FOREST AND STREAM 
self to contend for the same under the Bogardus Rules 
for Glass-Ball Trap Shooting, with Winchester rifle, and 
the balls to be sprung from Bogardus’ Glass-Ball Trap for 
rifle shooting. 
IV. All matches for this badge shall be at 100 glass 
balls, Bogardus’ patent. 
V. The holder of this badge shall name the place where 
the same shall be contested for ; balls to be furnished by 
the holder of the badge ; each shooterto pay for the balls 
he shoots at. Balls to be taken from one barrel or box 
until the same is exhausted, and so On through the match. 
VI. The party holding this badge for one year against 
all comers, it shall become his personal property. 
The Bogardus Rules for glass-hall shooting with rifle, 
have already appeared in the Forest and Stream. 
No. 30 Eighth street. New York, Dec. \Wi.— Editor of 
Forest and Stream: —Haring accepted a proposition to 
eclipse all known time and endurance records with a shot¬ 
gun, the match to take place in this city, Dec.. 30th, will 
you permit me to make a special public request that 
every one who may have heretofore entertained any 
doubt as to the fairness of my performances will come 
promptly forward on this occasion and avail themselves 
of the opportunities I earnestly desire all should have, to 
he convinced beyond any doubt that every condition is 
complied with. This will probably be my last attempt 
in a match of this kind, and 1 wish the record I make on 
Saturday next to stand unrivalled and undisputed in 
every particular, and am therefore anxious to afford all 
doubters every facility they can demand to take excep¬ 
tions to any point prior to or during the match, 
A. H. Bogardus. 
It Mr gut Have Been.— Rochester. Dec. Wth—Editor 
Forest and Stream :—Seeing so many accidents chroni¬ 
cled tempts me to give you the particulars of what might 
have been an accident, and what, I presume, is the cause 
of many unexplained accidents. On the 1st day of Janu¬ 
ary, 1879,1 loaned a single-barrelled gun to a young man 
to go fox-hunting. He loaded Ihe gun himself. I did 
not get the gun (Sack until the latter part of September 
last. He returned it, saying that the same lead that he 
put iu on Jan. 1st was still in the gun, and that he had 
never fired it off. On examination, I found that the bar¬ 
rel had over eight inches of lead or something else iu it. 
After drawing out the shot (my man lost some in draw¬ 
ing it), I had the balance carefully weighed, and found 
that there was four aud three-quarter ounces of No. 7 
shot, besides what was lost, which was, at least, one- 
quarter ounce. The gun still contained over four inches 
of material, in fact, powder (Hazzard's ducking), which 
we had to soak out with kerosene oil, and consequently 
could not be be measured; but I am sure there was at 
least fifteen drachms of powder in the gun. Now, had 
that man seen a fox within twenty-five rods he would 
have shot, and of course the gun would have been blown 
to atoms and the gunner probably killed, and the whole 
blame laid to the gon, which is a perfectly safe one, and 
the writer hereof been blamed for loaning a dangerous 
gun to the shooter. Moral': Don’t loan guns to fools. 
L. W. 
New Jersey — Ocean Co., Dee, 8th. —The shooting 
around the shore of Baraegat Bay, both for Wilson’s 
snipe and ducks, the present season, has been very poor. 
Few snipe have been seen or shot. There are a few 
here now, and in half a day’s trampyou might staid; three 
or four where in the spring you woiikl see ten times the 
number. I account for it by the warm weather during 
the fall in the North. W hen the birds started they came 
with a rush, and went directly South without stopping 
much to feed on the way. Woodcock also very scarce, 
but quail and grouse have been fairly plentiful. 
S. K„ Jr. 
Pennsylvania — ApplebackoUle, Dee. ‘7th, —I, and two 
other young sportsmen, were^ shooting around head¬ 
quarters, in Tinieum township, November 24th, and 
bagged the first day 37 quail, 15 rabbits, and 5 pheasants, 
and the rest did very near as good as myself, We were 
there three days and bagged 250 quad, 137 rabbits, and 
28 pheasants. We had some line sport around the Kills. 
Bast Tuesday a deer passed through the town; we all 
struck out to follow, but could not get a shot. I think it 
strayed away from the Blue Mountains, S. T. L. 
Virginia — Norfolk, Dee, Mh. —Weather stdl holds 
warm. No heavy rain this fall. More snipe in market 
than usual at this season, they generally gi ving the coast 
line the go-by in fall. Those brought in come from 
Princess Anne and Currituck. Quail-shooting has been 
poor, no doubt owing to the extreme drought making 
the birds stay in the woods and swamps. Swan, geese 
aud ducks plentiful on the Currituck marshes. Canvas- 
backs are not yet in their prime. W, H. S. 
