148 



FOREST r AND 



STREOf. 



'=. as any sportsmen need use. I prefer the finer finished 

 gUfiS of Tolley and Greener because 1 have more pleasure in 

 their use, and not because they any more reliable. Eqcttt 

 tbtirff, Pa., Sept. 1G. 1877. 



A "Wad Boajjd."— There appeared in vour columns some 

 time since a description of a loading block with wad board 

 attached. I made such a one about live years ago and found 

 it very convenient, but now have one still more convenient, 

 and at the same time thinner and lighter. It consists of a 

 separate wad board winch is placed on the shells after thev 

 are inserted in the block, which is simply an ordinary loading 

 block about one inch thick, with a hinged bottom' one-half 

 inch, making the entire thickness about two and one-half 

 inches. 



The objection to the old block is that it must he made about 

 four inches thick to take in the longest shell, and when shorter 

 shells are used there will be a gap between the shoulder and 

 the shell ; while with the separate wad board, whatever the 

 length of the shell, the shoulder rests directly upon it. Such 

 a wad board may be made for any loading block, provided the 

 holes are far enough apart (about one-fourth inch) to admit of 

 the necessary flaring on the upper side. For boring I use one 

 of Clark's expansive bits, which, by the way, is equal to a 

 whole set of augur hits. After having marked the holes so 

 that they shall correspond exactly with those in the loading- 

 block, the hit is set to bore a hole the size of the outside of 

 the shell, and all the holes are bored about three-eighths of an 

 inch deep to the shoulder. The bit is then set to bore the ex- 

 act size of the wad, and the holes are continued through the 

 hoard. They may then be flared with a fluted reamer. The 

 holes are flared underneath, so that the wad board may settle 

 at once on the shells without making it necessary to feel 

 around to get it in the proper proposition. ■ Cuvjer. 



Connecticut — Higganum, Aug. 24. — Bail shooting on the 

 Connecticut River is good this season. Two gentlemen bagged 

 50 one day last week, in about an hour and a half shooting, 

 and again a day or two later they scored 45, which is good 

 considering Ihe continual warfare made upon these birds here. 

 The birds were found some six miles down the rrver, where 

 there are large fields of wild oats, which furnish splendid 

 feeding grounds for rail, and also natural haunts for duck; 

 but being easy of access, so much shooting is done there that 

 ducking is very poor. Large bags of rail have been made all 

 along down the river from here to Saybrook, at its mouth. 

 There are about the usual number of quail. Expect to have 

 some sport the two first weeks in October, but it won't last 

 long, as there will probably be ten guns to one bi rd. 



C. O. G. 



Hartford, Sept. 24.— B. L. Hungerford shot eighty-seven 

 rail during two days' sport at Chester, recently. 



New York.— Eldred, Sept. 16.— Deer are unusually plenty 

 here this season; they are feeding on my early sown rye 

 every night. Partridges are more plenty than usual, though 

 in r lie thicket as yet, on account of dry weather. Pigeons aro 

 around the grain fields in great numbers. Bradley. 



Pennsylvania. — Greenville, Sept. 20.— Pheasants are re- 

 ported to be very plenty in this section. Squirrels are no- 

 where to be found in this locality. There are reports to the 

 effect that quail are quite plenty. The sportsmen at their last 

 Tegular meeting elected attorney for the club A. P. Henlin ; 

 Ex-President S. S, Hewitt andM. Hargen Brooks, Sec, dele- 

 gates to the State Association for the Protection of Game and 

 Eish, which is to be held at Pittsburg, Oct. 9, 1877. 



— The season for deer opens Oct. 1, and there is promise of 

 very fair sport throughout Clearfield county and those ad- 

 joining. 



Kinsey's Ashley House — BarnegatInlet,N'.J, Sept. 21 — Bay 

 birds not plenty, although Oscar B. Smith and Friend, of IS. 

 Y., have just shown a bag of 40 odd that they scraped to- 

 gether on aSorth Beach. Black ducks increasing. B. 



