250 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Ootobue 27, 1881 



formed a very neat surgical operation on a jug, showing the 

 abdominal viscera through a spectrum of lee to the justice 

 and the constable, and the delighted defendants were per 

 mitted to depart. 



IIE CANNOT CIRCUMVENT THE DUCKS. 



Carson, Nev., Oct. 14. 



Editor Forest and Stream : 



About four miles from here is Washoe Lake, a body of 

 water some three miles long by one and a half miles wide. 

 During the fall and spring months this lake is a favorite place 

 for ducks and geese, but owing to the open Dature of the 

 lake and its surroundings the game is difficult of approach, 

 and it is seldom that, a large bag can be made. There are 

 one or two feeding places near the mam water, but they also 

 are too open, and I never visit them but that I come 'away 

 disgusted at my poor luck. I have been there when there 

 were thousands of ducks sitting on the water and skimming 

 oyer it away out of reach, and have returned home some- 

 times wihout a bird. 



Now I want your assistance and the assistance also of our 

 brother sportsmen in this matter. How can lout-general 

 those aggravating birds ? Will a sneak-boat help me ? I 

 never saw one of these modern contrivances — merely the cuts 

 of them that have appeared in your valuable paper. Won't 

 you please give me the information I so much desire ? And 

 can you give me the plans of a sneak-box, providing that 

 would enable me to approach the birds on a body of water 

 such as I describe? I have tried decoys along the borders 

 of the lake, while I lay concealed in a good, natural blind, 

 but even then 1 have met with indifferent success. I am en- 

 raged at the ducks and geese that frequent that lake, for 

 when I'm about its shores they sit out four or five hundred 

 yards, and seem to take delight in quacking and honking at 

 me, and if I can succeed iu contriving some plan by which I 

 can get my No. 10 within reach of them I'll make them 

 think that the gun is a strong shodter. 



Will you assist me ? And if you ever vi«it this land of 

 silver, sage brush and dirty Indians we'll go for a shoot. 



Sn ao. 



OCTOBER DEER STALKING. 



ABOUT the second week in October stalking may be said 

 to come to an end, so far, at least, as the stags are con- 

 cerned, for hind-shooting follows in due course. Singling 

 Out a good "yeld" hind from her companions at, some" dis- 

 tance is one of the most delicate points in forestry. Nor 

 after the stalker has come to a decision is she very easy of 

 approach. Hinds arc proverbially watchful and suspicions ; 

 they are generally told off as sentinels where deer are lierd'- 

 ing together, and the yeld hinds are the most wary and dis- 

 trustful of all Yet hind shooting is comparatively little in 

 favor, though it tasks skill and experience to the utmost, 

 while the superior quality of tbe venison is a consideration 

 not to be ignored. We do not sav it is the difficulty of the 

 sport that discourages the sportsman, nor do we believe it. 

 But the enthusiast who is prepared for hardships, exertions 

 and disappointments, naturally sets his affections on the 

 trophy that is the symbol of an anxious but successful day. 

 In examining the deer through the glass his eye turns tirst to 

 the horns. It is a blissful moment for him, and his heart 

 beats faster than before when the ruagnificeut stag, hit cleau 

 behind the shoulder, lurches forwarefin his bounding gallop 

 to drop heavily "in bis tracks" — when he admires the 

 stately head he has made his own, with the branching antlers, 

 brow, brae and tratt 



This year many fair stags have fallen, and it has been a 

 successful season in most forests, for the wea'her has been in 

 favor of the rifles. It may be toilsome work stalking over 

 steep hills and deep valleys, in brilliant sunihiuc or the close, 

 thundery atmosphere that is even more trying. But nothing 

 is more disheartening than the driving wet that envelops the 

 ground in rolling vapors, with occasional gnats of wind from 

 all points of the compass that baffle the best concerted 

 strategy. In such a season it is mainly a question of en- 

 durance, and a man goes about the indispensable crawling in 

 more buoyant spirits when the heather is dry and the streams 

 are shrunken than he does when he may be sowing the seeds 

 of future rheumatic attacks in the saturated peat bogs and 

 among torrents in miniature. Ye', however successful a 

 season may be, veterans will shake their heads and sigh over 

 it. Deer-stalking, they will tell you, has degenerated, and 

 the deer are not what they used to be. Iu one sense, wo can 

 hardly doubt that the latter assertion is true. Such grand 

 heads as may still be seen decorating the porches and the 

 walls of highland lodges are becoming excessively scarce, 

 and the race of stags that used to carry them is well-nigh 

 extinct. For this there are obvious reasons. The modern 

 breech-loading Express rifle is a vast improvement on the 

 ordinary weapons our fathers were in the habit of handling. 

