[Sept. 7, 1888. 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



105 



>;tn(c %$iii\ m\d %r\t{. 



Opek Skasoxs.— See hibl-t of open unions for ga/m M$ fi<ff> 

 fjuly 20. 



GAME IN SEASON IN SEPTEMBER. 



THE following soli-,1 nit- exhibits the ganiBTloW in season. (Also, 

 in parent:)!** 1 *, seasons which open during the month.): 

 Alabama— Doves: fistli. quail). Sew Hampshire- Woodcock, plo- 

 Cfllifuraia i fed grouse, quail, deer, 



■-, W .noose. wiUIo.l.squir- 



Conneetiem— \V il d 

 i-.-j ii.. 



Dakota Urease, quail, snipe. 

 lew, plover. 



12th, 



feloi 



fowl, wild turkey. 

 JMaine -- ! : » ii r. '.i ^r*.>iise wo 



wildfowl, plover. 

 Mary Ian d — Ruffed grouse 



cock. 



eisetts — Ruffed 



woo.leoeu, wildfowl, dov _ 

 Michigan -itunVtl and pinnated 



Ten i 



noddo< 



•ep. 



deer; i 



Montana 



migan. 



wildfowl). 



Nebraska- 



Nevada- Klk. antelope, miillli 



slieep and goat. deer, gro 



quail, woodcock, wildfowl. 

 Now Uruuswielc -Woodcock, w 



fowl, snips; ii.ltli, moose, c 



bou). 

 New Jersey-Reed birds, I 



s.pirr.-l. 



■ ons, local H 

 uk '-I;.'" issue •■: Jul i 



ipe. (piaif. inea.lew 

 wildfowl, lark, woodcock, wild turkey), 



Texas — Deer, ruffed aud pinnated 

 .•oodoocJc, grouse, quad. 



Utah -Ilk. .leer. aDtelopo. moun- 

 iou- iark. tain sheep, grouse, uuai!. wild- 

 fowl. 

 ,v". mea Vermont— Huffed grouse, wood- 

 pi. Virginia— Huffed gi-ouse, wildfowl, 



Washington Territory— Deer, elk, 

 mountain sheep, grouse, ante- 

 lope. 



West Virginia— Pinnated grouse, 

 deer. ruilVdgrou-ie, wild uukev. 



'.Vis -oiisin - Woodcock, grouse. 

 quail; 05th, deer). 



Wyoming -LSufTalo, elk, antelope, 

 mountain sheep and goat, deer, 

 ptartnigm: pinnated, sage and 

 sharp tail gn.nse. ruiTed ^..usc. 

 wildfowl, plover, curlew, snipe. 

 etc., see Forest and Stream Belied- 



s 



A WOLF HUNT ON THE PRAIRIE. 



EYJSBAL -feaVB ago, when this country was vers thin 



a manner that many w 

 expanse would suppos 

 it pr.iirit- country, In 

 thick, they are describ 

 tin- whole drove, ami i 

 T)U3h. In a thinly set 

 square mile (610 auft 

 arc thick enough to d. 

 pool- settler who is slri 



I ..■ chasing any belated traveler by 

 i.-w one would turn upal every big 

 . .1 prairie i ountry one wolf to the 

 is considered very thick, and they 

 i great amount of damage to the 

 lig to get a living wiih uo more 



and 



fowls 



Capital than a team, two or thrc 

 This is the way we were Situated nine or ten years ago. and 

 the •'■■tilers came to tin: conclusion that they Would have a 

 grand wolf Imnl. Accordingly meetings were held in every 

 school house and a person elected to meet and form a part 

 of the "grand council." This council laid the plans, formed 

 the rules ami named the day that this grand hunt was h) 

 take place. 



