July 54, 1884.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



509 



BULLET VERSUS BUCKSHOT. 



Editor .- 



I wish to call your own and your readers' attention to a 

 subject which has occasioned me much .surprise, and if it 

 astonishes and chagrins a frontiersman, who is familiar with 

 rough experiences, how much more should it engender a 

 kindred feeling among the more refined of sportsmen? 



I have read carefully your columns for the past four years, 

 and to them is due the credit of educating out of my nature 

 many pot-hunting proclivities; i. e., if taking sitting shots 

 be pot-hunting, and I helieve a majority of your correspon- 

 dents are of that opinion. At present your columns are sin- 

 gularly free from those two nauseating terms, "pot-huutei" 

 and "gentleman sportsman," which have pervaded nearly 

 every communication published the past few years. This 

 result is due, or largely so I helieve, to your own caustic edi- 

 torials on these subjects. 



And now allow me to suggest another abhorrent practice, 

 a relic of barbarism, which" ought to have been relegated to 

 the past centuries ago. 1 refer to the brutal practice of 

 shooting deer with buckshot, 



It is difficult to believe that men exist in this nineteenth 

 century so little advanced beyond savages that they have the 

 heart to deliberately shoot a charge of buckshot from a 

 hand cannon into the body of the most beautiful animal in 

 creation; but evidence of such taste comes to us in nearly 

 every issue of Forest and Stream, in some inquiry for 

 the best gun to shoot buckshot, oi in a glowing description 

 of some hunt where the writer lauds his prowess and boasts 

 of his wonderful gun that sent its dozen buckshot clear 

 through the body of a deer at a hundred yards. 



Any manner of killing game is cruel, but those methods 

 which require a little skill and give the game some chauce of 

 escape are the only ones which sportsmen should ever 

 practice. 



If a weapon could be devised which would make a clean 

 kill or leave the game untouched, it would he a glorious 

 thing; but there is no such thing known, therefore the arm 

 which approaches nearest to that result should alone be used. 



If a man were starving and had no weapon but a shotgun 

 he would be justified in killing a deer with it, but under no 

 other circumstance, and then he ought to have decency 

 enough to keep his deed to himself, and not publish to the 

 world his disgrace, 



It was my fortune not many months since to he one of a 

 party which went in search of a grizzby. It was a mixed 

 crowd of army officers, clerks and farmers. One of the 

 latter was armed with this same phenomenal shotgun charged 

 with buckshot. We did not find the bear. We did happen 

 onto a deer which received the contents of the shotgun at 

 about fifty yards and of course left on the jump. Another 

 of the party opened fire with a Hemy ride, and knocked him 

 down, but again he jumped and rau for life. He left a plain 

 trail of blood which was followed. At a distance of fully a 

 mile he was found dead. The rifle bullet had done the work 

 of quick killing. Upon skinning, one buckshot was found 

 to have entered the paunch and lodged under the skin on the 

 opposite side. Enough to have killed the poor animal after 

 a few days of most intense suffering, and that would surely 

 have been his fate had not the more human rifle come to his 

 relief. 



The brutality of the. shotgun mau deserves to be anuonnced 

 by all sporting journals. A thorough ventilation of such 

 "sport" would, I believe, educate men above it. If the use 

 of the shotgun on deer were entirely discontinued, deer would 

 increase largely, for the majority of those which are struck 

 by buckshot escape, crawl away and die, doing the hunter 

 no good, affording him no sport, and diminishing the supply 

 for breeding purposes. 



In this day of cheap and reliable firearms, a good, accurate 

 rifle can be bought for a trifle, say $20 or $25". Every man 

 or boy in America, who can find time to hunt, can possess 

 one if he choose. If too poorto buy one, borrow for the day's 

 hunt, a few hours' practice will make you sufficiently pro- 

 ficient in its use, to hit the vital part of a deer at ordinary 

 shotgun range. Then if your hunt be successful you have 

 not committed a deed which will trouble your conscience the 

 remainder of your days. Piute. 