 By killing nearly point-blank at something like a distance of 

 150 yards, it spares the eager stalker the most difficult part 

 Of the stalk. Moreover, by the fatal facility it offtrs for re- 

 loading a stalker whose soul is set upon butchery can dis- 

 charge shot after shot, at random into the rapidly vanishing 

 herd. Then, thanks to Wimbledon and the " running deer 

 targets," with similar opportunities of practice, good skill 

 with the rifle is become a very common accomplishment, 

 while the very precautions that, have been taken for fostering 

 the deer have been far from tending to assure the survival of 

 tbe handsomest. Fifty or even thirty years ago it was a 

 very usual practice to combine the sheep-walk with the deer 

 forest. The shifting about of the shepherds and their dogs 

 kept the restless deer continually on the alert ; and there 

 were stags, like the "micklehart of Benmore," immortalized 

 by St. John in his " Wild Sports of the Highlands," which 

 were well known over a wide range of country as hav- 

 ing had the best of their games of hide and seek with their 

 pursuers. But now, when sportiug rents have been steadily 

 rising, it has been found more remunerative to clear the 

 forests of the sheep, and a fortiori of those cottagers, with 

 their families, who used to vegetate in hovels in the seques- 

 tered valleys. The most efficient sentinels of the deer have 

 been killed down simultaneously. Hawks and ground ver- 

 min have been spared that they may destroy the grouse, 

 which might. Bpring up with their cry of alarm at the most 

 critical moment of the stalk. The consequence is that the 

 deer have become more domesticated and more stationary in 

 their habits, and far more approachable. Wherever a tempt- 

 ing head may show itself, it is marked by the forester in 

 Charge of the ground, and the chances are that before the 

 end of the season it hangs dangling in the limpness of death 

 across the withers of a shooting pony. 



Thus Scotch deer can no longer attain the patriarchal age 



embodied in tbe well-known Celtic proverb which hid its 

 origin in the days of the bow and arrows. On the other 

 hand, although the area over which they roam may have 

 been diminishing, there can be little doubt that they have 

 greatly increased in numbers. It occurred to Mr. Bass a 

 year or two ago to have a census taken of the tenants of the 

 forest of Glenquoich, and though the figures can only be an 

 approximation to the truth, we may assume that they ars 

 roughly trustworthy. Judging by the rent, which is given 

 at XI, 800, Glenquoich is far from being a first-class forest. 

 We believe that the more famous forest of Atholl has been 

 leased for considerably more than three times tbe money. 

 Yet in Glenquoich, according to the estimates of the 

 foresters, there were, at tbe time of the census, from 800 to 

 900 stags, which should mean something like double that 

 number of hinds. The return whs doubtless founded on 

 careful calculations, but many people would be surprised by 

 it, and would not have supposed that tbe extent of forest 

 measured by the rental could give satisfactory feeding for so 

 great a number of deer. Any systematic attempt at counting 

 heads, except when a tract of country has been driven, is al- 

 together a new idea, and therefore it is impossible to form 

 an opinion by comparison. When Scrope wrote his work on 

 deer-stalking, which was published in 1888, he estimated the 

 deer in Atholl at between 5,000 and 0,000; and he gives the 

 extent of the forest as forty miles in length, while it was 

 eighteen miles wide at the broadest part ; it contained 135,- 

 000 acres, of which 51,000 were given over specially to deer ; 

 and it comprises some of the finest grazing iu Scotland. If 

 Mr. Bass's returns are even approximately correct, they go 

 far toward confirming another suggestion of the reasons why 

 the deer deteriorate in size. Many of the forests must be 

 overstocked, as, perhaps, they are over preserved. An 

 animal accustomed to a quiet life no longer cares or dares to 

 wauder. He frequents the familiar straths and corries, ac- 

 cording to the changes of wind and weather, and, with the 

 overcrowding and consequent scarcity of pasturage, must 

 fall away in weight and condition. 



