WHILE SITTING IN THE BLIND. 



379 



purpose. The report shows that 21,161 co- 

 yotes and 4,995 wolves were gathered in; a 

 record that speaks volumes for the shoot- 

 ing, trapping and poisoning skill of the res- 

 idents of the State. The total bounty on 

 these animals, at $3 a head, is $78,468. 



WOLF NOTES. 



Deer and antelope can be found a few 

 miles from this town. There are also a 

 number of gray wolves in this' section of 

 country. Bounties have been collected 

 here, lately, by different parties, ranging 

 from $50 to $250, beside the small amounts 

 paid on those which were brought in in 

 lots of 2 or 3. As yet I have had no op- 

 portunity to investigate the wolf question 

 personally; but expect to learn something 

 in the near future. Enclosed you will find 

 my dollar for my third yearly subscription. 

 A magazine like Recreation is sure to 



succeed, where it stands on the lines you 

 have drawn. Your work in the interest of 

 game protection is grand and good. 



A. D. Anderson, Newcastle, Wyo. 



A friend of mine shot a timber wolf, in 

 Michigan, which I measured. It was 7 feet 

 4 inches from nose to tip of tail, and was 

 considered a very large one, at the office at 

 Au Train, where the bounty was paid. It 

 was alone and was killed, nose down, on a 

 deer runway. 



Percy Selous, Greenville, Mich. 



I do not believe there are any gray 

 wolves in this valley, though some of the 

 settlers think there are. Coyotes are on 

 the increase here, and we regard them as a 

 nuisance. They do not harm stock, that 

 we know of; but they kill a great many 

 deer and young elk. 



S. N. Leek, Jackson, Wyo. 



WHILE SITTING IN THE BLIND. 



FRANK C. RIEHL. 



While sitting in the blind, alone, 



Just watching my decoys, 

 I feel the subtle ecstasy 



Of all a hunter's joys; 

 The memories glad of other days 



Come tripping through the mind, 

 And rests the spirit, satisfied, 



While sitting in the blind. 



The whirring of the widgeon's wing, 



The whistle of the teal, 

 And echo of my trusty gun 



Are music just as real 

 As concerts of the rarest price 



That kings and queens may find; 

 And bring a goodlier return, 



While sitting in the blind. 



With trigger set and steady hand 



And every sense alert 

 I wait the passing of the birds, 



And nothing may divert 

 The eye's intentness on the scene 



As, coming with the wind, 

 I time the mallard's headlong flight, 



While sitting in the blind. 



E'en in the intervals of rest, 



With nothing else to do; 

 Yielding to introspective mood, 



I catch the broader view 

 Of life in all its meaning, till, 



To any fate resigned, 

 I feel a monarch for the nonce, 



While sitting in the blind. 



So speeds the time on wings as fleet 



As any duck that flies, 

 'Mid pleasure's richest, ripest zest 



A sportsman's zeal implies: 

 All careless of the world's affairs, 



Nor to its ways inclined, 

 I envy not a soul on earth. 



While sitting in the blind. 



