120 



RECREA TION. 



a somersault and lay still. I was about to 

 pick him up, when casting my eyes to the 

 left I was astonished to see another crossing 

 at right angles about 40 yards distant. A 

 quick shot and he, too, was ready for my 

 game pocket. 



While rambling through more thickets I 

 was rewarded by hearing the familiar " whir, 

 whir," of a brace of grouse, flushing from 

 an old tree top. A snap shot and one of 

 them slopped to keep company with the 2 

 hares. After a fruitless attempt to bag his 

 mate, or to find others I concluded to start 

 homeward. In the first field I crossed I saw 

 a hare sitting in a bunch of wild grass. I 

 thought it unfair to shoot him in that posi- 

 tion so walked up until he took to his heels. 

 He ran only about 30 yards though, for a 

 well directed shot tumbled him over. A 

 few yards farther I started another hare, and 

 before I left the field 4 had been added to 

 those already in my pockets. 



What gave me more satisfaction than the 

 mere fact of killing a goodly bag of game, 

 was that in killing the 6 hares and one grouse 

 I had fired only 7 shots. 



J. T. Maris, Rose Farm, O. 



HERE IS ANOTHER DISGRACEFUL "RECORD." 



Lincoln, Neb. 



Editor Recreation: Mr. W. S. Bentley, 

 of this city, referred to me your letter of the 

 8th, in which you inquire as to the authen- 

 ticity of the report that 1,493 ducks were re- 

 cently killed by a party of sportsmen (?) 

 who live here. 



I enclose a brief summary of the facts, and 

 will procure the affidavits if you want them. 



A party of 5 sportsmen claim the record 

 for duck shooting, by reason of having slain 

 1,493 of the fowls in a 2-days' shoot at 

 " Duckland," Utah. The ducks were mostly 

 red-heads and mallards, although there were 

 some teal in the lot. W. S. Bentley, of Lin- 

 coln, has in his possession the names of the 

 sportsmen (of whom he was one); their in- 

 dividual records on each day's shoot, and 

 affidavits taken before a notary public, set- 

 ting forth the facts as above. Photographs 

 were made of the ducks, as they lay on the 

 floor of the hotel office in a town near 

 Duckland. The shooting was done on No- 

 vember 16th and 17th, both days being ideal 

 for the sport at hand. One Of the hunters 

 killed 285 the first day, this being the high- 

 est individual score. 



Ernest B. Fairfield. 



No I don't care for the affidavits, Ernest. 

 Your word is good. But what of the men 

 who did the slaughtering? Air. Bentley and 

 his friends would, if they were decent men, 

 be so heartily ashamed of their " record " 

 that they would burn fne affidavits and the 

 photos and never mention their brutal work 

 again so long as they live. — Editor. 



MY LARGEST BUCK. 



In the fall of 1894, I spent 2 weeks deer 

 hunting in Wisconsin. There were 4 of us 

 in camp on Big Thornapple, and for nearly 

 a week the hunting was tame. One bright 

 October day C. and I started across country 

 toward Little Thornapple, about 3 miles dis- 

 tant. Arriving at an old logging camp at 

 11 a.m., we sat down to enjoy a lunch of 

 crackers and cheese. All at once, as I was 

 looking toward C. and beyond him, a large 

 pair of antlers came in sight, and presently 

 an old buck stood in full view in the old tote 

 road. I immediately touched C. and said 

 in a whisper, " Look ! " at the same moment 

 reaching for my .38-40 Winchester. The 

 deer stood on a knoll, about 6 rods distant, 

 and his first jump took him out of our sight. 



1 sprinted to the top of the knoll and could- 

 see the big fellow making off to some safe 

 retreat. Instantly my rifle was at my shoul- 

 der, and taking a hurried, sight I let go at 

 him. Down went his white flag, while he 

 humped himself together and left the tote 

 road. He stopped 15 rods distant, with his 

 tail toward me. I fired again. My friend' 

 C, who had perched upon the camps, now 

 began shooting and for a few moments we- 

 had a lively time. It was pitiful to see this- 

 monarch of the forest in his last struggles. 

 First he fell on one knee, then tried to rise, 

 then went down on both knees, and rolling 

 over fell heavily on his side. We found my 



2 first shots had entered in the rear, passing 

 the entire length of the body, and making 

 a sad mess of stomach, lungs and intestines. 

 Only those who have hung up a big deer 

 can realize the work we had in swinging 

 our trophy clear of the ground. This deer 

 weighed 248 pounds, 4 days after he had 

 been killed. 



A BIG BAG OF DUCKS. 



H. T. Denham and E. A. Kimball returned yesterday 

 with one of the largest bags of ducks ever brought to- 

 Tacoma as the result of a single day's shooting. They had 

 ducks in piles all over their buggy, and underneath the 

 carriage was a box which carried several dozen of these 

 fi >wls. Their friends were feasting on ducks during the day. 



The 2 sportsmen killed 113 ducks in a single day's shoot- 

 ing. This eclipses the old record made several years ago by 

 W. A. Eberly and W. R. Dodge, who bagged 104 in a day. 

 W. A. Eberly and a friend recently bagged 134 in a day's 

 shooting. This will probably remain as the record for some 

 time.— Tacoma, Wash., Ledger. 



I wrote Messrs. Eberly and Denham for 

 their version of this story and they reply as 

 follows: 



Mr. Eberly and I killed 135 in one day 

 and must admit we are a little bit ashamed 

 of it, even though they are a migratory bird 

 in this section. I don't think any 2 men 

 should kill over 50 to 75 ducks in one day. 



H. T. Denham, Sec. and Treas. Tacoma 

 Rifle, Rod, and Gun Club. 



We did kill 135 ducks and are ashamed of 



