468 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[July lg, !«{& 



and just beyond the. bear and iu direct range with her, an 

 animal thai' he at once- recognizer! as the long sought for 

 elk. 



Neither of the beasts -wore, aware of his approach, so 

 quietly rising upon one knee and resting his rifle across! he 

 other, which is Jlr. S.'S favorite position in shooting, he took 

 deliberate aim, intending, as was his custom in attacking 

 grizzlies, to break the bear's spinal column. Tills, as Sir. 

 8. afterwards explained, incapacitates them for severe and 

 prolonged attack or resistance; Bang went the gun, away 

 sped the bullet, and down Pel) two animals — iu fact, three, 

 (he hear, the elk, and Mr. S. himself. The bullet had cut 

 the backbone of the boast completely in two. and passing on 

 through had lodged in the heart of 'the elk. and the extraor- 

 dinary task to which the ritle had been subjected produced 

 such a violent recoil that the hunter himself was Stretched 

 flat upon the ground. Recovering himself, speedily. Mr. S. 

 advanced upon the prey, hunting-knife in hand, bul life was 

 extinct in both animals. 



The little cubs on hearing the report of the gun tied, but 

 being only a few weeks old were, speedily captured, tied in 

 bags, and fastened on the back of the horse. On examining 

 the supposed elk, Mr. Sheldon found it to be not an elk at 

 all, but an enormous deer — species unknown — measuring 

 eleven feet eight inches fiom the tip of its nose to its hind 

 feet, and standing somewhat over six feet high across the 

 withers. 



When their story was first heard, the accuracy of Mr. 

 Sheldon's tape line was doubted, but after one of the feet 

 of the beast was seen — about the size of the hack of an ordin- 

 ary rocking chair, and we had heard half a dozen fish and cam- 

 paign stories around the camp fire that same night, we came 

 to the conclusion that W. S. had rather drawn it mild than 

 otherwise. At all events, whh the aid of several men and 

 horses, he brought back to camp on the Monday following 

 the deer, bear and cubs, and the entire population of Cooper 

 City have been feeding off the hind quarters of that deer 

 ever since. If any one doubts the accuracy of these details 

 let him ask Mr. Sheldon himself who is expected in Santa Fc 

 in a few days and who will gladly explain the modus oper- 

 andi of killing a bear and deer with one bullet. 



IDAHO NOTES. 



I SI this Territory fish are not protected by law, but the 

 season opens, with sportsmen, about March 1, and closes 

 in September. Salmon— mainly .S'. eltirkti var. aurora — are 

 brought to market between December and April. The red- 

 fish (O. kemcrlyi) is caught in August, between the Payette 

 Lakes, where it is said they are so numerous at that 'time 

 that numbers are killed by horses in crossing the stream.. I 

 have not eaten them when fresh, but think they are too fat 

 to keep well in salt or when dried. 



An old law protects buffalo, which have not been found 

 in Idaho for many years, yet I have seen one skull, unques- 

 tionably of a buffalo, washed out by high water. The close 

 season for elk, deer, mountain sheep and mountain goat is 

 from March 1 to August 1. Not enforced except in vicinity 

 of towns. Miners and woodchoppers often place their main 

 reliance for meat on this game. 



Our wmter wa,s a very favorable one for birds. Quail and 

 blue, grouse (T. obsf.urus) promise to be abundant, I found 

 a grouse nest last week containing two eggs. 1 have not 

 seen them described. They were about the size of Guinea 

 fowl eggs, pointed, and spotted ad over with chocolate 

 brown spots; the ground color differed in shade, one being 

 quite dark, "mfc a a lift,'' and the other nearly white. The 

 sportsman triumphed over science — the nest was not robbed. 

 1 intend to visit it again in a week or two, and if it is found 

 abandoned on account of my last visit, will secure the speci- 

 mens. The nest was a very "simple affair, on a side hill, not 

 far from water, under and on the shady side of a sage brush, 

 with a horn ''chip" outside; no grass or leaves for alining. 



