THE AMERICAN SPORTSMAN'S JOURNAL- 



Knterea According to Act of congress, la the year 18S1, by the Forest ana Stream Publishing Company, In the Office or the Librarian ot congress, at Washington. 



^^^l^jr'iult^o^r-} NEW YORK, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER I O, 1881. Ua^Kf^,^^. 



CONTENTS. 



Editorial :— 



[J The Shooting ; Maine Game Wardens ; The Atlanta Rifle 



Tournament 283 



The Sportsman Toubibt : — 



From Okeechebee to the Gulf ; The Seven Ponds ; Auto- 

 biographical Fragments ; The Coming of Winter ; A Week 

 in aDug-Out 284 



Natural Histori :— 



Migration of Shore Birds ; Food of the California Indians ; 

 Brave ; Mud-Inhabiting Swallows 283 



Game Bag and Gun :— "* 



State Pigeon Tournaments j Maine Wardens and Visiting 

 Sportsmen ; J ottiugs of a Chicken Shoot ; The Missisquoi 

 Bay Mai'hhus ; Rust Spots iu Gun Bitrrels ; Where to 

 Shoot ltail ; Notes from Missouri ; Sportsmen and Farm- 

 ers ; Havre do Grace Duck Shooting ; Wild- Fowl Notes ; 

 Food of Squirrels ; Game in Dutchess County 289 



Bka and Biveb Fishing : — 

 Fish of Vermont in 1810: Fishing on the Neva ; Fishing for 

 Count 292 



FlSHOULTUHB :— 

 The Propoaed Hatchery for Long Island ; FiBhcultural 



Notes 293 



The Kknnel : — 



Training vs. Breaking ; Dog Transportation ; Kennel Notes. 294 



YAOBTINa AND CANOEING : 



How to Lay Up ; A Reply from Mr. Lawton ; Toulmin's 

 Ellipsograph ; Drier than Sloops j Tho Pocahontas 290 



answers to correspondents 293 



Rifle and Trap Shooting 297 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



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 are invited from every pan of the country. 



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The Editors cannot be held responsible for the views of correspond- 

 ents. 



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FOREST AND STREAM. 



Thursday, November 10. 



Specimen copies of the Forest and Stream will be sent free 

 to any address upon application,. 



Statb Pigeon Tournaments.— A number of communica- 

 tions on this subject are deferred to next week. 



Florida Argonauts.— The story of the Florida expedi- 

 tion told elsewhere is one of the most interesting of the 

 Florida papers published in this journal. 



Does Training. — We bsgin to-day the publication of an 

 important Berks of articles from the pen of our Kennel Edi- 

 tor. Mr. Hammond calls his system dog training versus dog 

 breaking. It is aptly so styled, being a decided departure 

 from the beaten path trodden by other writers in their treat- 

 ment of this subject. His own methods, as here described, 

 differ from the practice of the average dog-breaker, The 

 author's practical success in following the methods he advo- 

 cates is at once a source of pride to him and a sufficient proof 

 of the m rit of his system. The series of papers will extend 

 through ten chapters. We invite for them the special atten- 

 tion of amateurs and veterans. 



THE SHOOTING. 



THE reports which we have received from various sources 

 would seem to indicate that the season which has just 

 opened will be a very favorable one for fowl shooting. It 

 is perhaps too soon to pronounce upon this point, for, 

 owing to the warmth of the weather up to this time, the 

 birds have not made their appearance in as great numbers 

 as usual, but we understand that on the Potomac, the Chesa- 

 peake and at Currituck the grass and celery is more abun- 

 dant than it has been for years. In the years when there 

 is plenty of food there are usually great numbers of fowl, 

 and- all the accounts which we have so far, up and down 

 the coast, unite in stating that the feed has never been better 

 than it is at present. 



We hear that along the Connecticut shore the coots were 

 plenty during October, and that the old squaws and broad- 

 bills are on in some numbers. In Great South Bay, L. I., 

 the shooting has been fair — say forty birds to a gun from a 

 battery during the morning. These mostly redheads, broad- 

 bills, coots and old squaws. At Havre de Grace, Md., the 

 opening day showed fair bags, although the weather was 

 bad, being very still and misty. From 3,000 to 3,500 ducks 

 appear to have been bagged. We need some sharp weather 

 to start the fowl along before any really large bags can be 

 hoped for. "Homo's" letter in another column gives a good 

 general idea of what is being done on the Maryland shore. 



From Virginia and North Carolina we have as yet no sat- 

 isfactory reports. Sprig- tails, black ducks, teal, and a few 

 widgeons have been on there for two or three weeks, but the 

 great body of the fowl have as yet failed to put in an ap- 

 pearance. We have made arrangements to have early 

 advices of their advent to these grounds, and shall give 

 prompt notice of the fact to our readers. We published, 

 several weeks ago, a hint as to the best means of reaching 

 the grounds in North Carolina, and it may be well to repeat 

 it here. Those who intend to visit Currituck can take the 

 3:40 p. m. train at New York, as per advertisement of the 

 Associated Southern Railways in another column, reaching 

 Norfolk at 9 o'clock a. m. They should leave the train at 

 Snowden, which place is reached at 10:50, and proceed 

 thence by private conveyance to Currituck Court House, 

 where they can take the steamer Cygnet for Van Slyke's and 

 other landings. If for any reason the steamer should be 

 detained, they can continue overland to the shore. The 

 charge for conveying passengers from Snowden to Van 

 Slyke's will, we understand, be $2 each. The agent at Snow- 

 den will furnish all necessary information. There is no 

 hotel at Currituck Court House, but a good dinner can be 

 obtained at Captain Walker's. We uoderstand that by 

 taking the all-rail route, via Richmond and Petersburgh, one 

 can leave New York abont 9:30 o'clock p. m. and reach 

 Snowden at 6:55 p. m. the next day. 