In a tlliHly settled prairie with its one (.not \ . ry near) 

 rflihoa !. miles are toe same thai yards are in a thick settled 

 pl.ue with its numerous cross railroads, telegraph lines and 

 so, consequently my readers must not be surprised when 1 

 Bay that tins organization extended over a circle of country 

 thirty miles in diameter. There were no hedges and fences 

 then and we could ride anywhere, while now hedges and 

 wire fences ate so thick that it is impossible to cross the 

 country in any direction that you choose. 



livery preliminary had been arranged by Hie "grand 

 Council" that would" insure a perfectly safe and thorough 

 liiinl for the cx'enniiKilion of wolves. Each school district 

 had its appointed leader or captain, and orters to form iii 

 line at a point ten miles from a given center at a distance oi 

 ■about 200 yards apart, and at 9 o'clock to "forward march" 

 and move toward tin- (inter in good order, making all the 

 noise possible in order to drive the wolves to the center of 

 tlie ring. This hunt was to be the "o'-casion" of the season. 

 It -was the whole theme of conversation for four -weeks be- 

 fore the day arrived, Even man ami boy that could secure 

 a mount and carry a gun or -club was expected to go, and a 

 ^teat many ladies wont in carriages. Many of mj readers 

 in this section will remember this hunt. Parties wore 

 present from Fort Scott. Uniontown. .Mound City. (Jarneit. 

 Colony. Carlysle, Neosho Falls, iola, HumbOldl and Osage 

 SCssion. 



The eventful day arrived at last. It was in early April, 

 and old Sol came out warm and bright, promising a wami 

 and agreeable day for the great slaughter that was to he, 

 At o'clock our district h nl arrived and formed in line, elos- 

 'ingthegap bclive.n tbje one north of us and the one south 

 cry man and boy that 1 hail ever seen or heard of 

 •was in line, well mounted, armed, and with all thi does 

 thai could be scared up. 



Tine «ras the Methodist preacher, mounted on his cob, 

 tarrying a formidable hoe-handle and followed by his inev- 

 itubic black and tan rat dog: the old sportsman, with his 

 "blooded Morgan" horse, armed with winch ster rifle ami 



followed by his intelligent pointer and deerhpund; the old 

 farmer on his Norman -lallion. carrying a lo.c. .oni le i\ \ 

 double shotgun, and followed by a ... Hand dog; 



and last, but nut least the fourteen war old boy. mounted 

 on a wiry Indian mustang, carrying relics of tbi late-wai 

 in thesbapc of either the 48-inch, l ■ > i t ■ , ,53-caliber Rump- 

 kin plinging guerrilla rifle, or tin- 40-inch, smooth bore, 

 shot-seat ten,, l. musket, with its nut-cracking look, and tot 

 towed bv cur- of all de-criplions. cl.icl anions which was 

 the "thoroughbred" bird dogs, which consisted of a cross 

 between the bulldog and the spaniel, or, maybe 



Iwas on tbew.eal side of the circle, and started direel 

 from our house. I had loaned my shotgun to an unarmed 



neighbor, and my two Smith & Wesson's improved .44-cali- 

 i'er revolvers to two friends of mine, while 1 carried a 27- 

 shoi repeating rifle. I was mounted upon o Morgan stallion 

 o! Canadian descent, a perfect thunderbolt for agility and 

 Speed, anil a perfect tornado when once allowed to gain his 

 full speed. On my left was a Texan named Dop. Coc. and 

 on niv rie-lit one of mv neighbor^ boys. 



The word to start was given, and we had proceeded about 

 a mile, when to the tefl of me my pointer came to a full 

 stand, and |us( as i noticed him up popped a jack rabbit mid 

 took off infronl of I oe. Dep. comprehended the result on 

 the dogs it thisrabbil was allowed to continue on his mete- 

 oric course: so, Quickly dismounting, he leveled In- Win 

 Chester and fired, khociing the rabbit over in a double som- 

 ersault. This wa- the lii-t blood on our side. Every few 



wherofljong the line, the boyS would flush a 



gang of prairie chickens, ami it was pop, boom, bang; find 

 this, together with the noise the dogs made, was enough to 

 scan an\ animal toward the center of the living ami fast 



enter and near an old 

 niakine railroad time 



mv rig); an. I in. self 1 



they were heading for 

 ie. 'It was $5Q ,i; . ,., 



. they were heavy 

 lat 1'coulddoifit 



When about four miles from the 

 cornfield I observed two large does 

 toward the -pace between the hoy on m 

 loped tin horse toward the place Unit I 

 and the boy on my right did the same, 

 shoot at a deer at this time of the year 

 with fawn, consequently I only thought 



twenty feet or more apart, straining everv nerve and muscle 

 to reach the opening before thev wen- intercepted. After 

 they had passd ns f could have dismounted aud shot Ihem 

 both with my rifle as they ran directly away from me in a 

 straight line. 