Fort Bibwell, Gal., July, 1 ), 1881. 



Oregon Skin Hunters. — John Duuphrey, an engineer on 

 the west side road, who is in the habit of "taking a yearly 

 hunt for deer in the mountains of Southern Oregon," a few 

 days since received a letter from a friend at Grant's Pass, of 

 which the following is an extract: "I expect you will be out 

 this fall to take your annual hunt. You had better come as 

 soon as you can if you want deer, as the skin hunters are 

 killing them off very fast. You will hardly believe me 

 when I tell you that two of these fellows now encamped 

 eight miles below this place, brought in and sold here last 

 week 130 skins, all killed during ten days in June. One of 

 the hunters said that he killed twelve deer in one day. and 

 in two days caught ten fawns, which he marked. When 

 asked what he did with the venison he said he did nothing 

 with it. His name is Stonebreaker and his partner's name 

 is Ferrin. They got ninety-eight dollars for their load of 

 skins. I saw the skins and the blood was not dry on some 

 of (hem. I can prove every word of this. Skin hunters 

 have been slaughtering deer 'all this summer, along the canon 

 by the railroad. The small mountain streams are dried up 

 and the deer are obliged to gather along the larger streams 

 for water and there is where they catch them. These 

 scoundrels defy the law and say they" have a perfect right to 

 hunt on Government lands. It is nigh time this business 

 was stopped. Just think how many poor little fawns these 

 rascals have caused to starve and die." The above is from 

 a, responsible person, and there is no doubt of its truthful- 

 ness. The authorities of that section must be very remiss in 

 their duties to allow such wholesale violation of the game 

 law. The first game law passed in Oregon was originated 

 in that part of the State, and was intended to prevent just 

 such scandalous slaughter of deer for their skins as is 

 mentioned above. Those skin hunters should be in the 

 penitentiary, or better have their hides made into drum heads; 

 the hulking, lazy, useless brutes are worse than wolves or 

 coyotes. The people of Southern Oregon should combine 

 and hunt them out of the. country.— Portland Oregonmn, 



Grass Plover.— Philadelphia, Pa,, July 21.— A great 

 many grass plover are being killed in this section. The sea- 

 son is just about in, but the birds are yet in poor condition. 

 The. pastures ahout Philadelphia are thronged with them, 

 and their whistle is heard nightly as they arrive hereaway. 

 Many gunners are after them, and about one or two birds 

 fall to the share of each gun. Well may the grass plovers 

 >n this region whistlp "we are all surrounded. "—Homo 



Spider Lake Game.— Sherbrooke, Quebec, July 12, 1884. 

 — Have just returned to-day after spending a week at Spicier 

 Lake. Good buss trolling "in the lake, and trout fishing on 

 the Upper River. Saw deer every day and tracks of moose 

 are numerous. Have never seen a season at. Spider that 

 looks more promising than the present for large game, and 

 only hope they may be protected until the open season, Sept. 

 1, 80 as to give us all a chance, The existing game laws 

 prohibit the hunting or killing of any female moose until 

 Oct. 15. 1885. Am glad to see your correspondent 

 "Penobscot" again to the front. He is familiar with the 

 locality referred to, Have been very much amused with 

 that character "Anloine," who visits "Uncle kasha's work- 

 shop." I can pick out half a dozen French Canadians who 

 would answer for his original so far as the broken English is 

 concerned, — D. Tuom A s. 



Woodcock in New Hampshire —Dover, N. II., July 21, 

 1884. — EMtor Forest and Stream: Woodcock in this section 

 are not very plenty, while on the other hand partridges seem 

 to outnumber them five to one. I know to my certain 

 knowledge that parties have shot woodcock here this season. 

