144 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



I Sept. 21, 1883. 



}mt(e i§ng m\d 



OPEN Sp.ASOXS.— ■->'■■ titbl OJ <'/'■■ n .-, ■r..e. ■ i:, :■,;., n>>:. iiifl Jil'/l 



■in ifaue of July 80. 



GAME IN SEASON IN SEPTEMBER. 

 mmje following schedule exhibits theegame Sow in Benson. (Also, 



1 in pnrernhcsus, seasons which open during- the month.): 

 Alabama- Dovos; pstli, quails i ffftw Hampshire— Wbodcock, plo- 

 California— I »ee,\ doves: (Ifitn, ver. ruffed grouse, 'dual!) deer, 

 isc. wildfc,-, 1, squir- 



frouse, ptarmigan, 



,-il.l turkey, elk', an- 

 ntain sheep. buf- 



rel, i 



snipe, pur- 



•ail, reed. 



North Carolina— He. 



rild t 



telope, buffalo, i 



;;wiIflfowl.pm- 

 er, wilrl tinker. 

 wk, wildfowl. 



■ok, deer, 



lite (Here 



s 



II t 



Th 



! ho 



rs 



i is 



uoffei 



lip, 8 



belt 



le 

 ■I 



iii 



tlQUO 



race 



.1 



is 



YY'r 



dri 



re 



llll 



i. in., :ii such up houv — with a. hunt ahead. 

 il. a fire made in the kitchen stove and 



, ,n in,,- ) have breakfasted and hitched 

 ri.-e, in tiie CftBJ and all t lie cocks iu the 

 ning il, while the rattle 1 of Doe.'s wagon 



jh the pine woods a half hour and then 

 down from the uudulaling land into what is termed "flat 

 woods," where the saw-palmetto and gallberry grow in per- 

 fection. The fog lies heavy here, and the pleasant odor of 

 "(leer tongue'' is all about." Deer lend here, and not an -hour 

 since have slowly gone, picking here and there, to dense 

 cover. Soon we" emerge from growth of tall "slash" pint 

 and thick standing palms into a, glade where the road is 

 smooth and firm. A half mile in this brings us to the haniak 

 thai skirts the prairie, wdiich soon opens right and left, 

 sentineled with lall palms. When we have traversed half 

 the distance to the river, arousing numerous snipe by the 

 wav, we si rike water, increasing very gradually in depth, 

 for" the river is up. until we read " 



ith the 



|,pi- 



ohr 



Maine - Rutted grouse, woodcock, 



wildfowl, plover. 

 Maryland -Huffed ;misi', iv I- 



eook. 

 Massachusetts — Knifed grouse, 



, i . >-. 1 1 [fowl, doves. 



Mulligan RuiTed and pinnated 



grouse, woodcock, wildfowl. 



snipe. 

 Miiuuwits — Gronae, woodcek. 



quail, wildfowl. 

 Mississippi— i isiti, meadow lark, 



deer'. 

 Missouri- -Woedcoek.plov.,. , 



. antelope, mountain 



ooi i- it iiifowi 

 iok— woodcock, wild- 

 Cowl, snipe; (15th, lUOOSe, eari 



ulied grouse), 

 mlcoek. ruffed 



ffed and piiiualed 



for bui 

 bangs 



I take 

 Aro 

 dark a 

 bormel 

 pi 



way at a pas 



ao canoe and 



id the bend 

 d the oaks o: 

 we run into 



duck 

 reh tl 



■rulou 

 1 pi 



hi its hi 

 loticed 

 rent by 

 n the i 



v. My 



*Ci 



shah ins ii 

 ad to the f 

 u a late 



. lying parallc 



which we cttws 



l£ B ■ Duple, and 



lali 'ill'- around 



nly ;i Pew yards 



and grots' u with 



e a smooth spot 



two from the hank, unharness 



itretoli the fly and are ready 



iok. al tends to the camp and 



with his fusee, while Doc and 



■ rlvfir. and lagoons for ducks, 



where the water is deep apt! 