Michigan — Detroit, Dec, 13th. —The St. Clair Republican 
reports large flocks of wild turkeys in the vicinity of St. 
Clair, Midi. A large bald eagle was Bhot by one of the 
hands at Perry’s Mills one day last week, and sent down 
to us for inspection. He had been staying around the 
bay for several weeks, aud was shot close to the mill. 
Though a young one. not having got the white head of an 
adult, it was a noble bird, measuring seven feet across 
the extended wings. John E, Long, of this city, was out 
on the 10th inst, and bagged eight ruffed grouse. 
L. F. Whitman. 
Iowa — Alyona, Dec. 5th. —Three of us (John, another 
and myself) shot 289 ducks on the pass at Sprit Lake, in 
two and a half days this fall. 1 note your article “ An 
Escaped Prisoner,” on page 84.8. John shot a goose 
(Branta canadensis) one of whose feet was off just above 
the web, and all healed over clean, leaving a small knob 
on the end of the leg, L. H. D. 
Waterloo, Blackhmvk Co., Dec. 8th. —Ducks for some 
unexplained reason have been very scarce this fall in 
this portion of the State, there, being but two days of 
fair shooting, wli ioh were about tlie middle of September, 
during a week of cloudy, rainy weather. The rivers and 
creeks are still open, but one might travel all day with¬ 
out seeing a duck. Chicken shooting was almost in a 
fairway to become a tiling of the past in this section, but 
the organization of the Waterloo Sportsmen's Associa¬ 
tion, with nearly a score of members, and its vigorous 
prosecution of a few miscreants,, makes bright prospects 
for good chicken shooting in the near future. The quail 
is our most- plentiful game bird, and a marked increase 
has been noticeaole in their ranks during the past two 
years. Blackhawk. 
Pomeroy, Dec. 7 th. —Cold weather has some time ago 
driven the game South, aud the previous dryweather pre¬ 
vented game from stopping here in any quantity ; hut 
several deer have been killed around here within seven or 
eight miles of town. Abe Dacotah, 
A Kicking Gun.—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, tlie re¬ 
coil was with such force that lie broke 1 i1b collarbone. 
SHOOTING MATCHES. 
Womens (Column, 
Massachusetts— Brookfield, Dec. Wth —Seven of the 
Sportsmen’s Club went out and had a quiet shoot this 
afternoon, with tlie following score :— 
Mnthewson. 3 J 1 1 3 3 0 1 1 1—0 
Capon. 1110 11110 0-7 
Crosby. I 0 1 0 1 l 1 l 3 1—8 
Gerald. 0 3 (1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0-2 
Shepard .,. 1 1 1 3 1 1 1 I 1 0-9 
Richards...... . 0 0 0 o 1 1 o 0 1 1—4 
Heredeen. 110 11110 3 1-8 
Total.... . 47 
Connecticut— New' Haven, Dec, Ktth .—The New 
Haven Gun Club grounds were opened to-day. The 
medal has been won twiee,by each as follows : Folsom, 
Hanson, Penn, JoreyandLaiigdon; once by Armstrong, 
Hutton,.Moore and Leete. Following is tlie score :— 
Folsom.31 11 11 U n 11 11,11 01 11-19 
Hanson. 10 11 01 10 31 11 II 10 —12 
Armstrong ..11 11 11 II 11 II II II 01 11—19 
Honrs.Kl 10 10 10 11 10 30 10 10 10-11 
Longdon. 10 11 11 11 U II. 11 11 11 11-19 
Leete.10 11 10 11 10 11 10 11 10 11-13 
Appleton. 10 00 10 10 10 10 11 11 11 11—13 
Inpersoll.10 II 10 U ()0 00 10 01 .11 11-12 
Jorcy.U 11 11 11 til 11 11 11 11 (H—is 
Menvln .U0 01 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11-17 
Ties on medal shoot:— 
Folsom-.....1 11011111 1—S 
Armstrong-.0 111110 10 1—7 
Longdon.. 0 11111111 1—9 
—Mr. W. Stone won the Challenge. Cup, N. Y. Gun 
Club, Saturday ; score. 9 out of 10. Dr. Wilson and 
Mr. Godfrey, the former winners, made scores 8 out of 
10 : good lively birds. Mr. Stone was handicapped 2 r 
yards. 
sri mul 
Handling op Pelts. — Editor Forest and Stream : — It 
often happens that a prime pelt fails to bring a top price 
to the trapper, owing to imperfect stretcMng aud curing 
— a fault common to the novice in trapping—and what 
is thus lost is often gained by tlie collector, who moistens 
to a pliable condition and re-stretches and otherwise im¬ 
proves their appearance. Experienced trappers will vary 
somewhat in details, but the method submitted lias stood 
the test of over thirty years and will be saf e to p ractice. 