 Our open season commences Aug. 1. It seems a shame that 

 persons, for they can't be called brother sportsmen, should 

 so lose all sense of what becomes a true sportsman, as to shoot 

 game out of season, and especially woodcock, to Secure 

 which a sportsman has to journey many miles to make a fair 

 bag. These parties should receive the full letter of the law 

 in their nefarious business.— Woodcock. [Why does not 

 "Woodcock" lay his evidence before the game wardens and 

 secure the punishment of the offenders?"] 



After Adirondack Deer Killers.— After workiug 

 almost alone for four years or more to get somethiug done 

 to stop the slaughter of deer in the. "region south of here 

 during the spring and early summer months, 1 have at last 

 got the State Game Protector of St. Lawrence county to 

 visit that region. He went up last week and procured 

 evidence that will, he says, convict three of the parties, and 

 he will prosecute them to the full extent of the law. lie 

 also appointed a deputy protector residing in that vicinity, 

 whose duty it will be to watch for and prosecute all caught 

 violating the game law. — A. C. 



A Chateatjgay Lake Association is being talked up, 

 and a meeting for organization will be held at "Ralph's" 

 Aug. 18. Its membership will embrace any visitor to or resi- 

 dent of the whole Adirondack regiou, Two of the most 

 important purposes of the association will be the employ- 

 ment of men to look after the game interests of the moun- 

 tains and the raising of a fund to yearly place in the various 

 lakes, ponds and streams young fish. All who may wish to 

 join this proposed association in any way can address Mr. 

 W. S. McKean, Rogersfield. 



Black-Tatled Deer Antlers. — Mandan, July 15. — In 

 No. 24 I read of a correspondent that has a black -tailed 

 deer's antlers with twenty-five prongs. I saw a black-tailed 

 deer's head, that was killed sixty- miles north of Mandan, 

 that had thirty-two prongs. — Hunter. 



^m and liiver ^[wiling. 



CAMPS OF THE KINGFISHERS. 



Black Lake. Michigan.— XI. 



\\J ITH characteristic pluck and perversity Knots had 

 T T stuck to the oars; the devious course was ended; and 

 he and Dick were now- resting in the shade just across the 

 little bay from us. When we had filled our last bucket with 

 most excellent minnows and a few barred perch of the right 

 size, we gave up our stake to three anglers, who had come 

 up out of big Black River in a yawl in search of the King- 

 fisher party, as they said, but as they did not introduce 

 themselves we failed to learn their names. They were not 

 inclined to be very communicative, but we learned that two 

 of them were from Detroit, while the other was an "Ohio 

 man," and that they were fishing over at Long Lake, five or 

 six miles below. They had taken a notion to try the bass in 

 Black Lake a few hours and at the same time hunt up our 

 camp. They had walked across from Long Lake to the 

 river, a mile" and a half, got a boat of a Mr, Cross, living- 

 near the head of the rapids, and here they were, fishing for 

 black bass with worms. Just think of it, ye honest anglers. 



They had stopped awhile at the stemwinder and one of 

 them had taken a four-pound bass with a bunch of wriggling 

 worms, a proceeding that so disgusted old Dan, when told of 

 it, that he straightway exploded with, "deliver me from a 

 worm fisher, any how!" We left them tied to the stake 

 catching minnows, and pulled over to the raft to stretch our 

 legs and try for the mate to their four-pounder with legiti- 

 mate bait, for we were something of Ben's mind when we 

 summed up his opinion of worm-fishing for bass in about 

 this shape: "Ef 1 can't ketch bass without fishin' fur 'em 

 with bait that's only fit fur white suckers and red hoss, I 

 don't w r ant no bass." 



When the strangers had filled a bucket with minnow r s 

 they came over to the raft, and soon after Knots and Dick 

 pulled across to us, and the stemwinder bristled with 

 seven rods, all feeling for the mate to their big bass; but a 

 half hour's patient work failed to induce a strike except by 

 an eigh teen-inch pickerel that one of our party took, which 

 was kept alive to bait the big hook for the big inascalonge as 

 we went back to camp. 



