482 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



fjis 18, : 



FimiNQ TN VOMER'S DA v 

 I^ISH i» Homer's day constituted Iml. an unimportant 

 ■A article o£ foofii and that in common use tmly among 

 l he lower classes ol the people. 11 ik never found St nil 

 upon the i hi ii.-.-i ni' heroes in camp nor of princes at their 

 homes. The flesh of domestic animals, particularly (bat of 

 iiie ox, supplied the men! of < In* laborer iri the fields and the 

 ii in irds in Ihe palace. Their Hooks and holds con- 

 stituted the chief wealth of both Greeks mid Trojans. This 

 is to he taken in evidence of their having previously led a 

 i il life, as well a> their depending largely upon the 

 ng of their lands in Homeric times. That [ish did not 

 appear upon the tables of the Grecian heroes at Troy could 

 no! have resulted from ignorance of their use, nor of the art 

 of taking them, for the camp WEB close, upon the shore, and 

 Only a league or 60 below Ihe Hellespont, which the poet 

 updates ol as abounding in fish. (II. IX., 860). The neglect 

 of fish as an article nl diet on Hie part of the higher classes 

 can be accounted for only upon Ihe supposition that they 

 iv i iv esteemed unfit for food. The only instance in Homer 

 where we find direct mention of fish as food is when the 

 companions of Sdysseus are reduced to the greatest straits 

 ' i 1 1 they adopt trie fatal counsel of Eurylochos and 

 devour the oxen of the sun. 

 Hue month incessantly blew the c.ontti wind and nui any oilier. 



torn ard ao wtoS save only the east ami the south winds. 



" i ; wh s hadstorcof bread airl wine tliat is ruddy. 



3d long restrained they their Hands from the oxen, although they 



were hungry. 

 I'm; when indeed our supplies had utterly railed trom the vessel, 

 Then by necessity driven tliey fell upon game that was lawful: 

 Pishes and birds as well whatever ehuuee brought to their dear 

 hands, 

 ■ i i.- Hun were bent;— tor hunger was guawiug their stom- 

 achs. (Od. xn., sss-aa&o 



wanderings had 

 • straits through 



Earlier in the course of his ten year 

 Odysseus and his men experienced simi 

 -I ress of weather, which Confined them for twenty days 

 upon the desert island of Pharos, just off the mouth of the 

 Kile aud in the Bay of Alexandria ; and in the same way 

 did the men relieve their distress. 

 Sofl all provisions had failed, aud the hearts of' my comrades had 



tainted. 

 Had not a goddess divine taken pily on me and preserved me. 

 ( Ihild of a sovereign lord -of Proteus, old man of the waters— 

 Fidnthea: for perchance had 1 greatly moved her compassion. 

 Roaming about by myself she found me apart from my comrades. 

 All the time strolling were these along by Ihe shores of the islnud, 

 Fishing with crooked hooks; but hunger was gnawing their .stomach B 

 n iff (Y., 80*809.) 



The poel describes minutely the art of the angler in a 

 comparison he introduces to show how the monster Seylla 

 seized six of the crew of Odysseus as they sailed past the 

 dreaded ('haiyhdi,. He paints the angler creeping to the 

 cxtreinest point of a projecting rock, and with light rod 

 casting Ihe baited hook to the little fishes to take them 

 through treachery. 



M Asa fisherman ca^ts with his roil trom a ledge Overhanging; 

 Throwing entiling bait to deceive the delicate fishes, 



ii. ■ 'i bit of the horn ot- a. wild 6* 



Jerks from lis bouse aud its home the fish he catches -non gasping, 

 So were these, breathless from fright, snatched oil' and dashed to the 

 ledges -"'' ■\'tl..-.':>:-e.->:, i 



The allusion to the bit of ox horn may prove puzzling lo 

 i.hc disciple of lzaak Walton if he has not also read Homer 

 with especial care. Another passage in the poems, how- 

 ever, makes it pretty plain that what the poet had in mind 

 was a casing of horn inclosing the line just above the hook 

 lo prevent Ihe cord being cut off against the sharp teeth of 



In lislies. The loss of the hook would, in those days, prove 

 a misfortune of serious magnitude, In the last book of the 

 Iliad, Homer lells how Priam ransomed the dead body of 

 his son. He represents Zeus declaring I hat some messenger 

 ot the gods should \ isit Thetis and induce her to persuade 

 her sou P. give up Hcktor's hotly and receive the offered 

 ransom. 

 it- spoke; a. id v,iih foot m the blast went Iris to oorrj fcttemei ... 



