DtSCKMBEK 8, 1881.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



9 



369 



[from tbere ahoot and kill the game within reach. 



' g ami Rovallon were to form on the 



16, Brccksville and Richfield on thfl east line, Bath 



flger on the BOUtll, and Medina, Brunswick and 



On the west. Preparations on an extensive 



a commenced throughout tie entire region and 



it for the impending chase began to fun I i ;b 

 i ' day of December came. It was a clear, brisk 

 day. A slight crust of snow covered the ground and the 

 ! and the ground were frozen hard. Before the 

 alight had commenced to steal through the. leaf- 

 id shivering trees, the noise and laugh' er of meu ad- 

 eVery direction toward the line, the hark of 

 Hi the sharp ring of rifleshots re-echoed through the 

 i from far and near. Startled and alarmed, the deer 

 :i i in their hur and bounded" in long strides for 

 ie iu the wild confines of the central township. Many 

 •ese animals are overhauled in their flight by the swift 

 before the fun of the day has really commenced. The 

 jit and hears just returning from their night's raids in 

 Bttlemeiits sneak off in precipitous flight before the un- 

 and hide in the thick swamps and cavernous re- 

 issues of llinkley. 



'Sorm the large hunting host is in line on the four sides of 

 flfcbatile'ground. The men take their positions and form 

 inline, the companies touching at the four corners, and soon 

 1 equate is perfect. The north line, composed of the set- 

 1 Cuyahoga county, numbers about 180 men, many 

 |m from the then infant, settlement of Cleveland. It is 

 il of T, N. Ferris, of Hoyalton. The west line 

 men, and is under charge of Judge Wei ton, of 

 eld, and Carry- Oaks, of Brecksville. The south hue, 

 ■ command of Zanes Hamilton, numbers about 100 men, 

 e west line, under Abrara Freeze, of Brunswick, num- 

 xmt 120 men. These five captains form the Board of 

 [era and the whole affair is under their immediate con- 

 id direction. 

 re hunters stand a'ert and anxiously wait for the signal 

 lieu a long-drawn blast from a horn comes from 

 the high hills iu the uorth and echoes down the valley. It 

 swered on the Ki est and down it passes along its line, 

 it comes east and up back it goes to the north. As the 

 fagle sound dies away the word "all ready" passes 

 mouth to mouth, and with it the advance begins. 

 Steadily the columns press on, silently at first ; then comes a 

 wild shout and soon the echoing roll of musketry as the wild 

 :s through the woods and the thick underbrush 

 |B the advancing host. The north column is the first 

 se in the hi|u ire on the center; then follows east and 

 md south. It was now almost a solid phalanx of men 

 ling close to one another. 

 ' i i'i madness and utter despair by the terrible con- 

 and slaughter, the deer, led by the stags, dash in 

 Jain st the lines; many are shot, others are forked 

 Ibed, ami some, the larger and fleeter, escape— 

 over the heads of the hunters. The frightened 

 , quivering and foaming, with their large eyeballs 

 .led, rush back and forth, from side to side, and the 

 massacre continues. The orders are strict that all firing 

 must he done low and towards the centre, to prevent injury 

 in t'ae men. f n one of the rushes made bv the deer against 

 irtl column, Lathrop Seymour accidentally receives a 

 Hfeliot in his shoulder and one in his left leg. He is dis- 

 band is conveyed back to the rear to have his wounds 

 It is now past noon, and the carcasses of several 

 deer lie strewn on the ground through the woods, 

 two bears and several wolves had been killed up to 

 ne. It soon became apparent to the captains that it 

 he impossible to kill all the game closed in the square- 

 specially the bears and wolves, the extermination of 

 was really the purpose of the hunt — without another 

 ce being made from the four sides. This could not be 

 without endangering the life and limbs of the hunters, 

 mcil of war was called, and it was decided that the 

 i should hold their positions, and that no further long 

 ". tiring be dune, and the killing of deer and small same 

 shibited. William Coggswell, of Bath, Me., the prince 

 jiintsmon in his day in Ohio, and " Riley the Hover," 

