FROM THE GAME FIELDS. 



449 



gave tongue, and those who have heard 

 the music of a hound on a still, clear night 

 know the symphony orchestra isn't in it. 

 The old dog must have caught her for 

 we heard her squeal, but she got away and 

 treed in a large elm that bent over the 

 brook. 



When we arrived the old dog looked 

 up to a big limb that hung over the brook, 

 as much as to say, "there she is," and 

 there she was. My brother cut a club and 

 father took the lantern. They got down 

 on some stones in the brook under the 

 limb, while I slipped a cartridge into a 

 small rifle, and, getting the coon between 

 the moon and myself, let go. Like Davey 

 Crockett's coon she came down and then 

 there was fun in the brook. 



When she struck the water my brother 

 struck at the coon, but hit the water, which 

 flew up in father's face. He fell off the 

 stone and such a mix up of man, boy, and 

 coon you never saw. 



A lucky blow on the back finally fixed 

 things, when the dog, which had been coolly 

 sitting on the bank, waded in, took the coon 

 in his mouth, waded out and laid her on the 

 bank. She was a female 2 years old. We 

 went back to the corn and in half an hour 

 the old dog started for the sugar orchard 

 and by his song we knew he meant busi- 

 ness. We came to him at the foot of an old 

 maple and by the light of the lantern saw 

 where a coon had gone up. As we came 

 up the dog left and whined up another 

 tree about 20 yards away. That meant an- 

 other coon. 



It was so dark in the woods we could 

 not see to shoot, so father proposed to take 

 the coon we nad home, as he was too wet 

 to stay, and we could camp until daylight 

 and get the others. The sugar house was 

 close and by clearing out the arch we made 

 a fire. Then one of us took a 30 minute 

 stand at the foot of one of the trees, the 

 old dog taking care of the other, and we 

 waited for daylight, when we shot a fat 

 young coon out of each tree. 



Keep on roasting the sw r ine and you may 

 be sure Recreation will be next to the 

 band in the magazine procession. 



TO FEED THE POOR AT MARKET RATES. 



It having been reported to me by sev- 

 eral subscribers that 4 men had killed, in 

 Glenn county, California, a total of 783 

 geese in 2 days. I wrote the persons named, 

 asking if the report was true. The replies 

 received follow : 



In answer to your inquiry am pleased to 

 say that information you received is true. 

 F. H. Bushnell, San Francisco, Cal. 



The information you have regarding the 

 number of geese killed by 3 friends and 

 me is correct. 



Chas. A. Palm, Sacramento. Cal. 



The number of geese killed by myself 

 and 3 friends in 2 days' shooting was 623. 

 The total of 783 which you mention was 

 inclusive of those killed by the professional 

 hunters with whom we were shooting. 



In case you might consider this too much 

 -laughter, I explain that goose shooting 

 here is chiefly confined to a period from 

 March 1st to, at the outside, April 10th. 

 During that time the birds visit the alkali 

 plains of Glenn county in great numbers 

 to fatten on the peppergrass preparatory 

 to their Northern flight.. 



The shooting is done from pits, live and 

 dead birds being stooled out and an expert 

 caller occunving an adjoining pit to bring 

 the birds within range. The shooting is not 

 especially easy, the birds getting out of 

 range quickly when the shooter rises. 



The shoot mentioned was a phenomenal 

 one, 2 men who shot after us getting only 

 51 birds in 2 days. None of the birds are 

 wasted, all being shipped to San Fran- 

 cisco where they provide good food for 

 the poorer classes at a low price. 



A. D. Harrison, San Francisco, Cal. 



You are different from most other Cali- 

 fornia goose hogs I have heard from. The 

 majority of them put up the plea that 

 geese destroy the farmers' crops and that 

 they (the butchers) are actuated purely by 

 sympathy for these ranchmen in slaughter- 

 ing geese. You and your friends have not 

 even this puny excuse to palliate your 

 crime. According to your own story, the 

 geese were doing notnms: worse than eat- 

 ing peppergrass; yet you and Bushnell. 

 Palm, and Coleman go out and slaughter 

 623 in 2 days. 



You do make the threadbare apology about 

 the geese having been utilized for food for 

 poor people, but I would be willing to bet 

 a few dollars that you did not give the 

 geese to these poor people; that you s.oM 

 the birds and got every penny you could 

 for them. Even if you had given the birds 

 away that would be no adequate atonement 

 for your crime. No matter what such ; 

 brutes as you may say in defense of such 

 slaughter, the real sportsmen of the coun- 

 try form their own estimate of your cussed- 

 ness when they read your confession. — 

 Editor. 



ANOTHER GOOD INDIAN AGENT. 



I took charge of this agency the first 

 of July. I know nothing in regard to hunt- 

 ing parties leaving this reservation in the 

 past. I assure you that none will leave in 

 the future. The Cree Indians from Canada 

 have done much damage between the Yel- 

 lowstone and the Canadian line. They 

 have nearly exterminated the antelope. 

 These Indians were, in '96, rounded up 

 by Government troops and taken back to 

 Canada. They were back to the Yellow- 