Our three anglers soon left for Long Lake, but before go- 

 ing they told us they were having fine sport over there with 

 the bass — nearly all of the wide-mouthed tribe — and they 

 were doing their fishing with worms. Now, this manner of 

 bass fishing may be a pardonable offense among some fisher- 

 men; but were a "Kingfisher" caught angling with a squirm- 

 ing worm he would be drowned on the spot, or drummed 

 out of camp to the tune of the "Pot-fishers Quick March." 



Long Lake may be reached from Black Lake by going 

 down the river to Cross's, a matter of three miles, and "from 

 there a mile and a half will take one to the head of it. A 

 team may be had of Mr. Cross almost any day to haulaboat 

 over, and on the lake shore is a very good little tavern, at 

 which accommodations and boats may be had. The better 

 way, however, to reach this lake isby team from Cheboygan. 



Leaving the stemwinder, Muller and I started to fish 

 around the shores of the little bay with our new bait, and 

 before we had goue a hundred yards I struck and persuaded 

 my first and only bass in Blaek'Lake — a black-backed hard 

 fighter of three and three-quarter pounds. I don't like to 

 say this W3S the only one i took, but truth is nudging me 



to stand firm and I must so record it. Did I feel good over 



overdo it. It was simply a glorious tight, and it was more, 

 good luck than skill, I think, that brought me out on top. 

 for I confess to being a trifle nervous at points in the strug- 

 gle where a hair would have turned the scale in favor of tin' 

 fish. 



Here at the mouth of (he hay we saw another great masca 

 longe, near six feet, we judged, from the hasty glance we 

 got of him. Muller had hooked and was playing a. live or 

 six pound pickerel, and as he was led near the boat and 

 when only a few yards away, the mascalonge made a swipe 

 at him, but missed by barely a couple of inches, a sudden 

 twist on the part of the pickerel saving him from being 

 crushed by the powerful jaws of the big fish only to meet a 

 milder death by the club. He was a monstrous fish, prob- 

 ably as large as the one Dan and I saw, as Muller will be 

 qualified that his head was fully eight inches broad at the 

 eyes. We did not fish for him, as it "would have been utterly 

 useless to fight him with our tackle, among the grass and 

 gigantic wafer weeds that grow around the mouth of the 

 river and little hay, for to handle a fish of this size w r ould 

 require plenty of sea room in water clear of grass and weeds, 

 and we did not feel like breaking up our rods in an encoun- 

 ter that would be sure to result in disaster to us. Here were 

 three of these great fish seen by us in a few days, some miles 

 apart, and 1 am convinced that the lake contains many- 

 others of the same kind, and possibly a few that are even 

 larger than those we saw, but this is hardly probable. 



Another hour's fishing resulted in more lougsnouts, but 

 not another bass, and we left for camp very much impressed 

 with the belief that, we w r ere there quite two months ahead 

 of the season for them. We fished awhile around Pickerel 

 Reef as we went up, for the old chief that Dan and I held a 

 special claim on, but the eighteen-inch longface on the big 

 hook failed to attract his attention, and we went on to camp 

 with another backset added to my score. 



The day's fishing had, however, put us in possession of 

 the fact that the "automatic abortion" is a fraud and a delu- 

 sion as a bass reel, and subsequent performances of the ma- 

 chine has not altered our convictions. I expect this will 

 raise a howl from the sun fishers and fingerling trout mur- 

 derers, for the contrivance is specially adapted to this kind 

 of fishing, but our minds are made up, and we are prepared 

 to be covered up with abuse rather than concede a point in 

 favor of this ingeniously arranged, but "wuthless affair." 