The sharp-tailed grouse — called here prairie chicken — is 

 nearly extinct near civilization. They winterin the gulches, 

 and so become an easy prey for pot-hunters. The open season 

 Tor them ought to close with November. Blue grouse, ruffed 

 grouse and Canada grouse (spruce partridge— fool hen) winter 

 in places so inaccessible that they will outlast the others. 1 

 hope to visit the Payette Lakes and Salmon River Mortmains 

 in July and August, and shall try to obtain the Canada 

 grouse skins I promised you. T. E. W. 



Boise City, Idaho, June 10, 1882. 



THE WET SEASON AND THE BIRDS. 



CiONTESTUED reports come of the scarcity of woodcock as 

 J the open season approaches. All the news I receive is 

 ol one tenor. The prolonged rains of the past spring de- 

 stroyed many young birds. And again it comes that the 

 woodcock has not been the only sufferer, but the young birds 

 nf.iuaiiin some districts have in like manner perished. 

 V'our correspondent has just returned from a brfei tour to 

 the West, and in conversing With sportsmen of Cincinnati, 

 Louisville, and St. LouK understands the same state of affairs 

 exists throughout the whole country west of the Allegheny 

 Miranf iins. The rains have been widespread and the "bird's 

 have suffered everywhere. On the Indianapolis and St. 

 Louis Railroad, the region through which this line extends is 

 one immense swamp caused by the rainfall. In many places 

 water surrounds the farm houses and outbuildings, and 

 country toads are completely covered. This was the con- 

 dition a week since, and many heavy rains have occurred 

 since. 



Prairie chickens have not suffered to the great extent the 

 Smaller game has, for the reason that the grounds where 

 they lured are not so much exposed to flood. "We are likely 

 to have a very dry period before the return of the snipe in 

 October, aud the grounds which they frequent in ordinary 

 fail seasons -mill then, if a drouth has occurred, he over- 

 grown with dense vegetable matter, and force the birds to 

 select more suitable grounds, nearer water courses, spring 

 bottoms, and the borders of ponds or lakes. 



TTgut correspondent learned that the wild pigeon a 

 the late Louisville shoot were on the average too young to 

 make gpqd shooting, many merely "flopping up" from' the 

 imp and then dov, n again. On the whole rhe tournament 



ii cess, and the great complaint to bemai 

 the States were not more generally represented With teams 

 Thi i nc thefault of the management, Homo. 



Shojp BntB Shooters will do well to end now for the 



little pamphlet entitled "Shore Birds 83ued last ear l£ 

 I .i Stream Publishing '. ■. > ■■, ■ ■■■ I. treats of 



lunta and Habits, Range and Migr it ' 



tje Is] i'. i . i s fauna, and oJ tl 

 Standi nd • ■ - Wt 



RIFLE AND ROD IN NORWAY. 



ONE of the most charmingly written little books find we 

 have ever come across is "Three in Norway, by Two 

 of Them." It is the story of three Englishmen who spent 

 the months of July. August and September catching trout, 

 shooting reindeer and ryper (grouse) among the mountains 

 and glaciers of Northern Norway. 



In style it is most pleasing, and it abounds throughout in 

 a certain dry humor which is very attractive. The party 

 were evidently all capital fellows and keen sportsmen, and 

 had, besides, an appreciation of the ludicrous side of things, 

 which is too seldom found among book makers. 



We cannot, perhaps, do better than to give one or two ex- 

 tracts from its pages. Their treatment of the inrptisilive 

 visitors to their camp is thus described: 



Any natives who see our camp when rowing past conic to shore to 

 Inspect as aud our belongings. They nil adopt the same course of 

 procedure. They land and stare, and say nothing; then they pull up 

 their boat and moke it safe, and advancing close to the tout, stare, 

 and say nothing either to each other or us. Then Esau says confi- 

 dentially, as if it was a new and brilliant idea, I he has done exactly 

 the same thing some scores of times) "We'd betterbe civil to these 

 fellows; perhaps they could tiring us some eggs, and they look 

 pretty friendly. 1 ' The" natives are all the time standing and saying 

 nothing. Then Esau remarks iu Norwegian, "It is fine weather to- 

 day; have you any eggs?" To which the chief native replies at great 

 length in his own barba rous jargon, and Esau not having understood 

 a single syllable answers, ".la! Ja! (yes) but have you any eggs?" 