Pelts are stretched in two ways : by casing,tCWTlhotter, 
fisher, fox, sable, mink, etc., and open, as with beaver, 
bear, coon, and skunk, Either way they are to be cured 
in a cool, dry, airy place, not exposed to sun or rain. If, 
as is often the case, open skins are stretched on the out¬ 
side of a building, they should, as soon as diy enougli to 
keep their shape, be taken under cover and hung up by 
the head, so the air will circulate about them. In stretch¬ 
ing, great care is needed to have the pelts straight and 
even, and the fat which adheres to those of the bear, coon 
and skunk, shoidd be scraped off (while nailed up is best) 
with a duli case knife or its equivalent. Stretchers for 
cased skins should be made of thin, smooth boards, longer 
and narrower than the bodies of tlie animal designed for: 
so that when the s k i n is turned flesh side out it will quite 
easily draw on. The stretcher for mink need taper but 
little" from butt to shoulder, and to a blunt point beyond. 
Others may taper rather more, and all should bo cham- 
phered to a thinnish edge equally on the sides. To 
stretch a skin, draw the skin of the hind legs over the end 
of the board on each outer corner, and fasten withanail. 
Then insert between the skin and board; on both sides, a 
wedge-shaped point of the length required, anti of a size 
at the butt to take up all slack of skin. Now draw down 
on the .tail and fasten with a nailtin-ough the roots into 
the wedge, and in like manner on the other side ; thus 
the air will have free circulation ; hang up by a slit cu t 
in the under lip. “When partly cured and still pliable, 
remove the skin and turn, it through tlie mouth, and re¬ 
place, fur out, for a few days. Should flies be trouble¬ 
some (though furs are scarcely good enough to take till 
flies are gone), rub on a little salt around eyes, ears, nose, 
and lips, and a little at the roots of tlie tail; but never 
put salt or alum on the body. If, as it sometimes hap¬ 
pens, an animal has died in the trap, so that the skin lias 
got a little turned and the fur starts, it may be washed on 
tile flesh side with a solution of arsenic aud alcohol; if 
arBonic is not at hand, substitute saltpetre, When tlie 
weather becomes cold the furs are to be wMpped up ; 
that is, take small, tough twigs, or sprouts, and switch 
tlie fur smartly, holding a pelt by the tip of the nose. Li 
this way all clotted blood, mud, saliva, or other matter 
will be removed. Finish by gently shaking in a short, 
jerky way, and you will raise the pile handsomely^ 
Prime pelts, thus handled, will sell at tlie top price, ami 
until Bold, be viewed with pride and pleasure by tlie trap¬ 
per. Corpl. Lot Warfield. 
Are Bears Left-Handed?— Long before the writer 
tried his ’prentice hand at trapping he was told by a vete¬ 
ran hear hunter that all the bears he bad taken in traps 
—and they were a goodly number—were caught by the 
left foot. The statement was discredited, till experi¬ 
ence seemed to verify it where the traps were sot at a 
coop or its equivalent, Several caught in dead falls also 
had tlie left leg as well as the head inside of the coop, 
the bait being so far back as to oblige them to step in¬ 
side with one foot to reach it. It would thus seem that 
where a bear is attracted by a lure he, soldier-like, steps 
off left foot forward, ’ URSUS. 
FROM OVER THE BORDER. 
Editor Forest, and Stream .— 
As so many of my sisters have had courage to face the 
enemy, I will also take an arrow out of my quiver, and 
perhaps the aim may be a true one, notwithstanding the 
letter that appeared in Nov. 27th of your paper, from one 
of the afflicted. I have not had quite such a tragic time 
as “Zena,” though in some things have shared a similar 
fate. 
My husband aud I have jogged along comfortably for 
ovei fourteen years together, except the occasional 
breaks consequent upon a sportsman’s career. It was 
about nine years ago that we were ordered to an in¬ 
land town, some thirty miles north of Lake Ontario, a 
place famous for its fish and gamo surroundings, also the 
numerous sportsmen in that vicinity, and from that time 
up to the past year he has been ever zealous in the sports¬ 
man's cause. 
First it was fisli, for which sport lie used to rise at day¬ 
break, paddle down the river some distance, coming 
home at times with some bass, others maskinonge, which 
we relished very much. 