 auother famoushunter, who was located at Cleveland, and 

 whose proper name has slipped the memory of the old 

 Millers, were then ordered, with eight more meu. to advance 

 »;. I i i centre, and "stir" up the wolves and bears and 

 We them come out. The men on the lines were to keep 

 ah, and kill the animals as they came out from their 

 its. The men entered the. arena, and their experience 

 t told in the words of Coggswell, who started in in 

 ace of the little squad. 



soon came iu contact with plenty of wolves and bears, 



slid several of them, when I saw near the centre 



tonstrous hear— I think the largest I ever saw of 



fcpecieB. We wounded him twice, so that he dropped 



1 time, when he retreated toward the south line, and 



((lowed in hot pursuit. About this time the 



line advanced about forty rods; they had become so 



slasticin the hunt that they could be restrained no 



jtt, and this brought them within a short distance of the 



anil myself. My dog, whom 1 had left in the rear, 



J me after the bear, broke away from the young man 



imd him in charge, and came running to my assistance. 



et the bear just as he was crossing a little creek on the 



ran up the bank within twenty-five or thirty feet of 



ir, and stood several feet above him. About this time 



ieu on the south line commenced shooting at the bear, 



-• dly regardless of me and my dog. There were prob- 



n guns fired within a very Bhort space of time, and 



jts sounded to me very much like a hail storm. As 



old Bruin got his head still so T dare shoot I laid him 



bile (hey were tiring so many guns, a great many per- 



oed in me to come out or I would be shot. ; but, as it 



neither myself nor dog was hurt. The bear soon 

 imbed to the hot lead that was being poured into his 

 When the monster had been killed the south line 

 regardless of all orders, and they were soon joined by 

 ree other lines." 



a general search commenced in the centrennd through 



cjuts and caves r<n the sides of the hills. Several more 



and wolves were found killed, the last one being a 



led wolf which had secreted itself in the top of a fallen 



Firing now closed: darkness was coming on. The 



mjre called together by a trumpet call near the spot 



re the big bear had been killed. They were ordered to 



large their guns and then stack them. Then the laborof 



' ig the game commenced. First the wulves were drawn 



nteen. 



i M'as then decided that the bounty money— then paid by 

 °'a'.e for wolf sca'ps — should be expended in refresh- 

 fov the hunting host. Accordingly two men were di&» 





patched to the settlement of Richfield, several miles on the 

 Bastj tjiere to procure what they could find, and return with 

 it to the scene of the day's action. Wiihin a lew hours the 

 men returned, bringing a barrel of whisky, drawn in a sled 

 by a yoke of oxen- In the meantime the other game had 

 been ;alhered, and il was found that there were over 300 

 di er and twenty-one heart. A routing big (ire was built, 

 and the Scene which bad recently been a vast slaughter pen 

 had now turned fnto one of boisterous jubilation and merri- 

 ment A roll call was mad'., and it was found that i here 

 were four hundred and fifty-four men on the croued. Aad 

 then, as " liiley Urn Rover", " of Cleveland, the bard of the 

 occasion, describes it in his lines on this hunt, composed some 

 years after : 



" They set the turret on one end, 



Ami novo (la- cillnTtn ; 

 They us.'.l lor tapper to attend 

 A ladle made 01 'to. 



" The wht-:i: ■ r i men, 



Was drink bv men uprltrht, 

 And none would deem U hurtful men 



To drink eii such anight. 



"Then every rami drank what tie eho-e, 

 And rdl wre men of spunk; 

 But nor a fighting wrangle mse. 