The multiplication of the deer may be carried to excess, 

 but, after all, it is the more satisfactory side to err on. 

 Under any conditions, legitimate deer-stalking can never be 

 anything but the most exciting of sports. The grouse may 

 be kided down and the ground kept undisturbed, but the 

 aeer will always be the most wary of animals, not even ex- 

 cepting the wild goose. He sees or smells possible danger in 

 anything or everything. If the weather is rough, it is diffi- 

 cult to get within shooting distance, because the wind brings 

 the scent of his enemies to him from afar, aud even the 

 forester who is best acquainted with the ground finds it hard 

 to calculate on the treacherous air currents. It is often more 

 difficult to approach the deer when the weather is fine and 

 calm, because then their instincts have directed them to some 

 exposed slope, where there is neither heather bank 

 nor moss trench to give cover to tbe stalker. When, 

 too, science and strategy have done all that can be 

 done ; when each act in the sensational drama has been con- 

 scientiously played out ; when you have taken the bearings 

 of the group of deer by landmarks impresssed on your mem- 

 ory previous to fetching a comp iss upon them of some miles 

 more or Jess -, when you have crawh d down the bed of the 

 burn and wormed yourself through the peat moss : when 

 yard by yard, almost inch by inch, you have slipped yourself 

 forward over the slope of the heather brae; when at length you 

 have dragged yourself under shelter of tbe knoll from which 

 you contemplate making the final advance — then, when your 

 hopes are at the highest, they are often cruelly dashed. A 

 duck rises from the weed-covered "moss pot;" a mountain 

 hare hops out of its seat ; a curlew whistles or a lapwing 

 shrieks; perhaps it is some tiny moor bird that pipes its feeble 

 treble of warning. It is all over with you for that stalk, 

 and you know it. Tbe deer prick their ears and sniff the 

 air, edging away in the opposite direction. The sportsman 

 will let them go regtetfutly, though some men may shoot 

 wildly in sheer pique, with the probability of missing and the 

 possibility of wounding. But if there are odds against kill- 

 ing in a difficult stalk, the gratification of success is propor- 

 tionate when, after having had time to recover the wind and 

 steady the throbbing in the tremulous pulses, the well-bal- 

 anced weapon is brought calmly to bear, and the bullet is 

 placal mercifully in the vitals of the victim. Deer-stalking 

 is the most sensationid of all sports, salmon fishing aud fox 

 hunting not excepted, and the only drawback to it; is that the 

 amateurs is always under tutelage. Were it for nothing else 

 but judging the currents of air, he must avail himself of the 

 local knowledge of the professional. "Watching the passes" 

 is pleasant, too, though it may be condemned as almost bor- 

 dering on "pot-hunting," since unsuspecting animals are shot 

 from an ambush. After all, nothing but practice can make 

 pel feci in it, aud there is something romantic as well as ex- 

 citing in thestart from the lodge in the darkness before dawn, 

 in fording streams and scrambling up steeps by the light of 

 the lanterns borne by the gillies; in ensconsing yourself 

 among the rocks on the mountain ridge, and listening to the 

 footfall of the deer on the shingle, or watching for them as 

 their forms emerge from the mists. Driving deer, as a rule, 

 is open to great objection. On State occasions, 

 and by way of ceremonial parade, when the proprietor of the 

 forest is entertaining some personage, it may be all very 

 well ; and, moreover, there are historical associations and 

 precedents in its favor. Tbe venerable Spottiswoode tells us 

 how in that same forest of Atholl to which we have already 

 alluded, the earl of the uame in 1508 formed a circle or tinchel 

 of 2,000 of his clansmen, and passed as many of his deer un- 

 der review before the beautiful and unfortunate Queen Mary. 

 But the modem drive is almost invariably abused by men 

 whoshoot indifferently, andareraoreof butchers than stalkers. 

