4 8 



RECREA TION. 



Washington, visiting all the points of inter- 

 est on the way, and from Washington a trip 

 will be made, by steamer, to Alaska. The 

 return will be made over the Canadian Pa- 

 cific road, through the most picturesque 

 country in the world. Yellowstone Park 

 will also be visited, en route. 



TIME WAS UP. 



Holly, Mich. 



Editor Recreation: One afternoon, in 

 the fall of 1892, I started out with my new 

 hammerless breech loading gun, from Mil- 

 ford, Mich., after squirrels. I had bagged 

 one black, 3 gray and two fox squirrels, 

 when I saw another fox that seemed the 

 largest one I had seen for years. I first 

 saw him on the ground, far away. In my 

 efforts to steal on him, he discovered me, 

 and started on a long run-through the 

 woods. I was fortunate enough to keep in 

 sight of him, until he ran up a tree, when, 

 by a careful approach, I got within shot of 

 him before he " holed." 



The first barrel killed him, in the crotch 

 of the tree, but he did not come down. I 

 fired 4 more shots but failed to dislodge 

 him. I then tried to stone him out, with- 

 out success, and finally concluded I must 

 lose him. That, I hated to do, for he was 

 an unusually large one, and I wanted to 

 take him home. After exhausting every 

 other resource, I decided to climb the tree, 

 which was a dreadful task. It was a large 

 oak, nearly 2 feet in diameter, and fully 20 

 feet to the first limb. 



I pulled off my hunting coat and hat and 

 hung them on my gun which I leaned 

 against another tree; and with only my 

 hunting shirt, vest, trousers and shoes on, 

 I went at the tree. Half a dozen times, on 

 the way up, my courage almost failed me; 

 but I stuck to the task, until I finally 

 reached the squirrel, and threw him down. 

 He was certainly the largest one I had ever 

 killed. 



When I got to the ground, again, I was 

 too tired and weak to stand up. I rested 

 awhile and declared I would not climb an- 

 other such a tree for 50 just such squirrels. 



I roamed about the woods for another 

 half hour, but saw no more game, and as it 

 was getting late I thought I would start for 

 home. Imagine my surprise, when I felt 

 for my watch, to find it was gone. Only 

 the guard bar and a small piece of the chain 

 were in the button hole of my vest. Where 

 I could have lost it, I could not imagine, 

 unless it was where I had left my coat, near 

 the tree I had climbed. 



To find that tree again I did not believe 

 possible. Anyone who has been in the 

 woods knows how difficult it is to locate a 

 certain tree in a strange piece of timber. 



After searching a long time, however, I 

 found it, and although every foot of ground 



around it was searched carefully, my watch 

 could not be found. I gave it up as lost, and 

 had decided to go home, as it was nearly 

 dusk. I felt as though my afternoon's 

 sport, had been rather a dear one. Then I 

 took a last look up the tree, where I had 

 shot the squirrel, and you can imagine my 

 surprise to see my lost watch, swinging in 

 the breeze at the end of the broken chain, 

 from a twig fully 40 feet from the ground. 



In coming down, the charm had caught, a 

 link of the chain had broken and my watch 

 had been noiselessly purloined from my 

 pocket. 



There was but one thing to do, although 

 I had declared I would not climb that tree 

 again for 50 big fox squirrels; yet I would, 

 and did, climb it again for a gold watch. 

 My " time was up " and I had to get it. 



C. P. Bissell. 



A LEGAL QUESTION. 



Podunk Woods, Pa. 



Editor Recreation: I am a law abid- 

 ing citizen, and I want the other fellows to 

 be law abiding too. 



I want to preserve the game in this neck 

 o' woods, but I'm a little puzzled; so I 

 write you for information 'cause you know 

 most everything, and I want you to be spry 

 and answer me quick. 



The fact is Bill Hunter has violated the 

 game laws pretty bad, and I think he ought 

 to be yanked up and fined, heavy. 



I see in our daily paper, under the head 

 of " New Game Laws," an opinion from 

 the Deputy Attorney-General. 



He says, " Any one violating the law is 

 subject to a fine; and if he don't pay the 

 fine he must serve one day in jail for each 

 dollar of the fine he don't pay." 



He further says, " One half of the pen- 

 alty goes to the complainant, and the bal- 

 ance to the county treasurer." 



Now Bill has broke the law pretty bad, 

 and I think 'he ought to be fined about $20. 

 If he wouldn't pay the fine he would have 

 to go to jail for 20 days; and as one half 

 of the penalty goes to the " informer " I 

 would have to go to jail for 10 days, 

 wouldn't I? But may be he would scrape 

 around and get money enough to pay one 

 half the fine and take the other half in jail. 

 In that case which half would I get? 

 Would I get the $10 in money, or the 10 

 days in jail? 



And if I got the $10 in money would the 

 county treasurer get the 10 days in jail? 



I would like the $10 mighty well. It 

 would come handy to pay taxes and buy 

 groceries with; but if I should make a grab 

 for the $10 and miss it, and get 10 days in 

 jail, that wouldn't be so convenient. 



I feel a little skittish about it; for as one 

 half the penalty goes to the county treas- 

 urer, I am afraid he'd get the money and I'd 

 get the jail. 