-in -mi or skirting a sea. of 



lere and there where the pur- 



nuei worm and the gallinule 



■■■..'. The osprey wheels 



3 it rises with its linuv food. 



ml si rs straight f'sf timber 



a Of FOREST AND eTRf.Alf A 



ait that the Osprey seized the 

 it is carried— headed like the 

 the fish is seized 



ays 



lined head I 



the front after the 



of any required 



nothing so comic 



all confidence to 



i go, Thewrik 



id knows when 



A." tent to 



when you v 



built in s.o 



lai 



short 

 1 boat i 



There is 

 you have 

 may Wish 



->f he 



,-ill ha 



-helte: 



lake- 



rdyt 



speaks. Take along a g I Both)! 



belter Until the colder weather comes, 

 much more substantial home shnn y 

 d .nook beneath the stately pine or 

 ise proximity to the river or numerous 

 g which you expect to push opera- 

 nts as soon as the pelis become prime 

 After all is in readiness you usually make one more trip 

 the settlements for a winter's supply of flour, meat, salt, 

 ans. tea. etc., not forgetting some lights of glass to admit 

 •lit and keep out the" wintry blasts. '' By the time all this 

 is accomplished it will be getting quite late, and most of 

 the fur animals will be talcing on their warmer winter dress 

 that adds so much value to their skins, Happy indeed is 

 the man so comfortably fixed in his lone shanty, far away 

 from the confines of civilization. He can live comfortably 

 and enjoy life and health through the long winter months, 

 and if in a good locality, come out a better man in mind, 

 body and pocket when the spring opens again. 



J. Lee Smedley. 

 DcoDiLE, Pa., Sept. 18, 18S3. 



bou 



deer. run'. I en 

 We-'-,,,e.uj — Woo 



quail; lir.th, .le. 

 Wyoming bulbil 



New .ler-ey— Keed birds', rail, 

 squrrel. 



tSS-For exceptions, local laws, etc., 

 ule "B," issue of July 20. page ■««. 



pturmie/ m ; pin 



sharp rail ^rousi 



Wildfowl, plover 



FOKBST AX 



?w ducks 

 id go to c 

 ady - 



le the ba 



SEPTEMBER. 



(Forgot it wasn't i ,.i ! .s 

 Now the grouse with ruftted plumage 

 Hurtles wildly through the brake, 

 While the man with choke-bore leveled. 

 Yanks the trigger rill fingers aehe. 

 1 am aware that the hoys do not like to say anything about these 

 litl le "CI -utreternps," but a good many of I hem have "been there" oil 

 the name, and if brutes could talk there » ould he mauj a canine who 

 would swear to the "doggerel" above. Dick. 



DURING the 

 bordering 

 afford much so. 

 pit ces the prairii 

 river, and as fur 

 the palmetto dot 

 intervals bar th 

 cotton-mouth 



lighl 



wamp and land on a bluff 

 i the adjacent prairie, kill 

 : p, where we find Joe prep; 



ine under the fly, and, wir 

 jsjoe has taken in our ahs. 

 !fi, till them with Lone , lac 

 The liver runs with unbn 

 ■aves rustic geullv pverhe 

 i right temperature 

 ith half-el 



jus.! .1 

 stand ' 



BITS OF EXPERIENCE IN FLORIDA. 



SECOND TAPER. 



vinter months the St, .Johns, the prairies 

 m it. and the hamaks fringing the prairies 

 1 enjoyment with rod and grin In many 

 extends from one i o several miles along the 

 trom river to haniak. Singly and in groups 



In' them are fem~d '"otter "and 



iGcasins, Ducks frequent the rivet and 



lagoons making into it. Snipe feed in great numbers on the 



grairie. while turkeys, deer and squirrels keep to the 

 amak. 