South Carolina — Charleston's Novel Stag Hunt.— 

 Some Charleston sportsmen recently conceived the idea of 

 getting up a stag hunt on the Washington race course, near 

 that city. The project was received with enthusia.m by sports- 

 men throughout the county, and the affair as described in 

 the Charleston JNeicx and Courier was certainly a brilliant 

 affair. Choice dogs from choice packs were selected and 

 entered for the sport, and excitement ran high as the day 

 drew near for the test. Planters left their crops and came 

 from fifty miles around in buggies, on horseback, muleback, 

 and, in fact, as best they could. Sportsmen came up in style, 

 lookiug wise and exchanging dog talk as they grouped around 

 the dogs and passed upon their ancestry, their bottom, their 

 speed, etc. The chase was to begin at 4 p. m., and by 3 o'clock 

 the ground was thronged with horses and vehicles of every 

 description. A grand pack of thirty-two dogs was entered, 

 elaborate rules drawn up, judges and umpire selected, the 

 stag was turned loose, and the four regular whippers-in rode 

 out into the track and sounded the signal horns. The dogs 

 grew wild at the welcome sound, and the crowd fairly boiled 

 over with excitement and began climbing over each other in 

 their wild effort to get a good place. For fully twenty min- 

 utes dogs and riders scoured the course without jumping the 

 game, and the crowd waited impatiently, looking on at nothing. 

 After a great many false alarms, the musical baying of the 

 pack and the excited riding of the riders proclaimed the fact 

 the trail was growing warm and that the fuu was not far off, 

 when, to the dismay of all, it was discovered that the deer 

 could not be persuaded to look upon the dogs with other than 

 friendly eyes— in other words, he wouldn't run at all. When 

 first jumped he runabout twenty steps, and was then pulled 

 down by Mr. Dubley's dog Ball. The dogs being whipped off 

 the noble stag ran a few feet and tried to climb a fence. Find- 

 ing that required too much exertion, he laid over on his back 

 after the style of a naughty poodle and held up its legs suppli- 

 catingly. Every persuasion imaginable was used, but the 

 stag wouldn't rim, and was finally ignominiously dragged 

 back to his cage by the hind legs by two men. This operation 

 furnished the greater part of the crowd with their first sight of 

 the deer, and when the animal was caged they crowded round 

 and feasted their eyes upon him as if they were looking at an 

 anthropophagus. 



Tennessee. — According to a correspondent of the Nashville 

 Rural Sun, squirrels have become a pest in Sullivan county, 

 and the farmers are compelled to keep up a continuous 

 f usilade against the invaders of their corn fields. 



Louisiana.— Beports from the upper river parishes in 

 Louisiana are to the effect that wild game, such as deer, bears, 

 turkeys and a smart sprinkling of panthers, is more abundant 

 than for many years. There is a good outlook for sportsmen 

 all over the southern Mississippi Valley. 



Texas— Au&in, Sept IS. —Our shooting season is close at 

 hand, and some are setting their bands in on the plover which 

 are very numerous, but so loaded down with oil as hardly to 

 be eatable. j, ]>. 



Wild Bioe. — In response to numerous queries regarding 

 wild rice, we publish the following ■ 



Ohio— Toledo— Mud Ben, Cedar Point, Sept. 20.— There is 

 no wild rice in this market, and I am unable to give you the 

 price per bushel. The wild rice crop iu this region is pretty 

 much harvested by wild fowl, and the only place where it is 

 gathered in any considerable quantity is at the head of Lake 

 Superior, where bands of the Chippewa tribe of Indians col- 

 lect it for their winter's food. I have written to a friend at 

 Sault Ste Marie for information, which, when obtained, Iwill 

 forward to you. The Mud Hen is now in commission, and 

 will be happy to entertain you or your friends of the F. & S. 

 and li. & G. at any time. Very truly, 



Emery D. Potter. 



