THE REFERENDUM 



377 



ON THE MUNOSKONG. 



Editor Recreation : 



It has been my °reatest pleasure in life to 

 use the gun or fishing rod, and 1 am safe in 

 saying a good half of my 40 odd years have 

 been spent among the haunts of the game, or 

 en the stream. All hunters know that a great 

 part of the sport i> in the anticipation, and 

 what a pleasure we all take in cleaning the 

 trusty 12 -gauge, or rifle in anticipation of the 

 next season's shoot. 



The most important question debated 

 around the fireside on those winter evenings 

 is "Where shall we go next season?" Of 

 course, one question to decide is what species 

 of game is to be sought, and it is exceedingly 

 hard to find a spot where one may combine 

 the pleasures of hunting larger game, and at 

 the same time have good duck and bird 

 shooting. 



After spending many seasons in different 

 parts of the countr" from Hudson's Bay to 

 the Colorado River, I can say, unreservedly, 

 that the best ground I have ever found for all 

 round shooting is to be found in the Upper 

 Peninsula of Michigan. 



In October and November of last year, 

 1904, I spent two weeks in this country, and 

 bagged more game and of greater variety 

 than I have clone, in the same time, in 10 

 years. The place I chose is known as "Mu- 

 noskong Bay," and it is in the eastern end 

 of the Upper Peninsula. It is a deep bay, 

 very shallow, and has hundreds of acres of 

 marsh and plenty of wild rice. The country 

 surrounding is practically unsettled, there be- 

 ing, I am told, upwards of 200 square miles 

 of country without a settler. I took a few 

 decoy ducks with me, and the first evening 

 bagged some beautiful duck, all mallards but 

 two. In the mornings we always had good 

 blue bill and red head shooting, with a few 

 teal and whistlers, intermixed, but in the 

 evening we shot mallard— and such mallard ! 

 They spent the days among the barley fields 

 some miles away and became so fat they 

 could scarcely fly. 



We soon learned their favorite haunts, and, 

 hiding in the rushes, shot them as they came 

 in from the fields. We never tried to make 

 any record shooting, just killing what we 

 could eat in camp, and during our outing 

 wasted not a bird. The woods there are in- 

 fested with the Great Northern Hare, and 

 as the snow was late in coming, we had great 

 sport shooting these big fellows by moon- 

 light. They were pure white, and as a decoy 

 we felled a few small white birch trees. 

 They eagerly eat the birch tops, and we sim- 

 ply lay in wait and rolled them over as they 

 came to feed. Other days we spent among 

 the partridges. We found them most plenti- 

 ful along the dry birch ridges, and here we 

 found many flocks. There was an agreement 

 that they must be shot on the wing only, but 

 in this way we couM easily bag all the birds 



we needed in an afternoon's hunt. We found 

 their flesh particularly fine, and almost in- 

 variably served them roasted. 



I remained until the deer season, and had 

 the pleasure of killing one of the largest 

 bucks I have ever 1-illed. A light snow had 

 fallen the night before, and I found his track 

 just back of the hunting camp. 1 followed 

 for some time, and after jumping him 

 from his bed, left the track and began mak- 

 ing semicircles around his course. After do- 

 ing this a few times, I saw him in the dis- 

 tance, head erect, and listening for my foot- 

 steps. I took deliberate aim and killed him 

 on the spot. He was a magnificent speci- 

 men, and weighed 240 pounds. I shot him 

 within 80 rods of camp, and we had him 

 hung up before dinner. 



I spent two weeks in that country and will 

 go again this fall. 



Chas. E. Stephenson. 



WHAT WOODS TO USE IN BUILDING. 

 Editor Recreation : 



In the Northeastern states and in Canada, 

 woodsmen prefer the dry white cedar to any 

 other wood. It is wood that will support a 

 great weight, as its own specific gravity is 

 about the lightest of any timber tree, and 

 it dries out until it floats as lightly as cork. 

 Moreover, it grows along the banks of 

 streams, and around the margins of lakes, 

 thus being found in situations that are frandy 

 for the purpose. Another wood that is most 

 excellent is dry pine, but in the East dry 

 pines are so few and far between, that a man 

 might hunt for a considerable time in most 

 places ere he found sufficient timber to make 

 a raft. 



Almost any wood if dried well will do for 

 rafting purposes, but as far as the East is 

 concerned, all trees are inferior to those 

 mentioned. 



West of the Rocky Mountains the Giant 

 cedar takes the place of white cedar, and 

 this is possibly the best wood in the world 

 for rafting. The trees are so large that two 

 or three logs are sufficiently buoyant to float 

 quite a large dwelling or boat house. The 

 Douglass fir, the various spruces, and the 

 bull pine also serve admirably as floaters. 



Three cedar logs 20 feet long and 2 feet 

 in diameter at the butt will make a raft that 

 should carry a couple of men and a reasona- 

 ble amount of dunnage in safety. It is better 

 to erect a frame in the middle of the raft a 

 couple of feet above the logs, upon which to 

 place the camping stuff, out of the reach of 

 anv water that may be taken on board either 

 through wave or rapid. 



In the wilderness the logs are generally 

 pinned together by two or three cross pieces, 

 held by hardwood pegs, driven into the logs, 

 but if ropes be available, it is easier to lash 

 the cross pieces to the loes and it is also more 



