3° 6 



RECREA TION. 



ough understanding on the part of both 

 gentlemen, of the " pesky varmints " after 

 whom was named this metropolis of the 

 lakes. I am reminded of a story told me 

 years ago by a brother operator. He was 

 located at a small station called Aitkin, in 

 Northern Minnesota. One summer even- 

 ing he and the station agent returned from 

 the village with material for a light supper 

 to be eaten in the depot. A large " che- 

 gocho " disputed their right on the prem- 

 ises and had to be shot before it would yield 

 possession. The boys then cooked supper, 

 and with door wide open sat down to eat. 

 Presently in marched a still larger skunk — 

 the newly made widow, perhaps — attracted 

 apparently by the smell of the food. With 

 bated breath they watched the lady make 

 a tour of the room picking up a crumb here 

 and there, and hoped she would cut her 

 visit short. She eyed the table narrowly, 

 measured the height for a jump, then con- 

 cluded to make 2 of it and landed squarely 

 in my friend's lap. With a yell that brought 

 half the villagers on the run the 2 boys 

 cleared the door, and have never eaten ,a 

 meal there since. 



Fred. Phillips, Chicago, 111. 



THE RANGE OF OUR BIG GAME. 



I am busy working out the actual ranges 

 of our horned game and should like to ask 

 whether any reader of Recreation can give 

 me positive and direct information on the 

 following heads: 



Elk. — Did you ever hear of Elk in the 

 Lower California Peninsula? In Mexico? 

 In Southeastern Texas? North of Lake 

 Superior? In the upper Peninsula of Michi- 

 gan? In the Northern part of Wisconsin? 

 In the Northern part of the Lower Penin- 

 sula of Michigan? 



Caribou. — Did you ever hear of Caribou 

 in Wisconsin? Michigan? Wyoming? 

 Oregon? or Vancouver Island? 



White-tail — How far North in the Rock- 

 ies have you seen White-tail Deer? Are 

 they found North of Lake Superior? 



Moose. — Did you ever hear of Moose in 

 Wisconsin? Michigan? or Washington? 



Please state carefully time and place, in 

 making records. Mere rumors not desired. 

 Only authentic reports or facts are useful. 

 Ernest Seton Thompson. 



NATURAL HISTORY NOTES. 



Old Point Comfort, Va. 

 Editor Recreation: While looking out 

 of my window this bleak morning, with 

 snow drifts several feet high, I saw a com- 

 mon blackbird watching a sparrow. Finally 

 he pounced on the sparrow and drove his 

 bill through its eye. For several minutes 

 the blackbird pecked at the sparrow's 

 crown, as I thought, in an effort to get at 

 the dainty morsel of food, the brain. Fi- 



nally the black destructionist picked the 

 sparrow up and flew away with it. 



I would suggest that you call the atten- 

 tion of the game wardens of this State to 

 the necessity for protecting robins. The 

 game hogs of this State tell us they kill 50 

 to 60 robins in a day. This is simply abom- 

 inable and should not be allowed. Cannot 

 the good women of Virginia rise in their 

 might and influence their husbands, broth- 

 ers and fathers to inaugurate a measure to 

 stop the slaughter of a bird which the 

 Northerners are striving to save from ex- 

 tinction? Edward F. Duffy, 

 26 Orleans Street, Newark, N. J. 



Replying to Mr. Guernsey's question 

 about wood ducks and black ducks: The 

 former is abundant in British Columbia, a 

 few staying throughout the winter in the 

 lower Fraser valley. When I first came 

 here, in '87, these were rather scarce ducks, 

 but they have since increased rapidly. Dur- 

 ing the month of October large flocks pass 

 down the Fraser every night, apparently 

 coming from the interior; yet in the Ver- 

 non district, East of the Cascades, they are 

 scarce. Where do all these wood ducks 

 come from? It is not a duck that goes 

 far North to breed. One of the reasons for 

 its abundance is that it is not affected by 

 the summer floods, which destroy so many 

 of the nests of other ducks, its tree nesting 

 habit being a provision against this. I have 

 never seen the black duck in B. C, though 

 a straggler may appear now and then. I 

 would like to know if Mr. Guernsey has 

 ever taken it in Assinaboia. 



Mr. A. Brooks, Chilliwack, B. C. 



I am greatly interested in taxidermy and 

 ornithology. Is there any way in which 

 I may kill birds to mount, and collect nests 

 and eggs without infringing on the laws? 



I have great respect for the laws pro- 

 tecting song and insect-eating birds and 

 do not wish to violate them in any way. 

 L. W. E., Groton, N. Y. 



I am glad to know you have so whole- 

 some a respect for the game laws, and that 

 you are observing them faithfully. You 

 can get from the State Fish and Game 

 Commissioners a permit to kill a limited 

 number of birds for scientific purposes, if 

 you can satisfy them that the privilege 

 would not be abused. Application should 

 be made to Hon. Barnet H. Davis, Capitol 

 Building, Albany, N. Y. 



W4iy do you not join the League and 

 thus aid in the work of protecting the game, 

 the song birds and the fishes? Every friend 

 of these creatures should be in this League 

 and should be doing everything possible to 

 get his friends into it. — Editor. 



At a meeting of the Executive Committee 

 of the New York Zoological Society, held 



