380 



RECREA TION. 



,__, CAMPING AT CROOKED LAKE. 



I • Eden Valley, Minn. 



Editor Recreation: On the 23d of Oc- 

 tober I met my companions at Brainerd, 

 and started with them for the Crooked lake 

 country, 50 miles farther North. We 

 reached the lake about noon on the 25th. 

 While Bell and I built sheds and pitched 

 the tents, Mills, Lambert and Lancaster 

 went to take a look through the woods. 

 In about half an hour we heard 3 rifle shots. 

 The boys soon returned and said they had 

 a buck hung up, near Island lake, ^2 mile 

 from camp. Bell and I were deputized to 

 bring him in. Mills had put a ball behind 

 his shoulders, and Lambert one a little 

 farther back. The next morning it was 

 rainy and the boys did not stay out long. 

 After dinner I determined to try my luck. 

 Bell and Lancaster volunteered to go 

 along. We kept the road for Y / 2 mile, then 

 turned in the pine woods to the East. We 

 had not gone far, when crossing a ridge I 

 saw, on another, a big buck rubbing his 

 horns on a bush. I quickly levelled my 

 40-65 and brought him to the ground. The 

 ball struck him behind the left shoulder, 

 coming out at the neck. After hanging him 

 up Lancaster started for camp, and Bell 

 and I went to the other side of the lake. 

 Bell drove another buck from a small 

 thicket. He did not run far. We hung 

 him up and started for camp, a mile away. 



This was my first afternoon's hunt in the 

 fall of '97- 



But this kind of luck lasted only a few 

 days, then the game scattered and we could 

 hardly find a deer. We pulled up our camp 

 and went back toward Brainerd. There we 

 found more game, which had been driven 

 in from the North. I killed 2 more deer 

 there, and Mills one. One of mine was a 

 large 6 point buck that weighed, when 

 dressed, 210 pounds. There were a few 

 moose in the large swamps of that country. 

 Two were killed close to our camp. Occa- 

 sionally we saw bear tracks on the ridges. 



On Saturday, the 13th of November, we 

 pulled out for our homes, in Stearns 

 county. A. E. Jones. 



CARRITUNK NOTES. 



October 8th. — H. Pemberton, Jr., and 

 C. Lovering, of Philadelphia, with W. W. 

 Young and me as guides, went to Black 

 brook on a 2 weeks' hunt for large game. 

 Going up the East branch of the Kennebec 

 river 9 miles, to Black brook, we followed 

 that stream one mile to Black brook pond. 

 There we remained 3 days, and Mr. Lover- 

 ing shot one deer. We next went to Black 

 Nubble, near Moxie pond, where we 

 stayed the remainder of our time. Moose 

 signs were quite numerous, but we did not 

 get a shot. We saw 27 deer and killed 4. 



Many deer were killed, in this vicinity, 



last fall. Ben Russell, of Pleasant Pond, 

 shot a 15 point buck. 



October 6th. — A party of sportsmen re- 

 turned from Pierce's pond, with 8 deer. 



October 25. — I went with Fred Moore 

 and Charles Baker, to Black brook. 

 Brought back 2 deer, secured within 3 days. 



At Black brook, November 1, I saw a 

 cow moose and calf. Six moose were seen 

 near Moxie pond, November 3d. 



November 6th. — I went hunting with Mr. 

 Adams, of Madison Bridge, Me. He killed 

 an 11 point buck, within 3 miles of this 

 place. Harry Williams killed a buck, with- 

 in ]/ 2 mile of the village. 



December 4th. — I went to Ellis pond, 

 with W. D. Sullivan and Geo. E. Howe, of 

 Boston, Mass. We remained 10 days. 

 Owing to the crust on the snow, they shot 

 but 2 deer. We saw 16 deer on this trip, 

 and jumped more than 50. 



W. W. Young, of the Forks, killed a 

 large moose the last week in November. 

 On my annual moose hunt, in November, I 

 shot a bull moose, weighing 700 pounds. 

 His antlers spread 50 inches. 



Geo. C. Jones, Guide. 



A BEAR HUNT IN TEXAS. 



Johnson City, Tex. 



Editor Recreation: In October of 1893, 

 we were hunting deer among the shin-oaks 

 of Pecos county, Texas. There were sev- 

 eral bears lying in the cedar brakes near by. 

 One in particular, as we judged from the 

 sign, was fat and in good condition. We 

 determined to give him a chase; knowing 

 that a fat bear cannot make as long a run 

 as a poorer one. We had plenty of meat 

 in camp; so for several days we fished, 

 hunted bees and loafed around, that our 

 dogs might rest and get in shape for a run. 



At last we thought them fit, and at 3 

 o'clock one morning we mounted our 

 horses, and leading the dogs, struck out 

 for a ridge where our bear had, for some 

 days past, been feeding. There we loosed 

 old Vic, our most reliable bear dog. We 

 knew she would make no mistake, though 

 she was slow, and unable to keep up with 

 the rest of the pack when once the chase 

 was started. While she rambled about, we 

 dismounted and took our ease. In a few 

 minutes we heard Vic open, 100 yards or 

 so to our right, and we rode over to en- 

 courage her. The other dogs were pulling 

 at their leashes and trying their best to get 

 loose; but their time had not come. We 

 waited for Vic to strike it hot, that there 

 might be no danger of over running the 

 trail or taking the back track. In a little 

 while the scent grew warmer, and Vic was 

 getting away from us. I released the other 

 6 dogs, and off they went. We had to ride 

 hard to keep up, but were within 200 yards 

 when they jumped the bear. He headed 