 And not a man got drunk. 1 



Toe word was now passed that the whole squad camp here 

 for thenight. A half dozen men soon had hod of the big bear 

 and, drawing htm up by the hind legs, jerked off the skin 

 and the fat. The greasy carcass wass. on Masting and spitting 

 before the large camp fire. But few of the hunters had 

 brought a little "Johnny cake," and a slice of bacon or 

 venison, and they r all evirced a sharp appetite for something 

 to eat. * When the roasting had been completed au onslaught 

 was made with bowie knives on the body. But as there was 

 no salt in the camp the food served became nauseating. 

 From this it went to song, then speeches, and finally tbe 

 night wound up with anecdotes of adventure, and pioneer 

 life. As morning came a division of the game was made. 

 A committee consisting of Henry Eoyt, of Liverpool ; John 

 Bigelow, of Richfield, and William Coggswell, of Bath, was 

 elected to make the di vi -ion. After the proportionate shari s 

 had been allotted to the different companies, the journey 

 homeward was commenced, some of the hunters living 

 twenty and thirty miles away. 



Many of the men who had congregated here on fhe won- 

 derful occasion had been entire s'tangers to one another, but 

 after the night's strange and mutual festivities they had 

 grown on terms of brotherly friendship. It had been a joy 

 and pleasure to all of these sturdy pioneers who were the first 

 to unfold the beauties of the beautiful "Reserve." to meet so 

 many of their kind here, isolated and alone as their da;, shad 

 to be spent then in battling with the foiest and clearing their 

 farms The game was tied on slicks, and then away the 

 hunter* wandered up the hills and down the valley, north, 

 east, west and south in twos, wilh the end of a slick on their 

 shoulders, the trusty rifle under their arms and a (Iter, wolf 

 or bear banging between, its bloody head dragging over the 

 frozen , snowy ground. 



Then this "valley of death," with i s quiet little si team. 

 which had many centuries ago been a powerful torrent, and 

 for many, many years had filled this broad expanse with a 

 mass of rushing and seething waters, grew still ajain and re- 

 mained so for several years, until in 1822 the settler came 

 with his axe and plow, and it is now a land of fruitful fields 

 and pleasant homes and fine houses. O. N. 



HOW HE GOT HIS DUCKS. 



Editor Forest and Stn 



BAi/mionE, Md., Nov. 28, 1881. 



There is, and has been for some time, good shooting on the 

 Gunpowder Bridge, about nineteen miles from this 'ei'v. on 

 the P. W. & B. R. R. Fair accommodations may be had at 

 the bridge for fit per day. I have been out twice, but, being 

 only a tolerable shot at. ducks, I did not briug tuany to bag. 

 At a low estimate, I should say from seventy-five to one hun- 

 dred men were on the bridge this morning, armed with every 

 description of fireann, from an old armyf musket to a Mo. 4 

 breech-loader. 



I left at noon with six in bag and double that number 

 which fell to my gun in the possession of other gunners. 

 There are a lot of fellows who make a practice of claiming 

 every duck that falls iu their neighborhood. Some, of these 

 fellows claim to be gentlemen. There was oue of this de- 

 scription on the bridge this forenoon, arm d with a W. & C. 

 Scott & Sons' No. 10 and au 8-bore by Green, who actually 

 claimed every duck that he tired at f although I saw Him 

 make countless palpable misses), and his man was rapidly 

 picking up ducks enough to half fill his boal when I left. I 

 suppose he had about sixty to his credit (?). He was so polite 

 when he claimed his bird that no one seemed to dispute the 

 point. 



On my return home I casually related my experiences of 

 the forenoon and happened to mention this fellow's name to 

 a gentleman who knows him well. "Why," said he, "that 

 man is one of tbe poorest shots I ever know, but lie 'always 

 manages to get more ducks than any one else. He was so 

 notorious for claiming ducks that did not belong to him that 

 no one would shoot with him when he was a member of the 

 Carroll Island Club, some years ago." If this should meet 

 the eye of the pariy in question he will learn that at least 

 one of his victims knew he was being duped at the time. 