An Old Gun.— While engaged in logging near Sehena, 

 Mich., Mr. Chas. Hastings discovered at the side of a large ash 

 stump a hollow piece of iron, the eud of which had been ex- 

 posed about two inches by the burning of the leaves and rub- 

 bish around the stump. Digging down by the side of the 

 Stump he found it to be the barrel of a gun firmly imbeded in 

 the roots of the stump, which had grown around it. In getting 

 it out the barrel was broken near the centre, where it had be- 

 come very much rusted. It is about two feet longer than the 

 modern gun, is " eight equare " at the breech, large, smooth 

 bore, and resembles an old-fashioned French flint-lock fowling 

 piece. Neither the lock nor any traces of the stock were 

 found. Occupying a horizontal position, about sixteen inches 

 below the surface of the ground, and almost directly through 

 the centre of the tree, with ends protruding on either side, it 

 is evident that it must have been dropped there, either before 

 the tree took root or while it was very small, as it was within 

 an inch aud and half of its heart, and the growth of' the tree 

 shows a century and a half since it began encircling the gun. 

 — Portland (Mich.) Observer. 



Illinois— Lebanon, Sept. 21.— Quail abundant this fall ; 

 found in coveys containing from 25 to 30 birds. The law of 

 this State now prohibits quail shooting till Nov. 1st. Last 

 spring and summer were favorable for prairie chickens here, 

 and several fine broods are reported in the north-eastern por- 

 tion of this county. We have no ruffed grouse or wild tur- 

 keys to afford any sport. Wood ducks arc common, and mal- 

 lards are just beginning to come in. W. L. J. 



Duok Shooting on St. Olaib Flats.— Speaking of the ac- 

 tion of the Canadian Government in leasing the shooting on 

 the St. Clair Flats, and the southern end of Walpole Island, 

 to an association known as the St. Clair Flats Shooting Com- 

 pany, a year since, the Sarnia Observer explains as follows • 



We have reason to believe that the whole action of the Gov- 

 ernment in relation to this matter has been taken in behalf of 

 the Indians, and for t he purpose of securing to them some 

 compensation for the game which the locality produces. Pre 

 viously, the shooting in question was trespassed upon with 

 impunity by people from all quarters, the United States as 

 well as elsewhere, who plundered it of the game without res- 

 spect to the laws passed for its preservation. By the lease a 

 right was given to the company to occupy the territory, and 

 charge a fee not exceeding $10 a week from all parties' wish- 

 ing to shoot thereon, on payment of which for one or more 

 weeks, permits were given, which gave those holding them the 

 right to shoot for the time therein stated. So far as the Govern- 

 ment is concerned, they derive no revenue whatever from the 

 lease. The Indians get the whole amount. The company^, 

 however, have found it somewhat difficult to prevent tres- 

 passing on their privilege ; and some weeks ago they made ar- 

 rangements with detective Wm. Smith, well known in the 

 country, to look after their interests, giving him full power to 

 take all necessary steps to prevent trespassing. This he has 

 been able to do without any difficulty, parties who came to 

 the place disposed to dispute the claim of the lessees having 

 in all cases given way after a Tittle calm explanation and re- 

 monstrance on the part of Smith, and either accepting permits 

 or leaving the ground without any difficulty occurring. The 

 practice followed by the company is to exact this rate of fee 

 from all parties wishing to obtain shooting privileges. If at 

 the close of the season the amount realized from the sale of 

 permits is more than sufficient to pay the rent and other legiii- 

 mate expenses the overplus is divided amongst those who paid 

 it ; if it is not sufficient for these purposes, then they must 

 make up the deficiency. 



Indiana — Sept. 22.— Just at this time Harrison County 

 and some portions of adjoining counties are being overrun 

 with squirrels. They are daily crossing the Ohio from Ken- 

 tucky, and seem to be extending themselves across the coun- 

 try in a northward direction. There was a similar but greater 

 migration in 1833. 



