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FOREST AND STREAM- 



A WEEKLY JOURNAL, 



Devoted to Field and Aquatic Sports, Practical Natural Distort, 

 Fish Culture, thk Protection opwame. Preservation of Forests, 

 and the Inculcation in Men and Women of a Health? Interest 

 in Out-I>ook Keckbation and Study: 



PUBLISHED BY 



Rarest and §ttreatn publishing {£ompm(ff. 



— AT— 



NO. Ill (Old No. 103) FULTON STREET, NEW YORK. 



[Post Office Box 2832J 



TEEMS, FOUR DOLLARS A YEAR, STRICTLY IN ADVANCE. 



Twenty-five per cent, off for Clubs of Three or more. 



Advertising Kates. 



Inside pages, nonpareil type, 25 cents per line ; outside page, 40 cents. 

 Special rates for three, six and twelve months. Notices in editorial 

 columns, 50 cents per line. 



All transient advertisements must be accompanied with the money 

 or they will not be inserted. 



No advertisement or business notice of an immoral character will be 

 received on any terms. 



".'Any publisher Inserting our prospectus as above one time, with 

 brief editorial notice calling attention thereto, and sending marked copy 

 to us, will receive the Forest and Stream for one year. 



NEW YORK, THURSDAY, JANUARY 17, 1878. 



To Correspondents. 



All communications whatever, intended for publication, must be ac- 

 companied with real name of the writer as a guaranty of good faith, 

 and be addressed to the Forest and Stream Publishing Company. 

 Names will not be published if objection be made. No anonymous con 

 tributions will be regarded. 



We cannot promise to return rejected manuscripts. 



Secretaries of Clubs and Associations are urged to favor us with brief 

 notes of their movements and transactions. 



Nothing will be admitted to any department of the paper that may 

 not be read with propriety in the home circle. 



We cannot be responsible for dereliction of the mail service if money 

 remitted to ns is lost. No person whatever is authorized to collect 

 money for us unless he can show authentic credentials from one of the 

 undersigned. We have no Philadelphia agent. 



VT Trade supplied by American News Company. 

 CHARLES nAXLOCK, Editor. 



T. C. BANKS, S. H. TURRILL, Chicago, 



Business Manager. Western Manager. 



@" There are a very large number of letters at this office the flight of birds and to interpret footprints in the grass 

 r ihp srentlt'iiinri who nilvprtispd in nnv nnlnmns for a p-razinp- F.vp.rv tnvnorl Mn.tn a. u.,i, r .„ *™;~ u_j - ._'_ i ., 



Viotok Emanuel.— On reading of the death of the King of 

 Italy all true sportsmen will express their regrets. For a king, 

 Victor Emanuel was a bluff, honest and hearty man, and had 

 endeared himself in the hearts of all Italians. Passionately 

 devoted to hunting, he sought in the chase that wholesome 

 relaxation from the cares of statesmanship. The title of 

 Re gallantuomo will long be remembered when associated with 

 Victor Emanuel, who, in more respects than one, resembled 

 the best beloved of all the French Kings— Heuri Quatre. May 

 St. Hubert, the patron saint of hunters, find a place for this 

 brave king in the region of the blest ! 



Our Chess Department.— With this week's issue we add 

 to our columns a Chess Department, which, we trust, will be 

 an additional attraction to our pages and of interest to a large 

 number of our readers. Chess playing has ever been regard- 

 ed as aWgh intellectual recreation, and the beauties of its 

 varied and marvelous combinations engaged more than the 

 passing attention of statesmen, generals, philosophers, poels 

 and cultured minds for centuries past. The patieut re- 

 searches and investigations of different chess authors would 

 form quite a library of themselves, and not a little astonish 

 the uninitiated should he attempt to obtain such a collection, 

 or be lead by a sudden inclination to inquire into the charac- 

 ter of their contents. In the dark ages chess was only 

 known to the nobility, and regarded with superstition and awe 

 by the commoner ; but happily the game has now extended 

 to all classes and justly become a favorite pastime ; and al- 

 though of Oriental origin, it has now no confines, and is to- 

 day, perhaps, more popular in America than elsewhere. The 

 names of its eminent and illustrious masters will remain ever 

 green so long as this world exists. Our readers, therefore, 

 should find an occasional spare moment to devote to chess', 

 justly called the " royal game," as did Napoleon, .Frederick 

 the Great, Franklin, and countless men of genius in the past. 



