FOREST AND STREAM. 



43 



vim by 



I 



back \ ■ the Uoilnd. It is just 



tiot al the doe, for unless the buck 



lie very close behind her he won't stop at the report of the gun. 



A wounded buck, during the rutting season, is a dangerous 



customer. I once saw u tired old seven-prong fellow turn 



upon his pursuer (who was mounted) and chase him for quite 



a distance ; lunging at the horse every bound. 



The continual running during the rutting season soon takes 

 the fat oil, and by the middle of December they are generally 

 rather poor. Deer generally stay in the thickest part of the 

 woods; that is, where the undergrowth is most dense and 

 affords them a constant hiding-place, for they are extremely 

 For this reason the still-hunter randy commences his 

 winter shooting until after the frost 1ms killed the leaves, and 

 ill off, leaving the woods more open, and affording a 

 better chance for discovering the game, as well as for shooting, 

 if any one thinks there is sport or excitement about this 



I of deer hunting, I wish him joy of it. I can see but 

 little sport in tramping through the mountains, over sticks 

 and stones, from morning until night. And .yet a man who 

 understands still-hunting will killa great many deer during the 

 winter. When there is snow on the ground is the best lime to 

 still-hunt. The deer are not so apt 'to travel far, and can be 

 easily tracked. Lick-watching is the least exciting of all the 

 ways in which the deer is hunted. Dry licks (where the deer 

 go to lick the ground for salt) are of two kinds— natural and 

 artificial. The former is some piece of ground where the 'ivev 

 have pawed down to a clay surface. The latter is made by 

 digging a hole in the ground about a foot in depth, and then 

 filling it with alternate layers of dirt and salt, packed in tight. 

 The deer soon finds the place, and will use it. The fact is, a 

 deer will use any place where there is salt, as cattle lots, etc. 

 I went one day with a gentleman to salt some cattle he had on 

 a mountain farm. He told me that the deer which ranged in 

 the woods adjacent knew as well when he called his cattle for 

 salt as the cattle themselves did. The cattle were called, and 

 we went on to the next held. Returning in a .short while, 1 

 saW an old doe quietly licking the salt in among the cattle. 

 Dry licks are used most at night, a short time after dark. 



The usual drinking-plaocs of deer are not properly licks, 

 but we have water licks. Wherever deer can hud sulphur 

 water they use it in preference to any other. All the. most 

 famous licks I have ever known or heard of belonged to this 

 class. The deer not only drink the water, but will stand for 

 a, long time with their mouths thrust into it, sucking if up 

 and then letting it run out again. The watcher must have a 

 blind. Its distance from the lick depends on circumstances, 

 though it should always be close to the lick if it is to be 

 watched after dark, lire best time to watch a water lick is a 

 few hours before sundown during the hot days of July and 

 August. Just after a shower of rain is a good time for either 

 a wet or dry lick. Deer are extremely cautious about coming 

 into a lick. They generally circle around, winding for danger. 

 1 remember an old buck which circled around a lick 1 was 

 watching for several hours. I could hear a stick crack now 

 and then, but couldn't make out the game. At last an old 

 negro guide, who was in the blind with me, exclaimed in an 

 undertone, "Good God 1 yonder's an old buck big as a mule." 

 Upon looking up I saw a sleek old buck standing high up on 

 an adjacent ridge. He was tossing his tead up and down, 

 snufting the air. I. knew he had scented us, and in an instant 

 lie was off, leaving us nothing but the recollection of his 

 shrill snort. When alarmed the deer snorts in a peculiar way, 

 making a noise similar to that made by little boys placing 

 their hands together and whistling through then thumbs. Deer 

 quit using licks upon very little cause, as if a limb of some 

 tree close by be bent down or broken, or a few grains of 

 powder be scattered close by. Once spoiled, it is a long time 

 before a lick will be used again. 



For genuine sport, hunting deer with hounds is the best way 

 of all. By October the weather is cool enough for the hounds 

 and hunter alike, but the season may begin earlier. The 

 starter should be on the hunting ground at an early hour, 

 especially in dry weather : if the dogs are let go at daylight 

 so much the better. Once in the proper place he lets go his 

 dogs. They know well what they are to do, and are soon 

 circling for a trail. 



" If some staunch hound, with His authentic voice, 

 Avow the recent trait, the jostling tribe 

 Attend his call, then with one mutual cry 

 The welcome news confirm, and echoing hills 

 Repeat the pleasing tale." 



Some hounds can wind the game, while others stick to the 

 track, but in running and trailing the best dog to start deer 

 that I have ever seen was a bob-tailed terrier. He seemed to 

 wind them farther off than a hound coidd. Young dogs in- 

 variably depend on the old ones in an emergency. Indeed I 

 have seen a whole pack stand around watching an old deer 

 dog, and waiting for him to cry off. 