Duck shooting was next on the programme; before 
bank hours, and after, (Ms time being short,) he usually 
made the most of it, irrespective of the long, lonely, 
hours I would he waiting and watching for Ms return, 
fully expecting every time he would be ctrowned, or shot 
such things so often happen : blit the reward would be 
occasionally a few ducks, wliich were quite a treat, 
But the crowning feature of all, was the deer hunt every 
fall. The preparations that for weeks, (aye months,) 
were gone through with, the numberless times my scrap 
hag got overturned for pieces to clean and polish up the 
rod and rifle, until you would almost imagine by the 
things going around, you were in a gunsmith’s shop. If 
all the fraternity went into many of the affairs of daily 
life, with the same zest as they do sporting, the wives 
would have less cause for complaint; labor those times 
counts for naught, when there is so much pleasure 
ahead, though alas ! the anticipation often exceeds the 
reality. I fail to see wherein the pleasure consists, in 
trudging often miles through woods aud underbrush, to 
have a shot at a poor frightened deer just for the sport. 
Hungry and tired they return to camp, (often disheart¬ 
ened,) but never finding fault because the meals are not 
ready, but cheerfully go to work, and prepare them 
themselves, (unless some of them are fortunate enough 
in having their wives with them,) and oh! such de¬ 
licious, savory morsels—we poor unfortunates never ate 
anything with such a relish as they do, out in the back- 
woods. Perhaps we have no ambition to, either ! 
The dog nuisance is what has tried my patience most 
(a virtue few of us get the credit of possessing). I did 
not keep a memorandum of the numerous pups I helped 
to raise into passable hounds. The first we had were a 
pair of dark brown, which my sportsman husband ex¬ 
pected to realize §20 on (so he told me at the time): hut. 
alas I Ms hopes were blasted. The clothes they destroyed 
off the lines and on, shoes, etc., that were carried off ! and 
one time one of these pets actually took tlie meat out of 
the oven while our backs wore turned. It was an impos¬ 
sibility to keep them out of the house, as they would 
slip in m spite of you, and if they were shut up they 
would howl so dismally the whole neighborhood would 
be disturbed. Even when they made some pies and cakes 
disappear that were laid by to cool, all the satisfaction I 
got was : “ Well, put themin a safe place next time.’’ I 
think they are well named “greedy,” as from the quan¬ 
tity of feed that used to be boiled up for them, two or 
three tunes a week, one would imagine we kept tlie con¬ 
tents of a farm yard about us. Then after my months’ 
of trouble with them they were all given to some brother 
sportsman to reap the benefit of after my toil, not to 
speak of tlie nights of sleep we have lost, tlie scores of 
times the poor babies have been frightened out of their 
senses by their discordant cries, which my husband con¬ 
sidered as musio to his ears, although lie generally Blept 
tlirougli it all, so of course missed the harmony. 
I have never yet accompanied Mm on a hunt of ahy 
kind, for the best of reasons—1 have other sport to engage 
my attention at home ; also, 1 am “ gun shy.” Nothing 
would tempt me-to level a rifle at any animal, unless in 
self-defence or necessity. 
I have also had some of “ Minnie’s” experience in get¬ 
ting breakfast and lunches prepared, aud rising at un¬ 
earthly hours to attend to such things, yet I will give my 
husband credit for keeping all Ms paraphernalia in good 
order. He gets powder, shot, tent, and fishing tackle in 
readiness himself, and I look after the provisions, toilet 
articles, etc. “ Sallie” and “ Diana” have, I am happy 
to say, trained up their husbands in the way they should 
go, but we all have not that happy faculty. If they were 
always successful we should not mind so much these distur¬ 
bers of home comforts; bn t after such great preparations 
and months of continued talk about the big hunt, the re¬ 
sult often proves a failure. Then it is our turn to talk 
ancl theirs to listen, which alters the case considerably ; 
hut yet we must have a little revenge, just for the sake 
of variety. 
Our children are fast following in their father’s foot¬ 
steps, and if they are all spared there will be four more 
sportsmen added to thelist; and even our baby-girl, eight¬ 
een months old, lias a toy gun her brothers made, which 
she raises to her shoulder and calls “ Bang,” in tlie most 
comical way imaginable. 
We have been living here only a year, and his sporting 
talents have not had much play, as there is no opportu¬ 
nity around us, for which sometimes 1 feel thankful, as 
lie is more at home; and 1 tell him it is the best times we 
have had for years. Yet my joy may be of short dura¬ 
tion, as we are not likely to remain here, hut may be sent 
to another inland town. 
At one time lie was secretary of a fish and game so¬ 
ciety, and what spare moments were not spent in boat¬ 
ing, iishing, and hunting, were taken up till often late in 
tlie night in correspondence for tlie society, until I almost 
despaired of reclaiming my sportsmen husband. 
Still, as “ Zena ” and “ Diana ” affirm, we will put up 
with a great deal of inoonvenienoe when we know they 
hold themselves aloof from anything disreputable, 
Guelph, Out,, Can,, Dee, 12f/t. Maria, 
