Acorsr 4, 1881. 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



£ 



(§iw[e §a$ and (§un. 



FOREST AND STREAM GAME TABLE. 



OFE> SEA SO|»8. 



The seasons, In wMen It is lawfnl to shoot game 1q the several 

 i : ■ . open OS designated la the following taolo. 



on. 



(Ml... 



conn 



iMkntu 



1). C.« . 

 Gft* i. 



hl.tho*. 

 Ill 



I'lfl.. .. 



[crwft... 



Kan... 

 Kv'.... 

 !-:• 



Mich..-. 

 Minn.. 

 Miss. .. 



Oct. SO.. 

 July]... 



sepu i. 



Aug. 15.. 



013. 1... 



Aug. 1.. 

 sept. 1.. 

 ti-i.l... 

 scut. 1.. 



Muy Y.'.~. 

 -tuiTi... 



July 4.., 



... 



Sept. 1.. 



Aug. 1... 

 CICt 1... 

 Nov. I . 



Oct. i... 



Oil. 1 



,.l 



S'pt, 1.. 

 Aug. 1 . 

 Allg. 1 



X.-b. .. OCfcl 



. Aug. 1.. 

 N.He.. 

 N.-J./.. 1B<* 



X. Mex. Sc|ii. i. 

 AUg. 1 . . 

 Aug. 15 

 Oft. 15.. 



unci 

 01 i. 1 .. 



Julyl... 



O 



or 



Pa 



K. 1.. . 



Tews.* 



Tex a ■. // 



riali... 



A'-.. 



Ta.' .— 



Wash'.. 

 * B 



Wis. ... 



XV JO... 



Aug. 1.. 



sept i.. 



Aug. I .. 

 Aug. 1 .- 

 ~ept, 1.. 



Sept.. 1.. 

 Allg. I.. 

 Ju'yis.. 



- . e . . i. 



\,;. If 



Quail, 



Vinn- 

 uled 

 Qromse 



{Plaiiir 



en). 



Sept. 15 



Sept. -:. 

 Piriht rl. 



tict, ■.... 



Aug. 15.. 

 Nov. 1... 

 NOV. 1... 



oct.l ., 



sept i. 

 oot i... 



Nov. 1.. . 



Oct. 1... 

 Nov. 1.. 

 Oct. SO.. 

 Sept. 15. 



1SS3 

 Oct IB.. 

 KOV. I.. 



Sept. 15. 

 oet 1... 

 oct. 1... 

 Aug. 15.. 

 Nov. 1 .. 

 AUg. 1 



Allg. 1... 

 let, "... 



AllgVu' 



Oct. 1.. 

 Aug'.' 16 



Se'pt.'i 



. Aug. 1.. 

 Oct I,.. Aug. 15 

 Nov. 1 .. fppf. 1. 

 Oct I,.. I Aug-. IS 



Sept I. 



Dot. 80.. 



St]ll. 15 



Sept. 1 . . Sept 1 . 

 Sept. I., Picfli'd. 



Septi. sppt. 1. 



....'Sept. 1. 



Sept, 1 



OCt. 15.. 



All'.'. 15.. 



Sept. 1 . . 

 Sept. 1 . . 

 Nov. 1.. 

 sppr. 1., 

 sept i.. 



Oct 16.. 

 Oct i... 



Sep-. 1.. 

 Sept. 1 . . 



NOV. 1 



iept 



Nov. 1.. 



net. 1... OCt.l.. 



JUly 4 .. NOT. 1.. Sept, 1. 



Aug. I 



Oct. 15.. Oct 1... 



Nov. 1.. 



Sept. 15. 



sept. 15. 

 sept, 1 . 

 1SS3 



artiiyd .. 



~ept. i .. 

 sept. 15. 



NOV. 1 . . 



Sept 



Aug. 1.. 



sept. 1 



Sept, 15 



sept. 15. 

 sept. I.. 



sept. is. 



sept. 1.. 