Fori Royal as a Fort of Entby.— Efforts are now being 

 made to have a port of entry established at Port Royal 8 C 

 This harbor, which is the most capacious on the South At- 

 lantLs coast, will, without doubt, ultimately be the terminus 

 of the great railroad lines now contemplated, and thus form 

 he outlet for the products of the West and Southwest. 



For I he gentleman who advertised in our columns for a grazing 

 range in Colorado or Texas. We have notified him three 

 times by mail without result. 



The Old Guard Ball. — The arrangements for the Old 

 Guard ball, to he held Jan. 84, at the Academy of Music, are 

 being rapidly completed, and if we may judge from the ready 

 sale of tickets and boxes the event will be most success- 

 ful. Within the last few days boxes have been secured 

 for the officers of the Ninth and Twenty-second Regiments, 

 the staff of the Governors of New York and Massachusetts, 

 and for Gen. Variau and his staff ; Mayor Stokley, of Phila- 

 delphia, a number of arrny and navy officers, and many of the 

 foreign Consuls at New York have accepted invitatioas. 

 Messrs. Taylor & Gelston, of the St. Denis, will furnish the 

 ball supper in Nilsson Hall. The music will be by Downiug's 

 military and Bernstein's string bands. 



Our Congratulations —We offer our best wishes to our 

 brilliant French contemporary, La Chasse Illudree, on the 

 completion of its tenth year. Under the capital management 

 of M. de la Blanchere and his talented assistants this journal, 

 for solid information and brilliant writing, has no equal. 

 With correspondence from all parts of the world, the informa- 

 tion which it often affords us we are only too glad to ac- 

 knowledge. Apart from the excellence of the text, La Chasse 

 Illustree is perfect as to illustrations and general typography. 

 We are quite certain that its future success will surpass even 

 the expectations of its proprietors. 



VACATION RAMBLES IN MICHIGAN, 

 WISCONSIN AND MINNESOTA.— No. 11. 



By the Editor. 



January 12, 1878. 

 My Beaders : My last letter touched of sport among the 

 sharp-tails near Brainerd. Something of what follows will 

 refer to my hunt among the pinnated grouse in the southern 

 part of the State, of which my compagnon du voyage, John 

 Swainson, Esq., editor of the Swedish Pioneer, of St. Paul, 

 has already written at length. 



While at Brainerd I was encouraged to go West into Daco- 

 tah by our mutual friend, Jerome Marble, Esq , of Worcester, 

 Mass. , whose special car had stood on a side track over Sun- 

 day. He had his family along, with two English officers as 

 guests, Capts. Fitz Matthew and Messiter. Engagements, 

 however, prevented my accepting his courtesy, and so I lost 

 the opportunity to contribute my quota to his big bag of 180 

 birds. Retracing my steps eastward along the line of the 

 Northern Pacific Railroad, I reached. the junction at Thomp- 

 son, and then ran due south along the line of the Lake Supe- 

 rior and Mississippi Road to St. Paul, the officers having 

 courteously sent me passes. The first part of the route is 

 wild, but the lower portion is much occupied by settlements ; 

 and there are some noted watering-places, chief among which 

 is Lake Minnetonka. The greater part of the route is nearly 

 parallel with the St. Croix River, which is the boundary be- 

 tween "Wisconsin and Minnesota, and at Rush City it touches 

 it. There are many places where excellent entertainment is 

 provided, and the sportsman can get all the big and small 

 game he wants by making one of these places his headquar- 

 ters. No trouble about obtaining guides, white or red. 