• Wc had gone about two miles further when word went 

 around the ring that seventeen deer had escaped at once in 

 One place, and that the ring was full of wolves. At 12 o'clock 

 wc had arrived at the place designed for us to halt at, and 

 the members Were only from ten to thirty feet apart. We 

 wete a little ahead of the opposite side anil were ordered not 

 to move forward any further, and no shooting was to be al- 

 lowed in the ring. In a little while all had gained their 

 positions, and it was lime to open the ball. 



I'll,- circle of mounted men was one mile iu diameter and 

 we Were all on a slighl ridge uliich gradually sloped toward 

 au old deserted house in the middle, which had an immense 

 white flag nailed to a long pole which was itself nailed to the 

 roof of the deserted shanty. 



The spectacle presented was grand. There were Ton 

 mounted meh about thirty feet kpait each, all in plain sigh! 

 Of each other and overlookiiigtliccenter. each man mouuled, 

 armed, and followed by from one to ten or fifteen dogs. 

 There were several large packs of trailing hounds, one pack 

 of staghounds in the throne, also a pack of fine imported 

 English greyhounds. 



He Ugh st pitch, and each man licfievcd he could outrun or 

 ouuhoot his neighbor. Every one of us. even the Methodist 

 preacher, thought he was ably prepared to kill a score of 

 wolves, and each rider declared that he had seen more than 

 fiftywolvES into the ring, and that one or more had most 

 miraculously escaped the deadly aim of his gun ami the fangs 

 ol his brave dog. 



Now the ball has begun. 



A shout is heard away on the other side, and upon look- 

 ing that way a large doe is seen about 200 yards from the 

 Circle loping around lowaids us. 



Every eye is turned toward her, when suddenly we see ton i 

 puff's of smoke, ami directly we hear the far away boom of 

 four heavily loaded guns, Tims it is all the way around, first, 

 lit th- pull's of smoke, then the heavy boom, theu in a few 

 seconds more, boom, boom, and you "might imagine you were 

 about to sec a battle fought. 



As the deer nears us unscathed, our excitement is intense, 

 aud we have forgotten all about the rules or the game law. 

 (.Pliers have shot at her by the score, and win not we? As 

 the deer got abreast of me she came to a full stop and seemed 

 to be studying the situation. What a tcmptationl I could 

 easily bit her, but where would the bullet gb? That was 

 what checked mc My ride was ably capable of killing not 

 only the deer but a horse or man on the other side My 

 copi fades all shol ami hollered to me to shoot but 1 would not. 

 Soon the deer ran a short distance; then turned in a small 

 Circle and made for the ring to my left will) all the speed she 

 could command, 



She ran towards the preacher and he raised his hoe handle, 

 bin she cleared bis horse and himself all but his ha! and hoe 

 handle, ami away She wen! with J. R. Grilles and his pack 

 of ._Te\ hounds in pursuit, but she left lliem so quick thai 

 they "threw it up" after running about a mile. 



Then came e "OugW Ought" and upon looking around we 

 saw a pack of bloodhounds trailing towards t! c center. 



This was the, sigdal for every dog in the ring that would 

 not mind his master, to run into the middle after the hounds. 

 In a moment more wc saw a wolf jump up and run with a 

 buudrod dogs in pursuit, all yelling to the top of their lungs, 



The wolf was a v. it large one and he ran around the 

 circle about 300 yards from the men. 



There was. no shooting now. As the wolf came around. 

 fresh relays of dogs dartei I out from the click of mounted 

 men and ibc excilcinenl WHS intense. Twice the wolf stopped 

 aiel loti'il his forcinosi |iuisu. is who discreetly ran around 

 him, but . whi'ii the bulk of the howling mob came up he 

 turned tail and ran again. With the next Stop he made, he 

 was in the mouths of tiftv doss in no time. 



