FOREST < AND STREAM. 



51 



may take issue with me relative to this, but I can only say 

 lien we get this prince of game birds to lie to a dog, 

 allowing bis pursuers to get within fortyyards before flushing, 

 then and not till then will 1 say it is unmanly and unsportsman- 

 like to shoot Mm sitting. There are sportsmen living in our 

 listricts, clean, quick shots, who every fall bag quail 

 by scores, who think they do well to kiliahaJK-dozen grouse 

 in a whole season's shooting. I have seen the statement made 

 that the quail, owing to his rapid flight and the small surface 

 presented to the sportsman's shot, was the hardest game bird 

 to kill that flies, but he don't compare with the grouse darting 

 through tlie underbrush, dodging brandies and tree trunks in 

 his erratic fight. Then stalk him as you would a deer, be 

 guided by his resonant drumming as he struts and plumes him- 

 self upon some mossy log, and I'll warrant you, barring Imps 

 and snares, the stock will not be much reduced, shoot him as 

 you will- 



Of course Herbert took inLo consideration that increase in 

 culture and civilization, meant an increase in sportsmen. The 

 fact that to day the ranks of the great, well armed, yet gentle 

 and peaceful sporting army are rapidly filling up, is not owing 

 to a. sudden fancy taking possession of the public mind, prompt- 

 ing the people to buy guns and rush to the field en, masse, there 

 to indulge in frantic efforts to slaughter game, but to a careful 

 consideration by thinking men of the noble, exhilarating and 

 health-giving properties of field sports, inculcated by the 

 efforts of our prominent field journals. The additions to the 

 guild are from the higher orders in life; and this being the fac f , 

 and the mania spreading through our rural districts just in 

 proportion as civilization and culture increases, there is no 

 danger of an extermination of our game. With so many 

 gentlemen sportsmen in the field, with so mauy cultured and 

 refined landholders and farmers, our game will be protected, 

 their nesting and rearing times field sacred, our legislatures 

 will narrow down the open seasons to that point which a 

 know-ledge of the habits of game shows to be the most 

 advisable, preventing the stock from becoming depleted by a 

 too long thinning of their ranks. In times of severe winters 

 — which, by the way, is a more to be dreaded evil than an army 

 of "pot hunters " and snarers, — the granaries will be opene d, 

 and their contents distributed with no niggard hand for the 

 benefit of the helpless, starving innocents. So can we say that 

 " the signs of the times " point to a glorious future for sports- 

 men, and it w r ill not be long, believe me, until game of all varie- 

 ties will he plenty all over our broad land. H. W. De L. 

 ■♦-»♦ 



STRAY NOTES FROM THE EDITOR, 



Petoskey, Mich., Aug. 14., 1877. 

 My last waif was from Pittsburg, August 4. The same day 

 I took train for Grand Eapids, Mich. , via Fort Wayne, Indiana, 

 where I was obliged to stay over Sunday, because there is no 

 connecting through train on Saturday night. The detention, 

 however, was made very pleasant by the courtesies of our 

 Fort Wayne friends, Messrs. Olds, Miller, Fowler, McKenna, 

 Bond, and others. Mr. Fowler has a fine set of pups out of 

 the celebrated Rufus and Ranger, of which ho is justly proud ; 

 and there are other dogs in town which boast an aristocratic 

 pedigree. Harry Olds' chief trophy is the head of a seventeen- 

 pound maskalonge which he recently captured with an eight- 

 ounce trout rod. His private collection of the fauna common to 

 this section, is very fine. The numerous sportsmen of this thriv- 

 ing town once formed an influential club which seems to have 

 disintegrated from lack of cohesion ; nevertheless, although it 

 has no recognized existence, the spirit of the body corporate 

 remains, and the recurrence of the shooting season never fails 

 to bring the sportsmen to the front, and the game to bag in 

 due time. The country between Alliance and Fort Wayne, on 

 the Pittsburg and Fort Wayne Railroad, and between Rich- 

 mond and Fort Wayne, is dotted with bass lakes and well 

 stocked with quail. There are many woodcock also, but shooting 

 is generally prohibited without permits from the tenants, the 

 lands being for the most part posted, a measure of protection 

 which I am greatly inclined to favor, as it saves the birds while 

 it debars no one from sport who is worthy to bear a letter of 

 introduction to some one of the farmers from a mutual friend. 

