FROM THE GAME FIELDS. 



49 



gun and, with a threatening look, leveled 

 it directly at Washington. He, however, 

 without heeding it in the least, rode into 

 the water, seized the canoe by the painter, 

 and dragged it ashore. Leaping from his 

 horse, he wrenched the fowling piece from 

 the astonished poacher, and belabored him 

 in such a manner as to make him wish the 

 wide Potomac was between him and the 

 irate General. He never trespassed again 

 on the forbidden grounds. 



Ralph Latson, Iowa Falls, la. 



Editor Recreation:- One of the best 

 and oldest ways of cooking fish or game 

 in the woods, is as follows: 



Having built a fire of size in proportion 

 to the amount of food to be cooked, let it 

 burn down to a glowing mass of coals and 

 ashes. Wash and season your fish well and 

 then wrap them up in clean grass, leaves, 

 bark or cotton cloth. Then, after scraping 

 away the greater part of the coals, put the 

 fish among the ashes, cover up with same 

 material, and heap the coals on top. 



The fish cooks quickly — 15 or 20 minutes 

 — according to the size. Having once eaten 

 fish or game cooked in this way you will 

 agree with me that it is the best in the world 

 for camp cooking. 



Clay also answers the purpose of protect- 

 ing the fish or game from the fire, if no 

 other material is at hand, and in fact for 

 game, or anything that requires more time 

 for cooking, it makes the best covering. 

 Wet paper is also good and is about the best 

 of all for fish. 



Probably most of the old veterans have 

 tried this method of cooking, when in the 

 woods or on the shore, but I have shown it 

 to many guides and others to whom it was 

 new, and now mention it for the benefit of 

 any of Recreation's younger readers who 

 may get caught away from home or camp 

 without a frying pan. You should always 

 carry a small bag of salt in your pocket 

 when in the woods. It will often provide 

 you the savor for a good meal, when other- 

 wise you would have to go hungry, 



Bergen, Hackensack, N. J. 



Editor Recreation : Deer hunting 

 promises to be good next season, for deer 

 are now low down and numerous. A few 

 days since, I jumped 2, in sight of the 

 house, and later saw a bunch of 20. 



This morning a flock of black geese, so 

 called, passed over. The river is high and 

 muddy, and the ducks have gone to the 

 lakes, back in the hills. A flock of ducks 

 new to this section was on the lake a few 

 days this spring.* 



At the last session of our Legislature, 

 game laws were made more stringent. 

 Perhaps the most important change is that 



* From the description that followed, I should judge 

 the ducks to be redheads.— Editor. 



prohibiting the killing of elk at all times, 

 thus placing this animal on the same foot- 

 ing with the bison and the mountain sheep. 

 Owing to the rapidly diminishing numbers 

 of elk, this is a wise provision, though I 

 fear protection comes rather late. Trappers 

 on the Little Snake river, in Routt county, 

 say that for the past 3 or 4 years, elk have 

 been going Northward into Wyoming, in 

 bands of 300 to 400, while none have come 

 back. 



Under the new law, deer may be killed 

 from August 15 to October 15. The open 

 season for fishing, formerly June 1 to De- 

 cember 1, is shortened 1 month. 



Many people in this vicinity, who depend 

 on the tourists for a livelihood, are dissat- 

 isfied with the new law: though in my opin- 

 ion it should be rigidly enforced. Every 

 sportsman in the State should co-operate 

 with the game warden, and aid him in every 

 way possible. L. D. G., Dotsero, Col. 



Editor Recreation: Having hunted the 

 wild bee for 25 years, from the Atlantic to 

 the Pacific, I am satisfied that for hard 

 work, the Puget sound region beats every- 

 thing else on the continent. In following 

 hives, one encounters a tangled jungle, 

 composed of small thickets, so close a dog 

 can hardly get through. Sallal, huckle- 

 berry brush, devil's club, and profanity 

 make impenetrable thickets. On a warm 

 day, this beats a Turkish bath by several 

 points. 



Again, when the tree is found, it is likely 

 to be such a sky-scraper, as to make it 

 practically impossible to save either 'bees 

 or honey. 



In favored locations the woods are full 

 of bee-trees. To my knowledge, during 

 the season of '95, in a small swamp, 19 bee- 

 trees were cut. Even then all were not 

 found, for more were discovered last sea- 

 son, and the wind recently blew down still 

 another. I was told that last season one 

 man near here found and cut 27 trees. 



The find, in honey, yields from nothing 

 to 150 pounds or more, according to season 

 and time of cutting. 



In one tree, with the hive 60 feet above 

 ground, which I cut, the honey was so im- 

 pregnated with formic acid as to be almost 

 worthless. Another with the hive 98 feet 

 high, was then cut to see if the greater 

 height would have the same effect on the 

 honey. The result was a mass of bees, 

 honey and rotten wood. About 40 pounds 

 was gathered, boiled, strained: and re- 

 boiled until clear. Then it was too strong 

 with formic acid to be used. 



A week of hard work, with a glass, was 

 occupied in finding this hive, after locating 

 the tree. It is more profitable, on finding 

 such a tree, to leave the bees in their sweet 

 and lofty home. 



Beeswax, Tacoma, Wash. 