While these flogs were '. basin- this large wolf, Several 

 other wolves were sen near the center, ami" in a short time 



the bloodhounds gave tongue again, ami two more wolves 

 ran around tue ring, to be caught and chewed up in a short 

 time. This game was kepi up nil twenty wolves hud been 

 lulled, and all ihe dogs were almost exhausted, The excitc- 

 nieiii caused by iln- chase can be imagined but never 

 described An cr the twenty victims hud been killed there 

 w:w a lull, aud most of the flogs WolK glad to lie down, 

 when suddenly a huge gray wolf ran out behind thedogs 

 ami ran din-dlv inward me, After him came all the dogs 

 lhat could stand. We dare not shoot for fear of killing 

 someone of the dogs. He broke through the ring, and with 

 a shout wc all .-la lied after him, will) no definite idea of 

 how we were going to kill hint, but after him we went pell 

 moll. In a few seconds my equine cyclone had, gained the 

 lead, and the way his iron-shod hoof-' beat the -round was a 

 cautiofl 1 gained rapidly on the wolf, and when about ten 

 feet from him I thought I would stop and shoot him, but 1 



might as Well have tried to stop a locomotive us Ibis horse 

 when fifty more were thundering in his rear. I gave one 

 pull, and before I could pull again I had run over the wolf. 

 knocking him down, and before he could gain his feet again 

 cLIii or ten more had run over him aud used him up entirely 



.My whirlwind carried me on a quarter of a mile after the 

 rest had stopped, and seeing no mole in the Held to run with 

 hi' concluded he would lei me slop him. which I did, and 

 loped back to where the croud was, each declaring that, be 

 himself had been the cause of the wolf's death. 



I'hn- ended our wolf hunt, aud although we did no! -\,\\ 

 hundreds, as many believed we woul .. We killed twenty-one 

 ami let none get away. After it was all over a freak seemed 

 to strike every one lo i"ide to the center of the ring, and con- 

 sequehtiy one hundred strange horses and men were jammed 

 up in the middle, each striving for he knew not. what, bat 





'Imagine the effect. 

 Every old horse was squealing, pawing and kicking all the 

 time mules were braying and dogs were barking, and the 

 noise and racket of these strange animals will never be for- 

 gotten by those present. G. J. W. 



Run laws. Kansas, 15s.'. 



HUNTING ON THE YELLOW MEDICINE, 



HTMIE Yellow Medicine Creek comes into the .Missouri 

 i- River on the west side just above the bend, as it i- called 

 Tin -nape of this bend is not unlike an ox-bow drawn in at 

 the ends, Across the narrow pari it is only abOUl one and It 

 bah' miles, while around the whole bend" it is from thiiiv 

 Ii \ ■- to forty miles: -teamboal men differ on that point. 



About the mouth of the Yellow Medicine i- one of the 

 most broken tracts of land thai can be found along the river, 

 gumbo hills being the preponderance of -oil. A gumbo bluff 

 is a chalk-stone bluff f-o called io the people here) burnt 

 time in ihe past ages, probably by bgenite in the soil. 

 taking tire from some cause The 'ch.dk rock seems to be a 

 deposit, which has been compressed under an immense 

 pressure until it llAS become n solid rock, which is rather 

 soft and easily acted upon by the air ami fro.-t. It is cou- 

 Stautly crumbling aud tailing Uown until it forms perpen- 

 dicular sides IbO and 800 feel high. When il has been burnt 

 and forms the gumbo it is a curious formation. The out- 

 side has a coal-tar look, while the inside will show the 

 Original gray perfect chalkstone. The action of the air and 

 frost on tin- substance dissolves ii into a dark gummy 

 earth, and il is very sticky when wet. I used to think that 

 tin- clay soil of Texas was sticky. l>ui it is uo comparison to 

 gumbo. I don't know of anything much more adhesive. 

 unless it be the good pirn- tar of North Carolina. You can 

 ei-\ colled from rive to ten pounds upon your boots when 

 wet. When dry it bakes like the clay -oil of Louisiana and 

 Tl \a ;. The bluffs arc from S00 to 400 feet high above the 

 river along the Yellow Medicine, aud the waters in the past 

 age8 have washed them away till HieV an- completely cut up 

 into dry creeks and canons. The best description thai 1 cm 

 aivc you of the general appearance of the country is to refer 

 you lo a photograph of the moon's surface, and by that you 



COn get a faint idea. As a friend of mine says-, there is ten 

 acres lo an acre iu the Missouri bluffs, and I'lhiuk that von 

 will have to double the amount at the monib of the Vel'low 

 Medicine. 