An old deer hound rarely takes the hack track. It, surely is 

 not altogether instinct, for only old dogs can be depended upon 

 to take the right end of a cold track, and the more they have 

 hunted the better they seem to know. A good hound can run 

 a very old trail. I have seen a trail at least a day old carried 

 along at a pretty good pace. The starter, if he be experi- 

 enced, can generally tell what kind of a deer is up. If it be a 

 small deer, or a doe and fawn, the running will be done in cir- 

 cles forjome time. If a large or fat deer, the course will be 

 straight for water ; especially if it be some distance from the 

 starting ground. A large deer seldom does any up-hill run- 

 ning, and if he be pursued closely lie is sure to stick to down 

 grades. Of a wet day deer will keep in the woods a long 

 time, for the water from the brush keeps them cool. The 

 stand in the woods is generally situated upon some leading 

 ridge, for deer always follow the ridges, seldom running across 

 them. A good shot gun (and it is a rare one that will shoot 

 buckshot well) is the best weapon for a stand in the brush. 

 The watcher needs only to stand perfectly still ; no matter if the 

 deer does see him, it will not change, its course unless it is very 



I I him. If the dogs are not very close it is an easy mat- 

 ter to stop the deer by a bleat, or any word spoken qiiicklv, 

 but the shot must follow the bleat, for the deer will not tarry 

 long. Unless shot in a vital spot a deer will travel a long 

 ways with a bullet or load of buckshot in him. I have seen 

 them shot through and through the body with a whole, load of 

 buckshot, bleeding at every step, and yet they would travel 

 for rniles^ If shot in the body it must be close behind the 

 shoulder to be fatal. If the hunter sees the Jeer slap his tail 

 " hard down" and run with redoubled speed, he may be sure he 

 has struck it somewhere. If it leave the ridge and make for a 

 hollow it must be badly wounded. The river and lake afford 

 the best places for watching. 



Just as deer have certain ground they run over when chased, 

 so have they certain points at which they take to water. Upon 



'.•; water the deer wades in slowly, stops to drin 

 looks around for the most inviting chance <<> 

 course this is not the case when the close behind. 



The beautiful bright eye of this animal dues not seem to be of 

 much service in detecting enemies, at least its enemies among 

 mankind. If the watcher be perfectly motionless he p 

 be discovered by the fleeing game. Let him hut move 

 though— almost a wink will betray him. I have known of 

 deer Jumping almost over watchers without seeming to be 

 aware of their presence. 1 was once watching, with several 

 others, at tlte edge of a river, We were all seated on one log, 

 with nothing between us and the river except a lire, which 

 watchers may always be allowed in winter. We had not been 

 seated very loflg before wc heard the hounds coming over the 

 mountain, and presently an old doc jumped into the wafer op- 

 posite us. I supposed she would detect, us at once, for there 

 was nothing whatever to prevent her — nothing between us but 

 the water. She never turned an inch from "her course, but 

 came directly toward us as though she intended walking over 

 fire and all. When she had come to within a few steps of us 

 I iovohmtarily let my hand fall to its place on the gun barrel, 

 and that instant she was off like a Hash ; not fast enough, 

 however, for the bullet. 



Deer frequently seek Safety by swimming down stream for 

 a long distance. They will often sink themselves along the 

 bank, where there is overhanging brush, with nothing but the 

 nose above water. Such tactics put the hounds to a strong 

 test. Some hounds seem to follow the water trail with as 

 much ease as they would a land trail. I remember one in par- 

 ticular, said to have followed a deer in this manner for a mile ! 

 swimming over the same course the deer had gone an hour lie- 

 fore. A strange phenomenon is this : A deer wheu killed in 

 winter will float like a cork, whereas in summer it would sink. 

 Old hunters maintain that the deer, in choosing his course of 

 flight, will bear up stream in summer, down stream in winter. 

 My observation has led me to believe this to be a mistake. 

 Who would seek real sport must follow the hounds and hear 



Sycamore. 



War Forest and Stream and Rod mid Gun. 

 WAS IT A WATERSPOUT? 



WE were sinking a shaft on the Old Guard lode, Tom 

 and I. The claim lay on the south slope of Silver 

 Slope. Our windlass was set just at the head of Belmont 

 canyon, and about one hundred feet above the level of its 

 highest wash. The view from the mouth of our shaft em- 

 braced the Belmont Mountain on the west and southwest, the 

 canyon due south, and to the east and south an almost end- 

 less vista of short canyons, broken peaks and rocky hills, 

 stretching out past Coso toward the Panamint Mountains. 