Tou will, perhaps, wonder why some oue did not "kick." 

 Wbat good would it have done ? His man picked up all the 

 duck= he claimed and remained out in the stream in his boat. 

 I shall organize a Clique that can outclaim him when next I 

 go ducking. Cues. A. Peaks. 



Virgima— Abingdon. Nov. SO, 1881.— Our quail shooting 

 began NOV. 1, but birds are not abundant anywhere near 

 town. Some five or six miles east Of us Ibey are reported 

 numi roils and but little disturbed. Squirrels have been un- 

 usually plentiful this fall, and have beenhawked about the 

 streets for 5 cents each. Ruffed grouse, in local parlance 

 pheasants, are said to he found in fairly laree numbers on the 

 " knobs," from two to three miles to ini t wn. The rugged 

 character of the country they frequent prevents their being 

 hunted to any extent. Two 'bears were killed on the moun- 

 tain twelve miles south of town, two weeks ago. Mast, 

 while scarce in most localities this season; is abundant here,' 

 hence the prevalence of squirrels and 01 her such game. Some 

 deer and turkeys are reported on the mountain, but there are 

 very few within easy reach of town. I am planning a short 

 excursion in a day or two, and will report results.— Will. 



VELOCITIES OF RIFLE BULLET AND OF SOUND. 



Stevens Institute of TEOHNOtOGt , ) 

 Ilobokcn, New Jersey, Dec. 2, 1881. f 

 Editor Forest and Btrea/m : 



You have desired me to state the facts relating to the rela- 

 tive velocities of ri lie balls and of sound They areas follows: 



The velocity of sound in air of the temperature of S3" 

 Fahrenheit is 1090 feetper second. To: ncreaeea 



exactly one foot foreadi degree Fahr.a'iove tl2 ; . ; iCi ffles 



by the same amount for each degree hi low 33o Fahr. Thus, 

 at 05° Fahr., which is G3° above 33° the velocity Of Sound 

 equals 1153 feet per second; while if the air has the tem- 

 perature of 0° F., the velocity falls to 1058 feet, per second. 

 Taking the above range of temperature (05^) as that of the 

 air in this latitude, we have for the corresponding ranae of 

 velocity of sound the difference between 1153 and 1058, M 

 95 feet. 



The various velocities of rifle balls, depending as they do 

 on the calibre of the piece, and on the relative weights of 

 [lowder and ball, extend through a considerable range. With- 

 out much error the range of velocities may be put down at 

 from 1000 to about 3000 feet tier second. 



Thus, the United States Government cartridge is of ,45 

 calibre, and contains a ball weighing TO grains, with 405 

 grains of powder. The writer has made a series of careful 

 experiments on the velocity of this ball when projected with 

 tbe above charge of 405 grains of powder from a double-bar- 

 rel Express rifle made by the Colt's Anns Manufacturing Com- 

 pany. The determinations were made with the same ehrono- 

 scope which the writer used in his experiments on the velo- 

 city of fowling-piece shot which were published in Fouest 

 and Stream of Oct. 28, 1880. 



Five measures were made, with the following results : 



No. ot Expt. Velocity of Ball. 



1 - i a w. it. per second 



2 v:,c,:\ 



3 _.1.'ir,s 



* ISM 



5 „. . .1968 



Average velocity tstiu 



If this ball be fired at a target on a 500 yard range it will 

 take 1 1-10 seconds for if to go from the rifle to the target. 