 Aug. 1... 

 Aug. 1... 

 sept. 1 

 Aug. 15.. 



Sept. l . Oet. l . . 



Sept l.i , 



...Joct.1.. 

 .... Sept. 15 

 .... OCt. 1.. 



Sept. l 



Aug. i 



. Sept. 1. 



Nov. l . 

 July 1 . 

 Oct.!.. 



July i 



Si,M. 1 

 Aug. 1.. 



Sept. 1, 



sept. 1 . 



sept. 15 

 .... Sept. i. 



Septl. 



Aug. 1..I 



Kept. 1. Sept. 1. 

 Aug. 15'Aug. 15 



... ,-r..i.. sept, 1; Idaho, Aug. 1 ; Neh., Oct. 1 ; Nev., Aug. 1; 

 N. Mex , Sept. i ; Itali, -AUg. 1 ; Wyo„ Aug. 15. 



/ic,-M.<...-<nlf>., Sept. 1 ; Neh , Oct, 1 ; N. ilex., Sept 1. 



- vie... -ci. 1: N. 11., sept. U 

 D,,,-,:-:— Ma., Aug. l ; oal., July l ; (la., Oct 1 ; Kan., Aug, 1 ; Miss., 

 . MO . Any,. 1 ; N C, Oel. 1 j S. ( .. Oct. 15. 

 . lolo., s. pi. j i Idaho, Aug I; Alien., Nov. l ; Neh., Oct. 1 : 

 Nev., Aug. 1 ; N. .Mex., sepl.l; Or,Julyi-, Ulnh, Aug. 1; Wyo., 



l.l; N. H.. Sept, 1 e ; ore., July 1. 

 ■■,.,. .-col., sept. 1 ; Neh , Oct, l ; Nev., Aug. 1 ; N. Mex., 

 Sept l ; Utah, Aug. i ; Wyo., Aug. 15. 



,..,.,. - e ...sin.': Me.. Aug. 1; Mo.. Aug. 1; Nev., Sept. 1 ; N. 

 H.. Aug. 1 ; i\;,..J'Uv 15 : R. L, Aug. 1. 

 «,n7.— iiel., sept. '■ : N. J.. Sept : Pa., Sept. 1. 



Sept. 5; D. C, Scut, i : N. j., Aug-- 85 ; Pa., Sept 1. 

 I . ...■,.. n ; P. 0., Sept i ; Nev., Sept. 1 ; N. C, Oct 15. 



special county laws, a The deer law ap- 

 i Wildlowl not protected on the coast, 

 HUsOO opens Aug. 15. d California quail 

 ouulv deer season opens Aug. 1; moose 

 open woodcock season began July l; 

 idling prohibited to Nov. l, 18S2, incoun- 

 -aloga and Albany. Wildfowl 



1 - 



1 ' ■ 



VtlllClOSftAUg. 



ties. I Morngoi 

 sces.m In Long 



hi . i • -.« Cell..... 



leer only. 



The Minnesota Tuahus Coioken Season does not open 

 until Sept* 1. 



PRAIRIE CHICKEN SHOOTING. 



THE reports -which have come to us of the pinnated 

 grouse, or prairie chicken, shooting in the West this 

 seuson°are very promising. Ourconespondents are uniformly 

 of the opinion that the season of 1881 oq the prairies will 

 foe all that t"e spot sman could ask. The law is'.off in Dako- 

 ta, Illinois, 1 >wa. Missouri, Nebraska and Wisconsin August 

 15, and in Indiana, lim-as and Minnesota Sept. 1. 



Kepo ts have come to us during trie past week as follows, 

 and we hope that our friends at the West may supplement 

 these letters with news of the game supply in other locali- 

 ties: 



POINTS ON TUB CHICAGO AND NORTHWESTERN RAILWAY. 



