370 



RECREATION. 



Not that there are no good men in the 

 business, nor that it is not often neces- 

 sary to hire them, with their outfits ; but 

 as a rule they are a shiftless, low-down set 

 of law breakers, and unless there are wom- 

 en along, a party that needs a guide needs 

 a nurse as well. 



In our 9 months trip from Fort Wrangle 

 to Dawson, 4 months dragging a sled, we 

 found out the true worth of this class of 

 people. They invariably were in the rear 

 and the first to lie down. I have even seen 

 them crying. A little worse than the white 

 guide is the Indian. If the little bird does 

 not whisper just right to him you are 

 out a guide. To see the sloppy praise and 

 the mixture of patronage, fawning and 

 write-ups these hired game destroyers come 

 in for is sickening. 



Geo. F. Wright, Chicago, 111. 



DECLINED WITHOUT THANKS. 

 I have yours asking whether the report 

 that I had killed 125 wild ducks in one 

 day is correct. I would say in reply that 

 it is correct. The date was November 6th. 

 Among the ducks shot were 25 canvas 

 backs and 30 red heads. November 

 nth I killed 138 ducks. This is not an 

 unusual day's bag when the conditions 

 are favorable; I have often done better. 

 I had good shooting, however, the 

 morning of the nth, when I had picked 

 up at sunrise 43 ducks. How would you 

 like a descriptive article with 2 or 3 

 sketches representing duck shooting on 

 the Susquehanna flats ? I do considerable 

 special work, and should be pleased to have 

 you advise me if such an article would be 

 desired by you, and what you would be 

 willing to pay for, say, 2,500 words with 

 the sketches. 



W. T. Jackson, Havre de Grace, Md. 



ANSWER. 



You say it is not an unusual day's bag, 

 and that you have done even better. It 

 would ,be unusual, and even impossible, 

 for any decent sportsman, for all such men 

 quit when they have enough, even though 

 birds may still be flying thick. However, 

 for a confirmed game hog, as you are by 

 your own confession, such things are possi- 

 ble. As I have before had occasion to say, 

 it is a pity that all States do not enact laws 

 that would send such men as you to prison 

 for 6 months for each of such offences as 

 you say you have committed. 



No, I do not want any such stories of 

 slaughter as you offer to write for me, and 

 no decent journal would print such, even 

 if you would furnish them free of charge. 

 — Editor. 



THE OUTLOOK IN OHIO. 

 The weather conditions during the whole 

 of the last open season were extremely un- 



favorable for successful hunting, being a 

 succession of cold, dry winds. The perform- 

 ances of even the most reliable field dogs 

 were disappointing, and our sportsmen 

 were thus deprived of the most enjoyable 

 feature of quail shooting. There was a 

 more abundant supply of birds than this 

 part of the State has known for years, and 

 thousands are left over in this county for 

 another season. That is, providing they 

 escape the pot-shooting rabbit hunters 

 whose opportunity arrives with deep snows 

 and freezing weather. 



Fox squirrels are increasing, and another 

 year or 2 of immunity, such as they en- 

 joyed during the last 2 years will make 

 squirrel shooting again possible in this sec- 

 tion. 



Our ruffed grouse have been extermin- 

 ated, and a few of us are trying hard to in- 

 troduce the ringneck pheasant, though it 

 must be admitted our efforts hitherto 

 have been fruitless. 



We hope the humiliating jumble known 

 as the Ohio game laws will be revised 

 at the coming session of the Legislature, 

 along lines of rational protection and com- 

 mon sense. Oh, for protection that will 

 protect and wardens that will ward! 



L. A. S., 6015, Urbana, Ohio. 



A PITIFUL SLAUGHTER. 

 Enclosed find clipping from the Murfrees- 

 boro, Tenn., Banner. No words are 

 strong enough to sufficiently condemn 

 such slaughter as this. 



T. H. Doods, Petoskey, Mich. 



The item to which Mr. Dodds refers is as 

 follows : 



Thousands of robins are being brought daily to 

 Murfreesboro. These birds are caught at night in 

 the extensive cedar forests near Murfreesboro. At 

 this season of the year they flock to these parts in 

 countless thousands to feed on the berries of the cedar, 

 of which they are exceedingly fond. At night they 

 congregate in certain groves by tens of thousands, 

 and there the sportsmen with the bag, but gunless, 

 capture them. Parties are made up nightly and go 

 out from town to these roosts, and in most instances 

 report remarkable catches. 



Four gentlemen from here recently caught 360 

 birds, and they stated that there were quite 200 per- 

 sons operating in the same forest, most of whom 

 were successful in catching 2 or 3 messes of birds, and 

 some individuals as many as 150. These birds sell on 

 the market for about 7-$- cents a dozen, but so 

 abundant is the supply that dealers find it profitable 

 to ship them. 



There are persons who make a business of catching 

 these birds for the market, and they make fair wages 

 One man can make an average catch of 4 or 5 dozen a 

 night. All the returns from the sales are net profits. 

 as the method of hunting requires no outlay in the 

 matter of ammunition or otherwise, and the work 

 or rather sport, is engaged in at night. When prop 

 erly prepared this bird is palatable and is eagerly 

 sought by housekeepers. 



It is strange that the good people of Ten- 

 nessee will allow the pot hunters of that 

 State to continue the slaughter of innocent 

 birds at the disgraceful rate and in the 

 brutal manner outlined in the foregoing 