The weather is just right for a hunt. It is rarely otherwise 

 in winter. The mercury stands at about 115 during the day. 

 at night dropping to 40 or 50. Clean white clouds sail slowly 

 overhead, and oranges hang yellow upon the trees. 1 .■•an 

 see the ducks rising in flocks "along the' river as some steamer 

 puffs along, if 1 am at home, four miles distant. I hear the 

 great blue haroil squawk as he rises on laborious wing. I see 

 great flocks of curlews whirl in the air. their snow-whit" 

 pluniago glistening as they circle, settling noiselessl 

 ns down on outstretched pinion. 1 note the killdee' 

 alarm. 1 hear the "scaipe" of the snipe, and see his jerky 

 flight. I see the swirl of the bass chasing his prey ashore, 

 the leap of the mullet in mid stream, or the la/.} motion of 

 the ear as he plavs near the surface. What possibilities ta- 

 in that dense haniak where the palmetto's fronds answe 

 noisily to the breeze, and the far-branching live oak emhri ci - 

 a brotherhood of trunks. Deer and turkeys arc them 1 know , 

 and an Occasional covey of quail may be found in the edge 

 thereof. 



I have the fever bad, and go over to my neighbor the 

 Doctor. 



"Doc, let's go to the prairie to-morrow." 

 "Ton couldn't have struck a likelier subject," says he, so 

 we tix it up. We will shirt at daybreak, and stay two days, 

 taking his darkey, dog, and my Osgood canoe. 



Is (hers any pleasure iu talking up arrangements for such 

 a trip? Maybe not. Is there any enjoyment in loading 

 shells, getting "traps" together, loading the wagon and tak- 

 ing an inventory of necessaries the night before? Prepos- 

 terous. And how many sportsmen there arc who don't take 

 along divers and sundry articles they don't want, and which 

 are sure to be in the way when the hurry is greatest v Legions. 

 They will do iteverytlme too. And to wind up thesi qi Bries 

 where, on this roll it g ball is tl <• pursuit, or entertainment, or 

 occupation, or whatever you like that will give pleasure 

 clear to lire inan-ow like the sports of forest and stream to 

 the true lover thereof? Give us an easy one. 



The alarm clock goes off with a rattling din at 4 A. M, I 

 was just dreaming that my head was a boiler works and the 

 whole place was in full blast. Out of bed, into my clothes 

 In a hurry, and out to feed the horse. What a glorious 

 morning! There is no suspicion yet In any part of the sky 

 thai a dawn is to break, Thc'stais sparkle brilliantly in 

 50C-1 air. Jack Frost did not actually visit, us, but I 

 know that he contemplated it seriously. What bounding 



half hour's smoke. 

 -,e by, the palm I 

 winter's sur 

 comfort, III 



hay (Northern, billed). 

 During the afternoon Doc. shot some 

 dozen bass with phantom minnow. AfU 

 moss for beds, rigged our mosquito bar, a 

 two, and rehearsing experiences, turned 

 on two strings, and a little distance apart. 

 dropping off, a splash near by aroused us. 

 •■ •Gators, by Jirigl" said Joe. and eettii 

 leaf) he lighted it at the embers and we sf 

 foward the fish. By the light of the to 

 'gator's eyes as he lay out iu the stream a 

 risk, hut before we could get a gun he 

 the lish and f 

 I 



slow, get- 

 moccasin 



rg dinner. 



tlier good 



iroit 



jlected 



the festive board, 

 iipe and 1 took a 

 supper we gathered 

 and afte- a pipe or 

 in. Our fish were 

 Just as we were 



THE CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION. 



tl— THE CbOSE SEASON. 



THE following extracts comprise the major portion of a 

 paper read by Mr. Ramon E. Wilson before the last, 

 convention of the California State Sportsmen's As ociation. 

 There is a great deal of sound sense container] in what Mr. 