At camp we found the other boys had not been out, owing 

 to the rough water, but they had passed the day pleas- 

 antly in "reminiscences," smoking the pipe of contentment, 

 etc., and Jim had actually distinguished himself by picking 

 a camp-kettle full of huckleberries, and that evening Dick 

 promised he would make a huckleberry roll next day big- 

 enough to kill the whole party r . The roll was planned and 

 constructed with perhaps the best intentions on Dick's part, 

 but as he had forgot to put any shortening in it, his promise of 

 a wholesale slaughter of the camp came very near being 

 made good, as all who partook of that mass of tough dough 

 and berries will remember it, if they live to be as old as 

 "Methuseler." "Talk about eatin' crow," said Ben. "Crow 

 ain't a marker 'longside o' that roll ; Dick must a shortened 

 that dough with injen rubber and b'iled owl." 



Next morning the wind was an early riser and the lake 

 was too rough to fish. We hung around camp till noon, but 

 as the blow showed no sign of abating, Muller and I took our 

 rifles and went back on the plains for a bear hunt; but it 

 wasn't a good day for bear, and we came back to the cam]) 

 after tramping down several hundred acres of huckleberries, 

 and told the boys a half dozen barefaced lies about bruins 

 that we expected to see, but didn't. 



The nearest we came to seeing a bear was once when Mul- ' 

 ler called to me to come and look at some large tracks in the 

 sandy road leading to Black River, which he said were tracks 

 of the very varmint we were looking for, but on close inves- 

 tigation they proved to be the tracks of one of Merrill's old 

 oxen. 



This discovery moved us to make tracks straightway back 

 to camp, where we were overwhelmed with congratulations 

 on getting back alive, and next day the Assistant Postmaster 

 was laid up with an attack of acute camp diarrhoea, from an 

 overdose of huckleberry, which kept him in camp all day. 



The wind was blowing a stiff breeze next morning, but 

 the rest of us managed to fish all day r with good results, as 

 far as Merrill's bar'l was concerned; a few r bass were taken, 

 none, however, by the rod of ye writer. 



We were now growing a little tired of bass fishing, and 

 that evening around the camp-fire a five or six-days' trip to 

 the Ocqueoc for grayling was planned, but when Stewart 

 came to camp next day to arrange for the trip, he told us 

 there were no grayling in the stream, but plenty of trout 

 might be found if we struck it high enough up — some fifteen 

 or twenty miles from our camp. 



We began to consider whether the sport in prospect would" 

 pay for the trouble of reaching the. stream by a rough, tedious 

 road, and the trip was finally abandoned as one likely to 

 prove unprofitable, in the end. Then symptoms of I've-got- 

 enough-of-this began to float around through the air, and 

 next day Knots proposed that we break camp the following 

 Tuesday instead of going to the Ocqueoc. 



He gave as a reason for this move that the time of four of 

 the party was nearly out, and as Dan, Ben, the Deacon and 

 I wanted to go over to the Intermediate Chain before return- 

 ing home, it would hardly pay them to go with us for two or 

 three days at the old camp. I did not want to break camp, 

 for I liked Black Lake, and I wanted to make a trip to the 

 Ocqueoc; but a vote settled it, and the majority — in fact 7 to 

 1 — carried it to break up. (Mem. for November — There's 

 nothing like being crushed by a majority, and submitting to 

 it with grace and serenity.) 



The reasons given by Knots for wanting to break camp 

 were good in their way r , but we had a faint notion that the 

 groundwork of his structure rested on the fact that the. "fes 

 tivifies" had- about run out, and he wanted to get back to a 

 base of supplies. But it was settled that we were to leave 

 our pleasant camp, and next morning, Muller and I started 

 in a boat for Cross's, down the Big Black, to get him to help 

 with his team to haul us and our "traps to town. We fished 

 to the foot of the lake, not forgetting to spend a half hour 

 or so around Pickerel Reef after the big masky, but he was 

 not at home, and it was perhaps well for him that lie was 

 not, for we were fully determined to turn him inside out, 

 should he swallow the pickerel and big hook trailing at the 

 stern of our boat. The ride down the river was a very pleas: 

 ant one, and we enjoyed ourselves like two schoolboys out 

 for a frolic, pulliug here and there sweet-smelling water 

 ■rat grew in patches in the water along shore, Of stop 



