3^4 



RECREATION. 



treated with a pinch each of sugar, salt, 

 dry mustard, black pepper, and a little vin- 

 egar and oil, it was ready, after mixing, to 

 serve. Next morning we built a big fire 

 over the oven. When it was almost red 

 hot I mixed thoroughly about 3 pints of 

 flour, 2 spoons of baking powder, a little 

 salt, enough cold water to make a fairly 

 stiff batter, and dropped big spoonfuls into 

 the well greased sheet iron pan. Then I 

 put it in the oven, sealed it with a flat rock 

 and heaped the coals all over it. In about 

 20 minutes we took out biscuits that tasted 

 almost like those "mother used to make." 

 While the biscuits were baking, we fried 

 some venison cutlets, well doused in flour, 

 and these with good coffee, made a royal 

 breakfast. A sufficient quantity was pre- 

 pared to make a cold luncheon for a fis'hing 

 trip we had planned for the day. 



After a 3-mile tramp up the river, we 

 ate our luncheon, though it was only 10 

 o'clock, and trusted to Providence for our 

 next meal. We began fishing at an old 

 dam and were well rewarded. The most 

 peculiar thing was that with live grasshop- 

 pers for bait we could catch' only the big 

 fellows. The water was 15 feet deep and 

 clear as crystal, so we could see everything 

 that was going on below. As soon as a 

 hopper touched the surface a big fish would 

 make a tremendous rush, and he was ours 

 — sometimes. Our appetites began to cause 

 considerable trouble, when Nick suggested 

 that we eat some of the fish. I can not say 

 I am trained to raw fish. You don't have 

 to be. Just wait a while and build a good 

 sized fire. Nick got a big chunk of 

 wet clay and enveloped several fish in it, 

 put it in the fire and heaped the coals 

 around it. It is rather difficult to time the 

 process of baking, but half an hour gave 

 good results. Quails and grouse can be 

 prepared in the same manner and it is not 

 necessary to remove all the feathers ; only 

 the entrails. The feathers, down and skin 

 will stick to the clay and leave the meat 

 clean and juicy. Season to taste. 



After we had had our fill of fish and 

 fishing for the time being, we returned to 

 camp in time for Nick to nab another buck 

 at sunset. Nick was sitting at the en- 

 trance to the hut, with the rifle in his lap. 

 A young buck was standing across the 

 river, about 75 yards away, looking around 

 to see if it was safe to take a drink. It 

 wasn't, and he graced our larder with his 

 presence that night. The liver I salted in 

 the stewpan. In the morning I dissolved 

 a few spoonfuls of condensed milk in wa- 

 ter, cut a few slices of onions, put a little 

 lard and venison fat in the frying pan and 

 fried onions and liver a few minutes. I 

 then added the milk and let it simmer a 

 little longer. With coffee and hot biscuits, 

 we ha4 a better meal, tp qur tastes, than 



we could have had in any restaurant in the 

 country. For our dinner, I put the saddle 

 of the first buck in the sheet iron pan with 

 some fat, onions and a small clove of garlic 

 finely chopped, salt, pepper and a sprinkling 

 of flour. I browned it lightly over an open 

 fire, added a pint of water and then trans- 

 ferred it to the oven, which was very hot, 

 so I had to turn the meat frequently. It 

 was hot work, but the result was gratify- 

 ing. While this was going on, Mike took 

 a turn at peeling potatoes, cut them in 

 strips about ^ of an inch square, and 

 dropped them into some hot fat in the 

 stewpan. When they had the proper color, 

 he fished them out with a forked stick, 

 and when the meat had been in the oven 

 about 35 minutes we had a delicious meal. 



Of the ham, only a small knuckle re- 

 mained. That I put in boiling water a few 

 minutes, changed the water and then put in 

 some of the split peas. When they were 

 well cooked we had some passable pea 

 soup, with ham knuckles and toasted bis- 

 cuits. Flapjacks were almost a daily thing 

 in that camp. The only precaution to take 

 in their manufacture is not to mix too 

 great a quantity of batter; that is, when 

 you use baking powder. Use only the 

 coldest water. 



After 2 joyful weeks, we decided to 

 break camp and return to the humming 

 world again. During those 2 weeks we saw 

 no human being except our own trio. 

 Money would have been useless to us ex- 

 cept for sinkers, and why should it not be 

 that way always? 



G. E. Kastengren. 



WHY RECREATION EXISTS. 



Brockport, N. Y. 

 Editor Recreation : 



I shall never give up Recreation as long 

 as it and I exist. I never take less than 2 

 copies. I am at home very little, and al- 

 ways buy a copy at any town where I 

 chance to be at the end of every month, 

 besides having a copy regularly kept by 

 my bookseller at home. One copy I have 

 bound; the other I generally give away 

 or cut out the best pictures for my natural 

 history scrap book. I do not join the L. 

 A. S. because I am a naturalist and not a 

 sportsman. I am a lover of bird life. I 

 fail to see that creating a vast army of 

 men with guns and dogs will assist in pre- 

 serving our fast disappearing game. I am 

 in the Western States a great deal. I no- 

 tice that every man who joins a sports- 

 men's club thinks it his duty to have a 

 few days' shooting every year. Some have 

 humane feelings on the subject and act de- 

 cently ; but I see plenty who do not. You 

 kindly invite correspondents to give their 

 opinions on the preservation of game as 

 well as on other subjects, so I will say a 