 Wilson says. His paper is entitled "The Close Season," and 

 is as follows: 



What a world of meaning these words must have to the 

 wildfowl and upland birds who make their home within a 

 radius of an hundred miles of this city. Mr. President) 

 imagine the feelings of those ducks that unfortunately 

 selected the Alvarado. Alviso. and Strisun marshes and Sher- 

 man fsland as their feeding grounds. What a. pleasureto them 

 it must be to know that they can fly over and across every 

 point of the slough they please, without the least danger of 

 being met with a volley fiom a score of guns; or if they 

 choose to alight among a flock of their own kind, they may- 

 do so with an assurance that they are not among a lot of 

 wooden ducks. What an additional pleasure it must, be to 

 know that the whole marsh is free to them, aud that they 

 may select the bunch of tules for their nesting where, only a 

 little while ago. a man with a boat aud a gun was hidden. 

 dealing out death and destruction. 



The upland birds partake of this pleasure too. Wat a 

 ...imfort it must he to the quail to feel that he need not now 

 get up before daylight to get, his breakfast and get back into 



g a fan (dry palm 

 iemnly proceeded 

 reh we shinc-d the 

 few feel from lire 

 k. We examined 

 nd it couple mangled. Back to bed we went, 

 rdy. Several times timing the night 



ne bu 



she.. 



jbtvasl tin 



la- 



d be 



vhirr 



ed th 



10 



if w 



Helper* 

 ter" but fchs 



ud. 



,'ks 



fog 



ed th 



andv. 



•y b 



cut 



jcame alari 

 back to brc 



,., 1 



ak- 



jumped with gun iind" torch, but failed to get a shot. Be- 

 t ween the mosquitoes and 'gator, sleep didn't do us much 

 good. 



Next morning the fog lay heavily. Doc. and f rose about 

 daybreak, and knowing that ducks nightly resorted to the 

 lagoon just above us, I went to 

 goon and as near as possible. 

 Every few moments we heard tl 

 went' by or the swish as they er 

 was too thick to see. As it ligh 

 aud began to tly. but we got sev 

 fast. 



During the forenoon we shot a few snipe, more ducks and 

 took some fine bass, one of which weighed eight and a half 

 pounds; also a f"W large speckled peich. 



The Osgood served us handsomely, being very steady and 

 as dry as anything that never was wet. With guns, rods 

 and ducks in her (yd could tal e her liom theyyater and carry 

 Ini ,h, -v here with a single hand at each side. We shot 

 ducks from her standing, Doc, making one beautiful shut. 

 1 believe I have mentioned his skill before. This day two 

 ducks at not less thau seventy yards, going down wind like 

 lightning, tumbled to his Dougali. As ah instance of his 

 skill let me give you this : Two wars since he took his team 

 aud dog and started for a day's quail shooting. His wife 

 accompanied him. Through the high pine lands of Florida 

 one can drive iis well nearly off a road as on one. It is all 

 open and clear. So they went here and there, the dog rang- 

 ing, and when he found a covey the Doc. got out and shot, 

 his wife kci ; i ; ei ant, At. night he had shot rifty-niue 

 line-, ;,nd brought home fifty-two" quail. I recently received 

 a letter from him in which he says: "1 went, after quail the 

 other day; found one covey of seventeen, shot sixteen down 

 and bagged fifteen" (without missing). Then- are not many 

 better shots than he in this country. " S. 



OUTFIT FOR A WINTER'S TRAPPING. 



THE season for outfitting preparatory to a winter's cam- 

 paign among the fur animals is now fast approaching. 

 After a summer spent, in various pursuits all trappers wel- 

 come the early frost which soon turns the color of the map! 

 oak and other trees into rich crimson and yellow tints so 

 beautiful to all lovers of nature. 