 Then aside to the Skipper, "Wonder what the deuce the fool was 

 talking about?" Soon the natives perceive that their words are 

 wasted, and relapse into the silent storing condition again, and after 

 a time and a half, or two times, they depart as they came. Some 

 times they return again with eggs in a basket, when we pay thera 

 well and give theui some fish; at other times they look upon us aa 

 dangerous lunatics, and avoid us like the plague. 



Esau learnt (his habit of asking for eggs v.- lieu we were on a fishing 

 expedition near the South coast of Norway. On oue occasion, there, 

 we arrived at a small village, with as enormous quantity of trout 

 that we had caught in the adjoining fjord, aud found a small crowd 

 of fourteen or fifteen seafaring man idly lounging around an open 

 space between the cottages, lie first went round and presented each 

 of those men with two trout solemnly, without a word, as though it 

 were a religious ceremony. Then he began at the first man again, 

 and said, "Have you any eggs?" aud receiving a reply in the nega- 

 tive, he went on to the next, and to each one of the group asking the 

 sa me weird question. 



The men. who had been chatting busily amongst themselves up to 

 the moment of our arrival, became silent; they did not laugh, but 

 only looked at one another; and one of them shyly felt in his pocket 

 to see if there were any eggs there whose existence he might have 

 chanced to forget. 



The story of the killing of one of their last reindeer is 

 thus told by "Esau:" 



Now, here was where my luck came in. If that buck had not, been 

 so proud he could have run straight, away from us to the glacier 

 beyond the lake, but we were, "betwixt the wind and his nobility," aud 

 he" wanted to get a clean breeze and run against it instead of down 

 it. Consequently, when he was about three hundred and fifty yards 

 away he turned to the right, apparently iutending to make a circle 

 round us and so get the wind in his face. 



Directly he turned broadside to us Jens gave a shrill whistle and 

 the buck stopped short for a moment so that I had just time to njake 

 a careful shot, and the bullet hit him in the ribs. At the shot he 

 stumbled, but recovered himself instantly and made off a good deal 

 faster than before, evidently perceiving that things were getting 

 serious and that "this here waru't no child's play." Before I could 

 fire again he got into the ravine, which ruus down toward Rus Lake, 

 and was out of our sight. 



We thought there was just a chance of cutting him off in that ex- 

 tremelv rough ground, though, of course, we could not tell whether 

 he was' much hurt or not; so we ran as hard as we could for about, a 

 quarter of a mile, loading as we ran. Suddenly I caught sight of him 

 going very slowly, but luckily he did not see us, so we dodged into a 

 gully, and after another short run came iu sight of him standing still, 

 no doubt owing to his wound, and about two hundred and fifty yards 

 away. 



This time he saw us. and darted off as fleetly as ever, no longer 

 with his side toward us but straight away. I was dead beat, and 

 ,leus had thrown himself down ami was panting like— like— 



"A concertina:-" suggested the Skipper. 



Yes, just so. Anyhow, we could not run another yard; you know 

 what ii is on those stones, so I sat down again, aud with the rifle 

 going like a pump handle fired, am! by the greatest luck hit; him 

 close to the tail and the bullet went clean through his body and 

 .smashed his shoulder. Down he went, and we raised a yell of tri- 

 umph, whereupon he jumped up again and went off at a slapping 

 pace in a most extraordinary manner, i believe if he could have 

 reached the snow he would have done us even now, but we were 

 between him and the glacier and he hod nothing but rocks to go on, 

 bad enough for a deer with the proper complement of legs and ribs, 

 and very trying indeed to one crippled like I his, I'm sure. 



However, he kept going at a great pace for a few hundred yards, 

 and we lay in a state of exhaustion and watched him through the 

 glass. Soon he began to move mora slowly, and then to go roimd 

 and round in a small circle, and at last he lay down. By that time I 

 had partially recovered my wind, so I stalked him with great care and 

 got within a hundred yards of him, took a steady aim for his heart 

 and pulled. To my horror he bounced up again and ran like a hare 

 for a dozen yards, and then rolled over as dead .as Julius Caesar. 