 About three miles from its head, in the Flat, the canyon 

 forked, one prong going almost due west, the other obliquing 

 southeast. The fork was caused by a range of red hills run- 

 ning nearly due north and south, and headed by a rugged 

 peak abutting on the canyon, forcing its division into the 

 forks before mentioned, and opposing an impassable barrier to 

 its direct progress. In fact, any one could see at a glance 

 that that hill was bluffing the canyon. One hot summer af- 

 ternoon I was lazily gadding out rock at the bottom of the 

 hole, then about seventeen feet deep. A rope hung down the 

 shaft; with a hitch on the windlass, so a fellow could shin up 

 in case of Indians making it too hot for the windlass man to 

 haul him out of the hole. I heard a curious muttering, muf- 

 fled, rumbling sound, and Tom, poking his head around the 

 windlass, yelled, " Earthquake !" and I just boomed up that 

 rope like a lizard climbing a hot rock. I remember thinking 

 that the walls of the shaft might come together and kinder 

 bury a feller, if I didn't hurry. But it wasn't an earthquake. 

 Where we were standing, and in every direction but south, 

 the sun was shining brightly, the air clear, and the sky free 

 from clouds. To the southward, on a prolongation of the line 

 of the canyon, and apparently' ten or fifteen miles distant, was 

 a dense bank of cloud reaching from the hills to heavens, and 

 seemingly a mile in width. Out of this cloud came the noises 

 I heard— noises as of mountains falling. The centre of the 

 cloud was black as night, the outer edges like showers of ram 

 in veils of mist. The cloud was in rapid motion toward us, 

 and we heard with increasing distinctness the roaring of the 

 wind which drove it. Where we were there, was a strange 

 and unquiet sense of stillness, a deadness, so to speak, in the 

 air ; the horrible noises of the cloud and wind seemed strange- 

 ly out of place as they hurried to us through the intervening 

 strata of dead air. We were afraid, and wanted to run, but 

 where ? The cloud was moving -with such speed that there 

 was no time for flight. Hardly a minute had elapsed since I 

 left the shaft, and the cloud, then so distant, swept up and 

 enveloped the red hill in the forks of the canyon. There 

 were no longer noises in waves ; we stood walled in by sound 

 —sound had seized on space, was shutting out air, and paling 

 the sunlight. We were helpless, too nerveless even to think, 

 except in a dazed, confused way ; we were under an influence 

 before which our strength was as nothing — in the shadow of 

 a death for which not even preparation was possible. Men 

 can prepare for death in many fornix and brace themselves 

 to meet it without visible shrinking : But what will, can, meet 

 the first shock of earthquake without feeling the presence of om- 

 nipotent power, and quailing with a sense of mortal weakness ? 

 With us the often-felt fear of the earthquake came back a 

 thousand times intensified. Fortunately our suspense would, 

 in any event, be of brief duration. On the red hill the cloud 

 halted for a moment, then swept into the west fork of the 

 canyon, and following its course, disappeared around the Bel- 

 mont mountain. The feeling of relief when we saw it go was 

 intense, and we felt not a bit ashamed of our fear when we 

 looked again at the red hill. Although very steep on all aides, 

 and an almost perpendicular wall on its canyon front (before 

 the coming of the storm cloud its top was comparatively 

 smooth and afforded sufficient soil for the support of several 

 goodly tamarack and quite a grove of pinyon pine), after the. 

 passage of the cloud, not a tree was left on the hill, two or 

 three- were lying and hanging, stripped of limbs and foliage, 

 half way down the rocky eastern slope— Tom said, as he 

 turned our field glass to take in the top of the hill, " like the 

 bodies of drowned men left stranded by a tide." Poor hill! 

 It was washed, gullied, swept, gashed, "and torn, its once bold 

 front so changed and sorry looking that not even its oldest 

 friend would have recognized the mountain owning the coun- 

 try, tree-crested, and looking down on the canyon of the 

 morning. El Cazadoe. 



&Wt §**%f 



— Nearly all the taxes in Adair County, Kentucky, were 

 this year paid in scalps of foxes, the State allowing a .bounty 

 of one dollar per scalp. 



A MICHIGAN FISH COMMISSIONER ON 

 ON HIS TRAVELS. 



'TTIE Michigan Pish Commission— whose humble servant 



J- I chance to he— very kindly granted me 3 few days vaca- 

 tion, i have just spent them in satisfying what has long 

 been a deferred wish and hope, to-wit : a visit to my scalp 

 brethren to the west of me, in their own " castles" and amid 

 the implements and surroundings of their fish industrial labors. 

 The choice I made and the manner of my vacation has left 

 not a solitary regret. I account it my vacation of vacations, 

 to lie remembered and cherished so long as kindly courtesy 

 and true frendship are the>ymbols, aye the essence, of man- 

 hood and nobility. Do you think your readers (some of them 

 very likely of the fastidious sect) would relish a "free and 

 easy" discourse concerning some of the fishermen I impressed 

 into my vacation, with now and then a passing allusion to 

 some of the noteworthy objects interviewed during my jour- 

 ney ? Well, July 1 3th, with the odious carpet-bag in hand, I 

 put out. Dr. W. A. Pratt, Commissioner of Illinois, being 

 my nearest of-flsh-ial fish neighbor, I made straight for him. 