The Chicago and Northwestern Railway Co., 1 

 Chicago, 111., July 25. j" 



Ed'tor Forest and Slream: 



I am advised that chickens are plentiful on our Winona 

 and St. Peter line, west ol Rochester, and on our Iowa Di- 

 vision, west of DeWm. I give the names of some of the 

 town? whi re sportsmen will find hotel accommodations, and 

 in some cases I have the names of the principal hotels. 

 Where the names of the hotels are not given sportsmen will 

 find good accommodations without any trouble. I do not 

 know the exact rale in any case, but most of the best West- 

 ern hotels charge transients from $1.50 to $2 per day. 



Our rule is to make a rate of one and a half fare lor the 

 round trip for hunters. No charge is made for carrying 

 dogs and guns, and hunting tackle in baggage-ears, nor are 

 baggage men allowed to make any charge for the same. 



,.—iie Witt) Cchir Rapids (hotels: Grand Hotel, 

 Northwestern Hole], Coleman House), Tama, Nevada, Ames, 

 Boone, Ogdeu, Murshalllown, New Jefferson, Denisou, Dun- 

 lap, Wall Lake, Sac City, Battle Creek, Mapleton. 



Miiint:M>t-i.— Roches'er (hotels: Cook "House, Pierce 

 House}, Owatonna (hotels: Arnold House, Park Hotel,), 

 Waseca, Mackato, Easota (hotel : Railroad Hotel), St. Peter 

 (hotels-. Nicollet tlotp-e, Commercial House, Northwestern), 

 Red w. od Fails (hotels: Commercial Hotel, Exchange Ho- 

 tel.', Tracy, Marshall, Lake Benton. 



Dtfkotd,— Watertawn, Brookings, Volga, Desmet, Huron. 

 Truly yours, W. H. Stennett, G. P. A. 



Rons of one granger member, that if the crow was driven 

 away the eouu'ry would he visited by a small white worm 

 ihat would reduce the State to a howling de-ert. The crow 

 had 10 go, however, and our sportsmen are assisting him in 

 his migration to the best of their ability. Some think they 

 must have heard of the law, as they are more careful to keep 

 OUi of gunshot than before their exemption from harm. 



ThiB season promises to be a good one for the sportsman in 

 this vicinity. Quail are very numerous, comparatively few 

 being killed last year. Even on the outskirts of this city the 

 voice of the Bob White may be heard in the evening, and in 

 the course of an evening's ride numerous broods will be 

 flushed. 



The chicken makes its home on the high prairie during the 

 summer months, and parties iu from those sections report 

 them verv numerous. 



The Blue and Kansas rivers Unite at this point, and large 

 sloughs are numerous, so it. may well be imagined that there 

 is high sport, during the fall and winter. Geese and ducks 

 are very numerous, the former on the rivers, and the latter 

 both on the rivers and sloughs. 



When the season fairly opens I shall give you some furl her 

 notes. Ju-t now there is nothing to hunt except squirrels, 

 and they are not very numerous. Amateur Sportsman. 



TIIE I'fiOSPEOTS IN IOWA. 



Morning Stjn, Iowa, July 27. 

 Editor F<>re*t and Stream : 



The chickens are here in fair numbers and, as the law is 

 olf the 15th of August, we expect some sport in that line 

 soon. Plover are beginning to come in, and there are said 

 to be some snipe in the Iowa bottom. — M. S. I. 



Lincoln, Neb., July 27. 

 Editor Forest and Stream : 



There is good plover shooting in the vicinity of the city. 

 Two of us went out the other afternoon and bagged between 

 thirty and f, :rty. One can hear quail in every direction when 

 outside the. city limits, and twice I have heard iheni near the 

 State house withiu ihe last two weeks. Reports from the 

 country are to the effect that prairie chickens are plentiful. 

 The shooting season opens Aug. 15. I fear the game laws 

 here are not" very strictly observed. The cry club offers a 

 premium of $80 for the conviction of a member of any club 

 for violating the law, and $10 for the conviction ei anyoiher 

 person. Still I apprehend chickens are beiug shot all the 

 same. Thermometer 54 this a. m.— Buku H. Polk. 