To trap successfully it is necessary first to have a sufficient 

 number of steel traps which will vary some according to the 

 ground picked upon. We have generally found 85 No. 1, 10 

 " andlOXo. a, sufficient? A double barrel shotgun 

 model TO. will be found 

 axe. all steel, and large 

 will be necessary. One 

 smart active l«»y I* stay 



"cover before the man with thi 

 Mr. President, I took a little trip 

 day, and as I drove along the big 



go in the open season. 



ind feel 



couple of dozen, it see- 



ned to r 



so many quail before 



. Thej 



almost 'under the hoi 



sea' feel 



there, and everywhere 



The- r 



ripe: 



A good 5 



:. and dog comes along. 

 o the country the other 

 ay where I frequently 

 ghi_\ gratified if I can bag a 

 a- though f h'ad never seen 

 vere running in the road 

 itting on the fencee, here, 

 i led through a small fresh- 

 I approached the edge of it, not mure 

 thau twenty-five yards distant, up flew a brace of fine mal- 

 lards, apparently not much concerned, but two months ago 

 the best choke-bore gain in the counlry could not have 

 ruffled a feather. They would have heard me coining 300 

 yards off and would not have stood upon the order of their 

 going, hut would have gone. 



And, Mr. President, as I drove along after seeing these 

 strange sights. I wondered if these birds were not endowed 

 by naturrwith an instinct of their security and safety from 

 harm. But I ceased to wonder when 1 thought that this 

 was the close season, the time which, of all seasons of the 

 year, Nature had selected as the most fitting for the birds to 

 mate, to build their nests, lay and hatch their eggs, and rear 

 their progeny; and that if Nature had seen fit to set apart 

 this time for that purpose they might properly think that 

 Nature should, during that time, protect them. 



And Nature has done all she can. The severe storms of 

 the winter have passed, the high grass forms good cover for 

 nesting, and by the time the young appear, the seeds have 

 ripened aud there is an abundance of food. But there is 

 one thing Nature has not provided against, and that, is the 

 Unnatural, inhuman and cruel man, who disregards these 

 beneficent laws of nature by shooting the birds at this season; 

 The beautiful lesson which is thus exemplified should deter 

 every son of Nature, every lover of what is good and beau- 

 tiful* iu Nature, from violating its laws. Natural law is de- 

 fined as "that rule of conduct which may be deduced from 

 the common reason and conscience of mankind, as opposed, 

 on the one hand, to a system of divine law revealed to man, 

 and on the other, to enacted or formulated human law. 



But, Mr. President, is there anybody who would so far 

 forget his conscience as to wilfully violate such a- wise pro- 

 vision of nature? 



Yes, their name is legion, and they belong to that large 

 class of mankind who have no conscience. 



It has therefore become necessary to supplement this 

 natural law by the enactment of human laws which shall 

 impose a penalty for their violation. Aud now. Mr. Presi- 

 dent, we have "reached a question which, above all others, 

 should seriously engage the attention of every true sports- 

 man: 



How shall the game- he protected and preserved during the 

 close season? 



The existence of a law is not sufficient. The only remedy 

 is by the enactment of wise and efficient Jaws and the en- 

 forcement of them. 



It is true that ever since the Legislature of 1S52 our statute 

 books have contained laws intended for the protection of 

 eanie; but, up to within a comparatively very recent period, 

 no effort has been made to enforce them. For nearly twenty 

 years, yon might say, nothing has been done but to pass 

 "laws. 



As I said before, the fault is not so much with the laws as 

 it is in the non-enforcement of them. Let us search for the 

 causes of this, and see if some plan cannot be devised by 

 which the obstacles can be removed. Among others is the 

 lack of sympathy with the laws on the part of the masses. 

 The number of men who are fond of field sports is compara- 

 tive! c small. 



The people of your cities care nothing about these laws, 

 and nine-tenths of them are not aware of their existence. 



10 gauge, 

 :or fire-arm 

 j knife to y 

 good companion is enough, but 

 at <ainp, will be found profitable. 



II is necessary to start early enon ! 

 be picked out well before freezing weatln 

 places can be found with a good light 



or dugout, or if to the North Woods, in the country All they know is that the game market has a season, bke 

 Of rough, swift-running rivers, we would advise one of vegetables aud fruit. 

 Ibiihiiin's light portable poata, which lie will make to order I f 



Outside of the cities this same lack of sympathy exists. 