 We have heard on excellent authority of batteries of Express 

 rifles held in reserve for the hands of the gentlemen, who 

 discharge their contents into the terrified herd that is crowd- 

 ing past within easy shooting distance, while a cordon of 

 armed gillies has been told off to put the most severely 

 crippled animals out of their misery. How many escape to 

 pine away or mnke a painful recovery is one of the secrets of 

 the forest that prudent retainers will keep dark. Driving is 

 far more unsportsmanlike than the bateau, and one objection 

 to the excessive preserving of deer is the excuse it gives for 

 thinning them in unsports uanlike fashion. Bow Bells. 

 Edinburgh, Scotland, Oct. 1, 188L 



Spirit Lake— Spirit Lake, Iowa, Oct. 15.— Ducks and 

 geese coming in plenty now. This season bids fair for splen- 

 did shooting for the balance of the season. Geese nest here, 

 as do a great many kind of ducks. At this time of year 

 most of the shooting is on the wing, aud royal sport it is, 

 too, till every slough and lake is frozen. Fishing fairly good 

 this fall— pike (wall eye) and pickerel mostly. If any one 

 wants rare sport this is the place for it.— A. A. Mosheb. 



BARNEGAT DUCK SHOOTING. 



\ IT1LD FOWL shooting has been tolerably good in Barue- 

 VV £ & t Bay during the latter part of the past week. A 

 party of four amateur sportsmen bagged sixty-nine head of 

 ducks, besides numerous yellowlegs, plover, brant, snipe 

 loons, etc. 



Captain Dell Crammer, of Manahawkin, and Mr. F. oii- 

 phant have had fitted up, for the accommodation of sports* 

 men, a gunning scow, which has been aptly named tlia 

 Ark, the cabin of which is large and comfortable ; and two 

 well ventilated staterooms, having two double berths j n 

 each, afford ample room for a party of six or eight ; while 

 excellent clam chowder, oysters, ducks and sea food geoer- 

 ally, make up the bill of fare. The Ark is anchored to the 

 meadow, opposite Manahawkin, very convenient to the 

 feeding ground of the numerous wild fowl which frequent 

 the bay. A row of ten or fiiteen minutes in the early morn, 

 ing, after a 4 o'clock breakfast, will bring you to a good- 

 gunning point, and after the decoys are placed iu position 

 the fun commences. 



Having enjoyed good sport last week I feel like recom- 

 mending the same to my brother sportsmen who want a few 

 days shooting near home. 



A letter addressed to Captain Dell Crammer, or Frank 

 Oliphant, Manahawkin, New Jersey, will receive a reply with 

 ilesired information on the subject. 



The feed is plentiful this season, and after the next cold 

 snap there will be plenty of wild fowl in the bay. 



J.E. M. L. 



LAKE ERIE DUCKING GROUNDS. 



Mr. T. B. Kern, of the Bradford, Pa., Era, has been 

 duckingon Lake Erie, and this is what he has to say aboutit: 



Along the southern coast of Lake Erie, extending west 

 from Sundusky to the southeastern boundary of Michigan, 

 are thousands of seres of marsh lands, the prmcipd produc- 

 tion of which is ducks aud musk rats. Much of this land has 

 been leased by sporting men r< presented by wealthy membira 

 from Chicago, Cleveland, Toledo and other Western cities, 

 each club annually controlling 3,000 to 4,000 acres. One* 

 club paid $8,000 for a desirable building spot and their club 

 house was built at a cost, of $4,000. It requires considerable- 

 surplus cash tOTemain iugood standing in any of these tony 

 institutions, and at a low estimate it is considered that esoli 

 duck killed is brought to bag at a cost of over fifteen dollar" 

 to each member. The ducks are attracted to the i -put H 

 wild rice, on which I hey are vociferous feeders, aud which 

 the clubs sow in liberal quantities each season. Usually the 

 season is opened at the different club houses by a grand bajl t 

 on which the occasii n is enlivened by the presence of ladies. 