•EIlnbas— Atchison, Sept. 19. —Chicken shooting has been 

 very poor in this part of Kansas thus far during the season, 

 owing to the continued rains in the early spring and the late 

 burning of the grass ; ail of the first sittings of eggs were 

 destroyed. Our club has just returned from its annual hunt 

 of a week, and found but very few; 500 chickens was the 

 sum total lor a party of ten. Quail are very plenty ; as they 

 nest in hedge rows and brush, the lues did not destroy the 

 eggs, and as but very few were killed last winter, Ihcy are 

 therefore unusually plenty, aud will afford fine shooting as 

 soon as the season opens— Oct. 1st. There is also a very fine 

 prospect for ducks and snipe ; the latter especially, and 100 

 per day is not unusual for a good shot. H. li. B. 



— Capt. Ducaigne remarks in a late letter that near his home- 

 stead and shooting box in Nobles County, Minn., two neigh- 

 bors lately got one shot each at a fine elk, but failed to bring 

 it down. It is seldom that elk are now seen on the plateaus 

 of that elevated and beautiful region. 



C&i.iFouy,ik~SayUn Barbara, Sept. 20. -Deer shooting good 



all about here. 



Humboldt Talley. — Deer, geese, ducks and the several varie- 

 ties of water fowl are in the greatest abunda 



Spoet in Dakota. — In a former communication I asserted 

 that "our prairies teem with chickens, plover and curlew, etc." 

 I told only the truth, as many a good bag brought home since 

 die season opened abundantly proves. The new law re 



mi raffle one, and has already borne good fruits rn incren 

 the game. Captain L. and myself, with "Sport," rode oi 

 the prairie a few days since, and picked up ah 

 chickens in driving about three miles, and then took a turn . 

 about an old lake bed or prairie pond nearly overgrown with . 



in a few minutes dropped five or six splendid mallard ducks 

 about two-thirds grown, fat as butter. Lust Thursday we. 

 started for a clay's hunt with two dogs. We killed nearly 

 forty chickens and a jack rabbit, in spile of the fact I hat most 

 ol tlie coveys were on stubble, and wild as hawks. Th 

 dom lay to the dogs, and most were killed outside of forty 

 yards, which, considering that the wind blew a gale, I con- 

 sider a fine bag. Persons need not. expect to kick the chickens 

 out of the grass at this season, but will have to shoot at 

 range and hunt if they expect success to crown their ■ 

 'Early in the season, say the middle of Aug., while the bird 

 young, after a covey has been once flushed, if 

 them with your dog a second time, nearly the whole c 

 may be bagged, as they will crouch in the grass, and no 

 until close upon them .1 cannot understand why it is 

 dog will run over a prairie chicken at times and not se 

 get the least particle of scent from the bird. In fact 

 both of our dogs run right upon a whole covey and flush 

 tuemiup, and drop as though perfectly astonished. Again, 

 1 have flushed up a bird where the dogs bave ranged buck- 

 ward and forward, apparently not getting any scent." I al 

 concluded (as some of your correspondent's have held) that 

 prairie, chickens withhold their scent. Our dogs are both fine 

 ones, and I cannot think them altogether at fault. Can you 

 explain the reason ? Ducks arc becoming very plentiful 

 although their autumnal flight from the north has not yet 

 commenced, but when the season fully opens look out "for 

 feathers. 



The Forest and Stream comes a welcome visitor in this 

 strange but most beautiful land, hong may it wave. 



„ J. E. West. 



Yankton, Da., Sept. 17, 1877 



Sport on Van ConvEE's Island.— A correspondent sends 

 us the following extract from a private letter of Mr. J. Wilford 

 Webb, who has been on a hunting expedition in the North- 

 west : 