 Sound will go over the same distance in 1 3-10 seconds if the 

 temperature of the air is at 62 Fahr. Thus wo see that tbe 

 marker at the target will receive the sound of the discbarge 

 of the rifle 2-10 of a second after the impact of the ball on the 

 target, 



The highest velocity given of a rifle ball, is that found in 

 Greener's recent work on " The Gun." He slates 1928 feet 

 per second as the velocity given bv a .45 cal. Express rifle 

 carrying a-htollow ball weighing 270 grains, and driven by 

 150 grains of powder. If we supposn this ball fired at a 

 target on a 1,000 yard range, it will fake it 1J seconds to go 

 over the range. Sound at the temp, of 62° Fahr. has a velo- 

 city of only 1120 feet per second, hence it will take 2 0-10 

 seconds for the sound of the discharge of the rifle to reach 

 the marker at the target. He will, therefore, hear the im- 

 pact of tbe hall on the target, one and a half seconds before 

 the sound of the discharge of the rifle reaches him. 



From the above you will see that, it is impossible for a 

 marker to be apprised, by the sound, of the discharge of fhe 

 rifle, theu go out and he struck by the ball. Indeed, if death 

 should be instantaneous be would die without hearing the 

 discharge of the piece which killed him. 



Axpbed M. Maver. 



EIGHT RULES FOR "TREEING GROUSE " 



TREEING VS. WING SHOOTING AGAI,V. 



Montreal, Nov. 26, 1881. 

 Kditm- Forest and Stream ' 



At this late date I will redeem the promise made over 

 twelve months ago, and give a few facts regarding ' treeing" 

 ruffed grouse that maybe of service to young sportsmen 

 who have not advanced far enough into the science of " wing 

 shooting" to be able to bring down this most difficult of game 

 birds to shoot, when bouncing away at full flight. 



I expect that this letter will be condemned by many old 

 sportsmen, but when we consider the difficulty in hitting 

 this bird while on the wing, and that but a portion of the 

 birds that are struck are brought to bag, we must allow our 

 younger brothers the liberty of shooting at this game where- 

 ever they can see it. Everfwe " crack shots" (so called by 

 our friends) on our "oil" days would come home with but 

 scant bags if we did not occasionally "pot hunt," thsse 

 birds after they had "treed," and on our "on" days we 

 all make many misses, notwithstanding that certain corres- 

 pondents claim to kill every bird flushed. Wonderful shots 

 "on paper" are those fellows. When a bird gets up they, in 

 a cool, calm manner, simply pitch their sun toward their 

 game and bring it down, and sometimes also cut down a 

 large tree that happened to be iu line, winning the admira- 

 tion and anexp'essive wag-of-the-tail from their intelligent 

 dog, who is pleased to thus he provided with a stump, as 

 he passes by to retrieve the quarry that lies riddled with 

 Bhot some distance further on. 



The habits of ruffed grouse vary greatly according to 

 locality and season ; for instance, inourCanadim wilderness 

 where the timber is mostly hemlock and spruce, with an 

 ordinary dog they can be readily "treed." while in the 

 settled districts, if flushed in second growth bant wood 

 timber, i hey hut seldom " tree," "miles' i laeaBOD, 



when the leaves are thick on the bushes, where the til o 

 of larger growth and a mixture of hardwood and evergreen. 

 They "tree" more readily.in September t oninthe 



Benson, and also "tree" better when beechnuts are plentiful, 

 which fatten them, than wheniood is scarce ami (her are. 

 poor in flesh, fn sections of the country wdiere their natural 

 enemies— foxes— are plentiful they become accustomed to 

 "tree" for safety, and will, when flushed with a dog, usually 

 take to the nearest hemlock. 



There is a great difference in dogs that are used for thl 

 sports. A light-footed foxy-colored dotr, who understands 

 his business, will steal close on the birds, and make tbejn 

 take to the nearest trees, where a heavy, clumsy I 

 spaniel would flush them before he cane near, which would 

 cause them to fly some distance before stopping, 



The following rules in seetii i o-y where the 



timber is of large growth, and a mixture of hardwood 

 evergreen, will be found by those who observe the habits of 

 the ruffed grouse, to be iu tbe main correct; : 



1. When this bird is flushed on level ground, shouldhe 

 fly swift and low out of 'sight, he will usually swuil- 

 leftjmd alight on the ground. 



