456 



RECREATION. 



yesterday. When he stepped off the train he had 

 106 ducks and 2 splendid geese. 



"I hardly thought the ducks would turn out so 

 well in such fine weather," he said:. "I did not 

 have as much trouble getting all I got as I have 

 had getting the small number I shot heretofore 

 during this season. I made them come down fast 

 when I got started, being obliged to use but 58 

 shells to bring them all down." 



John F. Champion and former Governor Grant 

 had their usual quota home with them from the 

 lakes. The servant of Mr. Campion had 100 

 ducks slung over his shoulder, which were killed 

 by both of the hunters. — Denver paper. 



Replying to your favor I beg to say it 

 is a common occurrence with members of 

 our club — the Cloud City Gun club — to 

 kill the number of ducks you mention, in 

 one day. The spring shooting has been 

 below par, yet I have repeatedly killed all 

 the law allows to one gun a day; namely, 

 50 ducks. In addition thereto, I usually 

 secure 5 or 10 geese a day. In this State 

 each duck hunter is allowed by law to 

 shoot 50 ducks, and 20 geese each day. We 

 shoot Saturday afternoon, and Sunday 

 morning, and usually succeed in bagging 

 the legal limit of ducks, and 2 to 10 geese; 

 so, you see on the whole we haven't much 

 to complain of in the way of shooting. 

 John F. Campion, Denver, Colo. 



I am aware that the Colorado law al- 

 lows 50 ducks a day to each man during 

 the open season, but this statute is a dis- 

 grace to your State, as many of your own 

 citizens have admitted. I trust your Legis- 

 lature may amend this law, reducing the 

 maximum bag to 25 birds at most. 



It is only by baiting the ducks you may 

 shoot from daylight till dark. It is your 

 luck that you can get them in such num- 

 bers. There are few places left in the 

 United States not so treated, where a man 

 can kill on an average 25 ducks a day. — 

 Editor. 



THE LAND OF FLOWERS. 



Have been up the river with a party for 

 ducks. I hope to start on another cruise 

 soon. 



There's one cruise unknown to me; viz., 

 from here up the St. Johns and Ockla- 

 wha rivers, Lakes Griffin, Eustis, Harris, 

 Okehumpkee, and through to Lake Panas- 

 offkee, around and up the Suwannee, 

 down the Withlacoochee to Cedar Keys, 

 through the Okefinokee swamp, down the 

 St. Mary's river, then back here to Jack- 

 sonville, via Fernandina. I know there 

 are good game grounds along most of the 

 route. 



Your efforts to protect game I hope will 

 never flag until it is a success throughout 

 the United States. I do all I can when op- 

 portunity serves. The laws are now con- 

 trolled by each county. It is so arranged 

 that one has an open season the year round 

 by going from county to county;- but I 

 have never seen willful slaughtering of 



game except by a few pot hunters. The 

 fishing is different; there are men here 

 who depend on that for a living, and it's 

 pretty hard to break them off even for a 

 few months in the year. The cracker is 

 stubborn when you go at him roughly. He 

 has always fished and hunted when he 

 pleased, and now he doesn't want to be 

 told by the Yankees, as he calls us, that 

 he must only shoot and- fish when we per- 

 mit. 



Capt. S. C. Barker, Jacksonville, Fla. 



SHEDDING HORNS TO FACILITATE 

 RETREAT. 



While sitting in front of camp on Spen- 

 cer lake, a number of us observed an ani • 

 mal crossing on the ice about 2 miles 

 South of us. 



It looked too large for a deer, and as 

 there was a diversity of opinion as to 

 whether it was a moose or a caribou, 3 

 of us took down our rifles and decided to 

 investigate. 



On reaching the ground, we discovered, 

 by its tracks in the snow, that it was a me- 

 dium sized doe which the atmosphere had 

 greatly magnified. 



We saw a large buck near shore, and 

 the only man of our party who hadn't 

 killed 2 decided to try for him. 



Circling around to get down wind, he 

 attained a point about 300 yards from his 

 buck. The deer lifted its head and saw 

 him, but as he was carrying a 30-30 Win- 

 chester, and had great faith in it, my 

 friend opened up from that distance. At 

 the first shot he broke the left foreleg of 

 the deer. 



It jumped into the bushes bordering the 

 lake. After following it up a mountain 

 a quarter of a mile, he picked up 

 an antler which the deer had knocked off 

 against a tree. A little farther on he 

 found the other, which had been disposed 

 of in the same manner. 



A half mile far.ther he came in sight of 

 his game and killed it. 



I suppose the deer found it more con- 

 venient to go through a thick country 

 without antlers than with them. 



Louis L. Lawton, Jackman, Me. 



'IN THE FOREST OF ARDEN. 



In October, H. E. Wells and I went to 

 Arden, Mont., for a few days' deer hunt- 

 ing. We got off the train at 3.30 a. m., 

 and sat by a cold stove in the only house 

 in Arden until daylight. Then we started 

 for the timber, Wells armed with a 12 

 gauge Parker and I with a 30-30 Win- 

 chester. Snow 3 inches deep had fallen 

 during the night. We found plenty of 

 signs, but returned to the section house at 

 noon without having seen a deer. 