The main creek of the Yellow Mcdicineextends up ihromjli 

 the country forty to titty miles. The lowei part is quite 

 heavily timbered with cotton wood, oak. ash and box elder.. 

 Il is a very crooked stream and has ijuite a number of 

 branches, and each branch and the main creek have hun- 

 dreds ami thousands of tributaries and canons leading into 

 ii. which bringdown torrentsoi waterwhen the snow molts, 

 oi- in a heavy rain storm, Along the main creek and il- 

 larger branches there are nice 'bottom lands between the 

 bluffs, many of which arc as line grazing lands a.- I ever 

 saw. What kind ol an agricultural land it would make 1 

 don't know, but should judge far better than most of Hie 

 lands aboul this section of the country. Some of the bot- 

 toms are covered with the gumbo that has run down from 

 the hills, and that is poor enough. .Nothing grows on it but 

 the prickly pear cactus, and that grows there to your sorrow 

 if you happen to have your burning dog along with you, as 

 every once in live minutes or so you will have to di-mounl 

 and extract the thorns from your dog. 



Wc hunt Ibis country on horseback with cither the Indian 

 or Texas pony, if a person has patience enough and good 

 muscle, the Indian pony is the best hunting norse; but he is 

 too la/y for me; he is s C) used to an Indian's heels which go 

 perpetually like a trip hammer on bis side.-, that the exercise 

 is too much for mc 



When there is suow on the ground we take a fresh trail 

 and follow il through ihe bluffs till we come op with the 

 deer feeding or lying dimii; and if you are careful enough 

 and work the irail quid enough, the I fiances are thai n.ii can 

 get a good shol. 



As io the ■ mi lit . in the firs! place you want a uood Win 

 Chester rille. Ami I think, take itall in all. that lo. general 

 hunting purpose- the ,38 calibre rille i- the best one that 

 a hunter can use. It uses the same amount of powder that a 

 .11 calibre does. The lead is a little lighter I know, but you 

 can u~r ii For ducks, geCSli, chickens, etc., and Hie ball docs 

 not tear your game into mince meat. And more deer are 

 killed at'less lhau 300yds., and I might safely say loO. than 

 at greater distances; and at that range the ,88 is as accurate 

 as a large-bore, and powerful enough I o kill yourdcer (if vou 

 hit him). 



The nexl thing required is the horse. A person wlm 

 never bunted iiTlhis country don't know whal an Indian 

 pone can do 1 i ink thai the ucM thing to a deer ormimn- 

 tuir' sleep on the Missouri bluflsisan Indian ponj \,..i 

 Sl it on a th-cr irail. and il may lake you the lirsi thing I ■ I 

 the bighcsl ninnanlc of gumbo and through and 

 creeks arid oaf s, over ditches from two lo twenty feel 



deep, and you often have lo follow ii from live to l.n ic.il, g 

 OVOr Mich a country as that before Ihe d, cr li.d a place ill ii. 

 suits tin m to lie down in. Il i- wondi rfhl to see the Indian 

 pony sit his hind feet under him and slide fitly or one hun- 

 dred feel down the side of a nearly perpendicular gumbo 

 blull. And when he gets to the bottom perhaps you lind a 

 cut creek any where, from five to ten feet deep, and now to 

 cross that is the question toil greenhorn. Not so to a hunter, 

 lie finds a place win-re there is a little gully, and slide- his 

 pony down oiilo that, and fioin tU^u maybe -ends him into tie 



bottom of ihe creek, then looks tor another such projection 

 on the other side, spurs him up, and he scrambles to the top 

 quicker i nd easier than hi.- master can. 



Hie a yon gel to 'In crest of a hill, you dismount, throw 

 ine lu-idl. r. ins over his head, and leave liim there QU Ihe 

 side of the bluff, ihe wind, il may be. blowing, a gale and 



