter, and spring 
months than Washington. Lines of railroads and steam¬ 
boats centre here, over which the hunter can be taken in 
a few hours’ time to the finest quail, ruffed grouse, wild 
turkey, deer, and duck shooting grounds east of the Alle- 
ghanies. The Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay are 
the duck-hunters’ Paradise in cold weather. Every morn¬ 
ing the crack of heavy ten-gauge ducking guns is wafted 
baok from the river to the city, and flocks of teal, shuf¬ 
flers, crow, and red-neck ducks may be seen flying over 
the river between this city and Alexandria, or far back 
over the smooth waters of the Eastern Branch. Along the 
edges of the immense marshes which fringe the Virginia 
shore, small narrow skiffs containing the gu nn er and 
his pusher may be seen gliding along at break of day, 
and the crow, duck and widgeon fall easy victims to him 
who disturbs them in their search after early breakfasts. 
In the middle of the river flocks of teal and shufflers 
swim about obtaining food from the long grasses which 
cover the water at low tide, and keeping a bright lookout 
for the approach of strangers. The ducks are naturally 
much tamer earlier in the season than late in the winter. 
It is possible now to secure a good bag without the use of 
either decoy or blinds. Stretched at full length in the 
boat, with the muzzle of his gun projecting a few inches 
over the bow, is the gunner, as motionless and silent as 
death. Lying upon his stomach in the stern, with hands 
grasping the creeping paddles, is the oarsman. The 
boat moves through the water really propelled by (to the 
duck) an invisible agency, the quick motions of the pad- 
dler’s wrists being hardly percepitibie. The ducks per¬ 
ceive the approaoli of the boat and huddle more closely 
together. Perceiving no motion of life about the craft, 
they watch its approach with more curiosity than fear. 
With heads held high in the air, and necks curved beau¬ 
tifully over their backs, they seem to be deliberating 
whether to fly or remain until the unusual object passes. 
Now- is the time for the sportsman to five ; and if he does 
not bag three or four of the flock, his aim or judgment 
will be at fault. One ban-el at them in the water, and a 
second at them as they rise, at first taking care to cover 
as many heads as are in line, and, secondly, selecting a 
single bird as a target, will Becure the greatest results. 
It is useless to attempt to describe the different meth¬ 
ods of duck-hunting. Every sportsman who has dwelt 
in the vicinity of a feeding-ground or roosting-place is 
familiar with the stratagems resorted to to capture the 
fowl. As an evidence of the popularity of the sport on 
the Potomac, there is scarcely a mile of the river between 
Washington and Point Lookout where, in the season, 
there are not built from one to a dozen blinds. Every 
river-bottom farmer that owns a gun has a bunch of de¬ 
coys ; and a baked or roast cauvass-back or red-head is a 
frequent and pleasing addition to the regular fare of pork 
and combread which generally graces the farmer's table 
during the winter. Duck-hunting is glorious sport, too. 
Nothing tests the mettle of a sportsman like a day’s ex¬ 
perience at it in December. I have risen before daylight 
from a warm bed before the fireplace of a farm-house on 
the rocky heights in Pike County, Pa.; shouldered gun, 
and Btood for f our hoursupon a run-way, waiting vainly for 
the hounds to start a deer, while icicles formed upon my 
moustache and whiskers; my stiffened fingers almost re- 
