304 



RECREA TION. 



tent, laid in a good supply of dry cotton- 

 wood, fixed our bunks well up from the 

 ground and retired, the first night, to the 

 music of a Northeast gale, with snow. We 

 awoke to find a zero temperature and 

 plenty of snow. 



This was simply a foretaste, for there fol- 

 lowed 15 days of weather ranging from 

 zero to 28 degrees below. The snow in- 

 creased in depth until we had about 15 

 inches on the level, in the valley. Through 

 all of this we were warm and snug in 

 camp. Thanks to the double tent and 

 a good Cree camp-stove, the lowest tem- 

 perature inside, on the coldest night, was 

 above freezing; and no one ever got up 

 in the night to build fires. 



The shooting was good; white and 

 black-tail deer; grouse, antelope, with oc- 

 casional brushes with grey wolves and co- 

 yotes to keep the interest up. We tried 

 smokeless powder cartridges and I found, 

 to my sorrow, it is quite easy to overshoot 

 unless sights are readjusted. We got more 

 game than we needed, and finally grew 

 careless and indifferent. We are not game 

 hogs, and 4 deer each seemed quite enough. 



With these thoughts of past pleasures 

 there mingles the inevitable vein of sad- 

 ness. George Leonard ,the partner of our 

 outings during the greater part of the last 

 20 years, has crossed the valley. A lump 

 comes to my throat as I think of him. He 

 escaped the exposure of our outing only to 

 fall a victim to pneumonia, during our 

 changeable spring weather 



A. A. C, Toronto, Can. 



A SPORTSMEN'S EXCURSION TO INDIA. 



Being about to form a party for this pur- 

 pose I shall be glad to communicate with 

 any gentlemen wishing to avail themselves 

 of my services. I am willing either to con- 

 tract to defray all legitimate expenses, from 

 the date of departure until return to New 

 York, for a fixed sum, or, if preferred, will 

 accept my expenses and a fixed fee from 

 each passenger. There will be no " rough- 

 ing it " in my camp. 



The game to be had, in large numbers, is 

 antelope and gazelles, ducks, quails, snipe 

 and grouse, with a possibility of larger 

 game. The natural and architectural beau- 

 ties of India require no description. Let 

 me hear from you. 



C. E. Ashburner, Richmond, Va. 



CATCHING WILD DUCKS. 



York, Neb. 



Editor Recreation: These long summer 

 days are tiresome to any sportsman who 

 has to keep in doors on account of ill health, 

 and I am one. 



I read with great pleasure your most val- 

 uable Recreation and consider it the best 



periodical I ever had the pleasure of read- 

 ing. 



Game in this locality consists mostly of 

 quails, chicken and rabbits. The former are 

 very plentiful this year. 



I am waiting, patiently, for the 1st day of 

 October, when the law is out. Then I ex- 

 pect to enjoy myself for a few days. 



I wish to ask, through Recreation, if 

 any thing like this was ever noticed by any 

 sportsman. A week ago I was out in the 

 yard and saw 8 young ducks, which, on ex- 

 amination, proved to be blue wing teal, too 

 young to fly. I caught them and have kept 

 them ever since. They eat and drink and 

 seem to enjoy yard life very much. Again 

 this morning I was at a neighbor's house 

 and he said: 



" I caught 6 young ducks yesterday, out 

 by the water tank." 



I went to look and found these were teal 

 also; but instead of 6 young, there were but 

 5 young and the mother. They are very 

 tame. The old one comes to you and will 

 eat out of your hand. 



I never heard of such a thing before. 

 The only cause I can find, that would tend 

 to bring them to the houses, is the want of 

 water, as the basins are all dry and many 

 ducks were hatched last spring. 



This party recently started for the Rocky 

 mountains, on a 2 or 3 months' outing: 

 Thomas Hamilton, Court Reporter, and 

 wife; A. W. Richardson, Court Reporter, 

 and sister; Glen Becker, of David City, and 

 Thomas Epley, wife and 2 sons, of Denver. 

 They outfitted at Denver and went to Steam 

 Boat Springs and down on White river. 



J. W. Stapleton. 



NOTES. 



The prospect for game in this locality is 

 good. There has been a great deal of rainy 

 weather but I don't think it has hurt the 

 young birds. Grouse will be about as 

 usual, 5 or 6 birds being a good day's bag, 

 and one must know the ground, in order to 

 get them. Furthermore you must have a 

 good dog, familiar with the birds of this 

 section, without which a man would be 

 more comfortable at home, and would get 

 just as much game. 



Quails are very much in evidence and 

 there should be an extra large crop this fall. 

 Woodcock are an uncertain quantity. We 

 depend on the flight, for our shooting. 

 Most of the woodcock raised here leave be- 

 fore the season opens. After all there is lit- 

 tle satisfaction in killing summer woodcock 

 compared with the shooting of the big, 

 strong, flight birds of October. 



The game of this vicinity has changed a 

 great deal, in the past 20 years. When I first 

 commenced to shoot, grouse were com- 

 paratively plentiful, while quails were un- 

 known. I remember the first grouse I 



