286 



RECREATION. 



A few days later, Mr. Hedges ran into 2 

 more bears, and straightway strapped on his 

 gun. Yesterday he surprised a big brown 

 bear, close to the trail, and did a little shoot- 

 ing on his own account, but bruin made 

 good his escape unharmed, and Mr. Hedges 

 is now looking for a bear that will stand fire. 



Not many of Uncle Sam's mail agents can 

 thus combine business with pleasure. 



Messrs. St. John and Thurston spent a few 

 days in the mountains at -the head of Eight 

 Mile Creek. They shot 2 deer and 3 goats. 

 While camped at the mouth of the creek, 8 

 miles above here, a black bear with 2 cubs 

 made them a call at dinner time. The visit- 

 ors were cordially received and added to the 

 menu without loss of time. Mr. St. John is 

 an experienced hunter and an old-timer in 

 this country. 



Prospectors from the Twispt report goats 

 and bears in considerable numbers. Frank 

 Carney shot a goat near his camp the day 

 before his return. 



Peter Bryan brought in 3 deer a day or two 

 since. He needed some venison, and gen- 

 erally knows where to look for it. Last sea- 

 son he surprised a mountain lion making 

 free with a deer he had killed and hung up 

 the day before. In response to a salute 

 from the rifle the lion sprang from a tree 

 where he had taken refuge from Pete's dogs. 

 In avoiding the wounded animal, Peter 

 stepped backward and tumbled down the 

 side of a steep gulch. The lion, with a dog 

 fastened to either side, came after, the whole 

 group rolling down to an accompaniment of 

 growls, snarls, and yells that would do credit 

 to a great moral show at feeding time. They 

 arrived at the bottom in a somewhat mixed 

 condition, but Peter managed to extricate 

 himself in time to kill the lion before the 

 beast could make away with the dogs, and 

 took his skin to pay for the venison he had 

 eaten. 



Contrary to general expectation, the mines 

 in the Slate Creek district shut down early 

 in the summer. In consequence, less pros- 

 pecting was done, up the South fork of the 

 Methow, and the game has been so little 

 disturbed that what was once the veritable 

 stamping-ground of the white goat, will af- 

 ford good hunting for a while longer. 



C. H. K. 



WASHINGTON NOTES. 



The two species of quail — the California 

 Valley quail, and the larger mountain part- 

 ridge — that have been introduced in this sec- 

 tion of late years, are firmly established, 

 and are doing well. Just at this time of 

 year they are found in favorite localities in 

 bands of a hundred or more. Their last 

 year of protection expires in '96. After that 

 date they will undoubtedly be able to hold 

 their own against the guns. 



We have no pheasants near us, but the 

 Oregon ruffed grouse and the blue mountain 

 grouse are found here, and the white-tailed 

 ptarmigan on the mountain tops. 



Ducks are coming in rapidly — principally 

 mallards. The Nesqually flats are now a 

 great resort for sportsmen. At this time of 

 year large herds of teal congregate about 

 the mouth of the river. They are a small 

 hairy species and of no special value, but 

 very interesting. 



The run of salmon is still unfinished. The 

 humpbacked salmon have completed their 

 run, but the silver salmon are still abundant, 

 and a few dog salmon are beginning to put 

 in an appearance. The red salmon will 

 probably bring up the rear in a month or 

 two. 



The deer that have been sent in to be 

 mounted this fall prove to be about equally 

 divided between the white-tailed and black- 

 tailed varieties. Evidently both are common 

 to this locality. 



Tacoma has outgrown her one gun store 

 and now has two large first class establish- 

 ments that do a thriving business. Both are 

 owned by sportsmen and an outsider can 

 drop in at either place, and be warmly enter- 

 tained on the subjects of guns, dogs or bicy- 

 cles. Geo. G. Cantwell, 



Puyallup.Wash. 



FROM AN EASTERN VIEW. 



Lattingtown, L. I. 

 Editor Recreation: 



I should like to say a few words in reply 

 to the article entitled, " The Other Side," 

 published in your October issue. 



While Mr. Banta is, I believe, correct in 

 his statement, that the game has been de- 

 stroyed by the white and not by the red man, 

 he does not seem to take into consideration, 

 the fact that there has been a slight increase 

 in the population of this country since " Lo" 

 held sway. 



Though I have no data to which to refer, 

 I doubt that this country ever supported a 

 population of sixty or seventy millions of 

 Indians, living almost entirely on game. 



Though comparatively few white men of 

 the present'live on game, the vast majority 

 of men, particularly those of Anglo-Ss.xon 

 descent, like to hunt, kill and eat game as 

 well as their red predecessors ever did: and 

 this great increase of population, and the 

 improvements in firearms, would have ex- 

 terminated the large game without the aid 

 of the skin hunters. 



Personally I know little in regard to this 

 slaughtering, as I have not been west of the 

 Mississippi since '79. I have, of course, 

 read of it, and one or two instances have 

 come under my personal notice. 



