CLEVER BOY SHOOTERS. 



Si 



In the picture is shown 

 the skin of the bear and 

 the head of the second 

 deer. The boy of course 

 values both trophies 

 highly, and will always 

 cherish them as memen- 

 toes of his early days in 

 the woods. 



He uses a 32 calibre 

 Winchester carbine, 

 weighing 54 pounds, 

 with which he does some 

 fine work on small ob- 

 jects. " I have," says 

 a neighbor of his, " seen 

 him shoot off partridges' 

 heads in a way that would 

 do credit to any of the 

 crack shots in the 

 country." 



CLEVER BOY SHOOTERS. 

 VIII. 



Merchant Phelps, of Spring Cove, N. Y., is 

 only 12 years old, but has had some lively experi- 

 ences in hunting. He commenced shooting with 

 a rifle when about 7 years old. When 11 years 

 of age, he brought down his first deer. He and 

 a friend went out in a boat one night, with a 

 jack light. Merchant carried the jack on his 

 head. They had been out about an hour when, 

 on rounding a point of land, the deer was seen 

 standing in the lake, a few feet from shore. 

 Merchant brought the rifle to his shoulder, took 

 careful aim at the deer's head, and fired. The 

 deer made one leap, and fell dead with a broken 

 neck. Since then the young hunter has killed 

 fcur more in the same way. 



He hunted with a party of sportsmen from 

 Boston during the open season of 1894. A prize 

 was offered for the hunter who should kill the 

 largest deer. Merchant earned the prize, a silken 

 flag, by killing a four prong buck, which weighed 

 over 200 pounds. 



^ During the same summer, in which he killed 

 his first deer, he had an opportunity to try his 

 hand on still larger game. While out in the 

 woods with his rifle, one day, he met a large 

 black bear. Without thinking of the trouble a 

 wounded bear might give him, he instantly fired 

 two shots at Bruin in rapid succession. Both 

 bullets took effect, one entering the neck and the 

 other penetrating the brain. 



Spirit Lake, Iowa. 

 Editor Recreation. 



In your splendid mag- 

 azine I notice many in- 

 teresting articles from 

 various points in the 

 north-west, but have 

 never seen our beautiful 

 lake region represented. 

 Here, in a space 12 miles 

 square lie a dozen lakes, 

 as pretty as any in the 

 country. Some of these 

 are detached, ha\ingno 

 outlet during the summer and fall, but in 

 the spring all have a common outlet, viz. : the 

 Little Sioux river, which empties into the Mis- 

 souri, near Sioux City, la. " Spirit Lake Town." 

 as the resorters call our city of 1,200 people, is 

 pleasantly situated about the geographical centre 

 of the group, and is the base of supplies for 

 scores of pretty summer homes, which stand em- 

 bowered in groves of giant oaks, back of the 

 many miles of sandy beach in every direction. 

 These cottages, many of which are quite expen- 

 sive, are owned by business and professional 

 men of Des Moines, Sioux City, Cedar Rapids, 

 Burlington, Dubuque, Davenport, Omaha, Lin- 

 coln, and other cities. 



There is no finer prairie chicken country out 

 of doors than this. Then we have myriads of 

 geese, ducks and swan, in spring and fall ; many 

 of these water fowl hatching and rearing their 

 broods in unfrequented places, about the smaller 

 lakes. 



As to fish. I have a photo, of a 20 pound 

 " 'lunge" caught here in January, 1895, and one 

 caught during the same month, one each oi 

 16, j 3, and several of 10 pounds each. Our 

 perch, pike and bass run from S pounds down, 

 and the supply seems unlimited. 



Fred. Phii i lps. 



Show Recreation to your friends and .isk- 

 them to subscribe for it. They will thank you 

 ever after for calling their attention to it. In no 

 other way can they get so much comfort for a 



dollar. 