Of the scenery around St. Paul, as observed from the river, 

 the guide books have spoken with abundant enthusiasm. 

 The city is chiefly perched upon a limestone cliff, into whose 

 base huge vaults have been excavated for the accommodation 

 of beer, whose quality is said even to exceed that of Milwau- 

 kee. These cliffs impinge upon the river, and being inter- 

 rupted by seams of sandstone, water has percolated through 

 the latter in mauy places and worn out caves of great or less 

 extent, which for years afforded hiding-places and council- 

 chambers for the Indian tribes. The broad sweep of the Mis- 

 sissippi incloses an island, mo3t conveniently located for a 

 pier of the bridge which crosses the river. Several miles 

 above St. Paul is the suspension bridge which unites St. An- 

 thony to Minneapolis. This group of three cities, with their 

 varied industries, especially the great lumber and grain inter- 

 ests, constitutes a commercial centre of no small significance 

 and stir. It is difficult to imagine a financial depression that 

 can vitally affect the great combination. The fur trade is an 

 important item of itself, and as long as a great scattered pop- 

 ulation exists in the country beyond, it will look to St. Paul 

 as its source of supply. It is said that those who once take 

 up their residence in the city never remove. 



Twenty years ago St. Paul remained, as it had long been, the 

 outpost of our Northwestern frontier. There was no civili- 

 zation beyond, except the depots of the fur companies. The 

 brave pioneer merchants who bartered with the half breeds in 

 summer, when the Bed River wagon trains came down from 

 Pembina, found leisure, autumn and winter, for manly sport. 

 Trained in the school of frontier experiences, and familiarized 

 with all the soft and harsher features of the border, the lads 

 who are now the middle-aged men of the city became adepts 

 in the field. They carried the gun for pastime and the rifle 

 fur personal protection. Gentlemen who sauntered forth on 

 the prairies and bottoms in those days after grouse and snipe 

 were apt to meet swarthy interlopers. Frequent intercourse 

 made them familiar with their tricks and their manners. 

 Unpleasant little episodes taught them to scrutinize distant 

 objects, and to scan closely and study those natural or abnor- 

 mal phenomena termed "signs." They learned to divine by 



Every turned blade or broken twjg had a meaning, and the 

 distant smoke on the horizon was a manifestation. Game 

 was abundant all around, and the hearts of the hunters 

 warmed to the chase. Powder was uever burned in vain. No 

 wonder that the sportsmen of St. Paul to-day are among the 

 best in the land. Almost all of the old lads are alive yet, with 

 constitutions like iron, hardened by tough training, and a 

 longevity that winks at tables of life insurance companies. 

 No wonder they made good soldiers in the war, habituated as: 

 they were to expedients and emergencies, pot luck and hard 

 knocks. On the grand old meadows around Fort Snelling, 

 and within hail of the sentry, that old frontiersman, Gen. H. 

 H. Sibley, whom the quondam readers of the Spirit of the 

 Times will recognize as "Hal-a-Dacotah," has shot woodcock 

 by the bagf till. There are Norman Kittson and H. M. Rice, 

 his contemporaries, and Col. Uline, of the Minnesota Cavalry; 

 A. H. Hamilton, now Treasurer of the Sioux City Railroad ,- 

 Horace Thompson, President of the First National Bank; 

 Reuben Warner; and Wm. Golcher, who made guns for them 

 all ; and a score of gentlemen a few years younger, who could 

 tell us of the ponderous strings of snipe and ducks they once 

 brought in from the sloughs on the river bottoms, the ruffed 

 grouse from the ridges, and the deer from the adjacent tim- 

 ber and open prairie. They would smoke up a twenty-five 

 pound canister of "Vanity Fair" tobacco before their yarn 

 was fully spun. It is somewhat different now in these days, 

 when the locomotives of half a dozen railway lines rumble 

 out continually, and all the country round about is daily 

 walked over and beaten up by the resident gunners of a city 

 which has become metropolitan ; yet there is game to be 

 found near by, and the knowing ones will guarantee you a 

 bag of birds at the proper season within a few miles of town. 