THE MINNESOTA SEASON. 



Minneapolis, Minn,. July 28, 1881. 

 Editor Forest and Strnam : 



The open season on prairie chicken in Minnesota com- 

 mences Sept. 1. The Legislature changed the date 'o Sept. 

 1 at, its last session, 1880-81. Let me quote from the Revised 

 Statute approved Feb. 28,1881: '-No person shall kill or 

 pursue with inieot to kill any ***** 

 nor any prairie hen, or chicken, nor aoy white-breasted or 

 sharp-tailed grouse or prairie chickens, saving only during 

 the months of September, October and November ; nor any 

 quail or partridge, nor any ruffed grouse or pheasant save 

 only during the mouths of September, October and Novem- 

 ber." 



Prairie chicken are reported quite plenty in this vicinity, 

 and we anticipate good sport, if the coveys are not broken by 

 farmers' boys and unprincipled guuners who style themselves 

 sportsmen 



I saw a par' y from the Rice Lakes (about fifteen mi'es 

 nor heastof here, and famous for its grand "pass" shooling) 

 who says there is more rice in the lakes this year than there 

 has been for fifteen years. This argues well for some excel- 

 lent sport amoug the rice ducks this fall. If any of your 

 correspondents want any wild rice, I thiuk I could make ar- 

 rangements forgetting some this year. F. Y. H. 



Moiieis, Minn., July 28, 1881. 

 Editor Forest and Stream : 



Chicken are more plentiful than before for years. Ducks 

 also in large numbers. Scbsobibeb. 



. OUR DETROIT LETTER. 



THERE is consternation in the camp of I he pigeon shoot- 

 ers. The place where the Michigan State Medal Associ- 

 ation does its shooting is a part of the llamtramek race track 

 inclosure oiled Hurlineham Park. Of this G orge V'oorhees 

 is lessee, and he rents to the Medal Association. The law 

 of ibis S ae, under which ihe Society for ihe Prevcn ion of 

 Crueby to Animals operates, contains ihis clause : "Any per- 

 son who shall rent any building, shed, room, yard, ground 

 or premises for the purpose of * * * shooting any ani- 

 mal, fowl or bird, or shall knowingly suffer or permit ihe use 

 of any * * * ground or premises belonging lo him or 

 under his control for any of these purposes sha'.i, on convic- 

 tion thereof be adjudged guiby of a misdemeanor." 



The penally is imprisonment in jail not exceeding three 

 months, a fine not exceeding SI 00, or both such fine and im- 

 prisonment as the Court shall determine. 



Mr. Voorhees yesterday received from James Forsyth, 

 Secretary of the Society "for the Prevention of Cruelty to 

 Animals, a letter notifying him ihai the Society hail finally 

 resolved to enforce the law with respect to pigeon shooling. 

 In consultation with some of ihe leading men of the Medal 

 Associalion, Voorhees has said that he will make a test case 

 in the courts if the A-socimion will stand by him. In my 

 opinion it is extremely doubtful if the men who shoot will 

 undertake anything of the kind. They think the ensiest 

 way is the best way. They are not anxious to gc into a 

 wrangle with the law, and some of them are more than half 

 inclined to ihink that after all they deserve the appellat on 

 "pigeon murderers," which has frequently been applied to 

 them hereabout. That is to say, there is in the minds of 

 some of them a ha'l'-detine-l notion that it is not the manliest 

 thing in the world to trap and kill half played-out birds 

 after the fashion of bushwhackers, and I think I begin to 

 observe signs of disintegration in Ihe pigeon shooting clubs 

 in the West. In respect to the present controversy, the 

 Society for the Prevention of Cruelty occupies the van at e- 

 ground, having put the shooters on the defensive and being 

 The chicken season in Kansas does not open until Sept. 1, gin iu the strength of law and the undoubted drift of public 

