FROM THE GAME FIELDS. 



451 



That was enough ; I managed to get the 

 rifle to my shoulder and to fire. Bang! A 

 rush and roar and the sound of hoofs 

 breaking branches; a thud; another rush. 

 With a grunt the Indian sat down. 



"Now, Neul," I said, "put me ashore and 

 let's find the moose." Old Neul gave an- 

 other grunt and began to paddle toward 

 camp. 



"Guess white man must want die bad. 

 Injun no find moose now." 



At daylight we set off to find our game. 

 In about 30 minutes we came to a place 

 where the ground was torn up and the 

 small trees beaten down. There lay the 

 •dead moose, and I had really shot him. 

 The Indian smiled. "Mean, poor shot," he 

 said, and then began to skin the animal. 

 But I had killed my game and could afford 

 to disregard the Indian's sneer at my shoot- 

 ing. 



A. T. Kempton, Fitchburg, Mass. 



IN THE MOUNTAINS OF WEST VIRGINIA. 



For several weeks my neighbor, Harry 

 Cannon, had been planning a trip with 

 me to a region where, so rumor had it, 

 numerous bear and deer had been seen. 

 November 6, 1902, we left our home at 

 Harrisville, and on the second day we were 

 in the Williams River country. Saturday, 

 after fixing up our camp, we took a turn in 

 the range with no result save that we saw 

 one deer. Sunday we rested from our la- 

 bors. Early Monday morning we were on 

 choice stands, i]/ 2 miles apart, with our 

 guide in the bush, assisted by 2 drivers . 



I was posted at a spot where, 2 years be- 

 fore, 3 bears were killed at one time. After 

 2 hours of waiting, something made its 

 appearance about l /t mile from me. On 

 fii;st sight I took it for a cow, but, as it 

 was cor ling directly toward me, I soon 

 saw it "..as a large bear, the first wild one 

 I had ever seen. When about 175 yards 

 from me instinct seemed to warn him of 

 lurking danger. He rose on his hind legs, 

 turning his shaggy head from side to 

 side. That was my opportunity for a fine 

 shot, but I wanted him closer. Down 

 and away to the right he went, and I de- 

 cided that it was then or never. I followed 

 on the run, firing one shot from my Sav- 

 age. He turned again, and taking the back 

 track, was lost to view until he crossed 

 the line of his approach, near the top of 

 the ridge. After him I went, nelter skel- 

 ter, over logs and rocks, through bush and 

 briars, all the time pumping away at my 

 gun. When at last he hove in sight, a 

 snap reminded me that in my excitement 

 I had ejected the other 5 cartridges from 

 my magazine. That snap restored my 

 coolness, and, refilling the magazine, I got 

 in 2 shots that settled the business. The 



bear was a large 4 year old. The last shot 

 was precautionary and, as it proved, un- 

 necessary. We spent the remainder of the 

 day in skinning, cutting up and getting our 

 meat to camp. 



The next day brought us nothing. 

 Wednesday morning we went up the 

 mountain and took stands 2 miles East of 

 where we got the bear. That was Harry's 

 day, for after a few hours' waiting his pa- 

 tience was rewarded by the approach of 

 a 4 prong buck. It fell in its tracks, shot 

 through near the heart at the first fire. 



One more day of unsuccessful hunting, 

 and the next we set out for home, with 

 glory enough to last us till next year. 

 R. E. L. Frymire, Harrisville, W. Va. 



ANSWERING DOUBLE BARREL. 



That was an amusing spasm of Double 

 Barrel in the December issue. He inti- 

 mates that a game hog with a Winchester 

 pump is sure of 6 chickens if he flushes a 

 flock. That sounds all right in theory; 

 but in practice he will find that by the time 

 a hunter has fired the second shot from a 

 pump gun at flying birds, they will have 

 moved out of range. I have a pump gun 

 of the vintage of '85, but have never made 

 a big record. 



The second shot from a Winchester can 

 not possibly be fired as quickly as that 

 from a double barrel. The lever action 

 gun must be jerked down from the shoul- 

 der for every shot. The sliding action is 

 probably quicker, but not nearly so quick 

 as a trigger pull. 



In shooting at a flock of ducks flying on 

 schedule time, a man must make his coat 

 tails pop to fire a second shot before the 

 birds get out of range. When jumping a flock 

 of ducks in a creek or under a bank, they 

 often get up in a scattering manner, and 

 the hunter can sometimes kill with the 

 third shot ; but I seldom do, unless I fire 

 the first shot too quickly and without aim. 

 A quail is safe after the first 2 shots. 



Every one knows that the original game 

 hog was the old fellow with the double 

 barrel muzzle loader, who sneaked up and 

 ground raked his birds with both barrels. 

 Unfortunately there are a few of them at 

 large yet, and they would all be in jail if 

 they had their just deserts. 



Here are some of the good points of the 

 Winchester : It is a close shooting, durable 

 gun at a reasonable price ; there is less iron 

 to carry than in a double barrel of equal 

 strength. The magazine can be filled, leav- 

 ing the chamber empty, then it is a safe 

 gun to carry in a wagon or stand in a cor- 

 ner, and when you grab it in a hurry it can 

 be loaded in a second. The No. 12 is not 

 an ideal gun for a game hog ; it shoots too 

 close to kill more than one bird at a shot. 

 Black Jack, Hopkins, Okla. 