I have just come out of the bush. Part of the time I was 

 by myself , later Captain M. joined me. We each had our 

 Indian, and hunted separately, but camped together, f had 

 Edwards' old guide, the Indian Sku-Jack. I killed a splendid 

 bear, one of the largest that has been killed here for many 

 years. For a whole week I carried my rifle under a broiling sun 

 without getting a single shot. Afterward we got into a better 

 country, and killed several deer; the bucks large, but does 

 small. I never worked so hard in my life, up every morning 

 at 3:30 A. m. hunting through the most infernal country you 

 can imagine, till mid-day, then breakfast and sleep near sun- 

 down, when we hunted for a couple of hours. The walking is 

 awful— all mountains, valleys one mass of underbrush so thick 

 that at times you must cutyour way through; fallen trees and 

 half -burned timber abound. My first shot id the bear was one 

 hundred yards; could not get a clear shot, but took my chance, 

 struck him above the heart through the lungs. He jumped 

 about six feet in the air and made right for me. My second 

 shot broke his back, hut again he came on. I didn't know how 

 small and how low down a bear's-heart lies, so again shot him 

 in the lungs. Sku-Jack then slipped the dog Which partly 

 took up his attention, and, turning his head round, I got a 

 shot just behind his ear which felled him ten paces from my 

 feet. He looked very savage, his little eyes twinkling like 

 two balls of fire, blood pouring from his no'se, while his growl- 

 ing as he advanced was well calculated to distract my aim, 

 My rifle has terrible penetration, every ball going through him 

 smashing all before it. You would hardly' believe what 

 tenacity of life they have ; any one shot would have 

 him, but he was rather too near to be agreeable company. 1 

 haye killed any quantity of blue grouse and other small game. 

 Friday I go to Mainland, 400 miles trom here, and expect 

 splendid sport on deer aud chicken. 



JBsquimault, Van Conner's Island, Aug. 26, 1877. 



— Two miners, J. H. Ritchie and W. F. Zambro, while 

 crossing one of the California Water Company's flumes on the 

 new South Fork ditch, two weeks ago, saw an enormous bear 

 in an angle of the flume, walking on the foot board and com. 

 in 5 toward them. Zambro had a two-barreled shot gun, 

 ed with buckshot, and two dogs were behind them, j 

 was inevitable. The bear came on his hind legs toward 

 Ritchie, and when the man was almost within the brute 

 Zambro fired and knocked the animal off the flume. Eitchie 

 jumped off and, picking up a piece of scantling, beg 

 pound his bearship on the head. A back blow of the 

 ling brained one of the dogs, which had come to Ritchie's aid, 

 Then the bear, only slightly wounded, gave Ritchie a rough 

 and tunble fight, although harassed by the remaining dog. 

 Meanwhile. Zambro had managed to climb into a tree, carry r 

 ing his gun. He fired the remaining barrel, missed the bear, 



i ly missed Eitchie, and killed ihe dog. Seeing his 

 cal situation, Ritchie got out of the bear's embraces, and by a 

 desperate effort pushed the animal over a bluff forty feel 

 The fall killed the animal. WTien dressed "it weighed 

 784 pounds. Through the right ear was a bullet hole made by 

 some hunter. Ritchie lost, coat, vest, pantaloons, shirt, and 

 most of his hair 



PIGEON MATCHES. 



Connecticut. — Sowers. — Bashni II. Pease, 

 Somers, and a brother of Dr. L. H. Pease, of Thompson II. 

 has been doing some tall shooting out West. Atasbc 

 Atchison, Kansas, he killed every one of a string of 2 1 

 al "26 and 31 yards rise. Another man from St. Joseph, Mo., 

 made, the same score. 



Ohio— East Liverpool.— A glass ball match took place here 

 Sept. 17 between 8. J. McCartneyand Wm. Plover fori he cham- 

 pionship of Columbiana Co., at 18 yards rise, fifty balls. Won 

 by a score of 48 to 3S, by Mr, S. J. McCartney. ' 



Bogakdus ix Cihcinnati — Cincinnati, Sept. 21.— 

 Bogardus gave an exhibition at the High 

 this l". m. at 2 o'clock, in which amateurs partici] 

 night, 10 e. m m he has just finished a shoot, in 



dto beat his best time — that al Lincoln, 111., last Jujj — 

 at 1,000 glass balls. Baum, timekeeper, ma 

 balls in 77m. the ordinary watch of 