 the last Legislature having given this bird one more month sentiment, I do not quite know how this will strike the 

 holiday than it formeily enjoyed. The season closes Decern- \ readers of Foiiest and Stkeam, but if facts are what they 

 ber 1. Quail cannot be shot, until October 1, and the. season t want, they may possibly thank me for writing and this jour* 

 extends tiniii the first of January. One goodact the Legisla- ' mil for publishing the naked truth, I express no opinion of 

 ture did, however, was to remove their protection from the i my own on the merits of the case, What J have written, 

 dtSlrut-rr.. Was done in spite, of the proiesta- ' here is i>v<!ii.y liistory 



Ed.itor Forest and Stream : 



GA5IS IN KANSAS. 



Manhattan, Kan., July 20. 



The law in relation to woodcock shooting takes effect in 

 this State August. 1, but in the meantime the pot-htitilers are 

 bazing away, and woodcock are Belling at ft-1 to S-L50 a 

 dozen. Even at those figures they are very scarce, and t»>e 

 market is not especially eager for them. I have detected 

 some signs of conscience among sportsmen here, ind it is a 

 genuine pleasure to record the fact, that most, ol them have 

 steadily refused to pull a trigger, thotijh July is, in theatrical 

 parlance, an "open date" in Michigan. 



At Point Mouillie Marsh, President Colburn informs me, 

 mallard, blue-winged teal, andwoodduck are breeding lively, 

 and the promise for September 1 is urcommonly gorgeous. 

 At the St. Clair Flats ducks are plentiful already, but vandals 

 are killing them at an outrageous rate. They dare, not bring 

 them to town, nor let it be known who they are, else the gen- 

 uine sportsmen would invoke the law upon them in a half 

 minute. 



That bear, which two hunters of Rogers' Lake presented 

 to E. H. GiUruan a few mouths ago, and which was sent 

 over to Belle Isle by the latter, escaped soon after it« arrival. 

 Yesterday a policeman, going through a woods on the island, 

 tound the poor beast dead. It had fouled its chain in a log, 

 and unquestionably starved to death. 



The fourth annual tournament of the Howell Gun Club 

 will be held at Howell, Mich., on the Detroit, Lansing and 

 Northern Railroad, August 9, 10 and 11. It is to be a tour- 

 nament with glass balls", open to the world and one or two 

 counties of New Jersey. There will be a no pro rata purs6 

 each day, and in addition to the regular purses, the manage- 

 ment announce a citizen's purse of §150 in gold, ofier purse 

 No. 8, on August 11. ErB-OrESEB. 



HINTS IN THE ART OF DUCK SHOOTING. 



Being a Familuk Lettek to One Who Has Been a 

 .Gkeenhobn. 



My Bear Fellow : 



Of course not; you will not own up that you were ever 

 whnt you now style a "pr.enhorn." Oh, no; you never 

 hired a punier and paid him two dollars per dav to locate 

 you on some old root or point over deep water in a cramped 

 position all day, with an occasional high or wide-flying duck 

 to strain your gun at if he happened to fly in front of you, 

 where you coud "s«ing" on him without losing your bal- 

 ance, while the said punter went off "to scare 'em up," which 

 scaring up consisted iu locating himself on some good feed- 

 ing ground in shallow water, where he did scare them up — 

 without shootuig — well knowing that the ducks were 

 "wonted," and would straggle along back all day to the craCte 

 of his old muzzle loader, and the loading of his old dug-out 

 to its u'most wilh "green heads," "hen mallards," "pin- 

 tails," etc. Toward nigh' he pushesa'ong back, asks, "How 

 many you got?" and picks up your "ge'," which consists of 

 o.e that fell behind ihat point of deet-tongue, one or nvo in 

 the high grass and one or two that can be ie rieved A fe-v 

 davs later you are surprised to learn ti at Old Smith— with 

 ihis same punter — "killed ninety -s,-ven ducks and was in at 

 three o'cock." 