It seems likely that the exodus of duck shooters to points 

 in North Carolina will be greater this year than ever before. 

 Besides the members of the various clubs, such as the Kitty- 

 hawk, the Currituck, the Palmer Island, and others, many 

 will go who are not club members. There is a constantly- 

 increasing appreciation of the sporting advantages of these 

 grounds, and now that they are brought within about 

 twenty-four hours of New York, we may expect to see them 

 more frequently visited than ever. 



The large clubs on the Sound, no matter how much they 

 are grumbled at by men who are not members, accomplish 

 one very important thing which benefits all who shoot. They 

 protect a great extent of feeding ground, on which compara- 

 tively little shooting is done. The fowl before long learn to 

 know that they have a refuge on these grounds— a place 

 where they will not be persecuted— and so they become more 

 tame, and are not driven wholly away, as is often the case 

 when they are constantly harassed at every point. If we 

 take the Kittyhawk Club as an example, we can see how 

 much good it will do in this way. It has, we are told, about 

 250 miles of water front, but there are only twenty-eight 

 members, and even if we suppose them to shoot the whole 

 season through, they could use but a very small portion of 

 their ground, and on the remainder the fowl will be un- 

 disturbed. 



Of the brush shooting we have, we regret to say, reports 

 not quite so favorable. 



In Connecticut and Rhode Island quail are said to be fairly 

 plenty, and in Massachusetts much more sothan usual, owing 

 no doubt to the wise and liberal policy of the Springfield 

 Rod and Gun Club which turned out this spring about 300 

 birds. These have spread up and down the river for thirty 

 miles and have bred and done well. Quail have also been 

 rather abundant on Long Island, but except on preserves, 

 they have been pretty well killed off. In New Jersey, our 

 correspondents report them scarce ; in Pennsylvania they are 

 more plenty. In the Southern and Western States they are 

 reported as numerous. Ruffed grouse are scarce everywhere, 

 if we may judge from the reports received from all sections. 

 Woodcock are fairly plenty, and have only been on a short 

 time. The best shooting will probably be within the next 

 two weeks. We hear from Connecticut and Massachusetts 

 that there was a good flight last week. Now is the time to 

 go. One real cold snap will send almost all the birds along 

 South, and advantage should be taken of the present good 

 weather by all who can get a day or two off. The recent 

 rains have made the work of dogs and men easier tian it has 

 been, and we shall expect within a couple of weeks to hear 

 of some fair bags. 



THE MAINE GAME WARDENS. 



THE correspondence relative to the Maine game wardens 

 is developing some facts which it is well for the public to 

 know. In another column we publish a letter upon this 

 subject ; it comes from a highly respectable source ; and un- 

 less the statement made therein can be disproved, the proof 

 is conclusive that there is something very decidedly rotten in 

 the present condition of affairs. 



It appears to be pretty clearly established that some of the 

 Maine game wardens are guilty of a gross dereliction of duty, 

 which cannot be excused by attempts to shift the blame from 

 residents to visitors and back again. It is clearly the duty 

 of the wardens to apprehend and bring to justice all offenders 

 alike, whether they live in Maine or have come from other 

 States. But our correspondent affirms that some of the 

 game officers are so covered with their own sins against the 

 game laws that they dare not prosecute others from fear of 

 being exposed themselves ; or else they are deterred from 

 tier plain duty by the desire to shield their guilty relatives 

 and friends. 



This is just the state of affairs to be expected where the 

 game wardens are appointed from the districts in which they 

 are to serve, and from among the ranks of the guides. 



The only way to secure a set of wardens who will not 

 shrink from a fearless discharge of their duty is to put in men 

 who are not hampered by their own misdeeds, nor by their 

 relations to neighbors ; and such men must have been, pre- 

 vious to their appointment, non-residents of the district in 

 which they are to serve. A salary of eight dollars a mouth 

 manifestly will not pay such men. An adequate State ap- 

 propriation should be made for the puipose. The revenue 

 accruing from " visiting sportsmen" is sufficient to warrant 

 a proper provision for fostering it, by duly protecting the 

 game attractions which support it. Protection of game is 

 here not a matter of sentiment, but of business. 



The rule applies to other States and counties which derive 

 a revenue from the sporting public. The sooner we look at 

 this thing in a common-sense light, the sooner will we have 

 efficient systems of game protection. 



Departing from our usual custom this week, we repro- 

 duce from one of the magazines a sketch of life in the woods. 

 "A Week in a Dug-out" is from the pen of a frequent and 

 valued contributor to our columns, and is reprinted by us 

 through the courtesy of both author and publishers. The 

 interest of the sketch as printed in Harper's is much en- 

 hanced by tbe capital illustrations for which that magazine 

 is famous. By the way, we venture to say that few readers 

 of our illustrated monthlies appreciate the expense to which 

 their publishers are put in providing such work as they supply 

 month after month. The average cost of I he Harper's Maga- 

 zine illustrations alone for a single number is said to be 

 $5,000. Such a scale of expenditure and corresponding ex- 

 cellence could hardly have been dreamed of by the projectors 

 of that magazine when they printed the first numbers. The 

 magazine is now in its sixty-fourth volume. 