Midway belueen the isles ot Humus lllld ImhrUS the rugged 



■ ge i he into Ihe sea: the waters around her were troubled, 



JUSt like a plummet of lead the goddess sank to the bottom, 

 Lead 0.1 the end of a, line that runs through a easing of m bora. 

 Downward goes on its wav bearing death to the ravenous fishes. 



ill. XXIV., ,7-Sl.i 

 The use cither of nets for taking fish or of snares for birds 

 is alluded to where Karpedon warns Hektor to beware that 

 Jic he not taken by the enemy as if in cords of linen all en. 

 closing. (11. V. 487). hi the Odyssey there is plain mention 

 ol this mode of tishiug where Ihe poet tells how the suitors 

 lay piled in heaps when slain, for he compares them to 

 heaps of fishes, which the net of many meshes has, dragged 

 from the hoary sea out on the dry sand, and there desiring 

 ilie water they lie dying in the hot sun. 

 ISe.nvlied then Odysseus his house to see if yet of the suitors 

 i; ■ . ... hidden away escaping the doom which impended. 

 Covered with blood and with dust he saw every one of their number 

 Lying in heaps OS they fell and oiled up like so many tishes, 

 W iliuh from the hoary sea hauled out on the beach of an inlet. 

 Fishermen drag in the net with woven meshes: but all these 

 Uasp for the waves of the sea as they lie in the baud at its margin, 

 has the shining sun destroyed the lives of the fishes; 

 i t he suitors in heaps were lying one over the other. 



(Od. XXII., 381-380.) 



Of the use «*' shellfish aud of the method of taking these 

 Homer makes mention but once, and that by way of a jest. 

 When Hektoi's charioteer was killed and fell headlong from 

 his chariot, Patroklos, seeing him. quaintly remarked that 

 this man would supply a large family diving from n ship 



into the fish-abounding se 

 were very rough. 



ue. the man is nimble! bow easy he phiut-rs 



ome by a sea abounding in fishes, 



he till this fellow diving for oysters. 



dp v.. mid he plunge, although (wore rough 



After such fashion lioi> from He 



for oysters, even if the water notice in addition to the signboards now required bylaw. 

 This is rendered necessary by the fact that, as things stand 

 id, present it is often very difficult to successfully prosecute 

 a I respasser. 



In another column will be found a letter touching on 

 several of these points from a gentleman well known for the 

 active interest which he takes in game protection. His 

 recommendations deserve the careful attention of those who 

 propose to submit bills for action by the present Legisla- 

 ture. His suggestion that each club should contribute a 

 small sum of money toward a fund for additional pay of 

 game wardens is certainly deserving of consideration. It 

 would be likely to have the effect of inciting these officials 

 to greater efforts, and, besides this, would give each club 

 member a personal interest in the doings of the wardens for 

 his section, which could scarcely fail of being of advantage 

 to fin' cause. 



he gracefully plunges. 



ill. XVI.,7-l.Vclll.,i 

 Put Homer affords us ample evidence thai the fisheries 

 were early prosecuted in the water surrounding Greece. 

 When the suitors had been slain at the palace of Odysseus, 

 the bodies of such of the dead as belonged to Ithaka were 

 carried mil for Initial, while those that belonged in cities at 

 a distance were sent home by fishing craft plying among the 

 islands and along the coast of Epirus, a oiicumstanoe which 

 abundantly proves that this industry was actively carried on 

 in these waters at this early day. Soon as Odysseus had in- 

 flicted terrible punishment on the insolent princes: 



Fame, Ihe swift bearerof news, went, ev 

 Telliug the odious death, aud the bitter 

 forthwith, hearing the news, men huiTJ 

 Wailing and groaning aloud in front of 

 Forth from the palace they bore the e 



singly. 



Those who had come from abroad they sent every one to his city. 

 Fishermen carried I he.se home, having pnt them on board their swift 



ves'sels. ,0,1. XXtV., 418-4J9.) 



Isaac Bassf.TT ClIOATK. 



e through the city, 

 suitors. 



JfMW YORK GAME LAMS. 

