464 



RECREATION. 



W. V. B. says he can stand in the streets 

 of Gardiner and see coyotes kill antelope, 

 but doesn't say he sees or hears of the 2 

 legged coyotes killing elk, for their teeth 

 and horns. 



I can show you where 9 elk lay dead at 

 one time and nothing but their teeth had 

 been taken. Some of these men have been 

 caught killing elk in the park. George 

 Scott and Will Decker are among this num- 

 ber. They had killed 28 when caught. 



When you hear of antelope being killed 

 by coyotes you can bet the most of the 

 killers have but 2 legs. 



R. G. W., Horr, Mont. 



We were killing geese in the store one 

 night (we generally have better luck there, 

 than in the sound), when " Uncle Ben " 

 dropped in. After listening to several more 

 or less veracious accounts of big kills he 

 gave us the following: 



" We wuz cummin along the edge of the 

 ma'sh one evenin', in a cunnu — me and 

 Tommy Dowdy — wen I heerd a goose 

 honk. 



" Sez I, 'Tommy Dowdy there's geese.' In 

 a little while I sez, ' Tommy Dowdy honk 

 to 'em;' an' Tommy he honked. 



" Sez I, ' Tommy Dowdy them geese is a 

 cummin; ' an' he says ' they is; ' but kep' a 

 honkin. 



" I riz up, frens, and fired on them geese 

 and shot out 7 dead with one shoot an' 6 

 of 'em fell in the cunnu. 



" Frens, it's a kind of a hard yarn, but ef 

 you don't believe me ax Tommy Dowdy." 

 A. S. D., Coinjock, N. C. 



Last Friday night, during the storm, a 

 flock of wild geese became bewildered at 

 the electric lights on the Court House, 

 here, and circled around them for over an 

 hour, often passing within 20 feet of the 

 building. Next day one lone goose, rest- 

 ing and quietly swimming around in a 

 muddy pool in the street, between the 

 Court House and Boyer's drug store, ap- 

 parently oblivious of its civilized surround- 

 ings, afforded an interesting sight to hun- 

 dreds of people passing by. The city mar- 

 shal would not allow any one to shoot at 

 it, and just at dusk it took flight, on its 

 journey Northward. 



Doniphan, Neb., on the St. Joe and 

 Grand Island Div. of the U. P. Ry., has 

 been the mecca for goose shooters, on the 

 Platte river, this spring, and the birds have 

 been shot by hundreds. Some R. R. of- 

 ficers, in a special car, remained there sev- 

 eral days and all secured large bags of 

 geese, brant and ducks. The Canada and 

 Hutchins geese were especially plentiful. 

 M. W. M., York, Neb. 



On their recent goat hunt, in Liard val- 

 ley, Paradise valley, and along the South 

 shoulders of the great snow mountain, John 

 Huggins and Herbert Bashford shot so 

 many bears, and brought back so much bear 

 meat, that Fort Nisqualiy was overstocked 

 with it. 



They mailed chunks to friends far and 

 near, and gave a large lead to Dick Shovel- 

 head, a near Nisqualiy neighbor, who was 

 there before Columbus came. 



Dick has a primitive plant for making 

 Nisqualiy bacon (smoked dog-salmon), and 

 he put the bear meat through the usual 

 pickling and smoking process. It came out 

 the best bacon you ever satisfied a mountain 

 appetite on. Its fine flavor was undoubtedly 

 due to the huckleberry and hazelnut diet, 

 and to unstinted draughts of pure soda 

 water at Shortmire's springs. 



Puyallup (Wash.) " Commerce." 



Since the snow has begun to melt, and 

 Winter's cap on the water disappears, the 

 ducks are beginning to light on the bald 

 spots of W T ashoe lake and Carson river, also 

 in the sloughs. 



Where they come from is conjecture. 

 Flocks of canvas-backs, a rare bird in these 

 parts, are visiting us in large numbers. I am 

 informed the}' feed on a plant that looks 

 like cress, and tastes like wild celery. 



The open season closed April 1st, and 

 the shooters were out in large numbers 

 during March. They had good shooting. 



The grouse are coming down from their 

 winter quarters in the pines, on the moun- 

 tains, to feed on the spring buds. 



The trout season opens June 1st, and 

 the lovers of that sport are busy looking 

 over lines, rods, reels, and preparing for 

 — mosquitoes. 



W. W. C, Carson City, Nev. 



While on a hunting trip, with C. C. Jones 

 and John Lathan, Mr. Lathan and I started 

 out from camp, went into a patch of dead 

 timber and sat down on a log to listen for 

 a bull elk to whistle. While waiting we saw 

 a calf elk coming toward us, from the West. 

 We went into the timber from the South 

 and the calf was going to cross South of us, 

 about 50 yards; but when he came to our 

 trail he stopped short, turned and came 

 toward us. Then he turned to the East 

 again till he struck the trail when he 

 stopped, as before; sniffed the bushes and 

 then came toward us again. He passed 

 within 30 feet of us, on our West; then 

 turned East and went out of sight. 



We were in plain sight all the time but 

 kept perfectly quiet and he did not notice 

 us. Why is it that a little 3 month's old elk 

 calf will not cross a man's trail in the 

 woods? 