The book is full of incident and humor, and will be 

 thoroughly enjoyed by those who are fond of outdoor life. 



I'et.-tstknt Poachers. — Forge House, Fulton Chain. N. 

 Y. — I have to inform you that the notorious "Taylor party" 

 has again been caught killing deer out of season. I find 

 that this party, which hails from Philadelphia, was fined 

 §250 last year for the same offence and that the warning was 

 not enough. This year they came into the woods with about 

 fifteen persons, six of whom were ladies, and brought 

 thirteen guides from Long Lake. They built a bark shanty 

 on Big Moose and supposed that all was serene. Game 

 Agent Dodge was notified that they had brought in jacks f or 

 ii, lighting and descended on them over on the Twiichdl 

 trail just as they were hacking in some "meat." lie intro- 

 duced himself and convinced them that he would require 

 their company out. of I he woods as far as Booneville. Some 

 of them went and settled up with Squire Morling. We will 

 keep our eyes on them and hope to catch them again. They 

 call themselves sportsmen, hut are merely meat destroyers. 

 — Guide. 



Massachusetts Methods.— The Massachusetts Fish and 

 Game Protective Association, advertise in the papers that 

 "sportsmen and all other friends of Ash and game preserva- 

 tion wdll confer a favor, and benefit their own interests, by 

 promptly reporting any violation of fish or game laws to the 

 undersigned. Any person who visits I he woodcock covers 

 at this season of the yea.1", wilii dog aud gun, Siiould he sus- 

 pected, aud will bear wat chin g. A icward of fifty dollars 

 will be paid for information that will lead to the conviction 

 of any person who kills or has in possession any woodcock 

 before Aug. 1, or any partridge before Sept. 1, or any quail 

 before Oct. 15. This association will promptly prosecute all 

 ff violation of the laws protecting fish and game. — 

 .Too.., 7'otileb. Jr. President." 



Wit Hope Not. — The S»n of this city says: "Viear- 

 '■..■, o minn and Father O'Fnrrell of St. Theresa's have 

 he Adirondacks to hum »nd fish. Mass will be said 

 a then ate: a< if : of fclje St. Regi 

 have not boon misted in r< 

 lirondsck gam^ season. TbJese is no hunting tiler? 

 cept for bears and panthers. 



..Esop's Fox in Mixxf.sota. — Cedar Mills, Minu.— 

 /Esop's fox, which ate so much that he could not, return 

 through the hole where he had come into the twin yard, 

 turned up in Cedar Mills, the other night. Reynard jumped 

 through a window down upon a brood of chickens belong- 

 ing to Mr. Eathbun, and after he had filled his ma 

 heavily ballasted that he could not get out again. Mr. B. 

 keeps "a double-barreled shotgun, "which he wields, with 

 effect ; his blood was up. and that fox died an infamous 

 death.— A. McE. ' 



Texas Deer. — Willis, Texas. June* 8, — The boys are 

 bringing in some of the biggest :mtl fattest old buck* you 

 ever saw. Our deer law opens 1st of June here, which may 

 seem singular to you; and our months for fine deer are June, 

 July, August and September. Running season begins 1st 

 October, after which the deer arc worthless. — C. L. J, 



Maixe. — Machias, July 3. — Game prospects about average. 

 I thank you for the stand you have taken upon game pro- 

 tection. "G ," of Waterville (issue June 23), is correct. 

 We intend to look after the dogs and visiting sportsmen this 

 fall, for unless we do, we can do nothing with our crust 

 hunters, and game will be among the things past. — H. 



Massachusetts. — Taunton, Mass,, June 80, 1882. — Quail 

 are more plentiful this season than, for several years past, 

 and the prospect for the coming fall is very promising. I 

 have not seen many woodcock and grouse yet, but expect to 

 see young woodcock soon. At this time last year I found 

 young woodcock about half fledged. — J. C. C. 



Southern Excursion Guide. — This excursion guide of 

 the Virginia Midland Railway is a handsome pamphlet, 

 containing a. great deal of information about the resorts of 

 Virginia, North Carolina and Georgia. It is supplied by A. 