 <-PEAKEK OHAPIN, ot the New York Legislature, has 

 k appointed as a Committee on Game Laws the following 

 gentlemen : Messrs. Johnson, of Westchester (chairman); Bul- 

 mer. of Queens; O'Connor, of Chemung; Sehermerhorn, of 

 Columbia; McMantis, of New York; MeCarrcn. of Kings; 

 Scott, oi'Livihgston;IIelm. of Oswego, and Locke.of Warren. 



Several of these members we know to be intelligent gentle- 

 men, who are fond of going shooting andlishing. and we un- 

 derstand that a number Of 'hem are members of game pro- 

 tective societies. We have no reason, therefore, lo doubt 

 that they will do the best that they know how. We had hoped 

 lhat the name of Mr. .laities Gecldes, of Syracuse, might 

 have been included in this list, but it has beeu omitted, aud 

 no doubt Mr. (ledtlcs's work outside will be effective and un- 

 ceasing. 



It will be interesting lo observe just now careful and in- 

 telligeut a consideration shall be devoted to the important 

 subject intrusted to this committee's care. We have taken 

 occasion, more tlntn once recently, to set forth pretty plainly 

 our views an the subject of any general change in the laws. 

 'Che trouble with these statutes is nol in their provisions, 

 but in the fact (hat these are not enforced, and are, in 

 many sections of the State, for all practical purposes, 

 a dead Idler. If the laws which we now have are 

 itoi respected, if seems folly to enact more stringent ones, 

 and we feel sure that the wisest course would he to concen- 

 trate all effort on the obtaining an increase in the number of 

 nui gaiiic protectors and a liberal appropriation for payiu 

 thorn for their work. 



There arc, however, several much needed alterations which 

 deserve the earnest consideration of the Legislature. Oue 

 of these, anil the most important, is the abolition, without 

 exception, of spring shooting. Neither ducks, nor geese, 

 tun brant, not Wilson's snipe, nor bay birds of any kind, 

 should be shot after February 1. Their return lo their 

 breeding grounds in spring should be free from molestation. 

 Many of the species are already paired before they leave us 

 in spring, aud all the destruction that goes on at thai season 

 tends to lessen the number of birds which will visit out- 

 bays, beaches, aud meadows when the autumn once more 

 brings around the shooting season. It is strangely incon- 

 sistent to protect certain birds after January 1, and to per- 

 mit others to he slaughtered as long as they can be found. 

 It may be said that it is only the migrating species that tire 

 allowed to be shot in spring, but what of that? Why should 

 they be killed just as they arc about to reproduce their kind, 

 any more than the quail or the ruffed grouse',' Moreover, 

 some species of ducks, as well as the so-culled English 

 snipe, frequently breed with us. 



The truth is thai the killing of game in spring is just of a 

 piece with the whole policy of our government and our 

 people on this subject up to Ihe present time; that is, it is in- 

 conceivably short -sighted and stupid. Even to-day, after all 

 the efforts that have been made to arouse interest in the sub- 

 ject, the man who litis any intelligent comprehension of the 

 proper methods to be pursued in protecting game is just 

 about as rare as a black fox. Almost everything that has 

 been accomplished in this direction is the result of private 

 effort, which has had to struggle against an appalling amount 

 of ignorance and prejudice. 



How to stop the jacking or tire-hunting of deer in the 

 Adirondacks is a difficult problem ixnA one which may claim 

 a little attention from our game clubs. This practice is 

 carried on almost entirely in the close season, and is, there 

 fore, really already forbidden by law, though not in explicit 

 terms, its we think it sbould be. It is a most destructive 

 method of hunting, and the shot that kills the old doe carries 

 death also to two tiny spotted fawns. 



Another change, which is strongly to be recommended, 

 is such a modification of the section relating to prosecution 

 for trespass, as to allow the owner or lessee of property to 

 announce his intentions to keep the shooting or fishing of 



lam Saving and Fowl Shooting.— We have heard 

 for a long time complaints that the men employed at the 

 life-saving stations scattered along the coast, do a great deal 

 of injury to the shooting, by their continual hammering at | 

 the fowl which resort to the localities near these stations. 