 Some, who do not seem to comprehend the fact that this is a 

 growing country, rapidly acquiring a dense population, think it a 

 hardship because they cannot rove at random over territory 

 which was almost a wilderness when their fathers were boys. 

 Property rights are recognized by boundary lines which become 

 more and more respected as they contract. The garden-patch 

 is sacred from intrusion while the hundred-acre lot is not ; and 

 any decent man who is welcome to a parlor will hesitate to in. 

 trucle into the private chamber of his host. There is no more 

 reason why a farm should be free to all comers than that the 

 implements and products thereon should be common property 

 to those who covet them. No stranger thinks of engaging in 

 any transaction of a business or social character, however tri- 

 vial, without a letter of introduction ; and surely the same spirit 

 of deference should actuate the sportsman who wishes to shoot 

 over a man's farm or inclosed territory. Of course, where 

 large tracts are without discernible boundaries, or in forests, 

 one cannot driscriminate ; nor can the law of trespass be any 

 more easily enforced than it used to be a hundred years ago. 

 When our country becomes as densely populated as Great 

 Britain, we shall not only find every acre posted, but shall 

 have to submit to licenses and gun taxes as well. Let us enjoy 

 what privdeges we have while they remain, and be contented 

 to get, for the asking, what we don't deserve when we attempt 

 If any man objects to our shooting 

 e can go to the next farm. Permission will scarce- 



ly ever be refused when sought for through proper letters of in- 

 troduction. If sportsmen will use the same effort and pre- 

 caution to secure letters of introduction that they do to i 

 reserved seats at a concert, or state-rooms on a steamer, they 

 will fare equally as well in the field or hill cover. As a meas- 

 ure of protection the system of posting is doubtless one of the 

 best, ; and the selfish plea that the farmers keep their birds to 

 trap for their own private emolument or pleasure, will not go 

 beyond the limit of perhaps one in ten of all who own terri- 

 tory where game birds fly or feed. 



On the -division of the railroad bet ween Pittsburg and Alliance 

 is a veteran conductor named Theodore Gray, who resides in 

 Alleghany City, lie is a natural born sportsman, has been on 

 the road twenty years, and is known to every farmer on the 

 route. He seems, too, to know every place where the birds 

 breed. lie took pleasure in painting out. to us choice spots in 

 Ohio where game can be shot next October when thalawis 

 off. lie says that birds will be abundant, and I incline to the 

 opinion that the measure referred to above and a temporarily 

 extended close season have produced the happy result. Any 

 one going West will find the best accomodation on the Penn- 

 sylvania Central and Pittsburg and Fort Wayne Railroads, 

 with sleepers and hotel cars attached, where one can not only 

 "live, move, and have his being," but live and have his being 

 without moving much. There is a most comfortable refectory 

 at the Fort Wayne Depot, which is kept by the gentleman who 

 is manager as well of the magnificent "Manhattan Beach 

 H6tel" at Coney Island in New York Pay. 



Leaving Fort Wayne on the 7 a. m. way train for Grand 

 Rapids, a journey that would seem long compared with the 

 time made by the through night express, is made delightfully 

 pleasant by the scenery along the route. The country is 

 interspersed with limpid lakes and green groves of oak, luxuri- 

 ant fields and fruitful orchards, pretty hamlets and bustling 

 towns j and when the tourist passes into Grand Rapids, the 

 queen cityof Michigan, the preparatory stages of the transition 

 have toned down what would otherwise prove a sensation of 

 surprise into a feeling of satisfaction that his expectations have 

 been fully realized. Although 1 passed two days and one 

 night in Grand Rapids, doing the town as well as thorough- 

 paced horseflesh enabled me to do, the time was insufficient to 

 take in half its local attractions. On my return from this 

 northern section I may feel moved to descant upon them but 

 not here, as 1 am on the wing. 