How many seasons did it take you to learn that the best 

 places were saved by these punters for just, such good fellows 

 as Old Smith, ami that Old Srnilh gave the said punier that 

 die -p single b»rreled breech-loader with whi3h is luhccrip- 

 pies for Old Smith and ducks for the market when ncn en- 

 gaged in finding the be-t places for Smith or guarding the 

 same anain-t encroachments of "greenhorns" and others that 

 are not up to 'he dodge of fees and perquisites ! 



How many seasons did it take you to learn to depend on 

 your own judgment, to watch the" flights and go where ihe 

 ducks were, and where they would come back, and to get. a 

 good blind if it took till noon ? You must well remember 

 how you were prone to stop at the first poiut where > ou saw 

 a few ducks flying over, and how afer gelling partly blinded 

 you would think you saw greater numbers over some other 

 point wi en you wou d pull up stakes and move. Of course 

 you don't remember in your early clays "cracking a cap" at a 

 duck at least three gun shots hig", and t en saying " Cosh ! 

 if that gun had gone off I'd a-killed him sure"— and you 

 wondered why I laughed. 



And you don't remember getting vexed at a man because 

 he called you "Mark" when y ur name is George. Oh ! no. 

 You were never a "greenhorn." You never jumped up a Licit 

 a duck was 200 y arcs from you, and coming strai lit on? 

 W by, I've seen you do it, time after time, season after sea- 

 son. And d ) you remember bow you wouid occasionally 

 tlv ow up your gun when the duck was within ihiny or forty 

 yards, take it down again, and then regrel ihat you did not 

 shoot, as you imagined he was too far awa\ ? Also, U .wmuch 

 time was wasted while poling or pulling across the flat or 

 other open water by stopping and crouching every lime a 

 duck could be seen wilhin half a mile. 



Again, how long did it take you "to learn ihe marsh?" 

 And not to be lost by the time you had pulled 500 yards from 

 the open channel ? You had u t the s ightest idea of marking 

 your surroundings. It took years to learn to note th'iig- in 

 the distance ; to mark the risings antl depres-ions of wood- 

 tops, hills, curious y-shaped trees, house tops ^tc, against 

 the sky— things ihat can be seen long after twilight. You 

 were always obliged to leave the shooting grounds by four 

 o'clock for" fear of being caught out after dark. 



I t' 11 you we were all "greenhorns." It t kes years upon 

 years of active ducking to get half an education in that, line ; 

 to learn the effects of winds of varying force and direction, 

 stages of water at Which to visit cer'.rn points, ihe color of 

 the clothes you should wear and of the boat you use. How 

 many limes I've teen your o'd bl- ck hal i r coal bobbing up 

 and down when you were a mile from me awnss the marsh, 

 while I would scarcely catch a glimpse < f oih i turners at 

 one-quarter the distance, who hud bat and coat of "dead 

 grass" color late in the fall, or the proper shade of green in 

 September, or of brown if blended in the deer-ton " 



How smart we feel and how we pity the green one in his 

 great yawl boat, with perhaps a big sta-uliug keel that pre- 

 vents his going into shallow water— his aplashings, noisy 

 ways, black clothes, etc. And ye 1 , let us strike one of those 

 old "natives" — "marsh rats" — that have beer, market shooting 

 and "punting" all their lives ; then how green we feel mid 

 how fully we" appreciate the impossibility of our ever learn- 

 ing half his craft — a knowledge that seems to be a second na- 

 ture, although acquired during a life-time in the "mash " 



We go out with our paient decoys, our pat, nt guns, our 

 improved boats, our fancy blinds, anil met thoroughly bid iu 

 the high grass on 'he point After awhile along comes your 

 "marsh rat." His old muzzle-loader lies in the bottom of his 

 old skiff. He pulls ashore, never noticing the occasional 

 duck that mayfly past ; cuts a small armful of rwms ; I 