 Many, indeed most, of the men employed in the Life Saving 

 Service are old bayman and gunners, good shots, and well 

 acquainted with the habits of fowl. These qualifications, 

 say those who complain on this subject, render them very 

 destructive to the birds, the more so because they are within 

 easy reach of the shooting grounds, and have abundant time 

 on their hands to indulge in their fondness for gunning. If 

 these men confine themselves to killing fowl at proper times 

 id in proper places, if they shoot only during the hours of 

 tylight, and do not disturb the birds upon their feeding 

 grounds, no one can with any color of justice complain 

 because they kill many more birds than most sportsmen arc 

 able to. But if, as is said to be often the case, they harry 

 the birds continually, putting out batteries on their feeding 

 grounds, aud shooting the fowl at night, by means of lights 

 and with big guns, it will certainly be in order for that 

 department of the government which has charge of this 

 service to issue an order limiting, or even entirely prohibi- 

 ting, the use of firearms by the crews of these stations. On 

 many accounts we should be sorry to see this done, but we 

 know that there are some stations where the privilege of 

 shooting is grossly abused. The pay of this service is 

 wretchedly insufficient, the life a lonely and often a hard 

 one, aud we should regret to see the amusements or privi I 

 cges of the men curtailed. But they should, for their own 

 as well as for the public's sake, exercise some moderation in 

 their shooting. The time has come for protecting our fowl 

 by every possible means, and this is one of them. 



JP e Mp° r t sl H* n S£onri$t. 



NHvlROD IN THE NORTH. 



nv lieo'. fked'k sciiwatka. u. s. Atoir, 

 II. -Shooting- Among- the Seals and Sea-Horses. 



rpHE reader will remembei 

 JL the northern part of Hi 

 Esquimaux, The name 1 -w 



that our winter camp was in 

 dson's Bay, among the Iwillik 

 il-lik is derived from the Es- 



catcis, that being among these people Hie principal source 



eaters, whose original homes bad been with the great body 

 of their large tribe on and near King William's Land in 

 the Arctic Ocean. Thus living among the seal and walrus- 

 caters, I had occasion to sec and hear much concerning 

 the habits of and hunting adventures with these curious am- 

 phibious animals that supplied them with their daily suste- 

 nance. 



The walrus, or as he was anciently called and is still some- 

 times dubbed, the morse or the sett-horse, (the Trkhcrh us 

 rusiiiarus, Linn., of scientists) may be popularly described 

 as an immense seal, with upper canine teeth prolonged into 

 huge tusks. The weight, of the walrus can be easily remem- 

 bered as a ion. although that may be slightly in excess of 

 jngth of from fifteen to 

 ce around the fore-flippers 

 lese fore flippers are about 

 ten expanded, of covering 

 Item rapidly through the 

 oi-t stout aims. They also 

 heir youug and wounded 

 taw s is covered by a horny 

 link that, they were hard 

 the purpose of protecting 

 around over the rough ice 

 Some have claimed that they 

 D their flippers, like the house-fly's 

 they readily climb upon the 



the ave 



age. Tn<g 



atfaii 



a It 



righted 



feel, and a 





cten 



of about 



half these a 



mounts 



Tl 



.../lie. 



3 to pr 



two feet long arid capabl 



eonsidc 



water v 



use thet 



comrades. The in: 



cuticle that wotdd make om 



workers, but evidently subse 



their palms while slapping tl 



in their bunglesome gait. 



have the power of suction 



foot, and that in this man 



huge ice cakes where they are so often seen, especially in 

 the Arctic summer, but 1 do not think this has been proven. 



The walrus flippers, when properly cooked, are considered 

 a great delicacy by the Innuits, as the Esquimaux call them- 

 selves, and I must say that to those who have habituated 

 themselves to their diet in whole or in part, their judgment, is 

 good. They cook them by simmering them all day in the 

 half -boiling *wa ter in their rude stone kettles over their 

 peculiar native lamps, aud when thus prepared, leaving out 

 a slight walrus flavor, they could not be told from pickled 

 pig's feet served hot. 



The form of government of the Iwilliks— if they can be 

 said to have any— is a sort of communism; but to the slayer 

 of a walrus is accorded the head, oue fore and one hind 

 flipper above the share which is apportioned to any that 

 may come along and help slaughter the animal, or even to 

 those shiftless beings who appear in time to help drag it into 

 the village near by. Even again when it reaches the village 

 it may undergo another subdivision, for the refusal corner 



I of an Innuit's heart is rounded off with the most abounding 

 charity. 

 I have spoken of the walrus flavor, and this is almost 