 Giod music is always in attendance, and asumptu us supper 

 is otre of the many attractions. Each club employs * 

 number .of patrolmen, whose business it is to warn all in- 

 trudersfrom trespassing on their grounds. Farmers whose 

 estates extend along the marshes manage io put it lj9 

 profitable use. The farmer under whose hospitable roof the 

 Bradford party were furnished quarters eiwns sixty-it}-" 

 seventy-five acres of farming fields and 500 acres of ndffil 

 lands. From the latter he derives a revenue by keeping m 

 iting sportsmen during the spring duck and snipe shooting 

 and the fall duck and fiuail season, by furnishing the shoonj 



with board aud boats, and giving them permissi slim 



over his grounds for a liberal eompensa'ion. During tfy 

 winter and spring months he traps and otherwise calwi 

 1,500 to 2,0U0 iniiskta's on his marshes, the hieles of which 

 he finds a ready market for. The marshes am dot ted in 

 every direction with muskrat houses, and in their construc- 

 tion these animals exhibit, much of tie ingenuity of I he 

 beaver, to which they are allied. Their houses are comical in 

 shape and are visible some three or four feet above the «at«r, 

 They are made of sea moss, weeds and wild rice stalks, to- 

 gether with leaves »nd sprouts of the wild lily. When the 

 marsh is frozen over and the ice is strong enough to heur (he- 

 weight of a man, the hun'er provides himself with a spear, 

 and, accompanied by an otter hound, visits the rnuskrel 

 lodges. If the latter are inhabited thn dog points them »M 

 setter or pointer does a turd. The hunter tlieu approach** 

 and thrusts bis spear through the thin, soft wall until the 

 sharp blade pierces the rat, and he is torn from I 

 and soon deprived of Ins hide. This manner of securing the 

 game is not looked upon with favor, and the oidinary plan' 

 of catching them with a steel trap is considered more legiti- 

 mate. 



About the 10th of September the blue and greoii-wujgl 

 teal Uy iuto the marshes in large flocks, aud furnish exc<-'-' 

 lent sport for the experienced duck hunter. They are Ma 

 most gregarious of the duck family and are usually fou«6Vlo*j 

 large flocks. 



The wood duck, with its beautiful plumage, is also fmulAi 

 early in the season. Both of these, as wi II as the mall»n)ii 

 breed here. Tbe wood duck usually builds its nesi li 

 trees. The mallard nests in some lonely swamp, or in UK- 

 eluded marshy spot. The nest of the teal is seldom toned ( 

 Little ducklings soon after being hatched display much gfl 

 nine in hiding among the weeds or diving along the g[jjfl| 

 banks and remaining under the water, allowing 

 bills to protrude only sufficiently to breathe. The pintail*] 

 it is said, do not breed this side of the Arctic regions. 



The best open water ducks are the redhead, the ennw*. 

 back and the blue bid. The marsh ducks are the muljH 

 widgeon, bald head, whistle head, plug head, teal and W| 

 spoonbill. The canvas-back feeds on wild celeiy or ajfl 

 and seldom stops along these marshes. One* of one ps*VH 

 however, was fortunate enough to knock one down. 



A Noviii. Proposition— Monroe, N. C, Oct. 7 .— I J»]jj 

 been quail shooting twice this month, oil the afternoons «B 

 the 5th and 6th. I found the birds very abundant ; 4MB 

 about five eovies, two of them full grown, the others lib**' 

 two-thirds grown. My old dog, six years old, came tepj 

 work ia fine style, and worked as well as when he Q U ^JH 

 fall. My young dog, one aud one-half years, was ntM 

 rough aud seemed to have forgotten what, he learned MJ 

 year, as he was perfectly broken then. 1 have a boo»i|J 

 which I intend to keep an accurate record of the number <£ 

 shots I make during the open season on quail, and tbe bob 

 ber of birds bagged, and would suggest that otl 

 meu do the same, and when the season is over we all P*j 

 our records to the Forest and Stream for publication, suw. 

 may make a comparison and see what, tbe average will Wjflj 

 we can then tell what percent, of the shots ought to *"\3 

 a crack shot. I have no idea that there is a single subscW** 

 but would send a true report — just as well as if Bworn.w 

 do so. — Colt. 