 For a day's shooting this i3 well enough ; but sometimes a 

 man feels like several days, and then he is seldom at a loss 

 what place to choose, as the several railway lines afford him 

 quick transportation to choice localities. 



Some of the more wealthy and devoted sportsmen of Sk 

 Paul keep a complete wagon outfit constantly on hand, send- 

 ing it in a box car hither and yon at will. E. R. Warner, 

 Esq., Superintendent of the American Express Company, has 

 ingeniously transformed an express wagon into a hunting 

 cart, wilh sections for ice, provisions, aud equipments" 

 racks for guns, lockers for ammunition, and a canvas-covered 

 kennel large enough for half a dozen dogs. A canvas awning 

 provides shade, and sh'e curtains can be buttoned on for pro° 

 tection against rain. The seats are fitted with easy springs, 

 and the sides are so low that it is easy to mount and dismount, 

 which is a great advantage on a hunt for grouse. 



Placing this wagon and team upon one of the trains of the 

 Sioux City Railroad, we followed the beautiful valley of the 

 Minnesota River for several hours, and then crossing a belt of 

 heavy timber which bisects the State, ran out on an open 

 prairie and halted at a town called Madelia, where we were 

 well accommodated. Large farms and pretty towns of vary- 

 ing population had lain all along the route, and the numerous 

 grain elevators at the way stations told of the natural pro- 

 ductiveness of the land. Until we emerge from the timber 

 we have seen little that strikes the stranger as novel ; but on 

 the prairie an observant peison will notice that the pretty 

 groves which surround the farm houses and cottages, and the 

 trees that line the streets of the villages, have all been planted 

 out. Very little native shrubery is seen except at long inter- 

 vals, or upon the banks of the creeks. Not far from Madelia 

 is a pretty stream called Wahtondou, and a little further east 

 is a private demesne known as Crystal Lake, which is one of 

 the prettiest residences imaginable, embellished throughout 

 with discriminating taste. These beautiful lakes of pure 

 water are characteristic of Minnesota, and are so frequent 

 that they constitute one-thirty-sixth part of the entire area of 

 the State. Given a lake and a rolling prairie one can lay out 

 ana perfect a charming home in the few years which are re- 

 quired for his transplanted tree3 to grow. Sometimes a ledge 

 of rock crops out, and this gives additional advantages for 

 landscape gardening. Not far east from Crystal Lake there 

 is a beautiful fall of water over a rocky ledge some sixty feet 

 hiRh, with picnic grounds in the neighborhood. With these 

 little reminders I prod my Eastern readers to remember that 

 the prairies 1 write of are no longer desert and unoccupied 

 wastes. Farms extend clear across the State on the lines of 

 railroad, and homesteaders have taken up sections at consider- 

 able distances from these lines. To the traveller by rail little 

 remains to indicate crudeness or primitive condition. There 

 are comparatively few fences on the prairie, wood being 

 scarce ; but hedges are substituted with great advantage to 

 the landscape. 



Wandering apart from the railroad, the grouse hunter seeks 

 the vicinity of the most distant grain fields where the birds 

 are least liable to be molested. The grain having been cut, 

 and no fences to intercept, he drives his wagon pretty much 

 at will from native grass to stubble, conscientiously avoiding 

 standing corn aud acres of newly-plowed ground, doing no 

 damage whatever, and seldom meeting objection from the farm- 

 ers. The farms are not always contiguous to each other by 

 any means, and houses are frequently miles apart. The prairie 

 here is more undulating than in the northern part of the State, 

 and the sweep of outlines more diversified. One roves listlessly 

 from mound to dell, now dropping into an intervale which 

 wholly shuts out the view, and anon mounliog a knoll from 

 whose summit billows of grass, like swells of ocean, surge off 

 to the horizon in all conceivable curves, peacefully islanded 

 here and there with drooping elms and clumps of black-jack 



