
A Black Woodchuck 
We have great numbers of woodchucks here 
and they furnish much sport for every one, 
from the small boy to the summer boarder, and 
they are very fair game, too. Last week a 
neighbor killed a coal-black woodchuck, and it 
being such a freak, I bought the pelt of him. 
Has any of the readers of RECREATION ever 
seen or killed a black woodchuck? If so, I 
would like to hear about it through the columns 
of the magazine. 
In hunting chucks I use a .38 Winchester, 
and have very good results. .I have a .38 Iver 
Johnson safety hammer revolver, 5-inch barrel, 
which I use at short range, and obtain very good 
results up to 50 and 60 yards. For an all- 
round revolver in these parts I consider it as 
good as a man needs. I have carried mine in 
the deer country for three years and would not 
think of going deer hunting without it now. 
Cuas. R. La BARRE. 
Harford, Pa., July 30, ’o6. 


Remedies for Rattlesnake Bite 
We have so many remedies out here in South 
Dakota for the bite of a rattlesnake that we are 
left to “‘pay our money and take our choice.” 
The Indians, of late years, employ quite a 
simple remedy, which has the advantage of 
being nearly always available—namely, soda - 
and kerosene. An incision—a deep one—is 
made in the wounded place as soon as possible, 
the saleratus put on liberally and pressed into 
the wound, and then they directly begin pouring 
on the oil; meanwhile the patient is imbibing 
freely of whisky. When the oil runs clear and 
not green, the remedy has taken effect and the 
danger is past. 
Have never tried this nor known it to be 
tried, but the Indian will tell you that this is 
his remedy. What he did before the day of 
kerosene, history makes no modern record. 
Another remedy is carbolic acid applied as 
quickly as possible after the bite. A generous 
wound is made with a sharp knife and the acid 
poured in. Meanwhile the patient is imbibing, 
etc. Whisky—lots of it—is the old remedy, 
and in the main is still the standby; at least, it 
seems to be in evidence in connection with all 
other remedies. A hypodermic injection of 
strychnine is used also. But the best remedy 
of all is not to be bitten, that is, take such care 
that the liability to be bitten is so minimized 
that the chances for the need of a remedy are 
not great. The homesteaders—in the main, 
tenderfeet—go armed with a stick or a hoe and 
generally carry with them some antidote. A 
handy string or strap may generally be found 
upon their person to bind leg or arm above 
wound, to keep the poisoned blood from too 
free circulation. S. B. McManus. 
Stearnes, Stanley County, S. Dak. 

Defends the Repeater 
I have noticed that some have expressed 
themselves in RECREATION as being in favor 
of single-shot rifles for hunting. Considering 
the question from all points of view, I fail to 
see it in that light. A man that wants to be a 
game butcher can, if he wishes, slaughter as 
much game with a single-shot as many can 
with a repeater. It is not the gun that does 
the harm, but the man behind it. 
I strongly advocate the repeater for hunting, 
for if used as it should be, it is the most humane. 
With a single-shot a man may do his best to 
place a bullet in a vital spot and then fail so 
to do, and the animal, although badly wounded, 
may get away before he can reload, while if 
he had used a repeater, of good make, he would 
have had four or five shots at his command, 
and his chance of getting the game would have 
been much better than if he used a single shot. 
Moreover, the game would not die a lingering © 
death. 
In regard to metal patched bullets, some say 
that they leave a copper coating in the barrel, 
and eventually this coating peels off and the 
barrel is rusted and pitted, and if that is so, 
it is a serious drawback to their use. I, at any 
rate, refuse to use them in any form, as they 
certainly shorten the life of a rifle barrel, and 