From Grand Rapids to Petoskey, the terminus of the East- 

 ern branch of the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad, the 

 latter half of the route runs chiefly through the dense pine and 

 hard-wood forests of northern Michigan ; but at frequent in- 

 tervals - are little hamlets with their buildings all new, and 

 odorous of freshly-cut lumber. Evidences of busy thrift, and 

 incoming settlers who are happy with their choice of locations, 

 are seen in the buzzing saw-mills, the tall corn and clustering 

 potato patches, the improved farm implements and the con- 

 tented kine. Petoskey, is the terminus of the railroad and a 

 landing for the lake steamers that ply to the North and the 

 South. It has been built within five years, but its growth, 

 though rank, is substantial. There are two or three hotels 

 here which are thriving upon the ever-changing multitudes 

 of tourists and prospectors; there are several stores also. 

 All the modern appliances of summer resorts are to he found 

 here, and possibly a huge lake-side hotel will spread its broad 

 verandas here anon. Over the blue waters of Little Tra- 

 verse Bay the grand view extends, and as I write I see the sur- 

 face placid as a mirror. I feel the bracing air in my lungs, 

 and its vivifying effects upon a debilitated system. 1 feel 

 that, it is indeed good to be here. Presently the steamer hies 

 away to Charlevoix, thirty miles southward. I am booked 

 for a passage, and must close these hasty notes, or miss it. In 

 my next I hope to write ^something more inter-esting about 

 the country. ' Haiaock. 



International Exhibition. — The Permanent International 

 Exhibition now open at Philadelphia, offers facilities such as 

 were never before presented for the examination and com- 

 parison of all the various styles and qualities of manufactured 

 goods that are placed on the market. It has surprised all who 

 have visited the exhibition to find so grand and complete a 

 display of American industries, while the grouping of exhibits 

 in classes is admirably adapted to facilitate comparison. An 

 invitation has been extended to the Governors of all the States 

 and Territories of the Union to visit the Exhibition during 

 the last week in August, for purposes of general conference. 

 It promises to be a notable event, and arrangements are being- 

 perfected to make the visit highly enjoyable to the participants. 

 The programme includes a preliminary meeting at Independ- 

 ence Hall, on Tuesday, August 28th ; a formal reception at 

 the Exhibition by the exhibitors and Management, on Wed- 

 nesday ; a grand industrial parade from the manufactories of 

 the city, reviewed by the Governors, on Thursday; visiting 

 leading manufactories, on Friday ; a visit to Cape May over 

 Sunday. 



New Map op New Yobk.— Messrs. D, A. Edstall & Co., 

 of No. 14 Broadway, have just issued an elegant little "Citi- 

 zens' and Travelers' Guide. Map In, To and From the City of 

 New York and Adjacent Places." It is printed upon bank 

 note paper, is handy for the pocket, and enables the traveler 

 to dispense with a hack or hunting a directory in order 

 to find his way about the city. A glance shows the names 

 and locations of the prominent churches, hotels, places of 

 amusement, and public buildings, also the location of the piers 

 of all ferries, foreign, coastwise, river and sound steamers, 

 The elevated and street railways are so clearly indicated by 

 the lines, arrows aad ,,f the 



tame, that traveling in or out of the city is made easy even to 

 those unaccustomed to city travel, Price 35 cents. 



GAME PROTECTION. 



^ Pennsylvania. -Afa late meeting of the North Philadelphia 

 Game Protective Association the annual election for officers 

 was held with the following result : President, Henry R. 

 Allen; Vice-President, John Clapp; Treasurer, C. E. Webster- 

 Secretary, J. E. Byram. 



Michigan.— The following amendment to the game law 



was made at- the last session of the Legislature i 



SEC. 1. That no person or persons shall pursue or hunt or 

 kill any wild elk, wild buck, doe, or fawn, save only in the 

 Upper Peninsula, from the 1st day of August, to the 15t,Ii of 

 November, and in the Lower Peninsula from I be 15th of Sep 

 tember to the 15th of December in each year, or kill or de- 

 stroy by any means whatever, or attempt to take or destroy 

 any wild turkey, at any time during the year except in the 

 months of October, November and December of each year or 

 kill or destroy by any means whatever any woodcock between 

 the 5th of July and the 1st of January, or any prairie chicken 

 or pinnated grouse, commonly called partridge or pheasant 

 or any wood duck, teal duck, mallard .luck, or gray duck-' 

 save only from the first of September in each year to the 1st 

 of January next following. 



—John Foutch, the great coon-killer of Madison County, 

 Tenn., now in his sixty-ninth year, says that "from roastin - 

 eartime to roasting-ear time," he has killed, with the aid of 

 two dogs, 209 coons. His neighbors pay the tax on his dogs. 