 I found him some two miles from Elgin, on a large and beau- 

 tiful farm, with improvements of the most approved patent, 

 testifying the thrifty and progressive farmer. His elegant 

 home, embowered with fruit tree, and shrub and plant and 

 flower, receives additional embellishment by a large Trout 

 Park, across the road from his house, in which not only sport 

 the world-famed Salmo fontmaU-s, but also many other gaily 

 tinted and graceful denizens of the brook and the pond. In 

 the inclosure graze deer and elk. Rabbit and other game, 

 Fera naturm, I saw bounding over heath and brake and up the 

 craggy slopes, while springs, with full head, gush forth, war- . 

 bling a delicious music, from the several ravines. The highest 

 knoll is marked by an observatory, from the summit of which 

 a dull vision even cannot fail to take in a landscape of rarest, 

 outline and beauty. At your feet is the busy and beautiful 

 city of Elgin, while far away stretch the fertile acres of the 

 valley of the Fox. But, in the midst of all this luxuriousness 

 of hearth and home and deft surroundings, I detected one 

 great need. Now, if you are a Yankee, you can guess it. All 

 i saw seemed to say, "too good, too much fox one. It should 

 be, anil I dreamed in my friend's chamber that night that erst 

 while it would be shared and enjoyed by two Fair Home 

 of— 



" Two souls with but a single thought. 

 Two hearts that beat as one." 



From Elgin the doctor became my compagnon de voyage. 

 After a delightful cup of coffee, we checked for Madison, 

 Wis., the home of Mr. Welch, President of the Fish Commis- 

 sion. Arriving at Madison, we found our friend, Mr. Welch, 

 busily engaged in the trial of an important suit before the 

 Supreme Court, and from the ease with which he chopped 

 logic, slung evidence, and cited authority to Bench and Bar 

 in the advocacy of his case, we felt compelled to esteem him 

 no less an athlete in the arena of legal Titans than he is a con- 

 fessed expert in the arts and love of pisciculture. Too en- 

 gaged in his suit to be of us, he ordered his carriage to the 

 Park Hotel for our use. Kind soul ! "Who but a grand fisher- 

 man, in the hurly-burly of a lawsuit, would have thought of 

 that! The carriage did a splendid business that morning. 

 Its occupants visited every main avenue, cross street, and al- 

 most every cranny of the capital of the Badgers, enjoying the 

 whole immensely. Madison, girt by Lakes Mendota and 

 Monona, with Waubesa, Kegonksa and Wingra as bright con 

 nectmg links, can boast a plat on which to found a city, in conl 

 trast with which no town or city the country over can justly 

 claim a site superior. It is more than beautiful. With the 

 beautiful it unites the picturesque and the grand. Mr. W., 

 being relieved from court, now joined us, and ordering a spick 

 and span establishment from the livery, he straightened the 

 ribbons for the State Hatchery, some four miles away. Wis- 

 consin's Commissioner ca?i drive too ! 



Wisconsin has achieved an excellent start in her fish works 

 She already has two large and well appointed hatcheries, a 

 commodious and handsomely constructed superintendent's 

 house, with barn and outhouses, several large ponds and fish 

 preserves, and others still in process of erection. In one thing 

 particularly is she ahead of nearly all tho fish States. She is 

 wise and rich enough to hold the fee simple of the land upon 

 which the springs are situated and the improvements made. 

 She has forty acres, all fenced, all being improved, and all paid 

 for. No burly landlord comes to her Commission with itching 

 palm for tithe or rent. Her State Fishery is on as independ- 

 ent a basis as are her other State institutions. That we en- 

 joyed our acquaintance with Mr. Welch does not half express 

 it. The following is our unanimous verdict : "A gentleman 

 of the most approved branch A five fish man— intelligent, 

 outspoken, with ' nary ' a concealment where duty and con- 

 viction are the spurs to action ; as ' sassy ' to his foes as he is 

 genial and affable to his friends. " 



From Madison we ticketed for St. Paul, where reside two 

 of Minnesota's Fish Commissioners. Mn route, about one 

 hour's ride from Madison, our train, seemingly awakening all 

 the echoes of Pluto's realm, came thundering down upon 

 Devil's Lake. Why in the world it should go by the name 

 of Devil's Lake I can't understand. There is nothing I could 

 discern in the slightest degree Satanic about it. On the con- 

 trary, it is grand and sublime almost beyond conception. 

 Devil's Lake, indeed I Better named Olympus. Jupiter 



