2l8 



RECREATION 



^aiiic entirely legislation against spring 

 shooting would easily follow. During 

 the fall and winter months ducks and 

 geese are killed in almost any part of 

 the State where there is water. Along 

 the marshes and offshoots from the 

 bay about Stockton and Sacramento 

 are the best hunting grounds in the 

 State- But almost anywhere in the in- 

 terior modest bags may be made on 

 the smaller ponds and lakes. Many 

 of the interior bodies of water have 

 much diminished in size during the last 

 few years, as the water is used more 

 and more for irrigating purposes. Lake 

 Tulare, for example, some years ago 

 was a large and beautiful body of wa- 

 ter over which steamers ran, but now 

 it is almost dried up, and large 

 fields of wheat are growing on ground 

 once covered by water ; but even yet, 

 during the rainy season, large num- 

 bers of geese and ducks are annually 

 killed there. 



Of the ducks, of course here, as 

 elsewhere, the Canvasback and Mal- 

 lard take the lead. But the Red- 

 head and the Widgeon, and a host of 

 others, are found in all the waters of 

 the State. They come down from the 

 northern counties in great numbers as 

 soon as the rainy season commences. 



Some of the wheat fields are greatly 

 damaged each year by large flocks of 

 geese and the owners are compelled 

 even now to have their fields patrolled, 

 but as these large fields are becoming 

 divided into smaller holdings this state 

 of things is passing away. 



Just as soon as the law permitted this 

 fall three friends and myself went for 

 a two days' hunt at Summit Lake, a 

 small body of water in Fresno and 

 Kings counties, about the centre of the 

 State. We arrived at our destination 

 shortly before sundown and made a 

 short tour of investigation to look over 

 the ground for the morrow's sport. 

 We slipped quietly through a patch of 

 tules (large rushes often to the height 

 of twenty feet) and as we suddenly 

 came in sight of a small pond we saw 

 a sight that would gladden the eyes 



of any hunter. The little pond was 

 literally covered with ducks of almost 

 all kinds, while on the bank close to 

 the water stood a large flock of geese. 

 Off to the right a short distance was 

 a dead tree on which were perched 

 twelve large white cranes. The evening 

 sun shining on their brilliant white 

 plumage made a beautiful picture ; to 

 complete the scene, in a small pond near 

 by in a solitary state was a large peli- 

 can smoothing his feathers with his 

 great bill. Altogether it was the most 

 beautiful picture of wild bird life that 

 I had ever seen. I tried hard to get a 

 picture, but could not. 



Pelicans as well as swans, both black 

 and white, are often found in the dif- 

 ferent inland waters of the State. On 

 Lake Buena Vista, in Kern county, 

 great flocks of these large and beautiful 

 birds are seen every season. Thus 

 hastily and imperfectly I have men- 

 tioned the principal birds of the low- 

 lands. In the mountains, principally in 

 the Sierras, mountain quail, different 

 kinds of grouse, Ptarmigan and the so- 

 called fool hen are found in more or 

 less abundance. These birds are killed 

 more or less incidentally while hunting 

 for larger game. Few if any hunters 

 go to the mountains especially to hunt 

 them, and yet in many places they, each 

 in its own way, furnish good sport at 

 least and variety to one's trip. 



Of larger game of the State much 

 has been written and much that is con- 

 tradictory and untrue. The blacktail 

 deer is the only deer of importance 

 now found in the State. I am sure the 

 mule deer proper of the Rocky Moun- 

 tains is not found in California, and I 

 do not think it ever was. Of course 

 the blacktail is not nearly so plentiful 

 as a few years ago, but there is no great 

 difficulty in getting the legal limit of 

 two bucks in a season. They are more 

 plentiful in the Sierras than elsewhere 

 but they can be found in many other 

 places. For one coming from the East, 

 perhaps Mendocino county is as easy of 

 access as any of the places where deer 

 can be found, and as I said no great 