 Pope, General Passenger Agent, Richmond. V '. 



A Rocky Mottntajcs' Hunteyg Companion is wanted by 

 a Philadelphia correspondent, who has been over the country 

 beforc. The contemplated trip may be an extended one, and 

 it is proposed to make it economical. 



Gun Stolen. — See notice of stolen Greener gun, in out- 

 advertising columns. 



Beau, Moose and Caribou.— See "Stanstead's" letter in 

 our fishing columns. 



"That reminds me." 



THERE had been a flight of pigeons and the boys had all 

 been out. After the remarkable shots and wonderful 

 experiences had been related old time stories were brought out 

 and revamped for the occasion, making the meeting a very 

 interesting one. By common consent "Uncle Mose Sanger 

 was awarded the palm as king of pigeon hunters, and many 

 anecdotes of his successful campaigns were related, the last 

 .speaker unhesitatingly pronouncing him the most indefatig- 

 able hunter as well as' the most ardent lover of the sport in 

 all that region. 



To this statement Chid took exception, and said that Joe 

 Allen was entitled to the honor of Aral place. .Now. Joe 

 was a half-witted fellow, who lived at rhe town farm, and 

 as no one knew of his ever killing anything, Cud was 

 pressed to give his reason. 



"Well," said he, "this morning I saw n flock of pigeons 

 settle on a big tree and I went for them. Just before 1 got 

 there T saw Joe under the tree pointing his gun at the birds; 

 then he took it down and walked around a little and took 

 aim again. He did this several times, when the birds flew 

 off. I asked him why in thunder he didn't shoot. 'Oh!' 

 said he, T haint got but one charge of powder and shot and 

 I want to hunt all day.' " 



iw and ^wer fishing. 



Southey, in his "Common Pfcice Book," Vol. I., p. 142, gives the 

 following account of "The Church of the Fishes:" "There s: 

 a Greek monastery, and when Mahomet laid siege to Constanti- 

 nople the following: miracle occurred: On the day of t'.j | 

 attack a monk wns frying' some fish, wlien news came that I 

 had entered tho town. 'I would as soon believe,' said he, 'that 

 these Med lish would spring from the pan and become alive again , ' 

 To reprove the incredulous monk the fish did spring from 

 into a vessel of water which stood near and swam about in it. In 

 commemoration of this miracle a. church was huilt over tor spot, eon 

 taining a reservoir of warer, into which the fish, which still con 

 tinned alive, were placed." These were probably carp, winch are 

 noted for their vitality and. ability to endure heat.— S. 0. 0. 



A BATCH OF FISH STORIES. 



r IMfE following passage forms i lie conclusion of an elah- 

 JL orate article' on "Trout Fishing." from I ! 

 pen of Charles Lanman, which will appear in his fonhcom- 

 ing work entitled, "Riverside Essays;' 



And now before concluding this paper, the spirit moves us 

 to mention a few special recollections connected with the 

 capture of trout. Cur first attempts with the fly were made 

 --how many years agp 1 ! — in the county of Wtndham, Conn. 

 The news had reached u^ at Norwich that there was an old 

 fisherman residing in Voluntown who could tell us all we 

 wanted to know, and a bright, but cold, spring morning 

 found us at his residence, lie knew of a hrni. k not far off 

 which ran through a meadow which was very narrow and 

 very winding, and at that time, in good condition. He told 

 up the stream. Mud to throw Th-; fly nt each 

 1 rheret] :re was sure to. he a little pool and in 



going about half a mile we took on; tful trout, 



which averaged about half a pound. The good 

 followed us all the way— he was in iiis eightieth y 

 enjoyed the sport quite as much as we did. We vi- 



of tinjes during thai season, and always had fair 

 sport, and when the next spring arrived we sought him out 

 again, hut he was asleep on a little knoll nor. far from his 



ad not a trout could we find iu 

 remote days Voluntown was a. barren, and loftel 



ere the people lived bj burning charcoal, 

 lUfetho i beautiful trout L that good e 

 be foigotitii- 



The. "largest bt of trout thai (V< 



