366 



RECREA TION. 



TEXAS PECCARIES. 



A recent article, describing the peccaries 

 of Texas, says they are hunted on horse- 

 back. Such may be the case, but I never 

 heard of it before. The animals inhabit 

 places where it would be almost impossible 

 for a horse to go. In their favorite resorts, 

 in rough, mountainous country, they can 

 outrun any horse.- They will always run 

 to a hole if there is one close by. When 

 they go to earth, one of their number is 

 stationed at the entrance, with his head 

 sticking out. If he is killed, another will 

 push him aside and take his place, and so 

 on until the last one is dead. But if the 

 dogs take them by surprise, they will turn 

 at once and fight, and can kill or disable 

 anything they are likely to meet. 



The article mentioned also says there are 

 buffalo and elk in Texas. I do not believe 

 one of these animals can be found within 

 the State. There are elk in the Sacra- 

 mento mountains, in New Mexico, ioo 

 miles from El Paso, Tex. There are any 

 number of deer, bear, foxes and wild cats, 

 with a few Mexican lions and gray wolves; 

 and coyotes, quails and rabbits galore. 

 W. H. Fletcher, Alpine, Tex. 



GAME NOTES. 



The following notes are from the San 

 Francisco " Examiner " : 



Messrs. Klevesahl and Shaw, 2 local crack shots, 

 killed 198 doves in one day, near Bakersfield. 



Harry Golcher spent Friday and Saturday near 

 Dublin and bagged 1S0 doves. 



Jack Douglas and a friend got 86 doves in one 

 afternoon, near Brentwood. 



Messrs. Price, Hinkle and Griffith, of Clabrough- 

 Golcher's, killed 40 doves on Sunday. 



Wenzell and Kearney bagged 135 doves in the 

 vicinity of Sunol last Friday. 



E. L. Foster shot 48 doves at Sear's, Point Reyes, 

 Sunday. 



A. F. Rooker bagged 62 doves at La Honda on 

 Saturday. 



George Hampshire found excellent shooting at 

 Shellville on Saturday and brought 90 doves to this 

 city as the result of .a few hours' work. 



James Duncan,, one of the crack shots of Salinas, 

 killed 84 doves at his place on the Alisal near 

 Salinas last Saturday. 



Dr. George Grotefund, of the Mount Shasta Gun 

 Club, killed 4 dozen doves in an hour, while stand- 

 ing near a spring about a mile from Red Bluff. 



One California subscriber, who sends me 

 a copy of this paper, writes on the margin, 

 opposite these " records," " Swinus grandis 

 Calif or naensis," and adds : " These records 

 will entitle the heroes to figure prominently 

 in your next batch of roast pork." 



Recreation is the best sportsman's 

 printed. I am much pleased with th 

 you cook pork. You cannot roast 

 too brown to suit me. There is not 

 hunting near here, but if the game 

 could be kept in their pen, or even 

 workhouse, I think we might have 

 shooting in season. We had fine 

 shooting at Sandusky bay and the 



paper 

 e way 



hogs 

 much 



hogs 

 in the 



some 



duck 

 Island 



last fall, the best in many years. There was 

 a small flock of wild pigeons near here in 

 October, but as soon as it was known in 

 the city every man and boy that could hold 

 a gun was after them. That is where our 

 passenger pigeons have gone. There were 

 plenty of rabbits, and a few squirrels, but 

 they were shy. I wish there could be a law 

 to prohibit the use of a shotgun on rabbits 

 and squirrels. I would not call myself a 

 sportsman if I had to pepper my game be- 

 fore I killed it. I use a .22 calibre rifle for 

 all game except quail, grouse, woodcock 

 and such birds. I was out one morning in 

 November and got 2 woodcocks and 2 gray 

 squirrels. On the afternoon of the same 

 day I got 7 fox squirrels in 3 hours. All 

 were killed with a .22 calibre single shot 

 rifle and long rifle cartridges. 



G. W. J., Cleveland, O. 



I had a good time on my hunting trip 

 up North, getting, among other quarry, a 

 buck of over 200 pounds, with a magnifi- 

 cent head. One of our party got a bear. 

 I do not like to give you the names of some 

 hunters of, my acquaintance; but their 

 mode of hunting appears to me objection- 

 able in a sportsman's light. I mean, that 

 a party of 8 or more habitually string 

 themselves out in line and hunt ; practi- 

 cally in view of one another, beating every 

 rod of country, and with their .30 smoke- 

 less the poor deer don't get much show. 

 In this way they always get numbers of 

 deer. It is surely regular pot-hunting. I 

 hope we may soon get a law in this State 

 making 2 the number of deer allowed 

 each hunter. It is sickening to see the does 

 and fawns on the cars. It has been more 

 than usually exciting up here this season ; 

 9 hunters, to my knowledge, having been 

 shot dead, and a great many wounded. I 

 must say, this low trajectory weapon is 

 dangerous to a degree in a wooded coun- 

 try and it certainly appears to me that: much 

 venison is utterly spoiled by its use. _ 



Percy Selous, Greenville, Mich. 



We are prohibited by law from shooting 

 woodcock until every bird bred in this State 

 has gone South, leaving us only the flight 

 birds. We cannot shoot robins, larks and 

 other song birds at all, but must let them 

 go South, there to be killed by thousands. 

 I hope that through the L. A. S. we may 

 secure more uniform laws. That would 

 bring about a more equal distribution of 

 game and song birds.. Yet even with the 

 assistance of such an organization we can 

 never have abundance of game^ until all our 

 States pass bounty laws on noxious animals. 

 Here in the Cape Cod woods is abundant 

 food for 1,000 ruffed grouse to the square 

 mile, yet not 50 are bred here. _ Sowith 

 every other kind of game. So it will be 

 until legislators acquire sense. 



L. Allen, North Falmouth, Mass. 



