'FROM THE GAME FIELDS. 



467 



self defense to make the destruction of that 

 pest, the woodchuck, a regular business. 

 At present I depend on traps or on the 

 rifle in the hands of an expert, who de- 

 votes about an hour daily during the grow- 

 ing season to hunting these marauders. 

 He sets a dozen or more traps, going the 

 rounds with his rifle and now and then 

 picking off some stray woodchuck. His 

 bag last season was 96 woodchucks, 11 

 skunks, and 4 rabbits. 



J. J. H. Gregory, Marblehead, Mass. 



Here is an opportunity for some of the 

 Massachusetts sportsmen to make them- 

 selves useful and have some fun at the 

 same time. It would seem that in a coun- 

 try where game for the rifle is so scarce 

 as in the Bay State, no farmer would have 

 occasion to complain very long of the dep- 

 redations of the woodchucks. — Editor. 



Toward the end of last October there 

 was a fair flight of ducks in this part of 

 Missouri. One morning my brother and I 

 pushed out in a dense fog to have a shot 

 at them. We pulled 3 miles up the river 

 and waited for the fog to lift, meanwhile 

 pushing our boat under some overhanging 

 willows. In a little while it grew clearer. 

 Then we heard a gun above us. Presently 

 2 greenheads came our way. One shot 

 from my 10 bore dropped both. One rose 

 again before we could get to him, but my 

 brother called him down. As nothing else 

 appeared we went on up the river. While 

 rounding a little point we put up 4 teal. I 

 could not drop the oars in time to shoot; 

 my brother was ready, however, and got a 

 bird with each barrel. On the return trip 

 we overtook a large mallard floating down 

 stream. He let us get within 35 yards, 

 and then took wing clumsily, having evi- 

 dently been wounded. We could not well 

 miss him. and he made the fifth and last 

 bird for that dav. 



John Fryer, Kansas City, Mo. 



There is a region in Montana, little vis- 

 ited by the sportsman, which should be 

 better known than it is. The railroad 

 guidebook speaks of it, but says that at 

 Monarch, Mont., from which point this 

 field is reached, no guides can be obtained. 

 I found a guide living 2 miles below Mon- 

 arch, an old hunter and trapper, full of 

 good nature and interesting stories. His 

 name is Jesse Bolsinger, and he is the best 

 guide I have ever had. About 25 miles 

 from Monarch, where streams from 4 di- 

 rections come together in a wild and 

 rugged region, about 15 miles in diameter, 

 is the place to hunt and fish. Fish abound, 

 grouse have been seen in flocks of 200, 

 deer are plentiful, also elk and bear. One 

 can camp in the center of this region, and 

 reach any portion of it in a day. Few ever 



go into this country on account of its rug- 

 gedness, yet it is just the place to go if 

 one desires real sport. It is about 70 

 miles from Great Falls, and can be reached 

 from Monarch only by careful pack horses. 

 W. T. Euster, Great Falls, Mont. 



The year of the World's Fair, after 

 spending a short time in Chicago, I went 

 to South Dakota. There being good hunt- 

 ing, I one day borrowed a Winchester re- 

 peating shot gun and, with a chum named 

 Wood, set out in quest of chickens. We 

 did not go far before we were into a flock. 

 Wood got the first shot, bringing down a 

 cock at about 30 yards. I cut loose at an- 

 other, but missed. I soon had another 

 chance, and missed again. That continued 

 all day, I not getting a feather, while 

 Wood scarcely missed a shot. Of course 

 I was chaffed unmercifully that evening. 

 Next day I took the gun my friend 

 had used, a double barrel, and went out 

 alone, taking but 7 shells. In 2 hours I 

 returned with 7 chickens, not missing a 

 shot. On several occasions since, I have 

 tried a single gun without much success, 

 though with a double barrel I can score 

 as many shots as the average hunter. 



Stanley Crandall, Union City, Mich. 



Iowa sportsmen are working hard for 

 the protection of her game and fishes. 



We are about to make Iowa a non- 

 resident license State. Also to stop all 

 hunting between January 1 and Septem- 

 ber 1. An open season in the spring has 

 always been detrimental to all game. 

 It has given the game hog a chance to 

 shoot everything in sight while hunting 

 ducks or snipe. The abolition of spring 

 shooting will save waterfowl from exter- 

 mination. By the time the spring flight 

 is here, say March 1, thousands of ducks 

 are paired, and the killing of one female 

 duck means the destruction of a whole 

 brood. It is as much a crime to kill 

 a duck in the spring as it would be to 

 shoot a quail sitting on a nest of eggs. 

 We have a rod and gun club here with 

 about 200 members. All belong to the 

 Iowa Fish and Game Protective Associa- 

 tion. We have a standing reward of $25 

 for evidence that will convict any person 

 violating our fish or game laws. 



A. J. Mull, Muscatine, Iowa. 



A friend who read Dampier's letter in 

 October Recreation wrote him some good 

 advice, and sends me a copy of the letter. 

 It runs thus : 



MINNESOTA LUMBER COMPANY,, 



Doerun, Ga., Oct. 7, 1900. 

 E. R. Dampier. 

 Dear Sir : I saw the account of your 