SeraxoRELD. Aug. 11, 1877, 

 Editor Forest and Stream : 



I have read Dr. John P. Ordway's two letters concerning 

 the Mass. game law, together with Mr. Miuot's tiinely sugges- 

 tions. I am aware that the law is not perfect, but it is far from 

 being as imperfect as Dr. Ordway claims. I am not one who 

 believes that even with the aid of the Mass. Anglers Association 

 a better law could have been passed last winter. The sports- 

 men of Massachusetts have to meet the entire hotel and saloon 

 interest of Boston whenever an efficient law is asked for topro- 

 ect game, and this interest is backed by their money. We were 

 beaten by them in 1876, and were obliged to concede to them the 

 objectionable clause in the bill of this year, or be beaten again; 

 and it was not because we lacked the large advice and accu- 

 mulated wisdom of the " Angler's Association." The sports- 

 men knew what we wanted; we took the best we could o-et 

 and bide our time. 



The law makes possession prima facie evidence to convict. 

 Dr. Ordway very kindly makes proclamation to pot-hunters 

 and poachers that this means nothing— in substance, that an 

 evasion and a lie will pass muster in a Massachusetts' court if 

 stuck to long enough. This won't do. A cannot buy woodcock of 

 B, and then when he is prosecuted say that B told him they 

 were killed in town; but the game being found on his possession 

 the statute, as it now is calls upon him (A) to control and over- 

 turn the presumption of guilt put upon him by the illegal 

 possession, and unless he can do so I believe the Courts would 

 convict, as they ought. 



It is a notorious fact that the game law is, and always has 

 been, violated in Boston with impunity, and simply because 

 sportsmen in that city do no try to suppress the violation. I am 

 aware that this is a strong statement, but the sportsmen there 

 will concede it. Because it is the "Brunswick" or the "Parker! 

 or " Young's " who violate thus the law, most sportsmen lay 

 finger upon lip and cry " hush." 



Living as I do, one hrmdred miles from the "hub," I am 

 importuned weekly by letters from sportsmen in and about 

 Boston hailing me with the old Macedonian cry, " Come over 

 and help us." In reply I say, " Help yourselves." 



We keep this end of the State right, and I will give Dr. 

 Ordway twenty-five dollars apiece for all the woodcock he 

 can find in this county dead out of season. 



How much better it w.ould be for Dr. Ordway to test the 

 law by an experimental prosecution, energetically pushed by 

 good counsel, than to sit on his seat and confess judgment 

 without trial, " because I (he) should not personally feel will-. 

 ing to risk the reputation of our society by obtaining warrants 

 under the present law." If his Society exists solely to preserve 

 its reputation, let us know it. The people and the legislature 

 when it granted the charter of said society supposed its purpose 

 was a different one, and if it was not, why then, dear Dr. in 

 good faith have its title changed again. 



Mr. Hallock's comments on the law-, and your editorial ones 

 in the last issue are easy writing, but just tell Hallock it. "is 

 easier to write a book " than to engineer a perfect game law 

 through a legislature. E. H. Lathrop. 



SUNBOTU-, Pa., Aug. 6, 1S77. 



Editor Forest and Stream : 



" Verde Monte's " article on " Migratory Quail," in your Jaat number 

 (Aug. 2), should attract the attention of every club and every sportf 

 man in our northern latitudes. I intend to introdnce it to the notice of 

 our association at our very next meeting, and shall watch the develop- 

 ment of this experiment with the greatest interest. 



The value of acquiring a new variety to our hst of the ortyx family' 

 which is capable of protecting itself from almost annihilation by the 

 severity of our northern winters, is almost beyond computation 

 while the cost is a mere bagatelle. To the sportsman who essays oner ' 

 field shooting as more pleasurable than the more arduous close cover 

 any accession of new varieties and numbers will be hailed with delicht 

 and the ': Rutland Fur Co.." If its introduction proves the success it 

 promises, will have conferred a blessing which should make its 

 "memory ever green." A ]? f , 



tw SF GUIe ,i Pi ? °i Wajne Count y' Pa " [n the w °"ds of 

 that town, recently had u severe encounter with a Catamount. 



